Second Saga

“You sure that’s okay, Michael?”

The customer who complained last night grumbled.

“Shut up. What d’you care anyways, Steve?”

“Well…. I don’t. I’m just saying the boy has no experience gaming, right?”

“Maybe…. But I’ve taught him more than enough for him to succeed a little.”
The Old Man known as Michael laughed.

‘I have high expectations for you, boy.’

“Dad!”

“What, darling!”

“I heard you asked Landon about that again! How could you! I hate you!!!”

As Sarah ran upstairs crying, the customer burst out into laughter. He was completely unable to hold it in even if it meant he would unleash the wrath of the Old Man on him.

“Looks like you better get your daughter one too.”

“You’re still here?”

The customer immediately left without another word. Michael only grumbled, but after shaking his head, a smile with a deep meaning appeared. He turned off the lights and walked upstairs.

“You’re late!”

As Landon ran inside the door, his younger sisters were already waiting for him. Though, he was reprimanded the moment he entered and to his surprise, tackled by Azla.

“Urgh, Azla, how can you tackle someone the moment they enter the door? And not to mention, this is my house. Don’t go tackling people in their own homes!”

Landon complained when he finally caught his breath back. As Azla was energetic, she didn’t even bat an eye at his complaints. Lisa though gave a silent glare to Azla after which she retreated carefully as not to wake up a sleeping beast. Azla might seem to be the scary one of the two, but both Landon and Azla knew that getting on Lisa’s bad side meant only one thing. Lisa would play the ‘disappointed’ card and ignore whoever was to blame for a complete week. It was easy to say, but in truth it was the most painful for both Landon and Azla as they couldn’t handle the easy-going Lisa treating them as air. Therefore it was easy to see Azla retreating carefully if she knew what the result could be.

“Now Landon, the game has already been installed. Also the Old Man left a note for you that
the installers left on top. Let’s go, Azla.”

It seemed Lisa was definitely not impressed by Azla’s tackle. Azla dejectedly followed Lisa before turning back to Landon.

“Sorry, big brother. But now that you can play this, it doesn’t mean you can ignore us, okay?”

Landon couldn’t help but chuckle and walked over to Azla.

“Alright, alright, tomorrow let’s go walk around town together. I’ll treat both of you to ice cream, okay? Forgive me for ignoring you this once.”

As Landon patted her head and after hearing Landon, she was all smiles again. Clearly she was worried that she wouldn’t be able to see her family as much. Lisa’s mood also took a 180 as she heard ice cream. It was as if the previous situation didn’t happen and she started to skip ahead while humming a happy tune.

“W-wait, Lisa.”

Azla noticing Lisa was already down the hallway chased after her.

‘Well, I guess I better take some money out of my savings….’

Landon smiled softly although he knew he was getting ice cream and he only said ice cream, it was hard for him to leave it at that. He loved to spoil his sisters and he couldn’t say no to them even though his sisters would never spend much of his money and would rather just be with him. They were girls after all and he noticed that their clothes were starting to get tattered and age.

‘Maybe this is a good opportunity and excuse to dive into the game.’

Landon started to think about what the Old Man told him.

“Landon, being a Core gamer is more than being a hardcore player. Being a Core player means that you’re leading the game. If you’re leading the game, that means you get the opportunity to rare drops and with the current population being mainly rich people, the trade for gold to dollars is one-to-one right now. Therefore take this chance while it’s still early and you’re not far behind to catch up. I shouldn’t need to tell you that the game has a monthly subscription as well, right? You better get serious before you end up in debt rather than making money at all.”

The Old Man gave a light explanation and then quickly sent him off. Landon walked into his room and quickly grabbed the note. The faster he read, the faster he could start playing.

Landon, this is your gateway to a new life. It might not be the natural way of rising up and creating a life for yourself and your family. But, this only applies to people who have lived normal lives. You, on the other hand, have not so you’ll have to earn that right yourself. I’m giving you a push, so don’t fall back because only you can push forward on your own two feet.

Yours, Old Man

A warm feeling gushed through Landon’s body. It was obvious that he treated the Old Man like a father, but more and more he felt that it would be good to have him as a real dad. That would mean marrying his daughter though and when he thought about it, he was slightly embarra.s.sed about it again.

‘Let’s get started.’

He sat in the giant box which was easily the size of a small sofa, but that didn’t bother him nor did he think about the price of the machine. The only thing on his mind was the start of his second life!
As Landon put on the headset and turned on the power, his mind went blank. He reopened his eyes and quickly noticed a beautiful blonde lady in front of him. She had wavy hair and his gown was toga-like in the olden Rome.

“Welcome to Second Saga, foreigner. I am the G.o.ddess Hesria that dwells over this land.”
Landon all of a sudden was completely nervous. The first person he met was a G.o.ddess? He had no prior knowledge of the game. but even then, it still seemed strange to be met with a G.o.ddess when only starting the game. It was true as well that every new player would simply be met with an automated bot that would help with character creation. But Landon only felt it was strange and had no idea why this was the case. He also didn’t realize that the push the Old Man gave him was part of this.

“No need to be afraid, young one. I am not going to hurt you. I am only here to help you with your character creation.”

As she said that, a window popped up in front of Landon.

-What is your name?-

Landon thought about it for a second, but shortly knew exactly what he wanted.

“Hydra!”

It was a fresh water animal thought to be immortal. It was meaningful to Landon because no matter how many times he died in this game, he would not get discouraged and continue towards his goal.

-What is your race?-.

“Human!”

To Landon, it was the only option for him. He didn’t want the feeling for being covered in thick hair like a beast-clan nor did he want an awkward body he was not used too. Therefore he made it simple and chose exactly what he already was.

“Alright, the character creation has been completed. You will start in Youlo, the town of beginnings.”
The G.o.ddess said after a short time. It seemed the creation was only to give time for the box to scan his body in order to be attuned to the game. The only real thing he needed to change himself was a name and race.

“I look forward to seeing you again, Hydra.”

“Wha…”

Before he could finish, the screen went bright white forcing him to close his eyes.
As Landon started to regain consciousness, he could hear the chatter of many people. It wasn’t very loud, but there was a great deal of different sounds coming from all around. Landon opened his eyes and noticed he was in a white elegant building. Although without any decorations, the building was completely made out of marble and was at least 20 meters tall and 100 long and wide. He tried to move his body, but it felt awkward to him. Forcefully trying to move again, he sat up. He was laying on a marble pedestal at the very edge of the church. Because no one was in the building, he got up and tried walking. Feeling the sudden power gushing from his body, he was revitalized with new-found energy.

‘Right, this is still a game so I should definitely be stronger than a normal person. And isn’t there a way to summon the menu?’
Although it was his first time, the moment he thought those words, a menu appeared in front of him.