Ascension of the Master Assassin - Chapter 2: Library Rat

Venn was a ‘library rat’ in the previous timeline. It was a derogatory term that referred to players whose jobs were to collect useful data and information from in-game books and sell them to rich players in exchange for federal credits.

Employed by the Azure corporation as a library rat previously, Venn could earn a hefty sum of credits on good times whenever he reported useful information to his higher-ups.

Instead of being a gold farmer whose main purpose was to earn in-game currency for the corporation, his assigned job in the game was to read up on books in the central library of Rosewell City, the capital city of one of the major human kingdoms in the game.

Heaven Descent was unlike any other game. It was the fruit of the state-of-the-art, pinnacle technology of a united human front.

The game was fully run and managed by an almost omnipresent AI technology, and every aspect of the game was carefully calculated and stress tested.

Once the game was launched, the AI would be solely responsible for managing the game with the developers forever relinquishing their control of the game system, which in turn would allow the game to achieve total fairness.

That was how much confidence the developers of the game had. They weren’t afraid of anyone exploiting a bug in the game, nor were they afraid of the game ever malfunctioning.

Furthermore, the game boasted a near 100% sensory virtual reality which many found it impossible to achieve until the game was revealed to the public.

So, imagine how loud the cheers and the amount of hype from gamers all over the world when they heard about the news of such a ground-breaking game.

Its NPC and sceneries were hyper realistic and the world of Heaven Descent gave players the impression that the world was truly alive with its unique story lines and lore revolving around the world.

Coupled with the heart-racing combat experience, Heaven Descent was truly a marvel of its time.

Rising to the number one spot of the entertainment chart within the first hour of its launch, the craze from the general populace reached an all-time high with never-ending queues lining up for the virtual helmet.

***

On the same day that Venn found out that he had returned to the past, the first action he took was to go outside to purchase a VR helmet using the precious savings that he was able to scrape up from his jobs.

They were supposed to be used for Rena’s university fees, but what’s the use of it if Rena wasn’t able to attend one?

Securing the helmet was a pain in the ass as the popularity of the game was spiking after numerous rave reviews from the media and the players alike, bombarded the public since its launch 2 months ago.

Fortunately, his job as a cashier in the local game shop proved to be useful as he used his position to cancel the order of an unlucky customer by claiming that his reserved helmet was faulty.

After calling his respective workplaces to resign, Venn’s cold eyes stared at the game helmet back in his cramped bedroom.

Though tears were seeping out from his eyes due to the expensive purchase cost of 5000 credits incurred, he constantly reminded himself that it was a necessary investment.

Having spent all his waking moments playing the game back then, he knew no other investment with a quick enough return that could raise sufficient funds for his sister’s inevitable medical treatment except Heaven Descent.

No one in this world knew just how world-changing the game’s impact was yet.

Fame, riches, women and power were all within anyone’s reach. With future knowledge of how the game state would be like for the next 3 years, Venn’s heart began pounding rapidly.

“It would be different this time.” Venn assured himself. He had chosen a different route in life with his second chance.

Instead of attending the interview with Azure corporation, he decided to play as a solo player so that all achievements and gains in the game would solely belong only to him.

However, he knew fully well that he had a steep mountain to climb.

The game had already been launched for 2 months currently, and because of the time difference of the game and the real world, half a year had already passed in the game world.

He needed to catch up with the other players while also earning federal credits as quickly as he could as a side objective to cure Rena.

Failure wasn’t an option as he had gambled everything to his name.

Armed with nothing but his knowledge, Venn put on the stylish black helmet with matte finishing securely on his head with a determined resolve.

Once he was done, he lay on his bed with his eyes closed.

[Connect to Heaven Descent?]

[Yes / No]

Looking at the familiar login screen that popped up, Venn shouted with all his might.

“Yes!”

[Scanning iris… Authenticating user…]

[Unregistered player detected…]

[Creating a new account…]

[Welcome to Heaven Descent]

A mechanized voice penetrated directly into Venn’s mind as his vision darkened, moments after he was connected to Heaven Descent.

Briefly after, a pure white space was rendered and he found himself alone in the boundless space, just floating in mid-air.

With no one in Venn’s sight, he heard the mechanized voice start to speak again.

[Please select a name for your avatar]

“Night Raid.”

Venn chose a different name to symbolise a new start in his life.

The name would serve as a reminder to him.

Instead of letting Heaven snatched Rena away from his side again, he wanted to be the one that would be doing all the taking this time round, even if it meant that he must prise it from the clutches of Heaven.

He swore that he would climb the apex of Heaven Descent so that he wouldn’t have any regret again for both Rena and himself.

No matter who they are, if they stand in his way, he would obliterate them.