Inside a tall building in the center of the big city, a woman hurriedly ran down a dimly lit corridor. The glow of the city metropolis outside illuminated the glass windows as she glanced over her shoulder, ensuring no one was following or stalking her from behind.
"They must not get this!" she muttered under her breath, her voice filled with urgency and seriousness.
Reaching the end of the corridor, she burst through a door connecting to the computer lab and rushed towards one of the desks. Her trembling fingers struggled to press the keys on the laptop in front of her, but she persisted, typing the notes she had written on her palms. With a quick and frantic movement, she sent the message to the intended recipient.
"Oh, fortunately, everything is done," she whispered, her tense shoulders relaxing slightly.
Relief washed over her as she realized that the crucial message had been successfully delivered. But her task was not yet complete. "Now, I must erase this," she thought, wiping her sweaty palms on her forehead before using them to clean away the notes.
As she focused on clearing any evidence, a glint in the laptop screen caught her eye—a reflection of a silhouette holding a gun. She swiftly turned her body, desperate to catch a glimpse of the person behind her, but before she could react, a single gunshot shattered the air.
"Bang!"
The bullet found its mark, piercing the woman's head with deadly accuracy. In an instant, her life was extinguished, and fresh blood spilled, staining the keyboards and causing irreversible damage to the device.
A few minutes later, several men dressed in black uniforms, wearing helmets and armed with guns, entered the room. They approached the lifeless body, their movements were coordinated and purposeful. One of them knelt, his gloved hand carefully examining the corpse.
"Damn, where did that woman keep the code?" he muttered in frustration.
Removing his mask, he revealed a small scar on his eyebrow as he furrowed his brow, deep in thought. He just sighed deeply, realizing how heavy this mission was on his shoulders.
"Shitt," he exclaimed, his frustration boiling over. "I'm going to report this to the boss." He shook his head, a mix of anger and disappointment clouding his features.
"Yes, Sir!" one of his subordinates acknowledged, swiftly exiting the room. The remaining team members respectfully covered the woman's lifeless body with a spread white cloth, their actions reflecting a grim sense of duty.
***
Inside a high-rise apartment in the middle of the city, a young man was leaning his head against the window, staring at the deserted highway with no sign of life beside him. The wrinkles on his forehead were faintly visible, indicating the restlessness in his mind.
"Mom hasn't been home lately. Is everything okay with her?" He sighed in despair.
At the thought of something bad happening to her mother, anxiety grew in his mind. His hand continuously twirled the pen in his fingers at a steady pace, trying to dispel the anxiety in the bottom of his heart.
"Ethan, did you hear what I said?" The old man inside the laptop screen looked at him with a sharp gaze.
"Uh, yes, sir!" Ethan immediately released the pen in his hand with a trembling voice.
Seeing the expression on Ethan's face, his jaw hardened. "Focus and don't daydream in my class!"
Shame was visible on his face, blushing like a tomato. He raised his collar, burying half of his face so only his blue eyes were visible. He maintained this posture until the end of the online class.
"Ugh, finally!" Ethan sighed, the blush on his face slowly fading. "This syndrome is driving me crazy!". He ruffled his silver hair, making him look like a madman.
Ever since the mysterious pandemic called "Kleine-Levin Syndrome" spread across the world two years ago, the government strictly banned all outdoor activities until all aspects of work suffered a huge impact in terms of the economy,
According to researchers this syndrome, it originated from a foreign virus that affected the human nervous system, which left the sufferer with unexplained severe fatigue that left them in a constant coma, and worst of all, death.
***
As he walked back to his room, his eyes caught the headline in the newspaper that read "Fantasy Online System, saving the world." It seemed strange to hear that statement, but it was true. As the company that created this game, Alistair Bio-Tech Corporation managed to reduce the increasing rate of depression in this world.
"Perhaps, I can try playing this game." Ethan looked around, making sure no one else had heard him. "Aunt Luna has not returned yet anyway, so here's my chance." He smiled widely, signaling a sign of satisfaction in his mind.
He ran to his room, grabbing the neural equipment that was neatly stored in the closet. "Enough of this silliness today, I need to read this game manual." He muttered as the embarrassment still lingered in his memory.
After making sure everything had been absorbed into his brain, he quickly put the neural regulator on his head. A few minutes later, there was an electric shock as he began to lie down and his vision immediately went dark.
[Welcome to "FOS"]
[Synchronizing your brainwaves and biometrics with player data... please wait a moment!]
