Chapter Three

Light entered the room filled with an escaping darkness. Alem laid on his comfortable bed while the shine began to attack his face. 'Damn, another day.' He got up slowly, groaning a little while looking towards the blinding light. He stood up from his bed and slouched his way towards the washroom just outside his room.

"Alem, hurry up, you have to go to work as well!" His mom's voice came from the stairs, she seemed energized, yet also a little angry. "I also have to talk to you about last night."

'Last night?' Brushing his teeth, he began to recall the weird things that happened. 'That dream is really vivid, it really seems real. Who knows, though.' He smiled and walked down the steps, the front of his hair still a little wet from the water. "Mom, what do you mean? What happened last night?" He was a little confused.

"Are you trying to act dumb?" She glared at him, while passing him a plate of eggs and bread. "You woke everyone up last night for no reason. Your dad was very upset before he left, you know he already gets little sleep."

"What?" He looked at her weirdly. "Oh ye." He suddenly remembered. "Mom, I told you, even I don't know what happened. I never do things like that, you know that." He sighed, there really wasn't any memory as to how he got home last night.

"I know you don't do things like that, but the reality is, you did." She sighed, sitting beside him with her hands on her forehead. "Anyways, are the results for your test out yet?" She looked at him with tired eyes.

"No, not yet." He said with a calm expression, not showing any flinching or weirdness. "It should come anytime this week though."

"Alright." She smiled a little before walking towards the sink and getting a glass of water. She began to sip quietly, while Alem ate his food.

After he was done, he strolled around the kitchen for a bit, making small talk with his mom, just to help settle the food. "Alright, I'm going to work now---"

DING DONG

"Who could be here right now?" He looked at his mom in confusion, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not sure." She was equally confused. Drying her hands on a small towel nearby, she walked towards the front door, with Alem watching her back.

He heard mumbling, but couldn't make out what was being said.

"Alem, come here for a second, someone is here to see you." He heard his mom's voice which was a little higher pitched than normal.

"Coming." He jogged slowly towards the door, but before he could reach it, the sight made him pause.

"Hello Alem Siris, my name is Sham." Eyes which were a bright purple stared at him.

"Y-you…" He couldn't help but widen his eyes. It was the old man from his dreams, yet his current look was very different. He looked very professional, almost business like. He wore a tight black suit, with a white tie. His hair was neatly combed back, while in his left hand was a cane, with a briefcase in his right.

"You don't remember me? Didn't we speak about a week ago, about the scholarship program?" The old man smiled, looking at Alem deeply.

"Oh yeah…" Alem smiled a little, but his heart was in waves. "Mom, can you bring him in for some tea, I will be right back." Without saying another word, he ran towards the stairs and then up into his room.

"Sure…" Seeing his weird actions, she was baffled. He never acted like this, he was usually calm and collected, yet she saw shock in his eyes. Even a bit of fear was present, something she almost missed.

"Ma'am?" Sham looked at her and smiled.

"Oh yes, come in." She took a step back and allowed the old man in. She led him to the living room and sat him down, asking if he wanted refreshments or small snacks.

"There is no way this is real! Is it?" He looked around his room, throwing pillows and everything, looking for something. "If I can find it, then that means… everything is real!" He hopped onto his bed and threw the blanket towards the floor and lifted his pillow, suddenly his actions stopped. 'I-It's here…'

A single ring. It was completely black, with a single red gem. Picking it up, he wore it and clenched his fists. His mind traveled and thought about what happened last night. 'Just think about the ring…'

He remembered the instructions from last night and did as told. He focused and began to think about the ring, not thinking of anything else. His vision began to darken with this, and suddenly his eyes met a grey world. 'Where is this?' He looked around and suddenly a book appeared in front of him, it sat silently on the ground. It was grey, much like the world.

List. This was the title of the book. He lifted it up and flipped to the first page. This book contains a list of all items inside the ring. Find one you like and tap it. The instructions were simple, so he did as told. Looking through the book, he saw various things. Cash from various currencies, gold, diamonds, other metals, and so much more.

"I'll just take a bit of cash then. Since I'm here in the US, I might as well go with the US currency." With his mind made up, he selected the item.

Please select the amount wanted.

