After dragging the Direwolf King to its death once again, Ryan didn't even bother looting the corpse. Without hesitation, he activated his daily teleport and returned to the starting village.
—
Desperate Teleport:
Allows one teleport per day to the nearest town. Resets at midnight.
—
The moment he reappeared in the village, Ryan logged out of the game.
"Something's off. This game feels... strange."
He scratched his scalp, irritated by the nagging sense of unease creeping into his chest.
"Wait... where are my sisters?"
The house had gone eerily quiet. Frowning, Ryan got up and headed to the living room. Molly was napping at the table, her cheek pressed against a picture book. Mia, however, was nowhere to be seen.
"Out playing?" Ryan muttered. "No way. It's scorching today. Going outside would be pure torture."
It didn't add up. Lately, neither of his sisters ventured out unless absolutely necessary. The sudden disappearance gnawed at his thoughts, but he shook it off. Mia was smart. She wouldn't do anything reckless.
Still uneasy, Ryan returned to his room and sat in silence. His mind drifted back to something else entirely.
"That's right... in my previous life, the Federation's official announcement naming Kingdom Forge as the designated game came two days from now. It triggered a nationwide uproar."
He closed his eyes, searching through hazy memories.
"Wait—didn't that announcement happen just a few hours after someone cleared the beginner dungeon?"
A spark lit in his mind. It wasn't just the timing that struck him, but the sequence of events. It all lined up.
"Maybe the President's address only gets triggered after the first dungeon clear… or maybe after someone achieves two Glorious Achievements?"
Ryan's voice was barely a whisper now, more to himself than anything else. Then another thought hit him.
"The Orb of Wishes... why did it bring me back here, to this point in time? There's no way it's just some random in-game item."
His brows furrowed. The pieces were starting to form a picture—one too big to ignore.
"And every time a major expansion launched in the game, the real world suddenly made huge tech leaps... It's not just a coincidence."
He started ticking them off with his fingers.
"Nutrient capsules. Ecological pods. New energy sources. Artificial Intelligence... even hover cars! Transportation, communication, even space tech—each breakthrough came right after an expansion boss was defeated."
The more he spoke, the colder he felt. A chill snaked down his spine.
"What if... what if this game isn't from Earth at all?"
His thoughts were racing. "What if someone—something—is using the game to gradually feed us technology, every time we pass a trial? Could it be aliens? Are we being tested, or guided?"
Click.
The front door creaked open. Startled, Ryan jumped to his feet and rushed out of his room.
Mia stood in the entryway, a brand-new virtual headset in her hands.
"Mia…?"
He stopped short, stunned. She'd bought a headset? With what money? They barely had enough for groceries, and Mia had never shown much interest in gaming before.
"I want to earn money too, Brother," she said firmly. "Victor can stop us in real life, but not in the game. He can talk all he wants to the little companies outside—but can he talk to the monsters inside?"
Bitterness laced her voice, and Ryan's fists clenched at her words.
She was talking about Victor Hanley—a rat-faced manipulator who had swallowed up their parents' company. On paper, he was just a minor player, but behind the scenes, he'd orchestrated everything.
At the beginning of the takeover, Ryan had given him a hard lesson, and Victor had never forgotten it. Since then, he'd been a shadow looming over their lives.
After Ryan and his sisters had fallen into hardship, Victor Hanley took things even further. He used underhanded connections to threaten and pressure people at their workplaces, doing everything he could to block any source of income the siblings might have had.
Life had become nearly unbearable.
But Victor had never imagined that a game would render all his schemes useless. Kingdom Forge wasn't something he could manipulate. He was nothing more than a small-time parasite—his reach limited to those with minor influence in the real world. Inside the game, his power meant nothing.
"All right, Mia," Ryan said, turning back to her with calm resolve. "Get yourself ready. When you enter the game, choose the 'Alliance of Light,' then pick 'Human' as your race. After that, take your time reading the class descriptions and choose whichever suits you best."
Mia gave a sharp nod, determination in her eyes.
Ryan smiled and turned to Molly, who had woken up and was rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Hope gently flickered in his chest as he crouched beside her.
"Molly… Don't worry. Big brother's going to earn more money very soon. When I do, I'll buy one for you too, okay?"
Molly beamed, her eyes sparkling. "Okay! Then we can eat braised belly every day!"
Ryan laughed. "Yes, every day."
Not long after, Mia logged out of the game with a faint flush on her cheeks.
"I chose a Mage," she said. "My new ID is Winter Lily."
"Perfect. Now, once you're back in, ask any NPC where the Warden is and head straight there. Turn on your instant ID so I can find you."
Ryan gave her a nod of approval. Then, together, they headed to the bedroom, lay side by side, and entered the game world again.
For now, Ryan no longer cared about aliens or technological mysteries. What mattered was earning enough money, bringing his parents back, and reuniting his family. Let the world worry about the bigger picture—he had his own mission.
The moment Ryan loaded into the game, he sprinted toward Warden Nard's location. It hadn't been long before he spotted a familiar figure: a female Mage approaching, her ID floating above her head—Winter Lily.
Ryan's face lit up.
"Mia, is that you?"
The Mage paused, startled. Then she nodded eagerly. "Brother?"
"It's me."
He sent her a friend request and added Winter Lily to his list, asking her to add Featherlight—his own in-game name—in return. Without wasting time, he got straight to work helping her level up.
"First, talk to your class trainer and accept your initial quest. After that, I'll take you to get your beginner weapon."
Following Ryan's guidance, Mia visited the Mage trainer, then made her way around the starting area collecting and completing early quests. Two hours passed quickly. By the time they wrapped up, Mia had already reached Level 2.
"Brother," she said softly, a bit embarrassed. "You can go do your own thing now. I've got the controls down."
Ryan looked at her, surprised. "You sure?"
She nodded. "I came in here to earn money, not to hold you back. You said this was a good opportunity, and I don't want to waste your time."
There was a trace of pride in her voice, and Ryan couldn't help but feel both moved and proud.
"All right then," he said. "Practice more, and don't take unnecessary risks."
He gave her a reluctant smile, then turned and headed back toward Blood Hollow.
This time, there would be no hesitation, no distractions. His family's happiness was everything.
And anyone who stood in the way would be swept aside—completely.