Chapter 1: A Seed's Beginning

"Looking for mages to raid 3★ dungeon [Dahlia Overgrowth]! Must be atleast Level 70, Fire Mages are prioritized!"

"The [Fire Elemental] just respawned! Call our guild members, we must get the Sword of Flera! It'll be a chance for our Wind Raider Guild to ascend the boards!"

"Looking for people to escort me to 3★ [Hadula's Cave]! I'm trying to mine some diamonds and I need guards to clear the monsters. I'll pay 4 Elixirs of any stats to those who help!"

If you look anywhere in the city square, the scenery you'll see is reminiscent of a marketplace. Everyone's looking for things to buy, sell, or trade– just like the real world.

And while not being real, that's exactly what it is.

Nexus: The Otherworld

A new game that came out 3 years ago, it now has over 4 billion players worldwide, and the only thing limiting that number from increasing is the price of the hardware.

A Virtual Reality game!

It needs a special capsule to play, and that alone costs 30,000 Dollars. Not to mention, a smartwatch is needed to verify your identity in the game.

Nexus took the world by storm when it came out. Every human dreamt of being the knight in shining armor, the dragonslayer, or just to live a life that weren't theirs in the real world.

A world of adventure.

Now, the Nexus Broadcast of any TV channel surpasses their News Broadcast in popularity and viewership.

Popularity in Nexus rivals those millionaire celebrities.

You could even make money in Nexus!

Selling crafted items, raw materials.

The company that designed the game, Entity Corporations, hold 30% of the shares in every aspect— whether its Education or Economy— worldwide!

And it has only been a few years sincere its release.

Students of any schools only discuss about Nexus, even office workers brag about their achievements in nexus to their colleagues.

Presidents, politicians, royalty— All of them enjoy Nexus!

It's not an exaggeration to say that without a Nexus account, you can't connect to the real world anymore.

...

"Finally collected them all." The man's voice was tired.

He put down his console and thought to himself, 'How long has it been since i started? a couple years maybe.'

Pet World!

A game about taming animals. It was one of the top-rated games before Nexus was released and the servers were filled with millions of players. Now, only a few hundred remain, with most of them collecting money in their daily life to move to Nexus.

They can't help it— compared to Nexus, the gaming console for Pet World was only a few hundred bucks. Even the smartwatch Nexus needs costs a few thousand. Now that all their friends are talking about Nexus, if they don't hurry and move they'll be left out!

This man was one of the few that didn't see the need to move to Nexus. He was perfectly content with his Pet World. Of course he was, since he didn't really have much friends in school, and since he was also the best player of Pet World!

'Zeed, The World Tamer'.

That was his nickname in Pet World, given to him for his achievement of taming everything in the game. Sharks, dinosaurs, even dragons were just pets to him!

"The game ended. There's no more updates. Jeez, what are the developers doing."

He complained. His real name was Sen Yuuki. Half-Korean and half-Japanese, 20, unemployed, and living in South Korea.

He was about to lay down on his bed before hearing his mother call out to him.

"Sen, dinner!"

"Coming, mom!" Sen replied. He got up, turned the lights and fans off, before laying one last look at the gaming console on the bed.

'Nothing else, eh'

...

"Sen, it's time you look for a job. we can't always pay for your expenses. Your elder brother is already looking for a wife, and your little sister needs money to pay for her University admission."

The first thing Sen heard when he was about to sit down on the table were his father's ranting.

'What a way to set the table mood.'

Really, what are fathers thinking? Ruining the appetite even before the food is served, that's a recipe for a disastrous family!

"Okay. I'll go tomorrow." Sen replied. What, you thought he'd say what he was thinking out loud? Maybe if his father wasn't the Vice-Admiral of the Japanese Navy, then he'd have a snowball's chance in hell to live a little longer.

"Honey, don't be too harsh on him." scolded his mother. She wasn't the best mom with her limited education, poor upbringing and health, but she taught him what motherly love really felt like.

