Congratulations!

You discovered a dungeon during the prerelease!

Once the official game version is released, you’ll get a well-earned reward.

And you’ll get an even better reward if you beat the dungeon!

YEAH, BITE ME, SIS! Like I was ever going to be getting you a new phone…you’ll be fine with your old one. Next time you’ll think twice before making a bet with your elders!

“Mark are you screwing around on your phone again? Doesn’t that ever get old? You should try something useful instead of turning your brain to mush,” Chris muttered angrily. Another time, hearing the boss say something like that might have gotten to me, but not right then. He wasn’t mad at me or my phone; it was the trip. The road we were on barely deserved the name. The pavement had ended a couple kilometers back, and it was like the car had suddenly stumbled onto a set from an old war movie. Dirt, mud, potholes. I could practically hear the shells whistling overhead, the wounded groaning nearby. Sheisse, sheisse, nicht kapitulieren…

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Chris exclaimed when something scraped against the bottom of the car, which shuddered to a halt. “Whatever, we’re here. Time to walk.”

“What about our stuff?” I hit the pause button begrudgingly and dropped my phone into my pocket. The release was just a few hours away, and I’d been counting on beating that dungeon. Could the timing be any worse?

“We’ll get it later—the presentation isn’t for another three hours. It’s a kilometer to the village. Let’s go.”

I opened the door and glanced down sadly at my white sneakers. It wasn’t the death they’d dreamed of. Anything but that. The grayish-red clay was almost up to the car’s running boards. That damn GPS and the skip traffic function! Where could there possibly be traffic here a hundred miles from the city?! And what kind of VIP village needs a children’s entertainer? They didn’t have enough money for their resort?

There was a squelch, followed instantly by a string of curses from the boss. His shoes, which cost a month’s salary for me, had just introduced themselves to the local scenery. That was my signal. If Chris saw that I was holding back, he would fire me and hire Joker. The bastard had been gunning for my job for a long time, and I wasn’t about to let him have it. Ignoring the new hue my shoes took on, not to mention my quickly soaked socks, I went over to the trunk and pulled out two large bags. Chris was the entertainer. And a good one. The kind that was invited to perform even in the rarest of air at the top of the social hierarchy. And me? I was just the guy he had carry everything around, strong, durable, and cheap. You don’t have to pay much when you’re talking about a student working a side job in their spare time. The only thing that cheered me up was that my extensive collection of autographs was going to pick up some new entries, making it even more valuable. Chris didn’t accept just any invitation. Especially when it involved trudging through the mud.

The look on the face of the guard at the security checkpoint didn’t bode well. Instead of the usual tubby character who’d been fired from government service for drinking and was happy spending the rest of his days doing crossword puzzles with the button to open the gate next to him, the guard was a hulking character with the figure of a young Schwarzenegger. Angular cheekbones played nervously, barely visible behind his collar. Pointedly sliding the bolt back on his automatic, he barked threateningly.

“No begging! Get out of here!”

I ducked behind the boss, not a fan of people pointing weapons at me. Chris, not quite the coward I was, just pulled out a piece of paper.

“We were invited. Here’s the pass.”

Another fighter stepped out of the checkpoint, that one a copy of the first. Just as powerfully built, he was rough-looking and dangerous. He leveled his gun at us and signaled to his partner, who only then stepped over to Chris. They don’t play around! After studying the document and shining an ultraviolet lamp on it, the first character walked my boss over to the checkpoint. I found myself there a couple minutes later. Our bags were disemboweled, our pockets were turned inside out, we were stripped down to our underwear, and it was only then that boredom replaced the vigilance in the guards’ eyes. Their job was done. We weren’t terrorists, and they could return to whatever it was they’d been doing before we got there. As I stuffed everything back into the bags, I noticed the first guard pull out his phone. A familiar intro popped up on the screen. I wasn’t the only one enjoying the new game.

The castle we arrived at was built with a clear hint at the owner’s taste for Beauty and the Beast. The two structures weren’t similar; it was that the master, having lost his true love, built himself a tower, locked himself up inside like the beast, and got to work waiting for his beloved beauty. Judging by the merry laughter coming from around one of the pools, there were quite a few beauties there auditioning for the role. The owner himself was a homely weed in the surrounding flowerbed: short, pudgy, and bald with sagging cheeks. When he saw us, he waved a fat hand welcomingly. A butler showed up instantly beside us to bow to Chris.

“The master asked me to help you freshen up. Come with me.”

Then he turned to me.

“I don’t have any instructions for you. Margot, please take our guest to the summer veranda and make sure he washes up. Scrub the path, too. We wouldn’t want anyone getting dirty.”

That last thing he said was a reference to the trail my wet pants were leaving behind them. I squirmed under the butler’s gaze. It was like he was looking at empty space.

“Mark, can you get the drone ready?” Chris looked at me inquiringly. That was something he usually took care of, but we were running out of time before the event.

“I’ve seen you do it a hundred times,” I replied frankly.

“Great. Get yourself ready and take care of that—and hurry.”

“On it.” I sounded better than I felt. It was one thing to launch a toy; it was quite another to be responsible for a piece of professional equipment worth north of ten thousand bucks.

