《Augmented Reality》 Prologue

Prologue

The time was past midnight and all normal people were sound asleep in their rooms, on their beds. It was during this night that a boy was driving his car at a speed unimaginable. The car was going at 200 km/h and he had a thrilled look on his face. The car only continued to speed up and then he heard a knock on the car window. Frowning he turned to look, it could have been a branch but there was nothing outside. He heard another knock then and he turned to look again only to see total darkness. He sighed as the speed of the car increased and there it was again, more incessant and louder. Annoyed he raised his hands of the wheel as he reached towards the window and felt the curtains and as more knocks came he awoke from his dream. The 200km/h car had all but disappeared and Ned lay in bed covered by a blanket and the fan spinning above him speedily. He heard the knock again and the groggy him, groaned. He reached towards the curtains that covered his window and pulled it back, expecting the knocking to be an annoyed bird that kept crashing into the window, or something along those lines. ¡°Shoo,¡± he murmured as he pulled back the curtains and then he gave a short shriek and jumped off the bed, landing heavily on his butt on the ground. Outside was a figure; his face was recognizable to Ned somewhat but it was covered by a hoodie. The figure motioned to the window latches, hinting at Ned to open it. Ned furiously shook his head, ¡°Who the hell are you!?¡± The figure motioned again and Ned climbed onto the bed reaching the window and he looked out, some shock and fright covering his face. ¡°If you don¡¯t get off my roof¨C.¡± Ned suddenly stopped as the figure pulled back his hood revealing a face Ned well recognized. ¡°Robbie,¡± said Ned disbelievingly, it was the last person he would expect upon his rooftop, after midnight. ¡°Open the window Ned,¡± said the boy from the other side. Ned quickly pushed open the window and allowed Robbie to clamber inside when he heard noise from downstairs. He quickly motioned to Robbie to keep quiet. ¡°Ned!!¡± came a loud female voice from downstairs, it was his sister. ¡°What!?¡± shouted back Ned, there was hint of panic on his face, if his sister came up right now it would be very unpleasant. ¡°What is going on up there?¡± asked his sister. ¡°What is all that noise?¡± ¡°I was having a nightmare!?¡± shouted back Ned and he got of the bed and walked over to the water bottle he kept on his table and drank a mouthful. ¡°Well keep it down!¡± said his sister. ¡°I just got back at twelve, I need my sleep!¡± ¡°Got it!¡± said Ned. He turned to Robbie furiously. ¡°What the hell are you doing here?¡± Robbie showed a smirk of superiority as he took out his phone. ¡°Just you wait, I found something unbelievable.¡± ¡°Ok, but midnight probably isn¡¯t the best time to show something unbelievable,¡± said Ned frowning as he looked at the phone. ¡°And why the hell weren¡¯t you at school for the past week, the school¡¯s just begun and you¡¯ve already missed the first week, that school psychologist came looking for me and Gars, asking where you were, says you¡¯ve missed three appointments.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Psychologist?¡± said Robbie frowning. ¡°What, I thought I cancelled the appointments after the end of school.¡± ¡°Ok, what the hell is going on here?¡± asked Ned. ¡°It¡¯s midnight Robbie, I need to sleep and you need help.¡± Robbie looked furiously at Ned, ¡°I don¡¯t need help Ned, everything I¡¯ve been telling was the truth, this will prove it.¡± Saying that he showed Ned his phone which now displayed the words in neon blue writing ¡®Future World¡¯. ¡°A game?¡± asked Ned as the ridiculousness of the situation caught up with him. ¡°You need to get out of here.¡± ¡°No, no¡­no,¡± said Robbie shaking his head. ¡°You need to understand, it¡¯s all real.¡± ¡°Yep, missing those three appointments is really showing,¡± said Ned shaking his head. ¡°Just go home Robbie, we¡¯ll talk tomorrow.¡± ¡°Listen to me,¡± said Robbie dropping the phone and grabbing Ned. Ned closed his eyes and sighed and then gently tried to pry away the arms holding him when he realized they were like iron clamps. He frowned as he looked at the spindly malnourished boy and then his stick like arms. He once again tried to pry it off but it failed. Robbie seemed to have realized this attempt as he looked excitedly at Ned. ¡°I told you,¡± said Robbie. ¡°The weirdest thing happened to me today and all of this is an aftereffect of that?¡± Ned grew somewhat curious and he sat down on the bed, ¡°All of what?¡± He went over to grab the edge of Ned¡¯s desk and with a light force he snapped the edge of it off cleanly leaving Ned absolutely bewildered. ¡°How in the¡­¡± Ned started. ¡°How did you do that, wait no, what did you do to yourself?¡± Robbie¡¯s smile widened as he ran to the bed and picked up the phone, ¡°This is all on this.¡± He said and he pointed to the ¡®Future World¡¯ still displayed on the screen, save this time he noticed beneath it in smaller letters there was the word ¡®Play¡¯. ¡°A phone game allowed you to break a piece of my desk?¡± said Ned baffled. ¡°Yes,¡± Robbie said. ¡°I told you right, I¡¯ve been telling everyone, you all thought I was mental but this is the truth.¡± Ned thought back to the article Robbie submitted for a column in the school newspaper and he stifled a laugh. Robbie however saw this and he growled angrily. ¡°I just showed you proof,¡± said Robbie. ¡°It¡¯s the truth.¡± ¡°Oh, come on Robbie, you breaking a piece of my desk doesn¡¯t prove anything, you could be on steroids or the desk edge could¡¯ve had a crack, the second answer is more likely.¡± Gritting his teeth Robbie turned away from Ned and started muttering something and his voice slowly sped up. ¡°Robbie, you need to leave right now,¡± said Ned and he grabbed Robbie to push him to the window but he didn¡¯t budge. ¡°He told me you wouldn¡¯t believe me,¡± said Robbie in a low voice, his eyes had a mad gleam to them, something which disturbed Ned. ¡°Right, you¡¯re leaving,¡± said Ned pointing to the window. ¡°Right now, you¡¯re not staying another moment here.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave, I¡¯ll probably see you at school tomorrow,¡± said Robbie as he put his hands into the hoodie¡¯s pocket. ¡°But before I leave¡­¡± Robbie took out a syringe out of his pocket and uncapped it, the syringe contained translucent red liquid and Ned slowly backed away. ¡°Robbie¡­whatever you¡¯re going to do, think twice,¡± said Ned. ¡°I already have,¡± murmured Robbie in the same voice. ¡°This is the only way to make you believe.¡± At those words and with the belief that Robbie was going to inject whatever was in the syringe into himself Ned moved forward to stop him when suddenly Robbie¡¯s hand came around and the syringe jabbed into his neck. Ned felt a sting of pain and then he felt as if the right side of his neck had exploded as Robbie pushed the syringe¡¯s liquid into him and Ned¡¯s hand instantly snapped to his neck ¡°After this you¡¯ll believe me,¡± said Robbie and Ned fell sideways unable to talk or move. His tried to mouth words as his eyes slowly blackened. His heart beat at nearly twice the usual speed. He could just imagine the new when they found his body the next morning. A Highschool Student Killed through Lethal Injection. He saw Robbie¡¯s face and he wanted to say something to retaliate, the only word on his mind were however ¡®damn¡¯ and even that couldn¡¯t be said out as he was entirely paralyzed. Then with a flicker the world dimmed into darkness. 1 [1.1]: AR Future World The noon sun was blazing overhead whilst Ned sat on the bench behind the oval with his friend Gars. He had tried his best to explain everything to Gars without sounding totally insane. ¡°So, let me get this straight,¡± started Gars. ¡°You opened your window for Robbie at midnight when he knocked on your window, he climbed in, broke off a piece of your desk proving something and then he injected something into you and you blacked out, he disappeared.¡± ¡°Yes, what don¡¯t you get?¡± asked Ned sucking juice into his mouth from the juice box. ¡°Oh, I was just wondering whether I missed any pieces that would suddenly make what you said a whole lot of sense,¡± said Gars twirling his phone. ¡°Well, whether it makes sense or not, it is what happened,¡± said Ned. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have even opened your window and at midnight too,¡± said Gars. ¡°Both of you are crazy and he injected something into you, the first thing I¡¯d be doing is getting a check-up.¡± ¡°I told you, I feel fine,¡± said Ned crushing his juice box slightly. Gars snorted, ¡°Yeah so do people with STIs at first until-.¡± Gars stopped at the glare he got from Ned and pretended to be very interested in twirling his phone. ¡°It was probably nothing,¡± said Ned seemingly unconcerned. ¡°Sure, jabbing a needle into your neck is probably nothing,¡± said Gars. ¡°Look, he came up during the middle of the night, it¡¯d be rude to drive him away,¡± said Ned crushing his juice box. ¡°Sure, that¡¯s what everyone says to people that turn up at their freakin¡¯ windows at night and asked to be let in.¡± ¡°This was Robbie ok, not some stranger.¡± Gars¡¯ best reply was, ¡°He was a little mad at the best of times, he might¡¯ve been high on something.¡± Hearing this sentence Ned accidentally snorted a little of juice up his nose and he started a coughing fit. ¡°I still can¡¯t uninstall this,¡± said Gars sliding through his phone and Ned gave a quick glance at the Future World app that had somehow mysteriously installed itself on Ned¡¯s and Gars¡¯ phones. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sorry about that,¡± said Ned. ¡°Still can¡¯t believe you added that rich jerk and that Lockwheeler to the team, I understand Lockwheeler, he doesn¡¯t have much presence either way and you chose randomly but even with that Rook, why on earth would you add that first-class a-hole to the team, whatever it¡¯s for.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t really care,¡± said Ned. ¡°Course, you didn¡¯t, if you did, you¡¯d remember what he did or used to do when we were in middle school.¡± ¡°He¡¯s already apologized for it,¡± said Ned as he squeezed the juice box dry. ¡°Doesn¡¯t change the fact that our lives in middle school were hell because of him.¡± Ned and Gars stood and Ned adjusted his blue lined shirt, which was part of the Trade City East Academy¡¯s school uniform and chucked the juice box into the garbage can. As they walked away from the oval, Ned flashed back to that morning and what had happened in the aftermath of being injected with a possibly lethal substance. When he had opened his phone after waking up with what was a very sore neck, head and several other body parts he had seen this app and he had immediately realized it was the same thing that Robbie had opened for him. When he clicked the play word, the phone had gone into something called the team creation and several minutes of loading the screen popped up with seven names and pictures which somehow unnerved Ned because the pictures had never been on his phone at all, and they all pictures of the people whose names had popped up on his phone. He tried closing the app and restarting his phone but none of it would work until he finally just clicked three random names, one happened to be Gars¡¯ and the other three as far as Ned remembered was Rookfield Jonathan and Clinton Lockwheeler. All three were his FB friends, only Gars was on his contact list, which made him regret further when he finally clicked add to the team for those three names. Now, sure enough, the same app had installed itself onto Gars¡¯ phone as well, and he willing to bet enough to make a small killing that this app was installed onto Rookfield Jonathan¡¯s and Clinton Lockwheeler¡¯s name. There was even a meeting time set for the team, something that Ned was planning on ignoring but Gars was all for it, he wanted to see if the other two would show up. *** English class was a chore but regardless Ned sat awake in class, taking down the occasional notes necessary. Gars meanwhile had propped his book like a wall and had his head propped down onto the table in a gentle snooze. It was towards the end of the English class that Ned¡¯s phone suddenly beeped and Ned was woken out of his dazed stupor. He gazed down confusedly at his book which some writing partly readable. He felt the phone in his pocket vibrate and the teacher in front stopped talking. Just then three more beeps came out in occasion on three different phones. As soon as the beep on Gars¡¯ phone sounded there was a ruffle of books as the stuff to his side and the book he used as a wall fell over and he stood up abruptly.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°I wasn¡¯t sleeping!