Paxton was led to another room, where Mr. Rodis stopped at the entrance, his hand placed on his shoulder.
"Just before you go in, let me ask what card was created?"
Paxton raised a brow, his curiosity slowly brewing inwards. 'He said a card and not your first?'
"Mr. Rodis, how many character slots do people usually get?"
Mr. Rodis's gazes flickered for a second.
"Of course, it will be explained to you in detail but hasn't the server explained to you how it works?" He asked.
Paxton shook his head. "It did give me missions to accomplish but…"
Mr. Rodis shook his head and patted him lightly.
"All those missions aren't meant to be passed. Just one is enough to get you a good card, and how you resolve them decides your card grade"
Paxton's gaze narrowed, his brain slowly processing his thoughts. "That means if I had resolved the mission in a lax manner….I would have been given a low-grade character….and determines the number of character slots I get"
"Yes….usually the number of missions represents the number of slots given and the manner you resolve those missions determines the grade of your character".
Paxton felt amused by his statement. This was good information that he wasn't given, or at least heard from the other Representatives. He did remember them saying there was a condition in getting a good grade, but never had he imagined that it would be something….so simple.
"Why weren't the challengers told?" He asked.
"The server doesn't accept challengers that know its rules beforehand".
Paxton felt something was amiss. The Developers, for instance, were a family of powerful Players, each with legendary or mythic characters, and the fact that every generation always produced one meant that they knew the process.
'....so there's a loophole'.
He thought with a sigh. "I got a heroic card". He said.
'Best to keep the fact that I have four character slots a secret for now…' he thought.
He had the likelihood of obtaining a legendary or mythic card later on, though he wasn't sure when or how to obtain them. Perhaps he would learn later on.
"Your rewards from the test will be given to you soon, and the instructor ahead would advise some of you to remain to receive lessons on the Dark Web and glitches."
"I figured so….those things were not as bad as I assumed them to be".
"Well, if you do your homework, then defeating one with mundane weapons is possible….though they'll have to be at the storm level".
Paxton nodded and turned towards the door, his gaze lingering for a moment. A thought crossed his mind as he stretched his hand for the doorknob.
"How many died?" He asked.
Mr. Rodis stared at him for a moment, his gaze softening with a smile. "The total or just your school?"
"My school" he replied.
"Two"
Paxton remained fixed in front of his door, his thoughts reeling in. He felt a knot grow in his abdomen, an uneasy sensation that felt alien to him.
'...dead huh?'
He wondered what could have happened to them. Perhaps they couldn't make the cut or didn't have the knowledge that he had from his school.
Not everyone paid rapt attention to classes, and he wasn't even given a choice if he tried otherwise.
With a sigh, he opened the door, a humming sound of people chattering piercing through the air as he walked in and closed it behind him.
Mr. Rodis stood silently at the door, a brief sigh escaping his lips before turning around and walking away.
"I guess I should let the principal and teacher know".
'one legendary, one heroic, and three epics….that's impressive'.
He thought as he played a whistle.
*****
Paxton walked into a hall, different yet similar to the former.
This one had a podium at the front and rows of chairs arranged in front of it. The challengers, now players, were seated and chatting with one another. It was also of a different, more vibrant color.
Of course, the seating arrangement had been organized by the students themselves, so Paxton had to find his way around until he spotted the four others seated at the back.
He walked up to them, adjusting his ear pads as he did so until he got to a free seat next to Ruby and Flora.
Just then, the two girls looked up at him, their smiles widening as he sat down.
Ryan and Bryan turned towards him as well, their gazes lingering on for a second.
Paxton observes them for a moment, his gaze especially lingering on Ryan.
"Sorry about Ban and Ronny".
The words seemed to have tripped a cord as the group of four fell solemn, their negative emotions palpable through their expressions.
Ryan sighed. "it couldn't be helped; those two buffoons shouldn't have followed me if they knew they couldn't handle it."
He clenched his fist tightly, his eyes growing wet and teary.
The others remained silent, their thoughts lost to themselves when they noticed the noise dying down.
Turning to the front, where the other Players rushed to their seats, a man stood on the podium.
He had a muscular build, tall and sharp features with dull pink hair and shades that covered his eyes.
He was in a well-tailored patterned suit, and he held an iron cane.
Some of the players whispered to themselves on recognizing the man, and Paxton quickly heard of his identity.
'The World Player Association President? Why is he here himself?' He wondered as he folded his hands.
The World Player Association President was Kim Filo, a level 180 Gunslinger. He was also a champion, well known for his many victories as a sniper in the Player Tournament.
His presence, though calm on the surface, was in contrast to his intense Battle Character.
"Future Generation of Players!"
His authoritative voice hung in the air, as he scanned through the hall.
'They still arrange themselves by affiliations…well, all that is about to change'.
"A total of Six hundred and nine came for the Test ... .and sadly thirty-six of you were lost in the process".
He continued, his gaze stopping at different noteworthy players.
"I want to congratulate you for succeeding the Test Of Humanity and overcoming yourself for this glory….but, let me give you a stern warning".
He tapped his cane loudly on the podium, causing the players present to flinch from the sound.
"The world of players is a different ballgame. Every year; we have an influx of new players and every year, we lose a significant number of new players. The reason is simple: the Dark Web".
He explained.
"You already know what it is. The enemy of humankind sent forth from the cosmos to cause chaos on earth and bring with it the atrocities of human nature, the Glitches".
The players continued to pay rapt attention to his words, unable to take their eyes off him, simply out of fear.
"...Beings that corrupt humans into Bugs of humanity. The goal of The Dark Web is simple. Consume humankind and make its own army of corrupt beings…it simply wishes to enslave all of humanity.
That is why the first purpose of us, players, is to close the gates that lead to the Dark Web before its influence on our world heightens".
Paxton nodded silently. Earth had already lost a large population of humans to the unknown rulers of the Dark Web and their forces of glitches causing Gametopia to be one of the last standing strongholds for humans.
It wasn't clear how far back humans and technology had advanced, but a lot of it was lost with time.
'It's sad….and disheartening, but it is none of my business'.
After all, all those who play with history are doomed to repeat it.
Paxton simply wanted to get stronger. He needed to find the cause of all his troubles, the reason for his father's unjust execution, and his mother's sudden mental instability. And becoming a player was a sure way of finding out.
"Alright then Players. Let's begin with the status window. I bet, right about now….you should have received a notification from the server that your system status had been ingrained in you".
At that member, a lot of the students flinched as their faces brimmed brightly with smiles and laughter.
They conversed with one another, pointing at the Blue screen in front of them as they did so and trying to compare.
Paxton flinched as well on hearing the familiar ting sound as the Blue screen appeared in front of his face but it was soon replaced with a smile.
'The points have been added'.