the room 2

As I stepped into the room, I was immediately struck by its vastness. It stretched out before me, resembling the size of a basketball court.

At the center of the room, commanding attention and radiating grandeur was an emperor-sized bed. It was surrounded by a few tables and pieces of furniture, creating a cozy and inviting atmosphere in this expansive space. It seemed to be a haven of rest and respite, a sanctuary nestled amidst the potential for endless exploration and discovery.

The right wall, extending the entire length of the room, was made entirely of glass, offering a clear view of what appeared to be an equally spacious training hall beyond.

To my right, I noticed six glass doors neatly aligned along the wall with big labels above them announcing their names. Each door seemed to lead to a different area, beckoning me to explore. The first door led to a lush greenhouse. It was empty at the time but I couldn't help imagining how beautiful it could be with just a little bit of work. Next to it was the entrance to an alchemy lab, brimming with mysterious vials and bubbling potions. The tantalizing aromas of experimentation wafted through the air.

Continuing down the line of doors, I found myself standing before a welcoming entrance to a kitchen. The aroma of freshly cooked meals hung in the air, and the counters were adorned with cooking utensils and appliances. It was as if someone was expecting us, making a feast ready just for us. The next door revealed a fully equipped science lab, with intricate apparatuses. It was very similar to the alchemy lab except for a few added equipment.

Moving further along, I came to a door that led to a library, housing an extensive collection of books, both old and new. The shelves were filled with knowledge waiting to be discovered, and the tranquil atmosphere invited me to dive into the depths of countless stories and information. Finally, I reached the last door, which opened into a smithy.

On the front wall, there was an intriguing enigma: a 2x2 cave. Its purpose remained a mystery to me, leaving me filled with curiosity and wonder. Perhaps it held a secret or concealed a hidden passage, but for now, it remained an enigma waiting to be unraveled.

"Wow, he has labs for all the main jobs. There is also a greenhouse and a mineral cave." One of the boys stated from behind me.

"And look at all this equipment. There must be a few with levels higher than 5, right?"

"Are you kidding me? There's no way…"

As they were talking among themselves, I walked toward the glass wall, looking past it.

Behind the glass wall, there was what seemed to be a dojo, with a wooden floor and an Asian-style interior.

Malia who looked like she was trying her best to suppress her surprise and seem cool, walked toward me. "Why don't you enter?"

I looked at her for a second and looked back at the glass wall, not seeing any doors. I looked back at her, "But there are no doors..."

Malia giggled for reasons unknown to me and said, "Just command the room AI to open the door for you."

I looked at the glass wall again and then toward no person, I said, "Can you open the door to the dojo please?"

"Opening a door to the training hall."

"Welcome to the training hall."

"You can customize the environment by asking me."

"You can change the layout by asking me."

"You can generate up to twenty realistic training holograms."

"To generate more, you have to pay a monthly fee of …...."

As soon as I walked into the dojo, or training hall, or whatever it was, a bunch of notifications appeared in front of me, making me take a step back in surprise.

The most interesting notification though was a notification regarding techniques.

"You have acquired two intermediate techniques and an advance one."

"What are techniques?" I asked Malia who didn't seem to see the blue window in front of me.

"They are…. Well, techniques… by learning them, you can raise your combat prowess… why? Did you get something?" 

"I… got three."

"WHAT? You got three basic techniques in your starting pack?" Nill who was standing next to Malia shouted.

"well…. No.." before I could finish my statement, Nill sighed and said, "I knew you were joking." But my next words almost caused him to pass out, "I got two intermediate and one advance technique."

This time, even Malia couldn't control her shock. She grabbed me by the arm, saying, "Let me see..."

"How?"

"Just get the system notifications out of private mode."

I did as she said and the next second, by Malia's reaction, it seemed like she could see the notifications, "It's real, two intermediate and one advance…"

Malia was in a daze for a few seconds but then got herself together and looked left and right, making sure nobody was near before saying, "Put everything in private mode…. I mean everything."

I looked at her puzzled for a few seconds then asked, "What do you mean?"

"Look, I'm sorry to have invaded your privacy when you clearly don't know anything about how these things work, and I don't even know your name, but…"

"It's Alex," I said, a little ashamed that I hadn't introduced myself before.

"Alex, well, look, Alex, letting others see your room is like sharing your private information and well…. I'm sorry, but in the eyes of everyone in this room, you are practically an open book right now."

Looking at Malia, I couldn't see the point she was making, so what if others saw my room and knew that I had gotten a few techniques?

Seeing my puzzled face, Malia sighed and said, "Just do as I say and read the welcome manual. You will understand most things by then."

I nodded and put everything in private mode just like Malia asked.

After putting everything in private mode, I heard the others complaining, "Why was I thrown out of the lab? I was just looking at the equipment."

"Can you let us back in please?" a girl walked toward me and asked with puppy eyes, but before I could say anything, Malia walked in front of me, "That's enough, we already invaded too much of his privacy. Let's go back to our room now."

The others wanted to complain but it seemed like they all feared Malia to some extent.

When they all left the room, Malia looked back at me and said, "Just read the manual and if you have any questions come ask me. I'm in room 1377 and Nill is in room 1360. We are both right down the hall."

I nodded and thanked her for her help, then closed the door and went to my bed, where a wrapped box was put there next to a booklet.

I looked at the box and then at the booklet. Nobody told me anything about the box so I grabbed it and shook it to see if I could guess what was in it.

The box made some noises like a rock was inside it. I became a little suspicious, thinking back to all the movies I had seen where the main character would get caught in a bombing attempt so I asked the AI, "Is it possible to see if it's safe to open the box or not?" 

"Please get the box to the training hall and put it on the table."

I was about to say that there was no table in the training hall as I turned to look at it, but in the middle of the training hall, there was a table coming out of the floor.

Deciding not to be surprised by every little thing anymore, I controlled myself and walked to the table.

After putting the box on the table, it started glowing and the next second, the box became transparent, letting me see everything that was inside it.

Inside the box was a shiny rock the size of a baby's fist, and next to it was a white sealed envelope.

"Scanning the interior of the object."

A ray of light went through the box and scanned everything in it and a few seconds later, the AI announced, "No threats found."

"What is that rock then?"

"without direct contact with the item, I can't make a hundred percent assumption but based on its features, it seems to be a rank 1 or 2 mythic beast core."

"What are those?"

"Beast cores can be absorbed by the user, helping you advance in ranks. For further details please read the manual.

I pondered for a few seconds, grabbed the box, and went back to my bed.

After a few minutes of looking at the box, I finally opened it and looked inside.

Truth be told, I was more interested in the envelope than the rock. I didn't even know its worth.

So without looking at the rock for even a second, I grabbed the envelope.

It was a simple white envelope with a line written on the back of it, "To my future son/daughter, whichever you are."