MMORPG: The Almighty Ring Chapter 1 - The Mysterious Ring

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Dad! Can you buy me a Gaming Pod, please?” Jiang Fei begged his father, his cheeks flushed with thrill.

His father’s joyful look flipped to a fierce glare right away, his sharp refusal booming straight into Jiang Fei’s ears. “In your dreams!”

“Young Fei, you’re in high school now! Games can’t take over your life!” his mother added from the side, hardly glancing up, as if that softened the blow.

“Mom! This isn’t like any other game... at all! Shengshi Enterprise poured over 13 years into crafting this epic title! It’s hailed as the world’s greatest game—the second world! Dawn Break is its name, and they’ve engineered it to warp our sense of time! Inside, time crawls slower! Players get an extended lifespan through it!” Jiang Fei poured out his passion to his parents.

Dawn Break marked a massive tech leap. It mimicked real physics down to the quark level. With cutting-edge tech, it let people dive in during sleep! Eight hours of rest equaled full activity in-game, stretching to 24 hours of pure immersion in that ultra-real realm!

Jiang Fei’s father whirled around, jabbing a shaky finger at him while his tone escalated. “Don’t swallow those hype lines! Gaming firms use them to hook fools like you. They crave your cash in their trap! But who am I to judge—let the dupes chase whatever nonsense fits! You’re my boy, Fei! No fool here! Smart ones skip the fun! Focus on high school first! Hit a top uni, then game away!” His father stood firm.

“Dad! That’s unfair! The government backs this game! How could they deceive us?! It ensures deep 8-hour sleep and won’t steal my study hours!”

Jiang Fei made his final plea.

His father puffed up massively. “Last warning. No. Nope. Rejected! Done. If you’re not hitting homework in your room in 20 seconds, your pocket money drops by half!”

“Stupid old fart.”

Jiang Fei ducked his head, whispering the curse. He realized pushing more was pointless. His dad had no beef with gaming itself. The Gaming Pod’s steep cost had nearly popped a vein—that was all. Just typical old-school stubbornness, like games ruined everything.

...

The bell clanged. Teacher gone, a chubby kid dashed to Jiang Fei.

“Brother Fei, what’s up? Dawn Break drops tonight! Got your Gaming Pod ready?”

“Ugh... Don’t ask. I’m sitting this out. No choice,” Jiang Fei replied with a wry grin.

“Whoa, seriously? Everyone’s banking on you. We’re a tight crew!” the pudgy boy fretted.

Zhao Feng was one of Jiang Fei’s rare pals. In year nine’s top class for brains, Jiang Fei scraped by average. Steady mediocrity in studies and PE alike turned him into the ultimate loner geek. That blend made him fade into the background—no spotlight ever.

“Ugh... Dad won’t buy the pod. Mind’s made up, no swaying him.”

Jiang Fei griped, rolling his eyes. With Zhao Feng, he held nothing back.

“Want the gang to chip in for one?” Zhao Feng offered. Both were nobodies in the world, equally lame. Losers like them stuck together, blending into oblivion.

Jiang Fei snorted.

“Do I seem like a mooch?”

He hushed his tone. “Even if you scored one, where’s it going? Massive thing! Dad’d smash it with a hammer seeing me haul it. Bits in my room at best!”

Jiang Fei sighed in frustration. No game for him, pod or not, till Dad greenlit playing. Pod wasn’t the real hurdle.

“Man... Tough break, Brother Fei! Squad’s doomed without you!” Zhao Feng moaned, head wagging.

“Cut it out. Just wait a bit. Maybe my old man will upgrade the software in his head...” Jiang Fei remarked, slapping Zhao Feng on the shoulders.

“Fingers crossed.”

Zhao Feng gave a nod.

Jiang Fei was a huge gaming fan, particularly obsessed with ultra-realistic games like Dawn Break. As a guy, who wouldn’t crave swords clashing and magic flying? When guys get to battle, it’s their shot to etch their name in legend. Truth be told, it’s the wild dream of every ordinary dude. Thanks to booming tech in computers, real wars were fading out. Or rather, they’d shift to virtual realms, where bits and bytes would clash on digital fronts instead of bombs and shells. For a battle-hungry fellow like Jiang Fei, the ultimate escape was a total immersion VR game!

Regrettably, that dream slipped away. Since starting middle school, Jiang Fei’s dad had wrapped around him tight like a serpent. Every console at home got locked up! MMORPGs? Forget it.

...

Having survived the nightmare known as school, Jiang Fei trudged home, utterly dejected. Though it was just past 6 pm, the evening already felt icy and dim. Winter was closing in fast. The sun was clocking fewer hours.

“Huh... What’s this...?”

On his daily path home, Jiang Fei noticed something glinting under the sun’s low beams, nestled by the roots of a massive tree. It grabbed his attention.

“Haha! Looks like somebody lost this ring! Jackpot for me! Such a cool ring!”

Jiang Fei snatched the platinum-hued ring and held it close to inspect. Its style was basic—no carvings or jewels—but he admired its clean simplicity.

“Probably not valuable. Oh well...” Jiang Fei muttered, sliding it onto his finger without a second thought.

During dinner at the table, Jiang Fei made another push to sway his father. Rejection came swift as lightning. No way.

That single word bounced in his head, plus Dawn Break’s launch looming that very night, so Jiang Fei locked himself in his room. By 10 pm, homework was finished. Heart weighed down, he flopped onto his bed, eyes fixed on the ticking clock. So near... but agonizingly distant...

“Argh...”

Dawn Break’s servers were going live at 10 pm sharp. Players could dive in for a solid 8 real-world hours on average, wrapping up around 6 am. That matched a full 24 hours inside the game!

“Crap! Launch is imminent! The ultimate game is about to kick off, and I’m stuck here, bored on my bed! ARGH!”

Jiang Fei smothered his face with a pillow, unleashing a stifled yell. By chance, his fingers intertwined, one brushing the ring.

“Detecting intense neural signals...”

“Linking to target... Game: Dawn Break.”

“Establishing connection...”

“Connection successful! Downloading data...”

“Data complete! Initializing interface...”

“Interface ready! User can now enter!”

“What in the world?”

Jiang Fei yelped in shock. He shot up and gawked at the shining ring.

“Whoosh!”

A dazzling white flash erupted, temporarily blinding him. Once his vision cleared, his room was gone—he was somewhere else!

“Ding! Welcome to Dawn Break’s world! Greetings, USER#34784! Your assistant here!”

A lively young girl’s voice chimed in his ears.

“Dawn Break? Is this the login interface?”

Jiang Fei couldn’t trust his eyes. Panic and doubt vanished, swapped for pure thrill.

“Well, not quite the login screen. You’re at the character creation interface!” the assistant clarified.

“Am... Am I in a dream?”

Mind spinning, Jiang Fei’s thoughts scrambled to make sense of it. He didn’t even own a gaming pod! How was he here? Had to be a dream! Homework must’ve drained him! Plus, he was still in bed! Rings don’t light up like that!

Days brought brutal reality, while nights fueled wild dreams! Only explanation that fit. His mind needed an outlet for his gaming cravings, or it’d explode.