A few quick moves later, the entire screen cleared.
[LEVEL COMPLETE!]
The girl gasped. "Wow! You're amazing!"
Don laughed and paused the game. "Not really. I've just played it before." He gestured toward the hallway. "You keep playing. I'm going to grab a drink."
But before he could leave, the girl suddenly called out. "Wait! Brother, what's your name?"
Don turned back. "My name is Don Jones."
The girl smiled brightly. "I'm Lily Wright. If we're lucky enough to become teammates in the future… you can call me Lily."
Don raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected her to introduce herself so openly.
...
After heading downstairs to buy a bottle of mineral water, Don returned to find Lily still waiting at her station. They continued chatting while the hours ticked by.
Lily was surprisingly easy to talk to, straightforward, energetic, and quick to laugh. From their conversation, Don gradually pieced together a little about her. She was nineteen years old, originally from Beijing, and had been playing online games for about two years.
He couldn't help but frown slightly. She was clearly from China, so why did she have an English name? He didn't think much about it, though.
Her favorite class? Archer.
Naturally, she asked Don the same question. "What about you? What class are you going to play?"
Don scratched his head. "I actually haven't played online games in over three years. Especially virtual ones."
Lily covered her mouth and laughed. "That makes sense! There haven't been any virtual online games for the past three years. They only started releasing them this year."
Don nearly broke into a sweat. 'She's definitely a newbie. Did she really not know about the legendary old titles like Paradise Online, Battle Online, and Ascension Online?'
He could only sigh internally.
Still, chatting with her passed the time quickly. By 10 PM, the two of them were even playing a few rounds of some random card game together. They partnered up and quickly won several rounds against unsuspecting players.
Lily laughed uncontrollably every time they won. "Haha! These guys are idiots!"
Don shook his head. "Lily… we shouldn't say things like that. They're already pitiful enough losing to us. Let's not rub it in."
Lily crossed her arms proudly. "Hmph! Well, whose fault is that? They clearly know we're working together and they still want to play cards with us."
Don was instantly speechless. This girl really said whatever she thought.
Meanwhile, the girl at Seat 16 had slept quietly for several hours. She only woke up around 11:45 PM. Don couldn't help but admire her, she really knew how to take care of herself.
...
As midnight approached, the atmosphere in the entire studio changed.
The casual chatter slowly faded. The front desk staff dimmed the main lights. The room grew noticeably darker. Everyone sat silently at their stations.
Waiting. At 11:59 PM, Don put on his second-generation light-sensing glasses. Beside him, Sophie did the same. They glanced at each other briefly.
"Good luck," she said.
"Good luck," Don replied.
With that, they climbed into their respective pods.
The fiery red Realms Online title still flickered before his eyes. Below the logo, a row of rapidly changing numbers appeared, 400,986,898… and climbing at an astonishing speed. That was the global player count currently logging in. Players from Europe, America, Africa, Asia, and Latin America were all entering the world of Realms Online simultaneously.
Then the long-awaited system bell rang.
A majestic voice echoed through the darkness.
"Realms Online is about to begin. All brave warriors, prepare yourselves to enter the battlefield!"
The countdown began.
"10!"
"9!"
"8!"
…
"3!"
"2!"
"1!"
A brilliant silver-white light swallowed Don's vision. For a moment, he felt as if his entire body had lifted into the air.
When he opened his eyes again, a six-pointed star magic array glowed beneath his feet. The surrounding space was completely dark.
"Iris scan in progress. Please wait…"
A few seconds later,
"Player identity confirmed. You are qualified to enter Realms Online."
Don finally relaxed.
Three years. He had waited three whole years for the return of virtual reality games.
'I'm back. Give me some time… and I'll become a top Mage again.'
But the next system prompt completely shattered his expectation.
"Due to the activation of the Game Balance System… the only race currently available for selection is Human."
Don froze. 'Human?'
In the current version of Realms Online, the Human race did not have access to the Mage class. The powerful Mage classes belonged exclusively to the Dark Elves, a race famous for their extraordinary magical affinity.
His heart sank instantly. 'So what am I supposed to play now?'
He had spent years mastering the Mage class. Now he couldn't even select it. Was Realms Online all just talk? Was he really supposed to just accept this?
'Balance system? More like a trick system.'
For this game, he had given up a stable job with a five-thousand-dollar monthly salary. Did they really expect him to take this calmly?
But the system didn't give him time to hesitate.
The environment around him suddenly changed. The dark space transformed into a lush green field, and three NPC instructors appeared before him.
One was a tall, muscular man gripping a longsword, clearly a Human Warrior. Beside him stood a young woman wearing tight leather armor, carrying both a dagger and a longbow. A Rogue. The third instructor waited silently at the end.
Don forced himself to calm down. If he couldn't choose Mage, then he needed to pick the best alternative. He preferred classes with high burst damage. That meant Warrior was out of the question, too slow, too straightforward. Human Archers were weaker than Dark Elf Crossbowmen, lacking both the agility and movement advantages to compete.
Finally, his gaze settled on the last option.
Rogue.
Rogue specialized in stealth, poison, stun attacks, and deadly backstab skills. They excelled at targeting weak points. And once they found an opening… they could eliminate an opponent instantly.
And based on the info he got from Starfall he could evolve to Thief later on in the game...
Don made his decision.
'Alright. I'll start as a Rogue. And once I reach level 10… I'll become a Thief!'