บท 27: 27. DO YOU WISH TO ENTER THE GAME?
Vikram looked at the notification and thought for a moment.
"If the notification appeared this randomly," Vikram muttered to himself, "it might mean the sun has risen in the real world..."
Vikram willed himself to exit the game, and his vision blacked out.
As his vision slowly returned, Vikram found himself back in his bed. He sat up, feeling the familiar surroundings of his room. But something was amiss. He instinctively checked his body, expecting to feel the increased vitality and strength that should have come from his actions in the game.
However, there was no noticeable difference. His muscles felt as weak as before, his energy levels just as low. It was as if all his efforts in the game had been for naught.
Confusion and frustration welled up within him. He had risked everything, fought through unimaginable dangers, and even sacrificed a part of himself for this only for this chance at redemption. Yet, here he was, seemingly unchanged.
"What the hell?" Vikram muttered to himself, running a hand through his bald head. He glanced at the clock on his bedside table, noting that it was indeed morning. The sunlight filtered through the curtains, casting a soft glow across the room.
Vikram felt as if he had been transported from a Ferrari to a second-hand scrap metal car that barely did its job. The stark contrast between the power he wielded in the game and his current, unchanged state left him feeling disoriented and frustrated.
In an attempt to calm his nerves, Vikram reached for his reward cigarette and lit it, taking a deep drag. The moment the smoke entered his lungs, he coughed furiously, and pain nearly blinded him, but he also felt his energy levels rising slowly but surely. As he exhaled, he decided to check his status again, hoping for some explanation.
Willing the status screen to appear, he was met with a simple message:
{Do you wish to summon the [Barbarian]?}
Vikram's eyes widened in surprise. Summon the Barbarian? He looked around his room, suddenly hyper-aware of his surroundings. The idea of summoning a literal human being into his room, especially given the possibility of being under surveillance, made him hesitate.
His mind raced as he considered his options. The game had always blurred the lines between virtual and real, but this was something entirely different. Summoning the Barbarian could provide answers or further complicate his situation.
Vikram weighed his options, glancing at the bathroom door. If he was going to take his chances with summoning the Barbarian, he would do it there. He couldn't shake the suspicion that, with the advanced technology Mother System had introduced to Earth, there was more to his surroundings than met the eye. Spying equipment or other surveillance devices could easily be part of the package.
He made his way to the bathroom, pausing just inside the door. Anxiety gnawed at him. Summoning a human being out of thin air was a shock he wasn't sure he was ready for, and the thought of being strapped to a table and dissected by scientists made his stomach churn.
Taking a deep breath, Vikram lit another cigarette. The act of smoking calmed his nerves, even though it was his first time, and as he inhaled deeply, he could feel his body slowly regaining its vitality. The discomfort that had plagued him since waking up began to ease.
Vikram couldn't help but chuckle at the irony. The cigarettes that were infamous for causing cancer were now helping him feel more alive. He shook his head and was about to test if he could re-enter the game whenever he wanted when a knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.
He opened the door to find a giant figure looming before him. "Hey, Brunus, what have you in such a bad mood?" Vikram asked, taking a drag from his cigarette and exhaling the smoke.
Brunus, his massive form nearly filling the doorway, grunted—a sound that seemed to reverberate through Vikram's entire body. "Damn, kids! It's really annoying not to have any of them show decorum or discipline!"
Vikram shook his head as he blew out the green smoke. Kids were not meant to deal with the horrors that he had faced, him included.
"Sigh, come with me, My general is
coming, and... the next trail is coming." Vikram's eyes widened, and he held up his hand.
"No damn way am I going into that hell." Vikram looked like he was about to rip and tear anything that came into his personal space into pieces.
Brunus held up his hands and looked at Vikram with sympathy and pity, which irked Vikram even more.
"Vik, you have com-"
"We are not buddy enough to shorten my name, partner,"
Brunus's lips twitched and continued. "If you completed the first trail, which makes your existence registered, then you have to go to the next trail, because if you don't, then you would fade out of existence."
"If you don't complete the trail and don't anchor your existence to the Axis, then you would gradually fade through existence." Brunus sighed and moved forward without waiting for Vikram.
Vikram gritted his teeth and followed Brunus. "The General is coming to make the kids ready and to impart basic knowledge of the Axis... Sigh, when will this end..."
Vikram was silent and got inside the car that was similar to a tank and reached a very large building. It was a long ride, and Vikram was finally getting where he was going.
They were going towards the very high building that stretched beyond the sky, and Vikram was kind of excited to see the building, ignoring that he was going towards the hell that was the Axis.
Brunus had said that it would take two days to reach the center of the new world. Vikram didn't know which land was it previously, because these guys had literally changed the map of the world.
Although it was tough to grasp the concept, Vikram had far more concerning things in his life to be concerned about. Vikram also asked Brunus where his peers were.
It was impossible for him to be the only one who had undergone the trial. He had seen other teens his age in the canteen, exuding power and magic with effortless confidence. They moved with purpose, their strength a tangible aura around them.
But Vikram had never approached them. He was too weighed down by his own despair—or, to be more precise, his embarrassment. Being abilityless in a world of prodigies was a shame he couldn't bring himself to confront.
Brunus said that his case with being abilityless was extremely rare, and higher-ups, which Vikram didn't know who, said to handle him with care.
'Great, now, I'm getting exclusive attention because of I'm absolutely worthless...
Seeing that the journey would not end anytime soon, he tried to test if he could enter the game anytime he wanted. Vikram closed his eyes and tried to sleep.
[Do you wish to enter the game?]
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