Dairen checked the time on his phone, watching the minute hand strike nine. He was in front of a large building that looked a bit run down, waiting for the doors to open. It wasn’t just him that arrived. He noticed many people congregating in one spot, making him wonder how many people were actually given the red slip.

Many were curious about the red slips, wondering what would happen.

Precisely at 9 pm, the lights in the building turned on. Almost as if it was brought to life, the others felt nervous when the doors opened.

A woman with long black hair, high cheekbones, sharp eyes, and elegant face walked out in a black and white suit. On each wrist, one blue and one red scarf wrapped around tightly with a wing symbol. Her walk was strong and fierce; she glared down at the people before her. Silently looking at the crowd, she made a quick sweep.

Her right hand raised up to her hip, and her red lips became a thin line before she spoke. “Welcome.” She shouted, catching everyone’s attention. “Please follow me, everything will be explained. If you wish to leave, do so now because I have no use for the people who waste my time.”

Curtly turning around, she headed back inside.

Everyone looked around each other, wondering who would take the first step. Dairen at first was hesitant, but instead, he was amidst a handful who entered first through the door. What welcomed them was a grand empty lobby with barely any interest to see but a few stands that had guards posted on the side, leisurely watching them enter.

As they went deeper, everyone noticed the number of guards present increased and made their way to a large double door. The lady opened the door and entered as a crowd of people followed behind. Rows of seats were present for people to sit, Dairen assumed there were over hundreds present, but he didn’t care. He wanted to know what this gathering was.

Dairen roamed around, picking a chair in the front. Taking a seat next to the twins with high cheekbones, green eyes, and blond hair. They reminded him of a set of porcelain identical dolls, but he didn’t dwell on them for long.

Everyone took a seat until finally, the door closed. Leaving them all in the dark. The lights turned on, and they saw the same lady standing before them on top of a dais.

“I like to welcome you to the Yami Hikari grand opening. You have been selected mostly because of your age and health. I noticed that half of the people didn’t show up, but that is okay. It was to be expected.” She scanned the room with a gentle smile that put most at ease. “My name is Jane Kevon. I am the head researcher of this company. You wonder why you were given such an ambiguous red letter, but I assure you you won’t regret your decision to be here. It’s been fated for your arrival. No.”

She shook her head, momentarily stopping. “It’s destiny.” With a clap of her hands, the world darkens and lights up a beautiful image of a blue planet, similar to Earth but with three moons.

“This world is called Rosevera.”

The image changed and warped to show the many life forms and cities stationed on the planet.

“A new world of exploration and wonder, where magic and mythical creatures are born. Here you will join as a Player and enter into this world.”

“Excuse me.” One of the older men spoke up; he had a bald head as he grumpily looked up to her. “Where is the promised money, fame, and stuff like that you spoke of?”

Jane glared at the old man for interrupting her, giving him a cold look. She then smirked, making everyone feel uncomfortable. “I did not promise you anything.” The words were like knife stab, “that is for you to go after and obtain.”

“Then what is this bullshit!” The old man got up in rage. “Why did I come here? You’re wasting my valuable time!” He stormed out.

Everyone was silent at the unexpected event, but they could see that Jane was unfazed at the old man’s outburst.

“You all have a choice, just like how you have a choice to enter in here with me. You can leave now and forget about this ever being real and live the same normal boring-ass jobs you have been living to this day. Now please, get the fuck out if you want to get out now. I don’t babysit.” She gracefully waved her hand in front of her.

A good three-fourth of people roughly got up to leave, but only a handful still stayed.

“Ah, I forgot to say this, you will never have another chance to play this game.” The words hit them like a sledgehammer, but nobody turned back to sit back down.

Dairen wondered why this lady was so particular and confident about her job; he felt like there was something more at play here than meets the eye. He couldn’t figure out what. As the last person left, they were left alone with silence as Jane overbearingly aura pushed them down.

