Prologue -
It was a normal classroom scene, the sound of keystrokes, the monotonous voice of the professors and... the sound of snoring. Rei Lee was completely unconscious, and the only thing that had ended up in his notebook so far was drool. The class was not unaware of this, evidenced by the occasional giggle and the constant grinding of the professors teeth every time he glanced toward the back of the room.
The professor would have normally reacted by now... except he couldn’t help but remember the humiliation of the last time he had tried. It was during the second week of class and the professor had been appalled that someone would so shamelessly dare to sleep in the middle of his lecture. He had stomped to the back of the room prepared to embarrass the lazy oaf into paying attention in the future. Except it had somehow backfired horribly.
*Bang*
The professor brought the edge of his fist down on a desk next to the sleeping student but instead of the normal shocked and frightened response the professor found a single grey eye glaring at him. The boy made no response and just held the professors gaze. The professor was already flustered by this unusual response but after a few moments of awkward silence he regained his composure.
“Please explain to the class the roles of the twelve Olympians that we have been discussing for the last thirty minutes.”
The professor couldn’t help feeling a bit smug as the boy would soon be humiliated and the professor was sure that he wouldn’t fall asleep in his class again... Except...
“Zeus, Ruler of Olympus, the skies and lightning; Poseidon brother of Zeus, Ruler of the Sea second strongest of the Olympians...”
The boy listed all the gods without fault, even adding in bits and pieces that the professor was unaware of. With each new piece of information the professor’s face became redder and redder and when the boy began talking about the various offspring of the Olympian deities the professor decided to make a hasty retreat and cut him off.
“Very good...”
The professor replied gruffly before quickly returning to the front of the classroom. The professor was persistent however and each time the professor caught the boy sleeping during the following weeks he attempted to stump the boy... and failed.
Little did the professor know that Rei was utterly obsessed with mythology and had probably read more than most mythology majors. Fantasy, science fiction, history, Rei had read them all with a voracious appetite. To Rei, the stories all had something that the real world utterly lacked... Adventure. While the real world proceeded with its humdrum existence, the lands of myth and fantasy took out evil monsters, saved nations and explored uncharted territories.
Until five months ago Rei had been a model student, his grades were at the top of his class, he handed in homework early, and listened attentively to whatever boring subject his teachers were discussing. That is until he discovered a way to go on real adventures of his own. A gate to a new world where all the things he dreamt about were real! Royal Road!
It had first appeared on one of his favorite gaming websites and Rei hadn’t even looked at it. But as the weeks passed, more and more posts were about Royal Road.
“What the hell is this! Constantly posting about an entirely different game on our forums...”
Out of curiosity Rei had decided to check it out and from the first line he was hooked. Limitless playing styles, quests, classes, professions... Unexplored territories, monsters and magic. It was like a heaven made especially for him!
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And the only thing getting in his way was money. Rei wouldn’t allow it! To that end Rei worked more hours than most fulltime salary men. He blackmailed his uncle into letting him work at his restaurant, he annoyed his father into increasing his allowance and even sold his services among his classmates.
“$5 Per Homework Assignment! $10 Per Essay!”
In short... The only time he had to sleep was class. His allowance and a few hours at his uncle’s restaurant would allow him to easily handle the monthly fees, the real obstacle was the capsule and the installation cost.
$2,000! It was an outrageous price but Rei was close to reaching his goal. Today was Friday, also known as... Payday! And so in the back of his classroom, Rei dreamed about his future as an adventurer and what wonders awaited him until a large book met with the top of his head.
“Owwww! Damnit Sher! Stop hitting me in the head.”
“Class is over.”
The girl who spoke looked at him coldly. She was, without a doubt a beauty, her hair jet black and her features almost perfect. Her dark eyes seemed to shine behind her glasses that only seemed to make her prettier. Sher was Rei’s childhood friend and until a couple months ago she had always come in second place to Rei. Now that she was number one, however, she felt no sense of accomplishment. She couldn’t understand why Rei would give everything up for a game.
“Sorry, Sher! I’ve got to go! Today is finally the day I can get it! I talked dad into pre-ordering but if I don’t give him the money he might send it back!”
Sher sighed as Rei practically skidded out of the classroom. She sat down to wait. 3, 2, 1...
Rei flew back into the classroom.
“I forgot my bag.”
“Because you’re an idiot.”
This time they left together, with Sher threatening violence if he took off without her.
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The shiny silver capsule was set up in a corner of his room and Rei could barely contain his excitement. He jittered around as the technicians installed it until his father had to drag him away by the ear. When the technicians finally finished Rei was inside the capsule before they were even completely out of his room.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
Rei chanted as the Technicians completed the installation.
One of the technicians chuckled.
“It’s not going to run away kid! We don’t usually get thanked.”
“Hope you enjoy it. Your dad said you earned all the money yourself? That’s pretty impressive for a kid.”
Rei was a little annoyed at being called a kid but he was too excited to make a big deal out of it. The technicians exited the room just as the capsule closed.
Connect to Royal Road?
Yes | No
When the message scrolled in front of his eyes, Rei shouted with joy. “Yes!”
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Author's Notes:
This is my first fan fic but please feel free to post your opinions. The good, the bad, & even the ugly. I've got thick skin and don't mind at all. Please let me know if you spot any mistakes.
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Credits for Proofreading: Anonymreading & Kaine