Gray stairs

  Money would no longer be a problem for me in-game, so far as I have enough soul force to craft more gold coins. The nine silver coins I just got from the city guard could get me a lot here. And the first thing I'll be needing, is a nice short sword... And I knew just where to go.

  I quickly asked around for a certain merchant's stall, and when I got the coordinates, I quickly headed there. Master Williams, was one of the best weapon merchant when I was still a grayman, and was known in many cities, because whichever city he traveled to, he would set-up a weapon stall there, and contract someone to overlook the stall, while he travels to another city.

  So I was heading to coordinates of his stall in this city, to see if I would find the sword of my dreams there. I got to the stall in no time, and began browsing for a non-magic imbued, short sword. 

  After hours of testing and haggling with the stall manager - who looked like he wanted to kick me out so badly - I bought a nice short sword with a brown hilt for five silver coins, a black bladed dagger for three silver coins and seventy bronze coins, and a chain armour for seven silver coins and fifty two bronze coins. Then I got a change of three silver coins and seventy eight bronze coins, after paying two sketched gold coins.

  I went on a shopping spree after that, buying both necessary and unnecessary things, till I was low on soul force and had to preserve the little I had for emergency purposes. I found the most luxurious hotel in the heart of the city, and just paid the classy receptionist my last three sketched gold coins for a week's rent, then headed up the stairs to my room, with multiple shopping bags.

  I had gained a lot today, because I didn't spend even a single bronze coin I had gotten as change, and putting them together, I now have twelve gold coins, nine silver coins, and eighty two bronze coins. And they were all real, weighing in a nice black pouch hanging from my waist, and making melodious jingling as I jogged up the stairs excitedly.

  The keys to the hotel rooms were magic-imbued jade rings, which gave the clients the ability to open or close, lock or unlock their doors at will, when they were at close range.

  I cornered into a wide corridor, which had beautiful paintings adorned on the neat walls by the sides, and doors which had number tags.

"399, 401, 402... 403" I muttered the number tags on the doors I walked pass, till I got to my room door, which had a '403' number tag on it.

  I willed for the fine crafted wooden door before me to unlock and open itself, with the jade ring adorned on my left index finger.

  I was exhausted from all the haggling I did with merchants and traders during my shopping, and walked into my luxurious room with tired eyes. I decided to leave evaluating the rooms quality for later, and quickly headed for the king sized feather bed in the large room. 

  I dropped all my shopping bags to the floor, and threw myself on the comfy soft bed while tapping my left wrist, then tapped on the 'Exit' button below my status screen, and blacked out instantly.

-

  I felt my body materialize, and I opened my eyes in confusion. I saw myself on the top floor of a spiral staircase, and on looking over it's rail, I saw that the stairs spiraled down to eternity.

  The stairs and the walls were all gray, except the rail which was made of a fine brown wood, and has a smooth texture. I looked behind me in confusion, and saw a door, made of the same fine brown wood as the stair rail. There was a green bulb above the door, blinking dimly, and a label was nailed on the gray wall beside the door.

  On the label was written, 'Earth', with a red arrow pointing downwards. I looked over the rail again in fear, as I was unwilling to climb down the stairs to the next floor. 

  But I was also unwilling to open the door before me, so I decided to go down the stairs, to the supposedly 'Earth'. I walked down the stairs with slow steps and a heavy heart, till I got down to the next floor, which had an identical door to that of the first floor, with an unsteady green bulb above, and a nailed label beside the door which reads, 'Gray', with a red arrow pointing upwards and, 'Hall of mysteries' with a red arrow pointing downwards.

  I was starting to understand how things worked in the weird gray stairs... though I knew I didn't. The above floor was for the game world, and this floor for earth, and below was for... Whatever it was for. Was this all programmed?... F*ck! I just remembered that I wasn't in a pod.

  My pod probably exploded when I tried to login, and I can remember hearing Emma's panicked voice, and ambulance sirens. Am I dead?... At the thoughts of being dead, I felt like I would have a heart attack. But how then did I just play gray zone? There's only one way to find out what's really going on. So I quickly twisted the door knob of the brown door which supposedly led back to earth, and got suctioned in.