After Ronan finished eating with Jake in his house, he went back to his mother's house and stayed for a few days, during those days he would mostly sit downstairs and code instead of staying in his bedroom and because he was good at listening he could talk to his mother while programming his new game.

After those couple of days, Ronan went back to College, he spent the next couple of months getting the key mechanics down, his income increased to $13,000 a month now from his messaging app, he hired some specialists in advertisements to get him decent advertisements for his messaging app, it had over 1 million downloads now and it was popular in the surrounding county, but not so popular if you get any further outwards.

They had managed to secure him some radio time and a couple of larger billboards on the outskirts, so most of the people who came into the city for work would see them, unfortunately he wasn't making enough for tv advertisements, he could afford some in the dead of the night but it wasn't long and the people who would see it would be too tired to remember it.

His game was getting along, he now had 3 others helping him with the code and everyone who worked on it had access to the app in the alpha stages to find bugs, he had contacted several animation and graphics companies, it would cost around $30k to get all the animations down which was at least 3 months worth of money. He made a contract between them, he would pay $32.5k but instead of paying for them in bulk he would be able to spread the costs out over time.

He still needed an economist, he had talked to several students who were studying economy but they all recommended that he should find a professional, it was one of the key parts of the game so if a student made a mistake it could have disastrous consequences.

The only thing left was the sounds, he was 75% done with the code, 15% being the economy, 7% bugs that needed fixing and the last 3 % was last-minute tweaks, such as damage/defence value changes.

He also made sure to talk with his sister for 1 hour a day, just to keep in touch, Ronan often put the phone on speaker so he could code while talking, he wanted to make sure all the time he had was focused 100% onto his game.

...

2 Months Later.

"Finally." Ronan had just finished with the coding aspect, his graphic and animation designers had gotten back to him last week, the designs took a few attempts, but he got there eventually, his messenger app went up to $15k a month, with a total of 1.15mil downloads.

He was suffering from a serious set back though, an economist, they were expensive, in a world ranking company they would earn easily over $400k a year, and the cheapest he could find was $60k, he was at least someone decent, but he just didn't have the money, although he could afford $60k a year he just couldn't afford it with everything else, he still had to set up the servers for the game and they would cost a lot.

He spent most of his time going over and over on how to raise the money and the best way was for him to expand the messaging app, but that wouldn't be up to him, he could only advertise more online since T.V. advertisements were so expensive, several seconds could easily be worth over $50k and that's on the less popular channels.

...

For the next 3 months, Ronan went over everything again and again.

He fixed 90% of the bugs, he only had 1 person helping him with the game now, the others were either not needed or stopped working for various other reasons.

He managed to contact an economist, he was called John Chandler, he was willing to work for him on the basis that he would start out with a salary of $70k a year, and if the game took off his salary would go up to $120k a year, but for now the payments were slightly lesser, he had to give up more than 3/4 of the money he had available, he still had some stockpiled away so he could afford to keep sending money home but that wouldn't last long until the messaging app made at least $15k.

...

The economist spent the next 3 months making the economy, it took countless attempts of trial and error, nothing could be done perfectly in one go, everything else was completed, the sound, graphics, coding everything was completed now, Ronan was also close to finishing his course.

His game was already fairly popular, he released an alpha version that people could download on campus, they were required to use alpha keys to get into the game to prevent people from spreading it everywhere, it had around 1k people playing it, and countless bugs that were previously unknown to Ronan were found and fixed, he also received some good feedback, bad feedback was abundant, but there was at least some good feedback.

He had secured enough server space for 150k people, he had paid for advertisements for his new game and made some to put on his messaging app, he was 90% ready, he was just waiting for John to complete the last tweaks to the economy which would take roughly 2 weeks, and then the game would be 100% ready to launch.

...

2 Weeks later and the game came out was officially in a release candidate state, it was ready for release and if nothing goes wrong then it will be released within the next 2 days, he just had to sort some small bugs out before the game could release.

Ronan spent the next 2 days thoroughly playing the game, using all mechanics, making sure there were no major bugs left, he wouldn't stop playing until he was 100% happy with it.

...

2 Days Later.

It was 23:55, 5 minutes before he would release the game, he was ready to release, nothing major had happened, no bugs, no nothing. He was 100% satisfied with the game and himself, he put his all into it and it took a couple of months longer than he thought but he was satisfied.

Ronan Atkins is a 20-year-old student, he studies Business Administration at Trinity College, it is considered as one of the best colleges to learn Business Administration in the world and in order to obtain a scholarship Ronan had to pass many tests, most of which have nothing to do with the actual course he was studying in, after passing all those tests he was finally given the scholarship he dreamed off, but even after getting the scholarship his life was hard, he had to work several jobs in order to pay for food and accommodation.
Until one day, when he is working part-time at a convenience shop something happens...

----------------------
Power Stones (Chapters released on the Monday)

Top 500 - 1 chapter
Top 250 - 2 chapters
Top 100 - 3 chapters

One time only bonus chapters (Chapters released day after) 
25 Power Stones - 1 chapter
50 Power Stones - 1 chapter
100 Power Stones - 2 Chapters. 
200 Power Stones - 2 Chapters. 
250 Power Stones - 3 Chapters.

