Chapter 1 - Introduction

Chilly winds were blowing on an October morning but many people were feeling a different type of chill as Anxiety gripped over the Planet Earth.

(A.N - not our Earth)

The anxiety was a side effect of the announcement that the Union Government announced last year. They announced that every year only Pass or Fail will be announced while the details will be announced once every 20 years.

This was decided to separate the talented seeds from each major generation as growth was stalling throughout the world and human talent was reducing as more and more people chose robots over manual labor.

(A.N - named generations such as Gen Z and Millenials are major generations. While, when two generations of a family fall into the same major generation, the family generation is minor)

Among the students was the 18 year old Aarick Dunkeld, who was receiving his junior college final results. He was not afraid of how he would end up performing but rather he felt terror due to his parents.

He was a sensitive guy and was scared about finding out how they were going to treat him after they found out how terrible he did in his exams. His parents were cheapskates. They would do anything that would profit them.

After waking up early, he looked around his house and realized that his parents weren't home. He thought that they must have gone to buy some stuff from local shops because their car was still parked downstairs which he could see from the window.

Aarick quietly ate his breakfast which was quite pleasant without their constant bickering. He packed up everything he needed and quickly ran down a few flights of stairs to catch a cab.

He was rushing towards his college to check his final results before his parents could see it, so that he could prepare for the punishment he was going to receive based on his results. No matter what, Aarick was an honest man and therefore didn't want to forge fake results for his parents to see.

He didn't have to wait long on the street before he found a cab. He got in and told the driver his college's address, the driver chuckled lightly and said, "Sir, you just happen to be the second person today who asked me to drive to that destination."

Aarick smiled and replied, "Yea, a lot of children go to that school from my complex."

As the cab started to move, he got bored and looked out the window to pass the time. He noticed a poster on a bus driving beside his car.

The advertisement showcased some kind of a new-age video game, the advertisement was so well made that Aarick was almost completely mesmerized by looking at it, he had always had this small thought of becoming a professional gamer because no matter what he did in his life, his shortcomings didn't allow him to quite fit in anywhere he wanted to, but in a game one can be anything they want to be and anything one did won't severely affect them.

He could never truly involve himself in a game, due to various reasons. So he only played a few casual games on his friends' computer or in internet cafés when some people offered to treat him.

Of course his parents, being the cheapskates they are, would never give money to him to play video games which in their opinions were lousy entertainment devices that could ruin one's life.

This particular advertisement showcased a fantasy open-world game called "The Dynasties Of Avalore" made by a company named "Tempest Knife". It's a company that has never been seen before or maybe it has simply hidden under the disguise of another company.

The game had a statement under it stating that the game's future is now in the players hands possibly hinting at the game having an AI big enough to compute every player's actions and change the world accordingly Looking at the poster, Aarick couldn't help but feel an intense urge to play the game.

The poster also showcased the game's two formats that were available. The first of which was a direct one-time purchase, it showed no other details but it cost 50000 Universal Coins and would include a few extra features that improved luxury, the second format was a payment that needed to be paid over a month and it cost 2000 Universal Coins per month with no extra features for one year after which no further costs will be compulsorily asked for.

Suddenly he heard the driver speak to him, "Sir! We have reached your destination. The total cost would be 100 Universal Coins. Sir?"

Aarick snapped back and remembered that he was rushing to his college to receive his finals and then realized from the driver's words that he had actually already reached. Time seemed to have run while he was busy looking at the poster.

He quickly paid the driver the 100 Universal Coins and got out, just as he stepped out, he saw the same familiar scenery that he'd been seeing for the last 10 years of his life because he had attended his preschool, primary and high school under the same company, the two school buildings with different teaching curriculum facing each other with a road passing through the middle. There were other varieties of schools too. This was Aaricks school complex where he studied.

He could see many students and buses standing here and there. He even saw a few familiar faces all wearing the familiar white and blue striped uniform of the college and they all had an anxious look on their face as they talked with their friends, possibly due to them not having enough courage to see the results. He even saw one of his very close friends in a corner who didn't seem anxious, rather he seemed to be looking for someone.

Aarick wanted to go and greet him but he knew he didn't have enough time to do so. He went in through the main entrance.

The guards looked at him and stopped him as they said. "Please show your identification to verify that you are a student before proceeding."

Aarick quickly got his identification card from his bag and showed it to the guards, they looked at it and after verification they let him through. He entered the college and started running up the stairs to the fourth floor where the principal's office was seated.

Everyone in his college hated the principal, because he was the same as Aaricks parents : he would do anything for profit and would not hesitate to kill if a loss is involved. At the end of the hall was the principal's office so that anyone could see the office as long as they were on that floor.

Just as he was about to reach for the door handle to open the door, he unconsciously looked through the glass in the middle of the door and he saw something that made him feel like digging a hole right there and burying himself alive.