New Life Online

-Game Lobby-

Some of us already calmed down after what the mechanical voice said. This could be real or not but ignoring this could lead us to something worse. Whatever we do here, the only plausible thing to do is to follow the rules and play the game.

"What will happen in the game is what will happen after a year. So plan everything carefully." Everyone looked at each other, more confused about what they heard.

Even for me, my parents must have the foresight to be able to predict the future and it's so accurate that I couldn't even tell if they're just predictions but this time, they're saying that what will happen here, in this game simulation, will happen in the future. It doesn't make any sense unless they witnessed it by themselves.

"This game sure is so advance to even create a scenario like this."

"It feels like I'm in a sci-fi game. I thought this was supposed to be a fantasy?"

"Dude, this could be real and not just a game? How could we know?"

Questions emerged through their minds or maybe they couldn't accept the reality that human civilization has ended and we're about to start again.

"When you die in the game, your consciousness we downloaded from your brain will be stopped which means, when you wake up after a year in the real world, you will only remember the things before your death." And that means we should survive until we get enough information.

People once again raised questions but they were ignored by the mechanical voice.

"The first part of the test was New Life Online. NLO was created to test everyone's abilities. We allowed players to try every masteries as many as possible because they could help us discover your hidden abilities. And when I say, hidden abilities, it doesn't mean normal ones like being athletic or being intelligent to a certain degree but... we're talking about real abilities like using telekinesis or the power to control fire." Wait, could this be real or what? It sounds so unrealistic.

"You must be asking a lot of questions now but these abilities we're talking about will only appear or work when the Rupture affects your body. This Rupture is a virus that has one job and it's to destroy every living being but this kind of effect would only last for 100 years. That means, those who survived for a hundred years won't die from it but instead, they will be genetically evolved. It may be through physical change, intellectual change, or into something more different to help you survive." That means, our body will be developed by itself to adapt to the new world.

"These new abilities have a side-effect though. These effects could hurt, deform or even kill the user. But the more you use these abilities to a certain degree, it could also increase your tolerance and immunity to these side-effects but it also means that if you use too much ability in a short amount of time, the side-effect could be worse. So how you use your ability depends on you. A person could have one or more abilities as it's already in their genes. That's what you should know for now. As you survive through the days, you'll learn more about this new world." So these abilities are what would help us survive the future.

"All of what she says, it doesn't make any sense at all! 1 year here, 1 year there? That means we are going to be trapped here whether we like it or not!"

"The police officials should know about this! This is basically kidnapping!" He's not wrong. But who are we gonna call? We're frozen to the point that we won't be able to wake up.

"For those who don't want to participate in this event, we are gladly open for disconnections. But be careful, once disconnected, you are going to be unfrozen and the virus would end your life in an instant. I will give you 1 hour to decide." She's giving us time to discuss this with those around us. Opinions from everyone might help but it also means that with bad judgment around you could cause you bad consequences.

...

And so, it's been minutes but most of us stayed silent. The question should be, "Is this real or not?" because a wrong answer could lead to death if what the mechanical voice said was real.

"Guys, cheer up! This might be just a test for the new event. I mean, are we that advanced to create such high technology? We could play the game as we used to in NLO." One guy appeared trying to lighten up the mood. I could see it working as the other expressions changed.

"You could be right. Even if this event could be real, we should still play it to be safe-"

*ERROR SOUNDS* But this is the reality. Some people couldn't accept reality and decided to leave as cowardice is part of human nature.

"10,001"

"140,400."

"303,900"

The number of players leaving the game appeared above us. The error sounds also made the other lose hope of continuing.

"Time's up." 1 hour has passed.

"See? Nothing's happening, right? This event is just a test-"

These players' avatars disappeared upon leaving.

Thousands of videos appeared above us showing people's rooms. The capsule opened and those people inside started to get older fast till they turned to ashes. Just like that, hundreds of thousands of people died.

Those people planning to press the prompt to leave backed out, some puked their guts out, and some dropped to the floor losing their strength after seeing the gruesome event. I knew it'll end up this way but I decided to stay quiet. These people are on the verge of break down. I know that creating a scene, they could push their frustration on me.

"Those who decided to continue living are about to enter the new world. This world is the mirror of our real world so you all will respawn in your designated blocks like in real life. Goodluck adventurers. We hope that you could save humanity."