3 So Real, It Changes You

It was like a dream. Kean wake up on his bed, just after he bids farewell to his in-game brother named Gail. He turn off a capsul-shaped device on an end table next to his bed. He then stares to the ceilling, thinking about bizarre experiences he just had last night. Feels like he just jump into another world, instead it was latest program related to sleep hypnosis technology.

He finally leave the bed and showers. While washing the shampoo off his hair, he brush his teeth. It's just an ordinary day, just more refreshing than ever.

"Good morning," his real Mom greets, she just made toast with chicken soup for breakfast. They always delicious, and he always love them.

"Something is different," when Dad notice something on Kean's face, completely ignores the TV hologram on the wall.

"What is it?" Kean asks.

"You looked more refresh than days before. So you finally go to gym?" Dad looks proud.

"Nope, I just sleep all day yesterday."

"Usually you look as pale as blank paper," Dad laughs.

It got him curious, so, on his way school Kean check on his own on reflections. Dad was right, he looked more healthy than yesterday. Kean, just a simple teenager with simple short brown hair and simple casual style, usually with pale face because he seldomly do sport. The most muscular part of his body is thumb and pointer finger, for he always use them to play computer games. Kean like sport, he just too lazy to do anything. That's why he always look pale as if he was lack of blood.

Not only his Dad, but also friends at school. They also notice the change in Kean, and thinking if he left his geeky hobby and begin to do real sport. The fact is, yesterday Kean just got sick so he sleep all day long. When he slept, he tried the new gadget his uncle bought him. That's how his adventure in Age of Clans begins. Disatisfy ended up as a hunter, Kean woke up and google the game's guide. He like to be tough and hard to die, so he want the tanky class. When he know how to do it, he start over and do things right this time.

But the game was so realistic, so real that when an NPC he should fight to graduate the knight school chop his arm off, he could feel the pain. It was real, so freaking real. This game is crazy. Kean screamed and calling out his mom, after all, he just thirteen, life has just begin and this game made him experiencing that horrible pain. Losing limbs is more than getting hurt, a part of you had been tored off. It's like saying goodbye to the loved one. So Kean choose to suicide so he can respawn with complete limbs. When he respawn, it felt like he was just woke up from a dream where the teeth are falling down. It's like redemption was granted. And because he was "forgiven", he wouldn't do it anymore.

That's when the game's notification telling him that he has a brother named Gail. The notice demand him to download artificial in-game memory about Gail, the brother. Kean, receiving his knight license, returns home to Snowhill, where he begin the new game as shit cleaner for his friend, Hugo. He met his brother and find out that Gail is just a clueless new gamer just he was before he googled the guide.

And after he left the game, he swears that he will never play that horrible game anymore. Kean promises to take care of his limbs too.

Prepare for his next class, Kean took some books from locker when all of sudden, someone slam it so hard, he almost got hurt if the teenager does not quickly evade it. Before he know who did that, Kean feel his body lifted and slammed to the other side and hit on a trash bin. It was happened so quick.

Someone laughs like pigs, Kean knows who own this kind of laughter. He is a senior, three years older than him. Normally that rascals wouldn't even notice that Kean was exist, but after he defend a friend from bullying, the bad senior begin to aim Kean. It's been a month since he begin to make Kean's school days feels like hell. That bad boy always together with his two underlings, typical bully who loves to ganged up on weaker kids.

"How's your flight, loser?" the owner of the porkish laughs asks Kean.

Kean just sit there and glares at them angrily. Like a dog ready to rip his foe's neck.

"Ooo look at that. Beware of dog!" that senior make fun of Kean.

Kean strike him head on and jump on his senior's shoulder to give punches to his head. But without any difficulties, the bully can just slam him back to the floor and the pain stops Kean from moving. It was really painful, even the experiences in Age of Clans are so realistic, Kean still has not used to it. Kean feels head spinning, he can't make much moves.

"What were you trying to do huh? Want to fight me? What can you do, huh??" the bully then steps on Kean's back as if he tries to kill a cockroach mercifully.

"What's going on here, boys?" voice of a mature man from the end of the hallway interferes them.

"Nothing, sir, he just running along the hall like an idiot and crash on me. He fell himself and blames me on his own weakness, I just defend myself," that senior kid answered the teacher innocently.

