I logged in before sunrise.
Literally.
Hollowroot Village was still covered in morning fog, the cobblestones slick with dew, the sky just beginning to warm with hints of gold. Most players were still asleep—or offline—dreaming of their +1 starter gear.
But I was already packing.
I'd stashed my Ember Core-enhanced wand, stocked up on cheap potions, and memorized the fastest route through Eastgrove Ridge. I had a destination in mind: Westhill Hamlet.
Population: 42 NPCs, 1 blacksmith with anger issues, 3 spawnable rabbits... and one future legend.
Aiko.
She didn't look like much the first time I met her. In the original timeline, she was the player everyone ignored—light on gear, heavy on attitude. Rogue main with zero stealth skills and a near-suicidal tendency to dive into fights alone.
But she learned fast.
Once she broke through the early game barriers, she rose like wildfire. Her PvP record became the stuff of legend—quick, clever, and completely unpredictable. People said she fought like a glitch in the matrix. Like her own fingers didn't know what she was going to do next.
And she almost never got that chance.
I remembered watching her old stream archive years ago—saw the moment she rage-quit ChronoRealms on Day Two because she failed a stealth trial mission and got laughed out of town. She only came back a week later thanks to sheer boredom and a friend's encouragement.
Not this time.
This time, I'd be the friend.
I opened my map and double-checked the coordinates. Westhill Hamlet sat just outside the starter zone boundaries, which meant getting there was a hike—especially with mobs scaling sharply on the ridge.
I took a shortcut through the abandoned grain fields, dodging aggressive crows, and burned two minor cooldowns just to outrun a pack of horned deer that apparently hated early risers.
By the time I saw the Hamlet's rooftops peeking over the hill, I was down two potions and starting to second-guess how much cardio the devs thought was fun.
But I made it.
The Hamlet was... humble. Wooden houses, a broken fence, a few NPCs half-heartedly sweeping the dirt. The type of place most players barely spent ten minutes in.
But right now, it was a crossroads in history.
I positioned myself near the town's cracked fountain and waited.
At 6:47 AM game time, the shimmer began. A single burst of blue light.
A new player spawned in.
Female avatar. Mid-height. Black cloak. Messy ponytail. Basic leather gear. She blinked a few times, looked around, then let out a breath.
I smiled.
Right on time.
She took three steps forward.
Then tripped over an empty bucket.
Yup. Definitely her.
I approached slowly, hands raised like I was trying not to scare a wild animal.
"Hey," I called. "You alright?"
She groaned and sat up, rubbing her head. "Who puts a bucket in the spawn zone?"
"NPCs with questionable priorities."
She glanced up, suspicious. "You from around here?"
"Something like that." I offered a hand. "EchoPrime. Mystic class. You?"
She hesitated. Then accepted the hand.
"Aiko," she said. "Rogue. I think. This is my first time playing."
I blinked.
That part I didn't remember.
"You're kidding."
"Nope. Just picked a random class that sounded cool. I wanted to try something new. Everyone I know plays mages and tanks."
Interesting. So in this timeline, she wasn't a veteran returning—she was a fresh spawn.
That changed things.
"Cool," I said. "Rogues are tricky early on, but they scale hard later."
She eyed me. "You sound like a wiki."
I grinned. "Let's just say I've done some homework."
"Uh-huh." She folded her arms. "So why are you talking to me?"
"Because you're about to get handed a quest by an NPC named Meryl. She'll tell you to sneak into the village manor and steal a ring from a locked drawer. What she won't tell you is that the manor has a dog. A big one. It's scripted to find rogue players during that mission 80% of the time."
Aiko's eyes narrowed. "You're joking."
"Go accept the quest and find out."
She stared at me, then turned and walked to the quest marker. Thirty seconds later, she came back looking very suspicious.
"There's a dog?"
"There's a dog."
"And it hunts me?"
"Like a bloodhound with a grudge."
She looked down at her daggers, then back at me.
"...Wanna come with me?"
"Thought you'd never ask."
We teamed up and made our way toward the manor. Aiko was quiet most of the way—probably trying to figure me out. That was fine. I didn't need to win her over today. I just needed her not to rage-quit.
At the manor gates, I let her take the lead.
"Alright," I said, crouching beside her. "Use the left wall, skip the broken floorboard by the second window, and don't step on the green rug. That one squeaks."
"Got it."
She slipped inside, a little clumsy, but her movements got better fast.
The dog didn't stand a chance.
Five minutes later, we were out of the manor, ring in hand, no alarms triggered.
Aiko was grinning. "That was kinda fun."
"Glad you think so."
Quest complete.
+350 XP.
Level up!
New Party Quest Unlocked: "Twilight Thieves"
She blinked. "Hey, we unlocked something?"
"Chain quest. Comes with a cool cloak and bonus stealth points."
She turned to me, surprised. "You planned this, didn't you?"
"Maybe."
Her smile faltered just a bit. "Why?"
I paused.
Because in another life, you almost quit the game. Because you became one of the most legendary rogue-class players in the world, and nobody saw it coming. Because you deserve that shot now.
But I just shrugged.
"Let's say I like investing early."
She snorted. "Okay, Mr. Crypto-Bro. Whatever. Where to next?"
I opened my map.
"We've got time for one more dungeon today—Hollowroot's Rat Nest. It's a trash mob hellhole, but there's a hidden chest I think you'll like."
Aiko nodded, falling in step beside me. "Alright. Let's go stab some rats."
I smiled to myself.
The butterfly effect had begun.
And the world? It had no idea what was coming.