After finishing up, he knew exactly what to do. He still had part of an afternoon yet, and he wasn’t about to waste it.
He quickly loaded up Nitro. First he went to Lena’s account, sending her his plans. He was going to gather a party. Once he finished sending her the relevant information, though he’d love to speak with Lena more, he shifted his gaze to certain other individuals.
He realized most of these people were still in ga, but no matter. They didn’t have to see it instantly, just eventually.
First he went to his good friend Gabriel. He had a couple unread ssages.
"Yo bro nice job on first mob kill! I was still in the tutorial when that ssage popped up!"
"Ohh and level, too! Makes sense actually. First kill, first level up, makes sense bro. Nice job, I only recently finished the tutorial."
"I sent u a friend request ages ago, accept? You ARE Lumi, right? That’s always ur userna?"
"Wait you don’t know my userna"
"Wait, am I not the only person trying to friend you?"
"Holy heck you were on the global announcent. You probably got flooded with friend requests. Okay, my userna is Angle.
"Man, first level ten, too? Well makes sense, you were in the beta test. How co no one else has any accomplishnts?"
"Who? Who is this Lena? She stole your achievent for first Rank One! She got her class first, nooooo!"
Renan giggled a bit. Gabriel, oh Gabriel. That goofy guy. He doesn’t even realize the cody in his words. Renan quickly typed a reply. "Hey, I’ll add you when I’m back on tomorrow, I’m out of ti today. Tell when you are at level 10 and have a class, alright? Hopefully next ti, we can chat in-ga to save ti. And by the way, Lena is a friend I t. We grinded to level ten together, it was just coincidence she got her class first. We went together, after all."
He continued it with information about future plans, then shifted his attention.
His tab of ssages was full of unread notifications. Many he had previously contacted about the ga having sent him ssages regarding it now that it had co out, and perceptive ones realized he was likely the one in all the achievents.
As he read through the list, Renan felt contentnt wash over him. A sense of relief. So many soon to be stars were looking to him for guidance. These future experts essentially joining his faction.
I love this.
This is proof. An irrefutable proof that my actions have not been in vain. This will allow to nurture them to go beyond even their original potential. Not to ntion, I can use their supre talent to help in missions or otherwise help progress faster.
He strategically chose who he wanted to contact and sent replies to a couple. Soon enough, he received replies.
TrueKnightRyan, "Hey man! I saw that you’ve been getting achievent after achievent. I must say, I didn’t expect you to invite . Thank you! I accept, just tell what to do and I’ll do it!"
ToraX, "Bro! Lumi! Thank you for the invite. In truth, I was gonna beg you for a spot, I can’t believe you gave one! Whatever you’re running, I’ll follow. I’m at Cerlion training my ass off right now, I’ve got a spot secured from an NPC for a warrior class as soon as I hit level 10."
VICE, "I don’t know how you’re farming so many achievents but DANG. Thank you for the invite, I promise you won’t regret it. I’ve practiced with bows in real life, and the skill is translating."
HazyNova, "Hey... you really were a beta player, huh? I’m in Shaden City, tons of thieves around. I’ve got the dark knight interested in . Sothing I noticed is that you can mobilize NPCs to help you, if you cultivate the right relationship and have proper reasoning. Whatever you invited for, would you like to ask for any to join us?"
Renan began to reply, giving similar but slightly different ssages to each. Telling them to check out his guide later, asking for their usernas to friend them, and other relevant info.
VICE. ToraX. HazyNova. TrueKnightRyan. And soon, more. So of the tallest pillars of the player base, all looking for him on day one.
He let out a smile.
Once his plans in Masteria tomorrow were settled, his mind drifted elsewhere. So things could only be done in the real world.
Eventually, his thoughts honed into a specific mory, to a certain person...
Renan exhaled slowly, leaning back in his chair.
How can I go about this...?
A mory surfaced. A quiet man with sharp features, narrowed eyes, and an insatiable ambition. The na was Lucas ndoza. A man who had, in his previous life, built a rchant empire in Masteria.
This empire was of imnse help to the players. Without the support of such logistics, it would have been very difficult for any players to get to the point where they could free themselves from the system’s control.
Yet he was assassinated, causing an intense fracture in his empire.
Only after his death did details of his personal life start to co out. The various enemies he’d made... and was about to make. And if Lumi was right, then this death was associated with the Wings of Darkness, the subordinates under the Dark One.