Eventually, she let them breathe as she continued her lecture. “Well, it seems we cut down to a good amount.” She chuckled. “I like it this way better than the previous amount that we had. Now then, because you guys decided to stay. I’ll give each of you a special privilege.”

With a clap of her hands, the side doors opened as a group of black men came out with small boxes. They each went over towards the leftover people, handing out a box each.

Dairen curiously opened up his gift, realizing that inside was a black bracelet. He picked it up, wondering why she suddenly gifted them this.

“This is your ticket into playing the game Lost Paradise. You must input your information into the bracelet as there will be only one account for you.”

Everyone started to click with interest as they did what Jane had asked.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“The moment you accept the terms in this game, you have three goals. The first is to find the Philosopher's stone. The second is that you only have one life in this game. If you die, you die in that world. You won’t get another chance to play. Third is that the moment you click accept on that bracelet, you now represent the Yami Hikari company.” Jane spoke clearly. She folded her hands and looked out into the crowd. “Now the fun begins from here on out. You will bring out a small handful of items and treasures from this game, which you could exchange for a price with the company. To give you a slice of what the price exchange will be, one herb of fresh Yolanda Flower will be one thousand dollars, a dragon tooth will be over five thousand dollars, and even one beating heart of a dragon is a million dollars.”

A gasp was heard out loud as they all couldn’t believe what they just heard.

“A list of items and prices will be in your watch and your phone we will be given to you shortly, you can scroll through them at your leisure time. The moment you click accept, you will be working with us for the next two years, and any outside trading with other companies is not allowed. After that, you can fly away wherever you please.” She shrugged her shoulders and did not really seem to care.

Dairen, on the other hand, thought over what she had said. There was something suspicious about all this, mostly about the treasures one could gain. What could it mean?

A young girl raised her hands.

“Yes?” Jane said, pointing at the girl.

“I was wondering what you mean by bringing over treasures? Isn’t this all a game?” She cocked her head, looking cute.

“Yes and No.” Jane folded her arms, shifting from one leg to another. “The world you will be entering is a game like everything you know about R.P.G. is similar to it, but there is a catch. We are just visitors. You can say this is a second world where you can bring out special items upon completion. To bluntly state it in terms you understand. It’s the company’s secret.” She winked.

“But that doesn’t answer my-”

Jane raised up her hand, bringing it up to her lips. The young girl instantly went silent.

“Now, this is my third warning. If you want to back out now, you may.”

Nobody moved; they all accepted even before she had given them a third warning. For they all were calculating the prices and uses of the money, they would gain in their mind as they excitedly daydreamed throughout her speech.

Dairen's mind was rushing with ideas of what he could do with the money he could get. The thought of paying off Sarah’s hospital bills fired him up, but what excited him more was the thought of entering into a new world. The entrance ceremony was long and tedious, but the wealth of knowledge he has gained was quite fascinating.

“Now, please line up here, so we can sign you up digitally to this machine.” She patted a small device that each of the Yami Hikari personales had in their hand.

He was waiting in line to get a secondary device that the Yami Hikari employees were handing out. Finally, as he came to his turn, he was handed a bag as he went back to take his seat to see what it was.

Digging in, he pulled out a large box, pen and papers, and a small pouch with a written note. He started to unbox the large container and found two gloves, a necklace, a phone, and a pill bottle. Picking up the small card, he read: Please use your phone to capture the note to unlock your phone.

Dairen picked up the phone, unlocking it. A beautiful logo of a wing flapped appeared on a dark screen, representing the Yami Hikari company logo and welcoming him with his name. It turned on, showing a few apps. He followed the instruction, capturing the card’s I.D. Eventually, a list of directions popped up for him to see.

Welcome to Lost Paradise:

1. Please eat one pill every day for seven days until nauseous is no more.

2. Always bring your phone, gloves, and bracelet when using the Gate. You may take off the glove upon exiting.

3. The necklace will be your Id tag if your bracelets break. Keep it on you at all times.

4. Keep your phone with you. It is an extensive database of information on your status and the world. It will also collect data and missions that are tied to your account.

