An odd poking blue light stirred Anton awake from a midday nap on a warm Thursday. His eyes twitched before they slowly peeled open, revealing the bare and unfolded futon couch he slept on. It doubled as a bed in his small underground room in the basement of his parent’s two-story home.
It was only half past noon, but the day was already long and tiring for the young man due to another failed job prospect. The recent rejection drowned him deeper in despair as he was on the last round of interviews and nearly employed. But now he was back to square one yet again.
A frequently used black set of formal business interview clothes wrapped over a hangar that was left haphazardly on the nearby desk chair instead of the single metal pole of an open-air clothes rack. Stacks of resumes and cover letters piled on the nearby desk, further cramping the small area.
Everything was frustratingly just as he left it, even the much too familiar annoying sight of the floating translucent blue screen that filled his gaze. He recalled swiping the System Notification window away earlier before falling asleep for his nap.
Everyone received the strange blue screen a little over a year ago. And oddly, ever since, it had always been a nuisance, popping up every hour of every day for the last year with the same practically empty message:
[System Notification]
(System Locked - Pending Transaction Results).
However, at first appearance, the blue screen caused much unrest and mayhem throughout the world. Chaos ensued for months, with endless foreboding assumptions regarding the sudden show of the blue holographic game-like windows. Many conspiracy theories about aliens and the government floated around without much conclusion.
But over time, with nothing consequently happening, it became another frustrating hourly chore everyone needed to close by manually swiping up their hand to clear away the screen from blocking their sight.
Still laying on the bed, out of habit, Anton was about to swipe away the screen when his hand suddenly froze in the air mid-swipe, surprised at seeing something different displayed on the holographic blue popup window.
[System Notification]
(System Locked - Transaction Completed)
Countdown Till System Unlock
Planetary Time Remaining:
00 HRS: 19 MIN: 39 SEC
Anton’s eyes stretched wide and no longer dreary. He yanked back his hand and quickly pushed up from the futon bed into a sitting position. His eyes stretched even wider, as he watched the timer slowly tick away the remaining little time left before the System unlocked.
Too focused, he suddenly jumped from seeing the flashing of his phone from the tiny black corner table between the wall and his bed. His eyes widened again, seeing the caller ID: Mom. Leaping off his bed, he dashed to pick up his phone.
“Mom? Did you see-“
Before Anton could finish his sentence, a shrill angry voice blasted him from the other side of the phone. The young job-hunting adult living at home winced as his mother shouted at him, “Anton Randson! Do you know how many times I called you?! Get your butt out to the garage this instant and help us all unpack! We need to finish preparing!”
“Sorry, Mom. My phone was on silent.”
“NOW, Anton!”
Anton flinched, pulling the phone away from his ear. His mother hung up, and the young man who just got an earful frowned. However, he did not hold it against his mother as he heard the trepidation behind her angry voice. Putting on his fuzzy yellow rodent-eared slippers—made to imitate a childhood favorite electric rodent character—he rushed up the stairs to the door to the garage, located conveniently beside the basement door he just exited.
Opening the door, his younger teenage brother rushed in as his chestnut-colored hair bobbed from the jerking heavy stacks of packaged food in both hands. “Out of the way, sleepyhead!”
Anton frowned and glared at his younger brother, who took much after their mother’s long face and her dominating personality. The youngster, who was pulled out of school early by his parents, scurried inside with his large backpack swishing side to side.
“You’re welcome, ya brat!” Anton shouted at his middle-schooler brother, who ignored his comment and turned the corner to their family’s kitchen.
“Anton! What are you standing around for?! Help me and Ansel grab everything in the car and put it in the kitchen!” His mother ordered, before uttering more commands to her husband. “Theo, go make sure all the metal shutters on the doors and windows are latched and locked.”
“Sure thing, Sandra,” Theo replied, giving a small peck on his wife’s cheek. He knew his wife well; his small show of affection seemed to ease up her frantic rushing state. Theo walked toward Anton and winked, letting his son know that his mother calmed down some.
