Chapter 3:The Small Room

"argh.. My heads hurt... Where am I? A white room? Am I in the afterlife? What was that dream... Its kinda creepy remember it and who where those people..."

Lumian wake up from the nightmare and found himself baffled for the situation he was in.

He was alone in a room filled with bright whiteness and not even a single stain have defile it.

In the other end of the small room was a door full of whiteness that he could barely see.

"wasn't I suppose to be in my house? I clearly remember I was playing with my computer a while ago yet I'm here in an unfamiliar place..."

"Wait didn't the notification ring when I applied to play the game said 'beta testing'? so this was basically a game"

Lumian mutters a word to confirm his suspicion but it failed as the blue screen that exist in a certain game like 'era online', didn't manifest.

"status window!... Huh there's nothing that shows up... Maybe I pronounced it wrong"

"status!... Open status!... Main menu!... Manifest!!... What the heck!? It's not working, don't tell me I was really kidnapped?! I know people doesn't like me but it doesn't mean they have to waste their time locking me here?! Maybe their is but more importantly, how could I breath air in this lock up place?? There were no air vent nor any hole in here...but for some reason this place feels nostalgic... Nah I'm just imagining things"

Lumian after speaking up his complaint, his desperation pipe down, he notice the hidden door who were barely noticeable at the front.

"ohh, an exit? I wonder if it's open... Nah there's no way those kidnappers would be foolish to not lock this place... But it might worth to try"

He stood up and walk towards the door. But as soon as he reach halfway through, he was unexpected got stumbled down without him knowing that there's an Item there, since the place was covered with pure white.

As soon as his feet bump into a hidden book of the white room, realizing the unseen thing, hidden because of the whiteness of the place.

"ouch... I think I tripped my toe.. Wait was that a stone? How could I not notice this?" Lumian took a glance and lift up the object that trip him up. It wasn't much heavy to considered a stone and it seems has a distinctive feature.

It was a book, the back cover was clearly all white that blended with the surroundings and the front has an amazing pattern of gold lines with it's name italized. It was titled 'Akashic book of record'.

"Akashic book of record? I wonder why is this book here.. There's no way those kidnappers left it here... If it's a book then it must have contain interesting things.. What? I couldn't make it open, what's wrong with this thing?"

Unfortunately, it wouldn't budge no matter what method he do.

"hmm.. Maybe there is an activation requirement for this thing. Better hold it for later."

He suddenly realize that his sole left-hand glove was gone missing in his hands revealing a crest like tattoo with a skull head resembled like a clown.

"where's my glove?! It was my only memento given by father, how could I lost it..."

It was a peculiar mark, the mark was already with him since birth, and was also the cause of his unfortunate fate outside his home. That's why he was hiding the cursed mark with a gloves but even so he still get a negative treatment.

Even though he was sadden about it, he still control his emotion and focus on breaking out of this place.

"it's fine, maybe it's on the house... I need to get out of this creepy place first."

He divert his gaze to the door that was slightly visible and approached it.

"I wonder if it's lock... Ohh it opened?! What another white room! I guess those kidnappers bastard aren't that dumb. They might have a trap on every ends of the corridors of this place... Better be cautious."

He found was another room but with two door-less gates. The place has white tiles in it.

"this time there is two ways I could go... should we go there?? I felt like this looks like an actual dungeon, there might be danger but I have no choice. There might be a way to escape this place"

He chooses to walk left by instinct or he believes the left road was the right way.

Suddenly, a loud rumbling roars at his back. Before he knew it. The door at his back was replaced by another wall that just appeared.

"what the hell?!"

He tried to knock hard at the wall and even ram his body into it but it was futile as the wall remain still. He muttered in frustration.

"I guess I can't go back now, my only option is to go forward"

So he walk while being wary at his surroundings.

"this place seems like a maze, since I have no knowledge of this maze but I used to go to many labrynth type dungeon on era online, I must find the exit"

While on his way he discovered some traps and some near-death experience with them, good thing he manage to survive.

He was hit my an arrow trap in his shoulder.

"ugh... My head still hurts... Somethings coming? An arrow?! Gahh, good thing I avoided it hitting my head or else.. Let's not think about that, I couldn't avoid it fully to watch Aà"

He could've avoid it but confusion buried his concentration so he only manage it not hitting his head, it was nothing fatal but it's still painful that makes him fully wake up and regain his concentration at the situation.

The arrow didn't contain any poison or else he will worry about the cure.

He arrived in a straight hallway with dozens of statues were placed, each statue were peculiar, they exude dangerous aura but it couldn't affect anyone other than sensing it was dangerous.

He hasten his pace and finally found the exit at the end of the hallway.

"huff... So tiring, good thing I've reach the exit. The pain felt to real... I guess this is not a dream, I need to face reality and get out of here"

He opened the door, he found himself to another white room but there is something at the center... It was a small tree and an altar in a slight elevated platform.

There was four floating bubbles containing four weapon mainly a staff, sword, spear, and a bow and was placed in the small altar.

There is also a strange book with a lock in it at the top of the altar.

"what is this strange place... There was a tree yet there's no soil. Now that I think about it, the surface is very solid like a white concrete or something"

After checking the the surrounding, he stared at the four weapon floating atop the altar with the book underneath it.

"hmm.. How could this things float? Magic? It must be but aren't these just normal escape room? I guess not, things really do get weirder"

Then he shifted his attention to the book at the altar, it's lock was nothing but a decoration since it seems wasn't locked at all. It has a same design as the book he just picked up but with different in color and design. He slowly descend his hands to the book and as soon as his finger touched the book, it suddenly glows and slowly fades. The bright light blinded him for a second and as soon as he recovered, the book vanished leaving behind a letter mark.

"huh? What just happened... Why did it vanished? Wait.. A letter? 'speak Status window' is what it say..huh?!"

Suddenly a hologram like window appeared in front of him, it's like the status window from era online but different on it's content.

"a status Window?! Then that means this was 'that' game I just applied for beta test... But It was clearly not working a few hours ago,was that the activation requirement? I thought I was kidnapped in this escape room... Right, let's not thing about useless stuff, let's focus on surviving this since my life is on the line here"

He clenched his fist and examine the content of the status window.

Window content

|Status|Inventory|Bestiary & legend|Shop| Realm|

[Status]

Lumian lvl 1 Mail 1

Hp - 15

Mp - 2

Str - 1.2 Dex - 1.5 Int - 0.9

Cha - 0.8 Con - 1.4 Wis - 1.5

Suddenly, a smaller blue window panel pop up atop the status window with words in it.

[activation completed.. Initiating synchronisation... Complete]

The book being held by lumian hand has dissappeared with the same effects as the 'bestiary book' disappearance.

"what? Where did that book go, I haven't read it yet... What trick this system pulling this time?"

[The host can now be able to summon the akashic book of records. Try calling it by spelling it's name.. ]

"But do I really have to spell to spell out such a long dialogue?"

[Host, it is confirmed that you can summon it using your first name adding the word 'record' to it]

"summon huh? Then 'lumian records'!"

Then at a glance, the book appeared in his front afloat.

"ooh, it really appears, what is this mysterious book anyway"

He slowly grab the book and after recovering it in his hands, the same window panel appeared.