"I've been reborn?"
Lin Chen stared blankly at his surroundings.
The television in front of him was still brasting the news.
"Era of Lords is a super online game that combines elements of city building, warfare, trade, and mass troop production."
"It is also the first fully immersive holographic online game in human history. Players can use gaming equipment to project their consciousness into the game world…"
"The main control system of Era of Lords operates independently. No country or individual can access or alter the game data…"
"At exactly noon today, the open beta of Era of Lords officially begins. We look forward to your participation…"
Watching the flashing images on the screen, Lin Chen became even more certain of his situation.
He had actually been reborn—on the very day of the Era of Lords open beta five years ago.
But wasn't he just killed by a player from Tark Star?
Then why is he...
He glanced at his phone. There were still three minutes until noon.
In other words, in three minutes, the game that would eventually bring Bluestar to its doom in his previous life would begin its open beta.
Why would one say that?
Because Era of Lords, though it appeared to be a groundbreaking holographic simulation game on the surface—
Was it really just a game?
No. In truth, it was a battlefield designed for civilizations across the universe.
Three years ago, the space stations of various Bluestar nations suddenly received a mysterious signal from deep space.
After decryption by global research teams, it was revealed to be the preliminary data of an era-defining virtual game.
That game—was Era of Lords.
After three years of development and preparation, Era of Lords was finally ready to launch its open beta on this day, January 1st, 2200.
Governments around the globe encouraged all Bluestar citizens over the age of sixteen to enter the game.
On the surface, everything seemed fine.
But it wasn't.
Because two years after the open beta, Bluestar would merge with the world of Era of Lords.
Along with it, several other civilizations that had also been selected by Era of Lords—and all of their in-game data—would merge as well.
From that point on, Era of Lords became an interstellar battlefield. Earth players would have to compete with players from countless alien civilizations across the universe.
The most important part: the world of Era of Lords would become completely real.
Players entering the game would no longer have unlimited revives.
Each death would deduct from their lifespan. And once that reached zero, they would vanish completely.
Lin Chen was killed during one such secret realm skirmish—ambushed and surrounded by an alliance from Tark Star.
His troops were annihilated, his heroes slain, his territory destroyed—everything turned to dust.
Lin Chen himself was also killed in that battle, disappearing forever.
But who would've thought—that death would bring him back to this very day, the start of the Era of Lords open beta.
Realizing this, Lin Chen let out a long breath.
A cold glint flashed in his eyes, and his fists clenched involuntarily.
"If Heaven has given me a second chance, then this time—I will change everything. I won't repeat the same fate. Tark Star, just you wait!"
With that, Lin Chen turned his gaze to the silver-white, egg-shaped object beside him.
It was a game capsule—the device human players used to enter Era of Lords.
Because while analyzing the game's data, various governments had already sensed that something was amiss.
These capsules had thus been distributed for free.
Every citizen over the age of 18 could receive one and enter the game.
As a result, Era of Lords exploded in popularity.
With a soft sigh, Lin Chen checked the time.
Only three minutes left until the game officially launched.
He got up and splashed cold water on his face in the bathroom, waking himself up.
Then he returned to the living room, opened the capsule, and climbed inside.
The Era of Lords was full of opportunities. If he wanted to become stronger than in his past life, he had to enter the game as soon as it opened. A head start now meant a lasting lead later.
The capsule lid closed automatically.
Lin Chen shut his eyes, letting the warm nutrient fluid envelop and immerse his body.
This substance maintained the body's functions, allowing players to stay online for long periods without suffering any harm.
As the fluid filled the chamber, a voice from the capsule sounded in Lin Chen's ears.
"Verifying identity and binding."
"Citizen of Xia Country: Lin Chen, 20 years old, height 1.85 meters, weight…"
"Verification complete. Entering Lordland, please wait…"
As the voice faded, the scenery before Lin Chen transformed.
Endless wilderness stretched out before him.
Dense jungles, wild beasts and birds.
Majestic buildings, and troop formations arranged in tight formations.
It stirred the blood.
This was the promotional CG of Era of Lords.
Lin Chen had seen it countless times in his past life, so naturally, he wasn't interested.
He skipped it directly and moved to the character creation screen.
In Era of Lords, there were no race options—all players defaulted to Human.
"Please name your character."
The system's prompt echoed.
Lin Chen thought for a moment and said, "Evernight."
That was his ID in the previous life—he'd just keep using it.
"This name is available. Character created successfully."
"Please choose your class," the system prompted again.
Available classes in Era of Lords were Warrior, Knight, Mage, Archer, Priest, and Assassin.
In his past life, Lin Chen had chosen Warrior—a balanced class with both tankiness and damage.
But to be honest, it wasn't that practical.
Because in Era of Lords, the real competition lay in troop battles.
Are you really going to charge into battle alongside your troops and fight on the front lines?
Isn't that a bit awkward?
So this time, Lin Chen would go for a ranged class.
Between Mage and Archer—pick your poison.
"I'll go with Mage," Lin Chen muttered.
"Class selected. Open beta countdown: 00:01:23. Your spawn location will be assigned shortly."
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