"My rules are pretty simple." Said the Game Master who was wearing all black and can't be even properly seen on screen. "You see, you can just easily bear with it like a simple trigonometry quiz..." he spun his pen around his fingers and continued saying, "I know you're all confused but you better not. This event is going to be fun." a dull clapping sounded behind him.
The air felt heavily cold and filled with anxiety. People inside the bus slowly came to panic. They tried to stop the bus from moving and immediately hopped outside and looked around in despair.
"This can't be happening..." people murmured. Some broke down and cried, others went to a corner, still, others faced the biggest screen mounted on the wall of a building near them.
They found themselves in the middle of a deserted modern city. Lights from buildings turned off, the street lights flicked, the cars and robots outside the bus stopped moving as if a 'Pause' button was hit and made the lively city came to stop. The Game Master seemed to be enjoying his ploy with the participants who were struggling to get on their feet.
"You should be glad you are to participate in this one-time event of the century." the GM murked.
The more the Gm talked, the more Hachiro felt an urge to find him. His blood boiled in the sight of his enemy flashed in the bus' TV screen. He stood from his seat, feeling the pressure to stop his enemy.
"You can choose between fight or flight." The GM said. He showed them two icons that were flashed on the screen: one is showing two crossing swords and the other is a gesture of a running man "It's up to you what to choose I'm quite generous about this though..." he gave them a cold laugh.
"Should I go and find him, Ha-chan?" Shichiro said with an urge in his brain. He gripped his fingers. He's also itching to find the hacker and end all the shit his master had gone through these times.
But, Hachiro knew this is still not the right time so he ignored his AI again.
"Not yet,, wait for my signal, Shi-chan," Hachiro replied in a silent voice. "Just wait for it."
"What was that about?" said in a shaky voice by the one at his back, trembling in anxiety. "I've never signed up for this!"
"What does he mean with the one-time event? Are we going to die here?" Another person muttered.
"Well, anything you choose leads you to death if you're not careful.." the icons disappeared from the screen "..so better choose right away." The GM replied.
"What are you talking about?!"
"I mean, you are already inside the Augmented Reality I have built. Thus, from this point in time, you are trapped inside my world; a dream you always wanted to live in. What you see outside is not the Real-world anymore but the world I created by means of codes and programmed it this way. It is projected as holographic images registered to your brain's system as real objects thru a static transmission from your watches. You know, with the power of the Scorpio and all, anything is POSSIBLE. With your watches activated the moment you wore it at the port, your profile was already registered in my system and once it's registered, you can't do anything to undo it. Stats, Skill, and other information about other participants are also visible in public. You can check the others if you want to, just swipe your right hand and a screen will pop out, click 'Horus' eye' on the skills section and scan whoever is in front of you. Just like a PC Game, right? Isn't it fun?" His voice became sinister sounding and he took a deep breath. "Anyway, about the choices, if you want to choose Flight..." the icon of a running man appeared on the screen. "...you can run away from here, don't participate in the survival game, and get yourself to safety." He said confidently and reassuringly.
The others felt a shine of hope when the GM said something on their benefit. Their eyes shimmer in the dim light in the wary city. They gather their thoughts and thought of quitting the game before it even started, trying to escape the 'survival' thing that the GM mentioned, murmurs starting to echo around the area. But, the moment they thought they have the slightest hope and accept the GM's offer, he then said sarcastically,
"You can get out from the barrier I raise around the ends of the city." Then he laughed evilly and sarcastically said, "As if you can do that! Hahaha!"
Panic rose to its peak. Their eyes fell into darkness and turned blank. The participants starting to get confused and ran away. The cold air seemed to fill their bones that drove them mad. They all went away from the bus to have a good grasp of the situation and find some hope but they just saw the ruins brought by the hacker. They've clearly seen the depravity they chose to avoid from their sight from the bus.
"Oh... so you wanted to see my world better. Well, you can have a good look on it as much as you can until your consciousness is still there." He continued in a loud voice. A moment later, the broadcast flashed in the billboard screen attached in the tall building standing at the corner of the crossing. It was a 75-story building that looked like the Gold Star hotel.
Others tried to remove their watches out of panic, trying to reboot the system.
"If getting out the city is impossible, then we'll just remove this damn watch that is binding us here!" a kid shouted in retort.