¡± he said somewhat groggily but still in a loud but unconvincing voice. Ned gulped as he looked around as the rest of the class stared back at Gars. After a three second pause the entire class burst out into laughter and Gars embarrassedly looked around occasionally shooting Ned a frustrated glance. ¡°Sit down Mr. Hurst,¡± said the teacher amused. ¡°I shudder to think of your grades this semester if this is how you perform in every class.¡± ¡°Sorry Mr. Howard,¡± said Gars as he hurriedly sat down to the sounds of the now dimming laughter. The English teacher Mr. Howard tapped on his desk twice to quieten the class. ¡°Yes, indeed that was a humorous display, there is however something far more entertaining now coming,¡± said Mr. Howard as the class quietened down. ¡°That is homework, ladies and gentlemen, I expect a summary of the poem we have just discussed and an explanation of how it portrays true ANZAC spirit, you may choose not to do this homework, of course and if you are an exceptional genius much like Mr. Hurst is I¡¯m sure you could even sleep during class¡­¡± as he said so he looked at Gars who had his head down fidgeting with his thumbs. ¡°For those however who are less so of a genius, this work is something that will help you during your upcoming assessment, so please take care to perform to this task to the best of your standards.¡± The class started murmuring again and then the bell rang. Mr. Howard up front put all his books in order and adjusted his vest and he looked at the class. ¡°Class dismissed.¡± Gars didn¡¯t however wait for this, he was out the door even as Mr. Howard said the word and Ned followed. Behind Ned the hubbub of packing in the class broke out and Ned followed Gars. ¡°Judas!¡± hissed Gars and Ned smiled weakly. ¡°You were asleep,¡± he pointed out. ¡°Not that¡­¡± said Gars and he took out his phone showing the screen to Ned. ¡°This!¡± On the phone screen the Future World app open with a map at the top and instructions down at the bottom. Ned quickly took out his phone and sure enough, it was there on his phone as well, the map and the instructions. The tutorial for Future World will begin in: 00:28:01 Warning: If you do not arrive at the place for tutorial on time, not that your AR Matrix will be disabled. The timer was going down quickly and from the looks of the map the place was on the southside of Trade City East in the part of the city commonly referred by others as the Arch. ¡°What do we do?¡± asked Ned. ¡°Honestly, I want to go,¡± said Gars. ¡°I want to know what this is all about.¡± ¡°I wish to know about this too,¡± said a quiet voice from behind them making both jump. ¡°Dammit!¡± exclaimed Gars as he and Ned turned to look at the short and somewhat fat boy behind them wearing square-rimmed glasses. ¡°Clinton,¡± said Ned looking at him, it was of course Clinton Lockwheeler, one of the boys that Ned had invited on Future World. ¡°I¡¯m coming too,¡± said another rough voice from behind them making both Gars and Ned jump again. ¡°Dammit who the-!¡± but Gars voice died down as he turned to look the brown skinned large boy that towered over all three of them. ¡°Oh, hey Rook,¡± said Gars in a smiling amicable manner as Ned speechlessly nodded. ¡°You¡¯re gonna explain to me what this thing is,¡± said Rook holding out his large phone. Ned opened his mouth to speak when Gars stepped on his foot and the open mouth turned into an exclamation of pain. ¡°We¡¯re going there to find that out ourselves,¡± said Gars. ¡°Why don¡¯t you come?¡± ¡°I intend to,¡± said Rook. ¡°If we¡¯re going to Arch and in thirty-minutes no less, we¡¯ll take my car.¡± ¡°Your car?¡± frowned Ned. ¡°But you¡¯re on your learners.¡± ¡°So,¡± scoffed Rook. ¡°Yeah that¡¯s right, so Ned,¡± said Gars nodding. ¡°You go right on ahead be a rebel Rook.¡± ¡°Are we going?¡± butted in Clinton. ¡°Time doesn¡¯t stop while we talk.¡± Ned quickly looked down at his phone and another minute had passed. ¡°Yeah let¡¯s go quickly,¡± agreed Ned and followed Rook. They passed several students and arrived at the school carpark. ¡°Stay, I¡¯ll go get my car,¡± said Rook and left Ned, Gars and Clinton to wait at the edge of the grass fields. Behind him after about a second or so he heard Gars groan. He quickly turned around and his heart dropped out of his body. It was the worst person to meet at present. Mrs. Byron was the wife of the headmaster and the head of the English faculty and every student agreed that she was the most horrible teacher on campus. ¡°What do we do now?¡± asked Ned. ¡°Knock her out,¡± suggested Gars helpfully. ¡°I will take care of this,¡± said Clinton thoughtfully and he walked up to Mrs. Byron. ¡°Your sacrifice will not be forgotten,¡± said Gars as if he was watching a friend walk onto the battlefield. ¡°Gars, shut up,¡± said Ned as they moved back a little and to the right with the hope they might not catch her. Soon Clinton had caught up Mrs. Byron and they started chatting, the topic about which they were chatting was something that caught both Ned¡¯s and Gars¡¯ curiosity because partway into the talk Mrs. Byron started smiling and the universe would unequivocally that even it had never seen Mrs. Byron so much as crack a smirk before. ¡°What¡¯s got her smiling?¡± asked Ned with amazement. ¡°The world is ending,¡± said Gars. ¡°It¡¯s all wrong,¡± he added further. ¡°Maybe he¡¯s flirting with her.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about that but I am pretty interested in what they¡¯re talking about,¡± said Ned. There was a short burst of laughter from her mouth which sent shivers down both Ned¡¯s and Gars¡¯ spine and she turned and walked back. Clinton came over like nothing had ever happened, with his usual deadpan look. ¡°What the hell did you tell her?¡± asked Ned with amazement, Gars nodded his approval of the question. ¡°I wanted the exam questions for the previous year 10 semester 1 exam for English, I simply told her that and she went to get me a copy, we also discussed some pointers about tonight¡¯s homework regarding poetry,¡± said Clinton. ¡°My god,¡± said Gars. ¡°You full on went studious little boy on her and she liked it.¡± The horn of a car beeped behind them and this time all three of them jumped, though Clinton still had the blank look layering his face. ¡°Dammit to hell, that¡¯s three times in five minutes,¡± said Gars gritting his teeth. Ned too nodded as he breathed in to calm his heartrate down. He turned around and his mouth dropped to see a metallic red Ford Focus RS pull up. ¡°Learners and he¡¯s already got a car like that,¡± said Gars shaking his head. ¡°Well with a car like that I¡¯d break the law too.¡± Rook hurriedly motioned for the three of them get onboard. On board, they hurried out of the carpark with Ned in the front seat next to Rook and Gars and Clinton in the back. 1 [1.2]: AR Future World Whilst in the car Rook with annoyance turned around to look at the three of them who looked back at Rook cluelessly. ¡°I was behind you for like a minute,¡± said Rook. ¡°How come you didn¡¯t see?¡± ¡°Mrs. Byron actually smiled and laughed,¡± blurted out Ned and car swerved violently. ¡°Watch it!¡± exclaimed Gars clinging onto his seatbelt. With a wide mouth Rook turned to look at the three of them, especially Clinton and Ned warned him to watch the road. ¡°It¡¯s true,¡± said Gars. ¡°She has a soft spot for Clinton I think, he¡¯s never got below an A+ in any subject.¡± Ned took out his phone the time showed was less than twenty-four minutes now. Rook turned to look at him. ¡°What¡¯s the address?¡± ¡°24 Bancroft Road,¡± said Ned zooming in on the road. Frowning Rook overtook a car going in front by deftly switching between lanes. ¡°That can¡¯t be right, check the address again.¡± ¡°I can,¡± said Ned. ¡°But it won¡¯t change, I think.¡± The point they needed to reach still stayed at 24 Bancroft Road. Rook started muttering something under his breath which made Ned flash back to last night when Robbie was acting crazy, muttering and gibbering under his breath. ¡°Are you alright?¡± asked Ned nervously. ¡°Yeah, what¡¯s there that has you acting like this?¡± asked Gars. ¡°24 Bancroft Road, the plot of land there was bought by Javier Jonathan in 2010 for building a hospital,¡± said Clinton bluntly, Ned and Gars turned to look at their new source of information. ¡°How do you know?¡± asked Ned and Gars together. ¡°It was in the papers,¡± said Rook. ¡°That year at least anyway.¡± ¡°So, what happened to it?¡± asked Ned. ¡°The violent gang activity surrounding the area caused the builders to stop the construction and it was left as it was,¡± said Clinton. ¡°As far as I remember.¡± ¡°Lockwheeler¡¯s right, the project was abandoned.¡± Ned watched Rook grip the wheels tightly as he made a sharp turn to right. Gars tapped Ned on the shoulders. ¡°By gang activities, you mean those people you see in the movies with big-ass shotguns, knives and axes and everything?¡± ¡°No, the construction was stopped by vandals,¡± said Rook. ¡°But there are people there I guess with knives and axes and all.¡± ¡°Is it too late to just go back to class where there less sharp metallic objects being used against us,¡± said Gars smiling weakly. ¡°Don¡¯t be and idiot Hurst,¡± said Rook in annoyed tone as they passed the giant ruined gateway that symbolized the entrance into ¡®The Arch¡¯. The Arch was radically different from the rest of Trade City East where the sun shone brightly and wind was adrift with voice. Entering ¡®The Arch¡¯ a heavy mood of gloom overtook all of them as the sounds quieted down and the skies seemed to have turned darker. There were lot more vandalized buildings, destroyed houses and abandoned houses and buildings. It seemed like a large graveyard of sorts. The council of Trade City East had several times tried to make a difference in ¡®The Arch¡¯ to make it cleaner but none got far before they were hampered by the gang activities. Illegalities reigned supreme in ¡®The Arch¡¯ and they were going to give up their throne anytime soon to the law and order. They saw several people walking by who all stopped to stared at the metallic red Ford Focus RS, even some people on bikes with great bushy beards and an ugly look had stopped seeing high performance car. ¡°Maybe we should¡¯ve came in some other car,¡± said Ned nervously. ¡°I agree, a lot of people are staring at us,¡± Gars nervously said as well as he leaned away from his window. ¡°Being incognito is not a strong point for such a car,¡± monotoned Clinton. ¡°Can all of you shut up,¡± Rook voiced his opinion. ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ve been here several times before.¡± ¡°Not with us you haven¡¯t,¡± snapped Gars. ¡°I¡¯m too young to be robbed and die.¡± ¡°It¡¯s my car, so if anyone¡¯s going to be robbed it¡¯s me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sitting in this car and for all you know I might have valuables on me too,¡± retorted Gars. ¡°Do you?¡± asked Ned. ¡°My phone,¡± was Gars¡¯ reply. ¡°They might be gang members and criminals but they¡¯re not cheap, they won¡¯t steal junk,¡± said Rook snorting. ¡°Is that so,¡± said Gars sarcastically. ¡°Explains why you can move back and forth from this place, they already know your value.¡± Rook angrily turned around as the speed of the car increased and Ned chortled out a laugh. ¡°I¡¯m about an inch from beating you up!¡± Gars smirked, ¡°You move that inch and we¡¯re all dead, keep your eyes on the road.¡± Rook increased his power on the accelerator and car sped up another notch making Ned a little nervous. ¡°Gars is right, just keep your eye on the road,¡± said Ned quickly, ¡°and slow down a little.¡± Rook clicked his tongue irritated as he turned around and slowed down a little as he drove aloof to the stares he received outside from some undesirables. Ned too was having second thoughts at this point much like Gars. He looked at his phone and the timer showed just five minutes remaining and the destination was fast approaching. They turned onto Bancroft Road and drove down. Ned counted the numbers as they slowly moved up to number twenty-four and they finally stopped outside a large half-finished building under the darkening sky. The walls had graffiti all over, there was waste strewn across the floor and the grass was yellow turning brown.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°Wow, I¡¯m getting a horror movie feel here,¡± said Gars. ¡°Anyone else getting that feeling.¡± Rook pulled over to the side next to the large fence wall and as they got out there was not a soul to be seen in sight. Ned looked up at the darkening sky as a somewhat dreary feeling rose inside him. ¡°It¡¯s going to rain soon I think,¡± he said and then he looked at the large building that was to be a hospital. ¡°Ned, forget everything I said about coming here, why don¡¯t we just go back,¡± said Gars walking up and standing next to Ned. He looked at his phone and the time was counting down there was barely a minute left now and on the screen, it displayed: Walk into the building and meet Alpha Eye. He showed Gars, Rook and Clinton the phone and asked them, ¡°You got the same instruction on your phone?