Invite Players to a Cultivation World

Rachel, also known as JadeBea, is very happy with how things have developed so far.

Her previous worries about this job not lasting have been mostly relieved, as the main promise of working as she sleeps has been confirmed to be true, and the online discussions indicate that the game will be very popular.

Just recently she came back from harvesting Sky Pearls to learn that CoDestiny's insane plan had actually worked, for the most part. He at least got the desired outcome.

At first she didn't believe it when CoDestiny described how it all happened, but PCliver did confirm everything.

Not that any of that really matters to her. She has no interest in combat, her fight with the Stone Golem confirmed this decision.

What matters is that the guys earned enough SP to buy the next technique, which she had thankfully gained the cultivation level for just in time.

Shortly after she learnt the new technique, they all tried creating a spare vessel, but she was the only one who succeeded first try.

That doesn't mean she blames the other two, as the refining process is very delicate. The fact she succeeded was mostly luck.

Fortunately there was no consequence for their failure. The Sky Pearl used just went back to how it was before, giving them plenty of opportunities to improve.

Eventually though the guys gave up and decided to buy the Precision Enhancement Technique they had unlocked by defeating the boar. It cost them both 200 SP as they didn't get the extra Learning Charges since it isn't one of the original techniques.

The results were promising after that, the technique making it easier for them to do the delicate work required for refining. This didn't mean they succeeded immediately after that, it still took a few tries for them to get it right. But the improvement was noticeable.

Out of curiosity she bought the Precision Enhancement Technique too, but it didn't help her as much. It seems rather than improving a person's precision, it just brings it up to a certain level, which she had already surpassed.

In the end, she made four spare vessels. One to sell to the sect, and three shared between them so they would all be able to respawn without consequences.

She could have easily gained 300 SP by selling two more to the sect, but decided to let the guys gain it instead.

It's not as if she is in desperate need for SP, and she'll probably gain more by selling extra spare vessels to CoDestiny when he inevitably dies to whatever beast he finds next.

Right now though, it's time to log out. Her sister has probably already woken up and will need help with the various morning activities.

As soon as she 'wakes up' Rachel goes to her sisters room.

Her twin sister, Sophie, used to be very cheerful person before her illness developed, and she tried to keep that energy for as long as she could.

It clearly wasn't easy though, as Sophie was gradually loosing strength in her limbs, could no longer risk going outside for fear of catching even a minor cold, and regularly went the humiliation of having to ask for help even when needing to use the bathroom. It had all been slowly wearing away at her.

This is why Rachel is surprised to see her sister smiling at her smartphone.

"What ya looking at sis?" Rachel asks, swapping out the required medical equipment.

"I found an article on a new VR game that came out." Sophie explains. "It's apparently really advanced and... I know it sounds silly but I think I might be able to play it."

Rachel is momentarily shocked, but continues what she's doing. "Are you talking about Other World Cultivation?"

"You've heard of it." Sophie exclaims with as much excitement as she can muster. "It'll probably be a long time until I can join, since it has a very strange way of inviting new players, but I really want to at least try it."

"I'll make sure you can play it soon." Rachel says, sitting down next to her sister.

"What do you mean?" Sophie asks. "It's not something you can just buy with money, and there are currently only three beta testers who-"

"I'm one of them." Rachel explains. "I recently got a job offer, and decided to accept it since the hours are good."

"You never told me any of this." Sophie tries to yell. "I thought you were still looking for work."

"It's only been a couple days, and I do it in my sleep." Rachel says. "I also wasn't sure if it would last long, so I didn't want to disappoint you."

"No way. You must be making this up." Sophie pouts.

"Here let me show you." Rachel gently takes the smartphone and searches for a clip of herself from CoDestiny's stream.

"I have a sister with... circumstances. Ones that make it very difficult for her if there isn't someone constantly there to help her. But I still need to earn a living." JadeBea says.

"It's real then." Sophie tears up. "Do you think if I played it then I'd be able to experience moving around like I used to?"

"I can't be sure." Rachel admits. "But we're going to try."

A while later, after helping her sister with some things, Rachel remembers she's expecting a delivery from Sect Tech.

Checking her mail she finds a small box with the company name on it.

She opens the box finding two earpieces, except they don't even go in the ear. Instead only going around it.

There's also an instruction manual as well, but it basically just says: put it on and use the Parallel Consciousness Technique.

So she does, and then...

She blinks twice at the same time.

She is now two people.

No... that's not right.

She's one person who is in control of two bodies at the same time. One in her house and one in the game.

The strangest part is that this isn't disorienting in the slightest. It's as if this is how she's always been, and she doesn't feel the slightest bit of confusion when she decides which version of her should do what.

Looking for someone to help confirm this is real, she both leaves her sect room and goes to see her sister.

"You're experiencing it too right?" CoDestiny says when they meet up. "I am... both."

"I know." JadeBea replies. "This game just went from incredible to absurd."

At the same time she and her sister are watching this very scene from CoDestiny's stream.

AN: In terms of Sophie's Illness, I won't be naming what it is specifically, as I don't even know myself. I don't want to make any assumptions about an illness real people go through, so it's just a generic illness with the symptoms shown in the story.

Please tell me if there's anything about this chapter you found off-putting, even if you're ashamed of it. I'd rather this not be a chapter people drop the story on as it makes them uncomfortable.