"I'm home." A young man with short red hair had just passed through the entrance door of his mansion.
Just by seeing the university uniform and the backpack, his identity as a student was more than recognizable to anyone. It measured about 175cm and had a well-defined body with slightly well-proportioned muscles. His immaculate face and scarlet eyes only increased the demonic charm that emanated from him.
"Hehe, welcome home, Kasel. Dinner will soon be ready."
While the red-haired man was processing the snow under the sole of his sneakers, a female voice resounded inside the kitchen that was on the left side of the large living room. It was his little sister, Luna. But unlike the young boy, the girl had a radiant face of soft and lively beauty. Her appearance had nothing to do with the boy, her dark brown eyes harmonized perfectly with the color of her mid-long hair that barely exceeded her shoulders; her refined silhouette prevented the boys from looking at her only once. Luna Snow, that was her name. In herself, she was about 170cm tall and was one year younger than her sworn brother who would soon be twenty years old at the end of December.
"Well, I'm going to change before dinner is ready." Kasel greedily inhaled the enticing smell that came from the kitchen with a hint of salivant.
(His full name was Kasel Blade, the only heir to Blade corporation, which was one of the best-known and most influential firms in the world. But a calamity had fallen on the company making it disappear overnight with his parents. Luna Snow is the daughter of his father's butler, but the butler had also mysteriously disappeared with Kasel's parents. All he had left with him was a family mansion and 500 thousand pocket money that was with him. All his parents' possessions, bank accounts, real estate, or other forms of wealth that were not in the mansion, had disappeared with them.)
"Give me a minute and everything will be ready. Hey~, Are you sure you want to miss this?" Knowing this glutton, she knew that he would no longer have the will to go and change after hearing the words she had just spoken.
(The investigation that was opened to discover the sudden and mysterious disappearance of this royal couple, who had left their crown prince behind, was in vain. The government had found no trace of them or found any clues about their disappearance.)
"Hah~, obviously, I don't smell soo bad, I'll read a little in the next two minutes. It's not good to make food wait, it's a sin that seriously leads someone to hell." As expected, Kasel was always used to finding excuses that could not even deceive children in such situations.
But Luna, who was used to his exaggeration, made only a small giggle in answer. "Are you going to read this strange book again? What exactly is he? A novel? Or your father's diary?" For the umpteenth time, she asked the same question she had asked Kasel for the last eight years.
"Haha, you know it's useless for me to give you explanations."
"Sigh, you still can't forget this blank book, huh? I've seen people with strange hobbies but you're by far the scariest among them. You had been pretending to read a blank book for several years now. How psychotic can you be, young master?" Unfortunately for her, she only received a silence from Kasel who was probably focused on his reading.
The book he had just released was not strange. It had a navy blue cover and a giant tower was drawn in black on the cover. On this, it was written: [THE IMPACT OF PROGRESS ONLINE IN THE FUTURE] in capital italics. Apart from these words, the book had no author or reference or anything else that identifies the publishing house. This book was like the only legacy he had received from his parents. The athletic, kendo, boxing, and all kinds of sports he had done in the last ten years were only to satisfy the last will of his dad who had left a letter in the book to his attention. It was as if he knew the tragic fate that awaited him and his wife.
But the most mysterious was the book he held in his hands. No matter how he showed the letters of the book to Luna, she couldn't see what was written. At first, he thought she was making him a joke but, his hypothesis collapsed when he realized that he could neither communicate nor take photos or photocopy the pages. All he receives is a blank page on the photocopier, also the same for mobile phones.
P01
[01 Dec 2049 the world was shaken by the launch of a virtual reality game called PROGRESS ONLINE. This game was both mysterious and had an insurmountable level of difficulty and challenges, even for the most professional players! As a result, its incredulous success, which attracted more than a million players from the first two days of its launch, collapsed like a meteorite. But the disaster that would follow was beyond imagination....]
P02
[....01 Jan 2050. While the planet was on board the extinction of resources, the absence of arable land due to excessive global overpopulation, and also the depletion of the land, a new continent suddenly appeared in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and occupied 80% of this vast area that was only salt water, after an earthquake....]