As soon as the editor, Yixin, heard Meng Fan's request to review and approve the newly created work, his eyes lit up immediately.
The last two Meng Fan's serialized comics performed really well on the Penguin Animation Network. And Meng Fan was still his junior! But these two comics hanging under his name didn't really have much to do with him, hehe.
Needless to say, "Guide to Campus RoMANce" was over and had not been signed yet. If the contract wasn't signed, the website will definitely not spend resources to promote it. Naturally, it also won't get any copyright. Contrary to what one may expect, there is profit, but it's all in gratuities — and if the gratuities are high, one can get some money.
As for "There's a Spirit Underground", whether it was clicks, recommendations, or sales, they were all extremely abundant during this period. The sales scores, especially, have been hanging on the top of the best-selling list for a long time. But this comic was directly linked to the copyright department, and it had little to do with his editor-in-chief. Talking about gains, as far as Yixin is concerned, its results were the best among the popular best-selling comics.
However, even though these two comics have little to do with him, Yixin still cares about his junior very much, so he will sign his next comic.
It wasn't only his opinion that in terms of painting skills and style, he was well-known in the industry as the top of the top. It was not an exaggeration to say that even if Meng Fan's next comic — given that it is an original and not an adaptation — will have a plot as crappy as a piece of shit, his drawings will still be fiery!
Just like "Guide to Campus RoMANce." The plot was really average, but one cannot resist the great painting skills. No need to even mention the amount of clicks on the cover on the website. Reportedly, many people purchase physical books only because they have a good-looking protagonist and a beautiful cover.
With Meng Fan's painting skills and a little help in writing scripts from some screenwriters, it will become a hot topic in a split second.
Yixin had talked with Meng Fan before and knew that Meng Fan was working on an original comic. Of course, all along he's been waiting to sign up Meng Fan's next work. Not to mention the profits, Yixin obviously hoped to get his hands on the chance to distribute a best-selling comic.
And now, he finally got it!
It's just that when he looked at the back-end, there was only a title and a cover, without any content whatsoever.
He couldn't help the curiosity and asked Meng Fan about it, then he felt the urge to curse.
Where is the content to match the title!
Is this lousy title everything you have to show?!
He asked once again, feeling more panicked. He told Meng Fan that this time he should sign the contract and assured Meng Fan that he would strive for the best conditions for him, but Meng Fan still wasn't convinced.
However, after a moment Meng Fan finally said that if he decides to act on it, Penguin surely will be his first choice.
OK, it's not rubbish. Everything started here; it definitely is the first choice.
At that moment, Yixin was itching to rush to Hangzhou to find Meng Fan and have a good chat, but when he heard that Meng Fan was in Japan... For real...
Can't afford it.
After hanging up the phone, he quickly finished the review.
After reviewing, Yixin habitually opened the comic page to make sure that the review brought success.
A book title and a cover.
Annoyed, he summarized: "This is my first original comic. The upload date is yet to be determined." 
Fun!
Yixin clicked on the "X" button, closing the web page. He stood up and left to make a cup of tea with chrysanthemum and wolfberry in order to calm his nerves, and then sat back in his seat. An editor sitting next to him suddenly gasped in surprise: "Tuck me, ten million in gratuities!"
"What ten million?"
"For the comic!"
Large rewards were broadcasted on the website. In the case of Qidian Chinese Online, it required millions for a reward to be publicized — if you use the app, there will be a treasure box floating — and in the case of Penguin Animation Network, 100,000 is enough to get broadcasted. Of course, if it was worth millions, the broadcasting time will be much longer, and the frequency will also be greater.
There haven't been many rewards for Penguin Animation Network. The 100,000 rewards have happened. Only one one-million reward has been donated so far. Up to date, the reward worth ten million Penguin Coins has not yet occurred.
Until now.
Ten million Penguin Coins equals one hundred Huaxia currency!
"Who's the editor of this "Legend of the Mountains and Seas?" Awesome job!"
"Holy cow, Meng Fan?! This one is Yixin's, right?"
"Meng Fan is publishing a new comic? When?"
"Ah, looks like it's a new project. It has nothing but the cover!"
"Come on, again? Is the site still repeating the broadcast?"
"Yixin, what's the matter?"
All the editors who crowded inside the office looked toward Yixin, but Yixin was dumbstruck. How the duck was he supposed to know what's going on?
He logged in to check and then became even more dumbfounded, as it was Meng Fan's own account that rewarded millions of Penguin Coins to "Legend of the Mountains and Seas!"
Was it an error in the system?
Or did Meng Fan go mad?
No!
It wasn't ten million; it was twenty million!
"Shoot, another golden treasure chest appears!"
An editor next to him checked the app and cried: "Another one, one more, a few more in a row!"
Has the system actually broken down?
Yixin kept violently refreshing the website, but the comic page was loading very slowly. After successfully refreshing the site for a few times, the 20 million announcement was still there.
"Check the back-end!"
Yixin checked the back-end and saw that there have been ten rewards, each worth 10 million.
"Stop, there are no more treasure chests."
"Yixin, look again! How many 10 million rewards have been there in total?"
Yixin refreshed the back-end again, and saw ten times 10 million, that is, 100 million Penguin Coins, which equaled a whole million Huaxia coins.
Yixin was dumbfounded, as were the other editors.
What the duck was it all about?
The one million and ten million rewards appeared in the app. All the app users can see them and many people will grab the treasure chests. After opening them, they will get some coupons, experience and even Penguin Coins. Of course, you need to collect the comic before opening the treasure chest.
Ten gold treasure chests in a flash made "Legends of the Mountains and Seas," which had only a title and a cover, reach the number of more than 200,000 readers.
"I'm a bit confused."
Yixin drank a large mouthful of chrysanthemum wolfberry tea, and then hurriedly called Meng Fan.
"Junior Meng, just now, a lot of rewards have emerged for your new comic. The rewarding user is your account. Are they really your own rewards?"
"Yeah."
After the wave of operations, Meng Fan has finished the [Collector of Millions] mission, obtained the title and most importantly the attributes. Now he had +15 points in Scriptwriting and in Setting, and +34 points in Drawing Skills! After smoothly completing the task, he was in a great mood.
Yixin heard Meng Fan casually admit the fact and continued feeling puzzled. He couldn't understand it.
"Umm, but why did you do that?"
"Can't I reward myself?" Meng Fan asked. "I think I drew pretty well."
Yixin was speechless.
"But have you finished drawing? What, is this million yuan for a cover only? You, you can reward yourself, but what's the point in giving money to the website?"
"Nevertheless, it serves as motivation from me to me," Meng Fan laughed. "Anyway, I see that after giving out the rewards, I got several hundred thousand readers. Whatever then, it's the promotion expenses."
Meng Fan couldn't explain it to Yixin. He could just say he didn't need to explain himself to anyone. Anyway, his explanation was unclear. Everyone could interpret it however they wanted. After a while, he said he needs to take care of something, and then he hung up.
Yixin looked at his colleagues and shrugged helplessly.
"Don't look at me. I understand nothing!"


To reward Meng Fan for his bravery before his heroic death, the cosmos rewarded him with a 'system', sending him back in time to three months ago, alive.

August 24, 2034

August woke up without a headache this time. Kyle was still fast asleep. 

What should I do know? Should I wake him up? But he looks so peaceful. No, I won't wake him up.

August got up and went downstairs. He looked in the bag from yesterday and found some tea packets. 
" It says to get hot water, place the tea bag in a cup, pour it in the cup, add sugar if needed, and its done. Doesn't seem too hard." August took a pot and putted it over the oven. Then he added some water. " How do you turn it on?"  August turned a handle and a large flame appeared when he did that. He jumped back. " That was scary." This time, he turn it to MED. While it was boiling, he looked for a cup. He found it in a high cabinet, and he could reach it since he was tall. He took two cups and noticed it looked like the right temperature. August poured the water into the cups. Then he added tea bags to both of them. He waited and then added sugar to it. It was perfect! 

He carried it upstairs, making sure he didn't spill it. He placed it on the small table next to the bed. 

"Kyle, wake up, it's already morning."  August shook Kyle until he woke up. 

" Fine, I'm up, I'm up." Kyle sat up on the floor.

" I brought some tea." August handed to tea to Kyle. 

" Thanks August." Kyle took the tea from his hands. " Did you just make this?" Kyle asked.

" Yes, I did. At first it was confusing, but then it was easy." August looked very proud.

Kyle drank some of the tea. It tasted like peppermint, but at a perfect level of sugar. 

" Wow, it tastes really good." Kyle drank the rest of the tea quickly. 

" So.... what do we do now?"

"I guess I can make breakfast. You can just relax downstairs."  

" Ok."

 August went downstairs and sat down on the couch. He could hear sizzling as he waited. The smell of bacon and eggs wafted into the room. Kyle placed the plates on the small table. 

 " Here you go." Kyle said. 

" Wait, is this turkey bacon, or normal bacon?" 

" Turkey, why?" Kyle asked

" Because I'm a Christian. I don't eat unclean things." He said. 

" Oh yeah, I forgot most of our family are Christians." Kyle then started to eat his breakfast.

August ate it quickly, because the ramen from yesterday wasn't much, even thought it was good. 

" I work at a cafe sometimes, but not today. I have to work at home today." Kyle was almost done with his food. " That's good though. You don't have to stay at home alone."  

" What do you do for work?" August asked as he got up. 

" I work as animator. It's when you put many drawings together and it creates a animation." Kyle told him as August washed his plate. August finished washing his dish and sat down. 

" So how do you do it? I mean animate." August sat down and placed his elbows on the table. 

" Let me show you how I do it." 

Kyle went upstairs and brought a drawing tablet. He took a computer from under the table and placed it on the table. Then, he grabbed the cord and plugged in the drawing tablet. Kyle opened his drawing app. It loaded onto the menu screen. Kyle grabbed a small pen on the side of the tablet. He pressed "Old Drawings". 

" Ok, so what I do is I draw something, like this." He showed him a draw of a "Anime" character that was called Wolf. They looked strong, their eyes a brown color and their hair a black-brown. " Then, I draw it but a tiny bit different. I repeat this until I finished , for example, a jumping animation. Then I add then together and it creates that." He showed him the finished animation. It was smooth like it was real.  

" Wow, that's cool!" August was amazed. He's never seen anything like it. And Kyle does it well. 

