《The Virtual Apocalypse》 The Beginning THE BEGINNING The City bustled with life as today marked 13th November of the year 2040. It was a day of celebration and merry making, for humanity had unified and finally broke through the limitations of Terra after two decades of war, mindless slaughter and near extinction. Prior to the war, four continents existed, namely: the Northern, Eastern, Southern and Western Continent. However, chaos ensued when Terra''s resources became scarce; the human population had overcome what the planet could bear. Due to the large land mass of each continent, enforcing birth control was a headache to every Government, the people were just spread too wide and with very few personnel the various leaders could only look on helplessly. Further, the resources involved in enforcing the birth control of such a large population was something none of the continents could afford especially with the shortage of resources; thus only a few important cities observed the birth control policies strictly. Initially, it wasn''t much of a problem since the mortality rate balanced it out and prevented overpopulation, but as science made many vital discoveries with respect to the human body, the average life span increased to 120 years. The balance was broken, almost a billion babies were born everyday whereas the mortality rate decreased. Gradually, the population surpassed the 150 billion mark, more resources were consumed and destruction was imminent. Hell broke loose when Tyrant King Dewin, under the pressure of losing his supremacy, ordered for the acquisition of resources located within the Eastern Continent. Lost in his own delusions and blinded by greed, King Dewin left mayhem in his wake, annihilating all who opposed him.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Upon realizing the threat the Tyrant king posed to their existence, the other kings of the Western and Northern Continents joined forces to rid Terra of the eyesore King Dewin had become. The ensuing war ravaged the continent. Billions lost their lives, on every street the stench of death reigned supreme. The nuclear warhead commisioned for launch by Dragon King Ken Brace of the Northern Continent was the final straw. Close to more than half of the continent was laid to waste, becoming inhabitable. Filled with extremely high levels of radiation and mutated organisms, this area became known as the death lands, for all who entered, very few survived. The high amounts of radiation in the death lands led to the disruption of nature''s machinations, causig natural disasters to erupt randomly; high magnitude earthquakes, 2000 feet tsunamis, Terra had become a living hell. Compelled by the primal instinct of survival, the Kings relinquished their individual titles and established a supreme organisation, officially named the Unified Organisation of Preservation (UOP), to oversee the survival of the human race. The three Kings of the Northern, Western and Eastern Continent unified to form a single large continent on the remaining half of the planet. Vir, the new continent became a beacon of hope for all. The UOP delegated many research groups - in fulfilment of its purpose - to undertake various tests and experiments to develop technology that could sustain mankind and prevent extinction. Dr. Dante Bell, the lead researcher of one of the most vital research programmes, the Personality and Neural Enchancement programme (PNE) heard a loud wail on one of his evening walksa. After following the sound suspiciously, he discovered a baby wrapped in a pillow case abandoned in an alley. After running several tests, the baby prove to be a viable test subject for the PNE programme. Unfortunately, before the programme was completed, world renowned scientist, Dr. Brigs successfully developed the "Genesis" a device that gave its operator the ability to manipulate - to some extent - the forces of nature. The biggest threat to mankind was finally dealt with, and all the other research programmes were scheduled for shut down with the incomplete test subjects killed to prevent any future mishaps. Fearing for the little baby''s life, Dr. Bell made away with him and was declared deceased by the UOP, after 5 years of investigation without uncovering any leads. But as fate would have it, the reappearance of Dr. Bell and Pain will bring irrevocable changes to Terra forever! Eureka! Eureka! BANG! a loud noise, along with splinters of what seemed to be the remains of a wooden bed, ricocheted against the walls. Within the dark, chilly room a young boy lay silently. "Just what are those dreams?" He quietly pondered. It had been almost a year since Pain had encountered his lucid dreams. It was always the same scene; a surreal hand that seemed to stretch past his conciousness with a fiery desire to snuff out his little life, he felt danger, he felt fear. In an attempt to ''protect'' his life from the evil hand, Pain had smacked it away with all his strength, it was completely by reflex. In spite of the threat he felt, reality always prove his intuition wrong, he woke in his own sweat with no large, scary hand in sight. Fortunately, it was just a bed he destroyed this time. The other time it was the old fogey''s favourite set of test tubes, yet surprisingly, he did not get violent at the time. He just swept the tube remains with melancholy; poor Pain hadn''t had a good night''s sleep since, who knows when Dante Bell would exact his revenge on him? As if on cue, footsteps rapidly approached the door to his room. "Pain! if you broke something again f*ck! I''m going to skin you alive!" The fast approaching figure yelled after angrily kicking down the door. "What are you yelling for old fogey? are you not the same person who gave me fermented corn for broth yesterday?" "So what if I gave you fermented corn? the ethanol was not concentrated enough to cause drunkeness or lucid dreams! I''m done, fix your own bed later. Come here, let me see what it is this time around." Although he had an extremely bad temper with frequent outbursts, Dr. Bell had always shown concern for Pain, albeit a bit unconventionally. It was understandable though, considering the generation he was born in; it was basically survival of the fittest. As a result, expressing genuine emotions was not one of his strongest fortes. "No, don''t come here old fogey, don''t you dare think for a second I don''t know where those hands of yours have been." Pain resisted. He had once seen the eccentric scientist conducting several disgusting experiments deep into the night. Dr. Bell eyed Pain with a glint of mischief in his eyes as he unceremoniously approached his victim. Dressed in what seemed to be an apron and black leather gloves, Dr. Bell resembled something out of a horror movie. "You... what do you plan on doing? Go back!" Pain shuddered at the thought of being touched by those gruesome hands. "Oh stop making such a fuss, I haven''t started experimenting yet." Dr. Bell begun examining Pain, after which two visibly apparrent "II" appeared between the "mad scientist''s" brows as he made a shocking discovery. The number of connections between the neurons in this little kid''s brain had increased significantly again, surpassing the 1,000 trillion mark a human could attain.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. In fact, he initially thought the laser screening machine had malfunctioned. The number of neural connections were far too many! It was just asburd! Pain, who was oblivious to the qualitative and quantitative change in his brain begun to feel irritated by the eccentric doctor''s piercing eyes. "What? don''t tell me you''ve changed your sexual orientation now, old man." "..." "..." Silence, absolute silence. "Are you even still human? the neurons in your brain are already capable of forming over 1,000 trillion connections and you''re still spouting bullsh*t like a brain dead animal. Are you a pig that never learns?" Dr. Bell playfully retorted as he finally gained control over his bodily functions again, he was simply amazed. The examination results were far too outstanding. The average human brain could only form a maximum of 1,000 trillion connections. This number already far surpassed the number of stars in the galaxy. Yet, this kid who was still in puberty had already broken loose and freed himself of human shackles that led to so many limitations. Subsequently, Dr. Bell administered some pills to minimize the side effects as a result of his neural connections spiking to high levels. After the side effects had subsided completely, Pain had to undergo a series of mental tests to fully grasp the extent of his capabilities. Science had already discovered that it was possible to increase a human''s Intelligence Quotient (IQ) if more neural connections could be established within the human