P 04
[... Despite all the countless resources, only some people could set foot on the surface of this continent and have access to these gifts. These people who are initially considered elected officials are actually only players who played on PROGRESS ONLINE! The new unlimited resources, the emergence of magical skills,... everything seemed like a dream-awaken until the third impact brought out the tower of the gods that came with its insurmountable challenges that were also one of the causes of the collapse of the game's success in the world. But what is going to happen now that the tower has appeared on earth? Leakage is no longer a solution. The tower that houses infinite floors must have each floor cleaned within three months; otherwise, the disaster that had driven PROGRESS ONLINE players away will occur in the new world that is now a world of magic with 35 different races!...]
"Thank you for waiting, dinner is ready." While he was immersed in his reading, the goddess cook set foot outside the kitchen accompanied by an enticing smell that caressed Kasel's nostrils.
"Yum~, you're still as talented, my dear sister." He argued by closing the book and putting it aside. He reread the book only for pure pleasure, he had already memorized the entire book for five years now. The number of pages, the number of paragraphs, sentences, words,... everything was in his head as if his life depended on the book.
As he hurried to eat his pork rib, with tartare sauce, his eyes inadvertently fell on the royal clock that was hung on the wall [30/11/2049].
'Hm, strangely I can't help thinking about this book that says that the launch of the PROGRESS ONLINE game is tomorrow. Hah, I imagine I have to stop reading fanciful novels now that I will soon be twenty years old.' Even if he had spoken these words in his thoughts, he felt a deep discomfort that gave him the impression of having missed something. Finally, he succumbed to his curiosity.
"Luna, can you turn on the TV? I have to check something." He decided after finding the cause of his discomfort after careful reflection.
Strangely, I saw some information in this book that had not yet arrived but had ended up producing it at the time. Like the artificial pandemic that was created six years ago to reduce ten percent of the world's population. Even if the population no knows that this pandemic is a sacrificial measure of reducing the population to allow the survival of the human race, I can certainly say such statements because of similar data. The name of the virus, the number of deaths, and its year of onset.'
"What channel do you want me to put it on?" She asked after turning on the TV.
"It is not necessary. Leave it as it is."
'It is already 17:58, it's time to know if I really have hallucinations because of the disappearance of my parents or if it's a strange book, which I am the only one to read, is true or false.'
Until now, he had doubted whether or not the book was the fruit of his imagination. At the time of the pandemic, his age was not advanced to have all these reflections. But tonight, all his doubts were going to be confirmed.
{17:59:50}
The TV, which displayed the show of the weather newspaper of the week.....
{17:59:55}
{17:59:59}
Suddenly, it began to bug as if it were a computer that was going to be hacked. The famous mechanical ants who fill our TV screens when the signal is bad made a ride on his TV after the signal of his TV and that of the whole world are disturbed by something.
{18:00:00}!
A silhouette dressed in a white set with a red goat horn growing on a left temple suddenly replaced the weather show. His face was masked by a white veil and he was wearing two pairs of black gloves.
Kasel shudders with anxiety at the dining table while inadvertently spilling his food. His scarlet pupils wavered with disbelief when he saw the silhouette on TV. 'Dressed like an angel, under the veil, hides the abomination that seduces earthlings and leads them to a new world more ruthless than hell. This demon was the messenger of the beginning of chaos, Rakzel Imprinus! How is this possible?!'
From the moment he said these words, the mysterious silhouette began its introduction.
[[My dear spectators, I am Rakzel Imprinus, the messenger of the noble superior race who came to deliver you a messiah. Tomorrow is the beginning of great change. Tomorrow, the earth will no longer need to worry about famine, poverty, or lack of resources,...
Kasel changed the chains as if he were killing a dungeon bump with (double click) keyboards. But no matter how much he changed chains, the same demon made his presentation. As if that were not enough, his phone that was in his pocket vibrated. Not surprisingly, when he turned it on to watch the notification, it was the same video that was playing on TV. 'Oh, Sh*t!' These were the only words he said after remembering the chaos that was going to fall on earth.
[[...Everything is within your reach now, my dear earthlings your world is about to change. A world that will not tolerate weakness, a world where gambling becomes reality and vice versa. A...
"Luna, read the video with your phone." He ordered directly after remembering important information.
"Eh? But it's the same thing, isn't it? I...
