"Saras Gayen! Are you reading those dusty old books again?" Nina Gayen's shout preceded her entrance as she banged open the door to her son's room. As she expected, she found Saras sitting on his bean bag, holding a paperback copy of World History: The Ancient Civilizations. She snatched the book from his hands and tossed it into the pile of other books covering a range of topics from politics to economics related to Earth. "Look at Ellie's daughter, Stivi. She has already reached Level 3 in the Dreamverse VR within two hours of its launch. Why are you still lounging at home?" "I am not lounging! I am studying History…" Saras protested, looking at the book pile before turning his gaze towards his mother. She stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at him as if he had committed a grave sin by not entering the game as soon as it was launched. "You are turning 25 this year. If you don't play the Dreamverse VR now and join a good guild, how will you find a wife?" Thus started his journey as he once again navigated the VR scene through the mysterious game Dreamverse VR that was said to hold the keys to Human Evolution.
Even as the sun rose towards the zenith, the bustling training grounds of the City Guard found no peace. Although quite a few City guards had passed the obstacle course once or twice, they were far from completing the mandated 15 repetitions.
Commander Povnar steeled his heart and ignored the wailing of his City Guards to watch the attempts of the Harbingers.
In the past half an hour, the Harbingers led by Samar had attempted the course quite a few times. They were caked in mud and bruised from the Earthen Spikes but the light in their eyes had not dimmed.
Now, Samar was ready to take another gander at the course!
"Whoosh!" Samar exhaled deeply as he stood in front of the mud pit, his eyes scanning the reptiles disturbed by the City Guards. He mapped their course and dived into the mud pit, crawling his way to the other side.