Re-Awakening: I Became a Pay To Win Boss Monster

A few hours had passed in the blink of an eye, and they were only 80% done unpacking everything.

Even little Elise was helping, ripping the packaging open with toy scissors.

Still, the only reason she had stopped was because her phone rang.

She took it out, and her eyes soon widened when she saw who sent it.

<Rael Sutekh: Piece of shit sun destroying my fucking trees. Hey, when you get over here, get Asimov to hire the players to fix this shit... My bad, this is just pissing me off way too much.>

She let out a giggle.

<Karina: What do you mean by the sun? What happened?>

A moment later, he replied.

<Rael Sutekh: My wife used an overpowered skill and made a permanent eclipse that blocked off the sun. Then the developer cocksuckers did something too. The moment that announcement came, the entire continent shook, and yeah, the land's a mess now.>

Hmm... I doubt the players would be able to help much... Karina pondered as she suddenly got an idea.

<Karina: The announcement did mention a new story and updates, right? Don't you think they changed the map to suit those updates?>

<Rael Sutekh: Well no shit. But the problem is that I don't know how it happened. Like, the eclipse just pulsed slightly, and poof, a bunch of costly bullshit. If they can do it that easily, then what else can they do, you know? But oh well... it's whatever. Celestara isn't suffering as much as the other countries since I'm here. Also, when you arrive, head straight for the palace. My wife will give you a few quests while I'm gone.>

Before she could even reply, it showed that he went offline.

Her brows twitched in annoyance, but after taking a deep breath, she calmed down.

He really has a way of pissing people off... it's like a talent, she thought, then turned toward the others.

It seemed like they had unpacked the essentials and were now lazing around on a couch.

Karina approached and sat beside Asuna, who was scrolling through her phone.

She was writing something, and when Karina paid closer attention, she realized what it was.

"You're making the recruitment post already?" Karina asked, puzzled. "Don't you want to announce it on your stream first?"

Asuna shook her head. "Since there are only around 4 hours left until the game launches, people are checking the forums like hawks. Maybe an update will drop, maybe a new announcement, you know?"

A faint grin tugged at her lips. "But what if instead of that, what appears is a post by the most popular diva in Sketa Online advertising her group? People would flock to it, and maybe even the news outlets would pick up on that."

She let out a chuckle. "So basically what I'm saying is that whenever I do start the stream, the number of people who will check it out is going to be massive. Chances are, I might even be the face of Sketa Online for a week or two."

Hearing that, Karina stared at her in awe.

"You sure like money, don't you?" Maria commented with a giggle, patting Elise's head.

"Well, adding another digit to my bank account definitely won't hurt," Asuna replied matter-of-factly.

She stood up dramatically on the couch and raised her phone.

And with a single press, she made the post.

A few seconds passed as she awkwardly stood, but not even a moment later...

—DING DING DING DING

—DING DING

The notifications began pouring in, making Asuna nearly drop her phone as she swiftly turned her sound off and sat back down.

"W-Well... at least it's working," she remarked, flustered.

Karina's curiosity spiked, so she went ahead and checked out the forums.

To her surprise, the upvotes were rising rapidly.

-Trending!

↳ Starlight is recruiting! Join Asimov's new guild! <539,689 Upvotes>

.

.

.

↳ Starlight is recruiting! Join Asimov's new guild! <232,997,138 Upvotes>

"Is it stabilizing...?" Karina muttered, dazed.

She had been doing nothing but staring at the upvotes rising rapidly for the last couple of hours.

And by now, Asuna's guild recruitment was the second most popular post on the forums, right after the Sketa Online announcement.

As for the one behind the post? She was currently walking around in a luxurious golden robe, holding a glass of wine.

"My... is this what true wealth looks like?" she remarked, clicking her tongue as she took a sip of wine. "Ahh... the taste of wealth... I... urgh..."

She immediately vomited all the wine out on the floor.

But for a moment, she actually looked kind of cool.

Definitely.

"Heh, you have the worst alcohol tolerance I've ever seen," Maria said as she set Elise aside and helped Asuna to the bathroom.

In the meantime, Karina kept refreshing the forums until a surprising message finally appeared.

<Announcement!>

<With 30 minutes left until official launch, the players who have played the Beta test may freely log in!>

<Good luck, and may your journey inside Sketa Online be memorable.>

<Developer: S.>

With that, the forums once again exploded.

But Karina didn't pay attention to any of that as she ran up to her Virtual Reality Pod and set it up.

She did the same for Asuna's and Maria's pods.

Of course, she didn't leave out little Elise's Virtual Reality Pod.

On the side of it were two switches that allowed even children to play the game.

—Gore Switch On/Off

—Pain Tolerance: Default 10% - Children's mode: 0%

She selected Children's mode, and with that, she finished setting everything up.

"Little Elise, stay there for a second, okay?" Karina said gently as she passed a box of pastries over to her.

"Ohkay!" Elise saluted playfully and got to eating.

In the meantime, Karina ran into the bathroom, then yanked both Maria and Asuna outside by their collars.

"Hey hey, come on! This robe cost me 5 bucks!" Asuna grumbled. "Don't you see the golden linen? It's expensive!"

Karina rolled her eyes and showed the two of them the announcement.

Immediately, their eyes widened, and they ran to their respective Virtual Pods.

All except for Maria.

"I'd love to go inside right away... but I'm not leaving little Elise alone for 30 minutes. I'll be with you after she's inside the game, okay?" Maria said apologetically.

"Pfft... Just wait until little Elise asks her mommy what her in-game nickname is," Asuna remarked with a smirk as her expression turned puppy-eyed. "M-Mommy... what's a milf gattling gun—KUHH!"

Maria delivered a fierce punch to Asuna's abdomen, then picked her up by her robe and tossed her inside the Virtual Reality Pod.

She turned to Karina and nodded.

"See you in a bit," she said with a wave and went over to her daughter.

As for Karina, she let out a giggle and jumped inside her own pod.

She closed it behind her, and soon, a familiar blue hologram appeared.

<Assimilation in progress, please wait...>

She waited a few minutes, and finally, it was done.

<Ding!>

<Character Detected!>

<Karina [Level 82] Class: Sound Maiden (Epic)>

<Do you wish to enter Sketa Online?>

<Yes/No>

A faint smirk appeared on her face as she pressed 'Yes.'

Her consciousness faded, and just a few seconds later, she felt the realistic wind blow against her soft skin.

When she finally opened her eyes, she was met with a peculiar sight.

An eclipse hung in the sky, just as Rael had mentioned.

But that was not all. When she glanced around, she noticed Celestara had become a little... different.

There were food shops everywhere, lemonade stalls on pretty much every corner of the street.

Even more surprising were the beautiful strings of paper lanterns stretching from rooftop to rooftop, swaying gently in the breeze like glowing golden pearls.

It seemed mystical, and it almost reminded her of the New Year festivals in her own world.

Still, a smile appeared on her face as she looked around in familiarity.

She spotted the blue star in the sky, then the luxurious royal palace in the distance.

And with it, the giant pop-up that appeared right above her.

<Welcome back to Sketa Online!>