《Scan Complete》 Scan Complete A huge piece of debris was falling down. Then two more came after, followed by a shower of meteorites crashing into the horizon. It was a spectacle for the eyes. Nobody knew what was happening and some people were afraid of the sight they were witnessing, while others were taking out their phones to start recording the event. It was happening all around the globe but the news were not reporting casualties. Instead they were stating that the boulders were slowly getting to the surface of the earth and planting themselves deep in the ground only their huge peaks sticking out of the earth. Every city, country and continent were reporting the same unusual event. The Internet was raging with questions ''''Aliens! Finally!'''' ''''This is the end!! Apocalypse is here!!! REPENT SINNERS!'''' ''''I knew the government was hiding it from us'''' These kind of comments were left around all major forums, everybody was trying to understand what was happening since the videos that were uploaded from places that were very close to the meteorites were showing that the structures were not really ordinary. After the huge objects planted themselves in the ground the remaining visible structure was actually a tower. In fact it towered over any man made sky-scrapper. The surface was hot when it first landed but now since it was starting to cool off everybody could see that they had a very smooth marble like surface with deep lines that were covering them from the bottom to the top.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Everything stopped. No human was even breathing as a screeching metallic sound started to spread from tower to tower. A thin white light started to glow from every tower engulfing each person. It was happening everywhere. In a matter of moments, the whole surface of the planet was lighted up and then the light turned off. Someone started to ask ''''What was tha¡­'''' The person was not able to finish his question as their ears heard a commanding voice coming from everywhere '''' SCAN COMPLETE. NUMBER OF INTELIGENT SPECIES: 1 NUMBER OF CONTINENTS: 7 NUMBER OF NATIONS: 195 NUMBER OF MAJOR SETTLEMENTS: OVER 10.000 ACROSS THE PLANET NUMBER OF MEMBERS: 8,194,935, 756 AND STEADILY GROWING. PHASE 1 COMPLETE. '''' After the voice stopped the light came up again, but this time it was only covering the humans. Each person all around the globe was covered for 5 seconds with the light from earlier then it stopped again. '''' SCAN COMPLETE PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATION NOT APT FOR SISTEM: 20% PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATION TOO YOUNG FOR THE SISTEM: 25% PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATION APT FOR SISTEM: 55% NUMBER OF HUMANS NEEDED FOR SISTEM START UP: 10.000 PHASE 2 COMPLETE. '''' '''' STARTING PHASE 3 TRAINING. '''' Memories The mountain was eerily quiet. Last night''s fog could still be seen in small parts of the rugged terrain, while the vegetation was still covered in morning dew. The woody scent of pinewood was so intense in the air that you could taste it. A slender figure was going down a dirty mountain path, while a black hoody is covering his head. His body seemed weighed down, his back bent as he was staring at the ground. "Eva¡­'''' He mumbled as he slowly took another step forward. The wind was chilly, but his body was not reacting. Lost in thought he continued to speak. "Another day¡­"He stopped for a moment, taking his hoody off his head and stared at the sky. As the gray clouds were filling his vision, it seemed as he was looking for something. An empty rugged smile started to fill his face. "I''m sorry¡­ Look, I am smiling for you" His voice weak was carrying with it a sense of longing as a tear left his right eye. "The shrink is really trying you know? I asked him to give me some pills, but he refused saying that in my current state I will only abuse them". He wiped his face with his left hand. "After two years the only good advice he gave me was to keep walking down this fucking mountain". As the words left his mouth, his head looked back on the road and continued to walk. "He said that I need to let myself actually feel my emotions, and stop running away from them. That''s odd you know, as for the last two years I''ve done nothing else besides feeling them!" A pebble struck forcefully by his left leg flew into a fallen rotten tree. "I miss your smile you know. I dream about it every night." As the image filled his mind, a smile flashed on his face. The country road opened itself into a large hillside highway. With the change of scenery, the girl''s image started to fade out of his thoughts. On the side of the road, near him a small rocky cross was embedded in the ground. From his hoodie pocket he took out a flower. It had tiny bright blue petals and a white center. He slowly bent down towards the cross and placed it on a patch of grass in front of it. "I read that this is called Forget-me-not¡­and I will not Eva¡­See you tomorrow" After saying these words he got up, and continued to walk. Right when he was about to get his phone out of his back pocket, a scream filled his ears "HELP ME! Please somebody help me!" Startled, he turned around only to see a young boy running towards him. As the boy continued to get closer he was able to notice that his clothes were tattered and covered in