Chương 2: Risk

Zayne sat in front of his PC with a thoughtful look, rocking back and forth in the chair. It was late, but even so, he continued to examine the various articles that filled the space on the monitor.

"Hmm... Rubia actually managed to interest me, though I was sure I'd forget about it as soon as I left the hospital grounds." Zayne muttered as he touched his chin, "However, it still seems like a damn questionable idea to me..."

After a while, Zayne took his phone out of his pocket and checked his bank account. He looked at the fourth-digit number as anxiety appeared in his eyes.

"Damn, that's hardly enough for the capsule... In that case, I'll spend almost everything I've saved up, so there's no point, right?" Zayne uttered with a complicated expression, putting the phone down on the table, as he headed for the bed.

Tomorrow was the weekend, so Zayne could get a good night's sleep.

...

"Shit... There's definitely something wrong with me." Zayne spoke as he took a sip of bitter coffee before glancing at the time.

It was already three in the morning, usually by this time he'd already been asleep for hours, but what Zayne was doing now was ordering a capsule.

"I hate to admit it, but Rubia is right. The doctors predict I have no more than five years to cure Mia or it will end badly..." Zayne's eyes dimmed for a moment before he hovered over the payment button, "I can get my money back for the capsule within two weeks, that should be enough to let me know whether or not I have any chance of making money in Fallen Fate Online."

Click.

Zayne clicked and a few grand was deducted from his account, which was about 80% of everything he had.

"I did it after all..." Zayne muttered, looking at the monitor where the capsule he had ordered was, "Okay, don't make a big deal out of it. As in any business, only one in a thousand can succeed here..."

Zayne finished his coffee, turned off the computer, and went to bed for the second time that night, he just collapsed on the bed with a face full of exhaustion.

...

The next week Zayne worked as usual at the grocery store as a cashier, visited his sister in the hospital in the evenings, and waited for the Fallen Fate Online, occasionally reading articles about the upcoming novelty as well as the comments of those who had already played during the tests.

Fallen Fate Online was supposed to launch very soon, but Zayne didn't have high expectations because he'd never really played games and didn't know much about it.

...

'I'm sorry, Mia, I have to stay home tonight.' Zayne inwardly said with a slight smile appeared on his face as he looked at the black-red capsule in the corner of the room.

It was only thirty minutes to go, so Zayne was already ready to climb into the capsule to get used to it.

Ding!

Suddenly his phone on the table vibrated as a message popped up on the main screen.

"Hmm? Rubia? What does she want?" Zayne muttered in a confusion before picking up the phone, 'Did something happen to Mia?' Zayne wondered.

[Hey! When you're in the game text me your ID so I can add you as a friend!]

"Agh..." Zayne sighed in relief, then his eyes went wide his eyebrows went up as he was puzzled, "How the hell does she know I bought the capsule? Damn, Rubia always thinks she knows me too well, so she can predict what I do... though, now she's proven right."

Zayne shrugged, sent an emoji, and headed to the capsule. He put his palm to the capsule as it glowed brightly around the edges, then there was a loud click. The capsule slowly opened with a small amount of steam coming out.

"Damn, even though it cost a few thousand, it's an incredible sight. It's so good to be rich..." Zayne's gaze darkened for a moment before he climbed into the capsule.

There was just enough room for Zayne to feel comfortable and free, which was obvious since he took the capsule for his height.

'Rubia said hundreds of times that I was very lucky with my height... Maybe she's right, but because I'm 1.86m (6'1"), I had to spend a few hundred credits more.' Zayne complained slightly while the capsule lid slowly closed.

Click.

Then, a multitude of sensors glowed brightly as a report menu appeared in front of Zayne. It was 14:53 before Fallen Fate Online launched.

"Looks like I got in here too soon." Zayne muttered in a calm voice, watching the countdown.

Gradually there was nothing but pitch-black darkness, as only the bright white numbers were the last source of light.

"Well, I didn't prepare for nothing." Zayne smirked, reached out, and touched a point just below the numbers with his fingertip.

Whooooohs.

Suddenly, a button appeared in that spot - 'Character creation'. Then, Zayne felt light, as if floating in weightlessness, as his consciousness slowly faded.

For a short time he was in the vast void, getting used to the new, unusual sensations until among the darkness there was a bright flash of light that blinded Zayne for a moment.

Once he came to his senses he realized that he was in a long corridor, seemingly without end.

'How strange... I knew it had to be real here, but I don't feel any difference at all, at least to my senses.' Zayne muttered to himself, looking around.

There were many different pictures on the walls, each one showing some person as if it were part of a museum.

Zayne touched one of the pictures as his eyes grew wide since the feeling of the painting was the same as in reality, then he moved forward.

At the end of the corridor was a desk behind which sat a man with short gray hair, blue eyes, and large glasses. He wrote something down on a piece of paper, put it in a stack that was taller than he was, and brought a cup of dark coffee to his mouth, which gave off steam.

'Who is it...?' Zayne wondered in a confusion, 'Is it an NPC? It wasn't written about it anywhere, though... It's the very first impression the player should get, so it would be strange if it were revealed before launch...'

The man glanced at Zayne, took a sip of coffee, and with a calm look spoke, "Do we start now or are you going to wait until the last minute?"

"Hmm?" Zayne raised an eyebrow as he was puzzled.

The man just pointed to the clock on the wall. It was only ten minutes to 7 PM.

"Right, I want to create a character." Zayne said seriously, clenching his fists.

"Good. You're pretty attentive, aren't you? Only a fraction of those waiting to start has read that you can create a character beforehand. Hah, that's pretty damn ironic." The man smirked, shook his head, and snapped his finger.

A blank white sheet appeared in his hand as well as a black pen.

"Well, let's get started." The man adjusted his glasses and looked intently at Zayne as if trying to see through him, "The character creation will be based on your current appearance, however, you can change it slightly if you want."

"Fine. I'll leave it as it is." Zayne shrugged, carelessly.

"Your name." The man said as he held out his pen to the piece of paper.

"Zayne Fellen."

"Okay." The man nodded, gradually filling out the document.

After a while, he put it aside, folded his hands, put his fingertips together, and said, "I hope you're ready for the exciting journey that will begin in a few minutes, but first... you have to make a choice."

Whooooooooosh.

Suddenly several cards as though from a magic deck appeared behind the man. They spread out on the table, in front of Zayne, and glowed brightly.

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