Second World Online

The clock hands in the real world pointed exactly to 05:00 a.m. when the digital sky across the entire continent of Second World Online once again glowed with silver-blue light.

Two consecutive global announcements shattered the concentration of every player still awake.

[GLOBAL SERVER ANNOUNCEMENT: CONQUEST COMPLETE!]

[Guild 'Ouroboros' has successfully seized the Mistveil Castle Core!]

[Guild 'Black Wolf' has successfully seized the Sunspire Castle Core!]

[CASTLE SIEGE EVENT OFFICIALLY ENDED! Three new territorial rulers have been born!]

The fall of the last two castles occurred far faster than the initial predictions of both the system and the players. The original forecast stated that the remaining two giant fortresses would at least require several days to be brought down, considering that the Knights of the Round had only been able to win quickly because of the existence of the anomaly named Syl.

However, reality spoke differently. The hundreds of Sulfuric Shrapnel Bombs that I had managed to sell at the auction before being blocked by the GMs had fallen into the hands of Ouroboros and Black Wolf. Realizing they had lost Ironhold, the two giant Guilds focused their entire strength and the remaining modified sulfur bombs of mine to bombard the NPC defensive lines at the two remaining castles. The combination of area explosions, Blind effects, and toxic gas successfully shattered the NPC guardian formations, accelerating the conquest duration far beyond the reasonable limits of the game.

Inside the game, thousands of members from the three top Guilds that had just won their territories began raising their weapons into the air. Victory cheers thundered. They began taking out their virtual drink supplies, preparing to hold the greatest celebration parties at their respective new headquarters.

However, before a single bottle of virtual wine could even be opened, the sky that had been the blue of victory suddenly changed to blood red. A low-toned siren that had never been heard before echoed to every corner of the server.

[EMERGENCY SYSTEM WARNING (EMERGENCY MAINTENANCE)!]

[In order to maintain server stability and perform adjustments to economic balance and combat mechanics post-event, the server will be shut down in 10 MINUTES!]

[Please immediately find a safe zone and LOG OUT. The system will perform a forced disconnection if you are still inside the game when the countdown ends. Data or item loss due to forced disconnection will not be compensated by the system!]

Panic instantly replaced the euphoria.

"What the hell is this?! We just won!"

"Damn it! I haven't even picked up the loot from the castle guardian boss yet!"

"Quick, log out! If our Castle Core data gets rolled back, I'm going to burn down the Chronos Tech office!"

While the players inside the game grumbled and ran in panic toward the nearest Waypoint pillars to save their avatars, the situation in the real world was far more chaotic.

On the fiftieth floor of the Chronos Tech headquarters building, David and his Game Balancing team were working as if chased by demons. The time showed 05:10 a.m. According to instructions, they had a deadline of less than two hours. The server had to be back online and opened to the public before 07:00 a.m., when the daily player traffic began to surge.

"Sarah! Have you finished changing the thermodynamic algorithm code?!" David shouted while wiping his oily, sleep-deprived face.

"Uploading it to the local test-server right now!" Sarah replied no less frantically, her fingers dancing across the mechanical keyboard at insane speed. "I didn't disable the physics laws, Sir! Just as you ordered, I only installed the Hard Cap! Starting from this patch, no matter how high the temperature or physical explosion produced by a non-magic player, structural damage to inanimate objects (such as gates, walls, and castle buildings) will never exceed 1,000 points per second! The instant Melting effect on structures has been forcibly deactivated by the system!"

"Good! What about the item weight (Weight Limit)?!"

Marcus from the data security division interjected, his eyes never leaving the monitor screen displaying rows of inventory coding. "Already adjusted! Gunpowder, high-grade sulfur, and all active explosives are now categorized as Volatile Items. I have changed their weight algorithm to five times heavier inside a player's bag, and they can no longer be stacked up to 99 pieces in one slot! Maximum only 5 pieces per slot!"

David let out a long breath, finally able to lean back in his chair. "This will stop that crazy player from carrying hundreds of bombs to the battlefield alone. He may be the son of our largest shareholder, but he truly made all of us work overtime like corporate slaves. Make sure every patch is implemented without bugs. We release Patch Note 1.05a: Explosive Physics Adjustment and Economic Stability to the forums right now."

One hour later, exactly at 06:00 a.m., my eyes slowly opened.

