First Time At The Range
Riley gasped for air as she woke up from her bed.
Wait.
She ended up on a bed that was not hers. Instead of a double bed, it was only a mattress. Looking out the window, the sky was bright orange. There was no parking lot on this apartment, nor it looked furnished either. She was surrounded by other low-cost apartment building.
A door lied in front of her bed, with a sign read 'Bathroom.' Behind the bookshelf was a kitchen. Her old apartment had all of the rooms separated, with two bedrooms. This was only a studio-size apartment. Whose apartment was this?
Turning her head to the right, there was a bookshelf filled with book with varying thickness.
Katzung. Harrison's Book of Internal Medicine. Moore's Clinical Anatomy.
Those were her books, but she never put a bookshelf that close to her bed.
A screen appeared.
[65% of total assets has been reducted for Death Penalty]
[Player: Riley Reed]
[Total Asset: 4,183$]
[Threat Level: 0]
'THE FUCK?' It couldn't be real. It all must be a dream. She lost her car. Sure, it was a cheap-ass car she bought using her lifesaving from the army, but it was still a car. She stored all sort of things in that car. Now, it was all gone.
Her homework.
Her papers.
Who was that person anyway? Another player? How could she end up in this bed? One more thing, what was [Reality Dissonance]? Nobody even helped her when the other person stabbed her chest in the lobby of her apartment. It was like they did business as usual.
She grabbed her phone from her pants' pocket. She looked at the time and date.
05:25 P.M.
12th of January, 2028.
It was still the same day as when she left her apartment in her Camry. How did more than 10,000$ of her assets gone in less than an hour? Heck, she couldn't move into a different apartment in only twenty five minutes. All of this didn't make any sense at all. The only explanation would be the mysterious stabber.
Who was he? A player?
It didn't matter.
There was an eyewitness.
Waiting for the 'Waiting for Answer' on her phone to '00:00,' she wondered whether it was another hallucination or not.
"Miss me already, Riley?" Ghyna asked, with a playful tone.
"Do you see my car, doc?" She asked.
"Car?"
"My Camry. Do you see it parked in front of the coffee shop?" Riley asked.
"Have you taken your meds, Riley? You never bought a car, didn't you? You went home after giving me the result of the new drugs from your cohorts," Ghyna answered.
"I never did?" Riley asked, with a tone filled with confusion.
"You never did, Riley. Drink your meds, then sleep, I have to go back to the hospital anyway, good evening," Ghyna abruptly closed the call. However, it told Riley something unnerving. Did the system also edit her past? That would explain everything, from the disappearance of her car to her sudden appearance on her apartment.
One thing bothered her more, though. The fact that even Ghyna didn't help her when the stranger stabbed her. She just ran away, and then, when asked again, Ghyna didn't recall any of the events, it seemed.
'C'mon, brain, work!'
[Reality Dissonance]. That was it. Just right before the stranger stabbed her, it appeared on the top left corner of her eyes. What did it do to her? From the name alone, it should have affected the reality around her.
The coffee shop was in the middle of Novagrad. A view of a person getting stabbed should make it to the evening news already. However, the news feed on her phone didn't show any sign of her in the news. The 'thing' worked in one way or another, but how to verify it?
How?
'Reality Dissonance. What does it even do?' Riley said the skill name quietly.
[Congratulations! You have just activated [Reality Dissonance]. Showing tutorial.]
'What???' Riley was surprised on how simple it was to activate it.
■Reality Dissonance■
[Reality Dissonance] is a unique skill that enables participants of Greed's game to create a distinct reality separate from those who are not involved in the game. When activated, this skill effectively disconnects non-participants from the current reality, allowing the participants to experience heightened capabilities and altered rules within their shared reality.
It's important to note that the purpose of [Reality Dissonance] is to provide an immersive and engaging gameplay experience within the confines of Greed's game. The skill allows participants to embrace a temporarily augmented reality while ensuring that the consequences of their actions do not extend beyond established game's boundaries, such as non-participants.
■End of Information■
It explained everything. No wonder Ghyna didn't react, or how she had an altered past. It was all thanks to [Reality Dissonance]. She also had a notification on her phone. There was a new app installed called, 'Player's Management.' She opened the app, immediately greeted with the first screen.
▒Showing Current Alt Loadout: Loadout A▒ [X]
Clothing:
■ Executive Black Tucked Shirt
■ Executive Long Pants
■ Black Loafers + Shock
Weapon:
• None
Assigned Personal Vehicles:
• None
▒End of Information▒
She closed the notification.