" I know, right? Well, I need to work. You can watch, or use my tablet. Whatever you want." Kyle started to work, so August took his tablet and played with it. He pressed " Youtube" and saw many videos. He searched " Steampunk" and found lots of videos. Kyle eventually was done, so he went to the living room. 

"What are you doing?" Kyle asked as he entered the room. August was watching a video about how to make a steampunk outfit. 

" Watching steampunk. Why?"

" Hey, you really never answered the question I asked yesterday. What's Steampunk?" 

" Well, it something a person named K.W Jester made. It's anything that's steam-powered and most outfits have gears and other stuff. I am very into what he created and when I was little, I read a lot of steampunk. Hey, I have a question. What was your childhood like?"

" Well, um, a lot happened in my life. I guess I'll tell you then."

August, a swordsmith from 1861, gets transported to 2034 and meets his 5x great-grandson, Kyle. But strange things start to happen around him and to him. Will they ever find out what's happening?

"Wow." I found myself muttering.

Turns out this other world wasn't so much more different then earth, modern day buildings, with street light lined to the sides. With a single lonely moon hanging across the dark tapestry of the sky. 

"Here, follow me." Lili said as she turned and began to take the lead on the side walk. And without a word, I tagged along behind her.

"By the way," Lili said without turning around and kept walking. "What is your name?"

"My name..." I muttered to myself. "Wait..." 

I felt my mind go blank.

"What was it again?..." I scratched my head furious for answers. 

"Oh whatever, it's fine." Lili waved it off with one hand. "People who got initial dropped here usually don't have their memories." 

"Huh..." I made a sound with my jaw kind of hanging, then all of a sudden, as if struck by lightning, a word came through:

"Gid...That's right Gid! That's my name! No wait, that's the first half of my name, I still can't remember the rest..."

"Oh forget about it, whatever. Gid is a name I can remember." Lili said as she paused all of sudden in the middle of the road, almost causing me to run into her. 

"Oh yeah, it's your first time here. You still have your starter loot box."

"Loot box? As in those boxes in games that gives you a random item, but it's never anything good, as the whole thing is a total scam."

"That's right. How did you know?"

"What are you talking about? That's like pretty much any free to play game these days."

"Good point. So let's see what you get."

"Sure, but wait, how do I even open my loot box?"

"Ah, you just need your phone and tap open the loot box app and you should see it there."

"Huh..." I muttered as I fished out my pocket for my phone. 

"Wait what? What is this?" My forehead ceased to a frown, as what turns out in my hand wasn't my usual phone but rather a piece of rectangular clear glass.

"It's the Y-Phone man. Everyone gets it when they land in this world." Lili said, as she produced her own Y-phone from her back pocket.

"Uhh how do I..." Before I could get the next word of my tongue, the screen lit up to life.

            [Welcome to the real world jackass] The screen displayed.

"Oh, this part is annoying. You gotta do the sign up." Lili let out a sigh.

"Yeah, I know what you mean..."

The sign up was pretty much, filling in your information, with certain ones you can skip, and as for name, I simply just put in my half remembered name and they seemed to accept it. And apparently at the address part you could just choose you were homeless, which was basically what I am at that moment. And of course, at the very end, there was this long ass term and condition no normal people could even stand at looking, so I pretty much did what every single sane person would do.

Accept.

"Alright the setup is now done. Now all you have to do is click on the loot box app and you should have a starter loot box there."

"Huh I see it."

"Ok, just tap on it now."

I tapped the screen once.

There was a small brief animation of the loot box opening, followed by a white blinding light at the end.

"What the..." I looked to my screen again.

"Golden fidget spinner..." I read of the tag on the display, and sure enough the appearance of the item matched its name.

"Yo dude! That's pretty good! I only got 6 plastic fidget spinners from it!" Liz said cheerfully. 

"...What does it do?" I said, as I did a mental face palm so hard, it went right through my head.

"It's a fidget spinner that's all."

"It useless in fighting right?"

"Of course, it's a fidget spinner."

End me plse.

"Is there anything even good?"

"Yeah, you could get weapons or magic enchanted gears. Oh that reminds me of the newbie who managed to pull an Excalibur out of his beginner loot box!"

Smh...

"Is there just any way of getting something good in this world?" I said with a dying strain.

"Of course man! That's if you are willing to take that risk." Lili said casually.

"What risk?"

"Hmm...Are you sure?" A sly smile swept across her face.

"Yes. I am sure."

Lili just stared at me for about a good long minute, and after what felt like a million years, Lili spoke up again:

"Alright! Let me show you da wae."

Q: What are your opinions on loot boxes?

This book consists of 70% dead memes and 30% plot. 

And you must be high to actually like the book Hehe xd

Once again another big shout out to @creaking_shadow (on wattpad) for making this next level awesome cover! (╯✧▽✧)╯ 

Disclaimer: I do not own the media, all credits go to original creators. And the organisations, settings, characters, are purely fictional and do not represent any real life religion or organisation, or groups.

4 February 2018....
It might seem like an ordinary date and it is an ordinary date for most of the people out there (except those who have their birthdays or any special occasion) but for a guy who was sitting while browsing through Google, it definitely was not. On this particular day, he had finally caught up with the manhua/manga releases of "Tales of Demons and Gods[TDG] " by Mad Snail. He really liked the manga, but he wanted more. So, he searched on Google about similar stories and he found "Otherworldly Evil Monarch [OEM] ". He got curious because the name sounded badass and it seemed like it was not going to be a story where the protagonist keeps on spouting sh¡t about righteousness and slaying evil and protecting the weak and stuff as it had the word "EVIL" in it. He thought that its dumb and he had the adequate reasons to think like that. After all, who in their right mind would risk his life to save a girl who he does not even know properly . It is not even realistic and how in the world can the protagonist be so selfless and so dense when it came to matters of love. It is as if he was hit by a rock in his infancy and his brain was permanently damaged.
After he was done cursing the cliché Manga, he started searching for the manga of OEM. A while later did he came to the realization that OEM does not have a manga. It is actually a novel which is posted online and the chapters are released frequently, and these novels are known as "Webnovels". He also got to know that TDG was originally also a webnovel but since it got really popular, it was transformed into a manga and the animation of TDG was along the way as well.
The name of this guy is Weed. 
*snaps fingers*
(as we all know that I, the author has the power to pause this novel world by snapping my fingers, and I will break the 4th wall and this was mentioned in the previous chapter and this is the last time it would be mentioned.
Moving on, as well all know that Japanese are considered as really polite, humble, caring about others etc. people (E/N: Except you) and it is true. Until this guy made an appearance. This character, Weed was meant to be born in U.S.A. or any other western country but God made some mistake and he ended up being born in Japan.
If you are wondering about why his name is Weed, and not some other Japanese names like Hijikata, Kemamaki, etc (E/N: I've never even heard of these names in anime or manga), then I should suggest you to stop being a racist because it is not necessary for a guy to have a Japanese name if he is born in Japan. Actually he was given a good name which was a Japanese name but when he became an adult, he changed it to the thing he liked the most, and that is weed. Although he has never smoked weed but that is an entirely different topic. This guy can not be considered polite. Screw being polite, he constantly curses as if they are verbs and without his "verbs", he cannot complete his sentences. He is a degenerate scum of society and also has this constant urge of pissing everyone off as if the whole world is his enemy. He does not care about anyone but himself, and he does not give a damn about anyone's feelings. He thinks that facts do not care about feelings and prefers facts and logic over anything. He considers himself as an anti-social extrovert. He is 19 year old NEET and wastes his time looking at memes, watching anime and reading manga. He is a racist (E/N: rapist *cough cough*) to the core and will do anything to get on the nerves of others. We will get other information about him later on as the story progresses. He is also not the protagonist of this novel as I have said previously that communism is Supreme in such cases and so, everyone is a protagonist here.
Weed never had a problem in reading a story because he is into Manga a lot so he decided to give OEM a try. He searched for the places where he could read OEM and this was that moment where he got to know about the top dog in webnovel society. The corporate known and "QIDIAN". With some excitement and slight anticipation, (which is very rare by the way) he downloaded the application of Qidian and jumped straight away into the reading OEM. He kept reading and was so hooked that he eventually lost the track of time. After almost 5 hours of continuous reading, he finally closed the app because his stomach was not much happy and showed its discontent by a making a slight yet audible noise(he is hungry for fuck's sake). He got up and went outside his room to make some cup noodles for himself.
After pleasing his beloved belly, he started the app again, but instead of reading the novel, he decided to check other features of the app. He saw various novels of different genres, some novels even caught his attention and he added them into his reading list. He eventually stumbled upon the forum section and clicked on it. There he saw that a group of qidian was made on Facebook and anyone was welcome to submit their application to join it. 
Since Weed already had his Facebook account, he decided to fill the application to join the Facebook group since he did not had anything else to do. Along with the fact that he might get some good novel recommendations in that group. After that he continued reading OEM. After 13 days, his application was accepted and he was a member of the Facebook group of qidian.
Who knows what kind of adventures await him next. To find out, wait for the next chapter of "WHAT NEETs DO".
---------------------------------
Hey there everyone. Quiz time.
This time, the question is
The abbreviated form/full form of QIDIAN is?
Whack your brains and think hard.
Do you have the answer?
Well the answer is
Q- WE [☭] (it's a Chinese organization, what did you expect) 
I- steal
D- money from people 
I- and 
A- novels
N- from WW
THAT'S ALL FOLKS. See ya later