"Oops! If I were you I won't do that!" he exclaimed flashing a stop sign in the screen. The participants paused in confusion. "The moment you remove your watches inside the AR means your character's death. And your character's death in AR is your death in the Real Word. You see, that holds your lifeline in this world. Like in a mundane arcade game, you have a lifeline for your avatar. If you get hit, smashed, fell, or anything else, your lifeline meter will get smaller and smaller indicating the number of damage you received until the red zone is down to nothingness. Well, if that lifeline falls zero, your body won't die, but your avatar will do. It will be erased from the program indicating your non-existence. And if your avatar will die, your brain will die as well rendering you useless in this AR and even in the outside world. In other words, your cognitive state will fall into the abyss and will not come back at all if you ever remove those watches you have."
"Damn it!" Murmurs of despair and cussing heated around the corner.
"Stop joking around!" others shouted.
"Oh c'mon, I'm not joking here, dear.." he changed his voice back to its evil-sounding "I'm pretty serious."
Everyone held their breath and stared blankly at the billboard screen.
"As I was saying, there is a barrier around the island. It was activated as the first line of defense in Argon from foreign programs and once inside there is no getting out. I wonder if you heard about Stonehenge."
"Stonehenge.." Michiyo remembered what Louige had told them in their practice matches that she unconsciously repeated what the GM had said.
"Oh,, you seem to know about it, young Lady... I'll give you a reward!" he said.
They all stared in her direction and she suddenly became conscious. An icon appeared on her watch but that surprised her.
"That is a healing potion." Said the GM. "It can bring your lifeline to Green zone but you can only use that once so don't die easily... I wish you all the best to survive... if you can actually do that.. Haha." He added. "So, Stonehenge has proven its power and you cannot do anything to bring it down unless you have the keys."
"What do you want us to do? How can we get out from here?!" the participants exclaimed.
"I told you, you can't just go out of the city, so YOU HAVE TO WIN THE GAME." He said.
"How do we do that?!"
"You just have to find ways to deal with it. Anyway, Stonehenge surrounds the whole island and because you're inside the AR now, you are treated as a mere program and that means you can't get pass through it! You know how Aegis in ORION works, right? It was similar to that crappy program but ours is more advanced. It needs keys to be cracked and the only thing to get those keys is to get them from the towers. Of course, it won't be easy as buying a canned drink in a vendo machine."
Everyone fell silent. Hachiro gripped his hand even more and felt the sweat forming in his palms.
"Ha-chan.." Shichiro muttered but again he was shunned by Hachiro.
"So where can we find the keys?" someone asked.
"Well, you have to choose to Fight if that's the case... the keys are just out there somewhere and you just have to find it to win the game." the GM continued and flashed a fight icon. "If you choose this one, you can experience an adventure game of a lifetime. I know you love playing all those ORION games in the VR but this is more incredible. You can fight with your own hands, feel the weight of a real sword in a fight, and experience Victory and defeat first hand, but that life might end then and there anyway... but still it was a life worth living, right?"
Everyone stared at each other blankly.
"Don't be ridiculous! We're not your toys!" the participants exclaimed.
"Oh, no dear, you are...." GM said in a sinister voice. "NOW."
"So, what is the game about?" Hachiro shouted at the billboard screen. Everyone looked at him, impressed that he is still composed given their situation.
"Is it now?" Shichiro asked, but he whispered "Not yet... just a few more minutes..."
"You'll just have to conquer the palaces sprouted around the city and take the treasure on every palace. You might find one of the keys there, that's it. But, you have to fight against my villains and other members to get the prize." the GM explained.
"What kind of treasure is that? Where can we even find the palaces?"
"Well, there is a navigation app in your watch and the help icon will answer most of your questions about the game. About the treasure, it is different from every palace. But knowing about treasures, there are always guards standing before it that you have to defeat. Of course, you should not forget about the Boss or the king of the palace! And lastly, about the prize..."
"How many palaces are there?!" Hachiro cut him with his question.
"I will give you a handicap by giving this information. I should at least give you a slit light of hope." His voice changed again "There are five out there and you have to take 5 treasures to have the keys. Of course, you will get rewards from conquering the palaces and all. And the one who will reach my place, defeat me perhaps, will have a price worthy for him." The GM threw his hands in the air and turned his chair around.
"What kind of price would that be?" another participant bravely asked.
"Oh, First is you can own a zettabyte worth hard drive where you can store all your life from here on. The Second is that I will give you lifetime access to the internet from the GS Tech with an assurance that no one can remove that privilege from you no matter who they are." He added turning his chair like he's having fun. "Third, you will have the key to Valhalla and be the king of ROA. That includes owning its rights and all its money."
Murmurs of rising morale engulf the street.
"Having that key means having the reign of Aegis. And as promised by the creator of the game, the one who will clear the ROA-RPG will have a share in the GS Tech Inc and full-time job security." Michiyo exclaimed.
"Both can mean fortune.." someone added from the back.