¡± Clinton was the first to take out his phone and he nodded whilst the rest fumbled around inside their pockets. ¡°We¡¯ve got barely a minute left,¡± said Ned. ¡°What do you guys think, should we go inside?¡± ¡°I still don¡¯t know what on earth this is all about,¡± said Rook. ¡°But I¡¯m friggin¡¯ curious.¡± ¡°My curiosity just died down as soon as I saw the building,¡± said Gars, ¡°but I¡¯m not leaving alone, if you guys are going to go in then I¡¯m going to follow.¡± The rest turned to Clinton who seemed to be finely examining his face. As they looked at him he looked up and adjusted his glasses. ¡°Well, I propose we should go in, there appears to be nothing dangerous about this place at first sight.¡± ¡°Nothing dangerous?¡± asked Gars. ¡°Are you kidding me, every inch, right up to the skies look lifted straight out of a fuckin¡¯ horror movie, not the cheesy ones with lot of blood but those genuine ones that give you the chills.¡± ¡°Do you watch a lot of horror movies?¡± asked Clinton. ¡°Yes,¡± answered Gars. Ned grabbed him from behind by the shoulders and slowly pushed him in through the gates. ¡°Then you should have no problem going in, just pretend you¡¯re watching a horror movie.¡± They moved in with Ned still pushing Gars and Gars muttering sarcastically. ¡°Sure, just pretend it¡¯s a horror movie until it actually turns into one.¡± The winds started howling as they moved up to the glass doors, part of it had glass panes but part didn¡¯t, the panes looked to be broken. ¡°There aren¡¯t any gangsters living inside, right?¡± asked Gars nervously. ¡°Cause I see in movies all the time that real bad guys take up residence in abandoned places like these.¡± ¡°You watch too much movies,¡± said Rook with exasperation clearly showing on his face as he looked at Gars. They walked in through the door with the broken glass panes and entered the hospital when all their phones started vibrating at once and making beeping noises and then the most unbelievable of events happened right in front of them. There was a flash of light and in front of them appeared a pale blue ghost like figure. It looked humanoid and was floating in mid-air with pretty much the base aspects of a human figure. They all scrambled back in fright. ¡°Ghost!¡± exclaimed Gars and on this point Ned was inclined to agree, what else could the giant blue humanoid that suddenly appeared in front of them be. The most shocking thing however happened next when the thing opened its mouth and words came out. ¡°Hello players, my name is Alpha Eye.¡± Gars turned to run but Rook caught his arm tight and held him in place. Ned moved back a little further as the figure calling himself Alpha Eye came forwards. ¡°I am the artificial intelligence in charge of administration facilities of Future World, a game that is the first of its kind augmented reality multiplayer game.¡± Ned trying to retain his calmness looked down at his phone which suddenly had the instructions. Please follow Alpha Eye to start your tutorial. Terminate the tutorial? Yes/No ¡°Your tutorial will start here in this environment but to initiate please follow me,¡± said Alpha Eye and it turned and floated off towards the stair case. Ned turned to look at Gars, Rook and Clinton. Gars and Rook had pale white face, Clinton however stood there curiously. When Alpha Eye realized that the players weren¡¯t following it, it turned around at the stairs and waited for them. ¡°An AI with such a grand coding, it appeared to be a hologram of sorts, though I don¡¯t see the device which generated such a realistic hologram, or perhaps it isn¡¯t a hologram,¡± said Clinton thoughtfully as he put his hands to his jaw thoughtfully. ¡°It isn¡¯t a ghost?¡± asked Gars uncertainly. ¡°Certainly not, though it has not been proven false, the theory of how ghosts come to be and the existence of ghosts is a widely disputed fact, if there has not been one proper sighting in all these years then a ghost it is not,¡± said Clinton. ¡°Besides all that, have you ever seen such a human being, he is the base model of a male human body, this is most certainly not a ghost and I am inclined to believe that this Alpha Eye is however real, a real AI appearing in front of us using some sort of technology that twists with the color spectrum.¡± ¡°I did not get any of that,¡± said Rook outright. ¡°But I did get the fact about artificial intelligence.¡± Gars paleness seemed to be disappearing slowly as he took in a breath of relief. ¡°I¡¯m just glad it¡¯s not a ghost, even so how the hell did it suddenly appear in front of us.¡± ¡°Should we follow it?¡± asked Ned. ¡°Regardless of whether you wish to, I am,¡± said Clinton walking forwards. ¡°Hey,¡± called out Gars. ¡°Let¡¯s discuss this, this thing doesn¡¯t seem like your run off the mill game, it could be like one of those games where it slowly turns into a horr-.¡± Gars suddenly stopped as he got the death stare from both Rook and Ned. ¡°Though I hate to admit it, Hurst might be right,¡± said Rook. ¡°We don¡¯t anything about anything?¡± ¡°You said Robbie was playing this game, right?¡± asked Gars walking up to Ned who nodded. ¡°There didn¡¯t seem to be anything wrong with him?¡± ¡°Apart from his usual craziness, nothing,¡± assured Ned after a little thought. ¡°Wait a second, Robbie, you mean that freak Hudlow?¡± asked Rook. ¡°He was playing this game, what is this game?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a long story,¡± said Ned. ¡°But he didn¡¯t say anything about this before he uh¡­jabbed me with the needle.¡± ¡°What¡­he jabbed you with a needle?¡± asked Rook walking up to Ned and towering over him. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s how all this mess started¡­and look he¡¯s going with that blue thing,¡± said Robbie warning them of Clinton¡¯s following Alpha Eye. ¡°Ah screw it,¡± said Ned and ran after Clinton leaving Gars and Rook alone behind. Gars turned to look at Rook but then he quickly took off after Ned and Rook followed shortly behind. Alpha Eye started moving again up the steps and as he moved he talked. ¡°Future World is an augmented reality game that has a hundred percent immersive rate, it is a game that however feels very real and it plays by using science beyond human comprehension or imagination at present.¡± Alpha Eye turned the steps as the four followed behind it and they arrived at the half constructed second layer of the building with heavy graffiti on the walls and several construction tools laying strewn across, out of the semi built windows Ned saw drops rain falling from the sky, it had started raining. ¡°You will be instructed and I will walk through your account making process, your tutorial will officially start after that.¡± Alpha Eye climbed the third floor and then fourth finally reaching the topmost floor of the half-constructed hospital and they turned the hallways walking into a large dusty room with cobwebs. As they entered the door shut automatically behind them making them all jump and also darkening the room. Gars went to try and pry the door open but Rook again stopped him and forcibly turned him to face Alpha Eye who appeared to have seen Gars¡¯ movement. ¡°The door has been shut for your safety, it will be opened once the tutorial starts.¡± With that Alpha Eye snapped his translucent fingers and the lights turned on. ¡°Astounding,¡± Clinton said. ¡°Your intelligence allows you communicate freely with humans and you must have also trapped into the electrical grid for this building, this is simply earth shattering, the repercussion for the creation of such an AI could bring humanity into its next age, whoever created this is a genius.¡± ¡°Stop praising the blue alien in the room,¡± muttered Gars and then he turned to Alpha Eye. ¡°We just want answers?¡± ¡°Certainly, as the administrator AI for Future World, I am duty bound to answer any question you might have.¡± ¡°Good,¡± said Rook. ¡°I just want to know, what¡¯s the conspiracy?¡± The AI appeared to be frowning. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I do not understand?¡± ¡°He means, what is all this about?¡± said Ned. ¡°This game, Future World, the thing with Robbie, everything.¡± ¡°You will have to ask me questions for an answer,¡± said Alpha Eye. Clinton stepped up, ¡°Explain to me the events regarding this game starting from how this came onto Edward¡¯s phone.¡± Alpha Eye nodded and stepped forward reaching his fingers towards Ned¡¯s eyes and a cold feeling gripped Ned from the tip of his hair to the base of his foot. Then it stepped back to start answering. 1 [2]: Alpha Eye What Alpha Eye had divulged during the somewhat intense questioning did not leave them any less confused than when they started off. The conversation had gone somehow like this. After what Alpha Eye had performed on Ned which turned out to be scanning it started the explanation with Robbie¡¯s question. ¡°Mr. Edward Caesar, player number 1 of the current team and also the current team¡¯s progenitor-,¡± Alpha Eye had started but before he launched into the explanation he was interrupted by Ned. ¡°Excuse me, what do you mean by the progenitor?¡± asked Ned. ¡°The progenitors are of course those who add other players into the game, you added Mr. Garfield Hurst, Mr. Rookfield Jonathan and Mr. Clinton Lockwheeler into this game through the request you sent them,¡± said Alpha Eye and Ned looked meekly at Rook and Clinton, whilst Rook gave him the death stare Clinton nonchalantly nodded at him. ¡°How the hell did I turn into a progenitor?¡± asked Ned but then a bad feeling arose in him as he though to the time he had been jabbed in the neck by the syringe. His fears were confirmed true through the next answer. ¡°You were injected with the serum commonly referred to as the ¡®firstborn¡¯, through this you gained access to Future World and you sent out requests which they accepted.¡± Ned however felt partly relieved. It hadn¡¯t entirely been his fault in sending the requests, they had accepted it as well. He gave a meek stare at Rook who suddenly looked furious, Ned didn¡¯t if that was at him or Rook himself. ¡°Now to continue Future World as you should know is an FPS an Multiplayer Augmented Reality First Person Shooter, you will encounter other players who have this game, what you must know is that if you die in this game you will lose your AR Matrix and your memories from the point which this game installed onto your devices so if you wish to keep playing take great care and if you don¡¯t then the job simply is to die and you will not remember anything, your memories will instead be replaced by a seamless placebo.¡± ¡°You can tamper with our brains?¡± asked Gars horrified even Clinton seemed a little pale at this. ¡°Of course, but there are rules for that of course which I¡¯ve just explained and we cannot do anything other than erase your memories, if you are thinking of mind control then you are overthinking.¡± ¡°Are we?¡± asked Clinton. ¡°Overthinking I mean.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± answered Alpha Eye. ¡°The AR Matrix installed at the tip where your skull meets your spine is of more use to the players in this game than us, it cannot retain enough power to perform a hold on your mind.¡± ¡°Holy fuck,¡± shouted Gars his hand snapping to back of his neck as did Ned¡¯s, Rook¡¯s and Clinton¡¯s. ¡°How was it put in us?¡± asked Clinton his face paler now. ¡°Nanites, the size of germs,¡± said Alpha Eye. ¡°When Future World is installed, using complex technology we stream nanobots through the connection assembling it inside you to make a AR Matrix, which will allow your body to perform the superhuman feats necessary for this game.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± said Gars. ¡°I¡¯m done.¡± He turned to leave but this time Ned blocked him. ¡°Are you crazy, if you terminate the tutorial you could lose your memories,¡± said Ned. ¡°Yes Garfield, this decision you are about to make is stupid,¡± said Clinton vouching for Ned. ¡°Though this Alpha Eye says seamless placebo, there could always be aftereffects with implanted memories.¡± ¡°So, what, we¡¯re just trapped here?¡± asked Rook in rage. ¡°Certainly not Mr. Rookfield Jonathan,¡± said Alpha Eye. ¡°You may terminate this tutorial and as I said your memories will be erased and a seamless set of memories will be implanted, there will be little to no aftereffects.¡± ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t like anyone messing with my head,¡± said Rook balling up his fists. ¡°Then you may need to continue this,¡± said Alpha Eye, his emotionless face looking a lot more frightening now to the four people. ¡°That¡¯s not a damned option either.¡± Rook roared and rushed forward as he took a big swing at Alpha Eye and as everyone thought the fist was going to pass through Alpha Eye effortlessly caught it. ¡°Attacking an administrator is against the rules, please keep your control Mr. Rookfield Jonathan, you have been warned,¡± said Alpha Eye. ¡°You have two strikes left.¡± Saying that Alpha Eye gently pushed Rook back who stumbled and fell onto his butt. ¡°So, do you all wish to continue the tutorial?