"One hundred!" He didn't hesitate to say this. After these words were spoken, his vision faded, and he saw his room once more. Looking at his right hand, the one wearing the ring, he found himself holding a hundred-dollar bill. "I-it's real!" His mouth opened up widely. He couldn't help but fall onto his bed and look at the bill in his hand. It was really there, in his hand, a physical thing, not something from his imagination. "That means everything is true, the magic, the world of diamonds, the task, Celius, and even he." His eyes began to dull a little. 'So, I'm what is considered a chosen one? Atleast, the chosen one for this experiment?' He couldn't help but laugh blandly. He wasn't afraid of death, rather he welcomed it. He didn't have many fears, only the concern for his family and the reputation of his family. That was his one and only concern in life, nothing more. If the task was truly there, then there was a high chance his parents and family could be killed. 'They will die eventually, but I would rather them be alive for as long as they can.' He sighed before getting up and walking out of his room. Though all of this was shocking, like most things, he didn't get too worked up. Everything would happen and there was nothing he could do, so he just accepted it.

"Alem, what happened? Who is the person downstairs?" As he walked towards the stairs, his younger sister, who was nineteen, looked at him weirdly.

"You will see." He smiled weirdly before walking down.

"Alem, come here, listen to what he is saying!" As he approached the living room, he saw his mom beaming while talking to the old man. There was excitement on her face, one he had only seen when he got accepted into a medical school.

Walking over, he sat down and smiled at Sham. "So, Mr. Sham, about this scholarship program, would you mind explaining it to me? We only briefly discussed it last time." Since he knew some things, Alem decided to just go along with everything.

"Of course. Just as I was explaining to your mother, this program is two years long. Not only that, but since you did so incredibly well on your USMLE, we have already arranged for your certification from the board..." He went on to explain various things that Alem didn't know about. "...We have already arranged the place you will be staying for the next two years, unfortunately, you and your family cannot meet until the program is completed." He sighed and acted very well. Alem was impressed.

"We can't even visit him?" His mother began to hesitate. Why would she be okay with her son being away for two years? How could she bear that?

"I'm sorry, but the program is like this, but don't worry. The government has already issued us this proof that says everything we do is very real and legal." He pulled out a booklet from his pocket, and a certificate with it. He passed them both to Alem's mother and smiled. "You can keep these and show it to any government official and they will recognize it. Although our program has only just launched, with Alem being the first student, it is still very good."

"I think I would like to speak to my husband about this first." She couldn't decide on this alone. It was a major decision.

"Don't worry, your husband should be home anytime. I have sent someone to bring him over, this is after all a major decision, but there are only benefits." He smiled.

"Mom, can I talk to him alone for a while?" Alem suddenly looked at his mom and smiled.

"No problem." She nodded and left the room.

"Sham, or rather Shameless." Alem stared at him deeply. "So, everything that happened, everything you told me is… real? Even him?" Although he believed it now, he just wanted this last confirmation.

"Yes." He sighed and chugged the cup of water before placing it on the table in front of him. "I know you well. Without proper consent from your parents, you wouldn't come. Even though you don't have a choice, I knew it would just impact you badly later."

"So, you're here to convince my parents?" He smiled. It was a weird notion. Even though the task could jeopardize the various universes, including his own, Alem still needed permission from his parents. "Well, you don't have to worry too much about that, my parents are a little bit persistent, but it will be fine. Just wait for my dad, I will do it." His eyes then glanced at the certificate and the booklet. "Are those things truly legit?"

"Of course." Shameless patted his chest and smiled. "Using my powers, I inserted memories of this organization and even legalised it. On paper it exists and is truly new. Do you really think I would make dumb mistakes?"

"Just confirming." Alem smiled. "Still, two years away worries me, my parents are getting old, and my job is needed."

"I took that into consideration as well. Don't worry, every little thing has been planned for. As my last disciple and even the hope in saving everyone, I will not make a single mistake." Shameless looked serious. "Just wait for your dad, then let's complete this. I could use my powers to alter their perspectives on this idea and even just force them to agree, but I will not do such a thing. Not on your family atleast."

They sat around for ten or so minutes before the front door swung open. His dad walked in with a bit of panic. "Where is Alem? What happened to him?"

"Dad?" He looked at his panicked father and then at Shameless. He frowned a little, but the latter shrugged his shoulders.

"Just did what I needed to." He smiled before getting up. "Mr. Siris, don't worry, nothing happened to your son. I was the one who called you like that, my apologies." He bowed a little, something unusual to Alem.

"You did?" His dad suddenly frowned at this stranger. "Who are you?" His work was important, it fed his family. If this old man did something like this as a joke, then that was just hateful.

