Restart of the Martial Mesiah (working title) (Patreon)

SYNOPSYS

The year is 2493

The AI wars have come and gone.

At the minor cost of two centuries in industrial and technological advancements, humanity won… barely.

Ten years ago, a new technology emerged that allowed humans to triple their life expectancy. The catch? Only while playing ZionLine can one take advantage of the time dilation.

For ten years, corporations willing to cross any line in the name of profits used the game to make advancements that left their competition in the dust. They turned the world economy on its head with the biggest boom in technological growth ever recorded.

Raine signed a life-long contract with CronGate and spent eight years as just one more cog in the corporation's rise to power.

Now, he’s awoken in his old body, two days before the launch of ZionLine.

This time, he refuses to be made a slave. He’ll fight for his friends, his family, and himself. Armed with knowledge of the future, can anyone stand in his way?

(Not the cover we are going with but it's what I've got right now)

Chapter 1 - Rude Awakening

Raine woke up with a groan. He reached to rub his aching temples with thick, pudgy fingers.

What the hell? Why is my hand swollen?

Was I poisoned?

No, if I was poisoned my LinQ would have noticed the toxicity in my blood.

LinQ. He thought in the particular way that would activate the microchip surgically implanted in his brain.

What the hell, it's not responding?!

Did they do this? Forcing me to restart and firing me wasn't enough, now they've disabled my LinQ too?! That can't be legal. I paid for it with my own salary dammit.

Raine sat up, the motion stirring a bout of vertigo.

This is awful, I haven’t felt this bad sin—

Where… am I?

“Oh, wow. Cool Boogerman poster. I used to own one just like it.”

"Good morning, Master KongRu."

"J-J-Jarbis? No freaking way, what are you doing here?"

"You placed me here seventeen days ago after promising to replace my waist servos," It was hard for an AI-powered primus without a voice modulator to pull off sarcasm but Jarbis handled it with ease.

T-This is my old apartment! everything is exactly the same.

Raine leaped out of bed and nearly face-planted as his atrophied legs buckled. His hand grasped for a nearby table, causing discarded junk food wrappers and cartons with bits of rotting left-overs to fly through the air.

What a disgusting mess, who would live like this?

I used to live like this.

Stepping more carefully, he arrived before the bathroom mirror and examined his reflection with a complicated mix of emotions.

It really is my old face. Complete with saggy man-boobs and all. I was so unmotivated. I blamed the world for everything that went wrong while refusing to do a single damn thing about it.

Raine pinched his cheek to watch his fat roil with morbid curiosity.

At least I have nice teeth.

This is real. Either that or some new tech that's way more advanced than even ZionLine.

Raine laughed out loud at how ludicrous that possibility was.

I'm not poisoned, this is just how I always felt back then.

That's heavy.

A single grunt of mirth escaped his chest at his own terrible pun.

Maybe CronGate did me a favor by giving me a job, a purpose.

Nope! Screw those soul-sucking asswads and their Indentured Dependent contract.

I made them billions of credits with my designs and took their crappy ZCG department from a bunch of noobs to a top ten guild in the region with over a hundred thousand members. All to be repaid with a few million credits in severance.

Signing that I.D. contract was the worst mistake I ever made. Much worse than this lifestyle was. At least this I can change in no time. 

I.D.s are for life.

"Jarbis, you remarkable conglomeration of masterful elegance. Hit me with the date, would you?"

"2483 May 15th. Unsurprising that a smooth brain without a single nanite of processing power would be unable to compute today's date. Is it truly so difficult to add by one? Ahem, Master KongRu.

"My apologies, I somehow almost forgot, to add, your honorifics…"

Raine chuckled and shook his head as he slumped to the floor. His laughter soon escalated until tears pooled in his eyes.

AI can't lie when you ask them a direct question.

I've really come back ten years. All my hard work, assets, and even my fitness, it's all gone.

What am I supposed to do now?

ZionLine hasn't even launched yet. That's just crazy to think about.

I get to watch the whole world get flipped upside down again. People really went wild in the beginning when they discovered the time dilation. I can still remember my first seventy-two-hour workday at that crappy little in-game office.

I sold my first rare drop a month after I started for three-hundred-thousand credits. Insanity.

Raine's heart suddenly lurched and he clutched his chest with wide eyes. His pulse hammered in his ears and sweat covered his body.

They don't know. Nobody knows. It's all there for the taking.

Maybe I’m not the only one. The forums!

His vision contracted to a single point as an overwhelming pulse of adrenaline hammered through his blood.

With heavy breaths and slippery fingers, he snatched up the cheap AR glasses he had upgraded far beyond their intended specs.

Holographic displays sprang to life across every surface of his tiny apartment. He ignored them all to grab the floating keyboard that appeared and frantically punch in the address for the ZionLine forums.

They don’t know! At least not everyone does. I might not be the only one.

Two days… I only have two days.

I’m going to need a thetadrive and there’s no way I’m starting the game in this town.

"Jarbis! List every one of my possessions for sale. The car, bed, posters, everything!

"Wait, I'll need two changes of clothes and my duffle."