I stared at the beauty in my lap as she laughed at my expense. Not because I was angry at her. No, having a beauty in my arms who was giggling and wiggling around was enough to distract me from any kind of angry thoughts I should be having. Especially as the excessive cleavage her shirt was showing off was practically in my face.
 "Down boy, you can eat the pretty lady later." Zephirah said drawing me back into the now. 
 Vanessa was watching me with glittering eyes her face an attractive red as she blushed under my gaze. Feeling embarrassed for my lack of control I avoided her gaze. However I made no move to push her off my lap, and she made no move to get off of me. 
 "A bit better, lets try and focus now." Zephirah commented. "Now did you say you were a rune master?" she asked.
 I nodded which caused another round of giggles from Vanessa who stifled them quickly then apologized. 
 I sighed then rubbed the bridge of my nose in frustration. "Why does everyone react like that when I tell them my runic rank?" I asked looking to Zephirah.
 "No idea." Zephirah said with a shrug. "I just know you believe it."
 "Because it is impossible." Vanessa explained as she shifted to lean her head on my shoulder. "While it might seem like a game on your world, it isn't a game. It is a training system that is supposedly created by the same beings who created the dungeon cores, and this trial system." 
 "I admit that learning runic to advance in the game was a pain in the ass, but how is it impossible?" I asked as I concentrated on the important information that applied to my situation while ignoring the implication.
 "Firstly, your age. For a world like yours that has almost no mana, and has no history of using runic, it should take decades to understand runic on your own." Vanessa replied. "Secondly the system rewards accomplishments, every time you advance a rank the 'game' would infuse you with mana to make it easier to sense and use mana. Using your leveling as an example, runic shift would reward you for ranking up by increasing your intelligence, wisdom, and perception stats. The rewards from ranking up to master would give you an aura of power we would be able to discern. You give off the aura of a novice, not a rune master." Vanessa continued.
 I stared at her puzzled, not because I thought she was lying, but wondering why I hadn't gained the strength she was describing.
 "You have a point, but your point also proves his claim." Zephirah spoke up after a few moments.
 "How so?" Vanessa asked looking away from me which gave me a chance to peak at her cleavage again, a temptation that was hard to resist as they were right there!
 "Pay attention!" Zephirah yelled then sighed, "No better yet, get up, both of you. I might not be able to read your mind girly, but I doubt it is any better than his right now." 
 I froze hearing those words then tried to catch Vanessa's gaze to confirm what Zephirah was saying. However Vanessa avoided my gaze and pushed herself off my lap her face and neck a dark red from embarrassment. 
 I was disappointed, but I knew now wasn't the time. Unfortunately that rationel didn't help me deal with my desires.
 I stood up a moment later and faced Zephirah who had already continued. "The fact that he has a novice aura proves the fact. Look at that rune cage, that is hardly the work of a novice!" she announced proudly.
 Reminded of the rune cage I wave my hand and canceled the spell. 
 Vanessa sighed. "The aura of a master is rhetorical, everyone can sense the strength of those around them unless they are deliberately hiding it, but it isn't exact. If he isn't a novice it isn't a big deal, but I am positive he isn't a master." she replied.
 "No reason to argue, opening Runic Shift will show us his rank." the cobra said from its orb I had left on the ground.
 The girls froze then looked at the orb then too me. "Why didn't you think of that?" Zephirah complained. 
 "I don't have my phone." I replied. 
 Zephirah groaned while Vanessa smiled at me like I was being funny.
 "Don't give me that look, Runic Shift was just an app on my phone an hour ago!" I protested angrily.
 "He has a point." Zephirah muttered. 
 Vanessa shook her head but didn't say anything. 
 The pair of them stared at me for several moments before I realized they were expecting me to do something.
 "What part of Runic Shift was an app on my phone did you not understand. If I can open the game here without my phone, I have no idea how." I told them irritably. 
 The girls exchanged a look, Vanessa was smirking but didn't say anything while Zephirah looked troubled. 
 "Do you remember the opening animation of the game? The ancient stone door and its keyhole?" Vanessa asked me.
 I nodded, no idea why, it was a simple animation, but it had left a deep impression on me.
 "That door is the entryway into the Runic Shift trainer, no matter where you are in this realm you can access Runic Shift by imagining that door. Imagine that door in your mind, then summon your mana as if you were going to draw a rune, but imagine yourself using your finger as a key to the door. The door will read your mana then open the trainer set to you." Vanessa instructed.
 I looked to Zephirah to confirm but she just shrugged. "I am a dungeon sprite we are practically made of mana, I don't need runes to use mana." she told me. 
 I was a bit hesitant but no one put forth any other ways to access Runic Shift so I eventually closed my eyes and imagined the ancient stone door that dominated the opening scene of the game when I played it on my phone. 
 I had no idea what I was expecting to happen. It wasn't anything like what happened. I did as I was instructed, even though I felt stupid doing it. As I imagined the door in my mind, the large blue stone that looked large and intimidating covered in ancient runes spells so small and intricate that I couldn't make out the details of the spells, gems to fuel the spells, and a dark blue crystal set into the center of the door with a key hole cut into the center of the crystal. The door gave a sense of being ancient, but there was no point on the door or its frame that looked worn or aged. As soon as I had the image of the door in my mind I lost control of it. That was the only way I could describe the fact that the image in my mind expanded and shifted on its own accord. The door began to tower over me, at least twenty feet tall, the runes on it became clearer, which only revealed that the door wasn't as solid as it originally seemed as the runes were layered on top of each other, and the dark blue crystal that seemed to be the centerpiece shifted so that it was at the bottom of the door where I could easily reach it. A larger bright blue crystal took the place of the centerpiece where it glowed faintly.
I was completely consumed by the image that I didn't notice anything around me. Following Vanessa's instruction I channeled the mana into my finger as if I was going to draw a rune then pushed it into the keyhole. I was a bit wary, but as I had already come this far I decided not to chicken out. The dark blue crystal glowed as my finger full of mana entered the hole. Without much thought I twisted my wrist as if I was turning a key in the lock. There was a loud audible click then the dark blue crystal withdrew into the door then the area around the opening receded into the rest of the door until a human sized opening was visible. From the opening a small golden glow shot out of the door straight into my face. 
"Get the hell off my husband bitch!" Zephirah screamed out furiously.
The image shattered in my mind, only for me to realize that it wasn't a mental image anymore. The ancient door I had imagined had formed in reality, which is hard to say as the door already seemed to be fading from reality becoming transparent and then vanishing a second later. The only thing left was the golden light that had stuck itself to my left cheek.
 I wondered why Zephirah was getting so angry when the light spot spoke. "Leave me alone, do you have any idea how long I was stuck in there!" a new feminine voice replied.
I immediately reached out and grabbed the golden light and pulled it away so I could see what in the hell it was. 
"OHH, such big strong hands!" the new voice giggled. 
"Not another pervert." I groaned.
"I am not a pervert!" Zephirah and the new voice responded together. 
In my hand I found a three inch tall woman wearing a silver dress. Like Zephirah when I first met her, she was beautiful despite her tiny size. This one had long platinum blonde hair that reached down to her toes, an explosive figure, angelic features, and bright amethyst colored eyes that shone like the gem they resembled. On her back were a pair of pure white, gossamer thin, butterfly wings. 
Zephirah appeared by my hand glaring at the new girl. "What the fuck?! Who are you and why are you clinging to my husband?!"  she asked angrily.
"Calm down, this is why no one like sprites." the new girl complained from my hand then her white wings began to glow gold and she floated up off my palm. "Apologies for the late introduction master, mistress. I am Lilian, I shall be your rune trainer from this point on." 
"What?!" Vanessa screamed from the side. 
We all looked over at her in confusion. "A rune trainer? Do not lie! Runic Shift doesn't assign trainers!" she accused angrily.
"It does to those who are accomplished. Learning Runic to the level of master, on his own, with no help from a teacher, in only fourteen years, is certainly considered to be an accomplishment." Lilian responded. 
"So he really is a Rune Master?" Vanessa asked her anger fading into shock. 
"Yes, he has surprised my superiors to no end." Lilian replied. "Though given the fact that he has finally gained access to mana, he will be a  Rune Lord soon." she said excitedly.
"And you are here for what?" Zephirah asked obviously still irritated. 
"I am here to initiate the transformation, then impart the knowledge he will need to know to decide his course as he advances in the noble ranks." Lilian replied. 
"Doesn't he need to pass a test still?" Vanessa asked. 
"Ignore her, what are you going to do after that?" Zephirah asked.
Lilian looked from Zephirah to Vanessa then back. "That would be up to master and mistress. If my presence is no longer desired I will return, if master and mistress would like, I can transfer my allegiance to mistress." she said calmly, but as she spoke I could see her cheek twitching as she said it. Obviously she didn't seem to like the idea. Then she turned to face me with a big smile. 
Trouble, all I could see was trouble. 
Lilian frowned as she looked up at me then looked to Zephirah. "What is wrong with him?" she asked. 
I frowned. 
"He is repressed." Zephirah replied irritably. 
"Couldn't you have handled that? With your size you should be able to do it with your arms. He can't be any longer than you and a bath is hardly a bad price to pay for his comfort." Lilian asked.
"Horny Fairy." Zephirah cursed. "Though you should know I gained this size after devouring a wisp." she added with an evil smirk.
Lilian shuddered. "Barbaric!" she cursed at Zephirah then paled as she stared at Zephirah her pale skin turning white as a sheet. 
"Now you get it. I am a dungeon sprite, I am not nearly as civilized as my runic brethren." Zephirah told her with an evil grin eyeing the fairy like she was a tasty meal.
"Done scaring her yet?" I asked Zephirah. "And what is this about me being repressed?" I asked. 
"You should start that transformation now." Zephirah told Lilian. "We are in a bit of a time crunch." 
"I see, prepare yourself master." Lilian told me flying up so she was even with my eyes.
"Why?" I asked suspiciously while I cursed Zephirah for her secrets. 
"It's going to hurt." Liliamn replied

