"I envy them..."

"I want to be a great character like those players too..."

"Argh... So frustrating..."

Watching the starry night appearing in his view, Vi muttered in a weak and dying voice. He was lying somewhere in a grassland, in a secluded area as it seemed, and he only had this faint breath coming in and out of his mouth. His pure black eyes were now dull and blurry, and they had long lost their will to live.

Looking closely at him, Vi was not in a good state. His small and thin body was full of cuts and blood. His torn clothes barely covered his weak body, failing to even protect him from insect bites and cold. He was in the direst situation possible that he might have hit his very rock bottom. Just how could this happen to him?

With the moonlight illuminating the surroundings, Vi's figure could be revealed. He was a young boy in his 15th year. His short hair was as dark as the night, but now, it also exuded the airs of the lonely night. Too quiet, too cold, it felt like only the ground was taking joy in embracing him.

"Damn this failed product... I don't want to accept this, but what else can I do..."

Though his eyes were dull, his heart was not resigned. Vi didn't want to accept it. His situation was too disgusting even for him. He wanted to puke his weakness. But thinking all about it again, only helplessness filled his heart as he could only swallow his own fate forcefully. Now that his HP had finally hit zero, he could only give up his life. It wouldn't be long before he finally left this world again.

"I think this is the furthest I can go..."

And just like what he had expected to happen, his body finally turned into ashes slowly. Though he didn't want to accept it, there was nothing else he could do.

[You have died.]

[You cannot log in for the next hour.]

[Time remaining: 00:59:59]

The last thing he saw was three hologram screen projections floating above him in the midair as if saying goodbye for the next hour. Seeing it again, he was rather frustrated as he wanted to give it a good punch.

"Ugh, I was killed again by a level 1 monster... This is so frustrating..." Vi thought as he clenched his teeth, trying to exit the game capsule. The game capsule then soon opened as he removed the gaming helmet and put it on his lap. However, only a few moments had just passed when he clutched his hair with both of his hands trying to pull it out.

A moment later, he couldn't help but roar furiously, "Ahhhgggg!!! Just what the hell is wrong with this failed product??!!!"

Crash!

But shortly after he vented his anger into his hair, the door in his room was forcefully opened as if it had been attacked with brute force from the outside. Vi was scared out of his wits. He couldn't help but shift his gaze in the direction of the door as there he saw a woman's figure in her mid-40s. Her eyes were burning red, veins were popping out from her fists and forehead. She looked like a beast preparing to eat its meal.

"Shuuuut uppppp!" The woman then spoke, trying her best to suppress her cold and dreadful voice.

"Eiickkk!!" Vi suddenly felt a shiver going down his spine as he hurriedly replied, "Yes, mom!"

It didn't even need a second for the woman, Vi's mother, Mea, to calm down. A sweet and heartfelt smile took place on her soft lips. The cold aura she exuded before was replaced by warmth as though she had just become a completely different person.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Looking at Mea, her skin was delicate and soft. It could be seen that her figure was full of grace. From a beast-like figure, she became a stunning beauty despite her age.

And this made Vi rather uneasy. A bitter and forceful smile appeared on his lips as beads of sweat surfaced on his forehead. He still couldn't get used to the behavior of this mother of his. He always wondered how she could maintain those two contradicting personalities so normally.

"It seems like you died again from a level 1 monster, huh," Mea spoke as she entered the room and walked closer to her son. Her eyes narrowed. She stared at her son, inspecting him for what went wrong.

She was certain that the game capsule worked well. There was no problem with it even when the game company inspected it. She also tried to use it herself and it worked just fine. That being said, the problem didn't lie with the game capsule but with her son himself.

But she couldn't get why her son couldn't kill a single monster. He said that no damage was dealt to the monsters even when he attacked with all his might.

His base stats were all good too, so she was really confused about how he couldn't damage a level 1 monster. In fact, to say that his base stats were good was only an understatement. It could be said that his base stats could be compared to most Top Rankers. That was definitely a great potential if anyone were to look at it.

However, despite that, Vi was stuck at level 1 as he couldn't finish the first quest, which was to kill ten level 1 monsters in order to leave the so-called "tutorial ground". He couldn't even kill a single monster, making him incapable of gaining an experience point, much less, gaining a level.

Vi naturally knew this well too. But what he didn't know was the reason for such a development. It was already more than a month, but despite trying his best at all times, killing a single monster was just impossible for him. The damage dealt was always zero, as if the monsters were all immune to his attack. Not only that, these monsters were so fierce that he could die in one hit if he wasn't careful. He even wondered why the game developer designed such a difficult tutorial mode. This was just too ridiculous. Just how in the hell were other players, including his mom, able to complete the first quest which he deemed impossible? Certainly, there must be a problem with this game capsule, or else, he wouldn't have been stuck in the tutorial ground for over a month now. He could have slaughtered thousands of monsters if not for the fact that he wasn't able to damage them.

"I told you, mom. This game capsule is a failed product! You should buy me another one!" Vi exclaimed his complaints as he looked at his mom sternly. This was what he always came up with whenever he failed to do the first quest. He didn't want to accept that the problem lied in him.

Sapak!

Just like that, Mea's personality changed again right away. From a gentle nature, she became so fierce that she left without a trace of kindness. She didn't even hesitate a bit when she punched her son on his head, giving him a good lump.

"Do you think we are that rich, huh? If you want to buy it, then go buy it yourself!" Mea spoke under her cold breath. Her gaze was icy, causing a chill in her surroundings.

"Ughhh, I was just joking. Why did you even hit me?!" Vi cried out as he held his head with both his hands trying to ease the pain. He naturally knew how valuable this game capsule was. But... How could he have such a fierce mother? She really was too unreasonable to hit him without a warning.

"Hmph! Hurry up and get up. Let's eat dinner." Mea didn't bother arguing with her son as she soon turned around and walked away. She intended to prepare food now that her son was wide awake.

"I'm fine. You go first with big sister." Vi replied, unwilling to get off the game capsule as he was still pondering how unlucky he was.

"Is that so?" Mea suddenly paused her steps as she turned her head halfway. A smile appeared on her lips afterward. But this time, there was no trace of sweetness in her smile as it appeared like the sinister smile of a devil. With her tone of voice, it seemed like she was about to do something scary.

"It was a joke. Just a joke, mom. I'm coming." Vi felt a chill as he replied with a forceful smile. He didn't want to fuel his mother's anger anymore.

"Good," Mea replied as she retracted her gaze. She didn't spare a single moment as she went to prepare some food for dinner.

"..." Silently, Vi watched her leaving before he took a long sigh. Shortly after, he shifted his gaze at the game helmet on his lap while he pondered deeply.

"Tch! Soon, I will kill you all, level 1 monsters!" In the end, with his stubborn character, Vi was unwilling to be defeated by mere level 1 monsters forever. His intention was obvious. He wanted to try again later!

With that in mind, Vi then put the game helmet on the table beside the game capsule as he finally got off of the capsule. His pure black eyes shone with a faint luster, they gleamed brightly with determination.