The students at Kuro Star University in Tokyo were in a festive atmosphere as it was the time of the school festival.
Events and competitions were held as students had an abundance of fun.
One first-year student stood out the most.
An underdog who had arrived on a scholarship this year, who lived together with his aunt and her daughter, as he had lost his parents when he was young.
Axir Grimspire.
First place in all competitions, and overall MVP of the school festival.
He was celebrated like a celebrity.
Girls were confessing openly.
And he was having the best time of his life.
After that celebration, another one began among the friends as Selena proposed to him and he accepted.
And that's where he regressed.
The friends chanted and cheered.
Axir calmed the waves in his heart, his eyes glinting deep within.
"I am happy." Axir smiled at Selena and went for a kiss. In his previous life, he didn't kiss her here. Instead, he read her hints only did so when she wanted to.
But not this time.
His heart pounded fast.
He was excited!
Excited to get revenge on these pieces of trash!
'I am going to take my sweet time making all of your lives hell, especially you, Jason.'
Seeing them kiss, Jason's fist clenched, and Selena also didn't let it last long.
Jason's best friend moved the situation fast.
"Alright, what are we doing next, pups?" Yuta asked, a handsome fellow of 5'7 feet and an above-average football player. "Frankly, I am hungry. We've jumped around and sweated a lot today, and haven't had much to eat."
"Good idea. Let's go to a good place." Lexi nodded.
"There's a great place for seven of us. The pops there make great sushi and ramen both." Kazuo grinned. "Let's go there."
"Let's go." Jason took out his luxurious SUV's keys. "Who's driving?"
"You want to drive, Axir?" he looked at Axir.
Last time Axir accepted this offer and drove it, and he distinctly remembers Jason sitting next to Selena in the back.
'Yeah, I am going to keep your bitch to myself, and screw both of you. One in the head, and one in the back.'
A cold glint passed through Axir's eyes.
'The beta will start in five minutes if I remember correctly.'
"Nah, I am fine. I want to sit with my girlfriend in the back." Axir smiled. "Then, shall we go, everyone?"
He grabbed Selena's hand.
"Let's go, let's go!" Aoi shouted, the twin ponytail blue-haired girl of the group, with a petite figure and perky boobs.
The group moved.
"I am sitting in the front," Lexi was the third girl of the group, and also Jason's sister. Hot figure and plump in both areas with black hair and light chocolate skin tone.
Selena was more graceful with her white hair and blue eyes, with a seemingly perfect figure and skin. Lexi was like a bomb. Dark brown and hot. One cup and one grab bigger than Selena.
The boys consisted of Jason, Yuta, and Kazuo, who was more like an errand boy as he handled most chores.
This whole group had been together since middle school.
And Axir was the new one in it.
Not as a friend, but as their tool, their entertainment.
Unfortunately for them, things would be drastically different this time, and they had no idea about it.
Kazuo started the car as the group boarded and drove it.
'Kazuo is driving fast. With this speed. It will happen just as we enter the restaurant.'
And Axir was right.
Just as they stepped into the restaurant, everything froze.
[ Humans of Planet Earth. Beta Test begins today, and it will last for seven days. Good luck and all the best. ]
[ Do you wish to enter Infinite Breaker Online? ]
[ Yes ] — [ No ]
That was it.
People were confused.
"What's this crazy thing?"
"I am not seeing things, right?"
"What if you press Yes?"
Axir suddenly said, "I think we should press it."
"In fact, I just did."
He pressed it.
In the next moment, Axir vanished.
"What the…"
"This shit is real."
The group was shocked.
"What's going on?"
"Everyone, I think we should enter. Better to stick together." Selena said as she looked at everyone. "Let's go."
"I am scared."
"What's there to be scared about? This shit is exciting."
…
[ Please create your character. This character will become your permanent appearance, both in Infinite Breaker Online and on Earth. ]
Axir didn't make any changes. He was perfect the way he was. Six feet in height and a shredded figure from his hard work.
Once he was done with the character creation, a new window popped up.
[ Distribute your stat points. ]
[Ace] - Axir Grimspire.
Level: 1
Power Level: 0
Vitality: 0 ( Constitution x 10 )
Mana: 0 ( Arcane x 10 )
Constitution: 0
Agility: 0
Perception: 0
Arcane: 0
Luck: 1
Charm: 1
Axir kept his name as Ace in-game, and the game also allowed the option to see his real name. Players could choose which one to display to the public and friends.
'Those fools will be with me in the starting village, so…it's time to use them to get a better start for myself.'
'And for that…'
Axir distributed his stat points.
Constitution: 10
Agility: 20
Perception: 10
Arcane: 10
[ You can redistribute your stat points by paying 100 gold coins. Basic-stat reset is possible once every seven days.]
[ You will arrive in the beginner village A3 after five seconds. Check your inventory to get your starting deck and one starting weapon. ]
[ All the best ]
The darkness around Axir vanished, and he found himself in the starting village's square center area, which was also the respawn area if players died.
There were only a few people, but they were appearing fast.
Axir didn't want to wait for Selena and others. They would add him as friends soon after finding the function in their status, and then he would lead them.
He would show that bitch Selena that sticking with him would provide her with the best life and benefits. She was after him for that, and he would show her exactly that.
This way, she would stick to her nature and plan to use him, but it would be he who would use her for every bit of value she and others in that group have!
Axir went to the blacksmith of the village.
"Hey, pops. How are you doing?" Axir asked with a smile. "No work?"
The blacksmith, looking in his forties, was smoking a cigar and reading a book.
Looking at Axir, he released smoke and said, "No materials to work on, kiddo. You want to bring something to me?"
"Sure."
"But your level isn't high enough."
