LEVEL 8

LEVEL 8

Location: Astral Tower

Time: 20:19

"What the fuck?!" Cactus, an INTO FANTASY player, cursed as his eyes saw his fellow co-players in a horrible situation. All of them, their health bar, drastically decreased! As if there was a game glitch happening right now. Sana nga ay glitch lang ito! The player thought.

Kahit anong gawin nila ay hindi bumabalik sa pagiging full ang kanilang health bar. It kept on falling and falling until it dropped to 0%; until a few players started dying virtually! Mukhang mapupuno nito ang Respawn Cathedral.

"Imposibleng magawa 'to ng isang normal na player,"Cactus whispered, gritting his teeth. Because it was done by a player.

Isa-isang naglalaho ang mga player. Cactus knew that the game developers could detect this kind of accident—a single player, possessing a god-like power! But it seemed like they were not doing anything!

"Ah!" A woman player screamed when her virtually body ached. Para bang tinutusok ng karayom ang bawat parte ng kanyang katawan, making her cry in agony. She couldn't move her fingers to activate her profile and log-out. "A-Ano bang nangyayari--!" The woman player died when her health bar dropped into emptiness.

Cactus just watched her—them – in horror. How could things happen in this once peaceful game?

Cactus bit his lower lip. He needed to log out, right now—

He paused when he noticed the presence of a player on his back. His virtual body trembled. Pakiramdam n'ya ay bigla s'yang binuhusan ng malamig na tubig. He pulled his dagger on his inventory at nilingon ang player.

«Poison»

Lvl ???

"Bakit mo ba ito ginagawa?!" Asik nito, waving his dagger on the air. He was acting cowardly because of fear eating his system.

Poison, the player with a god-like power, smirked. He seemed delighted looking at this feared player. He pulled his dagger on his inventory and stabbed the player without a notice.

Cactus' health bar decreased... until he died, hoping that he would wake up in the Respawn Cathedral.

🎮

It had been months since Migo started playing the game named INTO FANTASY. It had also been months since he met a girl player with a username of Astrid, a marksman with a bow and arrow as her main weapon. The days were so fast, the once level 1 player was now at level 50.

But as we continue playing the game, tila ba hindi na nagiging maayos ang paglalaro ng players rito. Not because of its pixel quality or its lagginess or because of the increasing population of player killers—something much worse on that.

Because of a player!

A single player that seemed to be trying to own the virtual world by making himself turn into a god. Tila nais nitong sakupin, angkin, at maghari-harian sa mundong ito.

He just appeared in the game doing game crimes, victimizing a lot of players. Palihim itong umaatake sa bawat sulok ng mundong ito, making his move unpredictable. He is almost unstoppable.

Nakakatakot isipin na baka isang araw, the company who developed INTO FANTASY decided to shut it down or maybe delete the virtual world created by complex data.

After hearing the news about this god-like player named Poison, I immediately found some info about him on the internet. Luckily managed to gather enough information about him—except his personal info—and screen capture his avatar inside the game.

According to the theories created by the players on the forum website of the game, the person behind Poison was a great hacker. He had a goal to bring; terror inside the game, doing game crimes and scaring players. However, on the news report Migo watched last night, the Fantaxia game company released a statement saying that Poison had infiltrated their system then hacked the game console of INTO FANTASY. It was like the main system of INTO FANTASY where most data was compiled.

However, they also stated that everything was under control. They temporarily shutted down the game for a few days to investigate and update the game’s system.

Maybe this Poison was, indeed, a great hacker.

Sa ngayon, muling nakabukas na ang INTO FANTASY para sa lahat ng mga manlalaro nito. They made sure na hindi na mauulit ang insidente.

Poison on the other hand was being hunted by the authority. Luckily, Artemis became busy with her school duties kaya for sure hindi s'ya makaka-online sa IF. Astrid and Leviathan couldn't let her get victimized by Poison himself. Artemis and them became so close inside the game already that they could not afford to let each of them face the god-like player.

Migo absent-mindedly heaved a heavy sigh.

"Hoy."

Nabalik ito sa reyalidad nang pitikin ni Haruto ang kan’yang noo. Sinamaan n’ya ng tingin habang hinihimas ang noo. Sira ka talaga.

