Chapter 1: Breakfast in Forever Winter

Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Breakfast in Forever Winter

...Then came the darkness.

Victor felt a sudden weight. A body that wasn’t exactly his. It was too heavy in the shoulders, and too solid in the arms.

He suddenly felt confused.

Why can I suddenly feel my own heartbeat in my fists?

Then the loud voice hit him.

"Southern Blood Barbarians challenging my rule, Welcome to the Mallet arena. You must know this. You all will surely die!"

"Uhhh..." Victor could not believe his ears.

I thought I died. But those words. That’s the intro line to the first boss battle of that game.

His eyes darted around.

"YEAH!!!"

"For blood. For honor. For Conquest."

The shirtless barbarians around him roared, slamming their swords and mallets together. Some beat their fists against their own chest enough to bruise.

Ahead of them came the groaning sound of a rusted gate opening.

From within came a giant scaly creature the size of a small building.

Victor felt his heart drop. "Oh no. Oh no. It’s a lie. How did I get here. It can’t be? That is a Dra... Dra... DRAGON!?"

...

Moments earlier...

The dim light of the artificial sun brightened the bubbling streets.

In a world without a true sun, even this dim light was greatly appreciated. It kept the biting cold of encroaching winter away.

But right now, Victor could not feel its warmth.

"I am sorry Victor, it’s not you. It’s me. I know I love you, but... I am no longer in love with you.

I... I just can’t do this anymore."

Nadia muttered through her full cherry lush lips.

They were right in the middle of a loud crowd celebrating the new year festival, but in the whole of Victor’s 22 years, words had never been louder.

Victor stared at Nadia... Eyes wide. Frozen in shock.

What is she doing? This was not how it was supposed to happen? This is not how it happens in Manwha and Manga. Even Disney princess stories end with happily ever after.

I have already dreamed of a life with her. Two cute kids and a dog.

But now...

Subconsciously, his right hand found his chest. His sweaty fingers squeezed tightly.

Crack.

His fantasy broke and a world shattering ache began.

His lips opened. But only a word managed to wrestle free...

"Why...?" It tore loose before he could stop it, and with it came the tears he’d been holding back.

Nadia raised her head to him. Her almond eyes spilling her annoyance.

She was the most beautiful girl in Haven college. Endowed with all the right curves in all the right places to keep heads turned.

So beautiful that many speculated that she’d had plastic surgery done, even though everyone knew she’d been modeling since she could crawl, and had awakened as a D–Ranker after the Blackest Night.

A day the whole world shook as it was plunged into sudden unending darkness and forever winter.

Such a strong, beautiful, independent woman shouldn’t have known of Victor’s nerdy existence, much less date him. not in a world of other options like, Rankers. These were individuals that could move mountains with a thought and split oceans with a casual sneeze.

Even the artificial sun currently sustaining the city was their handy work.

Then again, could one even call what they had dating?

They never held hands unless it was during Nadia’s photo shoots.

She only flirted with him when the cameras were live.

She never called him unless it was through her assistant.

Naturally, he was never allowed to call back.

And a kiss? What a joke. The closest he ever got to those cherry-plum lips was when she threw up on him after a cocktail party

And yet this break up still hurt. It hurt like hell.

After all, he had loved her regardless.

"What do you mean, why?" Nadia rolled her eyes, tired of having this conversation.

Then her gaze landed on the game console in his right hand, and something in Victor went cold.

Of course, it always came back to the console.

This game console had been his friend as far back as he could remember. It was there even during embarrassing times, like that time in the grocery store when that kid called him ’Air Balloon’ and all the customers within earshot laughed along.

For Victor, Dungeon Conquest was not just a game. It was the only place that never mocked or laughed at him. The one place that never let him down.

Unlike the harsh realities of the real world that had taken everything precious from him, the game promised riches, glory, beautiful women, and a version of himself people wanted to be around.

As a hot blooded young man failing in society, he was naturally drawn to such a world.

Back then, no one was really playing it. It had cheap graphics, dead servers, and was a joke in every forum he lurked in.

But Victor kept playing anyway, long after his eyesight went to shit, and he had to order special glasses to keep going.

And then ten years later, everything changed.

The parent company’s stock exploded overnight. This attracted a lot of people and Dungeon Conquest, just like NFTS, became the hottest topic after Earth’s defending Rankers online.

Naturally, attention landed on its number one player.

Victor Language.

The same person no one would look at twice without thinking Air Balloon, suddenly became an overnight celebrity.

And then, she came along.