Axir chuckled. "It's fine. I can do it."
"Well then, go and bring me some Flitz Ore."
The blacksmith stood up and went inside before coming out with a pickaxe.
"Take this. If you break this pickaxe, though, I'll charge you 7 Gold."
[ Quest: Mine Flitz Ore ]
—> Go to Bulban Hills and mine Flitz Ore.
—> Bring back at least 10 kilograms of Flitz Ore.
—> Every 1 KG extra will give you an additional reward.
—> 1-star card: Hammering Impact.
—> 10 gold.
—> 50 extra silver per extra kilogram of Flitz Ore.
"No problem." Axir grabbed the axe and left.
Soon, he arrived at another place called Roger's Meat House.
"We are short on chickens. Go bring back some, and I'll reward you."
"No." Axir rejected.
"Huh?" Roger frowned. "Then what are you doing here? Get lost."
"No." Axir rejected.
"Boy, do you believe I can smack you to death?"
Axir smiled. "Why chicken meat? Don't you want something better?"
Roger raised his eyebrows. "I want the Pearl Swans from Bulban Forest's Lake, but you are too weak to do that."
"That's for me to decide, pops." Axir grinned. "Give me the quest, and I'll bring you the Pearl Swans."
"Suit yourself."
[ Quest: Luxurious Swan Meat ]
—> Go to the Bulban Forest's Lake and capture 5 Pearl Swans.
—> Capture 5 Pearl Swans.
—> Extra Pearl Swans will give you extra rewards.
—> 1-star card: Water Walk.
—> 15 Gold per Pearl Swan.
—> 50% discount coupon from Roger's Meat House.
Just as Axir accepted the quest, he got friend requests.
[ Selena has sent you a friend request. ]
[ Jason…]
[ Yuta…]
All of them sent him friend requests, and he accepted as Selena's message arrived.
[ Selena: Where are you, Axir? Did you find anything? ]
[ Axir: Yes. I know a place where you can get a quest. ]
Axir gave her instructions, and soon, the whole gang had arrived at the village's Guard Barrack at the entrance.
Many players just straight up left the village and were killing low-level monsters in the open field.
Those who talked to the guards got quests to kill those same monsters, so those players would benefit more.
Axir had the whole gang take up the quest to kill 20 random monsters in the Bulban Forest.
This quest was very flexible since players could kill any monsters, and it would count.
As the group departed the village with Axir's lead, Yuta said, "By the way, since we are here with our real bodies, will we die for real if we die here?"
"I think I saw someone dying, and they turned into sparks and disappeared," Lexi said as she looked at the field. "I am kinda scared, no joke."
"You will respawn. We won't die permanently here from what I read," Axir said. "Anyway, what did you all get in your starting deck?"
As Axir asked, he took the initiative to share his own starting deck in the party chat. Basic decks were not important. They would become obscure soon as players acquire new cards and new decks.
Everyone saw the window in front of their eyes showing his deck.
[ Basic Deck: Warrior's Path ]
Requirement: Sword.
Draw: 10 Mana per star-quality of the card.
- Cleave | 1-star
- Rumbling Leap | 1-star
- Dominion Slash | 2-star
"I got Mage's Path." Selena shared hers.
"I got Assassin's Path." Yuta grinned.
Kazuo scratched his head. "I got Guardian's Path. I don't like it."
"Same. I got Priest's Path. Do I look like a priest?" Lexi rolled her eyes.
"Not with your boobs popping out." Yuta snickered.
"I got Knight's Path." Jason blinked.
Aoi pouted. "I got Warrior's Path like Axir. But maybe we'll get more decks and cards. That's how it is in games, right?"
"How do we use these cards?" Selena wondered as she saw that other players had cards circulating around them, and suddenly, four cards also began floating around her.
"Whoa, what did you do?"
"That's kinda cool."
"Hey, it's happening to me too!"
"Guess we just need to think about it."
"Monster ahead. A slime. I'll kill it." Axir stopped walking as four cards also began floating around him.
He dashed ahead with his basic Warrior's Sword and used the 1-star Cleave card he had drawn.
Axir could feel his body moving on its own, and he seamlessly enabled it as he knew the simple action of Cleave.
His sword swept horizontally right across the slime's body with perfect precision, killing it instantly.
[ 6% Exp towards level 2. ]
[ Your proficiency in Cleave has reached 50%]
'Easy.'
"Whoa! You killed it, man!" Yuta shouted, amazed at the scene.
"This is not easy." Jason's shield glowed as he suddenly dashed ahead with a shield upon using the Shield Bash card.
"I just saw someone miss their attack on the slime and got killed by three slimes instead," Lexi said as she released a Holy Beam from her staff upon using a card.
"Let's practice on these slimes," Selena said as she released a fireball from her wand and missed it.
"The body moves on its own when we use the card, so we have to control it."
"Hey, look, I can move so fast!" Yuta was moving swiftly, even faster than an Olympic champion after using the Haste card.
Meanwhile, Axir went ahead and kited two slimes. When both of them jumped, he finished both of them in one slash right in front of the group.
"Whoa!" Aoi's eyes widened. "Axir, you didn't use any cards, right?!"
"Nope." Axir smiled. "These are level 1 monsters, so they are weak. We should go further."
"No way you are also good at gaming." Kazuo wryly smiled.
"This is not just a game, I think." Axir looked up. "This world is real. And we are here for real."
"Yeah, this doesn't look like any secret government project."
"I think it would be wise to get better in this game, guys." Jason narrowed his eyes. "The world might be changing."
"Yeah, this shit is exactly like some of the novels I've read." Yuta nodded.
"Then let's go." Selena began walking. "If we want to level up faster and get stronger, we have to kill stronger monsters."