A soldier's journey in the Plaguelands to Utopia

"Have you seen that stream? It was amazing. A single player wiped out an entire guild."

A girl was sitting treating her injuries while a man with a heavy armour suit walked back and forth, fuming with anger. There were others with them but they weren't interested in the conversation. They were in their own dimension. "Damn him… That cheater. How can he use cheats in our presence? Us, the higher beings?"

"Cheater? Did you even watch him fight? His fighting abilities are no rumour; he is real. I thought we could beat the guy and prove to everyone that he was a joke but it wasn't the case. Imagine if he were here, just imagine," the girl licked her skin and grimaced. "I truly don't like the taste of my skin. On the other hand, he had such a sweet fragrance."

"Nah… He is just a rumour. I don't believe one bit of his supremacy. I am sure he erased his defeats and left a few so no one would doubt him. You cannot convince me of the opposite."

"He'd gotten to the top with his own skills. Don't be a sore loser! I enjoyed playing with him. How I wish to have a rematch?" she sighed. "Besides, you're one to talk about hacks and cheats while we were the ones using them. If you think about it, we were using our own superpowers in the game. We cannot do that. Remember what we promised her; she was clear on that we should stick to the game she made." she glared at her companion. "I battled the guy and he is amazing. He made use of great tactics and knows how to use his abilities. He is incredibly smart, to a point I am scared of him. Furthermore, being able to reach that far in the game Legend of the Past is a feat in itself. You know how she made the game similar to our world, a complete copy of our world. Therefore, simply reaching us is already a feat in itself," she clasped her cheeks blushing. "Haaa! I wonder if he is a dreamy Prince."

"If he is really one guy, I bet he is an ugly lad," he coughed, looking at her from the corner of his eye. "Don't start dreaming about some ugly guy and then be disappointed in him. Remember the last time…"

In the last part of the game, the player was supposed to defeat an entire guild to finish it and claim the completion bonus, which was a surprise reward for anyone playing the game. Only one person managed to do it; Stephen Lancaster was just an ordinary human being that spent his days and nights playing in front of his laptop.

"Tch… I finally managed to win. To think it would take me three whole days to win a single battle against the Makena Guild," he stretched his arms then his eyes fell on the calendar that he didn't move for three days. His eyes stared at it in complete daze but his mind was working; it was calculating the days till his mouth screamed.

His eyes returned to the screen that was showing fireworks since the game is complete now. The screen moved to a bar downloading the reward.

"Isn't it today the event of the Frost fighters game? I need to connect to it immediately. I can't miss the legendary weapon; there is only one of it in the entire game."

Stephen was a hard-gamer and an uneducated lad that didn't even have the courage to study his school days to the end, and especially a virgin. He was twenty years old and a game-obsessed. He pulled a bag of chips from a shopping bag and realized he didn't have anything left, that he had to order for some more.

"I thought air was free till I opened this bag of chips."

For him, as long as the brain had glucose, it would work. He would eat anything and mostly it was junk food that was quick to acquire. Sometimes, when he didn't feel like going out and didn't have food, he ate sugar to replenish.

"What time is it now?" he said with eyes half-closed. "Does time even matter for someone like me? Nope, not a chance! Let's check on another game! I still have a hundred more events to do."

Anyone seeing him like that would ask where the money came from. For someone like him who was born with a golden spoon, it wasn't good to work, especially with his lack to keep up with a conversation. He chose to shut-in and play games then eventually became addicted.

However, he didn't know that all the games he played were aired on the hidden channel. The higher beings were bored from battling themselves that they decided to immerse in those games human made. Furthermore, there was one that was made by a special someone for her own goal, she made it the total copy of the world she lived in and made humans play promising a huge reward for anyone finishing it.

The world was unfair for Stephen, bullying was a normal occurrence that the harassment became part of his life. At least, no one knew he was the legend every player spoke of. If they had known, no one would be able predict the reaction. He realized how life was and didn't want to come to terms with it, then he made a wish; a wish that the world would be a little bit interesting like those games.

Stephan moved to a blanket that was one the floor and lied there, covering himself. He had one hour and twenty-two minutes before the start of another event. He would get a little bit of sleep then wake up as usual. But his plan was disturbed and the ding of a message on his phone resounded.

"Have you ever wondered if fate has played a joke on you?" he read. "Huh?" his body jolted upwards and he started laughing frantically, "Of course. I always thought of that but… Who would send me a message like this? I don't receive messages," he laughed again but sarcastically. "Do you think I would fall for this? In your dreams. Gotta sleep. I lost three minutes reading this bullsh*t."

His brain whispered to him that maybe the message was a prank from a friend but he laughed immediately chasing the little bit of sleep left away. It was almost as if his brain said something mean and sarcastic about him. Stephan didn't have any friends.

Ding!!!!

