Alan was an Earthling born in the virtual era. On Earth, he was an orphan with none to count on. From his childhood, he learned how to struggle, and to survive he often had to resort to dirty means. Life was unforgiving but he persisted and was able to survive for many years.

When he was 18, a company financed by many countries launched a virtual world called Gaia. This world was meant to act as the internet hub of virtual reality and was accompanied by a game of the same name offering a variety of advantages to its player in the Gaia world. Gaia had many benefits that quickly put it above all its predecessors in the industry. Be it the realism of the game, the better time dilation, the possibility to stay inside the game for a long time or play during your sleep, everything was better than what was already on the market.

Due to the numerous benefits and changes they promised, Gaia was able to create a massive revolution in the virtual era. It was this revolution that was the starting point of Alan’s new life. Tired of having to struggle every day to make a living, Alan chose to gamble everything he had and took a loan to start playing Gaia. It wasn’t easy at the beginning, with little to no experience when it came to virtual games and no one to support him, he struggled a lot, and nearly ended up as a slave for his creditor. However, luck was on his side, and thanks to two special items he chanced upon he eventually managed to rise beyond his wildest dream.

Thanks to those items and his hard work, he became one the most powerful players of Gaia, gaining the title of Spear Sovereign, managed to create a guild that rose to become a legendary one, and created one of the 5 player empires. In a few years, he went from a nameless orphan on the street to one of the most influential figures in the world. Gone were the days where he would have to forage the trash to satiate his hunger, gone were the days where he needed to sleep outdoors under the cold wind. Now he had wealth, power, and women. He owned a big villa, could eat whatever he wanted, could go wherever he wanted, and had even a beautiful girlfriend.  

It has been 6 years, almost 20 in-game times since he started playing Gaia and he was readying himself to attempt his Tier 6 class-up trial and maybe become the 3rd god grade entity of Gaia. Unfortunately, he didn’t manage to complete it on the first try but he wasn’t too disappointed since he knew how difficult it would be and was ready to try many times. Anyway, nothing was pressing him, his power was firmly established and few people could threaten him.

The future was bright and he was young.

However, before he could enjoy that future, he met his demise and was brought to another world.

***    

The Glorious Sun Empire, Northcross Dukedom.

Inside an extravagantly decorated room in the castle of the Northcross Duke, a young man has just woken up and was looking around him with obvious confusion in his eyes.

“Urgh... What the hell happened?” He muttered with a low grunt as he opened his eyes. However, he couldn't help but be surprised by what he saw. He was expecting to find himself lying in his gaming pod after he opened his eyes but what greeted him was an unfamiliar ceiling. 

'Uh?? Where am I? Am I still in the game? If I remember well after I failed my class up and tried to log out there was a bug in the game and I found myself in a dark place but after that nothing.' He muttered as he started to look at his surroundings. 

He was currently lying under golden bed sheets in a king-sized Victorian-style bed. It was big enough for more than 6 people to sleep comfortably. Like the bed, all the pieces of furniture inside the room were luxurious one and all of them perfectly fit together, be it in their style, their color, or their setting, showing with how much care the room was decorated.

As for the room itself, it was a large one, being more than 50 square meters. Silent, he seized up the room, he was still trying to understand what was happening to him. One moment he was trying to log out and the next he found himself in that foreign place. Could it be that he unknowingly triggered a quest or some kind of event? He honestly couldn't tell if someone was playing a prank on him or he was still in the game. That was the scary point with Gaia, it was almost impossible to distinguish it from reality.

'Ah!! If I am in the game I should be able to see my status, right?' Alan thought and immediately tried to do so. However, no matter how much he tried, no status windows appeared in front of him.

'I should try looking around then.' Alan said and prepared to leave the bed. Just as he moved the quilt, he was suddenly assaulted by a flood of memories rushing in his head like water freed from a dam.

With the memories also came an unbearable pain making him feel dizzy and nearly making him faint. Struggling a few minutes to get a hold of himself, he started looking through the content of those foreign memories, only to be left shocked by them.

The body he was currently in wasn't his, it was the body of Alan Northcross, the only child Duke Northcross had with his second wife Theodora. He was a smart and talented child greatly doted on by both his parents. His father was a powerful Duke and his mother was always gentle with him, always giving in to all his demands, allowing him to live free and unfettered.

All would have been great in his life if not for the tense relationships between his mother and his stepmother, the Duchess, and the first wife of the Duke. Since his mother was favored by his father it inspired great jealousy and hate from his stepmother who always did everything in her power to make their life difficult.

