Rise of the Living Forge - Chapter 9: Opportunity

The much-anticipated cyberpunk holographic game was about to launch, and Jonathan hit the jackpot, getting chosen as a beta tester. But things take a bizarre turn. He realized he wasn't just playing some holographic game – he'd been transported to an actual parallel universe.

The moment he logged in, he felt something was off.

Question: What do you do when you discover that your in-game identity is the Federation's most wanted, and you're undercover in the official investigation department?

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[Ding! Sorceress Beauty Merlin from Camelot has added you to a chat group full of beautiful maidens!][Ding! You've claimed the title of Supreme Demon Lord!][Ding! Fairy Queen Ophelia tagged you in a post!][Ding! Medusa sent you some of her spicy videos, shut your blinds before watching!][Ding! Your dog has been transformed into the Ancient Black Dragon Veligrpyh!]James Kang, once the youngest heir to the multi-trillion-dollar Hart Global Corporation, has everything anyone could dream of: money, luxury, and freedom. But his life is hollow—friends are fake, family distant, and his days are a blur of shallow extravagance.One late, lonely night, James gets a notification:[Congratulations! You have been added to the Ancient Multiverse Chatroom!]Thinking it's some cringy online role-playing game, he decides to entertain himself and plays along, proclaiming himself the “Supreme Demon Lord.”The group, filled with titles like:[Princess of the Azure Seas][Dragon Emperor of Ashvale][Goblin Slayer Supreme][High Priestess of the Sun][Fafnir, the Pet Wyvern]And they seemed hilariously invested in their roles.What starts as a joke takes a bizarre turn.The more James participates, the more he notices strange phenomena: glowing runes on his skin, magic artifacts materializing from nowhere, an elder dragon in his garage, and a sudden mastery of dark magic.Things escalate when a private group chat, run by a perverted female King Arthur, invites him to [The Table of Beauties], a circle of god-tier roleplayers… or so he thinks.Soon, James learns the truth.The chat is an interdimensional nexus connecting real worlds where magic, legends, and gods exist. His casual banter and fake roleplay have turned him into a living, breathing Demon Lord, complete with a castle in Hell, loyal monster armies, and reality-warping powers.To make matters even crazier, his “friends” start visiting Earth, and they’re nothing like he imagined!

The aristocratic Lu family has produced a joke, a beautiful one, but a joke nonetheless. The daughter they have been rearing all this while turns out to be an imposter! With the real heiress returning to take her rightful place, everyone is eager to know the outcome of the imposter…Will she be able to survive in poverty after living a life of riches?Having just transmigrated, Huo Yao imagines that this experience will be pretty interesting. However, imagination and reality are always so different!Dad: “Daughter! Take this black card. It has no limit! Use it freely.”Mom: “My dear Yao Yao! If you don’t like this jewelry, I’ll get them to change it immediately.”Huo Yao: “…”Weren’t they supposed to be poor and ordinary? What is with this hidden lavish behavior?Her eldest brother, an investment company’s CEO: “Sis, inherit my company!”Her second brother, a top lawyer: “Whoever dares slander my sis will face the full brunt of the law!”The third brother, an international genius doctor: “Bullying my sister? Should I display the prowess of my scalpel?”Mysterious fourth brother: “My sis is the cutest!”Huo Yao: “…”What happened to being a good-for-nothing person who lives off her parents?A top aristocrat secretly changes into his cheap clothes and drives his crappy old car to her. “Baby, my heart is yours. Why don’t we get married to test if I’m telling the truth or not?”Everyone who knows about it, doesn’t dare say it out loud.All they can do is curse inwardly: “Bah! Keep acting! No one believes it!”

“Game user confirmation.”

-Currently game user : 1

“…….”

The 1 person the system mentions is me. That is how I could tell that this game will fail as well……. Juyeong Hong enjoys playing games more than anyone else, and is captivated by one which yields as much as the effort he puts into it, unlike his studies, where he has made no progress no matter the effort. Juyeong has bet nearly his entire life on the game and applies to be a beta tester. He is accepted for the game “Forgotten Legend” which has not been officially launched. Juyeong played with more effort than anyone and had a lot of fun, but there were seemingly no other players who had enjoyed it, so the game disappeared without a trace.

Only three closed beta tests had been done ……. Moreover, the last closed beta test involved Juyeong Hong only. Then one day, the game returned, under a new title “Revival Legend.” Then suddenly, for some unknown reason, top companies around the world begin wanting to own the rights …