Shattered Time - Chapter 7: A World Made of Screams

The protracted ’witch hunting’ had faded into silence with the end of the Seven Years’ War, and the mysteries of the East Coast had begun to conceal themselves, yet gunpowder was on a rapid rise. Mo Qishang, who should have been utterly confounded, stood at the crossroads of destiny in the name of Arthur. He stared in astonishment at the charging knights, the wizards atop the high towers, and the bizarre wilderness. He felt the sharpness of the longsword and the recoil of the firearm, both clear and unfamiliar. At last, he excitedly shook his robe and, with a smile on his face, said— “Do not believe what I say, for to believe is to exist!”

After the brutal loss of his beloved grandfather, Liam Hunter embarks on a harrowing journey into the heart of the Dark Forest, known as the Forest of Kyrell, with a singular goal: to gain the strength necessary to honor his grandfather’s memory and to never lose anyone dear to him again. At just ten years old, Liam is thrust into a world of darkness and malevolence, where he endures four grueling years of training and transformation. In this shadowy realm, he is reborn as a fierce warrior, driven by a relentless desire to eradicate every demon and ultimately confront the Demon King, Emrys himself. To achieve his formidable goal, Liam must forsake any emotional connections that could weaken his resolve. The once vibrant and joyful boy is transformed by his trials into a cold and unfeeling combatant, hardened by the harsh realities of his quest. This is the story of Liam Hunter—the last wielder of dark magic—whose journey through darkness and sacrifice will shape him into a force of vengeance and resolve.

In the year 2090, technology has advanced to the point where Simulation Boxes, (Sim Box for short) are common place, allowing for the user to link up their brain's neural network to a full dive Simulation. While initially used for educational purposes, recently a large gaming company, Averon, released a fully fledged immersive MMORPG simulation where users can become anyone they desire, level up, choose their class, and become a hero or a villain. The name of this simulation is The Shattered World Online.

Eli Winters had no interest in playing it. His father, a jobless bum who spent his entire life playing games in the hope of becoming a famous player or streamer, was able to use the release of The Shattered World Online to gain wealth and fame, quickly becoming the number one player and a household name as the game took the world by storm. He immediately abandoned Eli and his mother in favor of being with someone from his guild, despite his mother having worked two jobs to support them and raise Eli by herself. Eli had nothing but spite for his father and the game.

When Eli's best friend convinces him to try out the game, his father's fame begins to interfere, culminating in him being singled out and shunned by his peers, and his father offering to pay for his university tuition in return for Eli hiding their relationship and quitting the game. Instead of complying with his father's wishes, Eli decides to prove to everyone how useless a guy his father is by challenging him that if Eli is able to surpass him in the game world he must delete his account and quit his streaming career. His father accepts the challenge believing his son to be useless at games - but Eli will soon show him just how ambitious a spiteful person can be.

The Master of the Tai Yi Sect, Patriarch Xu Yi shattered the void, causing the entire sect to travel through to the interstellar era.

On the deserted planet, the disciples discover a new world:

The eldest senior brother, who specialized in forging, fell in love with mech building. The second senior brother found that alchemy could also be manufactured on an assembly line; The third senior brother fell in love with live broadcasting and was addicted to the Internet; The old Master Xu Yi cracked his whip and urged the disciples, ‘This world is so rich in spiritual energy, how dare you not cultivate properly?’

In the Immortal Cultivation Realm, Junior Sister Sa Sa, who had no spiritual root and powerful spiritual sea, was finally no longer distressed by her inability to cultivate: ‘Mech’s are really powerful!’
Double standard — Xu Yi: … Study it. Isn’t it just mechs, Sa Sa should have one too.

A little bumpkin from a deserted star came to the Federation’s First Academy.

Sa Sa, ‘Wow, the internet is awesome! Mech’s are awesome! Technology is awesome!’
‘You don’t need to cultivate to become strong in the interstellar world, I really love love love it.’

Students from prominent and powerful backgrounds scoffed, ‘Where did the bumpkin come from? Is there something wrong with the admissions system?’
They had no idea that the anchor who exploded onto the internet had a great relationship with the little bumpkin.

Sa Sa: ‘Third Senior Brother is secretly on the internet again!’

The elixir that the little bumpkin usually took and hard to find, the spirit sea boosting pills with no side effects, was actually worth a thousand bucks?

Sa Sa, ‘Second Senior Brother makes the most delicious sweet pills!’

The mech that the little bumpkin casually pulled out was actually the upgraded version of the mech that everyone was fighting over?!

Sa Sa, ‘Eldest Senior Brother will definitely save the best for me!’

The whole planet was abuzz: ‘What kind of divine institution was Tai Yi? How do I get in? Waiting online for a reply!’

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