War Zone part 1

March 20, 3022 – 20:00

"I'm back," Odd called out loudly so Aunt Tia could hear him.

"Welcome home, Odd. Dinner will be ready soon," Aunt Tia replied.

"Forget about it, Aunt. I won't be having dinner today—I have some schoolwork to do," Odd quickly said.

"Oh, alright then."

Odd entered his room and shut the door.

"Well, I guess this counts as a kind of schoolwork. After all, the academy's main goal is training, right?" he thought to himself.

He sat on his bed and wished for his Syncro Network to come to his hand. Within two seconds, the device floated toward him, landing smoothly in his palm.

For Odd, using the Power of Wishes for small things like summoning nearby objects didn't hurt at all. Though he felt a slight tingling sensation in his chest, it wasn't painful. However, making bigger wishes—such as acquiring information—would cause him pain. For now, he decided not to use it for such things until he became strong enough to handle it.

Odd opened the Syncro Network and looked at an app in the middle of the menu. Its icon was a shield with a sword embedded in its center.

"I finally managed to buy it," Odd thought happily.

Warzone

It was a special application created 50 years ago by Edward Morley, an engineer from GR and one of the only three students of Claudio since the beginning of the Syncro Era.

Within this app existed an entire digital world, where a person's soul could enter and engage in battles. It was a place where only Syncro Soldiers at the Beginner Rank or lower could participate.

Warzone was a paid application, and it wasn't cheap. It cost 100 Bronze Syncro Stones.

In this world, Syncro Stones functioned as currency. These stones could enhance a Syncro Soldier's Syncro Energy.

There were four types of Syncro Stones:

Bronze

Silver

Gold

Celestial

1,000 Bronze Stones equaled 1 Silver Stone.

10,000 Silver Stones equaled 1 Gold Stone—a type that was only found in the top 10 cities of the Royal Empire.

As for Celestial Syncro Stones, it was said that only the Nine Emperors possessed them. These stones were used in high-level negotiations, including land deals and major trade agreements. Even a million Gold Stones couldn't compare to a single Celestial Stone.

Bronze Syncro Stones were the lowest-tier and had very little use, even for someone like Odd, who wasn't even a Beginner Rank yet. However, they could still be used for payments.

Odd didn't want to ask Aunt Tia for the stones. He believed she should save as many resources as possible in case of emergencies.

So, for the past few weeks, Odd had been wishing for five Syncro Stones per day. Since it wasn't a particularly significant wish, he was able to obtain them without any issues.

Now, after saving up for so long, he had finally purchased Warzone.

He had always heard about Warzone—how it was the perfect place for beginners to refine their skills. Now, it was time for him to experience it himself.

Odd lay back on his bed, relaxing his muscles.

From what he had heard, his consciousness would be transferred to Warzone, meaning he wouldn't be able to sense anything in reality unless he was put in serious danger, which would automatically trigger his consciousness to return.

The War Zone application used the same password as the Synchro Network and stored all events and results obtained within it. This meant that no one except Odd could access War Zone using his personal network.

Taking a deep breath, Odd tapped on the application. Suddenly, he felt a strange sensation, like hypnosis.

The app's logo unexpectedly transformed into a single red eye. The eye stared directly at Odd, making him feel overwhelmingly drowsy, as if he were falling into a hypnotic trance.

Odd closed his eyes, and soon, he drifted into deep sleep.

---

Moments later, Odd's eyes snapped open. The drowsiness had completely disappeared, and he found himself floating in a vast white void.

"Welcome, new warrior, to War Zone."

He heard a cold, robotic voice. Turning toward the source, he saw a woman—or rather, a figure that was supposed to be female. However, her entire body was glitched with rapidly shifting data, making her unclear and distorted.

"I am Gensia, the AI responsible for War Zone." She continued, "Please select the appearance of your spirit within War Zone. You may also choose the weapons you wish to use. However, if you have already become a Synchro Soldier Beginner, your specialization is embedded in your spirit directly, so you cannot change it and do not need to request one."

Two large interface panels appeared before Odd, resembling the Synchro Network's UI.

One panel displayed a variety of weapons. All weapons in War Zone were virtual, making them easy to use.

The other panel was for customizing appearance, but it seemed he could not alter his physical strength or height—only his outward appearance.

"Too bad... I wanted to be bulkier and more muscular, like Hulk," Odd sighed slowly.

Still, he began modifying his spirit's form. In the preview image, he lengthened his hair slightly and tied it into a ponytail. He also selected a large black robe with a red coat and finally added a black mask covering his face—he wasn't really interested in changing his actual features.

"Hmm… what should I name myself?" Odd wondered.

A name popped into his head, and he quickly typed it onto the screen:

"Genie."

It felt like the perfect fit.

Once finished, he pressed the confirmation button, making the screen disappear, and his spirit began transforming into his selected form.

Looking at himself, Odd smirked proudly and said, "I look amazing." Then he turned to Gensia and asked, "What do you think?"

"I cannot perceive abstract concepts such as 'amazing' or 'impressive.' Please use descriptors that align with my recognition parameters."

Gensia's response was as cold as ever, making Odd lose some of his enthusiasm. He expected an answer like that from an AI, but it still left him feeling slightly deflated.

Shaking it off, he selected a random sword from the weapons menu. Since ordinary individuals who hadn't yet become Beginners couldn't use real GR weapons, his choices were limited. The screen vanished, and the sword materialized in his hand.

Suddenly, two paths emerged before him—one yellow, the other golden.

"If you are an ordinary individual, please proceed to the yellow path. If you are a Beginner, you may take the golden path where others like you reside."

Gensia's voice remained completely neutral.

Odd looked at both paths.

Without hesitation, he walked toward the yellow path, ready to enter War Zone.