brain. The procedure to do so was exactly what the Personality and Neural Enchancement Programme intended to outline 17 years ago before it was prematurely shut down. After running several tests, the world renowned scientist was shocked to his bone marrow. He had anticipated an increment in Pain''s computational abilities, but the figures displayed on his quantum device was unbelievable. These were above standard tests even PHd holders had difficulty in solving for Christ''s sake! Each question was a millenial puzzle! Underlying each test question was an extremely complex combination of the recent theories unearthed in physics, mathematics and chemistry. Without several tens of years of constant studies one would absolutely not understand a single thing. An average person would go insane from just reading them and professors actively avoided them. Dr. Bell quickly rushed out to analyze the results, leaving Pain to his own devices. ''a classic mad scientist'' thought Pain. Initially, he had not felt any changes, with the exception of the lucid dream he had - which the old fogey had confirmed was a side effect his neural boost - everything else felt normal. But as he begun to read through the test questions presented before him, his brain seemed to have eaten an aphrodisiac, and questions that were meant for the next millenium were solved by him within the seconds it took for the old fogey to let out a fart, and if anyone knew Dr. Bell as well as he did, they would agree instantaneously his farts were as quick as they were silent. After all the racket had subsided, all Pain wanted to do was lie down and sleep. He was exhausted, mentally and physically. Lacking a bed to lay on, Pain took to the porch of the wooden shack he and Dr. Bell had built four years ago. All those years they had gone "missing" they were actually within the death lands, far away from the reach and influence of the UOP. They finally decided to return to the outskirts of Vir after they were certain they would not be discovered or recognized. It was Bell''s desire to slowly introduce Pain to human society and civilization. To him, the kid was not a test subject, he was the half-dead baby he picked out of the alley, he was his son. Dawn had yet to break, the stars were aligned beautifully in the endless expanse of the universe. As if seeking to announce the arrival of the duo that would cause world shaking events, they shone ever brightly in different spectrums of light. Before Pain could completely loose himself in admiration of nature, and the history of how humans nearly destroyed this beautiful planet. BANG! A loud sound rang out for the second time that evening. "Success! Eureka! I finally did it!" Dr. Bell''s hideous laughter resounded across the flatlands upon which the rugged house stood. An uncertain future An uncertain future Under the curious gaze of Pain, the ''mad'' scientist burst through the front door of the wooden shack. Overwhlemed with joy, he danced haphazardly and although his movements were quite rigid and unfitting of his messy appearance, he didn''t give a d*mn. So many years had gone by, yet it was not until today that he became fully confident of their safety. Alas, with insight from some answers provided in the earlier test he''d given him, he had finally been able to complete it! The principle behind the bizzare theory of transfiguration had been completely comprehended by him. Bell tightly held in his hand a metallic, cubed shaped device which granted the ability to manipulate the facial tissues of any living organism. With this device, he was one hundred percent confident, that even he wouldn''t recognize himself. "Old man, you''re ruining my view. What are you so happy about? Did something good happen?" "Hahaha, my boy, we''re free! we''re finally free! after 17 years of hiding we can now go out to roam the world! I''ll bring you to so many fun places, just you wait." "Oh? what happened?" "Boy, thanks to you and your big brain, I was finally able to construct the Alteration module unit. With it, I can completely transform my appearance, absolutely no one would be able to recognize me!" Because of the lofty status he enjoyed within the academic and political circles, Dr. Dante Bell was easily recognizable. For this reason, it was virtually impossible for him to bring Pain anywhere near human civilization. As a loving pseudo-father, he felt extremely unsatisfied with keeping Pain far away from society. He''d toiled day and night and he had been able to construct almost seventy percent of the Alteration module unit. However, he soon reached a bottleneck. The problem lay in his approach to extracting the amount of energy required, for the device to work on larger organisms; specifically for this purpose, he had searched endlessly. By stroke of luck, within some metal ore he chanced upon, he discovered gradium-1; one of the most unstable elements on Terra. Yet he faced another bottleneck. He could not find an appropriate method to stabilize the element for safe use. Realization dawned on him when he glanced through Pain''s answers to the questions related to transfiguration. While constructing the transfiguration technology, he had taken into account the ability of the device to effect transfiguration by the use of accelerated particles to knock off weak tissues, resulting in a different look. It was a simple "shaving off" method which consumed the gradium-1 element slowly.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Loads of tests later, Bell was left utterly confused as to why the energy source kept becoming unstable. In order to preserve the gradium-1, he decided to temporarily it away, until he could discover what exactly was causing the element to become unstable. On the other hand, Pain''s method actually manipulated the tissue itself by swelling, contraction or expansion. He was finally able to understand why his method would not work. The gradium-1 element was a highly unstable one. A little interference in its energy flow would cause the element to start heating up. After heating up to a certain temperature, it would explode. However, would the same scenario occur if the energy required was so much that the gradium-1 element energy source was instantly depleted without giving it the chance to even react? No. The only way to utilize the gradium-1 energy source was to deplete instantly. As simple as it may sound, a world renowned scientist was left completely helpless when faced with this dilemna. "Come boy, we no longer need to live in the wilderness. I will bring you to see Vir, the home of men. But first, follow me, Let''s see if this device really works." After making a few calculations, it became apparrent that the best specimen to test the device on, were mice. Since they were naturally small in size, the energy required for successful activation was almost negligible. For this, the gradium-1 element would not heat up too much, so it was relatively safe. Although the tests were successful, because the facial tissues present in mice were quite distinct from those present in humans, the results were quite undesirable. However, Bell had nothing to worry about, even if the experiment was inaccurate, he would get Pain to compute the probability of success from observing the effects on the rodents. Numerous mathematical computations of probability, were being processed simultaneously within Pain''s head. With the results derived from the tests carried out on the mice, he sought to validate the success of the device. "It''s completely safe old man. Unless you have mice genes or any other non-human genes embedded in your DNA, the device should work." Pain announced merely a few seconds afterwards. "F*ck, little brat, are you cursing my ancestors?!" The old scientist immediately became livid. His temper was like an active volcano, ready to erupt at any time. "No way, I was merely stating the facts." Pain said innocently. The angry old fogey cursed for a while before lifting the device towards his temple. Another downside to the device was, it could only be operated manually. The complexities involved in its construction made it extremely difficult to engineer it to be receptive to brain signals; which would allow the user to effect his or her desired transformation by thought. After a few attempts at engineering it to accomodate this function, Bell gave up. Constructing the device up to here was already extremely difficult. It had taken him almost a decade it was no joke! "Before I start the device, if anything happens I want you to-" "Nothing will happen, I already did the math thoroughly the probability exceeds ninety percent. I am certain of it." Pain ruthlessly cut off the old fogey''s speech, by once again, spewing out figures in a matter-of-fact way. Bell suddenly became aware of Pain''s care for him and