Buenos Aires, Argentina

It was a lazy afternoon in Buenos Aires. A woman in her 60s was watering her flowers on the terrace. Then she went back in her apartment.

She had her lunch - a toast with cream cheese, and a salad of cabbage and carrots. Her menu she concluded with a cup of Green tea.

The apartment was spacious and quiet. She lived in with her cat and pictures from years past.

In one photograph, she was lifting a trophy over her head - she looked in high school. She had a dazzling smile, everyone around her was happy and was stretching an arm to touch the trophy.

Next to the photograph was an old edition of the magazine MOBA World. On the cover, one could read: “The first female player to reach the Grand Final...”

In other photos, she was shot with a man and a little girl, the pictures were taken well after the one with the trophy.

She looked at another photograph above the fireplace. The little girl was a tall and attractive young lady. She wore a graduation robe. From that moment on, the man was missing from the pictures. It was just her and the young lady.

“My dear, Belette, I hope you eat well in New York. I am so proud of you, honey. You never lacked ambition. Even when your father...” She sighed.

She cleaned the table and walked to the couch. A headset was waiting for her there.

‘One of the positives of being retired.’ She thought as she put on the headset.

The Encampment of the Barbarian Clan, Virford Mountain

Virford Mountain was a unique faction. Instead of villages and towns, the faction was structured around 6 clans. Each clan had its own place on the mountain with the stronger ones located higher.

The Barbarian Clan was the weakest one. It was the starting point for all of the faction’s players. With one week in Brave New World, many desired to climb the mountain and explore the other clans.

The problem was that the monsters outside of the Barbarian Clan were already quite strong. Nobody had the proficiency to climb yet. It was currently one of the best leveling zones and even players from the neighbor factions would come here.

“I had no idea that the northern mountains were an independent faction,” said Chika.

“The faction is a hot topic.” Baron bit dried meat. “The political structure is one of a kind, and it’s a great leveling zone.”

“Its shame that Gambit had to leave, I thought we were working well together.” Kintaro was also keeping his satiety high.

“Just before we left, he was acting weird. He behaved similarly to when we met at Torasia’s capital.” Chika was digging in her memories.

Indeed many players from the neighbor factions made the trip to Virford Mountain. The Barbarian Clan was crowded. A lot of trading was going on. People were hunting down beasts and they were trading the prey for materials. Today was another busy day for the merchants.

*SLAM*

The huge body of a gorilla-like monster was dropped in front of an NPC merchant. The crowd was baffled to see a monster tall nearly 3 meters.

“Its fur and teeth should be useful,” a young boy said.

“Archi, I bought health and mana potions, we can go back hunting.” said someone.

A gray-haired lady dressed in a robe got close to them. “James, the potions don’t seem nearly worth the money we had.” Her tone was cold.

“Don’t tell me you bought some of the in-game liquor again, I thought you got over that?” Archi was disappointed

The man looked embarrassed. “I got kicked by my gaming organization after years of loyal service. And I am still handling my divorce papers.” James Rodriguez was making excuses.

“Well, I guess it’s better for you to drink in a VR, instead on the outside.” She sighed.

James’ life was going downhill. ANZ kicked him out one month ago.

Little after he made a mess in TPK Tavern. He got drunk, vomited all over the bar, fought a random customer. Robert Walker was furious, he slapped him well outside. Alas, the beating didn’t change his lifestyle.

10 days ago James celebrated his 40th birthday. He got wasted again. Even his kid could not stand him anymore. His wife packed her bags and took their son.

On the following morning, James woke up with a killing headache and a new resolution. He decided to stay away from alcohol.

Well, that didn’t work.

Still, he managed to reduce his alcohol consumption. James took advantage of his connections and found a job. James was still a celebrity and a valuable figure for the sponsors. He got offered a contract to participate in Brave New World and thus advertise his sponsors. James was determined to triumph in this sensational VR and to get back his family.

While grinding in Brave New World, he met Archi - a nolife middle schooler, and Jax - a legendary female gamer. Not many were capable to keep up with their pace.

The three of them were the closest to reach the next clan. The benefits of doing so were unclear. Nonetheless, it was an achievement desired by many.

James and Archi were both in the top 1000 at the moment. Jax was true to her tie ceremony, plants, and lovely Persian cat. For these reasons, she was slightly behind them.

“My sponsors would be overjoyed if I reach the 2nd clan first,” said James.

“Let me see how close you got this time,” Jax said.