soot. His left shoe was missing and tears were crashing down his face. "Please mister help me!" The boy finally reached him. Confused he started saying. "Hey hey, what''s going on? What happened to you!" "My parents please, my parents are going to die!" The despair in his voice was enormous. Trying to calm the boy down, he kneeled and slowly asked him. "I''m going to help you, but first you need to relax. What''s your name?" "I''m Clay¡­" Said the boy trying to ease up his breathing. "Hi Clay. My name is Darin. What happened?" "My Parents! They are still inside the house! Everything is on fire! My little brother is there too, they went back inside to get him out of there!" Darin was speechless. There was nothing he could say that would make the situation better. He quickly got his phone out of his pocket and panicked, dialed 911 but no sound was coming back. "Fuck! No signal." Once the words left his mouth he cast a glance at the boy who was shivering in place. "Let''s go, I should get some signal down the highway". "There''s no time! They are going to die!" Darin looked at him panicked, not being able to utter a single word. A sense of hopelessness started to fill his thoughts, and fear took root inside his mind. "Fuck! What the hell am I supposed to do? I cannot help this kid!" "Look Clay, we need to get a hold of the police, or the firemen we cannot do anything right now." As the words left his mouth, the boys eyes started to water. He looked back at Darin, and with a look of disdain, turned around and ran back towards the place he came from. "KID! STOP!" Yelled Darin, but the boy did not reply, he continued to run. "He''s gonna get himself dead! I need to get a hold of the police!" He thought starting to run down the highway, but right then a serene smile flashed in his mind stopping him in place. It was her smile accompanied by a deep sense of regret.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. "Fuck fuck fuck! No I am not, not gonna do it again!" He screamed. "CLAY! Wait for me!" he turned around and started running after the boy while at the same time trying to call the police. After a couple of minutes he caught up with the boy. Darin lungs could not keep up much more as the uphill climb was so hard, but looking at the child who would just not stop, made him continue. Soon after the smell of burned wood was enough to make your eyes water. "It''s just around the corner! Hurry up!" Yelled Clay. As the road took a left Darin was struck in place. A huge house was on fire, alongside the trees near it. "PLEASE! Help me get them out!" As the boy was pleading for help, Darin body was shriveling and fear filled his mind once again, but this time something else overcame it and calmed him down. He looked at the boy, and took off his hoodie, remaining in his T-shirt. He took his phone and put it in Clay''s hand. "Look at me! I''m going to help, but you need to keep trying to reach the police. Keep on calling them you hear me?!" Yelled Darin. "Okay, I will do it!" Darin turned around looking at the house and ripped the bottom side of his T-shirt while wrapping it on top of his mouth and nose. As he slowly approached the burning mess another thought emerged. "It should have been me Eva, not you!" He reached the front door, while the heat of the fire was raging on. With his left leg lifted in the air, he heavily kicked it down letting him see inside the house. The whole ground floor was burned down to a crisp, but Darin could not see anyone. As he quickly scanned around, he saw the stairs leading to the first floor, where a woman voice could be heard. "HELP!!! PLEASE SOMEBODY HELP!" As the voice reached his ears, he made his way towards the stairs, but right then he made the mistake to touch the railing. "FUCK!" it burned his right hand skin off, but he did not dare to stop knowing that there are people trapped above. Slowly he started to climb the stairs, looking for the source of the screams. Reaching the top he saw a room to his right, and started to run towards it. Right as he was in front of it, a chilling scene unraveled. A man was lying down on the right side of the room dead, as a burning wooden beam was on top of him. A couple of steps away from him, a woman was holding a blanket in her arms, clutching it closely to her chest. "HEEEY! I''M HERE, WE NEED TO GET OUT IF THIS PLACE!" Yelled Darin, but there was no answer coming back. The fire was getting stronger and there was no time. The ripped cloth over his face was not doing its job anymore, and thick smoke was making his way into his lungs making him loose his strength. In the heat of the moment a clever thought came to his mind. He laid down on the floor, since the some and fire were rising towards the ceiling, and started to crawl toward the woman. In a couple of moments he was able to reach her. Her whole upper body was blackened and smoke coming out of her skin leaving only her head intact. It was clear that she endured an amazing amount of pain before he got here. "Lady can you hear me? Let''s get out!" Said Darin as he got closer to her eyes trying to get a reaction out of her. Unbelievably the woman eyes stared back at him, but there was no strength behind them. The she shifted her gaze towards the blanket in her arms, Darin doing the same. Hidden inside, It was a 2 year old boy. Darin looked back at the woman, noticing the plea inside her eyes. "I