was deeply touched. To an ordinary person, the kid''s response may have seemed a little rude, but the scientist was intelligent as well, he knew the interjection was merely as a result of denial. With unwavering resolve, he manually adjusted the parameters of the image to be transfigured into. Subsequently, he unhesitatingly activated the device. With a few beeps and an extremely bright glow, the transfiguration device immediately drained the the gradium-1 element of all its energy instantly. Time seemed to have frozen in place. Whether or not a smooth future lay ahead, it all dependend on this exact moment and for a moment, nothing else in the universe mattered. The green desert The green desert The sun''s rays pierced through the gloomy clouds as the birds chirped in excitement. The wind caressed the trees as they swayed left, right. The sudden rustle of leaves and thumps of footsteps ruined the melancholic artistry the serenity created. Two figures rapidly dashed between the trees as the sun kept rising. A second glance at the surroundings would cause one to convulse in shock. The soil on which the trees were swaying gracefully, was a desert. Trees? growing in a desert? Absurd! yet, it was exactly what it was; trees growing on a desert. "The green desert is one of Terra''s mysteries, Pain, every sunrise, the desert sand heats up to extremely high temperature levels, decimating all, but the trees." The man who just spoke was tall and looked to be in his mid-thirties, with looks that automatically made you think of a sharp sword; the elderly man stood erect with thin lips, light skin and a gaze as piercing as the cold winter winds. "Even this trivial thing can be a mystery? Listen old fogey, it''s quite simple to deduce. The trees evolved. I suspect, due to their will to survive, the trees at some point started producing more chloroplasts and meristems, of at least thrice their original sizes and number. Hence, the trees are able to convert at least four times as much light energy, for speedy growth and repair. They may look normal in size, but I can conclude with certainty, their roots are not even in this vicinity. Applying the principles of energy discharge, the high levels of heat is still insufficient to overcome the plants'' rapid recovery speed." Pain uttered confidently. Dr. Bell sighed emotionally. Just like that, another mystery was solved by this kid. The closest he was to an answer, was the plants had developed new cells that allowed them to process heat energy. But, that was highly unlikely. For such a significant level of evolution to occur, it required millions, or even billions of years, of the plants tempering themselves in the heat. "Quickly! we need to cross this place before the sun rises, or else we''re literally toast or roast, whichever way you prefer." Bell said. "Old man, according to my calculations, we have roughly 15.23 minutes to cross before the sun rises. Judging by our current speed, we should be able to make it within 8.3 minutes, what are you in a rush for?" "..." "Fine! I''m itching to see Vir. Its been so long, you wouldn''t understand." It had been an extremely long time since the old scientist had come into contact with others. A sense of urgency was evident in his the large strides he took. He yearned for a proper bed, a proper meal, good wine and music. Life in the wilderness was extremely tiring, but he had endured. It had only been a few days when Bell successfully transfigured his face. It didn''t take too long for him to realize, the high level of stress that was compounded on the facial tissues, after the device''s activation, rendered a second transfiguration impossible for any person. It could only be used once, any more uses might rupture the facial tissues.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Now, the Alteration module unit had given him another chance to enjoy these luxuries. With over a hundred million Zens in savings, recorded in his quantum device, he and pain would live a life of extreme luxury, should they wish. It had to be known that even some of the affluent families, only reported slighty over a million Zens in expenditure, yearly. The scientist was extremely eager to bring Pain to have fun, all over the continent. He would certainly make sure this little brat was overwhelmed by luxury. He had taken a day and half to completely recover, even with his abnormal recovery speed. While he recovered, he directed Pain to pack the important equipments and necessities. A few clothes, soome food and a lot of water. The backpacks hanging on their shoulders weighed quite a lot. The two rushed through the sand dunes, while Dr. Dante took his time to go over the basic information concerning Vir; Pain listened intently. With his high brain processing power, he only needed to hear or see something once in order to memorize it. Although they were far away from civilization, he could still borrow Bell''s quantum device to search for relevant information. He''d long since memorized every single detail concerning the Last continent belonging to mankind. Vir, was extremely large, spanning over 1 billion kilometers squared, it accounted for about forty percent of Terra''s land mass. Due to the human population greatly decreasing, with roughly ten billion people spread across Vir, there was still a lot of ground to cover. No single leader existed, rather, a unified ruling body was instituted. The Unified Organization for Preservation leadership consisted of the three kings namely: King Ken Carson, King Howard Shepard and King Alexander Davenport. The kings served as the heads of state for the Finix, Vectar and Troan kingdoms respectively. The city closest to the sprinting duo, was the Finix Kingdom. Its total number of citizens alone reached hundreds of millions. The duo, after expending much effort, finally managed to sprint across the desert, before the sun rose completely. Fortunately the desert was not a very large one, otherwise, they would not have been able to go across in such a short amount of time. "Whew, we made it across. Alright, listen up, we''ll do exactly as I outlined a few days ago. In front of others or in public, I shall identify as Edmund Brennan. You, shall also identify as my son Perry Brennan. Additionally, I look to be in my mid thirties, if you insist on calling me ''old man'' we will attract unwanted attention and suspicious gazes." Pain nodded in response. He observed their surroundings silently as ''Edmund'' checked their current coordinates. They had traveled for days on foot, the time it would take to construct a transport vehicle was too much for Bell, he just couldn''t bear to wait. Even the necessary materials, to construct an extremely basic transport vehicle, were not present. Therefore, Bell and Pain could only drag themselves to Sandan city on foot. As one of Finix Kingdom''s prosperous cities, security was extremely tight, without identity cards, they could not have access to many things. They could only use living in the wilderness as an excuse to obtain identity cards. Each identity card was produced by the Ministry of Security and Defence. Designed with dawn steel, it could not be duplicated or forged. Two swords wrapped by a dragon, symbolizing the continent''s coat of arms, were engraved on the cards. The symbols contained the thumbprints of its owners. Identity cards were used to prove its owner''s identity and access various perks, granted by the UOP. "Ok, we''re a few hours away. A thirty minute walk to the east and we''ll be able to see Sandan City." The two rushed out again as they sped through the vast plains. Pain couldn''t help but ponder on the irony of life. On one side, was a desert with growing trees, directly on the other side was a large expanse of weeds without a single tree. The number of weeds growing on the land, gave no way for larger plants to develop, as they consumed the soil nutrients swiftly. There was always a lot to learn from nature. The two speeding figures increasingly got farther away. Soon, only two small dots were visible as they slowly disappeared into the distance. Sandan City Sandan City Surrounded by massive steel walls, Sandan City stood proud and tall. With a mountain range covering its behind, it served as a strategic position as well. Soldiers wearing battlesuits could be seen marching on top of its massive towers. Even a few soldiers wore the exoskeleton. It was one of UOPs latest contraptions, it enhanced strength. With its starting price fixed at a hundred thousand zens, it was simply impossible for the average person to acquire. It was even more difficult to obtain its operational license. "Halt! Do not move an inch farther. Take out your identity cards immediately." A guard barked at two approaching figures. The duo approaching the city gates were obviously Pain and