¡± asked Alpha Eye. Ned looked at Gars and Clinton who after a brief moment nodded with somewhat frightened glances shared between the three of them. Ned moved towards Rook to help him up. ¡°Get off me!¡± shouted Rook and turned on Ned. ¡°This fucking crazy, this is all on you.¡± Suddenly Ned grew angry as well, ¡°All one me, you¡¯ve got to be kidding me, you accepted the request.¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have sent it in the first place,¡± said Rook getting up in Ned¡¯s face. ¡°That was an accident, I didn¡¯t even know what I was doing,¡± said Ned. ¡°But you could¡¯ve just left it and it would¡¯ve been fine, why would you accept a request from me anyhow.¡± ¡°Because-!¡± roared Rook and suddenly stopped as he turned red with anger or embarrassment Ned couldn¡¯t tell. ¡°Well it¡¯s none of your business!¡± Rook turned away with a huff leaving Ned out of sorts. The anger that had been building up inside had somehow been released like steam being let off without exploding. Tired he turned towards Gars and Clinton. Gars seemed to be in position to move forward to stop them from fighting. Clinton however had a look of disapproval on his chubby face which somehow seemed to suit it well. ¡°Well seeing as you have finished your argument, we shall all accept the tutorial,¡± said Clinton. ¡°That is our decision correct!¡± ¡°Yes,¡± sighed Ned and Gars nodded as well. The other three turned towards Rook who was turned away from them. ¡°What about you Rook?¡± asked Gars meekly. ¡°It¡¯s a yes from me as well I suppose, I¡¯ve already come this far, might as well do the rest.¡± ¡°Uh let¡¯s start the tutorial then,¡± said Ned turning towards Alpha Eye. ¡°Excellent,¡± said Alpha Eye. ¡°I will now activate your AR Matrixes.¡± Alpha Eye floated up a little further and a holographic keyboard and screen appeared in front of him. Number scrolled across the screen as Alpha Eye began tapping away under the curious gazes of Ned, Gars, Rook and Clinton. Suddenly Ned¡¯s nape felt hot and in panic he reached his hand back and felt it heating up. He looked at the others who seemed to be experiencing the same thing and from the others he saw blue light radiating off in the form of a square from their nape which he supposed was what was happening to him as well. The heat slowly died down and so did the light and suddenly Ned felt a burst of strength as if his heart had pumped a high dose of adrenaline into his body and with a flash in front of him appeared a virtual screen akin in appearance to what was in front of Alpha Eye. ¡°Please enter your display name,¡± said Alpha Eye as the four stared blankly at the box in front of them. Soon after a keyboard appeared in front of them. They looked at each other before Ned sighed and tapped randomly down on the virtual keyboard and surprisingly his hand felt as if he had touched something. He looked over and saw Clinton leaning to side examining the keyboard closely.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°It managed to trick our visual and somatosensory systems, I suppose this is the brilliance of the AR Matrix,¡± said Clinton with a wondrous look on his face. ¡°Tomato what system?¡± asked Gars turning to Clinton. ¡°Not tomato, somatosensory system,¡± said Clinton with a roll of his eyes. ¡°What does that even mean?¡± asked Rook. ¡°Our sense of touch,¡± replied Clinton as he moved to enter whatever he was thinking of to be his display name. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just say that?¡± asked Gars shaking his head. Clinton ignored them and Gars and Rook too turned to typing in their display name. Ned thought for a moment but then proceeded to use a name he had been using for nearly all his gaming accounts. He typed down ¡®Thunderbird¡¯, it was a name he found amazing back when he was around ten years old and watching an old tv show, he had made several different variations of it all for games that required to him come up with a new name, not one already in the system. He didn¡¯t know how this game¡¯s naming system worked but he decided to type it in whole without butchering it. He pressed enter and the virtual screen in front of him changed. He looked up at Alpha Eye who after five seconds proceeded to the next explanation. ¡°As you have already completed your names, you will now move onto class selection, again please choose wisely, switching classes will not be an option once you start.¡± Ned looked at Gars curiously. ¡°What name did you write.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell you later,¡± said Gars as he excitedly looked down at his screen for class selection. Ned too looked down and saw several icons. A cloud with wings and a tail, a flaming torch that seemed to have some weird as flames on top of it, a reverse G with a dot at the center and several others, all in all there seemed to be seven of these symbols. Ned tapped the one at the top, the one that had the winged cloud with a tail and its information appeared. Sky Razer: A class that has been born to dominate the skies. Firing down volleys of bullets from above, dodging with infinite precision, no one can stop your advance. It seemed cool to Ned and so he proceeded when he realized his blunder, he hadn¡¯t looked at the other classes. He bit his bottom lip cursing himself an idiot repeatedly in his head as he looked over to the others who seemed to be seriously combing through the class list. He tentatively looked at Alpha Eye who seemed sitting aloof, above everything. No chance for a second choice then, he thought in his head as he sighed. Then he looked down at this screen which had proceeded onto the next screen which seemed to have a smaller figure much like Alpha Eye on screen with surrounding boxes which Ned guessed would be for equipping armor and weapons, the likes. To the right side in an expanded box was his attributes and name and other information.
Name: Edward Matthew Caesar Displayed Name: Thunderbird Status: Progenitor/Alive Class: Sky Razer Rank: Gun Novice (0/150) Skills: Weightless (Active) Cooldown Time: 15 seconds An ability to make the body weightless for a short duration of five seconds. During this period the player¡¯s agility is increased by four points. This is added as a buff. The points return to normal once the skill ends. Buffs: The Firstborn (Permanent) As a player that has received the status of progenitor, the player gets a permanent +1 to all their status points. This increase once your rank upgrades by +1 for each rank upgrade.
Stats: Strength (STR): 12 (+1) Agility (AGI): 16 (+1) Dexterity (DEX): 15 (+1) Intelligence (INT): 14 (+1) Stat Points: 0
Interestedly Ned looked through his stats. This was just like how one played online games. His excitement was slowly increasing as the fear was displaced. He looked at others amongst whom Gars was smiling like an idiot as he looked down at his profile window, Rook too had a small smile on his face. Clinton however looked down seriously and Ned noticed he was still running through the class selection. He turned back to examining his profile once again and after a short while Clinton finished. Alpha Eye moved towards them standing in front of them once again with the virtual screen and keyboard in front of him removed. Ned blinked once as his eyes somehow adjusted and then he saw something astonishing above Alpha Eye¡¯s head, a white cursor along with the name ¡®Alpha Eye¡¯ and ¡®Administrator AI¡¯ under it in small italic letters. He turned to look next to him and saw Gars and above him was a green cursor with a strange name R1ipper above his head. Next it was Rook who had Hellhound and Clinton who had chosen Clocker. ¡°I can see you display names,¡± said Ned. ¡°Me too,¡± chimed in Gars and he turned to Ned. ¡°You have Progenitor underneath your name.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me our eyes always going to be this?¡± said Rook turning towards Alpha Eye. ¡°Yes,¡± said Alpha Eye. ¡°You are officially part of Future World, from now on you can see everyone¡¯s display names, NPCs however will have their real name registered above their head, the cursor will change color depending enemy or friendly, enemy being red, friendly being green, administrators are generally white.¡± ¡°Who are the NPCs?¡± asked Ned turning questioning glances towards the other three who seemed just as interested in it as he is. ¡°NPCs are of course those who are not players, the normal humans,¡± said Alpha Eye. ¡°So, we can see every NPCs¡¯ names?¡± asked Gars a little more excited than he should have been. ¡°That is so,¡± answered Alpha Eye. ¡°Feels strange,¡± said Clinton. ¡°Like we know a secret of theirs, if we know everyone¡¯s names without even asking them.¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s sort of like reading minds,¡± said Gars. ¡°You have created your profile, it is time for you creation gift,¡± said Alpha Eye and four blue lights shot out of his finger entering their virtual screens. ¡°The interface opening and closings and its related items are voice operated,¡± said Alpha Eye. ¡°You may say open to open the interface and close to close the interface, if you wish to open other functions you must first activate it on your cellular phone and only then will it become available on your virtual interface, right now you may open the profile window and inventory, the shop window and the league window will only be opened once you rank up. Progenitors are the only ones that can own and operate a league, the members the progenitor added to the game are automatically part of the league he/she creates.¡± Trying to imprint all this into his memory Ned proceeded according to what the interface showed him with an arrow. He swiped right and once again the cool feeling of touching the interface intricately weaved itself into his fingers and he slid into the inventory. There were a lot of square boxes, thirty-two by count and at the top was the gift box that Ned guessed to be the creation gift. He tapped the box and a larger version of it appeared, playing a shaking animation and the box popped open gifting him an assortment of equipment. Gloves, an assault rifle, a pistol and a holster. He tapped on the gloves first and options popped up. He equipped it and it appeared on his hands in a flash of blue light. He turned towards Gars who appeared to be a holding a large grey flamethrower. ¡°Oh my god,¡± said Gars. ¡°I take everything back, you can mind control me all you want, I am so into this game right now.¡± ¡°Is that real?¡± asked Ned taken aback. ¡°It feels real,¡± said Clinton. ¡°But as I said, this AR Matrix is technology far beyond what humans have been capable of till now, it could be real, it could be fake but it feels real to us now, which makes me question if we get hit by it, will it hurt?¡± ¡°Fighting in Future World is much like real combat, it will assuredly hurt but after combat is over the players will heal to normal unless the player dies in which case the player¡¯s memories are wiped as I have explained before,¡± said Alpha Eye. Rook suddenly took out a pistol an aimed it at Ned¡¯s forehead. Ned scrambled back in alarm. ¡°Hey what are you doing!?¡± asked Ned in panic. ¡°Just testing it out,¡± said Rook chuckling. ¡°Don¡¯t even try it,¡± said Ned. ¡°He just said it¡¯ll hurt.¡± ¡°Best to know firsthand,¡± said Rook. ¡°Then shoot your own hand,¡± said Gars stepping in. ¡°Why don¡¯t I test it out on you,¡± said Rook pointing it suddenly at Gars. ¡°Try it,¡± said Gars stepping forward. ¡°You might be slightly large but a gun works same on all people, if you shoot me Ned and Clinton will probably have you down.¡± ¡°He¡¯s right, I¡¯ll shoot you if you fire at Gars,¡± said Ned equipping himself with the assault rifle and he trained it on Rook. ¡°I will shoot you too Rookfield, if you intend to fire your gun at Gars,¡± agreed Clinton. Rook spiraled the gun on his fingers, ¡°You guys are no fun.¡± ¡°He should be locked up in a mental facility,¡± muttered Gars as he returned back Ned¡¯s side. ¡°Well the fun is out of the way I expect,¡± said Alpha Eye and his expressionless face made a smile. ¡°The tutorial will start in¡­¡± Another cold robotic voice took over from Alpha Eye as the count initiated from ten. Alpha Eye floated there with a smile as the countdown ran out and then behind him appeared several barrels and large timer that sat atop it. ¡°Your tutorial mission,¡± said Alpha Eye forming an interface and sending it to the four of them.
Mission: Escape the Building and the Blast Radius in 30 minutes. Optional Mission: Kill 15 Enemy Soldiers with you weapons. Number Killed: 0/15 Brief: Infiltrating the enemy headquarters you have planted a bomb at the center of it for maximum casualties. The enemies have however converged on your point. You must successfully escape the enemy soldiers and make it out of the blast radius in thirty minutes. Failure to do so will risk in death. Rewards: 75 Rank Points, Tutorial Gift Pack Failure: Mission will restart. Fail it three times and your AR Matrix will be removed.
