Lin Hao was bewildered at the events transpiring that day, from his break up to suddenly being teleported by a strange and unusual game like system.
He never thought the video games he had played in the past would become a reality!
Lin Haos body floated through a powerful cybernetic vortex filled with blue circuitry, teeming with electrical energy.
"What is going on!? Cubic...Initialization? Cubic Human?" There were so many questions in Lin Hao's head, but no way to answer them for now.
He began to see a glowing gateway, his body forced violently through it. Lin Hao was forced to go through it and then fell face first onto a flat grassy plains,
"Ugh. Whoever's behind this could have atleast made a floor."
Lin Hao got up from the ground, having almost accidentally eaten some of it. "I may have been broke, but eating grass is for the cows!"
Around him, multiple people began to come out of similar gates. They landed in spectacularly terrible fashions, due to the crude nature of the area they were transported to.
There were hundreds, possibly thousands of random human beings all around Lin Hao.
"Were all these people transported like me?" Lin Hao thought to himself, trying to figure out what was going on.
It seemed like all of them were chosen for an opportunity. But what it was had yet to be revealed.
Lin Hao looked around for a potentially friendly face to meet in this mysterious world, but everyone was ablaze with fear or panic of some sort.
"Hey where is this, I was just taking a shit and now I'm not in my house anymore!" One man shouted, his pants unfortunately missing.
"Yeah I wanna go home!"
"This has to be a joke right? It must be some kind of prank!"
It was a strange waiting area of all things. No chairs, no buildings or anything. Just a plain sky and a grassy ground.
Eventually, the portals leading people into the world stopped, Lin Hao sat down waiting with a small panic in his heart. He was eager for this new "opportunity" to prove itself, but also afraid.
A glowing white figure suddenly appeared in the sky, who's body could not be seen.
"Welcome all of you. I am pleased to see we have so many participants from all over your planet. Now we can begin the selection."
'The Selection?' Lin Hao thought, this must have meant there would be a test of some kind..
However, Lin Hao was immediately proven wrong as a cube like device crashed in the middle of where they were all standing.
It had crushed the head of a poor fellow, his body a unlucky pile of meat on the ground.
"Oh no." The glowing white figured said with fake sympathy, floating itself over to the cube device.
"Before we can let all of you run free, you have all been brought here so you may learn and awaken to your Cubic Power."
'Cubic Power? Is this why I was called a "Cubic Human?"' Lin Hao thought, the figure continued to explain what was going on.
"All of you who have chosen to participate are now Cubic Humans, humans blessed with the potential to awaken Cubic Power via this special device. Upon placing your hand on top of the cube, a random power will flow from it into you based on your nature."
"A Random? Are you saying I can get a garbage power!?"
"This is just gambling with extra steps, I don't want any part in it."
"Uwahhhh!!!! I hope I get the strongest power I can obtain!"
Everyone around Lin Hao had their own reactions to the mysterious opportunity, but Lin Hao was thinking ahead of that.
Just what was the purpose of them being brought to receive these strange power?
There was no such thing as a free lunch after all.
The Mysterious figured clapped its hands, sending out a large shock-wave that knocked everyone down.
"Silence. I haven't finished speaking yet." Multiple people were flung onto the ground with such strong force, Lin hao was already sitting but almost fell flat on his back.
"Such Power!" he thought.
"All of you have different levels of Cubic Potential inside of your soul, that potential decides what powers you are most likely to get. But, you can also get lucky. Any Cubic Power is also capable of evolving into something else with enough time and effort, but that's very hard. Hope you get lucky!"
The mysterious figure let out a creepy smile, before vanishing into thin air.
All of the people there meanwhile suddenly were put in a Queue, with a number above their head marking how long they had to wait until they could receive a Cubic Power. Lin Hao looked at his own, 14.
"Wow, for once I really am lucky. I'll get mines quickly!" But then uncertainty came to him, what would he be made to do with this Cubic Power?
Could he trust those around him to not become or turn evil once they had power within their hands?
Lin Hao had seen first hand the evils those with power above others could do.
And those around him were just as capable of becoming evil.
In this new world, he wouldn't dare humor such thoughts. Life had been unfair and unrighteous to him, but with this...
He could turn everything around.
A loud ding rang out over Lin Hao's head, his body was suddenly teleported in front of the strange cube that was brought down on top of a man.
The cube glowed with iridescent and shiny vibrating energy all over, and was almost as tall as Lin Hao himself. "This is where my fate is decided, ancestors smile upon me once more kindly!!!!"
Lin Hao clasped his hands as if to pray, then slammed his right hand on the top of the cube.
[Error, User has incorrectly placed their hand]
"Huh?" Lin Hao said confused, his moment of confidence ruined by the cube systems words. He then fiddled with his hands for a few seconds, trying to find the right spot to press downward on.
[Error, User has incorrectly placed their hand]
[Error, User has incorrectly placed their hand]
Lin Hao fought his worst battle already, that against a machine. He continuously messed up where to place his hand in order to receive his cubic power, frustrated by the entire ordeal.
[User has been assumed to be an idiot, now forcing hand into proper position.]
Lin Hao's hand was spontaneously moved into the correct position, which was actually much farther than he anticipated near the Cube's edge.
A gigantic glow came out from the cube, indicating the release of his power was near. "This is it, this is the moment my fate is decided!"
A large game status window opened in front of Lin Hao, revealing the new power that was meant to be his.
[User has gained the Grade A Cubic power [Volcanic]. User may check the details of this and themselves by saying "Status"]
Right after, with no warning Lin Hao was teleported right back to the grassy ground.
It seemed like there would be a while before the next part of the "selection" would begin, so Lin Hao checked his status with the command word.
"Status"
Upon saying it, a game window manifested in front of Lin Hao showing the following information.
[Personal Details]
Name: Lin Hao
Race: Cubic Human
Cubic Power: Volcanic [0% Comprehension]
Unique Trait: Never Give In!
[Stats]
Health:60/60
Cubic Reservoir:40/40
Strength:5 [Normal]
Intelligence:7 [Favored]
Dexterity:7 [Favored]
Wisdom :3 [Lacking]
A question mark hovered over each part of the game window, Lin Hao recognized this as the tutorial function most video games he had ever played possessed.
"Is this really like a game? I can't believe it!" He tapped the strange question mark hovering over the Cubic Power section first, as he needed to understand how his "ability" worked.
"Volcanic, the power to manifest burning magma and lava. Become a human Volcano as you burn your enemies, but watch out not to harm your allies! Consumes large amounts of energy."
This power turned Lin Hao into a glass cannon, he could dish out serious damage but would burn out quickly.
"Tch, I guess my luck had to stop somewhere." Lin Hao didn't waste any time complaining, unsure of what would happen next he spent the remaining time "listening" to the tutorials for each stat and trait of his.