On March 17, 2035, the game Ruins of Return launched.
When Shen Chi opened his eyes, it was still twenty-one days away. In his previous life, he'd spent seven years as a virtual laborer in this fully immersive online game, farming materials and guarding dungeons for other people. He'd logged on for fourteen hours a day, and had nothing to show for it.
This time, he remembered all the answers: what was hidden on each map, which overlooked material would shoot up in price and when, and which famous experts were all reputation and no substance.
But he also knew what he had to work with.
His reactions were half a beat slower than everyone else's. In a full-dive game, that was something he was born with; no amount of practice could fix it. The only thing he could count on was figuring things out before anyone else.
An unwanted alchemy manual, a battered medicine furnace, and a choice everyone laughed at: the worst of the five schools.
Three months later, the first expansion would launch.
That day, the entire server would learn that the cheapest things could turn out to be the most expensive.
He never fought to squeeze in with everyone else. He simply got there one step ahead.