Anton wanted to sigh. There was no arguing with his mother when she was in a mood. And the mother most definitely was not to be messed with when trying to prepare and fend for her family. He walked over to the open trunk of his parent’s minivan and immediately froze.
“Better safe than sorry, Anton. Now grab as much as you can. We’ll split them and store them around the house later if we have time. We don’t know what will happen after the countdown ends.”
Before Anton could respond, his mother hurriedly stormed off, hugging a chunk of the supplies cluttering the half-filled vehicle. Ever since the blue screen appeared last year, Sandra went into full doomsday mode, stuffing Anton’s old room along with any available space in the house—including the majority of the basement except for the corner closet room he currently stayed in—full of emergency food and supplies.
After taking everything from the minivan inside, the family went into a full lockdown. All the metal windows and door shutters tightly blocked the entry points to the house—adding another barrier of security. The entire family rushed upstairs to the small closet in his brother’s messy room. His father pressed on an obscure corner and a hidden metal door in the white wall popped open.
After they all entered, the family of four closed and bolted the metal door—the extremely heavy aperture Anton’s mother insisted his father buy and install—to their third hidden safe room on the second floor of the house. It used to be its own unconnected guest space. However, Anton’s parents closed off the entire room, remodeling it with reinforced metal, and connecting it to Ansel’s closet and also secretly to the parent’s wall-mounted wardrobe in their room.
In the back center of the room lay a set of open metal double doors to an armory, displaying a large collection of loaded guns, ammo, crossbows, daggers, bats, shields, swords, and other weaponry. Piles of food, tools, filters, solar panels, and other supplies stood neat and orderly around the room. The family of four anxiously waited in rolling desk chairs as they watched the display monitors showing the videos their cameras recorded of the outside happenings.
Nothing looked out of the ordinary. The streets were quiet and empty as always. But the family of four focused on a strange camera display angled up and recording the sky.
The sky was odd.
A humongous frozen countdown in brightly glowing red digits stretched across the sky. It read:
02:00:00
The Sky Clock, as many called it, remained frozen. However, the blue screens popped in front of the family of four, displaying a completed countdown.
[System Notification]
Countdown till System Unlock:
00 HRS: 00 MIN: 00 SEC
System Initializing…
Status Page - Unlocked!
Class Page - Unlocked!
Quest Page - First Level - Unlocked!
System Marketplace - First Level - Unlocked!
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[System Notification]
Welcome, Inhabitants of Universe Delta2359.38e.1!
Per standard Interdimensional Acquisition Law, as native inhabitants of a purchased universe, you are now deemed property of Huluthrain of the Prime Order and all of its Entities and Divisions.
However, Interdimensional Law: Natives Leeway Act 27849.A13, requires all legal and acknowledged transactions to abide by set guidelines. As part of the Natives Leeway Act, all native inhabitants are entitled to and/or subject to the following:
* Natives are granted access to the System and a two-hour bereavement period before any invasion, enslavement, harvestation, or extermination is to begin.
* A maximum of 3000 credits will be granted by the System for borrowing by all Natives for any use. (Certain restrictions on purchasable items may apply)
* Natives must be given a minimum period of half of a Full Celestial Cycle of ‘fair’ warfare.
* Natives will not be pursued should they successfully leave the territory of the purchased universe for a guaranteed time of one Minor Celestial Cycle.
* Should the option be given, Natives can become second or third-class citizens if certain requirements are met.
* Universal laws will be deemed and/or applied/removed by the will of the purchaser.
The System is now functional and unlocked!
Thank you for using and being a part of this Interdimensional transaction!
We look forward to working with you!
And now, for a note from your new owner,
Grand Huluthrain of the Prime Order!
Creatures.
Rejoice, for We are benevolent.
Prove your worthiness to become part of Our pieces. Much is to be gained, and only those worthy will be needed.
We shall start with a series of tests to determine your best possible uses. Survive to determine your fate, or perish with your weak will.