Bell. They had made it ten minutes earlier than expected. "Good day sir, my son and I have been living in the wilderness for all our lives. We have no idea of this identity card you are referring to." Bell blatantly lied. "Oh? more survivors? Follow me." The Guard ordered. The city guard gave off an extremely wild and oppressive aura. Each city guard had a battlesuit on. This was an advanced version of the normal battledress. Designed with a digital map, an oxygen tank, automated accelerated pistols, homing missiles and various other features, looking for trouble would only lead to absolute decimation. The guard led them to to an extremely tall building. Regarding their explanation, he was not suspicious at all, survivors came through the gates everyday. All survivors were led to the building they were headed towards. Everything would be clarified there. An individual could only possess one identity card. Once an identity card is issued to a person, his/her name is immediately logged into the UOP''s database. Fortunately, Bell was declared deceased by the UOP. All individuals who were deceased or purported to be deceased, had their information deleted automatically, to free up memory in the database. "That is the Bureau of Identification, quickly head there to get your information verified. After your identity has been verified and logged in, you will be issued an identity card. If you have no further questions, I shall take my leave. Good luck" The guard pointed towards the 30-storey building. Bell immediately led Pain into the building. With an extremely curious gaze, Pain took in the sight. The interior of the building was even more awe-insipring than its exterior. The floor was made of black marble, an extremely expensive but durable material.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. "What are you drooling all over the place for? this is just Sandan City, I can''t begin to imagine how distorted your face would look if you see Frost city. Now, be quick, don''t be a bumpkin." "Oh give me a break Edmund, you may have seen this before, but this is my first time, allow me to enjoy the view without ruining it with your sass, will you?" Two silhouttes, one tall, one short, bickered as they headed towards the sign that read ''Identity Registration.'' It had taken a while, but they had finally received their newly issued identity card. With Bell''s new appearance - thanks to the alteration module unit - no one suspected a thing. "So this is the identity card? Tsk, just so-so. Which idiot designed this? I could definitely design something more flashy." Bell sneered. "I agree, they could give up some of the durability to make it a little less bulky. In my view, this card cannot be defaced even if the dawn steel is reduced by twenty percent." Pain nodded in agreement. "Now we''ve received our identity cards, what do we do?" "First, we need to find a place to stay. I was thinking we could head to the Blue Spring Hotel, but it''s better if we just bought a house instead." Bell had thought it through, they would be staying here for a few years just to help Pain to get used to society. It was Pain''s first time seeing other humans besides the old fogey. To him, nothing else existed, he was absolutely engrossed in the concept of society. He itched to get his hands on all the forms of strange technological devices that were displayed in the various stalls. The Enhanced sonic headphones, various versions of quantum devices, vehicles that looked like something from a robot movie, Pain felt this was tech paradise. Bell kept mentioning how these were ''just the tip of the iceberg'' but, he had long since shut everything, including the old fogey out. ''What a nerd, even I don''t drool this much.'' Bell eyed Pain disgustingly. More people begun to appear, as the streets gradually became packed with cars that seemed to be levitating on the road. Due to the war, the magnetic poles were disrupted, causing a significant boost in the attraction and repulsive strengths of magnet fields. Therefore, cars no longer needed fuel to work. These cars could operate at a minimum of five times the speed of a mechanical one. Every road in the continent was constructed with tar or asphalt. However, beneath the roads, electric current was directed through a coil of wire, to generate a magnetic field around the coil in accordance to the law of electromagnetism. The same mechanism was used in making the vehicles. Cutting off the electricity from the car, disabled the magnetic field hence, serving as an effective switch system. These vehicles were simply known as Maglev cars. Pain observed a few of them in action, before hurriedly following Bell. They asked around for a bit before they found a real estate agency. "Now, let''s see which house I, your father, will buy this time." Bell bragged. He had absolute confidence the amount of Zens he had in his possession, was enough to make him one of Vir''s wealthiest existences. Just as they were about to enter into the real estate agency building, a yell was directed towards them. "Hey, You! Stop! where do you think you''re going?" "Shit! it''s a city guard. Have we being discovered?" The duo looked at each other as they stood frozen. Shameless Ancestors Shameless Ancestors "Uh, we''re just headed to the real estate agency sir." Pain spoke calmly. Under the effects of the PNE programme, he had absolute control over the level of emotions he expressed. "Oh. This route is restricted for a while, did you not see the tape?" The guard reprimanded. "Tape? what tape?" Bell suddenly glanced around, however seeing nothing, he stared at the guard in confusion. "Not here, it is at the entrance of the curve you took. This is a crime scene, there was a murder here yesterday. We''re looking into it, until then, please vacate the premises or else we will not hesitate to shoot." The guard reached for his pistol. ''Damn, if I got hit by any of those accelerated pistols, I''m done for. I can''t die yet, I still haven''t had my wine.'' Bell regretted not heading to the wine shop first. ''Hmm, I need to see how these pistols work. They seem... intriguing.'' Pain pondered. As usual, there was a vast difference in the duo''s train of thoughts. Bell dragged Pain away again, as they looked for another route to the Real Estate Agency. He''d been daydreaming for so long, if he really got shot for trespassing, he just might die of anger. Dante led the way as they went around to use the other route. They had avoided it, due to the huge number of people utilizing that street, but now they were left with no choice. A few minutes of bumping into people was all it took to finally arrive at the Estate Agency. "Good day gentlemen, welcome to Orion Real Estate Agency. How may I be of help?" A gentle looking lady greeted the pair who had just walked in. "Good day, we want to purchase a house immediately!" ''Ugh, this old fogey likes to show off too much.'' Pain glared at the scientist. "Oh, please hold on." The receptionist pushed a button on her desk. The sound of an activation mechanism rang out, as a large screen was drawn up. Several houses including information regarding them were displayed on it. "My apologies, you must be new, as part of our company''s policy, we aim to give our customers the ease of touring a house without actually visiting it. This reduces the time spent in moving about. Additionally, many of our customers don''t seem to like having real life agents interfering with their personal thoughts." The lady explained with a smile after noticing the two, glaring at the new contraption they had introduced in their services.