Rain had been falling over Wuxi since noon. By the time Lin Kai stepped off the crowded number 35 bus, the gray sky had turned the narrow street outside the university into a shining ribbon of puddles and wet neon. Scooters hissed through the water. A woman selling roasted sweet potatoes shouted beneath a red umbrella. Somewhere above the traffic, a delivery rider cursed at a car that had cut him off. Kai adjusted the strap of his worn backpack and looked down at his phone. He saw he only had 86.42 yuan. He stared at the number for three seconds before locking the screen.
"Luxury," he muttered.
At twenty-two, Lin Kai had expected his final year at university to feel different. Maybe not glamorous. He had never imagined himself in designer clothes or driving an expensive car, that was just a dream for a small town of Wuxi, where nothing barely happened. But he had imagined something stable. A job offer waiting after graduation. A girlfriend who stayed. Enough money to buy food without calculating whether he could afford meat in his noodles, and even moving to Guangzou one day.
Kai loved the city of Guangzou, from the story buildings to the rush of the crowd, everyone seemed to be so busy doing something. But instead of living his dream life, he had an overdue electricity bill, two unfinished assignments, and a breakup message that still sat at the top of his chat history. He had read it earlier, and decided not to reply. "You are kind, Kai. But I don't want to die in Wixu, I have to leave." and yet Kai thought, she can go if she wants to.
The rain was getting heavier. Kai pulled his hood over his head and hurried down the side street toward the old apartment building where he rented a room with two other students. The building had once been painted white. Now it was the color of old teeth.
A cracked sign over the entrance. There was nothing sunny about it.
Kai climbed six flights of narrow stairs because the elevator had been broken for three months. On the fourth floor, he passed an old man smoking beside a window. On the fifth, he stepped over an abandoned cardboard box full of empty beer bottles, and he was struggling to catch his breath. By the time he reached Room 602, his shoes were wet, his shoulders ached, and the cheap plastic folder inside his backpack had bent around the corners.
He pushed the door open.
The smell of instant noodles hit him first. Then, came the sound of keyboard clicks.
"You're back!" someone shouted from inside.
Kai shut the door with his foot. "You say that like you missed me."
"I missed the vibe bro," said Zhang Wei, without looking away from his monitor.
Zhang Wei was Kai's roommate, classmate, and self-appointed expert on every game he played badly. He sat in front of his desk wearing a sleeveless shirt and headphones, his round face glowing blue from the screen.
On the other side of the room, their third roommate, Chen Hao, was asleep with a textbook covering his face. Kai dropped his backpack beside his bed and laid down, looking at the ceiling.
"What are you playing?" he asked.
"Skybreak Online. Dungeon run. We need one more."
Kai gave him a tired look. "You've been playing that game since first year."
"And you've been carrying me since first year. True friendship lasts."
"You mean exploitation lasts." and they both laughed. Kai sighed softly, still his eyes fixed at the ceiling, as if he was inspecting it.
Zhang Wei spun around in his chair. "Come on. One run. The guild is waiting." he said and Kai decided to sit on the bed.
Kai looked toward the small window beside his bed. Rain crawled down the glass in crooked lines. Beyond it, the rooftops of Wuxi disappeared into mist. His laptop was old. The fan screamed whenever he opened anything heavier than a word document. One corner of the screen had a faint green line running down it. But it was still his.
"Fine," he said. "One run."
Zhang Wei's eyes lit up. "Yes bro, we'll crash it."
"Don't say that while Hao is sleeping."
"He can't hear anything. He failed his accounting quiz today."
Kai plugged in his laptop, waited for the ancient machine to wake up, then opened Skybreak Online, the game that he's been addicted to since his high school days. The login music filled his headphones. For a few seconds, the rain, the breakup, the empty bank balance, and the bills on his desk became quieter.
His character appeared on screen.
