Game Over

I finished another roguelike tower defense game for the eleventh time today. I close the game and see that it is still 6.32 pm. That would be three and a half hours until the drug kicks in and I can sleep again. Switching the VR display, I took control of the cameras. Three camera’s point of view, all in the same room. One at the corner beside the door, another at the other side, and the last one is above a medical bed. On the bed is a guy wrapped like a mummy with some cables plugged to the head. That was me! Got into a freak accident and was struck by lightning. Paralyzed from the heads down and fried some part of my brain that handles sleep. So I volunteer for some brain implants tests that let me interface to computers.

That was four years ago. At first it was quite an amazing experience. I get to dedicate my entire day bar the 6 hours of mandatory sleep to play games nonstop. But the excitement has died down. Boot up Steam and look at my library. I scrolled and scrolled. I have no games to play, though the number three hundred owned games beg to differ. I return to the cameras. Flicking through security cams that I get to access through some lengthy negotiations. I only get to access the ones in the hallway, parking lot, and outside. But a change in scenery is welcome. I once had access to some office rooms but immediately revoked after the news spread to the staff that I can access those. Night shifts in hospitals are wild man, I get to watch free porn almost every other night.

Flicking through the tabs, the game, the streaming service, the auto-diary that transcribes my every thought. My auto-diary was loaded, one of the first things I was told to test. Then flicking tabs again just to pass the time. Just need a few more years. The contract said I will get the first cyborg body after it is fully developed. Then a notification appears at the same time with a loud thunder. An email, from God apparently. Or a studio named God, is that even allowed? Anyway, the email offers some new strategy games with evolving mechanics. First being tower defense and then some proper 4X. Sounds cool. I already did some beta-testing to pass the time and add some savings till I get my body. So I pressed the play button and everything went dark.

—

“Did you hear?” A young man asks

“What?” The older lady answered annoyedly

“They say Yamato Empire summon another hero or something”

“Yes-yes. They do that every five years already. Now focus, we are on duty.” her words are followed by three oooohs from behind. She can only sigh as her party doesn’t take the mission seriously. The world was never safer than ever. The Dark Gods destroyed, their dungeons shackled as training grounds, the Dragon Lords banished from the world, and heroes' descendants ruled the world. Only Yamato being the only empire that is still summoning new ones. For an A rank party like them, securing the surrounding area, and scouting a predicted new dungeon was the hardest mission they could take.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“Canis! Are you sure you are leading us in the right direction?” The party leader asks as in front of them is a bustling village, almost a town in size.

The young man fumbled through his trinkets. A compass that shows the direction of highest magic density and a thermometer like object that help in assessing new dungeon danger levels based on the gathered magic in one place. The compass pointed at the town while the meter fluctuates up and down between A and SS. Signaling that the new dungeon will at the very least danger level A to the second level of State danger level. State danger level being categorized to the level of states, S means a threat to the province, SS a threat to a kingdom, and SSS a threat to an empire or an entire region of a continent. And as Canis relayed this information, a chill spread to the party.

“Canis, Terryn! Look for the dungeon entrance point! The rest follow me to evacuate the citizens!” The mission took a darker turn and all of them snapped back into seriousness. A dungeon this magnitude will be the largest ever since the Great War. The mage and scout of the party ride through the village while the other three start announcing their rank as adventurer, their mission, and the impending dungeon creation. Unfortunately for the three, a generation has passed since the horror of the Great War, and the new generation have largely forgotten the danger. Some even questioned the necessity of evacuating now that an A rank adventurer party is here. Only when the mayor, an old man, riddled with battle scars, a veteran of the great war, told the villagers to evacuate did the evacuation begin properly. Even so, the progress is still slow.

Leaving the evacuation to the old mayor, the rest of the party leave to find the mage.

“Over here!” The party dismount, slap the horses to run away and draw their weapons. Deep breaths follow as they await the dungeon to tear the ground and form an entrance. Tick tick tick sounds accompany them as the compass in Canis' hand keeps tapping the upward section of the glass. They wait and wait, but no ground shake, no tear formed on the earth. Sweat trickled and weapon moves as the party shifted grasp for their weapon. The mage looks at the compass again to double check. As he saw the pointing tip tapping upward, he finally looked up. There he saw not the sun, but a blinding light of a compressed pure magic, so far up it was mistaken as the sun. Four tendrils extend from the core to all four directions, forming a square. 

Too late was his realization. The square slammed down in a flash, flattening every building in the vicinity, the entire adventurer party, and any villagers tarry long enough to be crushed within the square radius. Those who evacuated in time, received the blessing of being face first with the kinetic energy of a mountain dropped near them. Thrown away along with all the trees that were uprooted by the force. All that is left within the square is a flat unnatural black rock and in the middle of it is a black tower extending up to the heavens.

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