[Game successfully logged in, player account successful!]
A few minutes later, there was the sound of a woman's footsteps walking towards Ethan. The woman had long yellow hair that flowed like a waterfall, with a white robe covering her body, adding a graceful impression to the woman. Her eyes then stared at Ethan, showing several options on her screen.
"New game"
"Continue the game"
"Exit"
Ethan was dumbfounded for a moment, looking at the three options that appeared in front of him. The manual mentioned the auto-save system would activate immediately if the player had played the game at least once. But, in Ethan's case, it was different and the most appropriate choice for him was "New game."
The white screen in front of Ethan gradually shifted, revealing a large map with several regions divided into sections. However, thick pitch-black smoke emerged from one of the areas, quickly spreading like a Kleine virus, dimming all the crystals in the entire place and darkness managed to dominate the entire region.
The screen then switched to display some of the classes in the game: Magic Swordsman, Tank, White Mage, Black Mage, Monk, Assassin, Guardian, Dancer/Jerster, and Mechanic.
[Magic swordsman: Magic swordsman is a melee-type class and uses all types of swords to attack its enemies. This class relies on the STR status and deals quite strong damage to the opponent.]
[Special abilities: Dash (a skill that allows the user to move quickly without a cooldown).]
[Tank: Tank is a defensive-type class and uses a large shield to protect himself and his teammates. This class relies on VIT status makes it have extraordinary endurance.]
[Special abilities: MediGuard (Guarding while gradually recovering HP.)]
[White mage: White mage is a support-type class and uses a magic staff that can use support skills to help teammates. This class relies on INT status and has great healing abilities.]
[Special abilities: Summon (able to summon special creatures called Guardian of Light (GF) to help in battle)]
[Black mage: Black mage is a ranged type class and uses an ancient book/magic doll consisting of various kinds of horrible black magic and can kill opponents easily. This class relies on INT status.]
[Special abilities: Erythromancy (ability to control an enemy's body using the blood from the enemy)]
[Monk: Monk is a melee-type class that uses energy from within itself and attacks enemies with heavy blows. This class relies on STR status and has a terrifying attack.]
[Special abilities: Martial art (ability to repeatedly attack opponents without cooldown)]
[Asssasin: Asssasin is a melee-type class that uses a small dagger to attack its enemies. This class relies on AGI status and it's capable of killing any monster quickly].
[Special abilities: Mimicry (the ability to blend in with the surrounding environment, allowing it to attack suddenly)]
[Ranger: The Ranger is a ranged-type class that uses guns or bows to attack its enemies. The class relies on AGI status and it's capable of killing enemies with a few shots.]
[Special abilities: Cold blood (able to attack enemies using his weapon quickly), the eye of an eagle (have a very sharp sense of sight that makes it easy for them to spot enemies.)]
[Dancer/Jester: Dancer/Jester is a support-type class and uses a scarf or a pile of cards to attack its enemies. This class relies on LUK status and it can increase the probability of winning among the team.]
[Special abilities: Gambling & stealing (an ability that can increase teammates' Luk status by stealing items from enemies)]
[Mechanic: Mechanic is a tank/support type class and uses strange robots to attack its enemies. This class relies on LUK and VIT and it also has strong endurance and attacking ability.]
[Special abilities: Go Mecha (ability to create small robots which have terrible attack power)]
"I like characters that use more magic energy, so I'll choose between Black Mage, White Mage, or Dancer. " Ethan stroked his chin, reading the passive skills of each class. "But, hey, I know what I'm going to choose now." Without a second thought, he chose the White mage class
A name field appeared in front of Ethan not long after, and he decided to name his character "Asher", as it was one of the hero names from one of his favorite cartoons when he was a kid.
"I like the color black." Asher nodded his head, looking at his character's various hair colors. "Simple and natural." He chuckled, happiness radiating on his face.
After that, he pressed the "Confirm" button, and the screen flickered, displaying a vast expanse of grass, covering the uneven ground. The light of the full moon shone in the sky, making the atmosphere feel very gloomy.
"Where are we?"
He decided to walk around this place, but suddenly a notification appeared in his inbox. The frown on his forehead instantly became apparent, seeing an unfamiliar name appear out of nowhere, and he decided to open the message.
"Who is Athena08?" He rubbed his eyes repeatedly, still confused by the message. "Wait, is this... the location of the formula for Kleine-Levin Syndrome?"