I Don't Need To Log Out

I used to enjoy hanging out with my friends. Even though I had the worst family—my dad was a drunk and my mom left us for another man—at least I had my friends. But that was a few years ago. It wasn't like we had a big fight or anything; we just drifted apart. After my dad died from drinking too much, the only person left in my life was the girl I liked. But it turned out she didn't feel the same way. She wasn't a bad person; she just told me that she liked someone else and saw me as a friend. So I didn't even get the usual 'betrayed by his friends' or 'heartbroken by the girl he likes' tropes—it was just a quiet, uneventful life.

That's how I, Arlon, became a loner and started playing the game 'EVR.' If I could, I wouldn't have logged out for a second since the game capsule took care of all your biological needs. However, to prevent people from becoming too immersed in the game, the developers—who we thought were behind it back then—limited playtime. You could only play for 15 hours before being forced to log out when the day is starting.

I've been playing this MMORPG for the last 10 years, and I'm the best at it. But even I had to log out and return to this ugly reality. Believe me, I tried everything to stay logged in. Even the in-game items didn't help. The money my father left me wasn't enough to get by, so I spent most of my time watching sports games and betting on them while I wasn't logged in—and I even won big once.

But today was different. For the first time in I don't know how long, I had to leave the house to prove to the government that I wasn't dead. Ironically, I'm dying now because some thieves decided to rob a bank and hit me with their car while fleeing.

The worst part is that the only thing I can think about while dying is my game character. Over the past 10 years, we learned that 'EVR' wasn't just a game—it was another world under assault by a different race.

Simply put, EVR is the name of the force of nature that governs the universe, and its purpose is to maintain balance. So, when the Keldar race decided to assault the Trion planet—both physically and with the help of Zeno, what we thought were just game capsules—EVR sent some capsules to Earth to enlist our help in defending the Trionians.

Since EVR isn't a person, this was done under the name of a gaming studio, and we all thought it was just a game. Everything, including the NPCs, was real. But unlike the players, NPCs didn't respawn after dying.

There was also a myth that said whoever kills the endgame boss would be granted a wish by the universe.

I was so close to fighting the endgame boss.

'Dying a dogshit death worse than my father's isn't acceptable. Since EVR is real, there should be compensation for my shitty life and death—otherwise, where's the balance?'

That is the last thing I thought before closing my eyes...

---

When I opened my eyes, I was in my old bed, in my old room. I had moved out of my family's house after winning big in sports betting. Why am I back here?

Then I remembered getting hit by a car and dying. I've read a lot of reincarnation and isekai novels, so the first thing that came to mind, while hoping this was real and not a dream, was one thing. When I checked the calendar, it was about 10 years before the day I died at the age of 33, and one week before the release of 'EVR.' It seems like I regressed.

Of course, it was a shocking event. But after everything that happened over the last ten years in the previous timeline, it was easier to calm down and think: is there anything I should do before the game is released?

The game, of course, impacted Earth even before we knew it was more than just a game since everyone wanted to try this new technology. Zeno wasn't expensive, and even the happiest person wanted a second life. But I never liked this world all that much, so even though I know the big events, I don't know every detail. What I do know is the outcome of nearly all the sports games.

"Sigh... I can get rich on Earth and grow even stronger in EVR now, but what am I going to do when I'm not logged in? The only thing I enjoyed was watching these games and betting. But since I know every outcome, there's no point in watching them."

My family and friends are already gone and I am 23 this year. 

"I think I'll figure out what to do when the time comes. For now, let's get rich and move out."

With that thought, I immediately checked which games were on this week and bet all my money. To avoid suspicion, I will make a big win on one game and keep the others as smaller bets. I'll also need to save some money for the capsule and the supplies it'll need.

---

It's been six days since I regressed. In that time, I left my old house. It wasn't small or anything; I just didn't like it. Most of my memories there were sad, and I don't even know if my mother is alive. Even if she is, she doesn't have any rights to the house, so I sold it and moved out.

Since I don't have any friends, my new apartment is much smaller. All I need is one room to sleep in and one for the capsule.

'EVR' was officially released today. We can create our characters once the capsules are delivered, but since the servers open tomorrow, we'll be logged out right after character creation.

Everyone was talking about the game on TV—and probably everywhere else—since it's based on groundbreaking technology. Looking back, we should have realized something was strange; a leap in technology like this is almost impossible.

---

As soon as the Zeno capsule was delivered, I logged in. There wasn't a separate character creation screen; you just appeared in a randomly chosen starting town and saw the class selection screen. Luckily, I ended up in the same town as I did in the last timeline. While it wasn't the best in terms of mobs and hidden secrets, it was the one I knew best. And I can go to other towns whenever I want.

In the last timeline, I didn't even think about which skills I wanted—I just logged in and chose Warrior. Coincidentally, it was the best choice I could've made. Throughout most of the game, only a few players were stronger than me, and that was only until I surpassed them. There was just one player who got lucky and became a magic swordsman. If he hadn't been so bad at it, no one could have outdone him. So this time, I'll be the one to become the magic swordsman so that talent doesn't go to waste. But that's further down the line; for now, I'll choose Warrior again.

Since the in-game appearance and name is the same as real life, I didn't need to make many adjustments. Our real-life body doesn't affect in-game stats, so even though I'm a normal 23-year-old guy with a slightly muscular build, I start at the same level as a 15-year-old in the game.

At least, that's what we thought. Even though our stats are identical, our physical appearance affects things like arm reach and height. Shorter players are better suited to being assassins, and bulkier ones make better tanks. So for me, at 1.92 meters, a sword-wielding Warrior was the best fit.

After choosing my class, I stayed a while, looking around. I knew that once I completed character creation, I'd be logged out, so I wanted to linger here a bit longer. Tomorrow feels so far away, and I have nothing to do outside. After some time, I decided it was finally time to complete the process. I closed my eyes, waiting for the capsule to open—but no matter how long I waited, I didn't feel the change in the air. When I opened my eyes, I was still in the starting town.

"Is this a bug? Maybe I'll walk around a bit."

I saw NPCs going about their tasks. I even left the town to look around, only to find monsters were there too. Not wanting to do anything risky before confirming the capsule wasn't faulty, I headed back to town. I noticed players spawning in to choose their classes, only to log out right afterward. There's no way all of them clicked "exit" that quickly.

I checked the menu and saw the exit button. After hesitating for a moment, I clicked it and found myself back on Earth instantly. So, I wasn't trapped in the game world after regressing. Naturally, I logged back in immediately and found myself back in the starting town, Istarra. That's when it hit me:

"I don't need to log out!"

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Author's Note: I want to clarify something that might be misunderstood. EVR is the force that is balancing the universe. It is literally the Nature. But EVR (or 'EVR' before chapter 11) is the game that was released on Earth.