Nadia

At the time, Victor knew she wanted to use him to improve her modeling career, but how could he—the one suffering in the cold dark, refuse the first warmth anyone ever gave him in years?

Because of his dating status with Nadia, his college classmates envied him, his teachers looked at him differently.

What no one knew was that Victor was close to her, but impossibly far away. But the warmth she gave, however manufactured, had touched his heart.

For a while, he thought it would last forever. He had hoped it would.

But life was so cruel. A week ago, he received a devastating email. The parent company for Dungeon Conquest had crashed like an egg on concrete. Apparently, a different game company had bought out their stocks and ruined them. They were even rumors of a cyber attack.

Then came Nadia assistant’s call a week later. She wanted to see him at midnight on New Year’s Eve.

And now this.

What a messed up way to start the new year.

Nadia turned to her stiff humorless assistant by her side.

"Did I do well, Fernando?"

"Excellently, Miss Nadia. This is the cleanest way to end things." Fernando adjusted his glasses, his eyes flicking to Victor in distaste. "Though a text message would have spared you the trouble of looking at... that."

Those words made Victor’s chest cave in further.

Fernando’s phone rang, he answered. His eyes brightened instantly. "Lady Nadia, he is here."

Fernando had barely finished talking when a limousine arrived a few meters away.

A man stepped out of the passenger. He was handsome, with lean fit muscles, a dragon tattoo leading up one arm.

On seeing him, Nadia turned. "The young master of the Skyfall group. C–Ranker Leon Skyfall."

She hurried to him, nearly glowing.

’Skyfall group?’ Victor remembered the email from that morning.

’Is that not the company that destroyed Dungeon Conquest Parent Company?’

Nadia jumped into Leon’s manly embrace, her huge chest nearly smacking him in the face.

Before Victor’s observing eyes, Leon wrapped his hands around Nadia, one hand slipping down her lean waist to cup a healthy feel of one cheek, as he dove a deep kiss into those lips Victor had only ever fantasized about.

Victor had never even held Nadia’s hand without a glove, and here was another man touching her like it was nothing.

Victor’s knees hit the pavement. Tears came, and he did not try to stop them. No, he couldn’t.

Leon glanced over, noticing Victor for the first time.

"Nadia," he said in a sweet tone. "What is that?"

Nadia barely gazed back at Victor, "oh, forget him. He is merely a... a fan."

A fan?

After an entire year of confessing love and a future together. That was all she could say?

"Nadia, please... please don’t do this to me." Victor’s voice cracked.

"Why does he know your name?" Leon asked.

"Um... I’m famous, remember?" She waved a hand, already leaning back into Leon.

"He probably saw me in a commercial or something. Now, you said you were taking me out to somewhere expensive."

The young master chuckled, leading her into the limousine.

Before she got in, she gave Fernando a look. he nodded once.

"Nadia... No!" Victor’s hand stretched toward the car.

But the door shut, and the car drove away.

Victor broke down completely.

Fernando looked down at him, " A word of advice. Let go of whatever stupid thoughts you have of the young miss. She was never your class."

Not my class? Not my class!? That’s not what he said before.

"...but You said we were a couple made in the stars." Victor mumbled, sniffing.

"Made in the stars?" Fernando actually laughed. "Don’t flatter yourself. The only usefulness you had was that stupid game and even that..." Fernando’s eyes fell on the console.

"...is now useless." He sent a powerful kick for the console.

It was sent flying, crashing once, twice. Three times, skidding across the pavement.

It stopped in the middle of the festival crowd.

"No... my console." Victor dove for it.

"Leave it." Fernando grabbed his collar, but Victor’s weight pulled forward, ripping the fabric, and letting him stumble towards the console on his hands and knees.

Ahead, a dancing foot kicked the console forward.

Victor’s heart skipped a beat.

I already lost one love today. If I lose another, I might as well just die.

He tried to reach for it, his weight made him fall again.

And then another foot kicked the console, and another. Further, this time, out of the crowd entirely.

It stopped in the middle of the road.

Victor scrambled up and ran.

He managed to reach it before a car did.

"Thank heavens. By some luck, I reached it in time."

He scooped it up.

"The road has chipped the sides and cracked its screen. But a little fixing and it’s all good."

He allowed himself a single broken laugh of relief.

HOOOONK HOOOONK

The Horn of an approaching truck with bright headlights swallowed the laugh whole.

The realization hit him half a second too late.

Road.

Victor turned to his side, eyes staring at the truck too near to dodge.

BAM—