Soft morning sunlight slipped through the gap in the curtains of my medical room in the Hortensia family residence. My body felt relaxed as I stretched slowly on the soft king-size bed. Last night, immediately after my consciousness was disconnected from the server, Mira had helped me out of the Chronos Tech Virtual Reality capsule and moved me onto this bed so I could rest like a normal human being, not a laboratory specimen.

I moved my neck slowly, feeling the ordinary sensation of stiffness. My hand reflexively groped the wooden nightstand beside the bed, searching for my smartphone. The moment the phone screen lit up, the browser page that I had deliberately left open since yesterday automatically refreshed.

It was the main page of the Second World Online community forum.

My eyes that had still been holding the remnants of drowsiness suddenly widened perfectly. All sleepiness evaporated without a trace. At the very top of the forum, in red and pinned by the admin, an emergency system update announcement was displayed.

[Patch Notes 1.05a: Extreme Physics & Inventory Adjustment]

I read the points in the update notes carefully.

First: Implementation of a maximum structural damage limit (Hard Cap) to prevent instant destruction of large-scale game properties from pure physics reactions.

Second: Change in the classification of explosives into 'Volatile Items' that consume far heavier inventory weight and cannot be stacked in large quantities.

Third: Auction tax for the explosives category of items raised by 15% to prevent temporary market monopolies.

My jaw hardened. A vein at my temple twitched slightly.

"Damn it," I cursed softly, my hoarse morning voice clear in the quiet room. "They really rewrote the physics laws of that world just to stop my bombs. No more bringing down steel gates in ten seconds. No more becoming a walking artillery warehouse with hundreds of bombs at my waist."

I threw my phone onto the bed with an annoyed feeling. Reading that Patch Note felt like reading a traffic ticket that specifically listed my name, even though the system used diplomatic language of "balance adjustment." Those GMs were truly terrified of what I had done to Ironhold and the market economy.

For several minutes, I sat leaning against the headboard with a sulky face. The frustration of a gamer whose signature build had just been forcibly nerfed by the developers was a very universal feeling.

However, along with the calming heartbeat monitor in the corner of the room, my frustration slowly subsided. My brain that was accustomed to thinking tactically began to shift perspective.

"Whatever," I let out a long breath, brushing my hair back. "The explosive physics got nerfed for buildings, and I can no longer carry many bombs. But… they didn't mention anything about nerfing biological poisons, right? They didn't ban the melting effect on player armor, only on castle gates. And if I can't use gunpowder to blow up castles, I can still assemble mechanical drills, brew corrosive nerve gas, or create far crazier alchemical traps."

A crooked smile that hid thousands of cunning plans once again formed on my lips. If those Game Masters thought that changing inventory weight limits and structural damage numbers could imprison the creativity of a Rian Hortensia, they were gravely mistaken. This was not the end of the Mad Alchemist. This was merely a new challenge that invited even more savage innovation.

I had just reached for my phone again to make notes on new weapon designs when my room door suddenly opened roughly.

"Rian! Quick check-up!"

Doctor Karin stepped into the room in a hurry. There was no casual "Good Morning" greeting like usual. Her oversized white coat fluttered slightly, a stethoscope hung messily around her neck, and she held a small medical flashlight in her right hand. Her breathing was a little rapid, a sign that she had been running through the corridors of this luxurious house.

I blinked in confusion, letting my phone fall back onto the bed. "Doc? What's wrong? You look like you just saw a ghost."

"No time for long explanations, Rian," Doctor Karin said quickly. She immediately stood beside my bed, took my wrist to check my pulse manually while staring sharply at the scanner monitor screen.

She then turned on her medical flashlight. "Open your eyes wide. Follow the light."

I obeyed without protest, moving my eyeballs to follow the direction of the small flashlight. "Has the cancer cells started spreading again?" I asked in a tone trying to hide the worry.

"No, no, on the contrary," Doctor Karin turned off the flashlight and put it back into her coat pocket. She looked at me with eyes radiating professional relief mixed with extreme urgency. "The results from your scanner machine last night were extraordinary. Your condition is far more stable than yesterday. Your white blood cells are reacting very cooperatively, and there are no signs of worsening muscle atrophy. Maintain this rhythm."

"Then why do you look so panicked?" I asked, raising one eyebrow.