Stephan looked at the screen incredulously. Who was making fun of him when he was the great legend Stephan who just finished a game that no one was able to for a year since its release? He sat down and observed the email for a few seconds before whispering words of wisdom.

"Are you kidding me? What kind of bullsh*t is this? Someone is deliberately sending a joke, but I wonder who the hell got a hold of my info when I have a good security. Geez!"

It was quite a bold question for a top player like him and especially a big introvert who only saw the sun when it was important to get food.

[If there is a world where you can have the fun you desire, the danger you seek, the reverence you wish, would you wish to be in it?]

He looked at the message intently then sighed. He expected the reward to be complete now but nothing happened. The monitor screen just turned blank.

"I don't believe one word from the bullsh*t you are throwing at me," his eyes widened as well as his grin. "I don't think there is another world, you are just saying shit to extend my time and crack my firewall."

He shut down his computer, visibly angry. Turning the computer would made it impossible to hack it; he thought it was someone who wanted to know who he was. He got up from his chair and turned around to sleep again forgetting he had an event in another game to complete. It was annoying when people stalked time in reality. In a game, it had a reason but in reality, it was meaningless; people should just say things straightforwardly. However, he was talking with his mouth; he wasn't writing a single answer. Thus, how come the person on the other side heard him?

He darted back to his laptop to check on the mic but the world around him seemed to shudder fiercely. He caught his monitor and kept it in place but it soon dissipated leaving his hands empty. Everything around him turned dark then a girl in the form of a spirit appeared, slowly materializing like a character in a game.

Stephan kept his eyes on her. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, with her silky white hair, her milky skin, and her long elegant dress that resembled ones of ancient Greek gods with a cape hood that flowed over her body, guided by a mysterious wind. He couldn't believe his eyes. She entered the dark space and illuminated it with her radiant aura.

When she finally managed to materialize in darkness, she looked around, puzzled. Her eyes were looking for someone. They stopped at Stephan then looked around again. "Did I pull the wrong person? I was supposed to be summoned immediately to offer a reward," she asked herself.

"Am I in a dream? Wait," he tapped his right fist on his left palm. "I died and finally I will be reborn into another world, hahahaha… Quickly, do your job." He raised his nose high in the air proudly thinking he has a chance to find a place where he would belong.

"I am here to bargain with a certain Stephan Lancaster but if my memory serves me right, Stephen isn't a fat lad with a stomach that made him look like a pregnant woman, with four eyes and a short height. Am I in the wrong house?"

"No, I am certainly Stephan Lancaster," her comment made him look at her with disappointment. "I am not fat, I am just easier to see. I save food for future uses; I can't believe you don't know how a human body works."

"Heee," her body shrieked back in disbelief. "I thought you were a handsome man. How can you do that to me? Since the deed is already done, I am here to bargain. You are not dead and you are not about to be dead."

"Then what's happening now?" he pinched his cheek. "Am I dreaming? I am certainly dreaming, maybe one bag of chips isn't enough. I must have fainted from hunger."

"No, as I said I am here to bargain," she floated around like a phantom. The only sound was that of her mantle swept by the wind.

"I heard you managed to finish my game and as promised, I need to deliver the reward to you," she spoke gracefully pulling all the charm from her vicinity. "I need to do it personally, I have a reputation to maintain. My bargain is as this: if you accept, you will switch bodies with someone on another planet. That planet is completely different from this one. It has war, battles, infected… All kinds of monsters you have been battling in those games. What do you think? Do you accept my bargain?" she stretched her hand asking him to take it but he wasn't confident. He smelled scamming in the air.

"So your reward is a stupid bargain. I thought the reward would be something interesting. What will I earn from it?"

"You will get to live the life of your dreams, isn't this enough? Furthermore, there was no mention of what the reward was."

"It's tempting but I feel like I am missing something."

"Don't think too much! You will like it on the other side," she smirked then clicked her fingers.

It was just a moment for Stephan but he was indeed feeling different. It was as if he were in another body. "Wait… I still have an event to complete."

***********

'The bad news is time flies fast and the good news is that you are the pilot.'

What did it mean to be the pilot of your time?

It was a quote that accompanied him all his life and took a hold of all his decisions. Some people considered it a mantra to follow throughout all their lives while others simply dismissed it and took another as a mantra. Everyone had a motto, one way or another. There was no one who would walk blindly into life without having a guide. The mantra was the guide as Maddock followed it and shaped his personality.

What did it mean for him to be pilot of his time?

Time was life itself in another shape. It was about moving forward while planning the path and making decisions. But what's the point of planning when life itself put you in a choice when you can't choose? Either way he chose, the result was one outcome: DEATH.

CONDEMNED TO DIE BY EXILE.

For six weeks, this thought dwelt within him, congealing his blood, bearing down beneath his weight!

