New Game Unsealed, The King Returns

Inside the simple, classic room, a boy with a youthful face sat on the bed, his eyes holding a weariness beyond his years.

Bang!

The room door was kicked open, revealing a pair of smooth, fair, long legs. This was followed by a breathtaking bust, complemented by delicate features and a small, white floral dress. The sight was a powerful visual impact.

"Little bro, great news! Your big sister managed to snag two spots for Phantom Gods! Happy, aren't you? You still have two months before college, and after that, I'll lead you to become invincible in Phantom Gods."

Xiao Wen looked up, listening to his sister's ambitious boasts. He smiled faintly, lost in thought.

Games…

What a strange yet familiar word.

Once upon a time, he too was called a god-like man.

"The game pods will be delivered this afternoon, and the game server opens at 7 PM. I heard the first batch of players to log in get rewards! Your big sister has bet all her savings from these years on this game, so don't disappoint me."

Xiao Ya clasped her hands together as she finished speaking, gazing out the window with a look of longing on her face.

Xiao Wen gave a wry smile, understanding what his sister meant.

In an era of technological advancement and the ever-growing threat of black technology nuclear weapons, countries, in order to protect the global ecosystem, had shifted their focus of competition to online games held every ten years. These games were not only battlegrounds for major powers but also a second world for the citizens of Earth.

Xiao Wen nodded in agreement, ushered his sister out of the room, ate dinner with her, and then returned to his room.

He sat quietly by the bedside, feeling the warm sunlight. He took out his identity card from his pocket, gently stroking it with his hand, and murmured:

"I can't believe it's been five years already. With new eras dawning and Phantom Gods emerging, my ban should be lifted."

Looking up, a sharp glint flashed in Xiao Wen's eyes. A dark silhouette appeared in his mind, and his face set with determination. "Just you wait, I will definitely defeat you this time!"

After lunch, Xiao Ya went to work. She returned in the evening, made dinner, and shortly after they finished eating, the installation personnel for the game pods arrived. They brought the equipment in, meticulously set it up, and then left.

The game pods were not large, with an internal space of less than two cubic meters, but they were extremely expensive. Just these two game pods cost nearly a hundred thousand Kyushu coins.

For ordinary families, this was half a year's, or even a year's, worth of expenses.

Even for the Xiao siblings, affording this sum was not easy, but Xiao Ya managed it.

"Big sister, the server opens in ten minutes."

After seeing off the staff, Xiao Wen looked up at the wall clock and reminded Xiao Ya, who was washing dishes in the kitchen.

Immediately, he heard the sound of porcelain clattering urgently. Xiao Ya's dishwashing speed had more than tripled.

"Sigh, women."

Shaking his head with a bitter smile, Xiao Wen turned and walked into his room. He lay down in the game pod, connected the equipment, inserted his identity card into the slot, and closed his eyes.

"Game starting, binding identity…"

"Dear Kyushu player, welcome to Phantom Gods. The global server opening time is in 7 minutes… 5 minutes… 1 minute… ten seconds…"

"Three…"

"Two…"

"One…"

"Scanning body data… 10%… 60… 100%… Gender determination… Male…"

As the last word finished, the dark space suddenly brightened.

Blue skies and white clouds, with birds soaring in the sky, beasts roaming the forests, dragons lurking in the deep sea, the dawn of humanity, the prosperity of a hundred races, and the contention of myriad nations…

The scene flashed before Xiao Wen's eyes like a slideshow. The surrounding illusory scenery became real, and he found himself standing in a grand hall.

"Welcome, player, to Phantom Gods. I am your guide, Xiao Cai. Please create a new character."

In the hall, an NPC, a little girl with pigtails, walked over. With a wave of her hand, several professions appeared before Xiao Wen.

"Still the same old options, nothing new to choose from. I thought Phantom Gods would have some new characters compared to before!" Xiao Wen muttered, then replied, "I choose Summoner."

"Player has chosen the profession Summoner. Confirm?"

"Confirm!"

"Profession selected successfully."

The little girl nodded and pointed forward. A point of light emerged from her fingertips, landing on Xiao Wen.

"Congratulations, player! As the 9999th player to choose a profession, you have received a system gift package and obtained the hidden profession of the Summoner system, Duelist! The system will automatically generate your attribute interface. Please confirm your nickname."

A string of voices sounded in Xiao Wen's ears, leaving him a bit stunned.

He had just been complaining about the same old options, and now he got a hidden profession?

Was this a system bonus?

"Duelist? Interesting," Xiao Wen muttered, then announced his nickname clearly: "Nickname: Halfway Through the Mortal World."

"Nickname is available. Character body generation successful. Enter the game?"

"Enter!"

A seven-colored beam of light appeared, enveloping his illusory body. The next moment, Xiao Wen lost consciousness.

"Novice village! I, Xiao Wen, am back… back… back…"

Light flickered, and when Xiao Wen's eyes could see again, he wanted to shout to the heavens, but found himself standing outside a tall city gate.

Connecting to the city gate was a massive wall, with moss growing in its cracks, exuding a sense of ancient history.

"This... this is the newbie village? Shouldn't this be the main city that only Level 15 players can enter?"

Xiao Wen stared at the city gate in astonishment, then suddenly looked up at the plaque above it—Duel City.

"Welcome to Duel City. As you are currently the only Duelist in the game, a destiny quest—Heir of Duel City—has been activated. Do you accept?"

"Accept!"

With his experience as a veteran gamer, how could Xiao Wen not know he had triggered a hidden quest?

My god, it turns out that nowadays, luck really can be accumulated.

Haven't played games for five years, and the moment I log in, I get lucky with a hidden quest.

Goddess of Fortune, you truly are on my side.

"Ding! Player has accepted the destiny quest and the first stage of the newbie quest, Duelist's Qualification, has been unlocked!"

"To become the Heir of Duel City, one must possess dueling talent. The player will undergo a basic dueling trial from a Duel City NPC. Victory means meeting the requirements; failure will result in the revocation of the Duelist profession, and the player will be permanently unable to inherit any profession among the Phantom Gods!"

"Quest activated. As the player is the first Duelist, congratulations to the player for receiving a mysterious gift package from Duel City."

A beam of light shot out from above the city gate, shining onto Xiao Wen's hand and transforming into a large gift box.

"Open the gift package."

"Ding, congratulations to the host for obtaining Duel City's History *1."

"Ding, congratulations to the host for obtaining the mysterious horn—Executioner's Battle Song *1."

"Ding, congratulations to the host for obtaining an entry-level Duel Disk *1."

"Ding, congratulations to the host for obtaining an entry-level Duelist Card Deck Set."

As the prompts sounded, "Duel City's History" transformed into a streak of light and merged into Xiao Wen's head. A flood of information about Duel City surged into his mind. It took him about two to three minutes before he regained his senses.

"So, this is what a Duelist is. It's truly an interesting hidden profession!"

Xiao Wen touched the gate of Duel City with one hand, and his entire body was pulled into the city, appearing in a vast square.

"Duel, begin!"