A flash of a pretty smile and then I woke up on the strangest farm I have ever heard of. What is a dungeon core and how can it be repurposed? My only option to survive is to grow crops, why? Because I have no idea how to leave yet. 

I do not own the image, if I need to I will change it at a later date.

It was none other than the use of a battle store via the Pandamonium app.
Through this battle store, cultivators can now buy food, potions, weapons, inscriptions and even accessories to aid them during their raid.
It was part of Jin's plan to improve the services he provided for a better dungeon experience. This would also allow him to create harder dungeons since the cultivators now had access to an online store in the midst of battle.
While it might be seen as a break in the traditional way of dungeons, Jin saw it as an opportunity that had yet to be fully utilised (or in some sense exploited). He was sure some dungeon suppliers might offer such feature before, but the System guaranteed that Jin's store app's user interface and services will be maintained top notch quality.
Thus, Jin named the Battle Store sub application within the Pandamonium - 'Pit Stop'.
The sub application would automatically be placed as the top options when the cultivators entered the dungeon, or it could be used via the half mask they were wearing. Via eye tracking movement or voice control, the store would then display items of the most relevance which the AI predicts what the customer might need during the battle.
Hence, a cultivator well versed in the use of Pit Stop could potentially purchase an item in the heat of the moment to change the tide of battle almost instantaneously.
However, all the items and even the delivery of those goods were all monetised by Jin. He knew the store might not be well received since it was literally a pay-to-win kind of method and Jin understood the implications of giving the rich cultivators an edge over the other players.
So, he forbade the use of Pit Stop should he ever create a formal cultivator versus cultivator kind of arena but against monsters and raids? He believed it was a fair game for everyone except for the first clear rewards. If the cultivators wished to have their names on the board, they had to do it without any restocking from Pit Stop.
Also, the items were priced at least 10% higher than the standard base prices that were sold in his shops. And to compensate that, there were weekly discounts on selected items in the Dungeon Store Instances, to make them attractive and viable for cultivators to continue to look into them.
That was unless they were using Pit Stop to browse the contents of the stores outside the dungeon instances.
While adjusting the features, Jin had also implemented a cart option, and this further improved the purchase experience within the Pandamonium App. Previously, the shop option in the Pandamonium acting as a catalogue or a wishlist for them to take note if there were any discounts. With the new implementation, cultivators were now able to buy and browse items they wished to get before coming to the store itself for the dungeon experience.
This new update would also allow cultivators to take advantage of the sales even when they are not in the store physically. The System also believed this long awaited marketing gimmick will increase the store's sales by another 80% since people fancied buying items from the net, not to mention at a discounted rate. (Don't worry, Jin was still making a profit from everything.)
As for the delivery of goods into the dungeon instance, Jin took the chance to make even more money. For the first delivery of each dungeon instance, Jin had implemented it in such a way that all goods ordered would be sent to their customers immediately. Only subsequent orders would be via a timed postal delivery. If the cultivators wished to have the second round of supplies to enter the dungeon instance quickly, they have to pay for additional delivery fees.
Thus, for Xia Mao and Zi Dan who had accumulated a fair bit of panda medals, they had already started choosing items on the Pit Stop to aid them further. Despite their rich dungeoneering experience, this elderly duo knew that no matter how much they had prepared before entering Jin's dungeon instances, it would never be enough. This particular pitstop was indeed a long needed new feature.
With the inclusion of the System's AI into part of the Pit Stop algorithm, it immediately recommended ammunition for Xia Mao. For the Bullet Cheetah Cultivator, the AI suggested an adrenaline booster inscription charm to further increase his speed as well as other support restorative items which they always lacked no matter how many bottles they carried.
The trusty chi restoration drink in a large panda bottle. (Jin even featured XL bottles for heavy chuggers like Xiong Da.)
There was even an intergroup mask communicator which Pit Stop was selling an exorbitant price and stated it was a Pit Stop exclusive item. "THAT BOSS JIN! HE IS DOING THIS ON PURPOSE! Extortion! Extortion! If I am back as a businessman, I am going to hire someone like him to bleed Jin dry!" Xia Mao shouted as he saw the ridiculous price of the intergroup mask communicator which unlock the team speak module in their mask. He believed it was essential since it would allow them to communicate with Jing Yu.
"Hey, at least it is currently on discount right? And come on! The last time you boasted that your investment is making you lots of money and you have no place to spend them! Now it is the time!" Zi Dan added that he should buy for the whole group as well, hinting Xia Mao to buy for him as well. "Besides, the one time use team speak module cost like five bronze panda medals only. What are you waiting for?"
"I am not wailing for the one time! I am talking about the lifetime module! That's 999 Panda Medals per person! If there is no discount, its 2000 Panda medals! Just to speak with each other from a distance! How is that fair?!" Xia Mao said, and when he pressed on it, a pop up window with explanation appeared and then he kept awfully quiet.
"What's the matter? The Valgs are here?" Zi Dan asked as he scanned the area via his mask and there was no presence of any Valgs around.
"No, I think I mistakenly blamed Jin. You are right, its a good investment. I will buy it." Xia Mao mumbled and quietly bought the set for himself and later also gifted an intergroup communicator module to Zi Dan and Jing Yu as well.
Zi Dan did not expect that stingy at times Cat Cultivator would really buy a lifetime module for him. What the other two cultivators did not know was that the 999 Panda Medal package was a secret package which only appeared in Xia Mao's screen because of his exceeding large purchase. Zi Dan did not have that option presented to him since his purchase from the Pit Stop was the bare essentials.
That 999 Panda Medal Package combo provided team speak modules for 5 friends and a limited Christmas Panda Plushie which Xia Mao had been eyeing for a long time and could not get it from the Krampus Christmas Raid instance.
The size was smaller than the ones redeemable from the store, but it was something which his grandchildren would definitely like. Upon reading, he realised that a lifetime team speak module would usually cost 200 Panda Medals, and thus Xia Mao quickly bought it.