A dead silence filled the safe room. Anton glanced up and saw the look of horror on his parent's ghastly pale faces. His younger brother fiddled with his screen as if it was a game. But something red and moving caught the corner of his eye. He looked up at the monitor screen, and a heavy sense of urgency washed all over him.
01:56:11
“Mom, Dad, look,” Anton said with a shaking voice, attempting his best to restrain back his panic while pointing to the blaring red countdown in the video display of the outside sky. “We don’t have time. We’ll have to use the System, but how is the question?”
“He. He. He. Like this, bro!” Ansel shouted in reply, swiping down in the air as he opened the interface and selecting the ‘class’ option on the blue popup window.
“Oh, good going, squirt!” Theo commended, and Ansel grinned at Anton with a smirk.
Anton rolled his eyes at his little brother.
“Don’t start anything you two! Now is not the time. We need to figure out what to do,” Sandra jumped in and ordered.
Anton sighed and refocused on the important matter at hand. The family of four opened their interfaces by swiping down.
Anton glanced through the different tabs before saying, “We have to borrow some credits to buy something from the System Marketplace and the Class Page to protect ourselves.”
“Yes, and we also need to plan this out so that we can better address our needs for survival,” Anton’s mother added.
Theo nodded. “I agree. The System already categorized what we can choose down into classes. From the descriptions, it seems we’ll be able to do some pretty cool stuff.”
“Yeah! I’m going to shoot fireballs! I’m going to choose a Mage right now!”
“Don’t you dare, mister! Not yet!” Sandra reprimanded. “We need to work together on this. We should figure out what options we can take and the roles we can entertain first. Then, we can decide what is best for all of us.”
Theo tilted his head, saying, “That means we should get balanced roles. Something capable of attacking and defending. I saw priests of some sort, so maybe healing too.”
Anton chipped in. “Well, the Stats Page indicates that we can choose a primary combat role and a sub-non-combat role. But I think I want to get an item on the marketplace. It’ll limit what I can use to buy a class, but I think it’s more important.”
Sandra clapped her hands and gave a final direction.
“Okay, how about this? We each go and find three roles that we want. The choices must be balanced and contribute to helping us in some shape or form. And we will have a time limit of fifteen minutes. Make sure not to select anything until we all agree. Remember, 3000 borrowed credits is our individual limit. I hate getting into debt, but it will be a needed investment. We can figure out how to pay it back once we survive.”
“Okay, Mom!” Ansel excitedly shouted, immediately browsing through his choices.
Everyone else nodded with a serious face, proceeding to look for their potential roles.
Anton focused on the System Marketplace instead of the Class Page. He felt a calling from a certain item on the screen. Further looking around, he found more items he wanted to buy.
The family of four reconvened after deciding their options, with Ansel raising his hand high in the air to go first.
“Go ahead, Ansel,” Sandra said.
“Yes! So my three combat options are Mage - Elemental, Mage - Spirit Summoner, or Mage - Spatial Manipulator. The Elemental Mage has some pretty good attack and defense skills while the Spirit Summoner can assist in those and other areas. But I thinking about taking the Spacial Manipulator. The problem with Mage - Spacial Manipulator is that it costs 2500 credits, and the description says it’s hard to master. But I think it’s the most helpful for us if we need to run away. There’s a skill called Teleport that could really help us if we’re in a bind. But if I get the Spacial Manipulator, then I won’t be able to buy a decent sub-class. So I think I will be forced to wait on that.”
Theo rubbed the stubble on his chin, saying, “Definitely worth the credits, I think. I saw the other two, and they’re good but not as useful. Every role seems to come along with their own issues.”
“What about you, Dad? What did you choose?” Ansel questioned back.
“Well, my first pick is Warrior - Paladin. I like the description stating that it’s a balanced attack, defense, and healing role. Warrior - Sheildsman is also on the table, but it’s mainly defensive. The other was Warrior - Shaman, but it’s more of a hand-to-hand combat/healing role so I’m having second thoughts about it. I’ll likely choose the Paladin. What about you, honey?”