"Lalim naman ata ng iniisip mo? Share mo naman!" Sabrina said as she sipped her favorite caramel frappuccino. They were here at the mall’s coffee shop., having their lunch after a road trip around Riverdale. We do really enjoy the vintage and aesthicity of this city. Maiksi lang ang klase ngayon dahil halos lahat ng instructors ay may a-attend-an na seminar ngayong araw.

"

Hulaan ko," ani ni Sabrina. "Iniisip mo 'yung tungkol sa game hacker sa Into Fantasy 'no?" Tanong niya.

"Game hacker?" Kunot-noong sabi ni Haruko. Binaba ni Sabrina ang cup bago magsalita.

"Hindi kasi nanood ng news, e!"

"Eh sa ayoko! Kwento nyo yung tungkol sa game hacker na 'yan." Umayos pa ito ng upo na para bang handa na sa iku-kwento ng dalawa. He was born a gossipmonger. So unpleasant of him.

Sabrina and Migo started sharing about this Poison player. They told Haru how scary he was as he brought terror to the virtual world. Of course, Sab knew about his existence, she was an IF player too. Pero ni-minsan ay hindi pa kami nagmi-meet sa loob ng laro. Maybe one time, after everything went back in the game.

"Pfft! Kala kung ano na!" He laughed.

“It's a serious situation, dude. Na-hacked niya ang game system and if ever na gustuhin niyang wasakin ang mundong 'yun kaya niya," mariin sabi ni Migo. How dare this idiot to laugh!

"Mas malala pa din ang patayang nangyayari dito sa real world bawat oras 'no!" Asik niya at umiiling-iling pang kumain ng cake.

"Dude, nasasabi mo 'yan kasi walang ganyang nangyayari sa larong nilalaro mo," Migo rolled his eyes.

"Kahit na, sa virtual world once na namatay ka, buhay ka pa sa real world. Eh dito sa real world? Once you died, you really died. No respawn. 'Liban na lang kung may milagrong mangyari. Isa pa doon sa virtual world yung mga game hacker, they will just basically hack you, breach your privacy, and maybe do crime inside the game. Eh dito, dino-double dead ka pa. Binaril ka nga, ikakalat-kalat pa sa semento ang dugo't laman mo. Naalala ko 'yon sa napanood ko dati sa TV. ‘Yong iba, ina-anes pa 'yung katawan kahit tegok na. Merong pinuputol ang katawan tapos tinatapon na lang sa damuhan. Ah, tapos pinapakain pa sa alagang aso."

Their faces twitched. Ano'ng pinagsasabi ng tao 'to?

"Pstt! Haru, tumigil ka na," suway sa kaniya ni Sabrina dahil nagiging sensitibo na ang sinasabi niya. Ngunit ang sira nagpatuloy pa.

"Oh di ba? Yung iba tatagain ng tatagain ang ulo tapos dudukutin 'yung mata, hanggang sa sumirit yung dugo. Tapos kapag natanggal niya na ang mata dudukutin niya naman palabas yung dila tas kakainin. Kadiri!"

Putek, ano bang pinaglalaban ng isang 'to?!

"Haru, stop! Nasa coffee shop tayo, uy!" Muling suway sa kaniya ni Sabrina. Ang dami ng nakatingin sa kanilang mga tao! This is so embarrassing!

"Nakakatakot na yung mga murderer dito sa mundo, 'no? Hindi nakuntentong pinatay na nila, chochop-chopin pa na parang karne lang ng baboy. Tas sa dulo kakainin pa nila. Tapos—"

"HARUTO!" Sabay nilang sigaw sa binatang ayaw itigil ang buka ng bibig. Para itong armalite sa pagsambit ng mga bagay na hindi dapat binabanggit sa loob ng isang kainan. Fortunately, he finally paused—inhaling air from too much speaking.

"Oh, bakit?" Inosente niyang tanong. They just gave him a threatening glare. "Geez. Guys, para nyo kong kakainin sa tingin nyo!" Sabi niya pa. Nilibot niya ang tingin sa paligid ng mapansing nasa kaniya ang atensyon ng lahat ng tao dito sa shop.