"I apologize, but I needed the whole family here for this. It's regarding your sons immediate future." Shameless looked at Alem's mom who walked in. "Miss Siris, would you mind calling the other children downstairs?"

"Umm… alright." She nodded before going up the stairs and bringing two people down. They were his sister and brother.

"Sir, please sit." Shameless sat everyone down, having Alem sit beside him.

"What's going on?" Alem's dad still had a frown on his face.

"I would like you to take this first." Shameless passed the briefcase over to Alem's dad. The latter looked at him weirdly before accepting it. "Inside is a small gift from my organization."

Alem's dad opened it up and his eyes widened. Bills, countless bills filled the briefcase. The total was unknown, but he could tell it was something much more than even the largest number in his mind. "T-this…"

He wanted to say something, but Shameless stopped him. "Let me first make a few introductions. My name is Sham and I'm from a new organization called 'The Task'. We give out scholarships to people who we deem worthy of receiving it. The scholarship will allow the person to obtain not only any certification wanted, but it allows for us to specially train them in that field, so that they could better help society." He smiled and took out an ID card. It was government issued, with the top saying The Task Chairman! "Alem has been selected as the first student for this program, and when he enters, he will automatically receive the certification of a doctor from not us, but from the medical board." A sly smile suddenly appeared on his face. "Well, I actually already have his certification with me." He passed a small piece of lamented paper, with Alem's picture and name on it. Even Alem was impressed by this.

"W-when did this happen?" His dad looked at Alem with wide eyes, yet pride was deep within it.

Alem didn't say anything, he just let Shameless do the talking. "The money that you hold only equates to a million dollars, but in this card, there are unlimited funds." He handed a credit card to Alem's dad. "We will constantly fill it, well technically, this is Alem's salary money. He may be undergoing training, but we will still be paying for everything he does. After all, the best way to be a doctor is to treat patients. That's the best practice." This was Shameless' way of convincing him to take the card. If it was charity, Alem's dad would likely reject, but if it was his son's hard-earned money, why would he say anything?

"How did my son get selected?" His dad was all smiles, but there was still confusion on his face. He knew his son wasn't that smart.

"After scoring high on the USMLE, we reached out to him, as well as a few other candidates, but the test we conducted, only Alem passed them all. He is truly meant to be a doctor." Shameless smiled brightly, not showing any fakeness. "Here are the results of the tests we conducted with him. And this is the question sheet."

Shameless prepared everything. From the lies to all the small details. Nothing was left out. The conversation went back and forth for the next hour.

"It's just two years?" Alem's dad looked at Shameless with a questioning expression.

"Yes, only this long. Once this program is complete, Alem will be done with the program, and we will choose the next person. " Shameless smiled.

"Fine." Alem's dad sighed and nodded his head. "When will he have to leave?"

"On the third of next month." That was exactly a month from now.

"Alem, come over there with me for a second." Alem got up and followed his dad into the kitchen.

"What's wrong?" He looked at his dad weirdly.

"I don't know when you did this nor how you got this blessed, but I'm proud of you. You did not let me down." His dad smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "Two years is a long time, and who knows, I may not be alive when you come back, but you have allowed your father to live the rest of his life worry free."

"What are you talking about, nothing will happen to you." Alem frowned. This was how his dad always spoke. Always talking about death and alike. It upset him. "I will be back after two years; it will be fine. While I'm gone, you don't have to work anymore, just go and travel the world with mom."

"Of course, I will." His dad smiled. "I will quit today, and just relax with your mom." His dad's eyes were wet with tears, excited and proud of his son. "Me and your mom won't be with you for the next two years, but make sure to take care well alright? I know you can handle yourself, after all, you are independent and smart."

"I know dad, I can handle this. No problem." Alem smiled. "Anyways, I will still be here for the next month, so we can hang out for as long as possible now. We have enough funds to finally buy a new car, a better house, the plot you wanted, and so much more. Buy mom back all the jewelry she sold, call grandma here as well, Sham can handle the visa and the like. His connection with the government is deep." Alem began to list out all the things with an excited smile. There were all things he promised to do for his parents when he became a doctor. Now he could help accomplish them all.

"Of course, I will handle it all. You just go and do what you need. I need to quickly go out and meet your aunty and uncle. I have to tell them all the good news." His dad smiled excitedly, but this made Alem frown.

