Chapter 3: First In
There was more than rent money in the account. There was tuition money. Hope.
Ryan quickly created a new Paladin character, skipped all the tutorials, and logged out.
He pulled off the headset, and sure enough—his sisters were curled up beside him on the floor, whispering back and forth in voices so full of doubt it broke him.
"Alright, alright! No more gloom," Ryan said, scooping them both up in his arms like kids again and spinning them around the tiny room. "Give me a few days. Just a few. The future’s gonna look a whole lot brighter!"
And for the first time—he believed it. Yes. A better future was coming.
—-
Loud music blasted through his headphones as Ryan clicked over and over on the Kingdom Forge icon, dead set on being the first one in.
The servers were supposed to go live on August 1st, but the devs hadn’t said a word about the exact time. Ryan had a good hunch it would open at 6:20 AM—but he wasn’t about to risk being wrong by even a minute.
It was just after six. His two younger sisters were already awake, hovering by the doorway, watching him with concern. His eyes were bloodshot, and his hands were trembling—not from fear, but pure anticipation. The guy had barely blinked all night.
Then it happened. A soft click echoed from his speakers.
6:20 on the dot.