understand¡­Please forgive me¡­" After saying those words, he took the blanket with the boy from the woman''s hand. Once it was in his arms, the woman stared at him and with a faint smile said: "T-thank y-you¡­" As the words left her mouth, she finally fell to the floor, dead. With compassion in his eyes, he checked the child inside the blanket. The child was ok. Summoning all his strength, daring started crawling back to the door, getting out of the room. Suddenly, behind him in the room the ceiling came crashing down on the parent''s bodies. He quickly risen up to check his surroundings. The thick smoke was starting to take its toll on his body clouding his mind, the chaotic inferno letting him feel little hope for escape. He glanced back at the stairs he had climbed, now completely consumed by flames. To his left and right, everything burned fiercely. From his vantage point at the top of the stairs, he could see the ground floor below. The only path to safety was to somehow reach it and make a run for the front door. Time was running out, and panic began to take hold. He closed his eyes for a moment, the weight of fear pressing down on him. ¡°What am I doing? I¡¯ll never make it out of here. I¡¯m going to die and take this child with me¡­¡±As the thought were raining down on his morale, her smile appeared again. Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked down at the kid in his arms. The boy was staring back at him, his face filled with fear. Darin knew what he had to do. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, little one. Did you ever fly?¡± ¡°Fly?¡± the boy asked, his voice trembling. ¡°Yes. We¡¯re going to jump and fly for a few seconds. All you have to do is close your eyes, and I¡¯ll show you.¡± The boy buried his face into the blanket, clutching it tightly. Darin wrapped the child securely and held him close to his chest. Determination surging through him, he started running toward the fiery staircase and leaped into the air. For a brief moment, time seemed to slow. Turning his body mid-air, he positioned himself so his back would take the brunt of the impact. The crash onto the ground floor was excruciating. Four ribs broke instantly, and pain exploded through his body. He laid there motionless, every breath a struggle as he drifted in and out of consciousness. The anguish was overwhelming, and he closed his eyes, trying to block it out. But the pain wouldn¡¯t let him escape. In the haze, her face appeared again¡ªher radiant smile that always brought him happiness. He remembered how she had always believed in him, always pushed him to be better. His eyes opened. "No more! I will not let it happen again!" With sheer willpower, he hugged the blanket tightly. Slowly, painfully, he rose to his feet. The door was blocked by fire and debris, but to the left of it, he spotted a window. ¡°One more time,¡± he whispered to himself. Wrapping the child securely once more, Darin summoned all his remaining strength and once again he started sprinting towards his target. In a split second, he hurled himself through the glass, shattering it as he crashed onto the ground outside. Smoke billowed around him as he lay on the grass, barely conscious. Clay ran up to him, relief washing over his face. The child in the blanket wriggled free and dashed toward his brother, their cries of joy piercing through the chaos. Darin Lay still, his body broken and lungs filled with smoke. For the first time in two years, he felt peace. He had saved them. He closed his eyes, her sweet face filling his mind as darkness crept in. ¡°I did it¡­¡± he thought, a faint smile forming on his lips as he succumbed to the inevitable. But then, as his vision faded, a soft, radiant light surrounded him. The air shimmered, and suddenly, a deep, commanding voice echoed from nowhere: ''''SCAN COMPLETE. NUMBER OF INTELIGENT SPECIES: 1 NUMBER OF CONTINENTS: 7 NUMBER OF NATIONS: 195 NUMBER OF MAJOR SETTLEMENTS: OVER 10.000 ACROSS THE PLANET NUMBER OF MEMBERS: 8,194,935,756 AND STEADILY GROWING. PHASE 1 COMPLETE.'''' The voice echoed with an almost mechanical precision. As it faded, the light reappeared, this time enveloping their bodies in a soft glow. It lasted only a few seconds before dissipating. The voice spoke again. ''''SCAN COMPLETE PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATION NOT APT FOR SISTEM: 20% PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATION TOO YOUNG FOR THE SISTEM: 25% PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATION APT FOR SISTEM: 55% NUMBER OF HUMANS NEEDED FOR SISTEM START UP: 10.000 PHASE 2 COMPLETE.'''' A brief pause followed, then came the final announcement. ''''STARTING PHASE 3 TRAINING.'''' The two boys clung to one another, the older brother holding the younger tightly as the younger was crying. The older boy cast a glance toward the spot where Darin¡¯s body had been, but it was gone. It disappeared. Start I can see the casket. She is right there, in front of me, but her smile is nowhere to be seen. Instead of it, a stiff, wax like expression took its place. I look at her and cannot believe it. Just yesterday she was urging me to learn a bit more for the class finals, but I was just excusing myself telling her that I still have time. Well, one of us at least has some more time¡­ I touch her cheeks with the back of my hand, caressing her face but I cannot sense any