The Dreamer's POV - Chapter 276: Shone From Light

[Congratulations! You’ve unlocked the Dimensional Motel System.][First Mission: A runaway princess—hailed as the most beautiful in the land is being hunted by her step-mother. She was originally headed to the dwarves’ cottage, but the System has rerouted her to your motel instead.][Protect her. Win her trust. And if you manage to woe her, you’ll earn her Affection Points.][Bonus Mission: Sleep with her evil stepmother to unlock more reward]'What kind of weird mission is this? And why does this story sound way too familiar?'

Allison is an adventure series set in a world containing one continent (extending roughly from the Equator to 60 degrees North latitude) which is divided down the center by a towering mountain range and a huge river. The industry and technology of the world are roughly equivalent to Europe in the 1930s. Due to the geography, two cultures developed on either side of the divide, and at the time the story begins, the cultures have been at war on and off for hundreds of years. The bloodiest conflict yet began thirty-five years before the start of the story; both sides are so exhausted by the conflict that an uneasy armistice is signed after some five years of fighting. Aside from a brief conflict over the jurisdiction of the river, resulting in the formation of a buffer zone on either side, this peace has largely been unbroken. The east side of the world is known as Roxche, though formally the region’s name is the Roxcheanuk Confederation. The entire region comprises sixteen countries which all speak a common language. The west side is known as Sou Beil, though formally the region’s name is the Allied Kingdoms of Bezel Iltoa. The region comprises the two kingdoms of Bezel and Iltoa which both serve to bring together a small number of countries under a common language different than that of the eastern region. There are far more blond-haired people in the West than the East.

At the beginning of the first novel, Allison, a pilot in the Roxche Air Force, has come to visit her childhood friend Wilhelm (“Wil” for short), who has remained at school over his summer break to continue his studies. While traveling in the countryside near the school, the two encounter an old man well-known to Wil’s schoolmates as a teller of tall tales. Nevertheless, he captures their interest with his talk about a “treasure” which, if found, is said to be able to put an end to the war. No one would believe him that the war between the countries could ever end, so no one listened to him. When the old man is abducted and taken over to Sou Beil, Allison and Wil steal an airplane and chase the abductors across the river into the next region. Fortunately, the two were raised as orphans by a woman who came from the West, and thus can speak both languages.

A hundred-year-old ghost who had been haunting the world had become the real daughter of the Stephens family who had some mental problems.As soon as she returned to her family from the village, her fiancé immediately came to break off the engagement and chose her cousin instead.Even his cousin who was adopted to be her parents’ son had also mocked her, “I’m sorry that I have taken your place. In the Stephens family, anyone that cannot contribute will be discarded.”Just when all the other rich families were waiting for the jokes that she would make, those who were perceptive realized that she had changed.She had risen from the bottom of her class to become the top student.Anything she said would become real. Even great scientists, merchants, and martial artists chose to become her follower.Leaders of all the fields: If she’s garbage, then I’m less than garbage. Have you ever seen anyone as good as her ending up as garbage? The Si family must be blind!While she was afraid of being alone, the CEO that loved her introduced her as he stood next to her, “This is my one true love.”

In the year 2090, technology has advanced to the point where Simulation Boxes, (Sim Box for short) are common place, allowing for the user to link up their brain's neural network to a full dive Simulation. While initially used for educational purposes, recently a large gaming company, Averon, released a fully fledged immersive MMORPG simulation where users can become anyone they desire, level up, choose their class, and become a hero or a villain. The name of this simulation is The Shattered World Online.

Eli Winters had no interest in playing it. His father, a jobless bum who spent his entire life playing games in the hope of becoming a famous player or streamer, was able to use the release of The Shattered World Online to gain wealth and fame, quickly becoming the number one player and a household name as the game took the world by storm. He immediately abandoned Eli and his mother in favor of being with someone from his guild, despite his mother having worked two jobs to support them and raise Eli by herself. Eli had nothing but spite for his father and the game.

When Eli's best friend convinces him to try out the game, his father's fame begins to interfere, culminating in him being singled out and shunned by his peers, and his father offering to pay for his university tuition in return for Eli hiding their relationship and quitting the game. Instead of complying with his father's wishes, Eli decides to prove to everyone how useless a guy his father is by challenging him that if Eli is able to surpass him in the game world he must delete his account and quit his streaming career. His father accepts the challenge believing his son to be useless at games - but Eli will soon show him just how ambitious a spiteful person can be.