“Wala man lang respeto ang lalaking ito sa pagkain.”

“Kakila-kilabot ang bibig ng taong 'yan.”

“Wag mo tignan ang walang modong lalaking 'yan, anak!”

"Bakit? Totoo naman ang mga sinabi ko a?" He said as he put a spoon of cake into his mouth.

He is disgusting as duck, Migo thought. But he has a point…

The threat inside the virtual world may be different from the real world– the way it causes damage. As per the nature of the real world, it could cause physical damage, such as: murder, stealing, and other things that could be tangible or maybe not. Whereas the threats in the virtual world, the damages could be seen in privacy and security, data breach, information leakage, identity theft, and others. Cool, I learned a lot from my ICT class.

As Migo pondered, he thought: well crimes in both realms cause the same thing: they have a negative impact.

Stealing a wallet could be the same as stealing others' information, right?

Migo had been living between the two realms now: in virtual and reality. The world of INTO FANTASY had become an extension of his domain. Nilalaman ng mundong ‘yon ang mga kakaiba n’yang paglalakbay. Doon n’ya na naipapamalas ang mga lakas na hindi n’ya naipapakita sa tunay na mundo. Nando’n rin ang mga kaibigan n’ya.

INTO FANTASY may be a fake world, an escapism from reality–but for Migo, it was more than that. That world was an extension of… my home.

🎮

When he opened his eyes, he was now in the other world as Leviathan. He was standing at the same place where he logged out yesterday after playing with Astrid. Hindi muna namin pinaglaro si Artemis sa loob ng larong ito. Last time that she entered this game, they told her the danger she might face if she meets Poison.

Artemis was like a younger sister for them. They wanted to protect her at all costs.

Leviathan wandered his eyes around the plaza of Sunflower town on the Flora Continent. Before, the smiling face of the players interacting with one another was the first thing that would welcome him in this world, but now…

Everything seemed dark and gloomy. It was evident in the silence that enveloped this area. Parang kakaunti na lang ang mga naglalaro rito. Leviathan just shrugged his head and started walking. Wala naman kasi s’yang gagawin sa bahay bukod sa matulog at manood ng tv kaya napag-isipan n’yang maglaro. Tingin ko hindi maglalaro ngayon si Astrid.

Ilang metro pa lang ang nahahakbang n’ya nang may magpop-up na message sa kan’yang harapan.

His eyes widened when he read the name of the message sender. GAME DEVELOPER.

Bakit nila ako ime-message?

[ YOU RECEIVED A MESSAGE ]

G

AME DEVELOPER: MOON

Game developers want a meeting with you. Kindly use the special crystal warp we dropped on your inventory.

He checked his inventory... and there was a strange crystal warp on it! Kulay pula ito kesa sa normal na kulay asul. "Ano'ng kailangan nila sa akin?" He asked himself. He pulled out the special red crystal warp on his inventory and used it to teleport to what place it might bring him.

Ano kayang pag-uusapan namin?

Pagmula ng kan’yang mga mata, he was already standing in a wide meeting room. There were 12 people—maybe the game developers—seated on the side of the long table. He was also surprised to see Astrid on his side. It was a place in the real world! How come na nadala kami sa lugar na ito habang nasa loob ng laro? At bakit nandito si Astrid?

His first question was answered when he saw a projector device that followed each of his movements, maybe his virtual body was projected into the real world with this device. Cool invention.

"Good evening, Mr. Leviathan, Ms. Astrid. Sorry for the inconvenience but we needed you for this discussion." One of the game developers said. Maybe he was the Game Developer: Moon that sent him a message earlier. Nakatanggap rin ng message si Astrid?

"Nag-online ka pala?" Tanong n’ya kay Astrid. Nagkibit-balikat lang ito, "Oo, kanina pa kaso dinala nila ako rito."

He faced the game developers. "Bakit n'yo po kami kailangan sa meeting na ito?"

One of the women on the rounded table stood up. He had to squint his virtual eyes to see her name plate attached to her corporal suit. Venus. Maybe they were using a code name.

"Hindi na kami magpapaligoy-ligoy pa. You already know or might have met Poison in the game and how destructive he was in the virtual world with the use of our only game console. Marami na s'yang nape-perwisyo at marami na 'rin kaming nare-receive na complaints from the players."

