Chapter 1 - Becoming a Player

August 01, 2036*

The warmth of the day hung in the air, drawing people out into the streets. Everywhere you looked, there was life—some lost in their work, others laughing with friends, while a few simply rested, savoring the quiet moments in between. The world seemed to move at its own pace, a gentle hum of activity under the sun's embrace.

Elson Lake, an 18-year-old professional gamer, was a figure of solitude, often found hidden away in the confines of his room. The soft glow of his screen was his only companion, his world shrinking to the games he mastered. He was the only one left in the house, ever since the car crash that claimed the lives of his parents, leaving him to navigate life in silence and isolation.

While playing, the glow of the screen bathed his face in soft blue light as he immersed himself in 'Fantasy Systema', the latest VRMMO that had taken the world by storm. The mechanics were intricate, the world expansive, and the freedom exhilarating. He had barely begun to grasp the nuances of combat when—

Ding!

[Yes] or [No]

A translucent message box materialized before him, its golden letters pulsing with an eerie glow. Unlike the usual tutorial prompts, this one felt… different.

"Who?!...Who are you?!"

The words hovered in the air, weightier than they should have been. His fingers hesitated over the interface. This wasn't part of the game. At least, it wasn't supposed to be.

His heart pounded. Was this a secret event? A hidden quest? Or was something far stranger at play?

Elson hesitated for only a moment, swallowed hard and, with a deep breath, answered.

"Yes." - Given by the curiousity he had.

The instant he confirmed, the world around him twisted. A blinding blue light erupted from the screen, swallowing everything in its glow. His room, his gaming setup—all of it dissolved as if it had never existed.

Panic surged in his chest. He tried to move, to stand, to reach for something—anything—but his body felt weightless, as if he were drifting in an endless void. His senses blurred.

After being transported to an unknown place, Elson first observed the current surroundings to know where he is in right now, but was shocked to sight that he's not the only who got taken to this place.

Not just equal or less than 15 people but with a hundred more of them, in this place that gives out a little inky and gloomy atmosphere.

"Hey what's happening?!"

"Where are we?..."

"Why is it dark in here?"

Three people panically says, questioning the situation they're in, while others were being quiet and anxious, some are slowly falling their minds into frenzy.

Elson, while appraising, was just silently trying to adapt in the situation. Beside from his calm appearance, he's really scared, but he thinks that this is not the time for that to panic.

"So what's going to happen to us now?!.. Are we locked up in here? "

"Tskkk, I really need to get out!.. " - Elson's thought.

"Hmmm Is it maybe we'll become player's just like in games? " is what's in his mind while being serious.

Then a blue light appeared again. "Hey what's happening again?! " Elson shouted the moment he saw a glowing blue light shaped, spawned in circle under him.

Then a message from the system appeared again...

"What?!!!" a shocking news appeared in his eyes .

"I really did become a player?! Are you kidding me?! " - madly said it

5%...28%...52%...81%...100%>

[Yes] [No]

"Yes! " Elson answered while thinking...

'I don't care what it is, I still want it...' --excitedly thinking about it...

"Uhmmm, Open Status...? "

[Name: Elson Lake] [Sex: M] [Age: 18]

[HP: 100/100] [MP: 200/200]

[Class: Classless] [Level: 1]

[Status Points: 20]

[Strength: 3] [+] [Defense: 3] [+]

[Speed: 4] [+] [Mp: 6] [+]

"So I have 20 stats points, hmmm? Well since they even gave a bonus stats points, I guess I'll put 7 on [strength], 7 for the [defense], and 6 for [speed]. "

[Status points: 0]

[Strength: 10] [Defense: 10]

[Speed: 10] [Mp: 6]

"Now that my stats are all set, next is my skills. "

Elson took a peek to his skills, but the moment he laid his eyes upon the unique skill, he was blabbergasted again.

[Unique Skill: Skill Make (SSR)]

●Can make any skills and by using Skill points.

[Skill points:10,000]

●Use to buy any skills from Skill make.

●No Cooldown

[Appraisal (SS)]

●Can let you see any information (be it players, living things, and non-living things)

●No Cooldown

[Stealth (B)]

●It makes you invisible to the human eye for about 4 minutes. More like an invisibility skill.

●Cooldown: 5 min.

[Sword Slash (C)]

●Slash you enemy using sword. Can do 1-2 slash.

●Cooldown: 5 min.

"Really, did I become a monster?"

"Haha, guess this is not the time for a joke"

He was really fast at adapting to the situation he's in right now, that's why he's calm. After that, the are all got teleported again.

The teleportation ended, they've arrive a new location, "Stealth activate. " Elson use his skill after arriving, so that nobody can know him or disturb him.

'It would be a pain in the ass if someone here learned more about me, so I need to keep my skills and info a secret.' - In Elson's thought.

They then saw 3 doors in front of them, each door has specific level of game mode difficulties, the 1st door says "Normal", The 2nd door was "Nightmare", and the 3rd is "Hell"...

While Elson roams around, others are busy talking about what kind of door is that.

"Um could it be that it is some kind of trial mode? " - Girl #1

"Hmmm you have a points. Just like the window system earlier appeared, after that we became a player because of... " - said by Guy#1. However, he was interupted by Guy#2.

"Well, as we have became a player, we gained abilities and skills. Why not just we all work together, be a team and go to Door 1? "

"Yeah, he's right"

"Right! The more, the merrier"

"Yes, yes"

"That's right!" - what everyone is saying.

"We're not sure about that but in this situation, we really have to work together from now on." - Guy#1

"Since we obtained abilities and classes, those who are a mage class, please come in here and go to the left. The Tankers are in the middle, and the fighters are on the right!!" - Guy#1

Even though Elson knew he was Classless, he did not go there.

'Ohh They're going to the easy one, I really should not follow them.Following them only means following my doom. I need to grow stronger and level up, so that I can make usefull skills.' - Is what Elson said to himself.

'I need to go to Door 3 and Level up, I know I survived inside it because of my [Stealth] skill.'

In his case, he already knew what's happening and he knows what he's doing because the system panel of the game he always played was similar to this. He knew that inside of each room, there's monsters inside that players need to kill.

But thanks to his 'Stealth' skill, no one could feel his presence, be it players and monsters. Because of that, he thought he can survived to Door 3..

Then a moment later, the people that group up earlier, entered Door 1. So Elson was the only one left in there...

"Ok, calm down. Calm down"

"I can do this! I just use my stealth skill."

After convincing himself, he then open Door 3 and entered it....