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. "Oh hehe, that''s right, we''re new." Pain rubbed his nose. The lady reached beneath her desk as she pulled out two spectacles and handed one to each individual. "Please put these over your eyes. It transmits light onto your retina and synchronizes with your brain waves to give you a virtual tour of whichever house you decide to select. It is completely safe." The receptionist assured them. ''These houses are pretty cheap, oh wait, there''s one with a laboratory in the basement?'' After putting on the glasses, bell begun to look through the houses displayed on the screen. The most expensive house on the list cost 560,000 Zen; coincidentally, it was the one he was eyeing. It was a 1,245 square-foot unit. It came with two bedrooms, four bathrooms, a three car garage and a private pond. However, it wasn''t these perks that gripped Bell''s attention, it was the wine cellar that floored him. Others might not understand, but for a scientist who was under constant pressure, alcohol was the ultimate escape. There were various kinds of alcohol, but wine was Dr. Dante Bell''s safe haven. "What do you think about this one?" Bell asked Pain. "So long as there are a lot of gadgets for me to play with, I''m ok." "Let me say this before anything else, I''m warning you brat, don''t even think of going down to my wine cellar!" The old fogey announced. Pain rubbed his nose and decided to ignore him; but as veins begun popping out on the doctor''s forehead, he knew he had to give in before this crazy scientist did somethinng unthinkable. With his temper like a raging inferno, anything was possible; so he just gave him a nod. Dr. Bell tapped on the house displayed. A few seconds later they found themselves in a futuristic living room. The furniture was extremely clean, everything was in order. Situated within the central area of Sandan City, security was not a problem. Additionally, the constant hustle and bustle - as a result of the large number of offices and workplaces present in the vicinity - reduced the visibility of the house; it blended in well. In case of any mishaps during any of his experiments, no one would even notice. Sometimes the best place to hide, was in plain sight. "Miss, we''ve decided, we want this place." A few minutes later, after giving it much thought, the pair had agreed this house met their requirements. "Ok, that''ll be 610,000 Zen. The extra 50,000 you spend goes into the maintenance of the house. Processing fees are also included. Whenever you''re ready, please swipe your quantum device across the mini screen on the desk." Regarding this amount of money, the receptionist was already used to seeing it. Wealthy people purchased houses everywhere they went. Dante nodded and swiped the quantum device across the mini screen. Three beeps later, the transaction was confirmed and four keycards were printed out. "Here you go, these will grant you entrance into the house. The other two keycards serve as spare keys. We also take a 10,000 Zen fee for key card replacements, in case they get lost or damaged. Please, enjoy your new home. Don''t forget to give us a call in case of anything." "Thank you." Bell grabbed the keycards off the desk. The duo had successfully purchased their new home. The house was quite some distance away, they would either have to call a cab, or splash out on a maglev car. "Since we would be needing a car anyway, why don''t we just purchase a maglev?" Pain asked. He was eager to operate one of those babies. "Indeed. This dignified person cannot be seen calling a cab." Bell pointed at his nose and bragged again. "...Shameless" "...You''re shameless! your ancestors are shameless!" "But you''re my father, so doesn''t it mean your ancestors are shameless as well?" The handsome teen smiled calmly. "Hehe..." The receptionist couldn''t help but let loose a small laugh. "F*ck! This kid, you''ll be the death of daddy." Dante angrily barged out of the building. How This Generation Does It! How This Generation Does It! The sun was extremely hot today. Pain wiped a drop of sweat off his forehead, as he quietly followed Bell; who seemed to be deep in thought. Often, on such occassions where the chatty doctor suddenly fell silent, he was reminiscing. The two men, each drowned in their personal abyss of thoughts, as they slowly approached the Car dealership. On the outside, Pain exhibited a know-it-all personality. But deep within, he feared loneliness, he feared being alone. His constant desire to mess around with gagdets, was to satisfy his curiousity and to serve as a distraction from the raging thoughts. Companionship, it was a feeling the melancholic teen yearned for. The old man had been extremely good to him; not bothering to hide anything about his past. At first he was unconcerned, but as as time flew by, more questions popped up. These questions bugged him. He was not used to being unable to find an answer to a question. However, none could give the answer he desired. Who were his parents? What happened to them? Why was he left in an alley? With limited amount of information, even the smartest of beings would not be able to deduce anything. He thought to inform the scientist of his intentions to find the people who brought him into this world, but he knew better. Although he often cracked jokes and made fun, Bell was quite emotionally unstable, his temper was proof. Who knows how much damage it would cause; therefore, Pain had decided ¡ª he would search for his parents whereabouts discreetly. At this point, Bell realized he had lost track of his surroundings. Flashes of the past had resurfaced, deeds he''d kept buried. The difficulty in being extremely smart was the ability to not forget, or rather, the inability to forget. He remembered it all; during these times he could not help but despise the ability of his memory. It was pure torture. Bell had always kept the past to himself. Only he knew, it was the primary cause of the fiery temper he had always been known for. "We''re here-" Bell turned to inform his pseudo son; when he noticed the brat was gazing at something absent-mindedly. Dante glanced toward the direction Pain was looking at. It was a large billboard poster, the kind that could only be found on highways and primary roads. The sign read "You can change, and you can change the world. Gaia, it''s not just a game, it''s a story." It was an advertisement for the upcoming virtual reality game, Gaia.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ''This is it, this is exactly what I need ¡ª a distraction.'' Pain pondered. "Oh? You want to play games?" "It seems interesting, I''d like to give it a try." He nodded in response. Pain begun analyzing the principles on which virtual reality could be made possible. As if realizing something, he shook his head and forcefully resisted from doing so. He immediately lost interest in any object he was able to successfully analyze. They just did not seem intriguing anymore. ''No, I must not analyze this time. This is just a distraction, that''s all it''ll ever be. I don''t have to ruin it'' "Well, we could always get it when it releases. But for now, let''s get the maglev first." Bell suddenly broke his train of thoughts. "Right." A brand new maglev sped down the streets, as it made a beeline for the centre of Sandan. "Old man, you better let me take the wheel at the next stop! my hands are itchy!" Bell''s usually calm and collected pseudo son suddenly burst out. "Go back to drink some more milk, and grow some more pubes ¡ª then I''ll let you take the wheel. Now, scram to one side, I need to concentrate when driving." Pain frowned, obviously dissatisfied. If he had known the minimum age required to drive one of these machines was 18 years, he definitely would not have recommended it. But he could only look from afar as the old bastard happily sped across the streets. The car dealership had attended to them with care. Any person who could afford a maglev was definitely an important person. The dealership went all out to satisfy its two ''important'' customers. The manager had even personally come to greet them. He even handed them his personal quantum contact. With a height of over 187 cm, the manager was an extremely large man. He would have definitely pummeled the duo if told they were merely hillbillies, who just arrived in town today. With Dr. Bell driving like a mad man, It was a mystery how they arrived safe and sound. They pulled up at the mansion''s entrance with no hustle and much time left to spare. The entrance gate was extremely large. It''s bars were made of high quality steel. The wall frame it was embedded into was made of higher quality. Trespassing would definitely be infinitely difficult. The doctor stretched his arm out of the driver''s window, and swiped the keycard across the electronic lock. The entrance gate creaked, as it slowly slid open. The next thing Bell did, shocked even the often cool headed, Pain. He slid his seat backwards as he gestured the kid to take the wheel. "Try it out, this is our driveway so it''s fine." Pain grabbed the wheel as his hands shook from excitement. He had initially thought the old fogey would actually not let him drive this thing. Yet, to his surprise, at this moment, he was given the chance to operate it. ''Speed! Speed till the old fogey throws up!'' Pain gave a sinister smile. Suddenly, Bell begun to reassess his judgment. He definitely should not have given this troublesome kid the wheel. ''Damn it!'' "Haha, old man, watch how this generation does it!" Pain mocked. "You! Pain, I''m warning you, don''t you da-aaaah!" Before poor Dr. Dante could even complete his threat, Pain slammed his left foot on the accelerator. With a whoosh the car passed through the gates and took to the large mansion ahead. A Bunch Of Hermits A Bunch Of Hermits Within the massive mansion, several groans could be heard emanating out of the living room area. Dr. Bell definitely regretted giving Pain the wheel. He had actually thrown up, the abrupt brake