While it was annoying they were able to cope with it and go on with their life. His mother was a gentle and kind person and she always would avoid entering into conflict with the duchess and would never respond to any provocation. She was expecting that the duchess would get tired of harassing her and would give up with time. 

Naturally, Alan followed his mother's example, hoping that his stepmom would eventually stop bothering them. What he had never expected was his mother mysteriously dying without any notice. Her death induced a great deal of change in his life starting with his father distancing himself from him and an increase in the bullying he was the victim of, the only one that kept standing for him was Crea the last daughter of the duchess who was a year younger than him and with whom he always had a good relationship.

Luckily for him, he was smart and understanding that his mother's death was anything but natural, started to act as a prodigious son to fool his mother's murderer, and appears as an unworthy target. That’s how he became the despicable and perverted young master of the Northcross family, wasting all his time in brothels surrounded by women and wine.

For any bystanders, he was having a hard time coping with his mother's death and was trying to drown his sorrow using sex and alcohol. Nobody found his sudden change surprising and he would even receive some pitying gazes from time to time. 

What many didn’t know was that behind this façade he was craving revenge and to reach that goal has already started to gather resources to go on an adventure to seek power. Unfortunately for him, despite all these precautions, he was still deemed as a threat, and assassins were sent after him. Luckily, he never let his guard down and managed to escape his pursuers, barely keeping his life.

The last thing he recalled was collapsing in front of the castle gate and regretting not being able to avenge his mother. 

“ A tragic but typical story. Still, it looks like someone is looking after him. It should be that person that took  him back to the castle and took care of him after he collapsed." Alan said while looking at his bandaged body 

'He still died from those injuries and I have somehow become the owner of his body. He was such an unfortunate lad.'

As he was lost in his thoughts, the door of his room was slowly opened. He turned his head to look and see who the newcomer was but before he even managed to, the newcomer had already rushed through the whole room and was hugging him. 

“Sob sob sob, Big brother I was so worried, I am so glad you finally woke up. You are not allowed to make me this scared ever again.”  The petite girl from whom a sweet and soothing autumn fragrance was wafting off said in a small and melodious voice tinged with worry. Her sudden appearance and action startled him first but he quickly figured who it was and couldn’t help but soften while looking at her. There was only one person who was so kind to the previous Alan and called him big brother. It was Crea. 

She was a young and beautiful girl. She has a cute and round face with beautiful emerald eyes, her small and lovely lips were currently curled in a brilliant and relieved smile, and her plump and rosy cheeks have some tear stains on them. 

As for her body, it was slender and curvaceous with a moderate bust and rear size. She was wearing a simple flower dress that stopped above her knees and gave her a casual look. Overall coupled with her air of innocence and kindness he was more the cute type of beauty. 

“Big brother says something, don't just stare at me like that. “ Crea said in a small voice and with a little blush on her face.

“Haha, don’t worry I’m just making sure to never forget how beautiful you are.” He replied as he came out of his daze

“Dummy, stop saying embarrassing things like that.” She answered as tears started coming out of her eyes once again. 

“I was so worried when you weren’t waking up.“ Crea said, burying her head on his chest.

“Don’t worry I’m alright now.” He said as he hugged her back and lightly patted her head. 

‘Sorry little girl, your brother is no more, it’s me now. But don’t worry I’ll take care of you for him and I’ll make sure to right all wrongs he has suffered.‘ Alan thought as he stroked Crea's platinum hair. As soon as he made that vow, he felt like a weight was lifted from him and he truly got full control of this new body. 

‘Uh, it seems this body has truly acknowledged me.’

Breaking out of his embrace Crea looked at him with an unwilling gaze before saying “Brother I don’t want to leave you, but father asked me to call him as soon as you wake up. I have to go but I’ll come soon, ok. Don’t go anywhere.“ Crea said before exiting the room with breezy steps. 

Looking at her back with a small smile he finally focused on a part of the memory he kept aside since he was focusing on his body identity first. It was the memory about the world where he was now. 

It was a magical world called Aria where things such as magic, dragon, mythical monsters, fairy, elves, dungeons, and people able to level a mountain with a wave of their hand were all real stuff and not just products of someone's imagination. Alan was naturally thrilled by all of this since he was given the opportunity to experience all the things he did in Gaia again but as his real-life this time and damn he was going to use this opportunity to the maximum 

He was currently on the Asteria mainland which was dominated by humans and shared between three main powers. One of them being the Glorious Sun Empire which nobility his family was part of. However, in this world, being a noble means nothing if you don't have enough power. 