Once, it seemed that it were years not days and not weeks, he was like other men again. Each day, each hour, each minute, he thought about how he was someone important in the kingdom then he fell into disgrace.

Whatever he did, this dread thought was ever with him, like a ghost by his side, alone and jealous, chasing away all other thoughts, face to face with his wretched self, and touching him with its icy hands when he turned away and closed my eyes. Everything whispered to him: CONDEMNED TO DIE BY EXILE.

For anyone hearing about exile, he would think that it was fairly normal, that it wouldn't bring someone to die. Nevertheless, the world called Masmoenia was a cruel one, deprived of any sense, unreasonable, chaotic, it had no meaning and especially unfair.

Masmoenia was a cursed planet. A plague spread all across the world infecting anyone turning them into undead. For races to live in it, they built walls and worshipped deities with blessing powers to protect them from the spread of the virus. Valtrar was the only kingdom left for human; they lost everything during the war and were left with a single small kingdom.

The outside had miasma spreading in degrees with all kinds of monsters. To survive the miasma, you need a blessing from the pope but Maddock was a condemned; he was stripped of everything that would protect him and let him keep his sanity.

Maddock was stripped from his abilities. He was a prisoner and they had him under control. For three days his trial had been going on, for three days he was dragged in front of everyone to the court and heard his crimes being sang. He didn't do it but he had to shelter the responsibility because no one was on his side. Someone had to be the scapegoat.

He was still sleeping with someone threw a bucket of cold water over his head. His gaze fell on the silhouette and noticed the presence of a second one. They were knights from the order and they were there to escort him beyond the walls. He clenched his fists, ready to hit but quickly changed his mind. It wasn't wise to hit the knights when they had more powers than him now.

"Did the cold water kill you already? I have never heard of anyone dying by cold water," one of the knights said laughing uncontrollably afterwards.

Maddock dismissed the petty mockery as he stretched his hands forward to put the handcuffs on his wrists. They crossed the corridors to the outside and he was blinded by the blue sky. He had never seen it so blue before. There were even the rays of the sun, falling across the walls. He was forced to walk the road with people standing on each side of it. They cursed and insulted him. Children found it funny to collect stones and throw it at him.

The sound of the crowd and their mockeries rose as he walked in humiliation. He handled it well at the beginning but in the end, he got angry. He wasn't a criminal in any way and the kingdom has lost a loyal man. He then raised both his middle-fingers, responding to the public reaction.

"You will all rot in hell," he shouted. "Do you think that be exiling me you will earn anything? You will earn shit and my laughter from the heavens. Remember my words, yall. You will never have a peaceful day. Say your farewells to good life."

The knights behind him unsheathed their swords and ordered him to move on instead of talking. He was followed by many knights for two reasons: the new king feared that he would break the restriction on him, the second was to clear the road.

"You should save the energy you use in talking to fighting the infection. Who knows? You might become an undead with a mind," a knight smirked.

"I don't need your fake care. If I stay alive, I will make sure to make you beg for my forgiveness, all the present in this walk and all the ones throwing shit at me."

Maddock was thrown outside the wall after removing his handcuffs and left to die in the miasma. There was no way for a living to survive a deadly miasma that turned a person into an undead within a second. He waited for death to come but surprisingly, he was fine.

[Test, test… Do you hear me?]

A feminine voice resounded in his head. He thought hallucinations were the result of the miasma but he soon dismissed it.

[I am seriously talking to you. I can't keep you safe for a long time. I am here to bargain.]

He was enveloped in complete darkness then an angelic appearance materialized in front of him. For Maddock, all beautiful beings were poison; he clenched his fists, ready to initiate any counter-attack. But the appearance only smiled.

[I am here to bargain not to fight. You are already dying. But I came here with good news,] she said excited. [I can help you stay alive but I need your consent.]

"Are you pranking me? Am I already dead? What's with all this darkness?"

[We are in a secluded dimension. I am here because I pitied you. Don't make me lose energy for nothing! Don't you think that this world is unfair to you?] He nodded. [Don't you think that a world that can give you prestige as long as you work hard is better than this one?] he nodded. [Then congratulations! You are picked for the lottery and you are chosen to join another world. You will have what you seek in there.]

"It feels like a scam."

[Tch! How come you say the same thing?] she clicked her fingers. [Anyway, you don't have a say in this. If I didn't protect you just now, you would have become an undead so be grateful.]

"What are you? Will you say you are some kind of a deity? I am not a believer. I will not worship you if that is what you will ask."

[No, I am one of the seat holders and we don't need worshipping. In fact, you must have realized that those popes use their own abilities to protect you from the plague. You don't need to care about that. For now, you will be able to live the life of your dreams.]

She clicked her fingers again then in the lapse of a moment, he felt heavy. On the other side, Stephan felt like he lost something important and fainted. He was unable to maintain his consciousness long enough because of the miasma.

[There is only one thing left to do: the system.]