¡°Bomb?¡± asked Gars nervously as he closed in on the barrels. ¡°These are bombs?¡± ¡°I suspect so,¡± said Clinton. ¡°From the mission briefing and the timer which yet to start ticking.¡± Alpha Eye disappeared and the same robotic voice that initiated the countdown said, ¡°The tutorial mission starts now!¡± The timer on the bomb started ticking down as they heard noises of many footsteps downstairs. ¡°It also said enemies are converging on our point, right?¡± said Ned. ¡°That is what the mission brief says,¡± said Clinton. Ned and the other three closed the interfaces. Ned ran to the windows and looked down, his heart jumped through his mouth at what he saw. There were many men in black storming the building all holding guns. ¡°We have company,¡± said Ned. ¡°Major company.¡± 1 [3]: The Men in Black They all looked at each the panic evident on their faces. Ned looked out the many men in black attire storming the building with weapons again and he gulped. ¡°Alpha Eye said the gunshots here actually hurt, despite it being a game,¡± said Ned. Gars looked around at them, ¡°Anyone here got shot before?¡± ¡°I have,¡± answered Rook. ¡°Well not shot, but tasered, it hurts pretty badly.¡± ¡°This is not a taser, that was completely unrelated, there was no need to even mention it,¡± said Clinton adjusting his glasses. ¡°Getting shot by actual bullets I suppose is worse,¡± said Rook thoughtfully. ¡°No,¡± disagreed Gars. ¡°It should be better, you die pretty, quickly don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Stop being idiots!¡± said Ned. ¡°We¡¯re not going to die, worst case scenario, we have to do the tutorial again, now what the hell¡¯s our plan?¡± At this they all looked at Clinton who seemed to be looking forward to this as his face for the first time displayed a hint of a smile. He pushed up his glasses and looked outside where the rain was still showering, it had not yet turned into a full-blown water fall. ¡°If it¡¯s escaping the bomb we need to do then we just need to jump out of the window,¡± said Clinton at which all three of their mouths fell open. ¡°That¡¯s your brilliant plan?¡± asked Gars. ¡°Weren¡¯t you supposed to be a genius and all?¡± ¡°Be quiet,¡± ordered Clinton. ¡°Let me finish, now we still have our optional mission of killing fifteen men, the thing to take into consideration is should we complete this side mission.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± said Rook. ¡°I¡¯ve played enough games to know that if you can do it perfectly you might as well.¡± ¡°How many games exactly have you played?¡± asked Gars and Ned stepped down hard on his foot. ¡°Shut up!¡± Ned nodded to Clinton to continue. Clinton turned away from and paced from side to side in a thoughtful daze. After the pacing he turned inquisitorially to the three. ¡°What I am asking is whether any of you have had experience with murder or killing.¡± ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be like real, would it?¡± asked Gars nervously, even Ned felt a little horrified at the thought. Clinton shot out another question. ¡°Can we even handle fifteen armored and armed men?¡± ¡°They wouldn¡¯t give us something we couldn¡¯t do,¡± Rook said lifting the shotgun he was holding onto his shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m all for it.¡± ¡°I do not mind it so much either, I think,¡± said Clinton and they both turned to Gars and Ned. ¡°Well I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to,¡± said Gars. ¡°If it¡¯s anything like real¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s fully immersive is what Alpha Eye told us,¡± said Ned. ¡°So, I assume it¡¯s real-life.¡± ¡°Precisely what I was to say,¡± said Clinton. ¡°Which means like blown brains, spraying blood and all that right,¡± said Rook. ¡°Somewhat like that,¡± said Clinton and Gars gulped. ¡°Uh no, I don¡¯t know,¡± said Gars stepping back. ¡°What did you get as a weapon?¡± asked Ned. Gars opened his inventory and tapped on his weapons, his pistol attached itself to his thigh with a holster and a large canister appeared on his back with a wire attached gun in his hand. ¡°A flame thrower,¡± said Clinton with a glint in his eyes. ¡°That will help us, won¡¯t it?¡± asked Ned. ¡°Definitely,¡± said Clinton. ¡°It¡¯s better than your assault rifle Edward and, Rookfield¡¯s shotgun, in something like this.¡± ¡°Hey if you¡¯re worried about blowing them up all over, then you don¡¯t need to worry, you¡¯re going to fry them,¡± said Rook in a comforting manner and Gars paled, Ned turned an angry glare at Rook who shrugged. ¡°Right, everyone else gets bullets and guns, I get a flamethrower, if anyone needs barbecue they can come to me,¡± said Gars weakly. ¡°It¡¯s alright, if you don¡¯t want to,¡± said Ned grasping Gars¡¯ shoulder. ¡°Just stay behind us,¡± said Ned. He opened his profile screen and scrolled across reading it one last time before executing whatever plan that Clinton had when he noticed his skill <>. He quickly turned to the others. ¡°Do any of you have skills?¡± he asked excitedly. Frowning Rook and Gars opened their interface as well, however Clinton nodded, it seemed he had read through the interface very well. ¡°Gun turret, I can summon a gun turret that doesn¡¯t move and has a steady stream of fire.¡± Clinton folded his arms as he looked at the others whilst Ned became a little excited. With skills their chances of mission completion increased. ¡°Mine is called solar flare, and it essentially does the same thing as a flash bang,¡± said Gars frowning. ¡°It¡¯s not as amazing a gun turret.¡± ¡°Mine is something akin to a small grenade, it¡¯s called firebomb apparently it also inflicts burns,¡± said Rook. ¡°Ughh, I sound so geeky.¡± ¡°Oh I¡¯m sure your friends will forgive you considering we¡¯re about to be drilled by so many bullets that we¡¯ll probably look like a strainer by the end of it,¡± said Gars sarcastically. ¡°They¡¯re not¨C,¡± Rook hurriedly stopped himself, looking furious with himself, he turned away. Ned gave Gars a ¡®what happened¡¯ look to which Gars shrugged. Ned clapped his hands together to get everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°Right, we have skills, we have weapons,¡± said Ned. ¡°We are also running out of time.¡± Ned looked at the timer showing up at the side of his vision now, he was going to have to get used to this strange way of looking at the world. ¡°We have less than eighteen minutes now, and¨C,¡± Ned continued and as he was about proceed on he suddenly stopped as he heard the marching footsteps coming up. ¡°And they¡¯re here,¡± said Gars. ¡°What do we do Clinton?¡± ¡°Formation,¡± said Clinton. ¡°We face the enemies and cover each other¡¯s blindspots, I read it in a book, follow behind each other.¡± ¡°Right,¡± said Ned. ¡°Gars will have to be at the back,¡± Ned looked at his best friend apologetically but Gars nodded. ¡°Clinton or Rook will be at the front.¡± ¡°Do you wanna?¡± asked Rook pointing to the door and Clinton ran up. ¡°I¡¯ll be up front, my gun turret is immovable, maybe I can use it at the start,¡± said Clinton. ¡°Excellent, we have a plan,¡± said Ned. They carefully moved towards the door with Clinton and Rook upfront, Ned a little further back but between them, his assault rifle trained on the door and Gars picking up the tail. It seemed to be like an ¡®action thriller¡¯ movie scene until the door in front of them blew up. None of them had any time to even gasp before they were pushed back with such force that it left them stunned for a moment as they lay on the floor gasping. Coughing and with his eyes watering Ned scrawled back further as he hit the wall and through the haze of the smoke he saw footsteps coming in. ¡°Fucking shit!!¡± roared Rook from somewhere in the room. ¡°Is everyone alright?¡± asked Ned still trying to clear his eyes and right himself. He heard positive groans from around the room and then he saw the barrels of guns. He didn¡¯t even know what he was doing or thinking, his body reacted on its own. He reached back and clasped his hand onto the window sill and somersaulted back. His foot broke through the window glass cleanly as he fell clear out of the window of the third floor of the unfinished hospital. He heard yells form above, mostly his name. As he fell to the ground, the only thing on his mind was <> and his entire body lost feeling for a millisecond as his fall slowed. He hit the ground gently and he saw other men in black downstairs. So noiseless was his landing however that none of them had however turned towards him. He grit his teeth and trained his assault rifle. With a snarl he opened fire. Never had he thought that he would be capable of such brutality. He mowed down three before they even opened fire on him and he hide behind a pillar taking in deep breaths. He looked upwards towards the window he had broken and prayed that the other three were alright, especially Gars. Suddenly atop his gun the bullet count showed up. It showed up 111/128, he still had a hundred and eleven bullets remaining but with the constant stream of fire from behind him he could not turn to even glance. After a minute or so he closed his eyes to calm himself down. If he didn¡¯t do something, the timer would run out and they didn¡¯t seem to be stopping anytime soon. Suddenly from above he heard a huge explosion, the window he had broken was billowing flames and smoke now, along with several other windows on the same floor. He heard loud firing sounds, they were not akin to the sounds that his or the men in black¡¯s assault rifles made and therein he was glad. Gars, Rook and Clinton were alive and they were fighting back. He heard another explosion go on inside and loud shots from what he guessed was Rook¡¯s shotgun rang out. The firing on him slowly began ceasing, there were fewer sounds now. He took in three deep breaths and turned pointing his assault rifle from the corner he glanced around, there were merely two now with the rifles still on him. He closed his eyes and prayed and then fired the gun without even looking from the corner of the pillar. It hit, he heard the bullet piercing the flesh and a body hitting the floor. He turned to look and that was all the other man in black with the assault rifle on him needed. A shot fired hit him right in the shoulder and sent him toppling back. He heard the robotic voice inside his head.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Warning, you have been injured. Mode of injury, yellow, you are bleeding. At the corner of his eyes under the timer he saw a yellow bar appearing. It appeared to be dimming little by little however. He looked at the timer, it had just hit the twelve-minute mark and was counting down. He tried to get up but there was intense pain from his shoulder. He clutched the assault rifle next to him and looked up. The man in black ran towards him, he guessed it was to finish him off. He blinked twice and hoped that Gars, Rook and Clinton could complete the tutorial. Looking at the barrel of the gun in his face panic slowly welled up inside him when suddenly the man was enveloped in flames. There was an unholy scream from him as he dropped his assault rifle and struggled back trying to douse the flames. He was by now nearly entirely on fire. Ignoring the pain in his hands Ned clambered onto his knees and with his assault rifle he fired two shots to the man. His target the head but he hit the chest and a leg. The man keeled over backwards and the scream stopped. He saw Gars behind with a shaking flamethrower in his hands. ¡°I¡­I,¡± but Gars before could finish it before he was clapped on the back by Rook. The flames slowly died down revealing what was a horribly deformed figure burned and sizzling and Gars couldn¡¯t take it anymore, he vomited. Rook jumped back in shock with a loud shout. Ned himself wasn¡¯t faring any better whilst looking at the dead body in front of them. He looked past Rook and Clinton and a pile of dead bodies. ¡°Holy hell, did we do all that?¡± he asked, there was a cold feeling welling up inside him. ¡°Indeed, we did,¡± said Clinton adjusting his glasses which was balanced on the tip of his nose. Rook to looked back and suddenly his face turned pale. Gars vomited again and Ned ran to his friends¡¯ side despite the queasy feeling inside his stomach and slowly patted his back as he emptied the contents of his stomach entirely onto the floor. ¡°I think I get where Hurst is coming from,¡± said Rook clenching his teeth. He turned and walked a fair few feet away from them and then vomited himself. Ned himself felt the bile rising up his throat, there was the aftertaste of the juice he had for morning tea and he spat down and gulped back in the bile. It was a complete mess, blood was seeping over the floor, flesh was strewn across from the heavy fire and there was something grey oozing out of a man¡¯s head into his blood. The worst thing however was the crisp burnt body¡¯s smell. ¡°Why hasn¡¯t the tutorial ended?¡± asked Ned in a weak voice as he gulped in again. ¡°I suspect that we still haven¡¯t escaped the blast radius,¡± said Clinton. ¡°It didn¡¯t say kill everyone but escape the blast radius, that is our main objective.¡± Ned with panic looked at the timer but then he sighed, there a little over eight minutes left. He looked at Rook who appeared to be vomiting again and Gars who seemed to have calmed down. There was dreary, tired to look in all of their eyes. Gars walked over to the pillar behind which Ned hid behind and sat down. ¡°I just want a moment,¡± said Gars in-between deep breaths. ¡°Me too,¡± said a faint voice from the side. Ned looked at Clinton who nodded and they came to tacit understanding, they still had time. It wouldn¡¯t hurt to rest. Ned looked opened the interface and looked at the mission board. On it showed the mission details and information. The optional mission had been accomplished, but the main mission was still yet to be finished.