Doctor Karin turned her body toward the door, not even having time to sit or write on her clipboard as usual. "Because there's an emergency at the central city hospital. A massive multi-vehicle pile-up occurred on the northern highway. Dozens of vehicles involved. The Emergency Department is currently overwhelmed and they're calling in all senior surgeons and specialists who are off-duty. I have to go there right now."

I was stunned. Considering last night's weather that had indeed been thickly foggy in the real world, a multi-vehicle accident on the highway connecting this elite area to the city center was not impossible.

"The full report and cellular analysis aren't ready for me to print yet because I have to run," Doctor Karin continued while opening the door knob. "Anyway, your condition today is very safe. Keep eating nutritiously, don't stress too much over that game of yours, and follow Mira's instructions. I'm leaving!"

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Before I could even say thank you or be careful on the road, the door had already closed again. The sound of Doctor Karin's low-heeled shoes echoed away very quickly down the corridor.

The room returned to silence, leaving only the ticking of the wall clock and the cold morning air. Real-world reality hit me again in a very ironic way. Last night I had laughed at thousands of players who 'died' and bled on the digital battlefield, yet this morning real blood was spilling on the highway asphalt, and the true heroes in white coats were racing against time. Life out there truly could not be predicted.

Several minutes passed. I was still sitting lost in thought at the edge of the bed when the door knob turned again, this time with a far calmer and more familiar rhythm.

Mira stepped into the room. Her classic black-and-white maid uniform fit neatly without a single crease out of place. In her hands she carried a wooden tray containing my breakfast: a bowl of oatmeal with fresh peach slices, a piece of whole-wheat toast, and a cup of warm green tea whose steam was still rising.

"Good morning, Young Master," Mira greeted with her soft smile that always managed to warm the corners of my heart.

"Morning, Mira," I replied, returning her smile.

Mira placed the breakfast tray on a small folding table set across my lap on the bed. She looked at me for a moment, her brown eyes scanning my face with full attention.

"Doctor Karin passed me on the stairs earlier. She was running so fast she almost crashed into my tray," Mira recounted while pouring a little honey into my green tea. "She said there was a major accident on the highway. But she also took the time to shout to me that your condition is extraordinarily stable today. I'm so happy to hear that, Rian."

I nodded, accepting the teacup she offered and sipping it slowly. The warmth of the tea spread down my throat, driving away the remaining morning chill.

"Yes, my condition is improving. It seems this body refuses to give up just like that," I said lightly. "Unlike my game that just got thoroughly sabotaged by its creators."

Mira stopped arranging the plates. She tilted her head slightly, smiling in amusement at my returning sulky expression. She pulled a small chair and sat beside my bed.

"Sabotaged how? Didn't you and your little sister just win a major war and seize a castle last night?" Mira asked in her melodious tone. Even though she did not play Second World Online, she always listened to my adventure stories with enthusiasm.

"The war was indeed won," I snorted softly, stirring my oatmeal with a spoon. "But the game system just performed a sudden maintenance at five this morning. They released a special update just to weaken the bombs I made. I can no longer blow up large buildings easily, and my carrying capacity is restricted. They castrated my main power."

Mira laughed softly, her laugh like silver bells making my frustration fade even further. She reached out her hand and stroked the back of my hand that held the spoon.

"I think that's an extraordinary compliment, Rian," Mira said gently, her eyes sparkling with pride.

"A compliment?" I raised one eyebrow.

"Of course," Mira nodded firmly. "Just imagine. There are thousands of players inside that game, backed by supercomputers and hundreds of smart people who designed the rules. But they had to suddenly rewrite the entire laws of their world just because they were terrified of what one young man from inside this isolation room could do. You are too dangerous for their world, Rian."

I fell silent at her perspective. Mira's point of view always had a magical way of making me feel better. Instead of feeling restricted, I suddenly felt like a genius criminal (mastermind) whose existence had just been acknowledged by the world.

"You're right," I returned the grip of her hand, looking deeply into her eyes. "They may change the rules, but they can't hack my brain. I'll eat this breakfast, recover my strength, and think of hundreds of new ways to make those Game Masters cry again tomorrow night."

Mira smiled in satisfaction. "That's more like my Young Master. Now, finish your oatmeal before it gets cold. Whether hero or genius villain, you still need balanced nutrition."