Blood & Fur - Chapter Sixty-Eight: Eyes Wide Shut

In the year 2022, gamers rejoice as Sword Art Online-a VRMMORPG (Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) like no other-opens its virtual doors, allowing players to take full advantage of the ultimate in gaming technology: NerveGear, a system that allows users to completely immerse themselves in the game world by manipulating their brain waves to create a wholly realistic gaming experience.

But when the game goes live, the elation of the players quickly turns to horror as they discover that, for all its amazing features, SAO is missing one of the most basic functions of any MMORPG-a log-out button.

Now trapped in the virtual world of Aincrad, their bodies held captive by NerveGear in the real world, users are issued a chilling ultimatum: conquer all one hundred floors of Aincrad to regain your freedom. But in the warped world of SAO, “game over” means certain death-both virtual and real…

Hao Ren (literally means “good man”), as his Chinese name suggested, is a good man, and his ideal was to live a restful, comfortable life as a landlord. At least that was his plan before a couple of abnormal creatures rented his house.

“Destiny is a matter of Choice not Chance,

It is not a thing to be waited for but a thing to be Achieved”

.....................

The story sets in a mana blessed world, Planet Vermillion, where every being possesses a System.

At the edge of his life, Zero, a man without a System, finally loses everything and embraces his death with a tired yet relieved expression.

As if by fate, the owner of the system approaches Zero through a screen and gives him a chance to connect with the System, however Zero denies it in exchange for a chance to change or undo all the mistakes he has done in his life.

The owner of the System accepts Zero’s wishes but at a certain price and sends Zero back into the past.

Still without a System, but with the knowledge of the future and various skills honed over the years, Zero begins his new journey to change everything he could.

Save everyone who needs to be saved and kill everyone who needs to be killed.

However, the more he moves forward, the more he realises that the ‘truths’ which he had known in his previous life are much more complicated than what they seem.

Balancing his previous beliefs and the new found mysteries that could shatter his perspective, he still keeps moving forward despite things getting more chaotic with every step.

As if fate itself wanted him to fall, an unknown disaster approaches him from behind and a familiar screen comes in front of him

[Ummm… Zero. It might be a bit late but… Looks like I have messed up big time]

“I lost everything again...?”Kain had to work hard to feed himself, in a small village on the edge of the forbidden lands. Unlike the others, he hated Keepers, the only people capable of fighting the creatures from the Astral Dimension. Everyone saw them as heroes, but Kain blamed them for the greatest tragedy of his life - the death of his parents.Ironically, the sacrifice of one Keeper allowed Kain to obtain a Rune Brand - the key to begin a trial, the outcome was either power or death.Facing another world, Kain discovered that his blood was cursed, and misfortune would always haunt him.But death would avoid Kain, wanting to keep such a valuable sacrifice for a god. Only failure would await him, but if it was possible death would pass by.Now, Kain must break his curse and take fate into his own hands for the first time in his life or remain a nameless offering.