Mission: Escape the Building and the Blast Radius in 30 minutes. Optional Mission: Kill 15 Enemy Soldiers with you weapons. Number Killed: 15/15 (Optional Mission Completed) Brief: Infiltrating the enemy headquarters you have planted a bomb at the center of it for maximum casualties. The enemies have however converged on your point. You must successfully escape the enemy soldiers and make it out of the blast radius in thirty minutes. Failure to do so will risk in death. Rewards: 75 Rank Points, Tutorial Gift Pack Failure: Mission will restart. Fail it three times and your AR Matrix will be removed.
¡°Edward?¡± called out Clinton and Ned turned towards the stout boy with glasses. ¡°I want to ask you something because this is beyond technology border-lining actual magic, you said Robert gave this to you, how did he get access to it?¡± Ned looked at the ground thoughtfully thinking back to the night. ¡°I don¡¯t know, he never told me.¡± ¡°I wish to know the origins of this game,¡± said Clinton. ¡°And also, however many others are playing it.¡± ¡°No one¡¯s ever even heard of this game, how the hell are we going to figure that out?¡± asked Gars. ¡°We just need to find out more about that freak Hudlow,¡± said Rook walking over still looking a little green and he glanced at Ned and Gars. ¡°Can¡¯t be that hard, you three were friends, weren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°We still are friends,¡± said Ned. ¡°Except Robbie hasn¡¯t really been in the right mind recently,¡± said Gars. ¡°He had delusional something or other order.¡± ¡°Delusional Disorder,¡± corrected Clinton. ¡°Are you sure it was delusional disorder and not this game.¡± ¡°The truth is we can¡¯t tell right now,¡± said Ned. ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on.¡± ¡°I need answers,¡± said Rook. ¡°But apart from that this seems like a cool enough game.¡± ¡°Cool,¡± spluttered Gars. ¡°You just vomited everything from yesterday¡¯s dinner to today¡¯s lunch.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a little too realistic but we can get used to it,¡± said Rook shrugging. ¡°Yeah sure get used to it, after we get used to vomiting that is,¡± said Gars with a shiver. ¡°You¡¯re all fine right,¡± said Ned cutting across as Rook was about to say something. ¡°If you¡¯re not going to vomit anymore then let¡¯s escape the blast radius or whatever.¡± ¡°Where do you think we¡¯d need to move to?¡± asked Gars slowly standing. ¡°To escape the blast radius that is.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± said Ned shrugging and together they moved out towards the gates, leaving devastation in their wake. ¡°Wait¡­stop,¡± said Clinton pausing his walk as he examined his pistol. ¡°Can people see us with these?¡± Ned too frowned as he realized the sudden problem but then the light went of above his head. ¡°We just put it back in the inventories, we took it out of it right?¡± ¡°Yeah that works,¡± said Gars opening his inventory and fiddling with his flame thrower. ¡°How do we put it in?¡± asked Clinton frowning as he examined the pistol then his inventory interface. ¡°Just shove it in,¡± said Rook and he did just that, he pushed the shotgun into the inventory. Ned however had another idea as he opened his profile interface and he tapped next to the item icons on his body displayed on the profile interface and options came up, amongst it was unequip. He gladly pressed the button and then turned to the others who appear to be contemplating taking of their body armor to shove into the inventory. ¡°Go to the profile window and click unequip,¡± advised Ned. With that soon they were outside the abandoned hospital grounds and a beep resounded in their heads. In front of their eyes words popped up. Mission Completed! Rewards have been sent to the inventory. 75 Rank Points Earned 20 Rank Points Earned from killing the enemies. Ned opened his interface again with that and the stats showed up. As he had expected the rank points had increased. Though the twenty rank points he obtained after the seventy-five rank points for mission reward were surprising.
Name: Edward Matthew Caesar Displayed Name: Thunderbird Status: Progenitor/Alive Class: Sky Razer Rank: Gun Novice (95/150) Skills: Weightless (Active) Cooldown Time: 15 seconds An ability to make the body weightless for a short duration of five seconds. During this period the player¡¯s agility is increased by four points. This is added as a buff. The points return to normal once the skill ends. Buffs: The Firstborn (Permanent) As a player that has received the status of progenitor, the player gets a permanent +1 to all their status points. This increase once your rank upgrades by +1 for each rank upgrade.
Stats: Strength (STR): 12 (+1) Agility (AGI): 16 (+1) Dexterity (DEX): 15 (+1) Intelligence (INT): 14 (+1) Stat Points: 0
Ned turned to the others who like him seemed to sate their curiosity by looking at the profile interface. ¡°How much rank points did you get?¡± asked Ned. ¡°Eighty?¡± answered Gars excitedly. ¡°That makes sense, you only killed one enemy,¡± said Clinton. ¡°I have got a hundred and five rank points.¡± ¡°I have ninety-five rank points as well,¡± said Rook. They made it to Rook¡¯s car and then it happened. In an almighty glorious blaze, the building behind them exploded for all it was worth and they were pushed back onto the ground from the impact. At the impact Clinton¡¯s glasses fell of his face. ¡°Oh god of hell!¡± gasped Gars as he looked at the blazing inferno. ¡°I agree with your notion,¡± said Clinton searching and picking up his glasses. ¡°What in the hell of fucks just happened?¡± asked Rook sitting on his ass just dazed. ¡°The building exploded,¡± answered Ned dumbly. ¡°I know that.¡± Rook gave Ned a withering look. ¡°So, does the whole neighborhood I think,¡± said Gars looking around but there was not a single soul in sight. ¡°Or maybe they¡¯ll know soon enough.¡± ¡°We need to get out of here,¡± decided Ned and he turned to Rook. ¡°Already on it,¡± Rook unlocked his car and opened the driver¡¯s seat. Gars clambered into the back but Clinton was still on his butt looking up at the blazing inferno. Ned ran to Clinton and forcibly picked him up and dragged him to the car. ¡°You can watch the fireworks later Clinton.¡± He pushed the chubby boy into the back seat and slammed the door and he himself clambered into the front seat next to Rook and car took off. Leaving the haze of orange and the sky of grey behind them. ¡°I thought this was a game,¡± said Gars. ¡°Why did the building just explode, we cleared the mission didn¡¯t it.¡± ¡°We cleared the exploding building but that doesn¡¯t stop the building from exploding,¡± answered Clinton. ¡°Yeah full immersion,¡± agreed Ned and looked to Rook. ¡°What do you think¡¯s going to happen to the building and the place now.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t maybe firetrucks will come,¡± said Rook. ¡°If dad ever finds this out I¡¯m screwed.¡± ¡°Your dad just got a free demolition done something half constructed,¡± said Gars. ¡°He should be happy.¡± Rook glared at Gars through the rear vision interior mirror which made him shut up. He turned to Ned who gulped as he caught Rook¡¯s sight. ¡°If you ever find that Hudlow, I will twist him into pretzel,¡± said Rook angrily as he floored the accelerator shooting through the streets. An alarmed Ned clutched the edges of his seat. ¡°I will tell you when I find out where Robbie, but please just slow down.¡± The car slowed slightly but it was still over speeding, driving at seventy kilometers in a fifty-kilometer zone. Finding new ways to fear for his life Ned sat in Rook¡¯s car as it sped in the direction of the arch¡¯s exit. Chapter 1: The Circles and Crosses Chapter 1: The Circles and Crosses ¡°Ah, thwarted again,¡± said the old female teacher dramatically as she lost yet another round of chess with the boy sitting in front of her. Edward ¡®Ned¡¯ Caesar slowly finished of his sandwich as he examined the layout of the board. Mrs. Francine looked admiringly at the boy in front of her and then proceeded to reset the board. ¡°Are you sure Edward that you don¡¯t want to join the chess club?¡± she asked, it was her tenth time asking the same question, nine times prior she had been rejected. ¡°It¡¯s Ned and yes I am sure.¡± ¡°Such potential,¡± said Mrs. Francine sighing. ¡°Another game?¡± ¡°Of course, and I am not the only one with potential,¡± said Ned and he motioned with his head. ¡°Josh, he¡¯s new but he has an astounding game when he¡¯s at a disadvantage, he is focused but he is focused on what he needs to do rather than how he needs to do it.¡± Mrs. Francine quickly noted down the name and Ned nodded to another player a few seats away from him. ¡°Justine, she has a good rhythmic playstyle, when she wins its exceptionally, when she loses its exceptionally as well, if the opponents don¡¯t figure out how she plays then it¡¯s a sure win, if they do then the loss can¡¯t be avoided.¡± Mrs. Francine noted down that name as well as Ned proceeded to reset his pieces. ¡°They¡¯re good Edward but they¡¯re not you, your eye for detail, it¡¯s something else.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Ned,¡± said Ned correcting Mrs. Francine again but she didn¡¯t seem to be paying attention, instead looking at the two prospects that Ned had pointed out. After he reset the board he opened his bag, took out his water bottle and took three large gulps of it. He then turned to face the board and started his thought process when it was suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door. Standing in the doorway was a friendly looking chubby kid with glasses and red hair. ¡°Yes, what can I do for you?¡± asked Mrs. Francine. ¡°We were¡­errr well I was wondering whether there was any workspace in there for a couple of people, just for a couple of minutes,¡± said the boy who Ned knew as Clinton Lockwheeler, a boy with high IQ and a circle. Ned had categorized everybody he saw into either circles or crosses. Circles, were the leaders, they were the ones that would make something with their life, the ones who were popular now. Clinton Lockwheeler was one such boy to Ned. The rest were crosses, the people that were destined to be bottom feeders. Clinton Lockwheeler was the unofficial leader for a squad of people that was debatably the most intelligent in Trade City East Academy. As Ned was thinking Mrs. Francine asked, ¡°Have you tried other rooms?¡± ¡°We have,¡± said Clinton. ¡°The open rooms are full.¡± ¡°There are benches at the back,¡± said Ned. ¡°Come in then,¡± said Mrs. Francine still with a smile. Suddenly a group numbering in seven moved through the door led by Clinton who gave a friendly thankful smile his way, or was it towards Mrs. Francine. A lot of the other chess club members looked up at the group annoyed but they seemed appeased by Clinton¡¯s apologetic smile. Ned moved his eyes back to the board and gave a little smile as a plan straightened out in his head. For the next five minutes the room remained quiet albeit the chatter of the new group that came in. After the five minutes had passed Mrs. Francine sighed again. ¡°You beat me again.¡± ¡°Yes, I did,¡± said Cyrus reaching over and knocking her king over. ¡°Well if you don¡¯t want to join that¡¯s fine,¡± said Mrs. Francine with a sigh. ¡°You can come over for the Monday club communes.¡± ¡°Like I usually do?¡± asked Ned as he reached out and pulled his bag from beneath. ¡°Like you usually do,¡± agreed Mrs. Francine. ¡°Where are you going by the way, there¡¯s still around five minutes left.¡± ¡°There¡¯s not enough time for another game,¡± said Ned. ¡°I need to get to my next class.¡± ¡°Only you would go this early,¡± said Mrs. Francine with a light chuckle. ¡°Usually I¡¯m the only one there on time as well,¡± replied Ned and slung his bag over his shoulders. He walked out of the room and down the verandah and as he did so he opened his phone. On it amongst the notifications was a strange one that was entirely gold in color and it had the words Future World return on it. It had popped ever since he had opened a blank mail from someone who used to be a friend of his. This friend as far as he knew was in a mental health facility for treatment, his condition was delusional disorder. He had been curious and hence opened the email when he had opened the email his phone went blank and then the word ¡®Future World¡¯ appeared in neon blue and once those faded there came the function Install/Decline. He had turned off the app but it remained on his notification tab like a constant annoyance since yesterday and he couldn¡¯t remove it, he had tried turning his phone but once it turned the screen would pop with Future World and then once those faded the Install/Decline words came on again. Annoyed he had abandoned it but the gold notification would always catch his eye. It was at his moment that he finally had the sense and presence of mind to scroll across the screen and the page scrolled down beneath which was words ¡®Terms and Conditions¡¯. Such a scam was his first thought, they put the install button on the top screen but the terms and conditions were hidden beneath. He pressed on the terms and conditions curious about it. His phone went blank and he curiously looked down waiting for the terms and conditions to pop up. *** He had been so focused on his phone that he did not realize he had walked through a blue figure. He suddenly froze¡­a blue figure? He whipped his head around and then bit his own lips to stop himself from screaming at the strange and yet horrifying sight of something floating in mid-air, man sized and blue, it had the figure of a humanoid but that was all the resemblance there was. ¡°Greetings user Thunderbird, my name is Alpha Eye,¡± said the blue figure. ¡°What are you?¡± he asked without thinking. ¡°Excuse me?¡± came a voice from beyond the blue thing and someone walked right through the blue figure like it was not even there. ¡°What do you mean, what am I?¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. There beyond him stood and olive-skinned girl with ebony hair whom he recognized partly because her brother studied in his class. Phoebe Fielding was beautiful but she was a cross to him, her brother on the other hand was a circle. He opened and then closed his mouth and yet no words came out, how unlike him he thought and then looked at the blue figure behind her, the strangest thing in the world was happening in front of him today. ¡°Phoebe!¡± called out a voice from the side, a voice that was hard not to recognize because it was one that always spoke up to volunteer for school activities and other miscellaneous school chores. He saw a tall and well-built boy with brown complexion coming up to them. ¡°Who are you?¡± asked Rookfield Jonathan the moment he saw Ned, despite the fact that they studied in the same class, it actually made more sense for Rookfield to not know Ned, who blended in so perfectly that even the background would be more noticeable. ¡°Ned,¡± answered Ned automatically. ¡°He just asked me what I am?