CHAPTER 237: THE LEGENDARY LOGAN

In the real world...

A slim, fragile teenager with curly hair, around eighteen or nineteen years old, adjusted the nerdy-looking, clumsy glasses on his face and then looked up at the skyscraper ahead.

Gadget Hub.

It was the name of the plaza, and just like its name suggested, it sold everything related to gadgets. However, it was mostly famous for its Selig VR Pods and headsets.

Calmly, Logan approached the double glass doors guarded by two muscular men with stern, hard faces. Their gazes bore down on him, making him swallow nervously as he momentarily paused in his steps.

’I’ve come such a long way. I can’t afford to let my anxieties win now,’ he thought inwardly as he summoned every bit of courage and strode in.

"Welcome to Gadget Hub Plaza," the guards greeted in soft, warm voices that betrayed their intimidating looks.

"T-thank you." Logan forced a smile as he stepped past them into the plaza.

The two guards exchanged glances, and one of them couldn’t help but comment, "What a weird kid."

Logan rarely left home. His routine was simple—school, then home, complete his assignments, and play the old game his father had bought for his fifteenth birthday.

He didn’t really have any friends. The people he spoke to in high school were merely classmates; he was something of an outcast.

It wasn’t because he didn’t want to make friends—he simply didn’t know how to start a conversation. The remote location of his house didn’t help matters either.

However, he knew he couldn’t continue living like this forever. He needed to improve his communication skills and start making friends.

The best way he intended to do that was by getting the new game Realm of Ascendency.

All the top students back in his school played it. They had nothing but praise for the game, and they often talked about a certain NPC—

Sir Broken.

They spoke about him with so much enthusiasm, describing how powerful he was. Even though he wasn’t a real character, all the girls had a huge crush on him. Some even had him as their phone wallpaper.

Even the most beautiful girl in school—Samantha, the one Logan secretly admired—was a devoted fangirl of this character.

Their collective obsession had made him curious, and one day, he decided to search Sir Broken on the internet.

What he saw completely blew him away. He instantly understood why the students—and even some teachers—were obsessed with this NPC.

Logan had promised himself to remain loyal to the game his father had given him, but after seeing all those clips of Realm of Ascendency, he knew his old habits had to change.

He couldn’t keep living in the shadows while everyone else was out there having fun, building guilds, and talking about adventures.

That night, he made up his mind.

He was going to get Realm of Ascendency.

---

Inside the plaza, the crowd buzzed with activity. Shoppers moved in and out—most of them teenagers like him—clutching game boxes, headset bundles, or new VR suits. Logan stared around in silent amazement. It felt like stepping into another world.

Screens were everywhere, displaying trailers of Realm of Ascendency. Massive golden letters floated across the displays:

"Over 200 Million Active Players Worldwide!"

"Experience Freedom. Build. Conquer. Ascend."

A short trailer began to play. It showed a handsome, tall, red-haired warrior wielding a greatsword, standing on a burning battlefield—his crimson blade dripping with blood.

Logan couldn’t help but smile faintly. The aura, the voice, the cold look in the character’s eyes—it all matched what he’d heard from Samantha and the others.

For a moment, he felt that same spark of admiration they did.

He adjusted his glasses and walked toward the main counter. The female clerk behind it greeted him with a professional smile. "Welcome to Gadget Hub. How may I help you?"

"I’d like to purchase the game Realm of Ascendency," he said quickly, his voice trembling a little.

"Would you prefer a simple headset or the VR Pod?" she asked.

The headset and pod didn’t differ much in function—the headset was cheaper—but it was common knowledge that the VR Pods offered a far more immersive experience. So, he decided to go with the pod.

"Do you have a preferred model?" the clerk asked.

He paused, fumbling with his savings card. "Uh... the cheapest one, please."

The woman blinked, then nodded with a faint smile. "Understood."

She typed a few things on her holographic pad before looking back up. "That would be the Selig Standard Pod—simple design, perfect for first-timers. Twenty-five hundred dollars."

Logan handed over his savings card. "Use all that’s in there."

The machine beeped. Payment complete.

Moments later, two attendants rolled out a sleek silver capsule packed neatly in a transparent crate. It looked like something straight out of a sci-fi movie.

"Please make sure to install it on a flat surface and run the calibration first," one of the attendants said. "You’ll need to connect your neural interface before the first login. Do you need help setting it up?"

He quickly shook his head. "No, I—I can handle it."

The attendant smiled politely. "Very well. Thank you for shopping with us."

---

By the time Logan got home, the sky was already dark. The glow of the setting sun filled his small room as he carefully unboxed the VR Pod. It was smooth and metallic, with faint blue lights running along the inside.

He checked the manual twice, then connected the power cables exactly as shown in the diagram.

When everything was finally ready, he lay beside it for a moment, just staring at his reflection on the shiny surface.

’This is it,’ he thought. ’No more background life. I’ll talk to people. Make friends. Maybe even party with others in the same guild. And maybe... just maybe, I’ll meet Sir Broken and... and Samantha there too.’

With that, he climbed into the pod.

As soon as he settled in, a green string of text appeared before him.

[Ding! Welcome to Realm of Ascendency.]

***

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