Sarah firmly stated, “Only one role fits my requirements, Hybrid - Summoner. The summons I can bring forth doesn’t disappear after a certain time like the Mage - Spirit Summoner. And there’s a large variety of possible creatures I can choose from. It’s a decently well-balanced but also costly role of 2800 credits.”
“Seems like two of our roles are going to be pricey,” Theo predicted. “How about yours, Anton?”
Anton hesitated. He knew his parents might not like his decision. Lately, they have been frustrated with him and his lack of results from job hunting. It wasn’t completely his fault, but his parents indirectly grilled him with their versions of helpful advice every day. It taxed his mind and made him doubt his own capabilities.
Gulping down his fear, he started by saying, “Okay. Hear me out first, OK?” All eyes narrowed and glued onto the jobless young man. “So I’m thinking of not taking a class directly.”
“Huh?! Bro! What?! Not now, too?! Even I’m going to have a job!”
“Hush, Ansel,” Theo said. “Let your brother finish, he said directly. Go on, son. What are your thoughts and conclusions?”
Anton cleared his throat. “Ahem. You see, there’s this item on the Marketplace that costs 2900 credits called ‘Nexus.’ From the description, it creates something like a safe zone that keeps out lower-level creatures while also forming a barrier against other unwanted visitors. If breached, I would be alerted. Not only that, it would grant me a Unique non-combat job called Frontier Settler. There are also other features like defense towers and summoning aids. So it is a good deal. However, there aren’t many, so I already bought the Nexus item from the Marketplace along with a few other things.”
“Huh?! No fair!” Ansel pointed accusingly at Anton. “Why do you get to not follow mom’s rules?! Mo-m!”
With a stern voice, Sandra answered, “Ansel Randson. Your brother has a reason. And this time, his judgment was correct. We need that item. Our home is stocked and fortified, but the problem is what if we get attacked when we are here or away? We could get everything we worked for stolen. And I pray, nothing worse. Ansel, you made a good choice that will help us. The Spacial Mage will greatly benefit us. But so did your brother. In the end, we must always remember that we are one family. And family help and support one another. Do you both understand?”
Anton nodded. Ansel grumbled, but gave in and also nodded.
“Good, now for the rest of us. Let’s hurry and get what we need.” Sandra looked at the bright red Sky Clock on the monitor display and added, “We have less than thirty minutes.”
Anton hurriedly suggested, “If there are any leftover credits, we should spend them on needed items or general skills in the Marketplace. Saving might be okay too, but I think we should spend it for now to increase our probability of survival. I also used up all my credits and bought four low-grade healing potions and the basic common skills: Danger Sense and Mana Manipulation.”
“Oh! Good thinking, son!” Theo exclaimed, nodding his head. “Let’s all do that! Make sure it would be something helpful or useful, everyone!”
While his other family members bought their classes and items, Anton took out the glowing light blue diamond-shaped crystal that magically appeared in his hand when he bought the item from the Marketplace. Upon closer inspection, a blue screen suddenly appeared in front of the young man.
[System Notification]
[Nexus Crystal Detected!]
Creates a safe zone that repels LVL 1 monsters within a maximum radius of 100 ft, creates a semi-transparent dome barrier within current maximum radius, the larger the barrier the less damage it is able to take, current maximum damage thresholds: 500 HP, repair requires mana or Nexus Points, can be temporarily reinforced, entry can be designate for allowed personage
Requires Skill: Mana Manipulation, permanently consumes 50 Mana, consumption doubles Mana per LVL, walls and defense towers currently available but will require additional resources and Nexus Points and/or Mana, 2 personal aids can be summoned once per level, grants Unique non-combat job: Frontier Settler
(Note: Destruction of Nexus Crystal will lead to loss of class and granted effects)
Would you like to use the Nexus Crystal to form a safe zone?
[Yes] [No]