Welcome, players, to a new life. Each one of you are under this system, and it is impossible to escape. Monsters, which range from levels one to one thousand, have been placed all around Earth. If you can find the final boss and kill it, we promise to leave your world and never come back. However, if you fail, we will not hesitate to take over the Earth. We have given each of you a chance to spin a wheel and open a treasure chest as a starting gift, which will grant you some power to kill the monsters. By killing monsters, you will level up, grow stronger, and will be able to slay stronger ones. We wish each of you the best of luck. Enjoy.
Xavier squinted at the notification.
“What is this,” he thought. “Is this really happening? Is this a joke?”
He turned around and looked at his two best friends, Ezequiel and Avery. They had been best friends since they were five years old. They ate hundreds of meals together, joined the same clubs — math, biology, and chess — and talked for many hours everyday, gossiping about the latest news and their life goals. Now, they were high school juniors trying to survive their spring term. They sat in an empty classroom and ate their lunch.
“Did you guys see a blue screen,” Xavier asked.
“Yesh,” responded Ezekiel. “I don’t understand what is going on.” His brown hair and his blue eyes shone in the sunlight. He was of medium stature and had a scar above his left eye, which he received after running into the stairs three years earlier.
“Wow,” answered Avery. “I do too.” Her light-blue skirt fluttered in the noon wind. She gazed at Xavier’s brown eyes, opened her mouth but pursed her lips. Her blond hair shone brightly and her blue eyes sat symmetrically above her perfect nose.
Xavier bit his lip. He got up from his seat and looked outside the window but saw what he usually saw, a path leading up to an iron gate. Plants dotted along the path, and on the opposite side of the road sat a convenience store, where the three usually bought slushes.
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“I don’t see anything different guys,” said Xavier. “I don’t see the ‘monsters’’ that the notification described.”
He pondered for a few seconds and whispered, “Wheel.” A blue screen popped up in front of him.
Wheel activated
Suddenly, a big wheel appeared in front of him. It was as twice as tall and twice as wide as Xavier’s height: six feet. Sparkles and blue, red, and yellow lights blinded him. Each slit of the wheel was so small that he could not see the words. A big police alarm sat at the top and flashed “Congratulations!” A big, red lever on the right side of the wheel read, “Pull.”
“Hey guys, do you see this?” Xavier said as he pointed at the wheel. “It looks kinda realistic, and oh, I can feel it. Yep, it’s definitely real.”
“Sick, dude,” yelled Ezekiel. “How’d you do that?”
“Yea,” echoed Avery. “How’d that happen.”
“Say ‘Wheel’,” answered Xavier. The two obeyed.
Suddenly, two more wheels appeared in front of the other two. Ezekiel's wheel, however, was not as dazzling as Xavier’s. It did not have the flashing lights Xavier’s wheel had, but rather, had a darker, more sinister, color. It was not as large as his wheel either, which stood exactly at Ezekiel’s height — five feet and ten inches. Avery’s wheel, however, was much smaller than Xavier’s, and stood at half her height. The color was very dull too, like the color of whole-grain bread. She had to reach down to examine the wheel, which upon further observation had many shallow cracks on the sides.
“Oh, dang it,” complained Avery. “My wheel isn’t as special as yours!” She stared at Xavier and Ezekiel’s wheels and even began salivating a little.
“Sorry dude,” replied Ezekiel. “But doesn’t my wheel has such cool colors. This is great.”
“Yea, I guess,” she said. “But I want yours!”
“Now, now, guys,” spoke Xavier. “Let’s not fight and rather do something. Why don’t we all pull the lever at the same time.”
“Sure,” answered the other two.
“Okay, on three. One. Two. Three,” said Xavier.
They pulled their levers.