1 Awakening

Axel drowsily opens his eyes. Through his squinting eyes, all he sees in front of him is white. Overcome with panic, he immediately sits up and frantically looks around his unfamiliar surroundings. After inspecting the surroundings, he finds that he is in an empty white room with no windows or doors. Above him is a light source, but the ceiling is not visible.

'Where am I?'

He looks around for a second time, checking to see if he missed anything. He again confirms that there is absolutely nothing with him in the white room. He estimates that the room is 30 ft by 30 ft. While scanning the room, he notices slightly dark lines on the floor. Investigating the lines, they separate the room into nine 10 ft by 10 ft squares, like a tic-tac-toe board.

Axel sits on the floor and leans against a corner of the room. He could do nothing but wait in this silent empty room. He thought about his life before he appeared in this room.

Axel Brooks was his full name. He has black hair and eyes and stands around 5'11" tall. He was fairly good looking with bangs long enough to slightly cover his eyes, which he pushes to the side. He was not overly fit or muscular, nor was he fat. He spent his days inside his home and played video games. He was born in California, USA. His parents were immigrants from China that came over because of the job his father worked at. They both died when he was 17 in a major car accident that was also featured on the news. He had an older brother who had mysteriously disappeared a few years before the accident. With his family gone, he became under the custody of his uncle that had joined his parents when they were immigrating. His uncle was a nice person who comforted him when he was grieving.

After finishing high school, Axel decided that he wanted to be a pro gamer. He wanted to do something that he enjoyed and was good at. His uncle supported him and helped him buy a good performing computer, mouse and keyboard. After a few months of climbing up the rankings in a popular MOBA game and gaining popularity through streaming, he was finally accepted by an esports team. The team was an average team, not the best but also not the worse. He joined the team and spent 3 months with them. The team became his second family and he became good friends with his teammates. During the North America Championships, his team managed to place 3rd.

Axel remembered that his last memory was going to bed after a long day of practicing with his teammates. He was too lazy to change out of his day clothes and slept with jeans and a sweater on. He appeared in the room with the exact same clothes he slept with. He also had his sneakers on, which he knew he didn't sleep with.

'I wonder if they are worried about me.'

While Axel was absorbed in his thoughts, he heard 'ding' and a white text screen suddenly appeared in front of him.

[Tutorial Mission]

Main Objective: Survive until daylight.

Reward: Stats Page and Friends List

'Hmm?'

The screen had spontaneously appeared in front of him. At the moment, Axel did not fully comprehend what just happened because the screen appeared without prior notice. He read the text, and after a few seconds he felt something tugging him from behind. He was strongly pulled through the corner of the wall and started falling. It was dark all around him, like he was falling into the void or through outer space. Terror struck him as he was falling while facing upwards. He saw a shining white cube that was very noticeable compared to the darkness all around. He had apparently fallen from that white cube.

Axel kept on falling and the white cube was getting further and further away. After a few minutes, Axel adapted to the falling sensation and flipped himself over. He could not see anything below him. Flipping himself over again, he saw that the cube was just a speck in the dark void. As the cube was leaving his vision, he felt his eyelids grow heavy. He closed it for only a few seconds and when he opened his eyes, he found himself no longer falling but instead found himself on soil surrounded by trees.