CHAPTER 1: New Liberty University

February 4th 2103. Reevil city. One of the new 2nd grade metropolis built after the last war, located in the southeast of Europe, and part of the Occidental World Union (OWI).

Most of the renowned cities of the first half of the 21st century were utterly destroyed by geomagnetic bombs, leaving traces of a type of radiation that, although harmless to humans, deteriorates electronic equipment at an astonishing fast rate, leaving no choice to humanity but to build new cities.

But don't be mistaken, even if right now the radiation of a geomagnetic bomb is harmless to humans, during the war, it was the most ruthless weapon. After detonation, the shockwaves of a geomagnetic bomb eradicates all signs of life in a 30 km radius instantly, and the after shockwaves could travel triple this distance, holding at least 40% of the initial power of the bomb.

"Kid, wake up already, I can't believe that after 4 years you are not a bit less lazy." A bald man with dark skin said while knocking the door of a room.

"Shut up baldie, too tired, let me sleep." At the other side of the door that lead to a basement, a man protested while covering all his body with a green sheet in some sort of improvised bed.

"Sigh... How many weeks have you been there fixing that machine? Did you lost track of time already? Today is February 4th, do I have to remember why today is important?" The bald man said with a malicious smile, remarking the last question with a sarcasm tone.

*Thump* *Crash* "Holy f... Damn it!" The bald man put his ear near the door and began to laugh while hearing the struggles at the other side.

*Swish* The door opened.

"Why didn't you told me yesterday that today was that day?" A tall man with glasses, pale skin and short hair appeared behind the door. He was wearing a withe lab coat and rubber boots. His eyes were bloodshot and had huge bags, and his expression was urgent. He pushed the bald man aside and started running towards the exit of the house.

"Hey!" The bald man yelled trying to stop him, but he was totally ignored.

"Huh?" The man wearing the lab coat suddenly halted when opened the outside door. It was dark. He slowly turned back towards the bald man with a look filled with murderous intent and indignation.

"I told you is February 4th, but you didn't let me tell you is still 5 a.m. Go take a shower and fix your breath, I'll prepare breakfast, and don't tell me you were planning to go outside looking like that" The bald man said whit a mocking smile.

"You... You are shameless." The lab coat wearing man said while pointing at the bald man.

"Hahahahahaha... Hurry up, you know we have things to discuss before you go."

One hour later, the pale skinned man sat at the dining table, he was wearing now a pair of dark jeans and a withe T-shirt with some kind of formulas printed in it. After staring at him for some moments, the bald man approached while holding a dish and a cup of coffee, “Mathew, I know that it’s your first semester again, but you don’t have to look like a 15 years old kid, you already are 20, and your glasses doesn’t help you in the slightest.”

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“It’s not the first, it’s the third, and I have nothing else to wear” said Mathew while sipping the coffee, “and it’s 21, not 20, and you have a horrible moustache that doesn’t combine with your baldness and I don’t complain.”

“You know what I mean when I say it’s the first, you can’t get an active second grade key to the IVW in a virtual university, and you can have 10 years worth of virtual knowledge but you have 0 seconds of real life interaction.” While speaking, the man sat down in front of Mathew and brushed his moustache with the tips of his fingers, “And my moustache is a lady killer.”

“Tch, as if I care.” Mathew replied while averting his gaze from the bald man.

“Hahaha.” The bald man burst into laughter, and then picked up a paper bag next to him. “Here, take the digital key of the motorcycle, some bucks and your new ID.”

“Motorcycle?” Mathew stared straight into the bald man eyes. “I thought you said you were lending me the car.”

“No way, I have to bring the bird today from far away, your custom one isn’t finished yet, right?” Said the bald man. Bird is the fast way of naming the short term for Virtual Reality Device (VRD).

“Yeah right, I’m not far away from beginning the test phase though.” Mathew, with a disappointed look, replied to the bald man.

“Here, take some extra bucks and help yourself with some new clothes, I’ll return in two days max.” The bald man stood up from the table and after walking several steps, opened the front door and turned back with a mocking smile appearing in his face, “And no girls past 12, but I have to give you a lot of credit if you bring here one with your looks hahaha.”

“Damn you uncle Robert!” Mathew stood up and yelled, but it was too late, Robert already left the house.

After picking everything from the dining table and washing the dishes, Mathew checked the clock, it was already 6:40 a.m. He still had enough time, so he went to the basement and after arranging the mess that he did while trying to wake up and feeling satisfied, he went outside the house for the first time in the past 6 months. He paused for a bit before closing the door trying to remember if he wasn’t forgetting something. He had the sensation that he was forgetting something very important but couldn’t recall what it was. After hesitating a bit more, he decided to go to the garage.

There, in a corner, there was an orange and black motorcycle. It was a new model, an expensive one at that. The motorcycle could go from 0 to 100 km/h in 1.8 seconds, and although Mathew was not so skilled as to push the motorcycle to its limits, he still knew to ride it. He flashed the digital key near a sensor, and suddenly the motorcycle started and stabilized itself. He inserted the miniature digital key into a communicator which he the put in his ear, synching it with the motorcycle operative system.

“Trace route to New Liberty University.” And then, a holographic blue screen appeared in front of him signaling the route to the University, after memorizing the route for 20 seconds, he put on a black helmet and started his first personal trip to the university. The garage door automatically closed and he sped up.