was all it took to send him flying. The agony involved in having one''s face forcefully pressed against the windshield of a maglev car, was no joke. ''What a pain in the a*s.'' Bell thought, as he massaged his panda eyes and swollen cheeks. "Sorry old man, I got carried away a bit.That looks very painful." "Get lost! ''carried away a bit''? Bullshit! Also, you think I don''t know it''s painful? You better compensate me, or forget about talking to me!" Bell eyed pain angrily. He''d had several outbursts today, this doctor''s temper was really something. The culprit had long since gotten used to it. Pain really did get carried away though. The probability of him ever getting to ride the maglev again was extremely low. But this time, he knew he''d really overdone it. "Ugh, I really can''t remain mad at you. I''m going to check out the wine cellar, you go pick out a room first, explore or do whatever." "Alright, uh, do you need me to show you the way? can you see?" Pain asked innocently. "Snotty little brat, daddy does not need any help. I can see just fine." Dante harrumphed as he bumped stuff, all the way to the wine cellar. He obviously could not see properly. As an extremely proud man, he often refused any forms of aid from anyone. Pain couldn''t help but let out a laugh. If Bell was had been starring in a comic right now, he''d probably be ''panda man'' and his superpower would be bumping stuff. He would bump the villain to hell. Soon, only Pain remained in the living room. In order to keep his thoughts occupied, he''d decided on a tour around the house. The bedroom Pain had finally settled on, matched the extremely futuristic looking living room. It was extremely spacious. The bed itself was made of 100% wool, it was extremely comfortable, too comfortable. The luxury the bedroom alone provided, was enough to make any person lazy. After checking out the kitchen, the two spare bathrooms and the gaming room, nothing much was left out.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Pain plopped on his bed after completing the tour. With two extra storeys, the house was just too large. It''d taken much effort to explore this behemoth of a building. Without much delay, he fell fast asleep. It had been a long, arduous journey, but they had finally settled in. Time slowly passed, soon, the streets became lively again as workers headed home. Night was drawing nigh. Bell had spent an unusually long amount of time in the wine cellar. By the time he came out, it was almost dinner time. Pain, who had slept throughout the day, abruptly felt his stomach grumble when he found himself back in reality. "Hey, you old fogey, do you intend on starving us to death? We haven''t had anything to eat since we arrived. What''s for dinner?" "Oh right, right. Well, freshen up then we''ll head to the Blue Spring Hotel. They have a five star restaurant serving various exotic meals." Dante announced as he headed towards one of the bathrooms. Before the duo could finish up, the communication device rang. It was the main entrance''s intercom, they had a guest. Bell pushed the button to find out who their guest was. So long as he activated the intercom in the house, whatever was going on behind the gates would be heard. Besides, the CCTV had not been fully set up yet; therefore, he could only use this method. "Oh, it seems it isn''t one person, but a group of people?" Pain noted. The whispering voices grew louder. Their topic of conversation was primarily based on figuring out the personality of the house''s owner. Some parts were incomprehensible, whereas other parts were loud and clear. The guests were completely oblivious to the fact that, the house owners were currently listening in on their conversation. After all, the intercom on their end had to be activated as well in order for any sounds to be transmitted. That was how the conventional intercoms worked. Unfortunately, the intercom present in this particular house, veered off the usual design. The duo within the house had heard the guests call them hermits, blood sucking vampires and several other dramatic, non existent entities. "F*ck! you actually called I, your father, a hermit?! You''re the hermit! Your whole family is a bunch of hermits!" Bell''s temper was like a raging bull, it could no longer be held back. Initially, he''d intended to give these retards the ''business'' by walking down the gate to pummel them a bit; but after considering he lacked the strength to do so, and with a little persuasion from his pseudo son, Bell was able to keep calm. These guests were clearly only joking around, there was no need for any unnecessary conflicts. "..." "Hehe, forgive our utterances just now sir, our curiosity escalated pretty quickly. We saw your maglev arrive in the driveway earlier this afternoon. We just want to welcome you to the neighbourhood, that''s all." A deep voice was transmitted through the intercom after a few seconds of silence. Just when the guests had assumed the owner would not let them in, the massive gates slid open for the second time that day. The guests glanced at each other, each person taking a few moments to mentally prepare themselves. "Not coming in? Fine then." Bell said, after some time had gone by without receiving any response. "Wait, coming! we''re coming!" The deep voice sounded extremely nervous as he signaled the other two to go in. It was a family of three. Upon entry, the black gates slid shut ominously. The three figures took a glance back wondering if they should go back, or go forward. ''What a troublesome situation.'' The man with the deep voice complained mentally, as they walked slowly towards the door to the luxurious house. The driveway was beautifully decorated, yet, it gave them no comfort at all. As they gradually approached the cedar door, the same thought popped up in their heads. ''Crap, all hell''s gonna break loose.'' A Rich Noob As soon as the trio arrived at the mansion entrance, the cedar door opened autonomously. It required the permission of its owner to designate the persons to whom it may allow inside. Technology had made everything much easier. The living room was extremely lush. It seemed quite expensive. The neighbours could not help but remove their footwear for fear of soiling the room with the dirt beneath their soles. "Ah, welcome, come in come in" Bell gestured. The trio looked at each other suspiciously. Was he coaxing them to get closer so he could commit murder? The father of the family of three shook his head, and forcefully rid his mind of such thoughts. They entered the living room as his wife, Haley, held a pack of food in her hands. The appearance of the owner of the mansion was quite contrary to their expectations. He was a middle aged man with an amiable smile. How could they have called such a nice looking person a hermit. No wonder he''d gotten so worked up. "Hello, my name is John Brown, this is my wife, Haley and my son, Dave." "Hehe, My name''s Edmund Brennan, and that''s my son, Perry. We moved all the way here specifically to have others call us ''hermits''. We love being called that." Bell smirked with mischief in his eyes. "Oh... Yeah, We''re extremely sorry about that." "Oh take a hike John, what are you being so stiff for. I was only cracking a silly joke. Come on in, we were just about to go get dinner. Who knew we had thoughtful neighbours who''d bring us a free meal!" Bell laughed as he caught a glimpse of the pack of food in Haley''s hands. "Hahaha, it''s nothing, It''s nothing." John quickly waved his hands. Pain and Dave had been quietly observing each other. ''Come on, this is your chance to make a friend. Invite him to your room or something... Damn, I''m really bad at this.'' Pain thought. He was nervous... wait, Pain? Nervous? If Bell had been observing him right now, he would have been shocked to the bone. Pain never got nervous, at least he hadn''t seen him get nervous, not once in this life. "Hi, I''m Perry." "Dave." "Uh, wanna check out my room?" Pain offered. "Oh..is it ok?" Dave looked at his Parents for permission. "Go on." John quickly nodded. The doctor invited the husband and wife to the dinning area while Pain took Dave to his room. "Uh so how old are you Perry?" Dave asked after an unbearable silence spread through the luxurious bedroom "Seventeen. You?" "I''m sixteen this year. I barely satisfy the minimum age requirements to play Gaia, so I''m not complaining. Haha." Dave seemed to be an open minded person. "Well, in advance, I apologise for any awkwardness, I just came back from a long trip in the wilderness. I haven''t socialized in a while." Pain explained. "Uh... That''s fine, Perry."If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "Wait, did you just mention ''Gaia''? as in the game?" "Yes, it''s the hottest topic in the whole of Vir. Everyone''s talking about