Game of the World Tree

Li Mu was simply wearing baggy shorts and a pair of flip-flops as he holds a freshly bought breadstick and soymilk in his hands, before heading towards his dormitory apartment for which he specifically rented for streaming purposes.

Suddenly, a pleasant notification sound came from his pocket.

He hesitated for a moment, wiped his greasy hands on his white undershirt, before casually pulling out his smartphone from his pocket.

On the screen was a brief text message that says,

“Congratulations! You have been selected as one of the first batch of beta-testers for ‘Elven Kingdom’! Your invitation code is: 233-123-124.”

“On June 1st, ‘Elven Kingdom’ welcomes your arrival!”

Li Mu was stunned for a second and seemed to have not yet recovered from the initial shock but after double-checking the text message if it was really authentic, he then excitedly slapped his thigh and grinned,

“Ha! I fricken knew it!”

“My luck has always been good!”

At this moment, various gaming chatrooms have already exploded as well.

“Ah ah ah! I was selected! I was selected!”

“What happened? Why are you so excited?”

“‘Elven Kingdom’! I was selected as a beta tester!”

“What ?! That’s impressive! I heard that the number of applicants for that game has already exceeded one million, right?”

“Yes! Hehehe, I will send you screenshots when the time comes!”

“I envy you man! I watched the trailer and it really looks great! If it’s really like what the official announcement says with the trailer showing the actual game graphics then it really could become a masterpiece! Some experts even said that the game’s language and music seem to be meticulously designed as well! It’s so awesome!”

“Argh, it’s crazy I tell you! The some beta-testers in a groupchat I am into have already started selling their invitations!”

“What?! That’s harsh! How much is it?”

“It seems that it’s being resold for more than seven thousand… After all, everyone wants to try this so-called “mind acceleration” and the game will also introduce a brand-new 100% adjustable realistic sensory system. You know, the sensory systems of those virtual games on the market now are all too poor.”

“What the, 7000? That’s scary.”

“We plebs just don’t get the mindsets of these rich bastards. That amount is almost worth nothing to them.”

“Lmao what they’re doing is useless. Didn’t the announcement also said that the account is bound to the original owner’s identity, and the invitation will be verified when logging into the game. Only the account owner can go online…”

“Ah… then we can only wait for the public beta at this rate.”

“To be honest, I think this game’s publishers are exaggerating with their claims… It’s way too fake dude. C’mon, if they really had that kind of technology then developing games would be their least priority!”

“I am also skeptical since I’ve read a lot of arguments about the game online. But let’s just wait and see. There should be some big-name streamers broadcasting it when it’s finally out.”

“Livestreaming? Didn’t they mention ‘mind acceleration’? If it’s true then can it really be livestreamed? Wouldn’t the time be inconsistent between us watchers and the streamer?”

“Lol true xD I bet the delay would be so bad that it would almost be impossible to be streamed in real time. At most, we’ll just gonna watch the vods instead.”

Li Mu, who was munching on a fried breadstick on the side, slightly curved his mouth as he peeked at his groupchat in his phone.

After some thought, he decided to typed in a message,

“I got an invitation. At 12:00 pm on June 1st, I’ll start livestreaming ‘Elven Kingdom’. Everyone’s welcomed to watch my stream.”

In an instant, the groupchat exploded yet again.

“Damn! It’s Big Brother Mu!”

“Xiao Mu got the qualification?”

“Nitpicking King is going to livestream ElvKing?!”

“Ah I can’t wait! I’ll be on the front row with some sunflower seeds! This game’s hyped up so much that I want to see what it’s like!”

“@Xiao_Mu, Xiao Mu! I’m ‘Demacia’, and I got the invitation too. Add me as a friend in advance! Please carry me in the game brother Mu!”

“…”

As Li Mu watched the constant stream of messages popping up without stopping, he inwardly felt delighted and put his phone back in his pocket before rushing back home.

Time passed quickly and in the blink of an eye, the closed beta period for