Sigh~

A salaryman's job is never a commendable one, or so that's what Pietrus Lev thinks about whenever he goes to the office. Even before getting up in bed first thing in the morning, he could feel an enormous weight on his body, urging him to stay in place and skip the day's work— that's how unfulfilling he felt every single day on the usual weekdays.

Nevertheless, he never failed to get up and make preparations for work. Approximately half an hour later, he'd be pushing the door open from his apartment and heading to work. "I'll be heading out." There wasn't a day when he missed that greeting whenever he goes out.

Since his apartment faces the east, the sun on the horizon would always be a wake-up call to him, rejuvenating him and reminding him that it was just the start of the day. Feeling renewed, he'd head straight to the office, either on the bike, on the bus, or in a cab. An occasional greeting from the grandmother downstairs was reciprocated every single time. And with a smile, Lev would pat himself on the back.

Another day as a salaryman, another day to survive the hardest game ever made— life.

Lev works at a company named Trek Industries— an electronic and gaming company that highlights futurism instead of usability. The electronics they released appear to be straight out of a sci-fi movie or novel, and that's a fitting description to the games they released as well. It was such a successful company, even Lev was dumbfounded by the fact that he works at such a prestigious place.

But then again, he was just a lowly software/web developer who checks for bugs and issues. A job like that required immense concentration and burning the midnight oil was a regular part of the deal. He never particularly liked the job but he enjoyed being part of the team nonetheless.

"Good day,"

"Good day,"

The usual cacophony of workers greeting each other in the beginning of the day was heard throughout the office. The brewing machine had been working non-stop since a few hours ago as well as workers who just clocked in for work flocked around it. As for Lev, however, he headed straight to his desk, logged in on his account, and started working.

"You're always at it, Lev, don't you ever feel exhausted? No one's going to take that job away from you, you know. I mean, you're over-qualified for it. It's quite unusual for someone of your standing to take on such a task. How many days is it now?"

"Twenty-six days," Lev responded in a monotonous tone while grabbing a bottle of energy drink from his drawer. Downing it in one gulp, he continued deftly typing away at his keyboard, his eyes darting here and there as he looked for errors in the code.

"Yeah, keep going at it and you'll really die at this rate. Man, you should get some sleep."

Lev just nodded. He wasn't the type of person for idle chitchat in the workplace. Growing up, he etched in his mind that there's always time for everything. If he were to watch a movie, then he'll do so without resting. If he put his mind to cleaning his small apartment, then he won't do anything else until that task is finished. It was such a linear way of thinking but it made him somewhat successful in life so he wasn't going to break that habit.

Just like any other day, time passed by so quickly while Lev fixed all the bugs he could see in the software. He knew that the game would be released a week or so from now and he wanted it to run as smoothly as possible. After all, his name would be in the trailer along with the main developers, more than enough to expose him to other companies indeed.

"You should go take a break. It's already nighttime and you haven't even eaten lunch." One guy slung his bag on his shoulders before patting Lev on the back. "I'll be going now, be sure to close down before you leave."

Lev nodded without uttering a single word.

He paused, rubbed his eyes, and stared at the clock that steadily ticked at every second. 'Two more hours before closing, huh.' He said in his mind while overlooking the sea of developers who were working with him. They too haven't taken a single break but it was only for that day since they've been slacking lately, unlike Lev who never thought of doing so at work.

"Lev, do you need anything? I'll be stopping by the convenience store for a bit." A girl who goes by the name Catherine called out, but as usual, Lev didn't as much as bat an eye towards her, continuously gluing his eyes on the computer even though he heard her loud and clear.

Noticing the empty bottles of energy drink beside Lev, Catherine decided to buy some for him since she'll be going to the convenience store anyways. Without asking him a second time, Catherine headed downstairs.

Catherine was new to the company and it was Lev who taught her the ropes. Due to that act of kindness, Catherine thought like she owed her place on the company to Lev. She doesn't like him in a romantic manner whatsoever, though, she just wanted to return the favor from time to time even just a little bit.

"What was that?" Her thoughts which were drifting to her first days of work were suddenly interrupted by a figure who slinked past her. It was more like a shadow, a phantom. And after a few seconds, she doubted that the figure was even there in the first place. "Must be another worker, playing pranks on me."

Turning a blind eye to her imagination, she proceeded to head out of the office. The convenience store was just a pedestrian walk away so it didn't take her that long to get there.

Meanwhile, Lev had finally fixed the last bug on the software and he decided to boot the game to see if it runs well even on his computer. It was smooth, so smooth in fact that he was relieved by his work. In just mere seconds, his body relaxed and he drowsily leaned on the edge of his desk, done for the day. Sleep soon followed afterward and before he knew it, he was already snoring lightly.