There were many paths of power existing on Aria but all of them revolved around the use of mana. The way someone used it determined which path he was on. All mana users could be put in two general categories: the spell casters and the warriors. The warriors used mana to strengthen their bodies while the spell casters used it to control the elements. The warrior paths were more popular than the magic paths since they had less stringent requirements and were easier to tread on. 

As Alan was going to look more deeply into things the door was once again opened and Crea entered but this time she was followed by a man. The man that was his father in this life. When he looked at him there was only one word that came to his head and it was, powerful. 

Alan had played Gaia for 20 years and even though it was just a game, he had spent those 20 years constantly fighting and dealing with powerful entities. He knew to recognize someone powerful when he saw one, and the man before him was powerful. A tall and well-built body hiding an enormous amount of power, a steady and calm breath. Each of his steps and movements was precise and he wasn't wasting an ounce of energy or doing any unnecessary movements. His gaze was sharp, composed, and filled with majesty. It gave the impression that nothing would be able to escape it and everything was under his control. It was difficult to not be impressed when facing such a person.

As soon as Alan's father started to talk, all this feeling of power and might vanished like it was a lie. On his face, there was now a relieved, sad, and self-blaming look.

" I’m glad to see you are well. I was worried for you. I have truly let you down. I wasn’t even able to protect the only treasure she let me with. I hope you can forgive me.” He said while looking at the bandaged body of his son.

After hearing that, Alan couldn’t help but sigh. That man had already failed his son, it was too late to show regret now. Silent, Alan looked at him and after some pondering, he asked "You seem to know that mother death was not natural. Why didn’t you try avenging her?"

“What are you talking about? Your mother was killed?” Crea was surprised by the sudden revelation and asked the two men that were now engaged in a staring contest.

Feeling Alan and Crea's gaze, the Duke let out a tired sigh and started talking “Yes, I know but I can’t do anything to them. That’s why I keep myself away from you since your mother's death. I was ashamed to look at you each day while knowing who killed your mother but not doing anything to avenge her. I’m truly sorry about that son. But I am truly powerless.”

“I see. Will you try to stop me if I try to avenge my mother?" Alan asked.

“Sigh, so you are going to drop that act and start moving forward. As a father, I would advise you to give up and not start living for revenge. It’s what your mother would say. You know how she was. But as a lover and a father, I crave for the blood of those who have dared to harm my loved one and while I’m not brave enough to act myself I won’t be shameless enough to not even support you when you will do something I’m supposed to.” 

“Thank you, father.” Alan said. While he couldn't care less about his father's opinion, it was better to have his support.

“It’s how things should be. You would always be able to count on me. So it’s decided you are going to join the Crimson Star Academy in the capital.“ the Duke suddenly announced.

“What?” Crea exclaimed as he jumped from the bed.

“No, I don’t want brother to leave me.” She continued.

“Crea I know that you love your brother but I want the best for him and it’s not like you won’t be able to ever see him again.” the Duke said.

Looking towards Alan he started explaining everything about the Crimson Star Academy. Alan had some knowledge of it from the memory of the original but what he added was more than welcomed and he was thankful for him trying to make things easy for me. 

“The next recruitment will take place in two months. During this time you’ll receive personal training from Rudolph, the captain of my guard.”  the Duke concluded after a long lecture.

"Father, won't it attract attention if you suddenly start training me and send me to the Academy?" Alan asked, he was sure his enemies wouldn't just sit and let him do as he please. 

"Don't worry. For the next two months, you will be under Rudolph's protection and after you join the Academy they won't be able to touch you." the Duke reassured Alan.

Turning towards Crea he added with a stern gaze“ You know that not a single word we said here today can go out?”

“Yes, father” she answered in a sad voice as she kept trying to hold her tears back. 

Nodding his head towards me a last time, he turned and left the room. 

Now that Crea and Alan were alone in the room he pulled her in his embrace and started stroking her hair. 

“You know that I have to go.” he said softly.

“Sob. Yes, but brother, please don’t forget Crea. Sob. Crea will always have you in her heart and pray for you. Sob.” Crea muttered while crying.

“Yes, you’ll always be in my heart.” They kept talking some more after and when Crea had to leave she gave him a quick kiss on the lips before escaping the room like a frightened rabbit.

“What a mischievous girl. “he said while lightly touching his lips. 

“But I don’t know how to answer your feelings.” Sighing softly Alan finally lied on the bed while recalling the conversation he just had with his father and as he was starting to fall asleep he was suddenly dragged in a weird place.