"How can you be so sure that this isn't just a lie?" another muttered.
"See for yourself and come at me with all your might! I am the Game master, Progenitor of Scorpio, the Lord of Argon." he laughed maniacally. "I can give you everything, here, I AM GOD."
The participants paid attention to the screen with mixed emotions.
"And one other thing" GM cleared his throat. "I will not disclose this special information from everyone.."
"What is that now?!"
"Tehehe.." he was planning something bad, the cold air blew again from the pavements of the street. "...I just wanted to say that one of the dangerous people in the internet world is in here, right inside your circle."
"Dangerous person?"
"Soo.. a criminal nonetheless.." GM replied.
"Who could that be?!"
"Ne Ha-chan,, would he be telling something against us?" Hachiro froze from Shichiro's thoughts. He knew that they will be placed in a dire situation. He cannot risk the chance of capturing the hacker by just revealing his identity.
"A person named Markus the hacker," GM said.
Hachiro's blood drained from him. He turned pale and struck in his place. He lowered his gaze trying to avoid anyone's sight. He regretted the scene he caused a while ago by shouting at the hacker.
"Markus?!" someone exclaimed.
"He's in jail! How could he be here?"
"Oh Yeah..." GM agreed "...that was what they spread in the news. But to tell you, people, ORION had covered much of it. Markus is still free and walking beside you like nothing had happened... using a different name. Hahaha! To wreak another havoc!" he laughed his heart out.
The participants don't know what to say or what to react to what the GM said. Most of the participants here have issues with the hacker due to the hijacking incident of Flight Loki, most of them lost a loved one and Hachiro knew about it so he tried to be unnoticed.
"... I can't believe you made yourselves fool in front of the world... yes, people... ORION is doing something in the shadows and that's for them to control you, you ignorant peasants!" GM exclaimed.
"Stop your freaking mouth, damn hacker!" a girl standing at the Bus entrance shouted at the footage. "Stop this nonsense, you freaking bastard!"
"No... I might be a hacker but I'm not a damn freak like that 'Markus' who caused the death of the passengers in the Flight Loki.."
Silence engulfed the city. Even Shichiro fell silent in his brain.
"Yeah,,, he purposely hijacked that flight to get revenge from ORION just because he was caught about 5 years ago, the passengers were just collateral damages from his attack!" GM exclaimed again. "And he might do something like that here and now."
Rage starting to rise even more. He can feel the aura of unsettlement and the pressure of conspiracy behind him. He knew they will hunt him the moment the GM would start the game officially. He felt unease.
"Ehh, so who is that Markus, then? You're telling us, right?" someone exclaimed again.
Hachiro took a step backward, getting himself ready to run at any minute.
"Yeah, and I will give a special prize for getting him and bringing him to me. It will not matter if he's dead or alive, though." He cleared his throat once more. "His avatar is named, HACHIRO."
They all looked in everyone's name tags and profiles using the Horus' eye in their skill arsenal but they cannot read the writings that much. Only a few scripts were written in English letters and most of them were written in the Japanese script. They can't read it, not all of them and Hachiro knew that. He managed to take advantage of the situation and asked Shichiro to cover up his name. Shichiro manipulated the program but it took him a hard time to change Hachiro's user name so he wasn't able to change it.
"Remember that name." The GM said "Well, if anyone beats that bastard wins a price from me. So go get him and earn your reward, Damn Brats!"
To his surprise, wails, shouts, and battle cries engulfed the city. The fear they had before the game seemed to vanish in the sound of reward in defeating a criminal and the ring of prizes the GM offered. He knew it will be a rumble and he can't win on his own. His sweat run from his pores and the cold air made him shiver from where he stood.
"Read the instructions carefully. It may help you survive in the midst of the battle.." the GM exclaimed. "As I've mentioned, you are already inside the AR, which means, anything here can harm you any way I want. And, if you want to survive, defeat the bosses of every palace and get their treasure."
"Saa... let's get this game start!" The GM announced spreading his arms wide enough to cover the screen. "WELCOME TO INFERNO." The footage disappeared turning the screen blank.
"Now is the time, Shi-chan!" Hachiro whispered. The moment he was given the signal, Shichiro turned himself in thin lightning and manage to enter himself to the program using Hachiro's watch. He chased the hacker right after the footage was shut down as Hachiro aimed. "Take care and don't get caught.."
"I will.." Shichiro replied.
The air blew from the sea giving them a strong gust of salty air. The sound of ranging something approaching their direction grew louder and louder. The participants faced the direction the sound is coming and to their surprise, they can't even move an inch.
"So, they are here, huh.." Hachiro whispered staring at the horizon.