Volume 3 - Chaos Begins.
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( Luke's POV )
Luke sat calmly in his royal guest room, looking out of his window as he overlooked the gardens where the royal guards frustratingly tried to search for an intruder that they couldn't find.
He had been interrogated by the Virex Corps just a few moments ago, and all that he could think about from that interaction was how the mask that the Virex troopers wore was very similar to the mask that 'The Boss' wore.
"Hmmm, are The Boss and the Royal Guard corps connected? I think we need to investigate more on this-" Luke murmured to himself, as before today, he did not have much idea about the Virex Corps's existence or their dress code.
The world of Terra Nova was ultra realistic, to the point that apart from a few unrealistic game elements such as player revival upon death and the presence of MP exchange stores that could only be accessed by players, it was exactly like the real world.
Under such circumstances, the fact that 'TheBoss' wore a Virex mask could not be considered as a mere coincidence and needed to be investigated properly for sure.
"Well it could also be that he received the mask in his starter kit, just like I received the master knight token in mine because for as long as The Boss has been known, he has always been spotted in a mask, so unless he got entangled with the Virex Corps at the very start of the game, the probability of him getting that mask through a starter pack can also not be ignored…" Luke contemplated, as he made an accurate assessment of the situation, given the limited knowledge he had.
[ Inbox Notification - You have received a new private message from friend 'Guildmaster Cervantez' ]
Luke got a notification pop up on his gaming screen, as he tapped on it to see just what message Cervantez had sent him.
[ Guildmaster Cervantez - Told you your brother is lying about his identity, there is no player called 'Lin Mu'.
Also, check out the global rankings and the global forums….. that arrogant brat has caused quite the stir. ]
Luke received the most unusual message from Cervantez, as he raised an eyebrow and hastily opened the Global player rankings.
—----Global Level Rankings —----
1.The Boss ( Level- 161 )
2. Leo Skyshard ( Level 151 )
3. DarkEmperor ( Level 136 )
4. Purple Rock ( Level 135 )
5. Ramen King ( Level 135 )
6. Andheri ( Level 135 )
7. BigDaddy ( Level 134 )
.
.
.
.
Your rank-
38) SkyLion ( Level 129 )
—------------ xxx —--------------
Luke looked at the rankings and felt his heart skip a beat.
The first question that arose in his mind was how the hell did 'TheBoss' suddenly gain ten levels, as just like them, he too was stuck inside the palace walls unable to train or perform leveling activities.
However, the bigger shock that he received was that of seeing his brother's name on the number two spot, as Luke felt shivers go down his spine when he saw that.
"Leo….." he said, sounding confused, as he did not understand how his brother suddenly cut through the leveling leaderboards and appeared on the number two spot out of nowhere?
While he himself had experienced a meteoric rise on the leaderboards, going from ranking in the hundreds of thousands to top20 at his peak, before slipping back down because of the Grand Tournament.
However, his own rise was linked to him completing his academy courses well. Which gave him 7-10 levels for completion of each course.
It was a long term quest, one that took him several months to complete, however, Leo seemed to have cut through the crowd in a single shot, convincingly moving above even Cervantez to claim the number two spot.
As he clicked on his brother's ID, he realized that unlike The Boss, who had set it to private, Leo was actually open to being sent friend requests, as he sent a request to his brother to add him to his friend list.
On one hand, he felt extremely proud of Leo and whatever he was doing to be this successful, however, on the other hand he felt confused and hurt on why he lied to him about his ID?
He found it silly that he had actually registered his gaming ID under his own name, as anyone and their mothers would now know that Leo Skyshard is none other than Leo, as that was literally his name.
Not knowing how to process this information, Luke decided to open the Global forums as Cervantez had suggested, where he saw the entire server fervently debating about Leo, who seemed to have gained instant fame.
"Who is this Leo Skyshard guy? I was enjoying PurpleRock's climb to the top. My man has been hustling for that number two spot for weeks now and was on the verge of achieving it, however, right as he pulls next to DarkEmperor, some other guy shows up and snatches it from him. #JusticeForPurpleRock"
"Is Leo Skyshard a botter? There's no way that someone goes from not being on the top200 list to suddenly becoming top2. What did this guy even do? Instantly gained 50 levels or something? Is that even possible?"