A tall swordsman in black armor stood on the edge of a ruined tower, a silver sword resting against his shoulder. His username floated above his head written, "Kainxu" . Kai had created the character when he was sixteen. Back then, he thought it sounded powerful. Mysterious. Now it was simply the name everyone online knew him by.
The guild invitation appeared almost immediately. [Crimson Lantern Guild] invites you to join a party. Kai accepted. The voices of his teammates filled his headset.
"Finally!" cried Momo, the guild's loudest player and worst liar. "The king has arrived."
"Don't call him king," said RedFox. "Last time you did that, he made us run the dungeon without healing."
"That was because you ignored my instructions," Kai said with a smile, getting into the game now, he even fixed his position and sat properly.
"I ignored one instruction."
"You ignored all six instructions."
A deep laugh came through the headset.
"That's typical Kainxu," said IronBamboo. "Still cold-hearted."
Kai leaned back in his chair. "Who are we fighting?"
"The Ironjaw Warden," RedFox said. "Hard mode."
Kai's fingers paused over the keyboard.
"The Warden?"
"Yes."
Kai's eyes widened with amazement. "And you started without me?" then he looked at his roommate, total silence. Everyone on the other side of the game was also silence.
Then Momo cleared his throat. "Technically, we entered the dungeon."
"You used up one revival stone already," Kai said.
"How did you know that?"
"Your health bar has a resurrection debuff."
Another silence.
Zhang Wei, sitting two meters away, whispered, "You people are hopeless."
Kai sighed.
"Okay. Listen carefully. We do this once. If any of you run into the lava during phase two, I'm leaving."
"No one will run into lava," RedFox said.
Momo muttered, "That happened one time."
"It happened six times," Kai said.
The dungeon loaded. The Ironjaw Ruins appeared beneath a dark red sky: crumbling stone bridges, rivers of molten rock, broken statues of giant warriors. At the end of the path stood a fortress gate twice the size of a house.
Kai's character moved ahead of the group.
Even in a game he had played for years, he never rushed blindly. His eyes noticed the details other players ignored—the broken chains on the left wall, the flickering torch near the gate, the strange angle of a ruined statue. Most people played games for the excitement. Kai played them like puzzles.
Everything had a pattern. Every enemy had a weakness and every boss had a moment when it could be defeated.
"You're thinking too hard again," Momo said.
"I'm thinking because none of you do."
"Harsh."
"Accurate." Kai corrected him, busy focused on the screen.
They reached the first chamber.
A dozen armored skeletons rose from the ground, their shields scraping against stone.
"IronBamboo, pull them to the right," Kai said. "RedFox, don't use your area attack until they stack. Momo, save mana. Zhang—"
"I know!" Zhang Wei said from the other desk, though he was not in Kai's party. "I'm watching!"
The battle began.
Steel flashed across the screen. Fire magic burst against stone walls. The skeletons charged. Kai moved with calm precision. One step back. Two steps left. Sword skill. Counter. He did not attack where the enemy stood. He attacked where it would be. The first skeleton fell. Then the second one and the third.
"Wait, wait, wait," Momo shouted. "How did you dodge that?" he sounded excited.
"The attack animation has a shoulder movement before the strike."
"What shoulder movement?"
"The left shoulder."
"Damn bro!." He was relieved.
"You're welcome."
Within three minutes, the first chamber was clear. The group moved deeper into the ruins. Kai barely noticed when his phone buzzed beside his keyboard. Then it buzzed again. He glanced down during a loading screen. He had hoped it would have been a message from his girlfriend, or ex girlfriend for now. But it was a notification that he needed to upgrade his payment method for Netflix, he threw it on the bed, pissed off.
"You okay?" RedFox asked.
Kai blinked. "Yeah."
"You stopped moving."
"Its my computer, it keeps lagging."
"No way. You never lag."
"I'm fine," he said.
The Ironjaw Warden waited beyond the final gate. It was a towering monster shaped like a knight, built from black metal and volcanic stone. Flames burned inside the gaps in its armor. A massive iron mace rested on its shoulder. Kai sighed softly after seeing the monster, he had to fix his posture again, ready to attack.