“Jax, my dual sword proficiency got better again!” Archi was always positive.

Together they walked towards the Clan’s gate. This was an elite trio, recognized by the best of Virford Mountain.

A Dream of the Past, Unknown Area

Level up!

*Each level permanently increase your life by 8 and your mana by 4

“We good now?” Anissa just hit level 10.

“As I said, you had the wisdom but you lacked the power. In order to be qualified, you needed both,” a little boy said. “Now you are qualified.”

Carlos was next to her. “Anissa, since this is a 1-man dungeon we might as well stay around and catch on leveling.”

The boys were overall 1 level below her. Carlos who joined late was at level 6.

“We will keep an eye at the stream,” Brian added.

Anissa nodded in approval.

They were all teleported by Shir’tana’s amulet. The system said that this was somebody’s dream. Even in this dream-like world monsters were still lurking.

‘Could it be Munshi’s Dream?’ Anissa thought. ‘What exactly is his connection to Shir’tana. How come his diary provided “the wisdom” I required?’ Questions were bothering her.

The main goal was to bypass a massive gate. Only the chosen one was allowed to pass, together with Shir’tana. At level 10 she had fulfilled the other requirement - power.

Anissa was standing in front of the gate.

“I am ready, Shir’tana.”

Shir'tana took the Munshi’s diary from her. He began a mysterious incantation. The solid gate started to shine in light blue. The color grew stronger with every word until it became saturated blue, sapphire-like…

*CRAAASH*

The gate opened loudly, yet they still could not cross. A wall of dark fog, thick as a brick wall, was standing on their way.

The sapphire light sucked-in the book from Shir’tana’s hands. Then it made a circle around Anissa and Shir’tana. They were both glowing with the light now.

Munshi’s Dream Gate was opened

You were legitimated to cross the entrance

‘Munshi’s Dream!’ She was expecting it.

Empress turned and waved to her friends. Moments later she got lost into the wall of fog with Shir’tana.

“That was sweet.” Josh was elated.

“We’d better catch with Anissa’s level unless we want to hold her down.” Carlos’ pragmatism reminded. “The place around the gate is rich of monsters, their difficulty is also appropriate to our level.”

The boys were killing low-level monsters near the gate.

“Ani’s stream title is now ‘The second magic encounter - Shir’tana’s quest!’” Brian said while slamming his mace into a wolf-like creature.

“Sounds clickbaity enough.” Josh approved.

“You can add ‘Dream’s Gate’ or ‘Magical Teleportation’!” Carlos saw the potential to lure more viewers.

“What a shame that Mr. Faceclown streamed the first magical phenomenon,” Pavel

said with disappointment.

“He has the network of thousands, it’s only natural to accomplish such achievements,” Carlos said. “Also, these cases are only the official ones.”

“About 30 viewers at the moment and they go up!” Brian checked the stream data.

“It’s better than the regular single-digit number,” Pavel said and pulled another arrow.

“In her better days she had like 300-400 viewers, while The Forsaken Masters was still a thing,” Brian reminded.

“We can only wish her luck and keep an eye on the stream.” Carlos was fighting a pesky beast. “Josh, can you lend me a hand?”

They knew that the system would reward players with experience based on their contribution. It was obvious that Anissa was the leader in that department. Anyway, the boys were motivated to keep the high standards as long as they can.

Munshi’s Dream, An Unknown Area

Anissa was stepping carefully. Ahead she could see an endless field. The fog was knee-high, hugging the ground. The air was so cold, she could see her own breath. The picture was lifeless.

“It looks like a graveyard, but there are no graves...” Everything around felt creepy.

‘The level requirement is 10 but there are no monsters here. Maybe there are some nasty traps?’ Anissa was not losing her focus. She checked on Shir’tana, who seemed to feel the cold as well, yet he was smiling.

“You seem calm. I thought a little guy like you would be afraid?” She asked.

“This dream must belong to a great ancestor of mine,” Shir’tana stated proudly. “Nothing should hurt me here.”

Shir’tana was no longer dressed in rags. Anissa invested all of the party’s savings into proper attire, worthy of an aristocrat. Thanks to her, he also ate a full meal for the first time in years.

The boy was liked by the entire party. So he turned to be the group’s pet.

Anissa had the highest affinity with him. He shared information with her about his days in Ephra. How he lived alone and worked hard every day to find his relatives.