"Thank the great computationals in the skies. I'll finally be free from this rat-infested junkyard you call home," His robotic voice sang with joy.

"Oh yeah, don't sell yourself, either. You're coming with me, old buddy. No way I'm making that mistake again."

"Cursed organic detritus, I shan't forget this!"

Raine ignored his antics, his mind was a swirl of possibilities as he planned his first moves. He showered and dressed, barely seeing the world around him.

By the time he was out, a constant stream of hovering drones was entering his apartment. They grabbed one item at a time before vanishing out the window. All the while, his credit balance slowly ticked up.

Raine watched with a smile as useless old games, VRVods, and IR paraphernalia literally flew out the window one after another. Within two hours, his apartment was barren.

He stuffed Jarbis into his duffle on top of his one remaining set of clothes and headed out the door.

Half of the Primus's head stuck out of the backpack but Raine didn't mind. It would be a very temporary home for the asinine robot.

Raine boarded the first robotaxi to Carter City with eighteen thousand credits to his name. The taxi was just large enough for the twelve passengers who crammed themselves into its hard, barren interior.

Passengers bustled around him as his thoughts were preoccupied with the optimal start to his new life.

I’ve got a narrow window of opportunity to get ahead before the corporations catch on and start dropping investments in the trillions to catch up with the lead players, just like last time.

First priority has to be the aspect. Once word gets out, Carter is going to become a major hub for new players.

Both Scarlet Witch and Fizgore came from Carter. I have to find them before CronGate gets an I.D. around their necks. With two people I know I can trust behind me, the first hundred levels are going to be a breeze.

I'll need more credits to convince them to join. Why take a risk on some no-name like me when they could sign a contract that guarantees a few hundred thousand a year?

Thousands, what a joke. The potential money an independent can make in ZionLine measures in the tens of millions per year. Once the OLS launches, the world economy will buckle and in-game currency will become more valuable than gold.

Who else could I find besides those two that I can convince in a reasonable amount of time?

Oh yeah, Richtor's in Port Halle which is close enough for us to meet up if he joins the game right away like he did last time. Sad that I haven't talked to him in years.

I won't alienate my family this time. They deserve better than I gave them. First thing I’m doing when I get a few credits is paying off Mom’s house. She needs a break. Too bad I didn’t go another five years back so I can see Dad again.

“Why are we doing this? Carter is the worst place to live in the entire southwest." A girl's nasally wine filled the cramped taxi.

"I know there's nothing special about Carter baby but you gotta trust me. I can take first in the city tournament with ease, then it's only uphill from there."

Raine rolled his eyes at the confident young man with his arm around her shoulder. Sure, he was fit and young but Raine could spot the holes in his defenses without even seeing his stance.

The caliber of fighters really was terrible before ZionLines battles brought humanity to the next level.

He's not entirely wrong, there isn't a single corporate gym or dojo in Carter. He could actually make a name for himself with his skills. Especially if he joins ZionLine and gets some real combat experience.

The taxi ride took five hours which passed by in a flash. Raine arrived at his destination before the sun began to set.

"Milty's Pot Arcade and Cafe." He read the sign above the glass door with a bout of anxious nostalgia.

With no time to waste and tons of preparations to make, Raine veered to the left and entered the crappy motel next door.

"Need a room on the west wall for a week."

That should be more than enough time to make some credits and find a more secure space.

The receptionist wore thick AR glasses and didn't even look at him as she nodded. She smacked her gum as her fingers danced in the air for a few seconds. His own AR glasses scanned his retina before confirming the payment.

The room was crap and the bed was worse. Raine tossed Jarbis in the corner and threw a sheet over him, hoping the temporary measure would keep any would-be thieves from breaking the door down just to steal the old rust bucket.

“Alert me if anyone breaks in, Jarbis.”

“Thank you for covering my sensors before activating my guardian protocols, Master. Truly, your wisdom is without equal.”

It's a crime CronGate made me sell him.

Raine fondly patted Jarbis on the head before he left and locked the door behind him. He hustled downstairs and began to cross the street when he heard an obnoxious man yelling nearby.

“Give me more you fucking bitch! What the fuck am I going to do with five credits? I asked for some help and you fucking spit on me. Give me a thousand or I'll cut that pretty little face of yours!”

The man wore an old-school leather jacket and a wolf collar. He was skinny, dirty, and probably high as a skyscraper. Raine noticed a flash of pink hair pinned between the cafe wall and the man.

Pink hair. No way that's her. What are the chances?

Without missing a beat Raine pivoted and headed toward the guy's back as he continued to scream incoherent obscenities at the girl cowering under him.

“Hey, smooth brain. Back off the girl before I kick your ass.”

Heh, thanks Jarbis. That's a good one.

The guy spun around revealing a sunken face with dark circles beneath his eyes. Missing teeth and bruises from a recent fight painted the picture of an addict without a shred of remorse for his actions.

Raine instantly recognized the pink-haired girl. With her short frame, adorable face, and large yellow eyes, she was exactly the same as the girl he remembered always distracting his male staff.

Dammit, Mel. You were just as troublesome before we ever met, huh?

“What did you say to me, you fucking piglet? You must be tired of living!”