Year 2073,
In an empty park, in the middle of the night, I was once again out on a walk.
It was just another day in my average life, as I was deep in my thoughts.
Soon I took a pause in a quiet place and stared at the bright night-sky along with its many stars.
'Sigh… does anything I do even matter?'
I began to think about multiple things including my job and upcoming exams. It was just a never-ending grind and was quite frankly, boring.
I was no longer excited about things like socialising, working, and gaming, like I used to be, and was just focused on completing one assignment after another.
My body was calling for a change; however, I just felt purposeless. Just looking at the vast sky just made me realize how big the universe was and nothing I did mattered.
The sky gave me comfort but deep sense of loneliness at the same time…
Just as I continued my walk and hiked on a hill in a near-by park, I began to hear sounds of rushed footsteps.
I would have usually ignored them and minded my own business, but the hastiness of the steps began to intrigue me.
Rustle-Rustle-
I brushed past a few trees and bushes and quickly moved towards the sound of the footsteps.
After a few minutes of searching, my eyes flashed as they came across someone lying with his back on a tree-stump.
I quietly made my way towards them, only to find a man, seemingly unconscious, resting against the tree.
The man was wearing an expensive-looking dark-green shirt and trousers and seemed to be built very-well with an extremely handsome face. In fact, his silver-hair and sharp features could have easily made him a model.
In the end, I could only say that the man must have been an actor or influencer who ended up partying and drinking too much.
With a frown on my face, I finally decided to call for an ambulance, but I realized that I had left my phone back at my apartment.
After all, It was a bit annoying to receive off-duty work calls
Left with no choice, I decided to search the man for a phone on him.
"What the fuck…?"
I blurted, surprised by my recently discovery.
On the man's wrist, there was an infamous bracelet-device that had taken the world by storm. Just last week, the top gaming company, Alliance Gaming, had released a virtual reality gaming device that promised to be better than all the gaming pods ever released. It's experience so immersive that you would forget reality.
Everyone was excited to try it; however, the company was releasing only ten million bracelets world-wide for its initial launch over a period of 6-months. That too was priced at staggering 20 thousand dollars.
Nonetheless, people still went crazy for the game and surprisingly, the device became more valuable than even Bitcoin. The device was initially sold by the company for 20k to a random subscriber, and then the same device was re-sold for a value fluctuating from 300k to 600k.
It was simply beyond imagination how a game could be much more valuable than most houses. Though many people believed that the hype would die down once more devices kept releasing in the market, as it had only been a week.
Once again, just looking at the bracelet on the man made me gulp and be jealous.
Not only was the man handsome as fuck, but his wealth must also have matched for him to own one of this gaming device.
It was tempting to snatch it off his wrist, but I had heard how the device only worked for its owner and the person might even be able to trace it.
I would surely be caught and beaten by the police for stealing from this rich-looking person.
As I continued the body search, I saw one more bracelet which was stored in his pocket. I held this one in my hand and realized that it was a black-colour one rather than the silver, advertised by the company.
A bead of sweat-rolled down my face, realizing that this man must be rich enough to get a customized gaming device from the company.
How ridiculous…
Just as I was about to place the bracelet back, my eyes squinted at a particular spot on the man's ribs.
Red was slowly staining the shirt and continued to expand under my watch. On a closer look, I realized that the man's shirt seemed to be grazed by a bullet.
"Shit..."
With my heart palpating, I realized that I may have gotten myself into a mess. I should have taken to heart the saying that, "if it doesn't involve you, it doesn't concern you."
What made me want to come here to check out someone else's footsteps?
Before I could think of my next action, I heard rustling sound in a far-off bush.
The last thing I wanted was this trouble on my head, so I swiftly left the spot and decided to hide behind a nearby tree.
I held my breath together and quietly waited, hoping I would be able to escape before any police was called.
…
"There he is…!"
Out of nowhere, two bulky-looking men appeared, dressed in black with masks. One of them began to quickly search the man lying on the tree, while the other set up a perimeter and watched for anyone approaching.
The first man emptied the handsome man's pockets and frisked him thoroughly.
"Shit… This man only has the normal bracelet. I don't see anything else!"
Upon hearing this, the other man at the perimeter frowned deeply.
"Hmm, maybe our info was wrong, or he has hidden it… Let's just finish this and get out. We can't afford to be caught doing this!"
Cold sweat rolled down the searching man's face. An image of an ice-faced queen torturing him flashed through his mind.
He hurriedly took out a gun from his pocket and 'Thud,' a silent but clear sound left his silenced gun.
The two quickly left, leaving behind a dead body and a hidden man who felt like his heart was about to give any moment.
…
With my mouth shut tight by my hands, I tried to make myself smaller and smaller as the scene behind me unfolded.