"Sen, you can go next week. Don't you remember what today is?"

Sen paused. The 8th of June, what was today?

"It's your birthday, dumbo"

From across the room, the front door swung open. A man in a smart-looking suit was standing there, holding a pretty big box in his hands.

"Hyung!" Sen was surprised. His brother was employed in another city, why was he here?

"Missed me? You even forget your own birthday, jeez. Grow up and stop being useless will you?" his brother teasingly mocked him. He took off his coat and sat down at the table. "Dad, here's some allowance. I managed to get some bonus today for helping the boss."

His father looked at his eldest son, Sung Jin, and nodded contently. He smiled, "Keep it. You earned it yourself. Your mother and I can manage with our herb farm. Or are you looking down on me?"

Sweat dropped of Sung Jin's forehead. "No, no never ha ha.."

'Stop joking like that, I still haven't married!'

"What's in that box, Sung Jin?" asked his mother. "Not another cat, is it? We already left the ones your sister brought the other day at the pet adoption center."

Sung Jin looked at his mother in astonishment, then turned to Sen. "Really? And Sen didn't cry after his precious pets were sent away? Maybe you really did grow up while I wasn't here, huh."

While one of the reasons Seed kept playing Pet World was because he had no money to buy another game, it was also because he loved taking care of animals!

A way to cope because he never got his father's love? What are you talking about?? No way..

"..." If his parents weren't here they'd have been in a brawl.

"Ha ha, I'm just kidding." Sung Jin laughed. He put the box on the table and opened it slowly. "This right here..

"Is Sen's birthday cake!"

It was the first time in a while since Sen was last left with his mouth wide open. "Hyung.. Isn't this really expensive? Whose bank did you rob?"

"You've gotten really cheeky now, haven't you? It was your sister's idea. We've all had our cakes atleast once on our birthday except you since the one dad bought.."

His father's face turned grim at the remembrance. He was returning from the bakery when he saw a lady getting her purse stolen. While the thief was trying to run, the Vice-Admiral's reflexes took over, and threw the box of cake at the thief!

The thief was caught, yes. But the cake was no longer in shape. Sen Yuuki really made his father proud that day, since he wasn't even angry. He was just laughing how a thief got busted with a cake, his birthday cake, no less!

"Well, this one here didn't catch any thieves, but it'll do for us to eat. Let's eat it now?" his brother laughed again.

"Shouldn't we wait for An Yoon? She should be finishing school any minute now." Sen said.

"Nope, An Yoon already told me she's going to be late. Let's eat first."

And so the cake was cut by Sen. They ate together while leaving a moderate slice for his sister.

While they were eating, the door swung open again, this time with a short schoolgirl standing holding a small box.

"Oppa, happy birthday!" She smiled while still panting. One could just imagine how fast she ran to get home and celebrate his brother.

"Thanks. Get in now and eat some cake Sung-hyung bought." Sen replied, smiling too. Sometimes his sister was annoying, but she has her moments when she really makes him feel like a brother. They weren't the richest nor the smartest of families, but they might be the happiest.

"I bought you a gift too. Actually, brother gave me the money and I just bought it at the store." An Yoon said while taking her slice of cake and pushing her gift infront of Sen. "Open it. Oh, did you about know the cybercafe that just opened down the road? I heard it has the Nexus Capsule in it for rent, the prices are acceptable too!"

"What does that have to do with anyth-" Sen was about to finish his sentence when he saw what was inside the box. A silver watch.

'Nexus Smartwatch?' Sen read the small engravings. He looked at his siblings for confirmation.

"It's real. I'd never let An Yoon buy you a secondhand watch, would I?"

His brother said proudly. "Well, dad does call you useless most of the time but while you're looking for work, I think you can spend some time letting off some steam, too."

Sen put it on his wrist. 'Fits like a charm', he thought. The watch made some sounds and after a while, showed his Nexus ID number and time.

