
"98...99.....100"
"hu! Hu! Fatiguing. I finally finished my morning routine. Time to shower!"
A handsome man gasped for breath while clasping the blue towel in his hand. The man was bare-chested and wearing only black shorts. He walked to the bathroom.
.
.
Ten minutes later, though,
She came out of the bathroom wearing black pants and a black sweatshirt. He went to the kitchen and prepared food and then shouted.
"Lily, turn on the TV! I want to hear the news."
A few seconds later, the TV turned on and instantly displayed a news channel. The thing that turns on the TV is a sophisticated home control system that he built for fun. She gave her name Lily to make it simpler.
The man's name is Brian Jackson. He is twenty-five years old and a graduate who studies Data Science. He is currently unemployed. Of course it wasn't because he was stupid, but he was interested in UMA.
The Universal Martial Alliance!
A powerful alliance that currently rules a post-apocalyptic world filled with zombies, vampires, werewolves, aliens, and the most common race, humans. To enter the Universal Martial Alliance, one needed to possess supernatural abilities.
However, Brian was an ordinary human, not a superhuman. Since UMA is made up of humans, vampires, and werewolves, she can join forces with other abilities, but she doesn't want to. He wanted to join the pure force, but without a miracle, it would not happen
And, these miracles come in the form of a virtual game known as New God. This game is a breakthrough for human civilization. Once a person enters this game, he must create a character and appear in the supernatural world with magic.
One could level up by completing quests and dungeons. Every time one leveled up, ten percent of the strength exerted by the level would fuse with the human body in the real world. And, every time someone died, his level would drop by ten and his body in the real world would lose ten percent of its strength until he regained it through leveling up.
Brian put his toast on the plate, also an omelette, and a glass of juice. He took his breakfast to the living room and put it on the table.
"Breaking News!!! The war between the Vampires and the Werewolves in Zone G ended without either side winning."
"The Vampire and the Wolf Man have signed a peace treaty under the supervision of the Universal Martial Alliance."
"Breaking News!!! VMMORPG New Gods has finally announced the real-world currency exchange system will begin today."
"Players from all over the world have been waiting for this feature. And now, everyone can get into the game without worrying about money."
Hearing the news, Brian put the toast into his mouth and thought 'Did they finish the food creation mechanism? Otherwise, they will not announce currency exchanges in the real world. After all, food is something that keeps us alive.'
'Well, this has nothing to do with me anymore. I just hope the package arrives soon.'
Unfortunately, the package did not come. He finished his breakfast and slightly stretched his body.
"Maybe I'd better get out for a walk."
Thus, Brian asks Lily to turn off the television and get out of the house. He locked the door and stepped into the elevator. Currently, she lives in a two-room apartment even though she lives alone. Her parents died when a vampire epidemic swept through her area, where thousands of people also died.
Now, this small town has developed into a zone called Zone B. When vampires attack her parents, they sacrifice themselves so she can live. He survived and found himself in the hospital.
The doctors said that he was found five days after the war in Zone B ended and for some reason, he had no memories of that time. The doctor concluded that he was unconscious for five whole days.
They are werewolves. Thanks to the rules and regulations of the Universal Martial Alliance, humans and other races live together in peace and harmony. Of course, it only applies to Zone B and a few other zones. In some zones such as Zones F and J, the war is still going on fiercely.
The latest peace agreement in the G Zone could be a success thanks to the involvement of the Universal Martial Alliance. While walking towards the train station, Brian couldn't help but think, 'Perhaps I should increase my food supply. If possible, I want to play New Gods as much as possible and become stronger. Anyway, I'm just alone.'
Given this, Brian stopped at the Shopping Mall station. The zones here are divided into several stations and most transport by train. Shopping Mall has an area of almost fifty square kilometers.
The station has a wide variety of shopping malls and as such, it is also the most crowded station. As soon as he got off the carriage, he staggered into a group of people. Because it was too crowded, Brian took good care of his wallet. After all, thieves are most often in places like this.
