"Awakening program complete.
Duration of hibernation: 147 days and 9 hours.
Physical condition: optimal.
Friendly reminder: in eight hours, you will be able to enter 'Unreal World'.
FutureTech Corporation—representing the future of mankind!
To all pioneers, we salute you! This game allows the members of the Pioneer Fleet to connect and interact with their family and friends far away on Gaia, letting every pioneer feel the warmth of home!"
When Aldric Aldricne awoke from his deep sleep, a holographic screen appeared before his eyes, automatically playing the promotional message for Unreal World.
He had been hearing about this game for a long time—ever since the moment he filled out the application to become part of the Pioneer Support Crew, Unreal World had already been heavily advertised across every corner of the human network.
Aldric was twenty-five years old.
In truth, however, his soul came from another world—Earth, in the year 2017, China.
He wasn't struck by lightning like many fantasy protagonists, but rather, he died in a car accident. Still, it was a "fast-track" kind of transmigration, and considering the statistics, dying in a traffic accident ranked as the second most common way to transmigrate—complete with a reliable "after-sales guarantee." Not bad at all.
After crossing over, Aldric was born in the year 2145 of Cathay.
Aside from possessing a remarkably healthy body and an excellent aptitude for learning, he didn't receive any other so-called "transmigration perks."
He grew up in the National Loyalty Academy of Cathay, where he received eighteen years of mandatory education.
Following the ideals he never had the chance to fulfill in his previous life, he successfully entered a military academy, graduated with outstanding marks, and joined the armed forces.
Having no family or attachments, he eventually signed a voluntary agreement to join humanity's very first batch of space colonization pioneers—an expedition into the vast sea of stars.
Five years earlier, in 2140, the International Extraterrestrial Exploration Agency was jointly established by the five permanent member nations: Cathay, the Tsar Federation, the Empire Union, the Liberty Dominion, and the African Commonwealth.
Through years of research and discussion, the agency identified six potentially habitable planets.
After thirty years of preparation, endless negotiations, disputes, and power balancing, six massive exploration fleets were finally constructed in Gaia's orbital zone, each designated for one of the six target worlds—ready for launch.
During those thirty years, aside from the recruitment of volunteers, humanity also witnessed a groundbreaking leap in virtual reality technology (in 2170), which made enormous contributions to future colonization.
The birth of Unreal World—rather than being just a game—was humanity's second society.
The voyage between stars could take decades, even centuries.
While the human body could be preserved, the mind could not remain dormant forever.
Multiple experiments proved that although prolonged cryogenic sleep caused no physical damage to the brain, it inflicted irreversible harm upon consciousness and spirit—eventually leading to brain death.
Unreal World was humanity's answer to this problem—a virtual realm designed to keep the mind continuously active, preventing the fatal stillness that would otherwise occur during deep hibernation.
But for the general public, the appearance of Unreal World meant something entirely different.
It symbolized the realization of a dream gamers had pursued for centuries.
In this era, where automation had liberated most of humanity from labor (in most regions, though not all), entertainment reigned supreme—Long live recreation!
For Aldric, however, this so-called "future era" felt strangely hollow.
The monumental technological changes of over a hundred years made the world feel… unreal.
The ideals his ancestors once pursued with passion and sacrifice had long been realized, and the Cathay civilization once again stood proudly above all nations.
Having grown up without family and only a few friends, Aldric carried no attachments.
And so, he signed the support agreement without hesitation—to explore the boundless sea of stars.
"Dear Pioneer, there are ten minutes remaining before Unreal World officially launches.
After activation, the system will enter full-automation mode.
All data will be classified at Security Level Five.
Please choose your options carefully.
Once your account is confirmed, it will be permanently bound to your personal information and cannot be altered for life.
A kind reminder: please select your in-game name wisely. It will also be permanently bound.
We wish you an enjoyable gaming experience."
The voice from the personal terminal made Aldric twitch his lips slightly.
He couldn't help remembering the ridiculous player names he had seen in his previous life's online games.
If those poor souls had to live with those names forever—tsk, tsk… some of them might actually throw themselves out the airlock.
"Aldric, what are you thinking about?"
Standing beside the life-support pod was a tall, powerfully built woman—nearly one meter eighty—with chestnut-colored short hair and an untamed aura.
"I heard the Pioneer Fleet's players will receive some bonus attributes. I hope when we meet again in the next world, we can have a good, fair fight!"
Her name was Vittoria Gabriella, a member of the Empire Union's elite forces, assigned to the Sixth Pioneer Fleet's Security Division—the same unit as Aldric.
She possessed physical strength no weaker than any man's, and her fighting spirit was fierce.
Almost everyone in their department had sparred with her, and Aldric was among the few who had actually defeated her—something Vittoria never forgot.
She had been itching for a rematch ever since.
"Vittoria, I'll be heading to the Loess Zone.
I doubt we'll meet in-game again, you should pray that we reach Pandora safely." Aldric replied, waving a hand as he lay back into the pod.
He always felt a little uneasy whenever she talked about 'meeting again in the next life.'
Among the Empire Union crew, many were Protestant believers.
Given the fifty-year voyage ahead, they saw Unreal World as a divine realm—a digital Valhalla promised by the gods.
That belief had spread widely.
Being of Viking descent, Vittoria was especially thrilled to enter this so-called afterlife, fully prepared to begin her path as a warrior, convinced that she would one day become the incarnation of a Valkyrie.
Aldric wanted to say something but held back.
A Valkyrie, standing 6'8" tall and weighing 120 pounds, would make countless EU nerds weep. Even a true warrior wouldn't want to be carried into the banquet hall of Valhalla by a woman stronger than themselves….
Based on the timing of his cryo-sleep, Unreal World should have gone online on Gaia nearly four months ago.
Rumor within the fleet said that it had been delayed due to unresolved signal coverage issues—until now.
He had no idea whether the Communications Department had actually fixed it or not.
"Unreal World launching in—5... 4... 3... 2... 1!"
As the countdown hit zero, a brilliant white light burst before Aldric's eyes, filling his entire field of vision.
Within the boundless void, a humanoid figure appeared before him—identical in every way to his real body.
"Appearance and physique adjustment range: within twenty percent of baseline.
Please confirm after modification."
Aldric looked at the virtual projection of himself, then began tweaking a few facial details—enough to make it resemble his face from his previous life.
"Yeah… this looks more familiar."
He also increased his height by six centimeters, bringing it up to 186 cm.
Being the same height as Vittoria before had always felt a little uncomfortable.
Satisfied, he pressed confirm.
"Please proceed to attribute adjustment,"
the system prompted again.
(End of Chapter)
TN: Wooo, new novel, a Witcher one too hahaha finally found one, hopes its good. Change the nations to different names so that nobody gets butthurt if their/my country get talk shit on.
If you guys read this already please leave a comment so I can drop it and read their own translations, since I'll definitely try reading it since it's a Witcher novel.