Chapter 2: Origin Source
[The laws of Origin Source have arrived on Planet Earth. The struggle for supremacy for this world has now begun.]
The voice was still ringing in his ears when Shawn suddenly felt the surroundings trembling and the objects in his room falling. The trembling is really faint and fleeting—it doesn't last more than ten seconds.
Waking up from his sleep, startled and confused, he sat up on his bed and removed the blankets covering him. Just as he opens his eyes, he glimpses a book falling on his face. Unable to dodge, the book hit his face, and fell on the bed.
Still having no idea what just happened, he looks around the room, only to find his stuffs scattered on the floor.
"What the hell just happened? Whose voice was that? " Shawn thought after seeing the state of his room, and remembering the mechanical voice he just heard.
Looking out to find out more, he stood up, took a look outside, and peered at the window.
Nothing changes in the surroundings, and you still can't see a soul in sight.
Confused at what's going on, he takes his phone out and calls Old Jack. The old man is always up-to-date, so he might know what's happening. Within five seconds, the old man answered the phone and started yelling.
"Oh f*ck, it's the end of the world! Sh*t! " More inaudible curses rang out after the call was connected.
Hearing this, Shawn grew concerned and tried to calm down the old man.
"Calm down, Old Jack. Tell me clearly what's going on first, " consoled Shawn, his gentle voice slightly calming the old man.
Realizing his loss of composure, Old Jack took a deep breath and asked Shawn a question, "Did you also hear what that voice said? "
"Yes, I heard it. "
"After that voice finished speaking, a brief earthquake happened. The earthquake is feeble and there's no apparent damage. But after that earthquake, some people started acting strange. They scream, saying that they're in pain and within a few moments they collapse. After a few seconds, though, they got up again and just jumped at people." At this point, Old Jack's voice is quivering, dread and terror can be felt through his voice.
"T-they started eating people, Shawn! Those guys became zombies!"
Shawn was stunned and he felt a chill run down his spine. He struggled to process the enormity of what Old Jack was saying.
"Zombies? Are you sure?" he stammered, his mind racing with disbelief and fear.
"Yes, I'm sure! I see it with my own eyes. They were practically ripping people apart and eating them. At that point, I just started running and looking for a place to hide. I just want to get away from these monsters," he said, panting and breathing heavily due to the agitation and running he had done.
"Wh-what would possibly cause those people to transform into zombies?" Shawn stutters, still perplexed at what the old man said.
"I believe it's related to something the voice mentioned, saying that the Origin Source entered Earth. After that so-called Origin Source arrived, something might have changed on Earth." Old Jack presents his own conjecture.
"Wait a minute, how come you didn't know what just happened? With that smart brain of yours, you should be able to come up with your own ideas, right?"
Silence fell over the room, the atmosphere became weird.
"Cough, cough. I was actually still sleeping when those things happened. But, anyway, we need to prepare ourselves. Those zombies might not be the only monster we need to face. We better look at the news first and see how the officials will react to what just happened."
Old Jack was still at a loss after hearing the first sentence, but his expression quickly turned solemn at what Shawn just mentioned.
"You think there could be more out there?" Old Jack's voice was tinged with both fear and curiosity.
Shawn nodded grimly. "It's possible. If this Origin Source can turn people into zombies, who knows what else it might be capable of. We need to be ready for anything."
"You better get home first, Old Jack. You should make sure that your wife and daughter are safe first."
"I called them earlier before I talked to you, they're safe in the house for now, but I'll be going home first. We don't know how much this world is going to change, be it good or bad."
"Hmm, be safe and take care."
With that, the call was cut and Shawn immediately opened the television. He changed it to the channel that's focusing on reporting news. Not finding anything on the first channel, he promptly changed it to another channel. Still not seeing any results, he went to his room and opened the computer.
Searching for news updates on his computer, Shawn's fingers moved with urgency as he navigated to trusted news websites. He scanned headlines, clicking on articles that promised updates on the unfolding crisis. The screen filled with information, but none of it brought him the clarity he sought.
Reports of chaos and violence flooded the news feeds, each story more unsettling than the last. Shawn's heart pounded as he read about cities overrun by the bizarre phenomenon, authorities struggling to maintain order, and the desperate pleas of survivors for help.
With a clenched fist, Shawn shouted, "Sh*t, I can't even find any useful information on the Internet! Just what the hell is that Origin Source!"
With his emotions still jumbled, he got to his feet and considered stepping outside to see whether anything had changed. However, at that moment, his body simply froze and he lost control over it.
[The fusion of Earth and the laws of Origin Source is now complete.]
Following the end of the sound, Shawn regained his freedom, and everything reverted back to normal.
"What the hell…?" Shawn's forehead was sweating, his eyes looking at a blue screen that seemed to appear out of thin air.
[Shawn Turner]
[Race: Human]
[Level: 0]
[Realm: None]
[Job: None]
[Skills: None]
[Talent: None]
Shawn has just finished reading the message on the blue screen when his head suddenly throbs and he feels a little sting in his brain. In an instant, his mind was flooded with new information, as if someone had flipped a switch and unlocked hidden knowledge within him.
It then dawned on him what the information on the blue screen meant.
Just like in the games he used to play, the screen represents his status window. Only he can see this information, others can't see his status window and vice versa. The [Realm], [Job], and [Talent] can only be unlocked after he reaches higher levels.
[Skills], on the other hand, can be acquired in many ways. One is through treasure chests, which might store not only skills but also equipment, potions, and other mystic items. Another way is through killing monsters. After a person kills a monster, these monsters have a chance of dropping loot, and just like the treasure chest, the drop loot varies. Lastly is through leveling up. After passing certain levels, people can acquire varying skills. These skills, however, are the common skills that everyone will have.
In regards to increasing his level, he can do that through killing monsters. These monsters have an energy in them called origin energy. This origin energy will be absorbed after you manage to successfully kill a monster. If you manage to accumulate enough origin energy, leveling up will just naturally happen.
Something else, though, caught Shawn's attention. That detail said that killing monsters stronger than you will not only reward you origin energy to level up. It will also give an amplification effect, giving you more origin energy while also improving your strength. This means that people who kill stronger monsters than them will be much stronger than people on the same level as them.
"So that's what it means when it says that the fight for supremacy in this world has begun. If some people really manage to do that, then the strong will get stronger while the weak will remain weak. The strong, those who managed to acquire power, will only want more and more. Driven by their ambitions, these people might just really declare themselves as rulers and fight for supremacy." Shawn thought, thinking of the implications this information might cause to the world.
"Sigh, these matters are still far away from me, so might as well forget it. I might also be wrong and was just overthinking. Right now, my only goal is to remain alive and survive."