That was why when he immediately kept quiet, Zi Dan began to suspect something odd, so Xia Mao continued to grumble and gave an excuse instead.
"I remembered I did not give you guys any Christmas present. This is a belated one. I got two more, and the group can do a lucky draw to see who get it later." Xia Mao tried to evade Zi Dan's suspicion, and somehow his 'charisma roll' succeeded.
"No wonder you are so quiet, feeling guilty eh?" Zi Dan laughed as he saw a Santa panda animation appeared on his screen, presenting him with a gift box. He accepted with glee and the gift box popped open, revealing to him a team speak module.
Without any need to tinker, the module programme was immediately unlocked in his mask, and he quickly called out to Jing Yu.
"Hey, Jing Yu. Can you hear us? If you do, open your Pandamonium app, we have gifted you a team speak module, courtesy of our grumpy Santa Mao Mao." Zi Dan said with tongue in cheek. However, before they could have a reply, their masks are detecting multiple signatures at least 500 metres away from their current location.
"Shit, I guess we better check out the physical items and get the purchases as soon as possible." Zi Dan said as he pressed his orders and a portal appeared. Out came a Panda in a light blue postman attire carrying a crate of items for Zi Dan and Xia Mao.
"A little something extra for your good faith in our new service and for spending more than a thousand panda medals in one go." The Postman Panda said as he placed two long rectangular suitcases in front of them.
Xia Mao opened it with curiosity which subsequently made both his and Zi Dan's jaw dropped simultaneously.
Lo and behold.
The spear of death modernised to rip its enemies. The item which Peppers called a cheap imitation of her explosive magic. And yet its the envy for anyone who wields it in the battlefield, for its appearance only beckon the reaper to arrive sooner.
It's a triple barrel RPG launcher.


In a modern world where cultivators need a place to cultivate or vent their boredom, there are private businesses that set up instance dungeons with the aid of technology and cultivation magic to enable cultivators to train and commoners to experience the life of cultivation. They are called dungeon suppliers.

Xie Jin's one and only dream was to be a dungeon supplier and when his only relative passed away, the relative's inheritance gave him a plot of land and surprisingly, a 'System' Module which the relative had previously used. 

With the help of the system, Xie Jin decided to pursue his dream of becoming the number one dungeon supplier.

Glossary Page:
nodsglossary.wordpress.com


-----------

Discord channel: https://tinyurl.com/pandawan

If you have some spare change, please buy me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/moloxiv

Surprisingly, after he returned from that world, the days passed quietly for him in that following week. If not for the fact that he retained his newfound powers and his new companion, it seemed like all what happened was anything but a dream.

Him becoming a Participant. The Dungeon World. Life-and-death situations. And his first companion after such inexplicable event...

Those events which he usually found only in a fantasy novel were actually happening to him. Saying that he was excited might be not an exaggeration, he surely was curious to why or how it could happen to him. Although, despite racking his brain on it, his only clue was about that mysterious app which had unexpectedly installed itself into his phone. 

Pandora app. Its name reminded him about a story from particular legend in Greek mythology.

Lightly shaking his head, Rafi slightly increased his pace going to school after he glanced at the time shown on his watch. Unlike his blood-soaked attire in the previous Dungeon World, he seemed like a proper student now that he was back to his routine of being a student...

Winter started since few days ago, Rafi could be seen in his winter uniform as he walked slightly quicker to the school. His attire consisted of a white shirt, gold-lined red tie, sweater-vest, black blazer, black trouser, and a pair of dark leather shoes, with a crest emblem on his left chest of blazer which signified a school that he went to, Tennouzu High. 

Not long after checking the time, only an elongated shadow of his could be seen as he was slightly hurried to go to school. 

... 

Ding, Ding, Ding...

Sounds of ringing bell could be heard across the school, signalling an end for the first session. Their teacher lightly tidied his material before he left the class while smiling meaningfully as he glanced at his student's eager eyes. .

As soon as their teacher left the class, however, many students quickly rushed out of the class as they seemed to run with all their might. Their eyes burned with fierce light resembling a hungry wolf as they glared at each other while rushing madly to the school cafeteria. Just like usual, the intense competition for cafeteria's limited special dish, Morning Dew Pancake, has begun. 

While Rafi looked partially disinterested as he saw his classmates went wild to their morning 'hunt'. In only a few seconds, the classroom was almost emptied as most students rushed to the cafeteria, leaving only a few who remained as they began to unravel their own bento.

Although he seemed disinterested, he admitted that Morning Dew Pancake tasted really good. To begin with, that pancake was so soft as if it could melt with a slightest bite. When it was bitten, a burst of sweet fragrance would quickly fill the mouth as if a sweet little explosion, leaving many people unable to forget such delicious aftertaste. 

Just remembering that aftertaste, Rafi could feel his appetite was gradually rising. It was an understandable reaction, as that Pancake was one of the seven wonders of Tennouzu High due to its legendary taste. Relying on its unique flavor, that pancake had thoroughly conquered almost all parts of the school, teachers and students alike... 

Though, these recent memories of him in Dungeon world flashed again in his mind, reducing his appetite while a frown could be seen on his face. 

It was his first time killing another human being. Although he convinced himself that it was necessary act for his survival, but he wasn't fond of it. 

What scared him most was the fact that he seemed unlike himself at that time, when he felt his emotion turned even colder the more people he killed. 

That apathetic feeling which disregarded every lives seemed like something that was part of him since a long time ago, and his continued act of killings seemed to awaken that strange yet familiar part of himself... 

Fortunately, her existence brought a layer of warm feeling as he could feel that his apathetic feeling seemed to subside, calmed down when he was around her.

'It's been a week since that time, and there is still no sign of new events from Pandora app. However, why do I feel slightly restless about it?' 

'Hm, and there's also a problem about Rukino's identity. Although she feels content about it, but it won't be good if she always stays cooped at home all days... more importantly, how do I explain about her to Mom and Dad?'