it." "I saw the billboard this afternoon; I''m quite interested." Pain said. "Really? I''m buying the helmet as soon as it releases and that''s in two days time." "Oh? How much is the helmet going for?" "Actually, there are three packages that comes with the helmet. The basic package is going for 10,000 Zen. It contains the helmet, a basic manual and guide and the normal character creation options. The advanced package costs 40,000 Zen. It comes with a more detailed guide, but it has the same character creation options as the basic package. Then there''s the legendary pack. Only a hundred of those were made in total. The guide that comes with it is actually so detailed, the game developers; Frost Entertainment; vowed that any person who acquired it would definitely be amongst the top 1000 players. Then there''s also the character creation option. Owners of the legendary pack would be able to choose hidden classes, races and two Purple grade weapons. It''s essentially an overkill. It costs 200,000 Zen, it''s even more expensive than our house!" Dave rattled enthusiastically, his cheeks had even become beet red. "Oh... Wow, is a Purple grade weapon so good?" Pain asked. "What?! You don''t even know? Ok listen, so far, five item grades have been released: Copper, Bronze, Gold, Diamond and Purple. Any purple grade item, even if it was dog sh*t, would be able to wreak havoc. Besides, players who pre-order the legendary package would have not just two purple grade weapons, it will be automatically binded to their accounts. No matter how many times they die, they will never drop it!" Dave was livid, this noob dared to question the power of a purple grade item. "It really does sound amazing... Hey, Dave, how good are you at games? Do you have confidence in playing Gaia?" "You might not know this, I''m not bragging, but in Frost''s previous MMO, ''Control'', I was amongst the top five ranked players within the whole Eastern Region!" "Pretty good." "Pretty good?! There were over five million players in the eastern region alone! It was an excellent result! Now you''re making it sound as if I''m bragging." Dave scratched his head. This guy really knew how to make him tick. "Okay, I''m making you an offer. I want you to train me, and join my gaming studio. There are gaming studios right?" "My God, you really are a noob?" "What''s a ''noob''?" Pain asked innocently "..." "Forget it, indeed there are gaming studios but, what do I gain from training you?" "I''ll get you a legendary pack." Pain blurted confidently. If it was money, he knew the old fogey had more than enough. "What?! You''re not joking around are you?" Dave glared at him with his eyes wide open. "Wait here." Pain told him as he walked toward the dining area where th elderly people were chatting. "...Hahahaha, you''re an extremely funny man Mr. Brennan." Haley and John were having a good time. They had really misjudged the owners of the house. The room became silent as Pain entered the room. "Hey, uh, Dad can I have your quantum device?" "My quantum device? Go use yours! Oh wait, I haven''t bought one for you yet. What do you need it for?" "I want to buy games." Pain said straight forwardly. ''What a direct kid. Dave has numerous tactics when he needs money to buy games.'' John pondered as he secretly wished his son could be this direct. "Ok then. Don''t buy any dangerous things, or forget about borrowing my device again!" "Understood." Bell handed the quantum device to his pseudo son, who quickly rushed back to his room. The older people were finally free to discuss their matters again. "I''m back, where do we order the helmets?" "Uh, you''d have to go on their website, here, let me type it in for you. Hey, are you sure this is ok? I can''t take advantage of you like this. I can''t repay you, I have only 20,000 Zen in savings." Dave was not used to receiving freebies. Although they were not filthy rich, they were still above average. His dad owned a chain of jewellery stores. They had roughly, just over a million zen, in assets. "It''s fine, just take it as payment for your training and for joining my gaming studio." "Ok... But, why are willing to spend so much on the game? What''s in it for you? I don''t mean to be nosy, I''m just curious." He was curious indeed, any normal person would be. Why would a noob who didn''t even know what ''noob'' meant, want to spend so much on a game? It was absurd. "Oh? me? I just want to have some fun." "Fun? although you guys seem extremely wealthy, isn''t spending this much on ''fun'' a bit too extravagant?" This was the first time poor Dave had experienced such a thing. "Don''t worry about it." Pain shrugged. It had taken a few minutes, but suddenly two beeps rang out and a messaged popped up on the quantum device. "Congratulations, you have successfully purchased two of our Legendary pack, please hold on while we connect you to one of our agents." Trash Studio Trash Studio "Good evening sir. We just processed your order. Thank you for your purchase. As part of our VIP services, would you like to make any customizations to your helmets, prior to its delivery?" A calm and sweet voice spoke through the phone. "Uh, yes, I''d like to have both helmets in black please?" "Yes sir. A drone will deliver your helmets to the address you provided, tomorrow. Is 8:00 AM a good time?" "Yes, that''s fine." Dave could not believe it, this crazy bast*rd had really bought two legendary packs at a go. "OK, thank you. Please enjoy your game." Pain ended the call and turned to face his new ''friend'' who had yet to recover from the shock. "What are you mulling for? come, follow me. I need to show you where we''ll be working. Haha. This game really sounds interesting." The rest of the evening was spent planning and buying all the equipments they needed. There was even a T-suit. It was made of polyester, for keeping the muscles relaxed during prolonged gaming sessions. A player could go on for days, with sufficient nutrition, without feeling any muscular cramps, or pain at all. It was a must-have for hard core gamers. Time had flown by quickly, and soon, it was time for the neighbours to leave. John and Haley were waiting as Dave rushed towards them. However, the words he spoke next, floored them. "Uh, Mum, dad, can I sleep over? We are having so much fun." "Uh... Ok?" John looked towards Haley. "Is it ok Edmund?" Haley asked. "It''s fine. Don''t worry, we don''t mind at all." Bell responded. He intended on spending the night in the laboratory anyway. It needed a lot of tweaking and fixing. He''d already ordered for some items to be delivered following day. The trio escorted the John and Haley to the gate, as they waved them goodbye. It was a long day. The night had finally settled in, and the streets were almost empty. "Haley, do you not find it strange Dave decided to sleep over? I mean, he''s never wanted to sleep over at other people''s houses. The other time, I had to drag him over to your sister''s, because he did not want to stay over."Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. "Hmm... Indeed, I find it extremely strange, yet, it is exactly because he dislikes these kind of stuff that we should allow him to get more used to it. I wonder what it is that compelled him to stay though." Dave''s parents were in disbelief. For the first time since he was brought into this world, Dave actually, willingly wanted to sleep over at someone else''s home. If they had known this was because of a game, they would have definitely gone mad and dragged his unfilial a*s back home. The couple walked on in silence, as they suddeny felt an indescribable feeling coursing through their bodies. Was it shock? Happiness? Suspicion? They weren''t even certain themselves. One thing was for sure though, it was a good thing Dave wanted to step out of his comfort zone, so just let him be. Back at the mansion, Pain pushed a button embedded in the wall. The bed slowly arranged itself as he lay on it. He was extremly full. He had to compliment Haley''s cooking skills. It was a very sumptuous meal. Dave was in the shower, he did not bring any clothes or necessities to sleep over, since even he had not expected he would do so. But the House was already filled with such items. The wardrobe had a few signature clothes that came with the purchase. It was an additional perk the real estate agency had thrown in. They knew the rich lived fast lives, and would not necessarily have the time, or the patience to order for such items. Hence, they had gone out of their way to include them. ''My God, what a comfortable life, if I lived like this everyday, would I not grow even more handsome?'' Dave wondered. These people really had it good. Although he was a bit nervous, the excitement from getting to see, touch and own a legendary helmet tomorrow was enough to get him to sleep