After the talk ended, the party began.
The lobby was decorated—colorful banners, floating lanterns, and a big table full of food. Chairs were arranged neatly, and a simple puppet stood ready to serve.
Everything came from the store. Silas's father had spent a good amount of points.
If he had more, he would've thrown the party at a restaurant in Sunday region of the world lobby.
But it was expensive, so he used his player lobby instead.
Slowly the party wound down.
People began vanishing after eating. One by one, relatives said goodbye and logged out.
Until only Silas's family remained.
They stood up to leave too.
But just as they started moving, Silas's mother stopped them both.
She hurled a punch at Silas's father's stomach and lightly smacked Silas on the head.
She shouted, "Tell me beforehand if you're planning something like that!"
Silas's father clutched his stomach and said with a pained smile, "Don't worry… I'm not capable of doing that anymore… after your… punch…"
Saying this, his figure collapsed face-first onto the ground.
But Silas's mother didn't even glance at him. She knew he had just exited the game—he wasn't unconscious.
She then logged out herself.
Only Mary and Silas remained in the quiet lobby.
Silas was still rubbing his head, wincing slightly from his mother's smack, when Mary walked over.
She looked at him and asked softly, "Are you alright, Sil?"
Silas smiled lightly at his sister's concern. He replied, "Don't worry, Sis. I'm fine. Mom didn't hit me that hard."
Mary nodded once, then slowly lifted her hand.
Smack!
A light smack landed on the exact same spot on Silas's head.
She said flatly, "That's for hiding things from me."
Mary then exited the game without another word.
Now only Silas remained, still rubbing his head with a wry expression.
He muttered to himself, "I think it's my 'lucky' day. Smacked not once, not twice, but three times. Haha."
Of course, he wasn't angry or upset.
It was just family love—not malice.
His sister's habit of smacking him had clearly come from their mother.
His mother was even more extreme. Silas could still picture the pained look on his father's face after that stomach punch.
Good thing this wasn't the real world.
The pain mechanism wasn't fully activated here—otherwise his father wouldn't have been able to play dead so convincingly, he would have likely be unconscious for real.
Shaking his head with a small chuckle, Silas also exited the game.
He had to prepare for tomorrow's party at the university.
Now only his father's game character remained, still lying face-down on the lobby floor, clutching his stomach dramatically.
It wouldn't move until his father logged back in.
***
Next day, Silas logged into Eternal Ascendancy.
He went straight to the world lobby and used the code to teleport himself to the Sunday region.
He looked around. His eyes involuntarily drifted to the tallest building—belonging to India Concord.
The building stood proudly on a massive meteorite that floated motionless in the empty void. New players streamed inside or returned from it, chatting excitedly.
He remembered the day he had gone there to apply—and been rejected.
Silas shook his head to clear the thought. That didn't matter anymore. He had a better opportunity now.
He was currently standing in the center of Sunday region, right beside the India Concord building.
To his left floated hundreds of meteorites—each one carrying a smaller building, all entertainment-focused: restaurants, clubs, gambling houses, bars, dance halls, and holographic theaters. The area buzzed with laughter, music, and bright lights.
To his right, a single enormous landmass floated—larger even than the India Concord building. This was the black market.
Players called it "black market" because identities could be hidden in the world lobby (unlike Concords, where everyone reverted to real forms).
No authority oversaw it. If someone got cheated, there was no complaint system.
Deals happened in shadows—real-world items exchanged without showing them first. Success wasn't guaranteed.
Still, the black market kept growing. Some sects had started forming alliances to jointly control and regulate it, hoping to turn it into a semi-official trade zone. It benefited them too.
In front of him, 50+ meteorites floated in a loose cluster—each one bigger than a golf field.
These were dedicated to sports: cricket pitches, golf courses, tennis courts, basketball arenas, even racing tracks and archery ranges. Players competed, cheered, and bet points in real time.
Behind the India Concord building—on its opposite side—lay another massive landmass.
This one held a monstrous stadium, capable of seating millions.
It was the future home of Eternal Ascendancy esports—tournaments, live broadcasts, ranked ladders, and massive prize pools.
Silas stood in the center of it all, taking it in.