Author's Note:
This story is in the processed of being rewritten to fit the current direction that I am aiming at. Please be patient as some of the story won't make sense in the meantime.
This has been rewritten. Rewritten chapters will have V2 next to the chapter name. Click here to see V1
Arc 1 Prologue- Game Over
"Kotae wa Doko e? Sagashite, Where's my soul?"
The speaker blasted a Japanese song at full volume in the background. A man sits comfortably in front of his computer. The glare from the monitor reflected images on his glasses. He was doing his daily ritual. Every day he would wake up at 7 a.m. He would then take a quick shower and brush his teeth. After that, he would turn on his computer and listen to his favorite anime music while checking the daily news for current events and his emails.
"Hmmm, the human population reaches 10 Billion soon. Sustainability issues multiplies. If World War 3 or World War Z breaks out, that will solve that problem."
The young man chuckles to himself. From a very young age, he had a very dark sense of humor. He has no problem laughing at others misfortune. In fact, it was one of the reasons that he developed his habit of reading the news in the morning. He would laugh at how shitty the world is. However, he would never cross the line of purposely causing pain to someone else. He understands that if he ever crossed that line, he would become a psychopath.
"RAISE YOUR FLAG, MARCH ON, FIGHT!"
The music kept playing. He finished reading the news. He opened another browser page to check his email. He quickly browsed the title to see if there were any urgent email that he has to reply.
"Junk, Junk, Junk, Junk, Bill, Junk, Hmm..."
One of the emails caught his eyes. He clicked and open the mail. It was a reminder to register for his college classes. It was his second year at this particular college. Unlike other people, though, he did not enjoy socializing with other people. He did not join any club activities. He puts in just enough effort to barely pass the class. He hated his college life.
"DRISKOLL TRUMAN, please remember to register for the classes in the new semester either online or in person...''
"Ah crap, I knew I forgot to do something."
He quickly logged on to his college's website to register for his classes. Without thinking about it at all, he chose five random courses that seemed easy to complete. He still has no idea what type of diploma he wanted to get. He didn't care what class he took as long as it keeps him in the system. Everything was done to keep his parents happy. He can still hear their nagging voices in the back of his mind. A flashback of a conversation between him and his parents played in the back of his mind
"You will need a diploma to get your foot in the door in any business."
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"Look, I am smart enough to know that I am not smart enough for the business world. Your son is not special, I am not a beautiful or unique snowflake, I am the same decaying matter as everyone else. I just want to make just enough money to get by comfortably and hopefully, die at the age of 60. I don’t need a college education."
Unlike most of the other college students, he enjoyed his dead end job. “Enjoy” would be too strong of a word. Tolerable would be a much better choice. He worked as a product stocker the back of a supermarket. At first, he was in charge of stocking the cooler only, but within a few months, the manager trusted him with training the new employees. Out of all the hires, he was the only one that did not bitch and moan about the dead end job. He faithfully and quietly fulfilled his duties. His manager loved this aspect of him and saw him as a leader for the rest of the workers. Of course, with new responsibility came a few perks that he does enjoy from now and then. For example, one day he didn't get enough sleep because of participating in a raid with his guild in World of Warcraft. He ended up falling asleep in the cooler. When he woke up, he saw his manager staring down at him with a smile and just said: "Don't do this again." His manager didn’t reprimand him for sleeping on his job. Because of this small incident, he felt that it would be fine working at that supermarket for the rest of his life under that manager. His parents were horrified when they found out his plan. They had to do something to stop it.
“Look, son, I will pay for your education. All you have to promise is that you will do your best and get a diploma.”
He does not value money as dearly as his parents. However, the idea that he can kill some time in college without paying did peaked his interest. He was surprised that his money loving parents even made this offer. He understood that this was his father's way of showing his love, even though he did not think he needed the education. After a bit of thought, he agreed to the deal that his father offered.
“Fine. Since you are paying for it, I will attend college. I won’t stop working at the supermarket though since I still need money for other stuff.”
He pulled out his credit card from his black wallet. Entering his credit card number and finalizing his choices, he took a quick look at the clock that was ticking away on the wall in the background. He had to start his shift at the supermarket soon.
"Damn, it's seven already? Time to work."
Driskoll did a quick stretch to loosen himself. Unfortunately for him, tragedy struck. He lost his balance while he leaned back a little too far. His chair flips over and catapults him towards the wall. When his head banged into the wall, it left a small crater in the shape of his head. His eyes slowly lost the light of life as blood dripped onto the floor.
"AA nakushita kanashimi ga mata uzuiteku, Misery-World!"
The song that was playing in the background finished with no one listening to it. Driskoll was already dead.