"Stop with your useless words and do what I tell you to do, right away!" Even before she could finish her sentence, Kasel scolded her for the first time.
'Sigh, Let's hope the line is not saturated. Otherwise, it will be too complicated for her to catch up with others after the first impact!' His forehead sparkled with pearls even though it was snowing outside. The idea of seeing Luna miss the first delivery was too unbearable for him. The world they were about to face was a world without faith or laws. A world crueler than hell itself; he could no longer afford to doubt now that he saw Rakzel in streaming.
"So? Did you receive the notification of the video?!" He asked with agitation.
"No. My phone refuses to turn on. I think my battery is dead!" Seeing Kasel's agitation, which is usually calm and joyful, she was naturally alerted to see him scolding her like this.
'F*ck sh*t, the number of one million elected officials is already complete. His phone is not dead, it's just that it's blocked by them. She will really have to wait for the second selection, which will be made with money. How can I raise so many sums within two months?' A flash of bitterness flashed in his eyes as he thought about an effective solution to this annoying problem that could be fatal, even suicidal.
The only person he had in this world was this girl whom he considers his only family, Luna Snow. Apart from her, he had a childhood friend named Thomas Crown. But the latter had begun to avoid it since the mysterious incident that had taken away all his relatives. By fear? He did not know, but what was certain for him was that his life was filled with solitude as soon as journalists had given him the nickname [Deposed Prince] or the [Cursed Prince]. These two nicknames had distanced all those who were in contact with him, lest they be next on the list of missing persons.
The luxurious mansion that was filled with servants, is empty now except for Luna, who was in a similar case as him. She had refused to go to school, refused to interact with the outside world, and ended up developing a crowd phobia; Ochlophobia. As a result, Kasel was both his home teacher and his sworn brother.
But the problem was that she will no longer be spared from these problems, even if she hides underground.
[[...In the end, the beta version will be launched tomorrow and will continue to run until the end of the month. Kukuku~, after the end of the test, the rescue of the world will begin.]]
Just like that, TV screens are back to normal. But those who watched the video with their phones saw a notification after the end of the video.
|Do you want to be part of the beta testers? |
'The reason why this game dominated all markets was because of this factor; That they were the only ones to do it!' Kasel stammered by pressing |Accept|.
|Congratulations for trusting us, the world [PROGRESS] will soon be delivered to your door. You can start the game tomorrow if u are not too greedy.|
'That's the reason. Unlike other companies, the PROGRESS ONLINE game was not available on shopping sites or in shops. Only the first beta testers had seen their first submersion device delivered in front of their doors at 00:00. The worst thing in all this is that the owner can neither sell it nor get rid of it. But it was also a kind of disguised blessing for beta players.'
His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Luna. "B-big brother, why are you so pale because of a simple promotional advertisement?"
"Ha~ simple advertising huh? Don't worry too much, I'm fine. Please bring me my pc, I have to start taking a few notes." A bland smile adorned his lips when he heard the (simple) word.
'It's true, I must surely be the only person in the world to take this matter so seriously. Maybe programmers will also be scolded by their bosses for having been so negligent in their work to the point of leaving hacking on a global scale.'
"All right. But be careful not to exceed the limits of your health." She hummed joyfully as she jumped on the wide staircase that went upstairs. Although the mansion was spacious, Luna had never been defeated by it. Every day she cleaned even the furthest rooms that will not be visited by Kasel.
'This new world will have more than ten impacts in our world to complete its merger. The first has just been done, but the other impacts will not be as painless. I remember well, that the second impact is the appearance of the PROGRESS continent in the Pacific Ocean. Which will also be the largest continent in the world! But the reason why players are blessed is that they will be the only ones exploring the continent and seizing most of the first resources, and quests, and also will be the elites of the new world who will lead their continents. The third impact is the appearance of the Tower of the Gods! The fourth impact... is fusion. Sigh, given how my mansion is built in medieval style, I hope it will not merge with the domain of a native of [Progress world].'
He walked towards the window and leaned his elbow on the window crossbar while enjoying the view of the starry blue sky and the cool breeze that caressed his face and carried away the weight of his worries.
'Father, for some reason, I can roughly guess that your mysterious disappearance is related to this book and the world of progress; Please, be alive. I would make sure to find you even at the ends of the universe with mum.'