New Beginning

In 2050, a global disaster struck Earth, forcing humanity into underground refuges for survival. They didn't know how long it would take before they would be able to go back to the surface but fortunately, humanity managed to complete a massive MMORPG just before migrating. Everyone was put into deep sleep using advanced cryogenic technologies and were connected to the game, New Earth.

Despite the appearance of the game, New Earth has much more to offer than just action and adventure. The underlying purpose of the game is still unknown to the world population, only the powerful ones know the real meaning of New Earth.

....

"Hey!"

"Heyyy!!"

"Hey!!!! Wake up!"

"What is happening? Where am I? Who's speaking?"

A young man opened his eyes, seeing nothing but darkness. He could not feel anything under his feet. It was like he was floating in water, but he could breathe normally.

With this strange feeling, he quickly swung his arms in an attempt to swim but nothing happened. He felt like his body did not move from its original location but since it was dark, there was no way to confirm it. Suddenly, the same voice was heard:

"Greetings, prisoner 1542! Welcome to New Earth "

"Who are you? What is New Earth? Is that Hell? Did these bastards finally decide to kill me?" said the man while trying to find the source of the voice.

"No! ...You should be aware of the situation; the governments could not afford any resources for the prisoners. They had to focus on the "Hope" Project. You should have been left on the surface together with all your prison mates. But I have different plans for you," answered the voice.

"What do you mean? Who are you!? " asked the man. He was completely disoriented.

"New Earth is not just a game to entertain humans while they wait to be able to go back to the surface again. It is actually a grand selection process; the harsh environment of New Earth will bring the best out of everyone. It is an opportunity for talents to emerge. There are many underlying components of the game that will be used in the future to select the best possible talents to lead humans to the surface once again..."

"I don't understand... That is too much information... Who are you ?!?" It was already the third time he was asking for the speaker's identity and the man was starting to feel frustrated.

"You don't need to understand right now. Take this opportunity as a redemption for your past actions. Don't you want revenge for what happened to your family?"

"How do you know all that?!? Don't bring up my family! Just what do you want from me? Am I not just a criminal?" aggressively shouted the young man.

The darkness was hiding the speaker, but the young man frowned and looked around him finding nothing.

"Yes, you are a criminal... But just like everything in the world, criminals also have their own talent, right? New Earth was created to discover buried talents, and criminals are very often geniuses in their own way/ They are just not accepted by society. But in the future, we don't know what will happen when humans go back to the surface. Didn't you graduate with honors into Management before 'that' happened?" said the voice with a hint of amusement.

"Don't mention it! Stop beating around the bush, tell me what you want from me!"

Suddenly, the environment got slightly brighter. In front of him, the young man saw a beautiful lady floating in mid-air just like him. She was one of the most beautiful ladies he had seen during his entire life. Her white dress completely covered her feet and the fact that she was floating gave her the appearance of an angel.

She slowly approached the young man from afar, with a gentle smile on her face, she then explained:

"Firstly, you can call me Gaia. I am the person in charge of New Earth. My task is to maintain a balanced environment for all the players. As everyone will stay in refuges for a long period of time, the different nations developed this game to allow the population to be productive as they stay underground. 60% of the population of the world is connected to New Earth, the remaining 40% making up the elderly and the under-age children."

"After various debates with the people in charge, they agreed to bring prisoners into the game. While you and many other inmates were unconscious, you were transported into underground refuges and are now connected to the game. However, you won't be playing the game just like the normal players."

"I am giving all the prisoners a chance to get back their freedom. I want you to set up a dungeon in New Earth. In other words, I want you to be the 'villains' of this game. I believe you know what a dungeon is. There have been many movies about them in the past few years and I want you to build one. Dungeons in New Earth are basically monster farms that are considered evil. Isn't it fitting to ask a criminal to be in charge of such things?"

The young man was calmly listening to the lady... His expression gradually getting darker and darker.

"Why should I do that? I have no interest in doing such things. Besides I don't want anything to do with other people again!"

"As I said, don't you want revenge? It is your chance to completely destroy your enemies, but at the same time, they can also ruin your life. People are not aware of this, but this game has more at stakes than it looks. I can tell you that the leading figures of the game, when it will be time to return to the surface, will become the next leaders of the human race."

"I don't care about these things. Who would want to lead such a corrupted society!?" answered the young man. But a few seconds later, he asked while trying to hide his interest: "What do you mean by revenge?"

"As a dungeon master, your task will be to create a dungeon and raise monsters. Normally, your dungeon will be under constant attacks from players and NPCs but if you do things correctly... You should know that monsters are not limited to only defending your dungeon... I don't think I need to say more... You have the opportunity to make your enemies' life miserable if you use your resources accordingly."

"Really? That's sounds interesting, but this is too good to be true... Where is the trap? Tell me the specifics. I need to know the details before accepting."

"I cannot say anymore... I already gave you much more information than you need. Everything else, you'll need to learn by yourself. You will have a teacher who will explain the basics of dungeon management. The rest is up to you."

The young man recollected his thoughts: 'If what she says is true... I might be able to make them pay for what they did to mother and father... They ruined our lives... I will make them pay... especially her... In that case...'

"..... Fine, I'll do it! ..." loudly exclaimed the young man, with a hint of anger in his voice.

Hearing that, the lady's smile grew larger. She even covered her mouth with her delicate hand to muffle her laugh.

"I knew you would agree, but still, you will never succeed if you don't work hard. First, you will be sent to an existing dungeon where you will learn about the basics of being a dungeon master."

"Is that really necessary?"

"Yes, this is compulsory, and believe it or not, managing a dungeon is more difficult than it looks. Bear in mind, many other people labeled as criminals would also be in the same situation as you. And to make sure they won't slack off, all dungeons will face a test regularly."

At that moment, a bright portal opened to the left of the young man. He hesitated for a second and looked again at the lady. After a few seconds of doubts, he quickly leaned towards the portal and slowly floated towards it.

The lady calmly watched the man float towards the portal. She smiled and said: "Ah I forgot to tell you. From now on, your name is Five"

With a puzzled expression, the young man turned around, "Five? That's a weird name. Can't I use my own name?"

"You were a prisoner after all. I cannot give you all the rights. I don't think you'll prefer to be called prisoner 1542."

After she finished her sentence, the lady raised her hand and a bright light shone. Responding to the light, the portal started to emit a power sucking force.

The man instinctively tried to resist for a second, but the force was too strong, he inevitably flew towards the portal and lost consciousness; the last thing he saw was the smile of the lady.