Brian walked while trying to avoid people. He's headed down the grocery aisle. After being in front of the hallway, he walked into a small supermarket and picked up a shopping cart. Then, he went straight to the food section.
"Hi, Brian! I guess you've been shopping quite a lot for a few days."
A voice came from behind as Brian turned around and looked at a man his age. He is a little short and has a brown face. However, his shoulders and chest were wide. It looks like he's been exercising a lot.
"Hey, James! I just shopped for extras. How're you? Not ready to enter the New Gods?" Brian asked as he walked towards the ramen noodle counter.
"Don't worry, I've prepared everything for a month. Believe it or not, I heard our shipment will be delivered today, is that true? I can't trace the delivery location. It seems to have something to do with security. I called Barry, but he said he couldn't tell me the exact location." James patted his chest proudly.
"Yeah, that's how it is. No one can leak anything related to the New Gods out. If he leaked something, his life could be lost. The New Gods were created by the Universal Martial Alliance. Instead of sending them out every day, UMA sends each game pod ordered once a month. Even though the product has already arrived in our zone today, it will probably take a day or two. Or if we're lucky, maybe just an hour." Brian nodded as he put two packs of large instant noodles into the basket.
And so, he walked over to the pastry section and the vegetable section. He also visited the bottled nutrition section. A place where bottles filled with nutrient juice are stored. He took out nearly fifteen bottles and went to another part.
After twenty minutes, the shopping is over. He walked to the cashier with James while discussing the New Gods.
"Bro, listen, New Gods will soon release a Mega-Dungeon, where players who are less than twenty and more than ten can join in. I want to select the Warrior class with the Barbarian race and try to level up as soon as possible. You how? What class and race are you planning to choose?" James explained his plan excitedly while asking Brain for his opinion.
"I'm not sure yet. They said they would add new classes and races when they update later this afternoon. It could be that I changed my mind that the new update was good. Speaking of which, I suggest that you choose the Giant race with the Warrior class. If you don't want to be a Berserker, you don't have to choose a Barbarian race."
"Of course, the Stone race isn't bad either. But, they lean more towards defense and his leveling up opportunities are less, which suits you anyway." Brian swiped his credit card while carrying bags of groceries and chatting with James.
"Hm! You're correct. I should think about this more carefully. Damnit damnit! I'm not even sure I'm going to choose a Warrior class. He said in the New Gods there were more than ten races and classes. Unfortunately, they don't have any Vampire or Werewolf races." James nodded his head and sighed regretfully.
"Don't worry, do your best in this game and increase your strength. Remember, New Gods is not our main goal. It's just a journey. By the way, I have to catch the first train. Hye!" Brian eventually parted ways with his old friend.
"Don't worry! Call me anytime when you're free to play together as a group." Knowing his friend and his behavior, James did not immediately invite him.
Brian nodded his head and left. He reached the station, and fortunately, the train had just arrived. In a hurry, he got into the train and the train took him to his apartment area. After getting off the train, he headed straight for his apartment. Basically, he only knew a few people.
Although he did not hate interacting with others, he basically preferred to live alone. He went to the elevator and went to his apartment. But when he got to the door, he saw a package. However, not only was there the package, but there was a little girl sitting on top of the package.
"Do I order a girl? I'm sure I didn't. Who her? Why is he sitting on my package?"
Brian walked towards his package while staring at the little girl. Hearing the sound of her footsteps, the girl turned her head towards him.
'Wow!' When Brian saw his face, he was deep in thought for a few seconds. Red eyes, silver hair, pale skin, and a small mouth with red lips. The girl looked to be seven or eight years old. He looked at Brian and asked, "Are you Brian Jackson?"
Hearing his words, Brian immediately regained his senses and nodded his head. He found some similarities but still did not believe his own thoughts. His brain actually released neurons which gave him a different point of view about the girl.
Receiving the response, the little girl lowered her head and said, "My name is Elenor Bathory. From now on, I'll be under your protection, Dad."
"Well!"