"Don't go and boast in front of them. It's not a good thing to do, plus they always get mad at you for it. When I wrote my first book, you kept talking about it until it literally caused a fight. So, please. Don't go and cause fights. Money isn't a problem anymore, but that doesn't mean everything is solved." He began to instruct his dad a little. Sure, his dad was older and more mature, but his dad had his own personality issues.

"Alright alright, I won't. Plus, we're all a big family, so what we got, they got as well." His dad was big hearted, so he wasn't worried about him making fun of them in any way. If anything, he would use his money and buy every single family member a house. His dad was very giving.

"Anyways, I'm going to work and tell them the situation as well. I also need to inform a few friends too." He had a few people to say goodbye to. Plus, he still needed to quit his own job properly. He wasn't going to just not show, that would be bad for him, that wasn't his personality.

"Go ahead, do what you need to." With that, they both walked back into the living room, where only Alem's mom and siblings were present. "Where did Mr. Sham go?"

"He said that he would be back on the third." His mom stood up and smiled, walking over to Alem with a beaming smile. "My son, you did good. You've made your mother happy and proud."

"Alright alright." He never liked this treatment, people being overly proud or affectionate towards him, it was just weird to him. "It's no big deal, just relax. I need to go out for a bit, so I will be back later."

"Ok, be back soon though. I'm going to make a big meal tonight." His mom was super excited.

"Alem, who knew you were so smart?" As he walked to the door, his little brother walked over to him with a smile.

"Get lost Cas." Alem smiled at his younger brother.

"What did you expect? Alem has the brains in our family." His younger sister also pitched in, sighing a little.

"Actually, only you're the dumb one Espen. Everyone else is smart." Cas smiled at his sister who began to glare at him.

"Cas, stop being annoying, get lost." Espen pushed him before rushing up the stairs, into her room. Possible to tell her many friends about the news?

"Still, congrats Alem. I'm still shocked this is happening. I can finally get that new console." He smiled a little.

"Go ahead, nothing is stopping you now." Alem smiled at this brother. They were close to the point where Alem treated him like a child almost, after all, there was a nine year difference between them.

Smiling widely, Cas also ran towards the stairs, heading into his own room. Alem shook his head and walked out the door. Walking towards his garage, he entered the passcode and slowly the garage opened up. "Damn." With a raised eyebrow, Alem stared at the car in front of him. It wasn't his, rather it was a new, complete black car. The windows were tinted, and the headlights were also darkened. Plus, it wasn't shiny, rather it was matte black, which appealed to his taste even more.

"What do you think? Nice, right?" Shameless stood in the corner with a smile.

"Yup, it's nice." Alem walked over and touched his new car with a smile.

"Well, these are just gifts to my disciple, but only these few things are gifts. Once you start cultivating, you will understand how useless these things are. Also, do you remember that diamond world?" Shameless pulled a piece of diamond from his coat and tossed it to Alem.

"Are you giving me that world as well?" Alem smiled and asked.

"Nope." He smiled a little.

"Then?" Alem became a little curious.

"You will earn it. From now on, everything will be earned. That world will be the first reward to you, if you complete the first part of training." Shameless showed a smile that matched his name.

"What is the training? Plus, how would that be useful to me? I can't move it or anything. Plus, didn't you say it would be useless in cultivating?" Alem didn't see much benefit in the gift. It wasn't like he could use it in any way, it was a complete world after all.

"I won't tell you the first part, but let's just say, that world will be useful for your family here. You will understand later." He suddenly threw a jumble of keys to Alem. "This is to the car."

"Thanks then." Alem smiled a little and spoke.

"No need, you're now my disciple, there is no such thing as thanks in our relationship." Shameless spoke with a proud smile.

"Alright then…" He found this weird. The whole idea of disciples and masters, he knew it existed in his world, but it was the talk of olden days, and only a few cultures actually had it. To him, the concept was very foreign.

"Go on, I will appear when I feel the need, or else I will just come to pick you up when it's time to go." Before he left, he tossed one more thing to Alem. "Take this ID, from now on, you will be considered a student of 'The Task'." With a final laugh, Shameless vanished.

"He is a weird person." Alem sat into his new car and started it. A small smile was on his face as he looked at the stylish design on the inside, which was much better than his previous car.

"Alright, when Alem gets here, you two can go on break…" Within a large kitchen with various people running about, a single woman spoke with a serious face. There were beads of sweat on her forehead while her slender hands held onto a clipboard.

