I returned to my home and hopped out of the bicycle's saddle.
From the outside, the house looked intimate and cozy. It was built with white bricks and painted gray. Small square-shaped windows let in plenty of light that has been added to the house in a very asymmetrical way.
The roof was triangular shaped and built with black-colored tiles. A small chimney poked out of the center of the roof. Several small windows let in just enough light to the attic that caused its dimness to disappear.
The house itself was surrounded by a modest garden, with mostly grass, a few flower patches, and a children's playground.
I opened the front door and entered the house. I slipped out of my shoes while still carrying the somewhat light cardboard box.
I stepped deeper into the house and was about to land my feet on the stairway. However, then hurried footsteps came from the kitchen, and my mother appeared with an apron covering her figure.
She looked tired with eyebags underneath her round eyes. She had a small pointy nose with pink-colored lips and a somewhat weak-looking body.
My eyes had a split-second pain as I saw her state. It had been rather difficult for my parents back in the days, and they never truly recovered from it.
''Are you alright?'' My mother, Iris, asked me while touching my cheeks with her frail-looking hands. She examined my gray eyes, which had a slight hue of red around the rims due to my lack of sleep.
I nodded and showed the box in my hands, ''Yes, my friend lent me some comics.''
Iris looked somewhat skeptical. But nodded and decided to trust her son this time. She went back to the kitchen and said that the dinner would be in another hour.
After she left, I walked up the stairs and reached the second floor. The hallway was relatively empty, except for the framed pictures on the walls.
There was a door that led to a large bathroom, one that went to my sister's bedroom, one for mine, and the fourth one was to my parent's bedroom.
I walked past the first door on the right and entered the second one. After entering my room, I saw my semi-large bed with an untidy blanket draped over.
There was a wooden desk right in front of a square-shaped window, a bookshelf void of any books, and my wardrobe.
There was also an old-looking chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
Then, only meters away from my bed, a small table with a TV was placed on top. The TV itself was a pretty old, square-shaped box that I found luckily from some random alleyway that was often used to dispose of all useless items.
Even though it barely worked, it still worked enough to watch the news. Then, I went to my bed and placed the box down.
I opened it and took out the VR Helmet. After feeling the weight in my hands, it was indeed quite heavy, but that wasn't a surprise.
Who knows how many wires and metal pieces were crammed inside this little thing.
I tossed the box away and lay down on the bed. I carefully placed the helmet around my head. My neck rested nicely on a soft cushion, and the top of my head was exposed.
The helmet only covered the front and side of my face.
My heart was racing, and my expectations were sky-high. Then, I tapped the button on the side.
However, at that moment, the helmet began letting out a weird sound, and the buttons let out a strange electric spike.
The visor began flickering, and hundreds of random words appeared out of nowhere before they disappeared.
I squinted my eyes, trying to read the text, but I couldn't make it in time before they disappeared.
''What the hell is this?!'' My heart pounded in nervousness. But then, luckily, the words stopped blinking, and the first thing that I could read appeared.
[Enter The Game]
[Accept/Reject]
My mouth curved upward as I said, ''Accept!''
The words disappeared, and the black-haired man's face became emotionless. His consciousness entered a strange vortex of space.
After everything became dark for him. The helmet began having more electric spikes. Suddenly, his whole body began twitching with foam pouring down from the gaps of his teeth.
Without him knowing, the visor showed more words, this time, stranger.
[Wel… Come… Player!]
[W… O… R… L… D]
[World - One Piece]
[Quest: —————]
…
''Mmm…'' My mind felt fuzzy, and a clear ringing noise entered my ears. After my vision became clearer, I could see a floor and something else…
After several more seconds, I could be more attentive to the surrounding environment. The first thing I noticed was that I was holding a floor scrubbing brush with a bucket full of water next to me.
There was an obvious dirty stain on the floor in front of me, and it looked like I was just about to clean it.
Then, I raised my head and saw a window that allowed me to see outside. My eyes widened in fascination. I could see gray-colored handrails and a crystal clear ocean.
The ocean reached who knows how far, but the sight was breathtaking.
''Chore boy, clean up!'' A stern voice came behind me. After turning around, I could see a short-haired man wearing a short-sleeved shirt emblazoned with the symbol of a simplified gull with the word ''MARINE'' underneath it.
He was wearing a blue neckerchief, dark blue trousers, and a baseball cap with the word marine.
My brows furrowed as I pointed at myself, ''Me?''
''Yes, you, are you retarded or what?!'' Apparently, I made him mad because he stomped out of the doorway and left somewhere while huffing and puffing.
After scratching my cheek, I turned my gaze back to the window to see my reflection.
I looked normal with my short black hair, gray eyes, my somewhat lazy-looking attitude. I saw my clothes, and now I understood why I felt weird a moment ago.
I was wearing a marine shirt without decorations and blue marine trousers. I gotta admit that they were very tight and made wearing them very uncomfortable.