1178 The Day of Release
Earth, Year 22XX.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
"Mmh..."
Inside a small apartment, a young man began to toss and turn as the alarm beside his bed went off.
Frowning from the noise it was making, he eventually let out a sigh of relief after he was able to snooze the alarm, allowing him to return to his rightful slumber not even a minute later.
...Beep! Beep! Beep!
Yet, as if the world was conspiring against the young man, the alarm began to resound throughout the room once more, causing irritation to appear on his face.
In the end, the young man got out of bed after snoozing the alarm a few more times, being reminded that he was the one who made the alarm go off that many times in the first place.
"Wait... why did I set it so early again?" Muttering these words to himself, the young scratched the back of his head for a bit as he gave his mind the time it needed to fully rouse itself from slumber.
After that, he opened his phone, only to pause as he took notice of the date that was written on the screen.
"Ah... right," said the young man to himself, deciding to finally go through his usual routine after being reminded of what prompted him to wake up so early.
"Today's the day Greater Beyond finally releases."
...
"Now let's see..." By the time he was done with his usual morning routine, the young man proceeded to head to the kitchen to fix up a bit of breakfast for himself.
Opening up his refrigerator, a wry smile soon appeared on his face after noticing that there was not much left inside. "A few slices of bread and a couple of eggs..."
"Well, definitely better than nothing."
Grabbing the remaining items in his refrigerator, the young man went ahead and utilized his amateur cooking skills to its limits as he opened up his laptop on the side.
Then, with a short voice command, he opened up the TV, introducing a bit of noise into the previously quiet room.
"Mr. Silvers! As the CEO of Blackflower Company, what can you say about the excitement everyone is showing around your company's new game?"
"Hahaha. Well... what can I say? I guess I'm really glad that everyone is more than eager to hop into the world we've honed and polished all this time."
"Indeed. Almost every store that has your company's game in stock has people lining up at its entrances for minutes on end. We've even heard that some stores have lines that go on for hours!"
"Hours? If that's the case, I'd suggest they order it online, then. After all, Greater Beyond could also be bought through our official digital channels. There's no need for a physical copy whatsoever."
"That's what I did, actually. However, I've heard that those who get a physical copy of the game would receive a small bag of goodies once they enter the game for the first time?"
"But of course. We don't want people to think that all the waiting they've done was for nothing, after all."
"Well, you've heard it here, folks. This is Antoine Caelius from Second Reality News, keeping you up to date with information on Greater Beyond."
"...I guess everyone's waiting to get their hands on the game." By the time the show was finished with its current segment, the young man was finished fixing up a plate for himself.
Though, in the end, he was able to calm himself down, allowing him to find a copy of the game that had the lowest price among them not long after.
Getting a confirmation a minute or so later that the copy he ordered was finally on its way to him, the young man let out a wide sigh of relief, only to then rub his hands in excitement.
"I made sure to pick the fastest delivery option so I could get my hands on it as quickly as possible." Checking on the receipt he received through e-mail, the young man began to wonder how much time it would take for him to get his hands on the copy.
Fortunately, a bit of searching around was more than enough for him to find the answer to his question... though he began to furiously scratch the back of his head because of it.
"Tomorrow? The earliest time I'll be able to get it is tomorrow?"
At that realization, the young man let out a sigh once more.
"I really hope there's a way to earn money in this game," murmured the young man as he resigned himself to his fate.
"...With how much money I spent on this copy alone, I don't know if I'll even be able to eat next month."
"Now that I think about it... would I even be able to pay for utilities this month?"
Shaking his head for a bit to discard the thoughts plaguing his mind for the meantime, the young man decided to shift his focus back to the TV in front of him.
Going through a few of the channels that were doing a live broadcast of the game's release, he eventually stopped on a channel that seemed to have gained early access to the game itself.
"This is Antoine Caelius from Second Reality News, bringing you live into Veldanyr, one of the starter worlds Greater Beyond has to offer."
"Huh. They upgraded the graphic quality from the beta." Wanting to make the most of his time while waiting for the copy to arrive, the young man decided to collect a bit of information on the game, hoping to use it to get a head start once he arrived.
"As you can see, all of the players are in the process of familiarizing themselves with their current surroundings. The sight should be no surprise to all of you, considering the various True Immersion VRMMORPGs that have appeared through the years."
"However, we won't be focusing on any of that for today."
"Instead, here at Second Reality News, we'll be giving you firsthand access to the latest information we've received on the game."
"With that being said, we've received reports of a unique NPC staying in Daffors Village, one of the starter villages players of the game could choose."
"But the question now is... why is the unique NPC staying in such a village?"
"Let's find out, shall we?"
And with this, Volume 3 has officially begun.
Honestly, this is one of the longest chapters I've written for the novel so far. Nevertheless, it gives you a good idea of what to expect for the volume.
As well as what not to expect, probably.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please vote for the novel with your power stones and golden tickets! I'd highly appreciate it!
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TrueDawn