The Players Association      

For the first time, Rain was absent from school.

He wasn't particularly smart or athletic, but the one thing he prided himself on was his perfect attendance record –– that was shattered now.

Rain found himself in an underground facility, being interrogated by Dean, one of the men in black suits who had stormed his apartment.

"Rain Weathers?"

"Yeah, I know. My parents thought that name would be funny. You should know my father's name — it's Summer Weathers."

"I'm not interested in your name," Dean cut. "You've been in the Spirit Realm, correct?"

"Spirit Realm?"

Dean turned his laptop toward Rain, displaying a map of the city. "Our system detected an anomaly whenever a human's spirit entered the Spirit Realm. That's how we located you."

"Oh." Rain wanted to say more, but his mind was reeling back to that place.

That was the Spirit Realm?

Come to think of it, that ball of light had mentioned the world was something like that.

"Everything must be confusing to you. Let me explain from the start," Dean said. "The Spirit Realm is another realm that only spirits can access. In our case, we can access this place in our sleep. No one knows exactly how a spirit is taken into that world, but we believe it happens through dreams since you can only go there while sleeping.

"However, everything in there is real. You become a player, are given a random territory, and five random soldiers to start with. Then you have to defend your territory against beasts and other threats. That's the gist of how to survive in there."

Rain didn't like the sound of that. "S-survive?"

"While being transported to another realm might sound cool — and it is, mind you — there are dangers at every turn. If you die in there, your physical body will die in this world as well. You've probably heard of 'death in sleep,' right?"

". . ." So that's the cause of it. "C-can I not go there anymore? Can I refuse?"

"Unfortunately, once your spirit got transported there and you've become a player, you can no longer turn back. Every time you sleep, your spirit will automatically be transported back to the Spirit Realm."

". . ." Rain's face was drained of color.

"But on the brighter side, you can extract items, creatures, treasures, anything from there back to the real world — for a price, of course. The items in the Spirit Realm are valuable and can fetch a high price if you sold them here. You could instantly become a millionaire . . . no, even a billionaire.

"Our top players are among the billionaires in this world, and some have even become celebrities. You could easily be one of them if you're doing good in the game."

Rain wasn't interested in that. "Who are you people, and what is this place?"

Dean smiled sheepishly. "Ah, right. I haven't really said anything about this place or who we are. We're the Players Association, a secret organization that manages the players and everything related to the Spirit Realm."

Dean handed a card to Rain, who stared at the map on the back.

"Since you're already a player, you can access this building through the red spot on the map. Just tell them your name, and they'll direct you to this underground area.

"By the way, did you already receive your territory and soldiers?"

Rain nodded, still dazed. He was having a hard time processing all this information. Just a few hours ago, he was still an ordinary human living his ordinary life.

"Mind telling me where your territory is located and what are your troops? Don't worry, it will remain private — just to fill in your information."

Rain opened his mouth but then paused. Everything was new to him, and Dean and this secret organization were foreign to him.

Could he really trust them?

Sensing his hesitation, Dean said reassuringly, "Don't worry, we're not the bad guys here. Though there's competition, this organization is funded to help players. In fact, we can help you survive your first trial for the Novice Lord title."

Everything was too much for Rain to process, and he didn't know what to ask first.

"Trial?" There was a trial? Nobody had said anything about that.

Dean nodded. "The first trial is to obtain the title of Novice Lord. As you increase your Lord title, more perks will be available in your territory, and you can recruit more troops and build machinery to help defend your territory or construct siege machines if you want to conquer other lands."

Rain grew more confused. "And what's this trial about?"

Dean adjusted his sunglasses. "It's completely random, but . . . more than ninety percent of players fail their Novice Lord trial."

"And . . ." Rain thought that there was something missing in Dean's sentence.

". . . They died."

". . ."

"Not to scare you or anything. But we could help you."

"By?"

Dean sighed at Rain's terse response but understood, given his state of shock.

"By giving up your title as Lord and surrendering your territory to the Players Association. If you do that, you'll just become a regular player and can live in one of our territories whenever you get transported to the Spirit Realm."

"Can't you just give me troops and machinery to help me defend the territory?" Rain asked, hopeful.

"We could lend you troops, but that would take a lot of resources and time. Players' territories are never close to each other. They could be hundreds or thousands of miles apart. Teleportation magic is costly too, as it charge per weight.

"You have to understand that being a lord means defending your territory constantly and completing all these trials to increase your title. The association can't simply lend you help every time that happens or every time that you're in trouble.

"The easiest option is to give up your title and surrender your territory to one of the top players in our association. In that way, your safety is guaranteed."

Rain thought about it but couldn't speak. He still didn't understand anything about the Spirit Realm, so he couldn't decide what to do.

There was also the fact that if he stayed in another's territory, there would be rules and restrictions he'd have to comply with. He might even have to pay taxes!

Rain shivered, and got to appreciate the life of being a freeloading student.

"Anyway, since you're still new to the game, I understand if you need time to think about it first. After all, giving up your Lord title and territory is a big move.

"If you ever make the decision, though, you can contact me using the number on the card. But be warned, you have to decide quickly. Not to discourage you, but beasts roam the Spirit Realm all the time, and who knows how long you'll survive there as a newbie."

Rain met Dean's eyes. "Are you a player too? Did you give up your territory and title?"

Something flickered in Dean's eyes. "That's right."

"Did you regret your decision?"

Dean adjusted his glasses and looked at his intertwining fingers on the table. "I would be lying if I said I don't regret it. After all, being a lord has many perks. You will understand what you truly lost once you see it with your own eyes. The fame and riches that can only be achieved by being a Lord . . .

"However, I am thankful that I gave up my title and territory . . . I didn't have the courage and skills to fight and defend it. At the end of the day, being alive is what's important."