'Not to mention her appearance which looks exactly the same with her animation... hehe, she will really bring an uproar, won't she?' 

'Although her appearance can be settled using the excuse of cosplay, but in the end the problem is her identity registration.' 

When his thought reached that point, Rafi lightly shook his head as he decided to do things a step each. It won't do him any good to mindlessly guess at the solution. 

He believed that Pandora app should have an easy solution for her identification's issue, though unfortunately he still couldn't find it currently. 

He guessed that he needed more Points if he wanted to quickly solve that identification problem using System's help. Remembering his Points which were almost emptied from purchasing his new abilities, Rafi felt slightly awkward to Saki Rukino as he felt like he neglected her immediate problem for his own gain previously. It was the one thing he noted for a future reference...

'Although, those abilities are really incredible, I feel that those abilities won't disappoint me.' 

With just a thought, an almost unnoticeable arc of white holy lightning quickly flashed on his finger as it was flickering with warm and positive radiance. 

It was a kind of sacred lightning, different from the usual lightning in the world as it possessed a divine/holy attribute inside it beside the usual lightning force. 

Despite it had a divine attribute, Divine Lightning Manipulation was one of lower-ranked lightnings than the Deity Lightning Manipulation which was lightning used by God-class beings and the Primordial Lightning Manipulation that was possessed only by few Gods who stood on the highest position on each Pantheons.

Initially, he wanted to acquire one of those two lightnings, though unfortunately his Points at that time was too much insufficient to let him acquire it. 

That's why he decided to settle on Divine Lightning Manipulation, one that was lower-ranked than those two lightnings yet also similarly possessed divine attribute.

The holy lightning started off gently as electric sparks on his hand, before it slowly spread outward until covering his whole body in a layer of lightning sparks underneath his uniform. Those sparks of lightning quietly crisscrossed, forming a thin web of lightning which looked like a chain mail armor.

'It greatly rejuvenates and enhances my body! But its MP consumption is quite great, and this is only a thin coating.'

'Without releasing its full power, yet it already costs that much... Hm, well, good skill is always costly after all.'

'Besides, this ability still have many chances for improvement. Who knows that I will be able to reduce its mana consumption in the future while maintaining its might, or even increasing it?'

'And if I can just blast this lightning at every enemies, won't that be much easier? Hahaha.

Moreover, it seems now I need to find a method to quicken my MP recovery beside increasing my SPI stats.'

When he wanted to try his ability again, he sensed that break time has ended and more students started going back into the class. 

'Well, there are more chances to train it at home anyway', he thought quietly before he prepared himself for the next lesson. 

The next session went on as usual before his homeroom teacher announced something surprising,

"Guess what, you boys are really lucky. Our class has just got a new transfer student, and a beauty at that. Please come in, Claire-san." Their homeroom teacher, Shizuka Fujiwara, said while grinning.

"...huh? Did you hear something along these line before, Hinata?" Rafi said in surprise to Hinata Mizuki whose seat was beside him. 

"What are you talking, dude? There is a hot rumor about it already in our school since three days ago. 

It said a beautiful transfer student would come to our school, although not much is known about her transfered class. 

I don't think that this lucky chance will go to our class! Did you play too much galge that you are lacking in sleep now, Rafi? 

Although, no matter if that transfer student is a beauty or not, Sensei is the only one for me!" Hinata Mizuki replied as he occasionally stared passionately at Fujiwara-sensei.

Hinata Mizuki, one of his few friends in the Tennouzu High. He was the son of a hospital director. Although, because of his slight excess meat and his shorter stature, he kinda looked chubbier and plump than he was supposed to. Hinata Mizuki was kinda into Shizuka Fujiwara-sensei as she was similar in both appearance and personality with one of his favorite character in anime OreGairu, Shizuka Hiratsuka, while they also had similar name as well...

"Hmm, well, nothing will change to us even if our class gets additional student anyway. We will still be our usual loner after all." Rafi looked disinterested as he then looked outside the window, seemingly not caring about the new transfer student.

Ah, how good it will be if school ends early? I can't wait to go home...

"Yeah, yeah,..." Mizuki said slowly, accompanied with a weak sigh.

Though, it was also at that moment that the classroom became strangely silent as a blonde-haired girl wearing a foreign uniform walked calmly in front of the class. 

Her stature wasn't too short, though she also was not tall as her height was only around 156 cm. She had a slender yet well-proportioned curvaceous physique, just at the right ratio no matter from which angles one looked at her, as well as the addition of her soft skin which seemed as if it was glowing mildly all time along. She had green eyes that shone brightly as if emerald, while her eyes also radiated a splendor of bravery and courageous determination which was unlike her image of seemingly weak and tender beauty.

"My name is Claire P. Smith, a new transfer student from England. You can call me Claire. I hope we can get along well from now on."

Her elegant smile livened up the classroom as the students erupted in an uproar, whether they were boys or girls. Her beauty was like a universal infection as even the girls were highly attracted to her charismatic vibe, while the boys couldn't look away from Claire as if their eyes were glued to her...

"That appearance, unbelievable! Look, she is like a real life Artoria, Rafi! 

She is cosplaying right now, isn't she?! If not, then she is really her look-alike! Ah, I can imagine how much shock she will bring in the next Comiket." 

Hinata Mizuki said excitedly to Rafi while his eyes were still glued to the new transfer student.

"Although I am usually mistaken with one of a famous character, but I can say with certainty that I am not a cosplayer." Claire said with a wry smile as she looked at her new classmates' reaction to her appearance. 

It also couldn't be blamed on others, as her appearance was highly similar to Artoria Pendragon from Fate franchise. And it was even more so enhanced after she merged with Saber in her Basic Mission, her first Dungeon world. 

Both her appearance and her aura exuded a kind of inviolable dignity and held a special attraction to others. Although, it did cause her several headaches due to that characteristics of her...

After hearing his bestfriend praised her, Rafi couldn't help feeling curious over that new transfer student. That moment, when all his classmates were being enthusiastic at her introduction, Rafi slightly glanced at her direction as he felt a strange and subtle feeling quietly emanating from her. 

It was not just Rafi who felt that, as Claire too could feel a familiar sensation from someone in that class. It was something she often felt when she was in Dungeon world or in Real world. The sensation of fellow Participant. Quickly, her gaze found the source of that familiar sensation as she finally saw him for the first time.

As if time came to a standstill, both of them felt like the world seemed to stop for a moment when their gaze met each other within that brief moment. And that, unknowingly, was the beginning of their continuous entanglements in the next future.

Chaotic ages is approaching and dark ages starts unfolding,...

It was then when a young man installed an unknown app, and started his journey to the top, rising up in the midst of the descending chaos... 

Is it a blessing or is it a curse? 

Is it the path of hero or just mindless murderer? 

It starts, a journey through real and fantasy, weaving his destiny through the boundary, until where his step finally end...

_____________________________

Disclaimer:

This is all just a fanfiction, with no actual relation to real world. The credit for characters of anime worlds and their setting are going to their original authors.

Thank you for your understanding.

John Lasseter explained: "Mr. Williams, the girl's movements do appear slightly stiff. Before the production, I had reminded Mr. Hansen of this problem. Mr. Hansen insisted that we do it and see the effect."

Eric looked at Jeffrey, and Jeffrey nodded.

"Can't you make it a little smoother? Mr. Lasseter, money isn't a problem. This logo will be used for many years, we have to strive for excellence."

John shook his head: "Mr. Williams, I promise, this is currently the highest level of 3D animation. We have started trying human motion modeling since last year. Also compared to the baby in our previous short film 'Tin Toy', the little girl's movements are a lot smoother. No other studios can achieve this level."

When Eric heard the name 'Tin Toy', a thought flashed through his mind, but he didn't catch it, his main focus was still on the Firefly's intro.

