The smell of ozone and burnt copper was the last thing Jaxen Thorne remembered. That, and the blinding white light of a Tier-9 "Star-Fall" spell obliterating the battlefield of the Great War. He had died a loser—a mid-tier mercenary caught in the crossfire of gods.
Then, the cold.
Jaxen bolted upright, his lungs expanding with a sharp, ragged gasp. He wasn't on a scorched battlefield. He was on a thin, lumpy mattress that smelled of cheap detergent and old textbooks. Sunlight filtered through a grime-streaked window, illuminating dust motes dancing in the air.
He stared at his hands. They were smooth, lacking the jagged scars from the Void-Beasts he'd fought for years.
"No..." he whispered, his voice cracking.
He lunged for the nightstand, knocking over a half-empty can of lukewarm energy drink. He grabbed the phone—an ancient, clunky model compared to the neural-links of the future.
August 1st, 2042. 10:31 AM.
Jaxen felt a wave of vertigo so strong he had to grip the edge of the desk. Ten years. The "Great Reset" hadn't just been a rumor; he had actually been thrown back to the beginning.
Today was the day. At 8:00 AM this morning, the Ninth Server of Aetheria Online—the world's first "True-Reality" MMORPG—had officially opened. In his past life, Jaxen had been a month late to the party. He had spent that month trying to find a "real job" to support his family, only to realize too late that Aetheriawas the only job that mattered.
"Elara," he choked out, the name like a weight on his heart.
He scrambled out of bed, his legs feeling strangely light. In 2042, his younger sister Elara was still alive, but she was trapped in a specialized medical ward in New Metro. Her "Neural-Decay" syndrome was eating her alive, and their parents were working double shifts at the shipyards just to keep her on life support.
In the original timeline, his parents would die in a transit accident three months from now, exhausted and overworked. Without their income, Elara's treatment would stop. She would fade away in a dark room, and Jaxen would spend the rest of his life fueled by a hollow, burning regret.
"Not this time," Jaxen growled, his eyes hardening with a predatory focus. "I have ten years of secrets. I know every hidden dungeon, every exploited mechanic, and every world-boss spawn."
He checked his bank account. 3,000 Credits. It was his entire tuition and food budget for the semester at New Metro University. If he spent this, he'd be penniless and hungry by Friday.
"High risk, high reward," he muttered, throwing on a hoodie. He didn't head for the campus cafeteria. He headed for the "Neural-Gate" retail outlet three blocks away.
The streets of New Metro were buzzing. Huge holographic billboards hovered over the skyscrapers, showing cinematic trailers of Aetheria Online. Knights in gleaming plate armor clashing with dragons; mages weaving spells that shattered mountains.
Aetheria wasn't just a game; it was a digital gold mine. The AI running it, "The Archive," was so advanced it could generate real-world wealth through its decentralized currency.
Jaxen reached the store. The line for the high-end "Gold-Tier" pods wrapped around the block. These were the rich kids—the ones who would start with luxury bonuses. Jaxen ignored them and went to the "Budget" kiosk.
"One Grade-D Neural Helmet," Jaxen said, sliding his ID across the counter.
The clerk, a bored teenager with neon-blue hair, looked at him. "That's 2,999 Credits, man. No refunds once the neural-seal is broken. You sure? For an extra thousand, you could get the Grade-C with the haptic-vest..."
"Just the helmet," Jaxen interrupted.
He didn't need a vest to feel the wind. He needed the entry key. As the transaction cleared, leaving him with exactly 1 Credit in his name, Jaxen felt a cold shiver of excitement. He clutched the box and sprinted back to his dorm.
11:00 AM.
Jaxen sat on his bed, the Grade-D helmet humming as it calibrated to his brainwaves. He pulled the visor down.
[Neural Link Established...]
[Scanning Bio-Signatures... Thorne, Jaxen confirmed.]
[Welcome to Aetheria Online. The world is yours to shape.]
The world dissolved into a shimmering white void.
[Please select your Server.]
A list of nine servers appeared. The first eight were "High-Load," dominated by massive gaming conglomerates like The Aegis Group and Titan Industries. If he went there, he'd be a small fish in a shark tank.
He pointed to the ninth option: [Server 9: Origin]
This server had only been open for three hours. The power vacuum was immense.
[Server Selected. Please enter your Character Name.]
This was the moment. In his past life, there was a legend about the "Seed Algorithm." The Archive AI didn't just give out powers; it reacted to the "Linguistic Frequency" of the name chosen. One player—a man who became a literal god in the game—had accidentally triggered an SSS-Rank Talent because of his specific, philosophical name.
Jaxen took a deep breath. He typed in the string of words that had haunted the forums for a decade.
[Name: The Eternal Tao]
[Checking availability...]
[Name Accepted. Welcome, The Eternal Tao.]
Jaxen's heart nearly stopped. In the original timeline, a player named "Buddhic" had taken this name at 11:15 AM. Jaxen had beaten him by fifteen minutes.
[Warning: Unusual synchronization detected...]
[The Archive is analyzing your linguistic seed...]
[Scanning... Scanning...]
Usually, the game would prompt you to pick a starting class: Warrior, Mage, or Rogue. But Jaxen had his settings turned to Classless. He wanted the "Blank Slate" bonus—the ability to learn anything without restrictions.
[Analysis Complete.]
[You have awakened a Unique, SSS-Rank Innate Talent: INF-BUFF.]
Jaxen's vision swam with golden light as the description appeared:
### TALENT: INF-BUFF (Rank: SSS)
Type: Passive / Absolute
Description: The Archive has identified a flaw in your temporal signature. Any "Status Enhancement" (Buff) applied to the player—regardless of source—is stripped of its duration timer.
Effect: All Buffs are PERMANENT.
Note: Buffs can only be removed if the player is killed by a "World-Eater" tier entity or if the player manually toggles the effect off.
Jaxen stared at the words.
In Aetheria, everything was a buff. A "Minor Healing Potion" gave you +2 Health Regen for 30 seconds. For Jaxen, it would be +2 Health Regen forever. A "Speed Scroll" that lasted for a minute? He would be fast forever. If a Priest blessed him with +10 Strength for a boss fight? He kept that strength until the end of time.
In a "Classless" build, stats were everything. Most players had to balance their gear and mana to keep their buffs active. Jaxen didn't have to balance anything. He just had to find a buff once, and he became a permanent god.
"This is it," Jaxen whispered, a dark, triumphant grin crossing his face. "This is how I save her. This is how I burn it all down."
[Would you like to enter the Tutorial Zone: 'The Shattered Coast'?]
"No," Jaxen said, his voice cold and steady. "Send me to the Level 10 High-Risk Zone: The Shadow Woods."
[Warning: Level disparity too high. Death is certain. Proceed?]
"Proceed."
Jaxen knew a secret. There was a specific NPC in the Shadow Woods that gave a "Newbie" a 24-hour protection buff. For anyone else, it was a temporary safety net. For Jaxen, it would make him invincible to low-level monsters for the rest of his life.
The white light swallowed him, and the game began.