"Go tomorrow, son. It's late already." his mother advised. "Now, wash your dishes. An Yoon, Sung Jin, go take a bath. You'll make my house attract flies with your smell."

"Okay, mom." The three of them replied.

Sen was about to stand up when two plates were stacked on top of his. "Really?" Sen looked at his brother in annoyance.

"Well, it's the least you could do, birthday boy." Sung Jin high-fived An Yoon while laughing.

Sen sighed and stood up to leave.

Clank!

He looked down. two more plates on top of the three. moving his head slightly, he saw his father's gaze.

"..."

Not daring to sound a complaint, he just walked to the kitchen while the rest of his family laughed.

....

"Hey Sen, are you still stuck playing that petting game? When are you gonna join us in Nexus?"

"You know, Ba Jee got a Special rating staff the other day. Now he's bombing through those dungeons that our other classmates have to slowly clear."

"Aren't you jealous?"

"It's okay. I'm trying to tame everything first. Then I'll think about it".

Sen remembered the dialogues he had two years ago while he was in school.

His friends used to tease him everyday for not being able to afford nexus.

Well, ex-friends now. The effect of Nexus extends over familial ties and friendship, too.

'Well, I'll get them today.'

those were Sen Yuuki's thoughts as he walked through the cybercafe's doors.

The neon setting inside makes one rethink whether this is a cybercafe or a nightclub, nevertheless the customer services here are commendable and the prices are more than acceptable.

"Capsule, Console, or PC?" asked the cashier.

"Capsule, 6 hours." came the reply.

"300, cash or card?"

"Cash."

"Capsule 47. Enjoy."

"Thank you."

By the time the payment was settled, only 7 seconds passed since Sen entered.

'If everyone did everything as simple as that, humans would've conquered the surrounding galaxies.'

...

The capsule was fairly large, almost as big as a car. It has everything one needs in case of emergency— from fire extinguishing to instantaneous door release— so the price of 30,000 dollars a capsule was acceptable to most minds. The interior, too, was fancy and comfortable for any age and physique.

Sen entered the capsule labeled '47' and laid his back comfortably.

'Better than my bed.'

The doors shut and the lights went out.

"Start?" a machine-like voice asked.

'No, sleep.'

"Yes, start."

....

When Sen opened his eyes, everywhere he saw was blue.

"Customize your character." the same machine voice said.

'Huh. I'll change my hair to white, because why not?'

"Everything else is the same."

"Processing.. Customization finished. What is your name?"

'Now for the best part.'

"Zeed."

"Processing.. Failure. Name has already been taken by 9,999 other Nexus ID's. Please pick another name."

Figures. He's late by 3 years, of course everyone would take his original and cool name!

"Zeed1."

"Processing.. Failure. Name has already been taken by 9,999 other Nexus ID's. Please pick another name."

'The hell are these people doing.' Sen was shocked. Are they that lazy to make another name or was Zeed just so catchy and cool?

Sen sighed. After a while, he tried again.

"Seed."

"Processing... Success. Name choice complete."

"Welcome to the Nexus."

"Stay calm and enjoy, the Otherworld."

After the voice gradually disappeared, Seed was still seeing blue, but this time there was a sun and lots of clouds.

Kaaawk Kaawk!

Seed turned around and saw that an eagle was looking at him with curiosity.

'Ah hell, really?'

Seed looked down.

There was the ground.

And he was in the sky.

"Aah!" he screamed as he was falling. The descent took a while and when he saw a city beneath him, the speed was still unchanging.

'Death at the start?'

He hit the ground, but there was no impact to the surroundings nor his healthbar.

Seed looked around him and saw the unfamiliar environment. Behind him was a fountain, and all over the place were people—NPCs and users— trading and creating parties.

'Finally here.' Seed inhaled deeply.

'Let's go.'

And his journey in the Nexus began.