Capítulo 1: Prologue
RING! RING!! RING!!!
The bell rung by exactly 7:45 am signaling that it was time for Assembly, all the students in the confines of Kreiss Legacy Highschool made their way out into the hall. Remi and her best friend, Marilyn took charge of the occasion, getting every student into their respective positions according to class.
I for one, lazily took my stance on the line for SS3 boys at the far end since we were lined up according to height and I was typically 5 foot and 7 inches, pretty tall if you ask me. We clapped our hands and moved our body to the rhythm of the praise song Remi and Marilyn had coughed up to start the Assembly.
I disinterestedly clapped but remained mute. I wasn't typically proud of my singing voice so I simply clapped my hands and stared ahead with drooping eyelids.
After a couple of minutes where we sang praise and worship songs we moved on to the national and school anthem. Our school was Christian-based by the way.
"...Legacy School, Legacy School....", I stopped listening halfway, barely mouthing off the words of the school anthem whilst lost in my own thoughts.
Ugh...can't a missile drop on this place or something...
I exclaimed loudly in my head seemingly wanting this all to just end abruptly but sadly no missile came.
We finished the School Anthem and awaited a teacher to address but that's when I realized that there were no teachers in sight. I glanced around, hmm...maybe they're having a meeting...
I thought as I listened to the mindless yap around me. My classmates chattered about several things which I barely had interest in, ranging from the most popular music to who had learnt the latest dance. To be frank it was all gossip and small talk.
"Sigh...teenagers nowadays all ways scampering around for cheap dopamine."
I muttered to myself like an old man, earning me a strange look from the girl standing next to me. Of course, she didn't hear what I said but she knew I was talking to myself, a habit my classmates had come to be aware off but never gotten used to.
I narrowed my eyes and looked away, Hehehe...this is why you don't have a girlfriend.
My cruel inner voice sneered as I cringed at myself.
Tsk...
Another infuriating issue that has begun to make me stick out like a sore thumb. I glanced around and saw some, no... all the girls and boys in my class clinging to each other. I let out a low self-depreciating laugh as I recalled what had led me to this demeaning fate.
Typically, I have stayed in this school for three years, am in my third year and I don't have a girlfriend.
Now, this isn't supposed to be surprising if all you do in your life is lay on your couch and watch TV, scroll aimlessly on social media, watch porn and fap like a dog all day. Yeah of course if you do this shit, you're already an eternal virgin but for me who has a very different life my situation is very complicated.
Too...complicated...
In fact, it all had happened when people discovered that am actually the...wait, you know what let's not go there.
I sighed to myself as I awaited a teacher's arrival. I couldn't help but glance at the couples around me.
Hehehe...single bastard..., my cruel inner voice remarked again causing a temple to grow on my head.
After what seemed to be like an eternity, someone arrived and not just anyone, the manager of our school himself. A man whose very name is enough to strike fear in the hearts of the students and even teachers alike. The moment he appeared the hall grew silent and everyone straightened up, even the couples.
He gazed at the whole hall, staring at no one in particular yet everyone could feel his piercing gaze fixated on them even those not in his line of sight. He gave off that final boss like aura, I couldn't help but marvel at the influence the man had.
A few minutes of silence followed and then he said, "All classes except SS3 you are dismissed."
Everyone froze for a moment before immediately dispersing, everyone except SS3 of course. It took a couple of minutes before we were the only class left in the hall then after that he beckoned us to follow him.
I could hear some of my classmates whispering amongst themselves if they had done anything wrong. As they panicked, I ran countless scenarios in my mind, recalling past events to try and decipher the reason for this sudden request but I found nothing. We hadn't done anything wrong besides this was the first day of resumption and all 27 of my classmates were in line meaning we all past our previous exam.
So why were we called...?
I decided to simply watch and observe for now. We followed him downstairs; I glanced at the headmistress who was following us behind she was chatting lightly with the girls at the back. They seemed to be inquiring about the situation but she was remaining mute.
I sighed as I followed the group and finally, we arrived at the lowest floor of the building. I raised my head to glance forward and sighted two foreigners who were smilingly brightly at us well one at least, the other was wearing a face mask but I could see the contortions under her eyes.
Duchene Smile...
Some of my classmates had faces of surprise and confusion while mine was neutral. I glanced at their clothes.
H-20 Software Corporation...?
My eyes widened in surprise, then I smirked before returning back to my neutral expression. I turned to look at the Director who had a somewhat conflicted expression on his face.
"Hello everyone!", one of the foreigners said with a bright expression.
He was a young and charming man who seemed to be in his early twenties, he had a faux hawk haircut and attractive features with a slightly muscular build which was nearly 7 foot tall. He looked American.
My face contorted to one of annoyance, damn pretty boy!
The other foreigner was...damn a total beauty. She was an Asian with slightly above average height, perfectly clear skin, an attractive face and impressive curves and proportions. My male classmates were literally drooling over her like she was a goddess. I too found her delectable.
What? Did you think am one of those anime edgelords?
The silence was cut short when the man called out to us, "Hello everyone, my name is Daniel Ricardo. The lead advertiser of a video game company called H-20 Software Corporation."
