I Am a Game Player

"What schools did you put down for your applications?"

On the path beside the campus's artificial lake, the girl narrowed her eyes slightly, feeling the breeze lift her long hair. Like her words, it was cautious, yet impossible to hold back.

Linton looked at the classmate who had asked him out to talk. Rather than answering immediately, he chuckled. "What, you want to go to the same university as me that badly?"

The girl shot him a coquettish glare. "Don't you know I'm pursuing you? What's wrong with wanting to attend the same university? I even want to have eight children with you!"

"Eight? We'd be fined into bankruptcy."

"Then we'll have fewer—ugh! Stop changing the subject! Tell me already, come on!"

Leaning against the railing, Linton looked into the distance. The horizon resembled a washed canvas, vividly painted with couples scattering breadcrumbs and birds fighting over them.

After a long while, he said uncertainly, "Jing University?"

"Jing University?!"

The girl's expression instantly turned troubled. "You definitely wouldn't have a problem with it, but while my grades are decent too, isn't Jing University a little too far out of reach?"

She pinched the corner of Linton's shirt between her thumb and index finger, looking pitiful. "How about lowering your sights a little and going to the local Star University with me? It may not compare to Jing University, but it's still an academy that's been around for thousands of years."

"But Jing University has too many advantages," Linton said. "With that as a stepping stone, no matter what path I take in the future, things will go smoothly. Jing University's alumni network is one of the most valuable hidden connections there is."

"That's true, but Star University has lots of benefits too!" The girl began counting on her fingers. "Look, I can wake you up on time, so you won't be late for class. I can cook for you too, which will save us another expense. And I can supervise your studies, and... lots and lots more!"

Linton did not know whether to laugh or cry, but he still said seriously, "First, our relationship hasn't reached that point. Second, even if it did, wouldn't all that only be temporary? We can't rely on the attraction of the honeymoon phase to last forever. Money is always the most important factor."

"Who says it's only temporary?" The girl was deeply dissatisfied. "We'll definitely be happy forever! And with your abilities, do you really need Jing University to make something of yourself? If it comes down to it, you can come home with me and inherit the family business! Even if you stopped working from now on and traveled the world until you were eighty, it would still be enough for us to live on!"

"..."

Linton suddenly felt that she had a very good point. For a moment, he was speechless.

They chatted for a while longer before saying goodbye as the clouds on the horizon gradually turned into blazing fire.

By the time he returned home, it was already dinner.

At the dining table, his father, seated at the head, looked at Linton and asked as if casually, "I heard you're starting to fill out your university applications?"

"Yeah."

"Do you have a school in mind?"

"Jing University?" Linton gave the same answer he had given the girl that afternoon.

"Jing University? Jing University is good."

His mother had also finished her work. Wiping her wet hands, she sat down at the table. "It's just a little far. We probably won't get to see you more than a few times a year."

Linton hesitated briefly. "Actually... I've also considered Star University."

"Star University?" His father stroked the scruffy stubble on his chin and nodded. "Star University works. It may not be as good as Jing University, but its admission requirements are lower, so you'll have a better chance. Besides, Star University isn't bad either."

"That's right." His mother smiled and looked at Linton. "If you apply to Star University, you won't have to put yourself under so much pressure. You'll be able to relax more instead of always keeping yourself so tense."

"I understand."

Linton nodded, then lowered his head and continued eating.

Back in his room, Linton threw himself onto the bed and thought over everyone's suggestions and advice.

Maybe Star University would be better?

He closed his eyes and silently made up his mind.

"Are you still working?"

Linton opened his eyes.

Feeling slender fingertips gently massage his head, his exhausted mind immediately eased somewhat.

"Yeah. I just graduated. If I don't put in more effort, how can I snatch even a little profit from those old hands?"

A trace of heartache appeared on the face of the woman, whose features were no longer youthful. "You don't need to push yourself so hard. Neither of us particularly cares about material pleasures. Our financial situation is already enough for us to live on. No matter how much more we earn, it'll just be a number. It has no meaning."

"How could it be enough?" Linton smiled. "A house, a car, and children who haven't even been born yet. There are plenty of places where expenses will be huge. It's far from enough."

"It's enough," the woman said firmly. "Desire can never be satisfied. Our current situation is completely enough for us."

She cupped Linton's face, her voice tinged with grievance. "You've given all your energy to work lately. You don't even have time to spend with me."

"Sorry."

"So put down what you're doing for now, and enjoy the time that belongs to us."

"I'm telling you, you can't leave! You can't leave me!"

Smack—

"Come back!!"

Linton's hand froze just as he was about to turn the doorknob. He looked back to see the woman standing amid shattered porcelain beneath the fluorescent light, her face streaked with tears.

"Have you... stopped loving me? Why are you leaving?"

Linton let out a quiet sigh. "How could I not love you? You were woven from my countless thoughts. You were the things I desired most deeply in my heart. How could I possibly not love you?"

"What are you talking about?" The woman trembled as she hugged him. "We won't fight anymore. Don't go, okay?"

Linton did not struggle. Instead, he looked up at the ceiling. "If I were still the person I used to be, then I would definitely be willing to remain in this dream forever. Even if I knew that endlessly spinning top was nothing more than an illusory fake. But now, I... am a necromancer."

At this moment, Linton cast off all traces of an overworked office worker and once again donned every trait belonging to a necromancer: composure, calmness, and more.

"I am an explorer wandering along the boundary between life and death. I am an observer walking the border between reality and illusion. Someone like me can discover your abnormalities far too easily."

"You didn't want me to leave this city. You didn't want me to keep striving upward. Most importantly, you actually made me feel like I didn't want to play games anymore. You should know that I once wanted to die inside a gaming pod!"

"Using familial affection and love as shackles, you tried to grind away every edge I had and bind me forever within this dream world of 'eternal happiness.'"

"What... a pathetic trick."

As his words fell, the lights gradually dimmed. The walls began to turn transparent. The layers of buildings beyond the window collapsed, stars with dazzling fiery tails fell from the sky, and the earth crumbled into a sea of flames.

"Don't go! Stop!!"

The woman's voice grew increasingly shrill, but Linton did not turn back again.

He watched the world gradually collapse as the door before him expanded, transforming into an ancient, heavy, imposing bronze gate that tried to stop him from moving forward.

Standing beneath the bronze gate, Linton was like an ant gazing up at a giant—insignificant and unable to reach it.

Image after image appeared before his eyes: his father, his mother, his wife.

The moment he reached out, all that beauty would leave him.

However.

"You think this is enough to make me stop?"

The corners of Linton's lips curled upward, his white teeth looking faintly ferocious in the darkness.

"Our goal is the distant stars and the boundless sea. Our will is tougher and more unyielding than steel. Our ambition is to uncover the secrets in every corner of the world. Other than maintenance and server shutdowns, nothing can stop us from moving forward. That is who we are!"

"I was never some NPC, nor was I one of your natives."

"I am the most special being in this world."

"—A GAME PLAYER!!"

Linton kicked the bronze gate open.