¡± said Phoebe nodding towards Ned shook his head. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean you,¡± said Ned defending himself from this injustice being done to him due to a strange alien blue figure. ¡°Who did you mean then?¡± retorted Phoebe angrily. ¡°Phoebe, please,¡± her brother tried to calm her down. ¡°I didn¡¯t even see you,¡± said Ned and as soon as he said those words he realized his mistake. Rookfield looked towards him and shook his head sadly. He saw the girl¡¯s dangerous smile and smiled back himself weakly. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean that, what I meant was that it wasn¡¯t meant towards you because I didn¡¯t see you when you were coming up,¡± said Ned hurriedly trying to explain himself and then he pointed towards the blue figure when a horrible feeling came over him. He remembered about the boy who used to be his friend, in a mental care facility for delusional disorder and he quickly put down his pointed finger and hand. ¡°I thought I saw something, that was all,¡± said Ned backing as he watched the blue figure follow him. Rookfield nodded at Ned¡¯s explanation and he put a hand around Phoebe and said, ¡°You need to get to your next class.¡± Phoebe seemed in thought for a moment using which Ned escaped. Phoebe stomped angrily as she saw Ned had disappeared and looked towards her brother. ¡°You let him off too easily.¡± ¡°Do you know him?¡± asked Rookfield curiously but Phoebe shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ve seen him around places I think, I don¡¯t know why but he looks familiar,¡± continued Rookfield. ¡°He looked a little sick,¡± said Phoebe after some thought and Rookfield nodded his agreement but then turned and smiled towards his sister. ¡°Time to get to class and time for me to get to it as well.¡± Rookfield turned away and walked to his class whilst his sister did the same. Ned however wasn¡¯t having such a pleasant time. Seeing the blue figure follow him like a haunting ghost he entered the boy¡¯s toilets and into a cubicle. He locked the door behind and turned around and nearly let out a scream again as this time the blue figure was right in front of him. He unconsciously put down the toilet seat and the blue figure and Ned stared at each other for a while. ¡°May I speak?¡± asked the blue figure suddenly shocking Ned out of his stupor. ¡°What are you?¡± asked Ned again. ¡°I am Alpha Eye, the artificial intelligence that runs the MMARFPS called Future World,¡± said the blue thing. ¡°I have been summoned to explain Future World.¡± ¡°Well, please do explain,¡± said Ned. ¡°But before that what MMARFPS?¡± ¡°Mass Multiplayer Augmented Reality First Person Shooter,¡± answered Alpha Eye. ¡°Something akin to MMOFPSs and MMORPGs then I take it,¡± said Ned. ¡°I know the concept behind Augmented Reality which would then also explain your blue figure suddenly appearing.¡± After that Ned frowned, ¡°Wait, but I don¡¯t have a medium that can augment reality, I am seeing this with my eyes.¡± ¡°Yes, I am real to you and others but seen only by the user that summoned me,¡± said Alpha Eye. ¡°Thunderbird, allow me to explain Future World. Future World as I explained is an MMARFPS that is fully immersive in overlaying the current reality, it is like playing a game in reality, one that is akin to as you said MMORPGs and MMOFPSs.¡± ¡°You talk like a human,¡± said Ned raising his doubt. ¡°Are you sure you are an AI?¡± ¡°Of that you can be sure,¡± answered Alpha Eye. ¡°I am however much more advance then anything you will have for the next century or so, maybe even several centuries, I am in thought as human as a human.¡± ¡°Sounds interesting,¡± said Ned. ¡°I am however having doubts that I am having a hallucination.¡± ¡°A reasonable doubt but very few have raised it as calmly as you have, but connecting the incidents of you clicking the terms and agreements on your phone and putting it all forth, the evidence isn¡¯t conclusive, neither is it strong but such a coincidence is highly unlikely is it not.¡± ¡°Yes, it is,¡± said Ned nodding reasonably. ¡°I believe some of what you have said, so please explain what you have appeared to explain.¡± ¡°Well should you choose to install the game as all those who have previously received it have then you will fully enter Future World after the tutorial,¡± said Alpha Eye. ¡°I also sense the progenitor code in your version of the yet to be installed game, this will activated along with your profile, in this game you cannot die, death in-game simply means that your memories are erased to the time prior to which obtained the game and thus you must know the need for secrecy, if the secret of this game is openly revealed, the game management will not do anything to you but you must know that there is more than just one player to the game, if they track you down and kill you, you will lose the game and your memories. The lost memories will be replaced with a seamless copy that has sensible explanation for the events that happened during this time, there might be some aftereffects to it in rare cases, but nothing too serious to worry.¡± ¡°Say I do choose to install this game, what happens then?¡± asked Ned. ¡°To me, I mean any repercussions.¡± ¡°Your physically too will augment to accommodate the new reality you live in. An AR Matrix will assembled and attached to your spine which will augment your body, connect you to the interface and host another wide variety of things which you may ask individually about once you learn of them. ¡°That sounds like a dangerous process, tampering with my spine,¡± said Ned. ¡°It is a hundred percent risk free process,¡± answered Alpha Eye calmly. ¡°Say something happens to the AR Matrix, what happens to me then?¡± asked Ned. ¡°AR Matrix is really hard to damage, not even a high velocity piercing round can penetrate it, so you do not need to worry.¡± ¡°You said you were simple an AI for assistance to players in Future World, right?¡± asked Ned as he pulled up his legs and put them onto the toilet seat sitting cross legged. ¡°Yes, that is my role.¡± ¡°Funny,¡± said Ned chuckling. ¡°You seem more like a circle to me.¡± ¡°A circle?¡± questioned Alpha Eye. ¡°How do I seem like round two-dimensional figure?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± said Ned waving his hands. ¡°I said something random.¡± ¡°Very well, I hope I have answered your questions,¡± said Alpha Eye. ¡°If you do choose to install it please ready yourself for the tutorial mission.¡± Ned nodded and opened the door, he turned around to look at Alpha Eye when he found himself quite alone in the toilets. He looked at the time on his watch, the class had already started. He sighed as he looked at his phone notification. He opened it and once again the family Future World logo popped up and then it moved onto the Install/Decline words. His thumb wavered over decline as he thought about the shadiness of such a game but it was however curiosity that won him over as he pressed Install. The screen turned blank and a progress bar appeared on it after a second or two. Beneath it were the words ¡®Constructing AR Matrix¡¯. He gasped and dropped his phone as a strange sensation was felt on his skin, like thousands of bugs crawling inside him. He looked down at his hands and saw his skin rising and falling at points like things were crawling beneath it. This time he could not hold back and he let out a scream as he collapsed onto his knees. Every inch of his body looked to be bubbling and he felt it all in the form of bugs crawling beneath his skin. He felt some dullness atop his spine as the skin there began expanding, whatever was crawling beneath his skin was converging on that point. The skin around his neck tightened and he clutched his throat as he let out a gasp. ¡°Hurts¡­¡± he whimpered as he could not voice out any words, his neck was being choked somehow by his own skin. The skin on his nape expanded as more bugs gathered at that point and suddenly he felt as if it had exploded, blinding whiteness formed across his eyes as they closed. Chapter 2: The Hunter Chapter 2: The Hunter "Oi¡­¡± someone tapped Ned on the shoulders as he groaned, the pain had subsided, even with his eyes closed, he had felt everything that had happened. At certain point his body had lost all feeling as he lay on the toilet floor like a rag doll. It was frightening and downright embarrassing. Ned groaned again as he slowly flipped onto his back and above him he saw a blonde-haired boy looking down at him. ¡°Oh¡­you¡¯re alive,¡± said the boy, Ned however couldn¡¯t get quite a layover of his face. He blinked twice as his vision came into focus and finally saw the face clearly. Another circle, he thought, today seemed to be his day for running into circles. He had run into three and all three of them studied in the same class as him. He thought of a conspiracy that might be being played behind his back but he dismissed it quickly with a chuckle. ¡°Hey man, you¡¯re fine, right?¡± said Garfield Hurst. ¡°No, not really,¡± said Ned. ¡°Do you need me to take you to the infirmary or something?¡± asked Garfield. ¡°I¡¯m not fine, but I will be, you don¡¯t need to bother,¡± said Ned. ¡°Well¡­¡± said Garfield as he extended his right hand. ¡°Get up off the floor.¡± Ned grabbed the hand and he was lifted, ¡°Thanks,¡± he replied. Garfield nodded and moved over to a urinal to do his deed. Ned leaned against the wall taking in slow deep breathes when he spotted his phone lying on the floor. He knelt to quickly pick it up and then leaned back against the wall. He closed his eyes for a moment as his body for some reason felt exceptionally weak. He looked at his phone and a red battery symbol showed up. ¡°Great,¡± muttered Ned as he pushed the phone into his pockets. He heard the tap turning on as Garfield washed his hands and then he again turned to Ned, ¡°You¡¯re sure you¡¯re alright, right?¡± ¡°Yeah I¡¯m fine.¡± Garfield nodded and was about to walk out the door when he suddenly turned. ¡°Have we ever met somewhere before?¡± Ned chuckled briefly, he had of course been in the same class as Garfield for the last year and the first week of this year, it seemed however he had done too well a job in the role of the observer. He had observed a great deal but never had he made his presence felt. ¡°We go to the same classes,¡± said Ned with a weak smile. Garfield¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°I knew it,¡± he said excitedly, ¡°You¡¯re Edward Caesar aren¡¯t you, you go to the chess club and all.¡± This time it was Ned¡¯s turn to be surprised. ¡°How do you¡­how do you know that?¡± ¡°Oh come on, we go to the same class,¡± Garfield said as he coughed a little. ¡°Is it really that surprising?¡± Garfield seemed to have felt Ned¡¯s disbelief so he decided to gloss over, ¡°You do attend the chess club communes right, you¡¯re a member?¡± ¡°Not a member but yes, I do attend,¡± said Ned and Garfield came rushing over and put a hand around his shoulders. ¡°Great¡­you can introduce me to Justine,¡± said Garfield and Ned¡¯s mind went blank, he had never expected this. ¡°Justine Wilford?¡± asked Ned again to clarify. ¡°Yes,¡± answered Garfield. ¡°She looks so serious and cold, it¡¯s such a turn on.¡± Ned couldn¡¯t believe he was having such a conversation with one of the three circles in his class, what was up with this weird turn of events. ¡°Are you serious?¡± he blurted out. ¡°Oh absolutely,¡± said Garfield as he forced Ned out of the toilets with an arm around his back, weighing down on his backpack. ¡°Just tell me if you need any help with anything at all, but just introduce me yeah.¡± Ned could say nothing else other than, ¡®Yeah¡¯ and Garfield gave a clap on Ned¡¯s back causing him to stumble forward and then leaving behind a cheeky grin the blonde boy ran off. Justine Wilford, he thought of the girl but then quickly erased it from his mind, it was true, she had a certain charm. Perhaps Garfield was a ¡®masochist¡¯, and a smile turned up at that thought. Suddenly in front of him the blue figure appeared again and yet again he walked through it before getting another great shock. He turned around to see the familiar blue figure floating in front of him. ¡°Alpha Eye,¡± said Ned sighing and then he quickly looked around, the area surrounding the toilet exit was completely abandoned, there was not a single soul there save him. ¡°Welcome player Thunderbird to Future World.¡± Suddenly his vision blurred and then it reappeared and in front of him in blue words much akin to the Future World logo was ¡®Welcome¡¯. ¡°Your AR Matrix has been assembled and installed,¡± said Alpha Eye and Ned grimaced. ¡°I noticed.¡± Suddenly in front of him in the same place where Future World was a symbol popped up, a winged cloud with two tails. ¡°Please choose your class,¡± said Alpha Eye, he appeared more emotionless than before noted Ned. Ned not really understanding what to do, tapped down on the winged cloud and his hand felt a jolt like a spark of electricity and it disappeared. ¡°You have chosen the class Sky Razer, one of the more agile classes in Future World, Sky Razers are masters of the skies from which they fire down volleys of shots to obliterate their target,¡± said Alpha Eye. Ned was amused, it seemed just like class selection for MMORPGs but then he suddenly froze. ¡°Wait a second, choice, I could choose the classes, why didn¡¯t I see other choices?¡± ¡°You must scroll to see your choices,¡± said Alpha Eye. ¡°Well I could think of a better time to say that piece of information,¡± said Ned indignantly. ¡°Take me back to the class selection, I want to go through the information.¡± ¡°Unfortunately, that is not possible, you AR Matrix has already begun remodeling to adhere towards your class.¡± At the words ¡®not possible¡¯ Ned felt very irritated but the part after that made him feel uneasy. ¡°Remodeling?¡± he asked and then he felt the first-hand effects as the area around his nape heated up. Ned groaned as he put his hand to that area and sure enough it was heating up. ¡°Please wait, the changes are being processed,¡± said Alpha Eye and it got even hotter, Ned closed his eyes and grit his teeth as the nape of his neck was being burned, he quickly pulled down his hand as it got too hot and then it cooled down at which point Ned gave a sigh of relief.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°Your AR Matrix has been remodeled, Sky Razer has been chosen, you have also received the title ¡®Progenitor¡¯, you may now add other people to the game.¡± ¡°No thanks,¡± Ned said. ¡°The less people know about this game, the better.¡± ¡°That is your choice player.¡± Alpha Eye waved his hand and three screens popped up in front of him. One had a character model surrounded by boxes and information regarding him beneath it.