He paused giving us time to digest what he said but...alas, all the boys even the girls were too glued to the other lady. She wore a facemask and had neatly-braided hair, feeling our gazes, she began to fondle with it. I knew instantly that she was uncomfortable but sadly, the rest of the class didn't get the message.
The Director's eyes turned fierce, he instantly called out to one of the boys who was legit drooling.
"GIANT!", he yelled sarcastically causing the poor boy to lose his composure and stumble to the ground.
This action earned him a few chuckles from the rest of the class, even his girlfriend was embarrassed.
Damn...that's -1,000,000 aura for you, Lil David..., I said as I kept my neutral expression.
The man smiled wryly before he continued, "Ok, so everyone, do you love games?"
He asked. His question answered my question as I smiled slightly, slowly figuring out where this was going.
"Yes!", the boys answered in unison.
"Good. What if I told you that you could be the first ones to play one of the best games in the world for free?", he said with excitement.
I narrowed my eyes when I heard 'for free'.
Quite the advertiser, huh...
His enthusiasm infected everyone even the girls, his alluring smile charming them. All the boys began grinning from ear to ear but I could tell, there was more to what met the eye.
He led us to a large double-decker bus parked outside the school. It was long and wide, had red and blue colors and the unmistakable watermark of H20 Software Corporation.
Not bad...
As I admired the grand view of the bus, something occurred on my peripheral vision.
I momentarily caught wind of a troubled micro expression flashing on our headmistress's face. At that moment, I had already connected the dots.
I see... so we're guinea pigs...
Everyone was brimming with excitement chatting amongst themselves, friends and lovers sat by themselves both at the top and the bottom. I sat at the top, relishing in the feeling of sitting on the top area of a double decker bus for the first time in my life despite having just figured out that we were basically guinea pigs for a strange experiment about video games.
"Kids, make yourself comfortable. There are snacks on the rear of every chair on the bus.", Daniel said in a cheery tone through a loudspeaker as he hit the gas.
His voice made the girls and even a few guys, swoon. I gritted my teeth; I hope all pretty boys like you die!
I glanced at the fruit bar, tucked neatly behind the chair before me.
I picked it up, took it out of its wrapping carefully and stuffed it in my mouth before I let out a sigh as I rested back on the chair.
I closed my eyelids and took a quick nap before we got to our destination.
.....
A voice from the loudspeaker woke me up from my slumber, forcing me to blink twice.
Did I fall asleep?
"Everyone up! We've arrived at our destination.", Daniel's voice resounded. I stood up and walked away from my chair but not before taking one last look at the fruit bar's wrapping.
An anesthetic?
"Nah...am probably just overthinking this...", I said to myself as I turned to walk away, noticing one of my classmates giving me a weird but sleepy look. I narrowed my eyes as my lips turned into a thin line.
We were escorted out of the bus and into a large facility. I took note of all prominent landmarks, and kept a mental map of them. We reached a notably small building and after opening the door to it, they beckoned us to come inside.
When we entered, we were dumbfounded, the building was actually a false lead; the real deal was an even larger room underground. The underground room was separated from this room by a large glass floor. Daniel observed our awed faces and said, "Amazing right? Don't worry there's much more waiting for you."
His voice sounded slightly menacing but my classmates, lost in their fantasies, couldn't catch wind of it.
Not like they could even level-headed.
He took us down the stairs leading to the underground chamber.
The room was about 50x50 in size, brightly-lit, plated with white tiles and had 30 gaming chairs at the center. The chairs seemed to be made out of silk fabric, they had armrests and were fixated to the ground.
We all noticed one other fascinating thing, above each chair was a pair of VR googles being held by mechanical appendages.
"Wow...", I heard one of my classmates utter in awe. I couldn't blame her; this was a rather breath-taking scene.
Daniel grinned, "Are you all ready to experience the thrill of the greatest game of all time?!"
"YES~!", we yelled in unison, including me.
"Then take your seats!"
The moment he said that everyone scrambled for a chair. I took the last one without much issue, we were 27 after all. At that moment I realized several blurred windows at the upper areas of the wall, the windows were translucent allowing me to notice the several people watching us from beyond the glass.
I noticed the white coats each of them wore, Researchers...! We really are guinea pigs!
I wanted to get off my seat but I couldn't move, it was like my energy had been sapped. I turned upwards in horror and saw the VR googles slowly setting into our heads. I couldn't struggle but I was able to glimpse a sinister expression on the eyes of the Asian woman.
She had narrowed eyes and a strange darkness residing beneath her eyes, her expression was gravely chilling and worst of all, she was staring right at me.
Yet I didn't crumple.
My face turned dark as I glared at her.
Once I get out of this game, you'll be the first one I kill!
Meanwhile unbeknownst to him, the VR googles that they had all just worn weren't the least bit normal. In fact, they couldn't be taken off through manual means. Only a special command from the command module of the machine could set them free but that wasn't even the most horrifying thing about it.
In this game, fiction became reality.
Meaning that...
Death in the game...meant death in real life.
Estado de energía semanal
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