I was sure that I would be dead the moment I get noticed by those cold-blooded killers.
'Damn! I know I was complaining about a boring life… But this is too much!'
I stayed quiet for the next 30 minutes, making sure that I made no noise. I suspected these men were bracelet thieves, as they were hot commodities now.
The only noise coming from the black bracelet which was weirdly automatically locking on to my wrist and weird letters began to flash.
[User not found…]
[User detected… System restarting… New User Identified…]
[Name Soren Cross… Age: 21… Welcome new user!]
[Terra Nova awaits you, press the bracelet to log in!]
Ignoring the notifications, I finally gathered some courage and quietly sneaked away from the spot of the murder.
Fortunately, I didn't seem to have been followed.
…
Without talking to anyone, I quickly went into my apartment and hurriedly reached my desk.
I scoured the internet and kept looking out of the window for any sign of the crime and police reaching my place.
After another couple of hours, I finally relaxed and make a cup of the tea.
Another weird thing was that I was trying to remove the device from my hand; however, I was unable to.
I was a bit worried about that, but I found out from the net that one can have his device removed by logging in first.
Soon I relaxed further and thought about selling it, but I realized that the crime could be attached to me upon selling this unique-looking bracelet.
Curious about the unique black colour of my bracelet, I googled it but to no avail. There was no mention of any special editions gaming devices or the like, just some random news and influencers hyping the game.
With nothing left to do, I laid down on my bed and decided to press the 'LOG IN' button.
'Let's see what the fuss is about…'
All of a sudden, the vision around me continued to change. I was surrounded by a white-computeristic background that seemed to be scanning me from head to toe
[User scanned… User Healthy… User Highly Compatible]
[100% Synchronization Activated… Deciding Random Coordinates]
[Please give character name…]
Without giving it much thought, I said "Trash King…" which was my favourite go-to name for fake accounts and troll accounts.
[Error… the name is taken. Please pick another name…]
A bit perplexed about who would take such an absurd name, I gave it a bit of thought this time and picked the name "Ravana"
[Name Available and Selected… Dropping user to random coordinates!]
As soon as the notification resounded in my head, I was transferred into something of a new world.
Around me was a forest that was dense and alive, with towering trees casting deep shade over the mossy ground. Birds flitted between branches, and the air carried the faint scent of damp earth and greenery. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, highlighting patches of wildflowers and ferns.
I was absolutely amazed how real everything felt to my sixth senses.
"This technology is going to change everything…" I murmured, marvelling at the technology and moving my game body as though they were my real limbs.
For the first time, I could see why the tech was priced so heavily and it was even more valuable than the mere 20 k price.
Feeling more excited, I began to run around and touching everything, immersing myself into the game. After all, I had never ever seen a forest half as beautiful.
It was only when I encountered a strange sight that made me stop.
Not too far ahead of me, there stood a lean, wolf-like beast with ash-gray fur and glowing yellow eyes. Its back was lined with jagged bone-like spikes, and its sharp fangs dripped with saliva.
Grrr… !
Watching the wolf-like creature charge, I froze like a deer in front of headlights. It was only when I realized that this is a game, obviously filled with monsters, that some control returned to me.
It was then when I noticed the inventory screen at the corner of my eyes that had the items:
[Dagger x 1, Water x1, Lunch-Box x 1, Health Potion x 1]
With just a thought, the dagger was in my hand, and I faced the wolf-like creature who was already charging at me.
The game's reality-like interface made my heart chill, yet I was somehow able to keep my head in the place.
Just before the creature reached me, I swung my dagger but timed it completely off. Fortunately for me, the creature yelped and darted back, choosing not to continue its attack.
Next, it once again faced me, its spikes glinting in the light.
"Damn, it's been a while since I have held a sword! But I can do this!"
My fencing lessons began to flash in my mind, as I stood slightly more confidently in front of the creature this time.
Soon the creature rushed again, teeth bared, but I was faster this time .
With a swift motion, I lunged forward, my blade catching the beast's underbelly.
It let out a final screech before collapsing, twitching weakly. Feeling a bit of exhilaration, I stood over it and wiped the blade clean. My heart was pounding in my chest, but my body had taken no blows.
It was then when this notification sounded…
[You have slayed the Bronze-level Creature, Ashfang]
[Congratulations, First kill Completed]
[You may now view your stat screen]
---------------------------------
Player Name- Ravana
Level: 1
Class: Normal
---------------------------------
Stats:
Power -> 13
Endurance -> 15
Control -> 18
-----------------------------------
Active Skills(0/5): None
-----------------------------------
While I was reminiscing from looking at a simple stat-screen, another set of notifications resounded that made my eyes wide-open.
[Black Bracelet detected…. Congratulation Lucky User!]
[Special skill will now be granted]