"Get back to your class, John!" the teacher yells at him.

After John left, the teacher approach Kean, "you okay?"

Kean gathers all his strength and stand on his own feet. He was fine, he had "lost" a limb before, so this is nothing.

"What happened?" the teacher asks Kean. Interesting that he still asking that question after the famous reputation John has in this school.

"He was lying, I didn't do whatever he said," Kean defend myself.

The teacher just gives him faint nods, "stay out of trouble."

After the teacher left him, some kids who witness what just happened helps Kean organize his books scattered on the floor. Kean gives them lots of thanks, but something interesting happened, those kids look at him differently, they seems like proud of him. Seems like Kean is a real hero, even if he was helpless against those bullies.

"You are so brave!" they said, Kean doesn't know his name or her name, but they proud of him for fight back the bullies.

That whole day, Kean wonders on his own. The game sure gives significant change in his life, especially mentality. When he was trained as a knight, he was scared and terrified, especially because the pain was real.

Wait, why was the game so real? It was just game, script, program, and system. Why does the pain felt so real? He can't satisfy his hunger by eating food or drink anything in that game world, he doesn't even need sleep. But why the pain felt so real? Not only pain, all his senses works perfectly like in reality. He can smell umbalomba's odor, he can listen to the bird's chirping.

When he got home from school, he notices a pair of familiar shoes belongs to his uncle. Kean could hear Uncle's laughter while talking to Dad. He rushes to see his uncle.

"Uncle!"

"Hey, it's Kean!" Uncle stand up from sofa and hugs his nephew. Maybe because he has not been married yet, not even find significant others, for Berthant, Kean just like his own son. "You look more healthier, buddy. So you finally doing sport? What's your games?"

"Why is everybody thinks that I am doing sport while all I did was just sleeping like logs for two days?" Kean said.

"Well, you look more muscular than the last time I saw you," Uncle Bert explains it simple and straight to the point. He then point out Kean's shoulder, "look here, you don't have trap muscle before, but right now it's harden. I bet you got some packs on your belly."

Kean lift his shirt and show a faint shape of six packs.

"See? You gain muscle, something is changed," says the Uncle.

Healthy is plain, but "muscular" is special. When you are healthy, you just being right, but when you gain muscle mass, means something in your habits had changed. That's why people assumed that Kean must be doing some changes lately.

"I just ... I just play the games you gave me days ago," Kean explain, though he doubt that a game can change someone's physical appearance.

"Age of Clans? The Lucid Dreaming technology-based MMORPG?"

"Yeah, that one freaky game," Kean still couldn't get over the experience when he lost his limb. Looks like he will never forget it for a moment.

"Interesting. I see you doesn't sounds that nervous too. Did something happened in the game? You seems like you be more determined right now. We just being apart for two days. This is a significant change, I asure you," says the Uncle.

"Well, a game is just a game," Dad stand up from his chair and walks to the kitchen to fill his empty glass. "My son is thirteen, he just start growing. His voice will crack soon too, it's part of puberty."

"In short two days?" Uncle asks his brother, and Dad just shrugs. "Who knows?" Dad answers.

During that two days, ten years had passed for Kean in his lucid dream. When the game starts, he has tall build, and a bit slim with wide strong bones. But then in ten years, he train as squire of the knights and his physical appearance was massively growing.

"Now I am very curious, do you mind if I bring the device home with me? I need to play it to see it for myself," Uncle Bert asks.

Kean hurriedly pick the device that shaped like rugby ball and give it to his Uncle.

"Sorry, I will just borrow this for several days, I will return this to you when I'm done," says the Uncle.

"It's okay, I had retire the game," Kean said.

"You retired? So soon!" Uncle's eyes widen.

Kean shrugs, "that game is scary, I can feel the pain so real when someone stabs me with weapon. I don't want to get through everything again."

Uncle nods, he looks a bit disappointed to hear what his nephew think about the game. "Alright. I'm looking forward to hear your complete feedback, though."

"Alright, I will write you email, Uncle."

"Perfect. If you write it down, I don't need to take note," then Uncle Bert left his brother's home.

Outside, he calls someone, "hey, Sam? I think we need to try the game. It gives unexpected effects on the gamer. Let's discuss this, okay? 9th Heaven cafe? Alright, I'll be there in a moment."