BOOOOOM!!!

The resounding noise of a bomb bouncing on the walls of the building didn't even wake Lev up. It was all too sudden that every employee in the building rushed towards the fire exit without looking back. No one even bothered to check if there was someone left behind— it was every man for himself.

Catherine, who was outside, heard the explosion from the convenience store. And it wasn't a mere explosion, the blast even shattered the glass windows of the convenience store which was at least fifteen meters away from the building. "Lev!" She shouted. The first thing that came to her mind was Lev. As far as she knows, he could still be in the building, typing away without regard for the explosion.

Leaving her purchase behind, Catherine dashed out of the convenience store in haste, hoping that she could get to the building and warn Lev in time. Although she wasn't sure whether Lev had safely gotten out of the building or not, her instincts were telling her of the worst-case scenario— that Lev was still up there, his time ticking by at the approach of his demise.

Right when she got out of the convenience store, however, a stranger outside the convenience store stopped her in her tracks. From a safe distance, Catherine watched as employees from the building gushed out of the main entrance of their office, each with the same horrified expression as if they'd already met with death itself. A majority of them were screaming, intensified by the sound of breaking concrete and recurring explosions. Apparently, it wasn't only one bomb, but a chain of them.

"Where are you going, young miss?" The stranger asked. He wondered why a girl as frail as her would jump into danger without any second thoughts.

"Lev, my coworker, he's still— "

The stranger didn't answer, instead, he simply pointed up towards the top of the building, which seemed to be tilting downwards as seconds passed.

No, it wasn't their hallucination, the building was really collapsing as its supports were compromised by the bomb.

Everyone watched in horror as the building collapsed towards the adjacent building, shattering a huge chunk of it while it tipped downwards. Debris started raining down upon the streets, causing the cars to stop in halt and causing multiple mild bumper-to-bumper accidents.

Meanwhile, Lev was still on the seventh floor of the building, getting his well-deserved rest— too well-deserved since he's going to be resting for a long time indeed.

As the building tipped more violently, Lev fell to his side, inadvertently waking up— only to see the last few moments of his life slip past his grasp. "What's going o— " He voiced out, thinking that he was just dreaming.

CRASH!

His head was bashed on the concrete and a pool of blood formed on his impaled stomach. He felt his breathing becoming more ragged as his heart tried to pump more blood. There was no pain, just a feeling of longing and coldness as his body ceased to function. 'What just— ' As he thought his final thoughts, his soul resigned, and he died helplessly as the weight of the building pressed on him.

A flash of light.

The sound of grinding metal.

And then silence.

'Am I dead? What happened?' At first, Lev thought that he really died but now that his thoughts are still there, he figured that he probably just lost consciousness. However, he still couldn't comprehend what just happened to the building.

SLAP!

Lev felt that sound right at his skull, urging him to get back up on his feet and straighten his back. One moment, he was lying down on the ground, the next thing he knew, he was up and about as if he wasn't just injured by a building that fell on top of him.

'Wait, why do I feel lighter? Have I always been this tall? Why do I feel so cold? Where am I? And... who's that bastard that slapped me?!' He asked himself in confusion.

Up until now, he still hasn't opened his eyes for fear that what he would see is blood and carnage— the remains of his coworkers on the ground. And yet, somehow, the atmosphere felt so bizarre, so new to him that he doubted whether he was still in the same place.

"He's up, captain. What do we do to him?" An unfamiliar voice suddenly spoke.

"Take him with the explorers, that'll wake him up for sure." Another voice responded, probably belonging to the captain.

"On it, sir."

The gentle pitter-patter of rubber hitting a tiled floor dissipated as the man ran somewhere. At this point, Lev's curiosity was piqued, and he decided to open his eyes.

"Whoa~" The first word Lev spoke was that of awe as he admired the view.

The scene was very novel, yet very familiar at the same time. Countless movies and novels, not to mention the games he played made it all the more recognizable for him. The only difference was there weren't any aliens, just people. Some behind the computers, and some going about their task just like at your regular office. The entire room was big, spacious enough to fit more than a hundred people in it. Well lit, and there was not a speck of dust on any surface. But what's most noticeable aside from all that was the uniform that everybody wore. It was plain white, with grey streaks covering it. Unknown serial numbers, logos, and markings filled the uniform.

And that's when Lev realized that he was wearing the same uniform as well.

"This is your first day on the 25th Voyage, Mr. Recruit. I suggest you accomplish your task before we throw you into space."