Above its character's head, red letters appeared. "Ironjaw Warden - Level 90". It seems everytime Kai played, he never had a chance to make it through the monster. Everytime he tried to pass through him, he always ended up losing his strength and get killed.
"Everyone listen," he said quietly.
His team fell silent.
"The Warden has three phases. First phase is simple. Stay behind the pillars during the hammer wave."
"Got it," IronBamboo said.
"Second phase, the floor cracks. Only stand on the dark stone. The glowing red lines are traps."
"Got it," RedFox said.
"Third phase—"
Momo groaned. "There's a third phase?"
They all added. "There is always a third phase."
Kai's eyes narrowed at the screen.
"And when the Warden drops below ten percent health, nobody attacks until I say so." Kai ordered.
"Why?"
"Because the boss has a hidden rage mechanic."
The others went quiet again.
"Hidden?" RedFox asked.
"It's not listed in the guide."
"How do you know?"
Kai smiled faintly.
"I died to it once."
The boss roared. The floor shook and the battle began. For ten minutes, the room became a storm of noise. Explosions. Shouts. Warning alarms. Momo screaming every time his health dropped below half. "Kai, save me..." and everyone laughed at him.
"You are standing on fire," Kai said.
"What! Its not fire, its a -"
"It is bright red lava!" Kai screamed at him and Momo quickly removed himself from the red lava and started running, but then his character stood steady and read to face the evil.
Despite the chaos, Kai kept them alive. He called every movement before it happened. "Left." "Pillar." "Now." "Stop attacking." and at nine percent health, the Ironjaw Warden raised its mace. The entire dungeon turned black. A ring of burning symbols appeared beneath the boss.
"Everyone back!" Kai shouted.
His teammates obeyed. For once. The boss froze. Then, its armor split open. A small glowing crystal appeared inside its chest. Kai's sword flashed. Critical Strike!
The crystal shattered.
The Warden let out a final roar before collapsing into a heap of molten iron. For two seconds, nobody spoke. Then the system announced:
Dungeon Cleared!
Ironjaw Ruins — Hard Mode
First Clear Reward Unlocked.
Momo screamed so loudly that Chen Hao woke up across the room.
"What happened?" Hao asked, pushing the textbook off his face.
"We did it!" Zhang Wei shouted. "They did it!"
"You're shouting like you helped." Kai laughed at him while shaking his head.
Kai watched as loot filled the screen. Rare weapons. Gold. A black crystal with an unknown symbol. Then another message appeared. Special Item Obtained: Fragment of the Fallen Throne, and he frowned. He had never seen that item before. Not in the official guides. Not in any player forum. Not even in the old data leaks.
"Hey," RedFox said. "What did you get?"
"Nothing important," Kai replied automatically trying to minimize his shock, but he clicked the item. Then, a new window appeared with the following instructions,
Fragment of the Fallen Throne
An invitation for one who understands defeat.
Do you wish to accept?
Below the words were two choices, Yes and No. Kai stared at the screen.
"What are you waiting for?" Momo asked.
"I got something strange."
Zhang Wei leaned over from his desk. "Let me see."
Before Kai could move, the item window flickered and the words changed to Congratulations, Player Kainxu. The room seemed to grow quieter. Even the rain outside sounded far away. Then the next line appeared. Your application for the closed beta of Throne of Realms has been approved.
Kai's breath caught, he had applied months ago and even all of his friends had. Throne of Realms was supposed to be the most advanced virtual reality game ever created. Full sensory immersion. A living world. Kingdoms, dragons, wars, magic, dungeons, player guilds.
Only one thousand people in the world would receive access to the closed beta. Kai had never expected to be chosen. A final message appeared beneath the first. Your beta capsule will arrive tomorrow. Then, after a pause:
Welcome, future ruler.
The screen went black.