Daniel awoke in a room that looked exactly like the one he had previously been in. Well almost exactly like the room he had previously been in. The only thing different was a man in a military uniform standing in front of the door. He held an assault rifle in his hands.
Daniel nodded to himself as he observed the man. The person who had talked to him previously had not lied, the military had in fact abducted him. What would his parents think? He litterally never left the house, and now everything he owned was gone.
He shook his head at the thought. He was dealing with the military, they would think of something to cover it up. It did not take a genius to realize this.
His internal dialogue was interrupted when the man guarding his door spoke. "Good you're awake. Follow me, the higher ups would like to speak with you."
The man did not speak any further as he turned and headed through the door. He did not open it, it swung outwards on it's own. Daniel could not help but think it was strange, his own door opened to the inside. Not so strange he thought after a moment of consideration. This way I can not barricade myself in my room.
He cast a final glance at the familiar room around him before following the soldier. This was all more than likely virtual anyways, the mysterious stranger had said that everything from that point would be virtual, and he had not lied so far.
This fact was confirmed as he stepped outside of his room. Instead of a hallway he stepped into a conference room. The soldier who had escorted him bowed his head as he returned through the doorway.
The conference room was occupied by 5 people. 2 women and 3 men. Four of them were sitting at the conference table, while the final man was standing at parade rest in front of them. The four sitting at the table looked older, at least middle age. They wore there dress blue uniforms, decorated with every type of medal you could think of. There were no marks of rank on their uniforms, but it was pretty obvious that they were of importance.
The man standing at parade rest was wearing his combat uniform. it was not the BDUs or ACU's that had been used in the 1900s and 2000's. in fact they were not camaflogue at all. The design was the same, but his was pure black. The military had changed much over the years, and someone had decided it was best to distinguish the specific types of jobs in the military by color. The black the soldier wore was the famous color of special forces. These soldiers were the best of the best.
Rather they could do everything. Each of them was capable of doing every job available. They specialized in combat and espionage, but were trained in a little of everything. They were who you turned to when you had no other options.
On the soldiers hip a pistol was holstered, but Daniel observed that the man's reals weapon was already equipped. He wore a pair of fingerless gloves. The soldier specialized in hand to hand combat from the looks of it.
One of the women at the table stood as her eyes landed on Daniel. "Welcome Private Black. We would like to apologize for the abrupt change of scenery you have experienced. I assure you we had no choice in the matter."
Daniel nodded, before he cautiously spoke "Private? I don't remember enlisting."
the woman pulled out a file as she spoke. "Daniel Black. Age 19. Professional gamer. Currently playing 'Infinite Universe' as the unique class 'Glutton'. Character name 'LegendaryFireChef'. Currently located on the once starter planet of Agia." The woman looked up from her file after she spoke "Does this sound familiar?"
Daniel nodded as he listened to the woman speak.
The woman continued. "If you had read the user agreement, you would understand that by playing the game you agree to become an inactive member of the special military force in 'Infinite Universe'. That you could be switched to an active member at any time should the need arise."
Daniel once again nodded. "Yes, That is correct. I thought the provision was odd, but did not think too much on it."
The woman continued. "It is good that you understand that makes this all easier. You have been activated. The military, no humanity has great need of you at the moment. Your friend 'Guy Wilson' Has been stolen from us. We have had a tenuous relationship with the orcs in Infinite Universe, and needed to send them a unique class mechanic to appease them. That mechanic was supposed to work for them as they played, instead of humanity. In return they would share some technology with us."
"To this end we made a deal with the Echo Guild to send in a trained operative who would be able to send us back information they had gathered. Unfortunately the orcs managed to find a way to trap the agent inside of 'Infinite Universe'. We have no way to communicate with him. All avenues of communication have been cut off. For all intents and purposes he is no longer a 'player'. "
"This is where you come in. You were able to get a message through to him. We know this because we can monitor his interface. He recieved the message you sent, but is unable to respond. You are the only one capable of doing it. Any questions?"
"How can you be trapped in a game? Why don't you just force log him off?"
The woman sighed. "Infinite Universe is not just a game. It is the real universe. 20 years ago a team found a ouece of ancient technology that was capable of projecting a person's soul into this alternate dimension. There a person's soul would materialize into a body. These are the characters that the players use. Each player has a different compatibility with Infinite Universe, and are therefore classified into different rarity of classes. As you can imagine Most people have a poor compatibility with the alternate dimension. Existences such as you and guy are actually really rare. In fact Guy originally did not have the compatibility needed. We had to forcefully adjust his soul. This is why he experienced such a level of discomfort after his first time playing. This is also why the orcs were capable of stealing him. It also leaves him vulnerable until his soul adjusts. We need to get through to him before the orcs have a chance to completely corrupt him."
"In short the Infinite Universe is very much real. And we have recruited you because you are the only one capable of contacting him. We are being honest with you about this because we believe you will willingly work with us to get your friend back."
Daniel's eyes slowly gained a look of determination. "What do I need to do."