But this ti, it won’t go the sa way. Now I have the required knowledge and ti.
Lucas wouldn’t die anyti soon. He still had a slight bit over a year. Renan didn’t need to act recklessly. For now...
I need to plant the seed now. Build familiarity. A ’natural’ friendship. So when the ti cos, he’ll trust , and I’ll have the reason I need to step in.
Renan checked one of the guides he wrote for himself, flipping through the information he had compiled.
Right now, Lucas should be fresh out of high school, ambitious, obsessed with business and finance. And he would be frequently traveling up north to visit a large library, teaching himself everything he could about entrepreneurship.
That was where Renan would find him.
A large grin made its way onto Renan’s face.
...
While Lucas didn’t live too close to Renan, it was at least within the sa country.
Regardless, multiple hours of driving were necessary. Both to and from.
Renan knew the exact library Lucas liked to study at. Normally, finding him there would be random chance. But due to the ga releasing, Renan knew that Lucas got obsessed with it, and started reading countless market books to research and prepare his ideas.
I just have to run it by Ma real quick.
Renan considered it. He needed to inform his family of his intentions before it’s too late. Then he’d have to wait another full day, but then it wouldn’t be the right ti anymore.
He quickly dashed out and headed up to her room, knocking on it. After a brief acknowledgnt and the permission to enter, he waved in greeting towards Renatta. "Hey Mama! I want to go et up with soone. A guy nad Lucas ndoza. He’s also fresh out of high school, and interested in business and entrepreneurship. I’m just gonna et up with him at a library. I think he’s real smart and has a great future, and I want to get to know him a bit, you know?"
Before Renatta could even respond, he continued. "Just one thing, he’s a bit far away. So when I co back, it’ll already be night."
Renan saw no reason to blatantly lie. Getting to know soone was a perfectly legitimate reason to go out. Sure, he made it seem like he already knew him a bit from online, and like they both agreed to discuss future business, but what were a few implications?
It wasn’t as if he could tell her that he wanted to get to know this future Masteria Online business mogul and save him before his untily death.
Renatta looked up at Renan, staring into his eyes for a bit. After an uncomfortable dozen seconds of silence, she gently nodded.
"You’re suddenly being very responsible." Renatta noted, taking in the changes, starting to list them one by one. "You cleaned up and organized that room, which had perpetually been a ss for years. You gathered up old things that you no longer want or need and listed them. You abandoned that ga you’ve been playing for years, decisively selling all your things, in preparation of a business opportunity in a new release. And now you are setting out to et up with soone that’s into business. I don’t know what happened lately, but you’ve been much more proactive about taking control of your future."
She pauses for a bit, leaving a mont of silence where Renan was unable to respond properly.
I... didn’t expect this. Did I make a mistake? I considered many things, but my family noticing a sudden change in my behavior wasn’t one of those things.
"I..."
Before Renan had ti to formulate a proper response, Renatta continued. "Regardless, you’re a young man now. I suppose I’ve been blind to those changes. After all, when you’re locked in your room all day, it’s easy to imagine that you’re just wasting ti, playing gas all day. I see now you’ve actually been thinking, preparing, and now you’re finally ready to put your plans in action."
She got up from her cushioned chair, her gaze slowly turning emotional, wrapping her arms around Renan. "At so point, my little boy grew up, and I didn’t even realize it."
"Mom, I..." Renan had no idea what to say or do. This wasn’t in the plan. At all. In truth, he hadn’t particularly given too much thought to his family. It wasn’t that he didn’t care for them. He loved them a lot. But they weren’t at the forefront of his mind, given that he was mostly focused on plans for the future.
Neither of them played Masteria Online in his past life, after all. And neither ended up dying before the end of the world. That made it so that none of his plans particularly involved them, which led to not having them in mind.
That was a mistake.
This is my family.
Renan quickly opened his arms to embrace his mother back in a tight embrace, closing his eyes emotionally. "I love you, Mama."
Renatta let out a smile. "I love you too, dearie." She gently let off on her hug and held Renan’s shoulders, looking up at him. "Of course you can go. Just be safe out there, okay? Don’t go into any private spaces with people you barely know. Stay in the good parts of town. Drive safe. Be well my dear."
Renan nodded. "Of course, Mama."
"Good." Renatta smiled and patted his head, then patted the bed next to her. "Sit down, let’s talk. It’s been a while."
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