"Yeah, sure." The two replied in unison, sweat also covering their forehead. "Nora, let Alem help us in the kitchen, it's already hard enough with just the two of us here."

"Let's see." She didn't give them any confirmation, just giving a very vague answer. She was also a manager in the fast-food restaurant, much like Alem. She had been working there longer than Alem, but was surprisingly younger than him. She was a pretty woman, with light brown hair and hazel eyes.

"Guys, look at that, what the hell!" As Nora was writing a few notes on the clipboard, she heard one of the workers almost shriek.

"What is it?" Walking over with confusion, she looked out the drive through window, trying to find what the girl was pointing to. Her eyes caught sight of the pure matte black car, but the shocking thing was the one driving it. "A-Alem?" She knew Alem and earned the same amount as him. There was no way he could afford such a car.

"Damn, Alem had a car like this? Who would have thought. You managers really do get paid a lot." One of the workers also noticed this and commented with a sigh.

"I wish we got paid this much." Anike sighed, she knew the amount they got paid, it wasn't nearly enough to buy a car like this and actually maintain the payment, month by month. "Also, even if we got paid a lot, how could Alem even obtain a car like this with that salary? He had his own fees to pay as well, plus I heard he has to help out his family with the bills as well." Almost all managers knew about this, since Alem was very open about his life, to a certain extent of course.

"Why isn't he wearing his work clothes?" One of the workers finally noticed this small detail.

"I'm not sure…" Nora was also a little confused. "Maybe he has them in the car?"

Alem soon walked in and smiled at everyone. "What's up?" He looked at them with a bit of confusion. Other than the car, there was no change to him. He still wore his casual clothes and even came to work with his messy hair, this was his normal get up.

"What's with the car?" Someone asked.

"Oh, that? It was a gift." He smiled and spoke.

For some reason, everyone began to sigh in disappointment. They all hoped that Alem was a secret millionaire.

Nora looked at Alem with a frown. "Why aren't you wearing your clothes? We have lots of work to do…" She wanted to keep on going, but Alem smiled and stopped her.

"Is James here?" He didn't need to explain much to her, he was here to quit after all. The only person who needed to know what James, the big boss.

"He's in the office." She looked at him with a continuing frown, and even followed him to the office, curious as to what he was going to say. Alem didn't seem to care, which made it easier for her to follow.

"James." He knocked on the door and walked in.

"Yeah, what's up?" James was a middle-aged man with a pair of glasses on his face. His nose was unusually large, but his overall looks could not be considered hideous.

Alem became a little hesitant, but still spoke up. After all, this wasn't something he could truly control anymore. "Look, I know this is sudden and all, but things have popped up. I'm sorry, but I think I will need to leave my position here."

Nora and James, both were wide eyes, staring at the man who would work even during medical school. He never mentioned quitting or anything alike. Now, he was doing something they never thought, atleast not until he actually found a better job, which they knew hasn't happened yet.

"Alem, what happened?" James couldn't help but ask this question. Alem was with them for the past five or so years. He handled lots of the work and was extremely good at his job, losing him would be a bad thing, in the short term atleast. They didn't have a replacement ready yet.

"The thing is, I got accepted into a scholarship program, and I have to leave for two years because of this." He went ahead and gave James a brief intro as to what happened. When Alem first started, James was just a casual manager, he was actually the one that initially trained Alem. They treated each other more like friends than boss and employee.

Listening carefully, James sighed and nodded his head. "I understand." He got up and patted Alem on the shoulder. "Congratulations Alem, I'm happy it all worked out for you. Although you won't be working here anymore, still, when you complete this program, just come around and have a meal here once in a while." Hearing his words, Alem smiled and nodded his head. He sighed a few papers and then left the office, his heart much lighter than before.

"Alem, are you really going away for that long?" Nora looked at him with a slight bit of unhappiness. Contrary to how he normally acted alone, Alem was a talkative person at work, always joking around. He even began to playfully flirt with Nora at one point. He would make flirtatious remarks at times, some that could have gotten him fired. Yet, one day he just stopped. He became a little quieter after that, slowly making his way up to manager and then getting into medical school and so on.

"Yup." He sighed. "It was fun while it lasted Nora, maybe I'll see you around sometime." He tapped her on the forehead and smiled slightly. "Don't miss me too much." With that said, he walked out while bidding the other workers farewell, yet Nora stood frozen on her spot, looking at him reluctantly.