He said he was envious of the other kids, he himself did not know his parents. He used to live with an old maid in his house. She told him stories about a mighty magic family. The whereabouts of the family were unknown to the maid, but she sounded sincere. She said she swore an oath to take care of Shir’tana. Alas, she died 2 years ago.

Little after the maid’s death, his home got robbed. Whatever was worth anything got stolen. The windows were shattered, the doors were broken.

All left to Shir’tana were the memories of the maid’s stories and an amulet, which happened to be the key for that interdimensional teleportation.

The maid had told him that the amulet will recognize a worthy person. “And maybe that person would help you...” were her last words.

The 2 years alone were harsh for Shir’tana. At a young age, he had to do different tasks in the town in order to receive a bit of food.

He wore his only clothes. He slept under the roof he never felt a parent’s love. And he struggled each day to find his family.

As an orphan, Anissa had great sympathy for Shir’tana.

‘Am I trying to complete a quest or am I trying to find my own parents through this kid?’ She thought.

*RAAAAAGH*

A thunder cry shocked them both. Shadows could be seen moving in the distance.

“Those are…” Shir’tana was no longer calm.

‘How is that level 10...’ Anissa was confused.

From her perspective, an entire army of shadows was closing in with tremendous speed.

100 meters, 50 meters, 25 meters…

‘The fog…’

“SHIR’TANA, LAY DOWN ON…” She could not finish her shout.

*CLAAAAAAASH*

An unexpected collision occurred. The army was supposed to run over them? Maybe to find them and kill them? But this...

The dark-armored soldiers were confronted by another power.

Anissa and Shir’tana were in the middle of that struggle, hidden in the fog of war.

Quest: Earn Victory

Become a General for a day. Overcome the enemy. Unlock Munshi’s secrets.

Accepting: You (The General) and Shir’tana (A Basic Soldier) will participate in the battle.

Declining: Shir’tana dies. Munshi’s Dream Dimension is destroyed forever. Every player in Munshi’s Dream will return back from where it accessed the Dream Dimension.

Reward: Munshi’s secrets

THE CHOICE IS TIME-LIMITED.

5… 4… 3...

‘WHAT SORT OF A TIME LIMIT IS THIS?’

2… 1…

ACCEPT!

The sapphire light around Shir’tana started to turn light gray. A small spear, suitable for his height materialized in his hand. A chain mail crawled over his chest. In front of Anissa’s eyes, he turned into an underaged soldier.

‘Incredible…’

“KILL THEIR GENERAL!”

An axe was swung at her.

*CLANK*

“What are you doing, protect our General!” A knight parried the axe.

*GASP*

Now she was also dressed in light gray. The difference from the rest was that she had a sceptre in her hand and a crown on her head.

'my inventory is empty…'

Ruler’s Sceptre

5-10 physical attack damage

1.2 attacks per second

10% additional chance to critical strike

Hitting an enemy improves the army’s morale

Durability 30/30

Sceptre proficiency - none…

Sapphire Crown

Symbolize your authority as a ruler -

Your commands are absolute

Doubles your health

It’s likely to get targeted

Cannot be unequipped

Cannot be destroyed

‘They want me dead. I am the General from now on…’ Anissa had to adapt quickly. ‘At least Shir’tana should be no priority. He has to live, he has to move to our backline...’

Shir’tana was trembling in fear in the middle of the battle. His eyes were teary. He had a big heart for his young age, but he was still a child. He thought that Munshi’s Dream would never hurt him. He was wrong.

“WHY WOULD OUR PROUD ARMY FIELD A CHILD? GET HIM OUT OF THERE IMMEDIATELY!” The General’s commands were absolute.

“Huh? This guy does seem tiny!” A tall soldier grabbed Shir’tana and pulled him back. Others did the same until Shir’tana became the very last person.

‘He should be safe there. Now let’s win a battle...’ Anissa’s eyes were on the battlefield.

A Dream of the Past, An Unknown Area

Josh had a funny expression. He let a sluggish zombie creature lend a clean hit.

“Are you brain lagging again?” Pavel would never miss an opportunity to strike.

Josh was in deep thought.“At this very moment, Anissa is participating in a large scale battle. The chat on her stream is going crazy...” Josh said.

Short silence in which the boys collected themselves.

“Her current viewers are over two thousand.” Carlos was dumbfounded. “Someone just donated 500 dollars.”

“How can she lead an army at level 10?” Brian was curious.

The three of them just realized that Pavel is missing. He had to see what is Anissa up to, and so they had...