"Ayo, after The Boss, do we have a second freak player in the making in Leo Skyshard?"
"While I could not join the DarkSky guild, I'll join any guild created by Leo Skyshard without hesitation! I'm ready to join this rocket ship. Please sign me up-"
"#FraudLeo. He's a fraud! He did not even compete in the Grand Tournament preliminaries. Don't compare him to The Boss, while anyone can be number two, number one spot will only ever belong to the king of kings, The Boss"
"Can someone tell me how to gain 50+ levels at once? I'll pay 500 gold coins for this information. Thanks"
"I'm a worker from sector D, I know an employee by the name of Leo Skyshard, he often stands in the queue ahead of me every morning. Quite the handsome kid, if it's the same guy, then I'm seducing him tomorrow morning-"
"Oh? The real life name and the gaming ID of the number two player match? What a freak coincidence?"
"Leo Skyshard is a lowly sector D player? Is this even possible?"
Luke monitored the chatter on the forums and frowned deeply.
Just as he expected, someone from sector D already recognised Leo's name from roll call and it seemed to be only a matter of time before everyone else also found out who he exactly was.
With the Arc Ship about to enter the Rainbow Stream in two months and the game meta about to shift massively, Leo having exposed himself was akin to him having chopped off his own leg, as it was bound to bring him unnecessary trouble.
"Leo that fool…. Who the heck makes a gaming ID with their own name? What the hell was he thinking….." Luke complained, as he frowned deeply and monitored the global chat even more closely, having already made up his mind to confront Leo once he logged out of the game.
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( Meanwhile Leo )
"I'm a section C supervisor, and I have a worker working under me in sector D by the name of Leo Skyshard.
I can't believe I'm the boss of such a rising star. I'll try get his autograph tomorrow-"
As Leo read this comment on the global forums, he felt a chill go down his spine as tears formed in his eyes.
His life before today was already not easy at all, however, it just became even more complicated because of his stupid mistake of registering his second gaming ID under his original name.
Not even 20 minutes past his mistake, the global chat already found out who he really was, with many people who worked in sector D claiming to have seen him before.
"This is a nightmare ....I'm going to be completely done for once I log out of this game. I needed less scrutiny on me to hide my identity as 'TheBoss', not more.
With this unwanted fame, everything I do now will be scrutinized by others" Leo thought, as he read the comments under the sector C supervisors post and found comments underneath it where someone offered the sector C supervisor 10,000 gold coins, if he could reveal Leo Skyshards leveling secret to them.
"I'll try my best to get it for you-"
Was what the Sector C supervisor replied, as Leo understood that the moment he logged out of this game, he was going to be swarmed by people left and right asking him about tips to improve in the Terra Nova game.
Tips that he simply did not have…..
"Fucked, I'm totally fucked….." Leo thought, as he could already imagine the chaos that was bound to ensue.
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( Meanwhile Amanda )
Amanda giggled non-stop to see Leo's name on the top of the leaderboards.
She was extremely happy for his success and did not fret about details such as why she thought that Leo's gaming name was Jin Mu.
For her such trivial things did not matter much, as the only thing she focused on was how she could tease Leo about his achievement after logging out.
Just like Leo, Cervantez and Luke, she also went on the global chat, trying to see the netizens' reaction to Leo's sudden rise, however, her bright mood was instantly ruined when she stepped foot there.
"Leo Skyshard….. Kyaa, he's a cutie, I've seen him in sector D, however, never approached him because he's always walking with a bimbo, but now that ik he's a top player, I might just approach him-"
"I'm a rank 2050 player from sector A and nothing turns me on more than top players….. if the rumors about Leo being from sector D are true then I can request him as my masseuse by paying MP and have him all to myself~
I'm already wet just thinking about it-"
Amanda's face darkened as she read such disturbing comments, realizing that with Leo's newfound fame, he could easily get many other options and might not love Amanda the same.