Name: Edward Matthew Caesar Displayed Name: Thunderbird Status: Progenitor/Alive Class: Sky Razer Rank: Gun Novice (0/150) Health Points: 54/54 Armor: 2/2 Skills: Weightless (Active) Cooldown Time: 15 seconds An ability to make the body weightless for a short duration of five seconds. During this period the player¡¯s agility is increased by four points. This is added as a buff. The points return to normal once the skill ends. Buffs: The Firstborn (Permanent) As a player that has received the status of progenitor, the player gets a permanent +1 to all their status points. This increase once your rank upgrades by +1 for each rank upgrade.
Stats: Strength (STR): 12 (+1) Agility (AGI): 16 (+1) Dexterity (DEX): 15 (+1) Intelligence (INT): 14 (+1) Attribute Points: 0
The second screen seemed self-explanatory to him and there was something in the inventory as well. He clicked on the item ¡®Rusty Iron Pipe¡¯ it said, the most beginner of weapons. He tapped again on it and it suddenly appeared in his hands. Yes indeed, he was holding a rusty iron pipe. ¡°Oh¡­¡± he said as he swung it. ¡°Are you sure this is augmented reality?¡± Alpha Eye answered, ¡°Yes, reality has been augmented, therefore it can be called augmented reality.¡± Ned pushed the iron pipe back into the inventory when Alpha Eye spoke, ¡°I will now explain to you the three interfaces, interface one is your profile interface, it includes all information regarding you as a player, interface two is your inventory interface and it contains all the items and equipment you currently own, interface number three is the shop, it has not yet been opened, you must become a ¡®gun fighter¡¯ to open the shop, do you have any questions.¡± Ned frowned as he thought over all the information he had been given, ¡°Not one that I can think of at present, wait what about health points and armor?¡± ¡°Your health points are the amount of health you have, once it is depleted you die, in game and you AR Matrix will be removed, armor is what the opponent must break to damage you.¡± ¡°Oh, pretty self-explanatory then,¡± said Ned nodding. ¡°Then I shall continue,¡± said Alpha Eye. ¡°I shall hand out your tutorial mission, in tutorial mission you have three lives, if you die three times during tutorial your AR Matrix will be removed and your memories will be erased, once the tutorial ends, you only have one life, dying once equates to having your AR Matrix removed and your memories erased.¡± ¡°Now then your tutorial mission, a warning, other new players will have this same mission, you must race to complete.¡± In front of Ned¡¯s eyes popped up the tutorial mission much like three interfaces, and the mission interfaced covered the other interfaces.
Mission Brief: Your mission is to find and eliminate Rocksplitter. Rocksplitter, a player of Future World will divulge events concerning Future World to concerned authorities ten hours from now. You must find Rocksplitter and eliminate him before this happens. Mission Objective: Find and eliminate Rocksplitter Optional Objective: Find the information on Future World Rocksplitter is going to present to the authorities. Task Rewards: 75 Rank Points, Tutorial Pack, 3 Attribute Points. Failure: Your AR Matrix will be disabled for 24 Hours. Players on Mission: 4
Warning! A hostile player has entered your core space! There was a beep and the accompanying voice came without warning. Shocked he looked at Alpha Eye who didn¡¯t appear to have spoken. He felt something smash across the back of his head and he toppled in pain and shock. A -25 appeared in his vision which he guessed to be his health dropping. His vision swam with colors as he turned to face his assailant. There were tears in his eyes and through the bleary stare he saw an outline. He had enough information to make an educated guess, one that was spot on. ¡°Trent!¡± exclaimed Ned. ¡°I knew he had sent it to you as well,¡± said the boy above, his face twisting into a smirk and the scar on the edge of it twisting horribly like a snake. The boy looked frail like a stick everyone sane would be afraid of him because he was positively psychotic. Ned recoiled in fear clambering back. ¡°Where are you going?¡± leered Trent pushing him down with the head of the iron pipe, his abnormally long arms coiled around the pipe like a snake. ¡°Just let me go,¡± said Ned. ¡°I didn¡¯t even do anything.¡± ¡°Let you go and you find Rocksplitter,¡± said Trent twisting his head to the side. Ned froze over, ¡°You got the same tutorial mission.¡± He looked for Alpha Eye but the AI had all but disappeared and Trent that twisted snake was one of the four players competing to find Rocksplitter. ¡°I¡¯m killing you,¡± said Trent. ¡°Less competition.¡± Ned scrambled back and using the edge of the back racks he stood and then he ran. There was an angry screech from Trent as he heard a loud metallic bang. Ned however didn¡¯t turn back and ran for his life. He was running in no direction, he just wanted to escape from Trent. He heard footsteps behind him closing in. ¡®Why me¡¯ cried Ned in his heart as he shrugged his bag off his shoulders and turned, he saw the long-armed frightening looking boy closing in with the rusty iron pipe raised above his head. Ned whipped the bag around and planted Trent across the chest and he took off running again. He ran straight past the grass fields and into the boys¡¯ changing room. He got in cubicle and locked the door and then tried to slow his breathing down. Then he heard the footsteps again and dragging metal sound. He gulped as he tried to minimize the noise. He lifted his legs and placed it on the toilet seat and the leaned back as far as he could from the door. ¡°Are you in here,¡± came a playful voice and Ned unknowingly gulped and the voice erupted into a laughter. ¡°I can hear you.¡± Ned¡¯s closed his eyes scrunching them tightly and a word appeared in his mind. Suddenly his door to his cubicle was kicked open with such great force the top hinge shot out but Ned jumped up with such precise timing and he latched with both hands onto the top of the cubicle frame and with both legs kicked out. With a thud and a scream Trent was sent flying back, the rusty iron pipe in his hand was flung away and it skittered across the floor. Ned banged against the wall and landed on all floors. Ned didn¡¯t give it much thought, he opened the inventory and pulled out his rusty iron pipe, in one swift moment he whipped it out onto Trent¡¯s head and he saw Trent¡¯s life gauge dropping, it was nearly empty. Trent screamed as he tried to stand up but Ned kicked him back both in fear and agitation and he swung the rusty iron pipe across timing it with Trent¡¯s loud scream and it whacked across Trent¡¯s temple and the screaming stopped, replaced with a deafening silence. Ned stood there holding the rusty iron pipe and gasping as he looked down at what appeared to be a dead body in all aspects. He watched the health gauge drop to empty and a sign displayed over ¡®Dead¡¯ it read accompanied with a skull and crossbones symbol. Ned moved over and gently prodded the body and it didn¡¯t move. He suddenly felt nauseous and chucked the rusty iron pipe back into the inventory and ran out of the changing rooms. He ran onto the grassy fields when he tripped over having caught his legs on something. He fell face first on the grassy fields and quickly scrambled around to get a look and once again he saw Trent, this time however there was no humor on his face, only fury. ¡°What!?¡± Ned exclaimed. ¡°Why¡­why aren¡¯t you¡­¡± ¡°Idiot, did you forget about the tutorial rule?¡± asked Trent with furious smile. ¡°You¡¯d have to kill someone in tutorial mode three times,¡± said Ned as he thought back to what Alpha Eye said and he bit his lip as he looked Trent who balled up his fist. ¡°You¡¯re going to pay for killing me asshole,¡± said Trent and kicked Ned in the gut and a -5 appeared in his vision, he saw the depletion of his health gauge. ¡°I forgot that we had three lives, scaring the shit out of me¡­fucking piece of shit.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you and then stand guard over your body and then kill you again until it¡¯s three times and maybe I¡¯ll kill you again, to get rid of you permanently.¡± Saying that Trent kicked again and another -5 appeared in his vision. Then he went to pick up the rusty iron pipe tangled between Ned¡¯s legs. In fright Ned kicked out and his kick landed right on Trent¡¯s chest who stumbled back. ¡°Little¨C.¡± But Trent was stopped by Ned full on tackling him, there was a clear look in Ned¡¯s eyes as his survival instincts kicked in and they struggled on the grass. ¡°Let go,¡± growled Trent trying to push Ned away but Ned clawed on like cat trying to find any inch of Trent he could do anything hurtful it. He bit Trent in the arm and its reply was a furious screech and a backhand across Ned¡¯s face and he watched life gauge drop by another three. He had less than a third of his health now but he struggled furiously and he saw Trent¡¯s life gauge dropping. Ned somehow came around Trent and finally had him in a chokehold. The nails on Trent¡¯s spindly arms raked across his thighs but Ned realized with somewhat joy that he was in terms of pure strength stronger than Trent and tightened his grip around Trent¡¯s neck. ¡°You fucker¡­!¡± gasped out Trent. ¡°I¡¯ll murder you¡­I¡¯ll¡­do¡­in your entire fam¡­¡± Trent¡¯s life gauge could barely be seen, as it dropped further and finally Trent stopped struggling in the chokehold. He couldn¡¯t believe it, he had killed Trent a second time. Ned kicked Trent off and he looked down at the lifeless boy and felt no pity in his actions. He turned to run away again when he spotted Trent¡¯s rusty iron pipe. He quickly put the pipe into his own inventory, depriving Trent off his weapon. He wouldn¡¯t kill Trent again as soon as he woke up, he couldn¡¯t take his chances and so he ran the other way this time past the changing rooms. From a distance he turned and saw Trent wake up and then there was a loud roar but Ned was already far away.