warmth back. As I look at her, I remember the good moments, the bad moments, the time we spent together, trying to search the smallest glimpse of sadness, but my body would not react. Did I loved her? Did I really cared about her? How can I stay here and look at her and not feel just a little bit of anything? As I am lost in my thoughts her mother comes over and looks at me. Her red eyes could not shed another tear. In the background I can see her father, with a black pair of glasses receiving people into the room. Her mother takes my hand and says something to me, but I cannot hear it. As my vision blackens, the whole scene starts to drift away from me, and dissolves into nothingness. I look to try to see something, but there''s only darkness everywhere around me. I try to move my arms to get a hold of something but there is nothing there. "So this is death¡­I imagined it a little bit more lively. No Paradise for me I guess, which I would expect, but this place does not look like Hell either'''' said Darin hoping that someone would be replying to him, but there was nothing. He spent some time thinking. Thinking about his life, about how it unfolded, about his last moments alive and the two boys, but not surprising at all, he thought about Eva. Right then, a sudden high-pitched ringing pierced the ghostly silence, sharp and relentless, like the static of on old TV lost on dead channel. Just a second later, it stopped like it was never there. After a couple of moments, a large booming voice filled the void: ''''STARTING PHASE 3 - TRAINING.'''' Darin was stunned. As if in a dream, the darkness started to fill up with colours. With each blink of its eyes, the background was covered with light, until he could see his surroundings. He was sitting on a hill, with the earth beneath him and the sky stretching endlessly above. Everywhere you would look, were just long valleys filled with green grass and between them small hills that would stretch endlessly. No one was around beside him. As everything unfolded in front of his eyes he was stunned at the reality around him. Slowly but surely looking around, afraid to touch even the grass beneath him, he rose up from his spot. He was wearing the same clothes as in the day he met the young boy. A pair of grey sweat pants and a ripped white T-shirt with a pair of running shoes. As he got up he remembered effortlessly he remembered the fall from the stairs. ''''No pain? I''m healed?" mumbled Darin as he slowly patted his left ribs. His body was really healed up, not even a bruise visible. After a couple of moment he started stretching a little bit. ''''Wow, it''s not just that I am healed, but I feel better than ever before! But¡­Where I am?" At that moment something started to materialise itself in front of his eye, a transparent window showing a message. He lunged back scared out of his mind as he did not understand what was happening to him. As he was trying to get a hold of himself, the curious thing about the window was that wherever he was looking at, it was following him, always remaining at around 50-60 centimetres away from his face showing the same message. "What is THIS!" Darin shouted. He blinked a few times, and in the heat of the moment he noticed that if he closed his eyes, the window would disappear. As he understood what he needs to do, he closed his eyes completely. "What is going on? I get it, I get it. This is a dream! I am still in front of the burning house, and I am in a coma!" Thought Darin. Slowly he opened his closed eye just to see if the window was still there, and of course it was waiting for him . He stretched his left arm towards the window. ''''Shoo" said Darin as if he was trying to make an insect go away, but his hand got through the transparent window. It was not solid but in fact you could say that it was an illusion. After a couple of moment, a little bit embarrassed of his reaction, Darin straightened himself up and while looking directly in from of him he touched it again. There was no sensation meeting his hand, only the empty space. He touched his chest, and his heart was racing, the only thought going through his mind was that he is crazy. In the end, he slowly started to breath in and out calming himself down, as he looked at the text. "Guide You arrived in the Training Area of the New Player Section of the Tutorial. Before continuing you need to understand the system. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. To continue, please make the window disappear and re-appear. Tip* In order to close this window and make it appear again you need to think about doing it with clear intent." It was a simple description, straight to the point. Darin read the whole thing once more, just to make sure he understood what it wanted from him. "Cool. A quest. Now I am 100% sure this is a dream." Said Darin as he started to walk from left to right agitated. "Eva was right, too much time spent in online games will take its toll on my mind, like how I AM NOW SEEING FLOATING WINDOWS" Yelled , as he was trying to make sense of what was going on. "Oh well, there''s nothing else to do here so let''s see". Mumbled Darin, in his hyperactive mental state. He started squinting his eyes at the window, like he was trying to shoot Lazer beams out of them, but the window was still there, floating. "It does not WORK! Already a freaking BUG. The developers