That night was like the other night. Dark and silent. But sometimes, there was the noise of vehicles and sparkling lights to make up for the absence of the sun.
Suddenly, there was a great shock. It made everyone wake up from their deep slumber, wondering what was happening.
One of them was Carl. He walked out of the house without sandals and joined those who had been observing the surroundings. And when he looked up, he found something unexpected. There was a giant ball—planet—in the sky.
Then something flew from there. Something that looked small got more prominent as it acquired closer to the earth.
Then, a loud explosion was heard. Before long, fire and smoke appeared everywhere.
Carl looked up again. He saw an ugly black creature pointing his gun at him. His eyes widened as the red light approached him. And...
Carl woke up, gasping hard for air. Fear still gripped him. The dream was so vivid and felt so real.
"Carl, wake up! You have your final test today."
The knock, followed by the exclamation, startled him a little. That was his mother.
"I'm awake," he half-shouted back.
Then, silence. His mother must have passed after making sure he woke up.
Carl was still sitting on the bed while catching his breath. He then focused his attention on the three dots in his vision. And something like a computer screen appeared. It displayed things like today's date, time, and level.
Level 40.
Yes, that was his level.
A few moments later, an inscription appeared.
The final exam day. Good luck.
He tossed aside the blanket and hurried to move. As his mother reminded him, he had a test.
--
Earth, 2080.
Carl ran down the stairs with his backpack on his shoulder. He had put on his uniform and was ready to go to school.
He stopped at the end of the stairs and then turned his head to the right. He could see his family from here.
His father was having a discussion with Antares, his companion. Carl was sure they were discussing the research matter. It was the only topic that made his father so excited.
While his mother was in the kitchen, she seemed to do something. Maybe baking a cake because it was her hobby. Unfortunately, he didn't have the same hobbies, so he rarely accompanied him to try new recipes. Luckily, there was Stary. Her companion became her best friend to do that.
Yeah, that was the boring life of his family with their own companion, except for him, who was still alone without a companion.
But he would soon have it. He had already reached level 40, and his final test was to summon his companion.
If you ask what a companion is and about levels, that was a new system. It all started 50 years ago when a great earthquake hit the earth and caused destruction everywhere. He could say the world died because the previous system could not work anymore. Vehicles failed, and all kinds of machines malfunctioned. All that remained was human and their activity.
Then, they realized the presence of a level system. Humans quickly learned about it, overhauling legacy equipment to integrate with the new system. Slowly, human life recovered.
And the surprise came again when the companion appeared. They are from a planet called Calledar, which humans later knew came from another dimension. Therefore, experts believed inter-dimensional collisions were the cause of the great earthquake, including his father, who had researched it until now.
"Carl, you should have breakfast." His mother's voice stopped him from walking towards the door even though he had done so quietly to not attract their attention.
Carl stopped in place and was forced to turn around. "No, Mom. I'm leaving right away."
"No, no." His mother replied as she walked over to him. "It's an important day, and an important day should start with a breakfast." She continued as she got in front of him. "Am I right, Albert?" She invited the father to join their conversation.
"Yes. Breakfast will turn into energy to help you pass the test well," said his father, though he didn't really turn his attention to Carl.
Carl snorted in annoyance. Always like this. He always seemed to be a child in their eyes. "I'll make it without breakfast."
"Don't be stubborn. Toast will be enough." As if that wasn't enough, Stary joined them to lecture him. His mother and Stary were the perfect combinations that were hard to beat.
"Nope. I'd better go now and prepare for the test in class. I can buy breakfast on my way." Carl said quickly and hurried away from his mother.
"But, Carl-"
"I love you, Mom," he said one last time before disappearing behind the door.
However, unlike what he said, he was strolling toward the school. There was still an hour before the test started. So what was the rush for?
"Good morning, Jonas." He greeted his regular food truck salesman.
"Morning, Carl. You came very early."
"So I can have breakfast and have a little chat with you."
"Why? Your mother's food should taste better."
Carl's stupidity told him that his mother was a food researcher. She worked for a fast-food company.
"My mother prefers to make cakes at home." That was why he said his mother's hobby was baking rather than cooking in their kitchen.
"What's the difference here? You'll only find sandwiches and toast." Jonas responded with his hands on his hips.
"And coffee milk."
"You're still young. Too much caffeine isn't good for your body." Fluff, Jonas' companion, chimed in. He went to sell breakfast with him.
Oh, Carl forgot to mention that the companions usually go hand in hand with the human skills they're contracted with. That made Antares a perfect match for his father's discussion partner, Stary for his mother's kitchen friend, and Fluff to sell breakfast with Jonas.
How about him?
He would get a companion to accompany him to become an inventor, like his brother.
Wait. Did that mean that his family was cursed to become researchers in various fields?
How boring!
"That's why you'll add milk." He smirked.
Fluff shook his head.
"I'll soon graduate high school, remember?"
"Yes. But that doesn't mean you can drink all you want." Fluff thrust the latte in front of Carl.
"I won't. Don't worry." Carl reached into his pocket for money. "I'll get a sandwich," he said as he put the money on the table and took the sandwich that was already there. Then he walked out of place.
"Hey, Carl. Good luck on your test," Jonas shouted.
Carl just raised his right hand without turning around.