Chapter Three: Reentering the Game

“*Cough cough,* could it be that someone here is hopelessly bad with directions?” Lu Yang suddenly remarked.

Shen Mengyao blushed instantly. Being directionally challenged had been her greatest frustration since childhood. She hadn’t expected someone to call her out on it, but luckily, they had just arrived at the girls' dormitory.

She hurried to the doorway, turned around, and glared at Lu Yang, her little beauty clearly in a sour mood.

“You crybaby, thanks for escorting me back to the dorm,” Shen Mengyao pouted, standing at the entrance of the girls' dormitory.

Lu Yang was momentarily awkward.

“I’m not crying, I just lost my way,” she insisted.

“Uh-huh, sure, I believe you,” Lu Yang said, though the expression on Shen Mengyao’s face clearly said otherwise.

“Fine, crybaby it is. I’m Lu Yang—‘Lu’ as in the mainland, ‘Yang’ as in sunshine.”

“I’m Shen Mengyao. It was nice meeting you today. I hope we’ll see each other again. My roommates are waiting, so I can’t chat longer. I have to head upstairs,” Shen Mengyao apologized.

“Go on up then,” Lu Yang replied.

Watching Shen Mengyao’s retreating figure into the dorm, Lu Yang felt a surge of happiness. “Silly girl, we’ll see each other again soon because we’re classmates. And pretty soon, you’ll be the one seeking me out.”

In reality, it took only five minutes to walk from the school gate to the girls' dormitory, but Lu Yang had led Shen Mengyao on a detour around half the campus. He was confident she’d realize it soon enough.

Their past lives had begun with a simple question about directions, and it seemed fate was repeating itself. Clenching his fist, Lu Yang vowed not to leave any regrets this time.

But then, a cold sneer from Liu Jie flashed through his mind. Five years from now, Liu Jie would seize everything that belonged to him. A sense of urgency filled Lu Yang’s heart—he had to grow stronger to protect everything dear to him. The only way now was to enter the Second World as soon as possible.

Checking his phone, only half an hour remained until the game’s launch. Lu Yang turned and headed back to the gaming helmet store near the school gate.

The helmets came in three grades: A, B, and C, differing in image clarity. The cheapest C-grade only rendered 70% of the graphics but cost 1,000 credit points. With limited funds, Lu Yang decided the C-grade was sufficient.

Back home, after locking the door, Lu Yang lay on his bed and put on the gaming helmet. Instantly, the biological waves from the helmet connected with his brain.

“System scanning…”

“First login, brainwave scan and binding… information input…”

“Linking bank card…”

After a series of familiar yet strange voice prompts from his past life, Lu Yang found himself in a grand hall glowing with golden light.

A massive screen appeared before him, and a mechanical voice echoed.

“Dear player, welcome to Second World. Your helmet has been bound to your basic information. The game will begin in three minutes. Would you like to create an account?”

“Yes.”

The screen flickered, revealing three vividly distinct castles.

“Please select your race.”

In Second World, there were three major races: the Human capital, St. Gall City, adorned with blue and white banners; the Beastmen stronghold, the Dominion Fortress, flying blood-red war flags; and the Elven capital, the Golden City, flying golden banners.

“Human.”

Seven distinct characters appeared on the screen.

“Please select your class: Mage, Warrior, Thief, Hunter, Priest, Warlock, Paladin (exclusive to humans),” the mechanical voice prompted.

“Mage.”

In his previous life, Lu Yang had been a mage, specializing in fire magic. He had invested so much into this class and knew all its skills, quests, and secrets. His passion for fire magic bordered on obsession.

“Class selected. Please enter your name…”

“Lu Yang.”

“Would you like to customize your appearance?”

Players had one chance to alter their avatar’s appearance. Lu Yang pondered and chose to revert to his previous life’s look. Where he had fallen before, that was where he'd rise again.

“Appearance customization complete.”

“Generating system data, please wait…”

Three seconds later, the screen displayed a human mage dressed in apprentice robes, holding a novice staff.

Beside the figure were the attributes:

Name: Lu Yang
Class: Mage
Level: 0
Endurance: 3
Strength: 1
Intelligence: 10
Agility: 3
Constitution: 4
Health: 64
Mana: 120
Physical Damage: 1-1
Magic Damage: 10
Defense: 3
Physical Crit Chance: 0%
Magic Crit Chance: 0.1%
Spell Recovery Rate: 1 point/5 seconds

“Character creation complete. Server launch countdown.”

“5…”

“4…”

“3…”

“2…”

“1…”

“The game has begun. Would you like to enter now?” the mechanical voice asked.

Lu Yang answered firmly, “Yes.”

The scene shifted. Lu Yang merged with his character and was transported into an immense city—St. Gall City.

The familiar sights from his last life flooded back: the towering blue Mage Tower, the solemn golden Cathedral, the passionate Warrior Training Grounds, the cold and austere Assassin’s Base, and the magnificent Royal Castle.

“Wow, it’s so beautiful.”

“This city is huge.”

Many players gathered in the plaza, marveling at the stunning architecture of St. Gall City.

Looking around, four straight streets stretched endlessly, teeming with NPCs chatting, trading, and performing everyday actions indistinguishable from real humans.

“The characters are so lifelike,” one player remarked after attempting to talk to an NPC, only to find the dialogue nearly indistinguishable from that of a real person. The NPC could answer any question about St. Gall City. If not for the presence of other players, one might believe this was reality itself.

Seeing more and more players and hearing their amazement, a nostalgic smile crossed Lu Yang’s face.

“This really brings back memories. St. Gall City—I'm truly back.”

Without lingering, Lu Yang headed north, toward the starting areas for novice quests and monster hunting—all familiar from his previous life. Yet, he had no intention of following the usual path.

Reborn, and yet to slog through mundane tasks like everyone else? That would be far too weak.

What he needed to do now was a mission that had haunted him with regret for ten years. Only by claiming its reward could Lu Yang hope to save himself and his family, breaking the curse fate had laid upon him.

St. Gall City rested on the vast Flower Language Plains. At the northern city gate, where it met the plains, lay a massive, bottomless chasm.

Lu Yang ran to the cliff’s edge, glanced left and right to ensure no one was watching, then leapt decisively into the abyss at the spot etched in his memories.

Though the chasm was said to be deathly, Lu Yang’s fall was soon interrupted by branches sprouting from the cliff walls.

*Snap!* A branch broke.

Though unable to halt his descent, the branches slowed his fall. After a while, he broke another thick branch, taking damage.

-7

-5

-5

Each collision inflicted damage. Just as he neared death, he finally landed on the ground with a heavy thud, taking a final 20 points of damage, leaving him with a single sliver of health.

Lu Yang patted his chest, grateful he recalled exactly where he had fallen in his past life. Otherwise, he might have fallen to his death five or six times before reaching the bottom.

System notification: You have discovered the Sunset Canyon.

Looking around the valley, it was just as before: sheer cliffs encircling the area. Below one cliff stood a massive golden tree, its branches heavy with luminous golden round fruits. The translucent skins revealed the juicy pulp inside, so tempting even those not thirsty would crave a taste of the fresh, tender nectar.

The adventure was just beginning.