Bright moonlight reflected off of a rough deep-black katana. Slowly trickling down the back of the blade, a droplet of blood momentarily stopped at the point and then shortly after succumbed to gravity.

Splash

The foul blood fell onto the head of a mangled corpse. Steadily falling, the blood descended downwards through innumerable cracks and crevasses of flesh until it reached its inevitable end—the dirt beneath a tower of mangled bodies.

Atop the tower of corpses, a man stood staring into the night sky. His face, illuminated by moonlight, was clear and emotionless. In his right hand, he held the deep-black katana—which, if looked closely—one could see specks of flesh still stuck to the surface.

The curious man stood still for many minutes before finally reaching out his left hand and swiping. Instantly a blue panel appeared, hovering in front of him.

Before continuing, the man began to mutter something under his breath.

"What a long quest!" Clicking on an icon on the panel, he then moved his left hand until it reached his chin.

Stroking the nonexistent hairs, he looked to be pondering over something. "The rewards are not bad, although they don't matter much seeing as the game is cleared and I can finally move on."

Moving his left hand again, he clicked the panel twice more before being enveloped by blue, luminescent light and shortly after disappearing.

On the other side, Wade Wood opened his capsule from the inside and walked out.

Detecting his movement, the capsule began to close itself. However, just before completely closing, the door abruptly stopped and spewed out steam from inside.

"Shit, not again! How many times do I have to fix this damn thing! What a load of crap." Wade hurriedly ran to the other corner of his room and picked up a set of screw-drivers from a decrepit table.

Confirming he had the right set, he rushed back to the capsule.

Forcefully opening the scratched door, he first fixed the wiring and then tightened the screws that had loosened.

After a short minute, he made sure everything was in order and then backed away.

Crossing his fingers, he pushed a button to the left side of the door and hoped it would close.

With years of use, the light-green capsule was old and torn, resulting in its slow closing.

Fingers crossed, Wade's heart began beating uncontrollably. As the door breached the gap, the intensity made him flush red from the rapid blood circulation. Finally, as it was just shy from closing, it stopped.

"Fuck! You piece of goat shit!" Wade's anger skyrocketed. No longer being able to control himself, he kicked the [VR Capsule] as hard as he could.

Thud

With the help of his kick, the door finally closed, creating a loud sound. However, the sound failed to register to Wade as he was currently absorbed in utter pain.

"Ow, fuck!" Tears streamed down his eyes after kicking the capsule as hard as he could, almost fracturing his foot.

Lying on the floor with his foot in hand, he blew at it with his mouth to help ease the pain.

Averting his gaze for a short moment, his eyes landed on the closed door of the capsule. He let out a broken sigh of relief and then instantly sprung up as if nothing happened.

Flattering himself, Wade's nose looked to be growing as he looked up. "Haha, all a part of the plan! Truly, how can such a genius like me exist!?"

Wade's actions over some crappy capsule may seem strange to some, but for Wade, who was a poor shut-in gamer, this old [VR Capsule] was his life! It was also a cherished gift from his deceased mother, who always encouraged his dream of becoming a professional gamer. Now stuck with only his father, who disagreed with his mother's unyielding support, he was put under immense pressure to start maturing and get a job.

Wade wasn't opposed to getting a job—in fact— he wanted to help with the rent as his father barely made ends meet. However, his dream of becoming a professional gamer was so close that he could taste it. If he were to start working, he would lose valuable time grinding online, and his dream would slowly fade.

He had sat his father down and explained to him the situation, asking to give him half a year to allow him to pursue it. However, that time had passed just a week ago. Now, he had to honor his promise and find a job as soon as possible.

So, after his morning quest clear, he jumped out of his [VR Capsule] and went to his shabby setup in the left corner of his small room.

The setup was on a flimsy white plastic table, with only one monitor riddled with scratches sitting on top. He had an office keyboard and mouse he found in a recycling firm. The computer was the only thing that was worth mentioning, as it was sitting beside the monitor, gleaming with RGB lighting and liquid cooling. It was a 2018 Virtue PC model, with the best specs from that year. It was a birthday present from his mother, right before she passed away.

Sitting down in his old office chair that squeaked crazily, he turned on his monitor and opened the browser.

"Sigh, I guess I should search for some job applications, huh." Shortly after, he typed [Jobs Hiring Near Me] in the search bar.

With his slow internet, it took a dozen seconds before it finally registered.

After fully loading, a list of jobs appeared at the top of the screen.

（Ⓖ jobs hiring near me ☓ | 🎤🔍）

[Jobs • Near Sandalwood, CA]

Cashier - O-Mart - Careers]

[Sandwich Artist - Waysub Franchise]

[Stocker - Waysafe]

"Hmm, what should I apply for? Cashier? Pff no, I don't want to have to talk to so many people all day; the same goes for sandwich artist. What about stocker? I can listen to music and I won't have to interact with people since it's usually a night shift. Perfect, let's go with this!" After a few minutes of pondering, he decided to go with stocker as it was the best option for him.

With a series of clicks, he opened the application and began to fill it out.

Minutes later, after completing the application, he double-checked it to make sure everything was right.

"Okay, everything is perfect. Time to apply and hope for the best." Hovering over the [Enter] button, he sighed and prepared himself for his unremarkable future.

Creak

Just before he was about to finish it, his room door opened. In the doorway, a burly man stood, his head almost touching the top of the door frame. With his tight shirt on, you could see his muscles bulging out as if he was a Greek statue. It was his father.

Staring awkwardly at each other for a moment, Wade finally broke the silence. "What!?"

His father's face darkened, and a vein popped out of his forehead.

"WHAT!? What do you mean 'what!?' It has been a week! Why haven't you made any efforts to get a job!? Get out of that chair and honor your promise!" Even from such a distance, his father's spit still managed to drown his face.