5. All gate locations are located in three areas: Atlanta National Statue, Yami Hikari building, and Kyro Animal Hospital.

6. Please remember; you only have one life in the game of Lost Paradise. If you die, you will be brought back to Earth. There is a chance of mental damage, so please be careful not to die.

7. The small bag is the number of Items you can fit to bring over. The bag can hold the size of a small laptop. Other than that, anything bigger cannot be brought over. Native gold coins can be transferred into the local monetary value upon arriving.

8. There is a special bank service that will be set up upon the next batch of updates.

Thank you for joining the Yami Hikari company. Please enjoy the Beta testing of the game.

Then he saw a panda icon holding a bag of money. When he clicked it, he saw a slew of fantastical items that he had never seen before. Underneath the picture was the name of the product and the price of the item. He was completely appalled at what he was seeing; the items' price was astronomical that it made his head spin.

Jane spoke, “now with a good twenty of you guys still here. I’ll take you to the Gate.” She happily replied, utterly different from the mood of crowds that were present. “You will only have three days to set up a base and explore the city upon arrival. You must meet up with one of the three biggest influencers and connect with them. They are Dragon Express, Red Flower Nation, and finally, Cantando Blood Bank. From there, your major and small quests will start as you unlock many different quests in that world. Only then your final step would be activated, allowing you to fully integrate with the system. Your experience points will triple for a month, and you will be given a few gold currency to take with you that should last you for a while. After that, you are on your own. Now follow me, please.”

They zig-zagged through a couple more doors, went up an elevator to the top floor, and excited to a large room with tubes flowing in and out from the walls towards the center of the room. In the center was a large circular platform, and a plasma-like Gate appeared in the center. Scientists were running around, fixing, and calculating things around the room as they diligently worked.

With proud steps, she walked up towards the Gate. Turning towards the group of twenty, she motioned them forward.

“Your life and death are in your hands. You can quit anytime, but please remember. You will be in a debt of over three billion dollars if you can not stay alive in the next month until the Beta testing is over.”

Everyone winced, realizing what this meant.

“To get back home, please use the same location that you have exited from, find a god or goddess temple, or one of the three biggest influencers. By charging up your watch, you will be able to return at any time of the day, only once a day, as a gate will open for you to enter and exit. Now then, who wants to go first?”

Nobody moved. They were a bit worried at the thought of what could be on the other side. Many took a few steps back.

“Oh, please. No need to be afraid. I had personally tested the Gate myself, and you will be brought to the nearest city named Atlantis.” Jane was getting a bit impatient, waiting for them to step up. She then pointed out the nearest person. “You. Young man.”

Dairen felt the sting by her fierce gaze. He felt unsure if he should answer or not, but his hands automatically pointed at himself.

“Yes, you. Come forward.”

Walking forward, he made it next to her.

“Go on. It won’t bite.”

Dairen opened his mouth, but no words would come out. He then shook his head and took up his courage to step through the Gate. In a blinding flash, before he could even scream, he fell. Endlessly falling, never stopping until a horrible yanking force pulled him out of the fall, snapping him back to the present.

His eyes were blinded by the sunny rays welcoming him in from wherever he was. It was as if he barely moved as he stood, squinting his eyes. Eventually, his eyes were able to see, allowing him to look around.

Tall skyscraper-like buildings stood proudly overhead, dwarfing him. The busy streets honked and screamed. The acrid smell of sewers tickled his nose as steam, from underneath his feet, puffed out below.

The rambunctious sounds of people walking back and forth in a hurry as they pushed past him, startling him awake from the daze. At first, he couldn’t believe where he was, confused at the normal people around him. He was disappointed; he thought there would be some magical beastman or fantastic traveling cars, but he saw none so far.

It was too normal, reminding him of the cities back at home.

His hand rested on his pocket as he felt the phone vibrate. Picking it up, a text message came through.

Welcome to the world of Roservera. Please hold while we connect you to the world interface. Initializing…..