Venus heaved a sigh. Migo could see how stressed they were by looking at the black circles under their eyes.

“And we need your help to end him."

"Our help?" Astrid asked, she seemed confused. Bakit ang tulong naming ang kailangan nila?

"Yes, your help. Both of you," another game developer stood up. He was Mars. "Our team did some research and we found out that your duo has the greatest number of finished quests inside the game. We thought that your game skills might help us to defeat the god-like hacker of INTO FANTASY."

"E-Excuse me," Leviathan interrupted as he stuttered, "So you wanted a mere player to fight a dangerous hacker inside the game? Sobrang delikado ng gusto n'yo! It might cause harm to me and Astrid!"

"Hear us first!" The woman developer named Earth said. "Kayo na lang ang pag-asa namin. As of now, Poison blocked us from interfering with inside the virtual world. Hindi namin kayang mapakailaman ang loob ng laro, we could only interfere with some parts that our current system could use. You see, that's why we couldn't announce to the public that we are going to shut down the game, we could only tell players to stop playing for a while, dahil for sure uunahan tayo ni Poison, he might prevent the active players from logging out. We are moving secretly."

Kinikilabutan ang binata sa naririnig. Poison is terrifying!

“You’re risking us, players, with that. God knows how many players could possibly be put in danger as of the moment!” Astrid asked. Leviathan could understand his partner. That was indeed risky and dangerous. “Wala po bang ibang paraan to ensure our safety?”

None of them gave the two a decent answer, only a worried look. Problema nga ito.

“And in what way can we help you with this dilemma?” tanong ni Leviathan.

Another game developer spoke. A man named Neptune. "Dahil nalimitahan ang kilos namin, we could only alter two players' accounts. By means of altering, pwede naming itaas ang level nito into the highest level INTO FANTASY has, we can also increase your speed, agility, strength, luck, charm and more, gano'n 'din sa weapons na meron. At accounts n'yo ang naisip naming i-alter. With altered accounts, you'll try to distract Poison as we try to bring back the game console to our control."

They want us to become their decoy… to catch the hacker?

Nagkatinginan sila ni Astrid. Kapwa sila nangangamba sa kaligtasan nila sa oras na pumayag kami sa kanilang plano. It seemed like a suicide mission.

Muling nagsalita si Moon. "I know, gaya namin, ayaw n'yo 'ring mawala ang mundo ng INTO FANTASY sa kamay ng isang hacker. Tama ba?"

Leviathan bit his lower lip. He was right. IF became his escape when the real world brought stress to him. Through defeating the villain, nawawala ang maghapon kong stress. But then, it was way too dangerous. Hindi kami sigurado sa safety namin.

"Payag ako," It was Astrid. Gulat na napalingon sa kan’ya ang binata. What does she mean?

"INTO FANTASY is my escape. I became attached to it. It always gives me the thrill that I couldn't experience in the outside world," paliwanag n'ya habang nakangiti, "kaya pumapayag na ako sa plano n'yo."

Para bang nakaramdam ang mga game developer ng ginhawa sa narinig. They must be desperate to attain the IF back in their hand. Pinagpaguran nilang buuin ang bawat detalye ng mundong iyon. Thanks to their effort, They were able to enter another dimension made by data.

Now, they were waiting for his answer.

His heart was beating fast. He was trembling and he felt cold. Something was holding back. He was scared. He was afraid of its consequences. He didn’t want to put himself in danger. But then… memories of the virtual world flooded his mind. The dragons he had defeated, the magical places they went to–all of the fun and thrilling misadventures.

Leviathan clenched his fist. He wanted to protect this world, too. He would do everything to ensure that he would still get back into this realm.

“Payag na rin ako,” he firmly said with a dauntless voice that resonated across the room.

On the other hand, he was laughing demonically as he watched the screens of his monitors move, there were also feeds coming from INTO FANTASY. He couldn’t contain the thrill he was feeling as he anticipated the up-coming destruction of that world.

Sisiguraduhin n’yang wala s’yang ititira kahit isa sa loob ng mundong iyon. That world would turn into a waste.

“Wait for your end, INTO FANTASY…”

To be continued.