Welcome to Bless

A small apartment that could barely fit one person. It was the best Damon could afford with the bit of money he had.

In the hallway, three people chatted about a hot topic, the launch of Bless.

"Rebecca, you'll love this game. Every trailer, every leak, everything is just amazing." A bulky man with a short military cut said.

Rebecca, the girl the man was talking to, tapped him on the shoulder, "Calm down, Henry. We'll all experience the game together."

The third person with them was Shawn, Rebecca's brother.

"Everyone has a class in mind already, right?" Shawn asked them with his arms crossed.

Henry was the most excited of them, so he quickly answered the question with, "I'll be the Warrior. The sturdy wall our party needs."

"The only reason I plan on playing this game is because of magic, so obviously, I'll be the Mage," Rebecca said.

"And with me, the Rogue, we are almost all set. We can find the healer inside. Bless." Damon heard all the talking, and it was funny because the class he intended to create was a Cleric.

Why a Cleric? The sole reason he played that game was to gather faithful people to worship him, so he felt the class fit his goal.

A hidden and overpowered class would be the best, but he could not get those at the start of the game.

Damon wondered if he should go and talk with them, enter their party, at least in the game's first stages.

'I'm a Demon Lord, not a gamer. This is a great opportunity to learn more about the game,'

With that thought in mind, Damon walked toward the group.

"Excuse me. Were you talking about Bless?"

People would find it suspicious that someone was randomly trying to start a conversation, but they all smiled when they heard the name 'Bless.'

Henry, as always, took the lead and said, "We were. Will you play it too? Please, tell me you are a healer."

Damon scratched the back of his head and said, "That's exactly why I'm talking to you. I overheard you saying that you need a healer for the party. Maybe I could join? I just moved to room 201, and I'll play as a Cleric."

"Really? That's perfect. I'm Henry, she's Rebecca, and that one is her brother, Shawn. Are you truly a healer? Man, we are so lucky."

"I'm Damon. You all live here?"

Shawn, who was just listening, answered, "We do, yes. My sister and I live in the same room, the 203, and this annoying guy lives in the 205."

"Cool, cool."

Damon felt these were not bad people who would stab his back if they had enough courage to do so. Plus, Rebecca, the blonde girl, was cute.

'No, no. I can think of a girlfriend later.' Damon thought.

They all exchanged phone numbers, and Shawn texted Damon their account numbers.

Bless was a game that wanted immersion, so there was no way the game company would let people use those silly nicknames. For that reason, everyone had to create an account using their real name, and there was a random number attached to each name to differentiate people with the same name.

Henry was #475, Rebecca #204, and Shawn #526. Damon also made his account beforehand and was number #107.

"We will add each other when the game launches," Shawn said.

Shawn asked Damon, "Damon, are you okay with starting in White Branch Village?"

Damon knew people could choose their starting village, but everyone would end up in the same big city after reaching a certain level.

The difference between the villages, like who was the best? Damon had no clue.

"Sure, no problem, bro."

"Awesome. Well, we'll be heading to the room not to be late for the launch." Shawn said.

They all said goodbye to each other and went to their rooms. Damon did the same.

Once inside, he understood why the rent was so cheap. The place was tiny, and the furniture was not of the best quality.

How did Rebecca and Shawn live in two inside a room like that one? Damon had no idea.

Bless was said to be a game where people could earn real money inside. Damon hoped that was the case so that he could live somewhere else…

Damon carried a backpack with a game helmet inside. He had just bought it before going to his new home.

He dropped the game helmet above his bed and looked for something to eat.

When out of the underworld, the Demon Lord had to eat just like a human.

Damon had no powers, nothing special. He did not grow old, but that was not the full extent of his powers. People trembled in fear in his prime, but now he was just forgotten.

That was bound to change with the launch of Bless.

Money was one of his problems, so Damon just made a quick microwave pasta, and that's it. He was doing his best to save all the money he could.

"When did I become so poor? These demons down there are surely stealing my money."

Damon ate the hot pasta and used the bathroom before starting his long gaming session.

He looked at his watch—5:58 pm. Bless was scheduled to launch at 6 pm, so Damon went to his bedroom, lay on his bed, and put on his game helmet.

The helm had to be connected to a power source, and that's it. The company that made Bless sold those helmets, so the game was already installed.

A countdown appeared in front of Damon's eyes, and when it was over, Bless launched.

The number of players doing the same thing he was doing was insanely high, and after a few seconds, Damon found himself inside the character creation.

"Welcome to Bless Online."