over for even a hundred years. One had to know, there were only a hundred of these and two of them would be in this house. Even the professional gaming studios like Blazing sun, Aurora and Forge; the top three studios in Sandan; would not have such financial power. They earned at most, a few million in endorsements. Only the studio leaders would probably be able to obtain these helmets. Yet, their newly founded gaming studio - which they had decided to name ''Shadow'' - already had two of these. The top gaming studios would definitely die of envy, if they learnt such a ''trash'' studio had these rare helmets. The leader had not even played games before! ''What a waste!'' they would have surely thought. The two boys could not stop talking about Gaia. They read all the information released by Frost entertainment concerning the game''s mechanisms. Pain, eventually found out Frost entertainment actually had the backing of Frost City. Owning over sixty percent of the company''s shares, Frost City''s financial department definitely called the shots. Even most of the gaming studios were contemplating establishing their headquarters over there. Gaming had become an extremely lucrative business in these times. Players could earn tens of thousands of zen, from the sale of in-game items, and services. Even some of the extremely good players, could rake in close to a million zen in endorsements. It was the time for gamers. Time flew by and the Gaia-crazed duo finally fell asleep. Bell, after he''d served the kids the dinner Haley had made had rushed into the laboratory. He was satisfied with everything so far. It seemed the snotty brat was having fun, and to him, that was all that mattered. But he knew, no amount of care he gave him, would vindicate him from his past sins. It was a thorn in his flesh, and a cross he had to bear alone. Release Schedule Release Schedule Hey guys, thank you all so much for the support and feedback. However, I''ve decided. I''m basically going to sacrifice quantity for quality, you guys deserve to have a good read.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. This is definitely not because I''m lazy. But writing a quality novel requires time and patience. Therefore, the release schedule will now be set at 3 chapters per week. This will give me ample time to write, edit and improve each chapter release. Anyway, thank you so much guys, you''ve been awesome people so far. Stay tuned! Release Days: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. 42 Hours To Mayhem 42 Hours To Mayhem It was morning, the air was fresh and the birds were very energetic. Chirping could be heard everywhere. In contrast, a middle aged man lay infront of his doorstep. He had tripped on huge box. All he wanted was a stroll in his courtyard, yet, this was what he encountered. "Goddamn it, who the hell leaves a delivery package so close to the door, are you kidding me? Do I have dog sh*t luck or something?!" Bell groaned. There was a sudden thump of footsteps, marching towards the front door with haste. ''Ah, that little brat is so caring, running to check up on me.'' Bell thought. The flames of joy that had kindled in his heart, were once again doused by a cold bucket of reality. He had assumed Pain had rushed to see if he was injured. The brat did not even glance in his direction, as he made for the two large boxes. Dave followed as well. Bell was practically non existent to them. "Hahaha! you brats, you dare to ignore me? Watch me starve you to death." "Dad, there''s a restaurant... No one is starving to death..." Pain replied. "Ugh... nevermind. If you need me, I''ll be in the courtyard." Bell pitifully picked himself off the ground and headed straight to the courtyard. "Hold on, what are in those boxes? You didn''t buy anything dangerous did you?" The scientist stopped to ask. "No, its the games I bought yesterday, Dad." "Oh ok have fun then. I picked up a quantum device on an online store for you, it will arrive later today. When you''re done setting up your quantum identification and account, let me know so I wire some money to you. Can''t have you using my device all the time, and on second thought, don''t disturb me, if you need anything, get it yourself." Bell harrumphed. Back in their new studio, both boys stood rooted to the ground. It had taken a while to get the large boxes inside. They had to pick them one by one, it was just too large and heavy. luckily, everything was automated; therefore, no help was needed in setting the helmets up. "Amazing, I never thought I''d get to see a legendary Frost helmet in this life. Money! I need to get wealthy too!" Dave yelled with passion as he looked at the almost ''divine'' helmets. Designed in pitch black plastids, the helmets gave off a deadly aura. These particular helmets were customized; hence, its value was increased by several folds. But then again, all this was to give the duo a better footing against other players.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. In order to officially support in-game competition, Frost Entertainment actually gave out forms to verify peak gaming studios. Not only did this serve as bragging rights, each member of a verified studio was granted a few perks. The pre-requisites for obtaining a studio verification were quite strict. There was a budget cap to attain, a minimum number of members; participation in at least, one global event and the studio must also be amongst to top 1000 in the whole continent. Very few studios were able to satisfy all the requirements; but that was the whole point. If every studio could be verified, would there even be the need for verification to exist in the first place? The duo had outlined their plans quite clearly. They needed to first increase their reputation by participating in the global events. The primary goal was to get verified by frost. Everything would be so much easier after that. Recruitment, guild competitions, you name it. Frost had been keeping things under tight wraps lately. Usually, global events were officially revealed, at least, a week to the actual release of their games. Yet, this time nothing was heard or seen. Even the big players with "connections" were unable to uncover anything. "Well, this is it Dave." Pain hadn''t gone through much trouble to gain the required knowledge on Gaia. Besides, it was a new game, there wasn''t much to discover until he played. The game''s official website had revealed five basic classes: swordsman, mage, tecno, healer and defender. The identity and number of the hidden classes on the other hand, were kept secret; it could only be obtained by purchasing the legendary pack or completing a specific quest, related to the hidden class. Further, Frost had initiated a secrecy policy, which prevented every legendary pack owner from divulging any information regarding the hidden classes, prior to the game''s release. Hidden classes were extremely powerful. Possessing much better stats and special traits, an average gamer with a hidden class could deliver an above average performance. Without wasting much time, Pain and Dave quickly wore their helmets. The visor slid down to protect their eyes. "Callibration complete. Welcome to Gaia, 42 hours 21 minutes more to release. Would you like to set up your character now?" A melodious voice rang through the virtual space Pain was levitating in. The noob looked around to locate where the voice came from. ''It seems there is no physical representation of the Artificial Intelligence running the callibration.'' He gave up on looking after a while. "Yes." "Please choose your designation." "Pain." He simply responded. "Designation acquired. Thank you for purchasing the legendary pack, syncronization set at 99%. Pain value is set at 20%. You have unlocked ten hidden classes, please make your choice." ''Synchronization? What''s that? Anyway, I''ll check on that later.'' The class section popped up as Pain directly skipped the basic classes. Even a noob knew how to be picky. Of the ten hidden classes that were listed, only two of them caught his eye. The shadow and the Divine Blade. "I select the shadow." It suited his personality perfectly. As an assassin-type class, it required its user to be cold, calm and calculating. Although Pain didn''t consider himself cold, the other two traits spoke to him a lot. "User, due to fraud prevention and copyright issues, one may only change up to 15% of their appearance, would you like to make any changes?" "No." "Thank you. Please log in on the release day for your equipments." With that, Pain''s vision blurred and he was forcefully ejected from the virtual space. Whether or not he would leap to become a gaming dragon, only time and opportunity could tell. "Holy cr*p! it''s actually at 99% synchronization?!" Dave suddenly yelled out after lifting his helmet.