must not be paid good enough it seems" said Darin as he got frustrated. Right then he took a deep breath and read the text once again. "Think about doing it with clear intent¡­" Right as he was thinking about that, the window disappeared. "Wow! It worked. Now let''s try to make it appear once again. Do I really want to do that? I mean, it might be dangerous, or maybe these are the early signs of schizophrenia?" As he said that his impulses made him look for his phone, maybe there was something he can search on the internet. "What the fuck? Where is my phone? Where is my smart- watch?" Yelled Darin trying to check his pockets and wrist. "So funny guys! What is this a new reality show? Make the depressed guy freak out of his mind. Give me my phone back!"He was trying to make someone, anyone, answer him. A cool wind breeze passed him by with no answer to give. He sighed deeply and started to look around. For miles there was nothing to see, only valleys and hills. To his back, a single tree was accompanying him on the top of the hill he was staying on. He took a quick look behind it, maybe there was someone or something that would help him out, but nothing. He was all alone here. After a couple of moments he closed his hand and said "Ok screw this. WINDOW appear! Window Materialise! Quest! Guide! God dammit, Appear Now!" Right then, as the frustration hit its upper limits and the anger could be felt through the air, the transparent window reappeared. "Guide First Task Completed Congratulations Darin! There is no reward beside the feeling of accomplishment for now." Darin got scared a little as he was not expecting the window to materialise out of thin air, but then he read the text and got annoyed. "So you got a sense of humour right?" As he got ready to punch the air again, the text started to fade away and be replaced with something new. He squinted his eyes until the text was readable. "Guide Second Task Now that you understand how to make System Windows Appear and disappear it''s time to check your Stats. You just need to think about the word with intent, as you did with the previous window and the goal of this task will be achieved. Goal - Open and read your Stats description. Reward - Inventory Unlocked." "Now this is starting to become problematic. First it was the window, not it asks me to open my Stats Panel¡­This is straight out of games¡­ Did I also hit my head when I fell down the stairs?" Darin questioned himself. "Well, here goes nothing¡­" Thinking about the word, trying to do it as the last time he said it "Stat Window ". A New Window Pop ed up, different from the one earlier. "Player Information" Name - Darin Windrow Level - 0 Class - N/A Health - 20 HP -Physical Statistics- Strength - 3 Constitution - 3 Dexterity - 3 -Mental Statistics- Intelligence - 2 Wisdom - 1 Charisma - 0 "What the¡­ This is a Game! It''s got stats and levels and everything related to RPGs." right then his face started to show a hint of frustration. "Ok, I get the level, but the numbers are not correct! Intelligence 2? Wisdom 1? Freaking Charisma 0??? Hey hey hey, I know how to speak with people!" Right then some embarrassing memories filled his mind and he stopped himself. Annoyed he read the text of the first window once again. "Check my stats description?" As he said that he looked back to his "Player Attributes" area at the statistics. There was nothing there beside the words and numbers, but when he concentrated on the first word, Strength, something else appeared. "Description" "Strength - measuring physical power and carrying capacity " "Constitution - measuring endurance, stamina and healthiness" "Dexterity - measuring agility, balance, coordination and reflexes" "Intelligence - measuring deductive reasoning, critical thinking, cognition, knowledge, memory, logic and rationality" "Wisdom - measuring intuition, self-awareness, common sense, restraint, perception and insight" "Charisma - measuring force of personality, persuasiveness, leadership and successful planning" The first window appeared in front of the Stat Window suddenly. "Guide Second Task Completed! Congratulations! Reward - Inventory Tab Unlocked." "Ok, Ok I get it now, the next quest is to open my inventory" Said Darin. As he was trying to read a little bit more of the description of his stats the Guide started to change its text as earlier. "Guide Final Task You got a hint of your new system and how everything works. It''s time for your final task. Goal - Open your Inventory Tab. Reward - Wood Stick" As he was reading the text, the word Reward got his attention "A Wood stick? What''s next kill slimes? So many JRPGs references". Even though he complained he slowly said "Inventory". "Inventory" The window was empty as he was expecting it to be, but right above it something else pop ed up. It was a semi-transparent figure. The silhouette was featureless, resembling a 2D human shape. Overlaid on it were various slots for equipment out of which three were filled, the rest of them empty waiting to be filled. "Equipment" Sweat Pants Damaged T-shirt Running Shoes. It showed exactly what he was wearing right now. Even though he got himself accustomed with the whole idea behind the window, he was still awed about everything that unfolded in front of his eyes. "Guide Final Task Completed! Congratulations! Reward - Wood Stick" Tip* - Equip your new weapon to continue"