Wade sighed before nonchalantly replying. "I am applying for one now, look." He pointed towards his monitor.

His father walked forward and looked into the screen.

"Applying online!? When did this become a thing?" His father was someone born at the age of the first moon landing, so he was very slow when it came to electronics.

Before walking out, his father muttered something under his breath. "These kids nowadays, no backbone! They don't even want to leave the house anymore!"

As Wade's finger was about to click, and his father was moments away from closing the door, something strange happened.

His desk began shaking.

After a few moments, he realized it wasn't just his desk, but his whole room.

"The hell!? What's going on?" Wade looked towards his father.

Seeing his gaze, and also feeling the slight shaking, his father replied. "Probably just a minor earthquake, nothing to worry about. Don't get your panties in a twist, boy."

However, the shaking only became worse as it caused his monitor to jump up and fall on its screen.

"Shit! Minor earthquake my ass!" Wade tried to pick up his monitor, but his body was shaking uncontrollably. He sat up from his chair and tried to regain himself, but before he realized what happened, he fell to the ground on his head and passed out.

...

"Wade! Wake up!"

After an unknown amount of time, the first thing Wade woke up to was his father shaking him incessantly.

"Huh, what happened?" Wade picked himself up, touching the back of his pain-stricken head.

His father sighed in relief, sweat dripping down his cheek.

"You passed out for two minutes. You almost scared me there, boy. What were you thinking! You are too clumsy!" His father backed off and walked towards the area where the desk previously was.

Wade's vision slowly unblurred and after looking around, he was in horror at the shape of his room.

Everything was in shambles. His desk had fallen quite hard, leaving his pc lying in pieces on the ground. The capsule gifted by his mother was being fried by electricity from the outlet spazzing out.

In short, everything that meant anything to him was destroyed.

In shock, tears streamed down his face faster than the Niagara Falls.

"What happened!? Why is my room like this?" Wade screamed as the sadness washed over him, and anger took over.

"Now is not the time for this! Look outside!" His father slapped him in the head, pointing towards the window in the left-hand corner of the room.

Remembering what happened before he passed out, Wade stopped his childish fit and listened to his father. Wiping the tears and snot from his face, he shifted his gaze towards the window.

Bright blue light blinded him momentarily. After his eyes adjusted, what he saw shocked him.

Outside, countless pillars of blue light extended far into the sky. They pulsated in unison, as if alive. Looking as far his eyes would take him, he found the pillars weren't just closeby, but everywhere in sight. It was the strangest sight he had ever seen in real life.

Below, on the streets, hordes of people were watching the strange phenomenon; some even recording with their phones.

'What the hell!? Did I fall asleep in my capsule on accident?' Wade thought to himself as he noticed the game-like situation that was happening outside.

"Father, what is happening?" Wade couldn't help but ask, as he had no idea.

"I have no clue. Shortly after you fainted, these beams of light shot out from the ground and started to grow larger." His father said while still staring out the window.

"Is this the apocalypse?" Wade blurted out without thought.

"Apocalypse!? You idiot, use your head! This can only be a new science experiment done by the country." Rich Wood—his father—slapped him in the head again.

'Science experiment? There's no way. Who could conduct an experiment of such magnitude?' Wade pondered to himself, not responding to his father.

Staring out of the window, the two didn't say a word to each other and only waited for something to happen.

After roughly thirty minutes, the pillars of light expanded so much that they all connected. Everything was enveloped by the strange light.

Screams and honking sounded from outside. The people were sent into a stage of fright. This was because they received no report from the news or government.

However, Wade and Rich were still standing in the room, unshaken by what was occurring. They were engrossed in the feeling of warmth that emanated from the light. It soothed and invigorated them, making them feel at ease. It was the strangest feeling; Wade almost thought he was back inside of his capsule, playing one of his games.

The light continued to pulsate, this time much more fierce. It shook the world, causing destruction everywhere.

After a dozen times, the pulsating stopped, with the blue light disappearing altogether shortly afterward.

The world was silent. If a pin were to drop, the whole world would probably hear it.

However, the silence was interrupted by a loud sound that pierced right into everyone's ears.

!Ding!

[World 7122 Has Been Successfully Updated]

[Beginning The Awakening Ceremony]

After the robotic voice announced this, the blue light returned. Only, it wasn't enveloping the whole world; this time, it enshrouded only the people, creating a thin layer around everyone's bodies.

This layer of blue light was like an aura seen in movies and games. It was so bizarre to see in the real world!

However, Wade made no effort to be astounded as he was still in his room, with his eyes closed. He felt the warmth of the light and the brilliance it emanated. It seemed to have different effects this time, changing his entire body. Every cell began to evolve. Cracks sounded from deep within him. Strangely, there was no pain, only a feeling of ecstasy.

This ecstasy caused moans of elation to be heard from the streets. It was weird, something no one would ever even imagine! People all over the world, moaning in unison! How frightening.

Back in the room, Wade noticed that the light didn't pulsate this time. However, it began to dim with time, and after a few short minutes, it completely vanished with the familiar robotic sound returning.

!Ding!

[Awakening Ceremony Successful]

[Congratulations And Good Luck To The Inhabitants]

The robotic voice ended, wishing good luck to everyone.

Was a god playing jokes with humanity?

Who was behind this bizarre phenomenon?

Shortly after, the streets began to fill with chatter. Everyone was confused and debating what just happened. Some thought it was a government experiment, while others thought it was an alien invasion.

Wade and his father still did not move.

However, shortly after the light disappeared, a familiar sound rang once more; this time it could only be heard by Wade.

!Ding!

[Setup Enhancement System Has Successfully Been Bound To Host]