The tangible sensations he felt brought tears to his eyes—in the virtual world, such real sensations were absent.
"Ryan, why are you crying?"
A tender hand reached out from beside him, gently wiping away Ryan's tears.
"No, it's nothing. Just deeply moved."
Ryan opened his eyes, looking at the dilapidated ceiling above, holding his two younger sisters tightly in his arms. The surge of emotion almost made him scream aloud!
He slightly raised his head. The glowing runic clock on the wall emitted a faint light.
July 24, 2112, 22:24:45
'Seven days.'
That's how long until Kingdom Forge opened.
Ryan had no intention of logging back into the game. But reality left him with no other choice.
"I'm telling you—if those two girls don't come keep me company tonight, you can all pack your crap and get out."
The speaker was the son of their landlord. Thirty-year-old Kenny Whitmore stood in the middle of the living room, leering at the two girls clinging behind Ryan—his younger sisters, Molly and Mia. His eyes were full of greed.
"Who do you think you are? Some washed-up street punk trying to intimidate us?"
Ryan had barely been awake an hour when he walked into this mess. Whatever excitement he felt about arriving in this world had evaporated fast.
Kenny sneered. "You think you\'re better than me? You used to be some spoiled rich kid—now you can't even afford meat. Don't act like you've still got pride."
Despite his words, Kenny didn't push things too far. The Whitmores knew Ryan's family had fallen hard, but no one was quite sure if someone out there still watched over them. Someone dangerous.
After an awkward pause, Kenny backed down, unable to meet Ryan's cold stare. But as he left, he threw one last line over his shoulder.
"Your lease is up on the 20th. Unless you hand those girls over, you're headed straight to the slums."
Once the door slammed shut, the two girls behind Ryan started crying quietly. The sound burrowed deep into his brain.
"Alright, enough of that," Ryan said, forcing calm into his voice. "We've got more than twenty days. We'll just find a new place before then."
He sighed. There was no other way, he had to enter the game. It was their only shot at money.
"We're almost out of cash. Mom and Dad haven't sent anything in months," Molly mumbled, clutching Ryan's sleeve. "Even if they do, it won't be enough. Not for a place around here. Do we really have to do what that fat bastard Kenny says?"
Ryan placed a hand on her head gently. "Don't worry about him. I've already found a new way to make money. We're gonna be fine. New house, new everything."
Then he turned to the older of the two, Mia, who always looked way too serious for her age. "Take Molly inside. Keep her calm. I've got stuff to prep."
Mia gave a small nod, her face like stone. She led Molly into the only bedroom, whispering quiet reassurances while shutting the door behind them.
Ryan sat down and dumped the contents of his bag and pockets onto the floor. A handful of crumpled cash and coins. He stared at them and let out a bitter laugh.
Two hundred dollars and twenty-eight cents. In a world where a bowl of noodles cost way more than a dollar, this had to last three people over twenty days. If he hadn't lived a life before this one, he'd probably be just as hopeless as his sisters.
He stepped outside into the humid air. The apartment wasn't much—barely two hundred square feet—but the rent was dirt cheap. Five hundred bucks a month. If not for that, they'd already be in the slums.
"Mrs. Whitmore's a good person," Ryan muttered. "Too bad her son's a complete scumbag."
Feeling more annoyed than anything, he went out and spent nearly all his money: $120 on the cheapest virtual setup he could find for Kingdom Forge, and another $60 on an entire crate of off-brand instant noodles.
It was all he could do to prep for launch day. The game would go live in a few days. He was confident he could earn money fast—enough to rent a place, sure. But what weighed on him wasn't just a roof. His sisters' college admission letters were coming soon.
And tuition? That was a whole different level.
He carried the things home with great effort. By the time he walked through the door, sweaty and sore, the sisters were waiting. And angry.
"You're still playing games?!" Mia's voice cracked as she hugged Molly close, tears already slipping down her cheeks. Molly soon followed, overwhelmed by the sight.
"I'm not just playing." Ryan was never great with words, so he just started setting everything up. "This is how we survive."
He moved the virtual setup into the only bedroom, stacked the instant noodles in the corner, and began the setup. One by one, the motion sensors slipped onto his fingers. He pulled the visor down over his face. It clicked into place.
And just like that, he was inside the game.
---
Triumphant music thundered through his ears. Ryan stood at the character creation screen, preparing to build a new avatar.
He typed in the old login, more out of habit than hope—then blinked.
It worked.
His account from his previous life had synced into this one.
Stunned, Ryan stared as data streamed across his vision. The login bar filled in under two seconds, but to him it felt like years. His heart pounded. Waves of emotion hit him in rapid fire.
A massive iron gate loomed ahead. Beyond it stood a solitary figure cloaked in darkness.
Ryan focused on the silhouette.
A shaft of radiant white light crashed down from the sky, bathing the figure as he strode forward—armor shining like a mirror, polished to perfection.
"Yes," Ryan breathed. "That's him. My old character. The one they called the First Holy Paladin."
Hands trembling, he reached out, brushing against the cold metal of the plated armor. It gleamed under the holy light, nearly blinding him.
But then the glow dimmed, and a red warning icon pulsed into view.
Access Denied.
His character had been locked—permanently banned.
Ryan closed his eyes. For a moment, the loss stung. But he shook it off fast. Dropping a level-90 Paladin into a new game would break the world. Hell, even if the servers were orbiting Mars, it wouldn't stop the outrage. No dev could survive the riot that would follow.
Still—while the character was locked, the account bank was probably still intact.
And that changed everything.