Since it was impossible to further improve the LOGO, Eric and Jeffrey started discussing in a low voice.

In the 30 seconds, in addition to the girls opening the cap of the glass jar to release the firefly being slightly flawed, everything else was perfect. And after some editing, the intro logo is going to be about 15 seconds or shorter.

Intro Logos were generally about 15 seconds in length, or shorter. In the Super Bowl trailer, they were going to make, they would perhaps use just five seconds. Therefore, 30 seconds of video material is enough to cut out a more perfect logo.

In this case, Eric did not ask Pixar to remake it. The next thing to do was a lot simpler. He signed some documents and released the final payment to John Lasseter. After everything was done, John refused Eric's invitation to dinner, and was about to leave, but was stopped by Eric.

"Mr. Lasseter, I remember you mentioned a short film, 'Tin Man', was it?"

John Lasseter nodded: "Yes, Mr. Williams, this short film is what we started working on in February last year. It's about five minutes long, it has been nominated for this year's best short film at Oscars."

Eric was completely convinced when he mentioned the Oscars.

"John, you don't mind me addressing like this, do you? You can call me Eric. If you don't have anything urgent, can you stay and chat for a while? I'm very interested in 3D animation."

Looking carefully at Eric's face, he suddenly remembered that Eric would become Hollywood's youngest multimillionaire with Home Alone's box office. Pixar was now at the end of its road and might collapse at any time. Maybe the young man could save Pixar.

With all this in mind, John became eager, "Sure, no problem Eric."

In Firefly's conference room, John explained: "The idea of 'Tin Man' comes from my little nephew. Last Christmas, I saw him crawling into a pile of tidy toys. In just a short time, he upturned that pile of toys making a mess and even broke some of them. After seeing that, I got the idea and the animation was produced. Eric if you're interested, I can call my assistant and bring the video."

Eric also noticed the eagerness in John Lasseter's eyes and confirmed that it was now the best chance to win Pixar. If his memory was right, Pixar would soon attract the attention of the animations giant Disney, and finally sign a contract with Disney for three 3D animated films, because 'Tin Man' won the Oscar for the best animated short film.

Originally, Eric thought there were still five or six years for him to buy it. But if Pixar once again signed a contract with Disney like in his past life, it will be very difficult and very costly to acquire it.

To let John Lasseter know that he was truly interested in 3D animation, Eric agreed with John's proposal: "If it is convenient, then please ask your assistant to make the trip."

John made a phone call, and half an hour later the three of them returned to the screening room.

... ...

The new toy soldier looked curiously at everything in the room when a small baby crawled into the room. The toy soldier was looking forward to his new owner. But the baby's brutal treatment of the other toys made the toy soldier try to flee the baby's clutches. However, the toy soldier had musical instruments attached to its body. So, whenever the toy soldier moved, he made a noise that attracted the attention of the baby. This led to the beginning of a desperate chase...

... ...

John sat on the right side of Eric, and as the animation played, he explained in plain words to Eric the technical difficulties of this seemingly simple picture.

Eric listened carefully, nodding his head from time to time to show his understanding. Although he wanted to ridicule the baby's animation style, on the surface, Eric still praised the animation.

Whether it was animation or a video game, Westerners always try to achieve a realistic look. For an easterner like Eric, all these animations and games looked ugly. By contrast, the animations and games produced by the Orientals, regardless of their intrinsic quality, have beautiful characters. This is even more prominent in the 3D games. As long as the characters are good looking, you can determine the origins of the game.

After the animation finished playing, the three of them didn't leave the screening room and continued to talk about 3D animation. Compared to others right now, who had little confidence in 3D technology, Eric was very familiar with the future development prospects of 3D animation. Eric could not help but reveal a little bit of the 'Toy Story' concept to John Lasseter.

"Eric, you must have got this idea from watching 'Tin Man'. I actually had the same idea of making a 3D animated movie too. But, you know, with Pixar's financial situation, it's absolutely impossible to achieve this plan."

Finally, once they started talking about this subject, Eric said: "John, Pixar is having financial problems, right?"

These kinds of news in the business world were not confidential. As long as one is determined, they can easily find this information. Nor did John Lasseter hide it: "Mr. Jobs had just sold the hardware department of Pixar, and now there's only the software animation department. If there is no miracle," as John spoke, he looked at Eric hopefully and continued: "the studio will either be dissolved or sold. But even then, not many people are willing to take over."

"Why is no one willing to take over? Isn't Pixar's technology the most advanced in the industry?" Looking at Eric, this possible source of funds, he hesitated for a few seconds. In the end, he was just a technician, he wasn't accustomed to dealing with businessmen and decided to be honest: "Because 3D animation technology costs too much, and does not have much output. Unless you are one of the big giants such as Microsoft, or a movie special effects company, looking for a small studio to complement your other departments, no one would be willing to take over this money sink of a studio."

Eric was very satisfied with John Lasseter's honesty. Pretending to think for a minute, he said: "John, I am very interested in 3D animation, after 'Home Alone', I have a lot of money to invest. So if possible, I am willing to buy, and invest in making a long 3D movie. The toy idea we talked about just now is good."

John Lasseter originally thought that Eric, after hearing his explanation, would lose interest. He did not expect to hear such words and for a time, did not know what to say.

John had such a good time talking to Eric, that he had a good opinion of the young man. So instinctively, he didn't want Eric to fall into the swamp called Pixar as his boss did, having gone from a multi-millionaire to the edge of bankruptcy. This was because Pixar kept drawing funds from him, but did not create the corresponding economic benefits.

On the other hand, he really loved 3D animation. Otherwise, he wouldn't have repeatedly turned down Disney's olive branch and stayed in a company that no one was optimistic would be staying afloat.

Thinking about it, John decided to put forward a compromising approach: "Eric, I don't think you should buy the studio. If you are interested in 3D animation, you can invest in a 3D movie to be made by Pixar Animation Studios. So it won't cost you too much, and if, if Pixar fails, you can easily withdraw."

Eric was somewhat surprised to see John's attitude. He was able to make such an appropriate suggestion, instead of trying everything he could to fool Eric into investing.

If Eric did follow John's advice, he would be throwing millions of dollars to the wind. In his past life, after the success of 'Toy Story', Pixar's stocks skyrocketed. It went from the edge of bankruptcy straight into the ranks of billionaires.

Eric put on a willful look on his face and said in a tone that matched it: "No, John, you pass a message to Mr. Jobs for me. Tell him I'm willing to buy Pixar for $20 million. If the deal is done, I'll invest $30 million to produce an animated film."

"Eric, I think 20 million dollars isn't enough, Steve Jobs would not agree. Over the past few years, he invested no less than 20 million $ into Pixar."

Eric said: "John, if you do business, sometimes you lose. Just because one invested a lot of money, does not necessarily mean they'll be able to recover more. That's not how businesses work. You give my message to Mr. Jobs, 20 million $, and not a cent more. I am very busy and don't have the time to haggle over the price. If Mr. Jobs is dissatisfied with the price, there is no need to contact me. I believe he will make a wise choice."

"In that case, I will tell Steve what you said."

After sending John away, Eric turned to Jeffrey who had been holding himself back for a long time, "Jeffrey, how did you resist not advising me this time?"

Jeffrey said: "I know it's useless, so why to waste my time. But now that you asked, I'm going to say that buying Pixar is certainly not a wise choice."

Eric laughed and joked with him: "Originally I wanted to place a bet with you. But you do not have anything I am interested in, so I'm letting it go."

An advertising director is reborn in 1988 Hollywood as an eighteen-year-old blond-haired westerner named Eric Williams.

From then on, he starts writing movie scripts and television songs, becomes skilled in directing every kind of film, wins over all kinds of female celebrities, and takes the path to becoming a Hollywood legend.

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