The girl with the beautiful foreign name of Margot coupled it with a clearly provincial nose spattered with freckles. She led me off to the veranda and handed me some clean clothes that were neither new nor my size, though I didn’t have much choice in the matter. After washing up, I got to work on the drone. Four blades hummed rhythmically as the unit soared into the sky. The weathervane on the roof of the villa twitched from side to side, but that didn’t worry me. The drone’s powerful motors and 17-inch blades held its position even in a strong wind. I’d flown it before, so I took the liberty of giving it a test run around the villa, pausing above the pool to admire the beauties clustered there before coming in for a landing. And that was all that was needed from me until the end of the event. Chris’ baggage had been hauled to the location, the drone was ready, and I wasn’t standing out. Later, I’d have to collect it all and get the car out of the mud—the boss certainly wasn’t going to deal with that. I was the perfect employee.

There was only one thing on my mind right then. Settling onto one of the couches, I pulled out my phone and frowned—the battery was down to 30%, and my charger was in the car. Although…that should be enough. I checked my email to find nothing urgent or important. Squirrel had texted me that she was off to see a friend and wouldn’t be back until that evening. That meant there was nothing to eat at home, as the little one would sooner go hungry than make something. With no messages on social media, I tapped the icon with a tremor of anticipation. The intro flashed by, the rest of the world faded away, and my stalker stepped into the dungeon.

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Congratulations!

You beat a dungeon during the prerelease!

Once the official game version is released, you’ll get a well-earned reward.

A satisfied smile spread across my face. There were just twenty minutes left before the official release—I’d made it in time.

World of the Changed exploded onto the market out of nowhere, suddenly becoming all gamers everywhere could think about. The astounding graphics, the intuitive controls, the lack of microtransactions, the ubiquitous advertising… It wasn’t an hour before World of the Changed was on every TV, every radio station, every bus. Millions and millions of users were awaiting the official release to jump in and start destroying mutants and monsters. Among them were my sister and me. We quickly made it to the tenth and final level available in the prerelease, after which Squirrel announced there was nothing else to do. Sure, it was interesting, but the real fun was coming later. I’d just proven her wrong, however. And not only had I found the real fun; I’d also been able to beat it, taking out a champion and collecting some kind of bonus for myself. Even if it was meaningless bells and whistles, it was still nice.

We were down to the final minutes before the release. The action was kicking up around the castle, laughter was breaking out, fireworks were soaring skyward, everyone was rushing over to wish the master a happy birthday, and girls were running around in their bathing suits. I was out of the action, the perfect place for me. Parties like that weren’t my speed.

“Here you go.” Margot appeared to place an enormous tray down on the table. Lids were lifted, and the savory aroma of meat hit my nostrils. My mouth watered treacherously. The last time I’d had food that good was… Well…probably the last time mom cooked for us… When she was still alive.

A lump formed in my throat. It had been two years since my parents died, and I still hadn’t gotten used to it. Squirrel had been thirteen. They were going to take her away to a children’s home, but my uncle stepped in and helped set up custody. As a twenty-year-old, it was hard for me to take on responsibility for the family. I did it, though. I didn’t drop out of school, and I found a job. But there wasn’t money for little joys like food and alcohol, which was why I used games to relax. The best were the ones where you didn’t have to pay. And that’s why World of the Changed seemed perfect—I’d spent the previous month investing all my free time in it.

“Who are you to Chris?” Margot asked as she sat down on the edge of the couch and brushed back her curls. I smiled carnivorously—it was the same as always. Chris got the fame and glory; I got the curious servant girls. There were no pangs of conscience, either, as I was a twenty-two-year-old not planning on giving up sex for at least the next forty years.

“Oh, that’s a long story,” I whispered back mysteriously. Margot scooched closer and bent over to hear me better. Her face approached, and I was measuring her up for a kiss when her pupils suddenly dilated. She let out a wild scream. I lurched backward—Margot was screeching so loudly that it sounded like she was being torn to pieces. The girl threw herself onto the floor in a fit of convulsions, her squeals continuing. Other cries came from the other side of the door. I jumped up and looked out the window—everyone was yelling and rolling around on the ground. Men in slick suits, girls in bikinis, guards, all of them. A chill ran down my spine. What’s going on?! Is it terrorists?

Suddenly, my phone vibrated. An enormous green button reading Activate antidote and a countdown appeared on the screen.

30… 29… 28…

I shuddered and looked back at Margot, who was no longer making any sounds. Something strange was happening to her. She was still screaming, only her screams were silent. The convulsions were still there, too—she twisted her arm so violently that I heard the horrifying sound of crunching bones. But that wasn’t even the worst part. Her pretty face was starting to swell, becoming blue, deformed, and engorged.

My phone vibrated so hard it jumped around the table.

15… 14…

Complete bewilderment came over me. I couldn’t do anything to help Margot, but there was no point just standing there next to her. What if it’s contagious? A biological weapon, maybe? I grabbed my crazed phone only to almost drop it. I didn’t know this model could vibrate like that. To shut it up, I jabbed the damn button. The vibrations stopped.

But that didn’t make anything better.

For a few moments, I forgot everything—Margot and her suffering, the people on the other side of the door, even myself. Because a small, two-milliliter syringe filled with a green liquid had appeared in my hand. It did so gradually, almost as if the product of a high-speed 3D printer. A fire burst into my chest, and I remembered how important oxygen is to humans. After taking a deep breath, I hurled the mysterious thing onto the couch. What the…?!

But the devil had gotten into my phone. Another green button appeared: Watch video. In hopes of bringing reason back to the device, I gave in and…

Yet another curse escaped my lips. It was hard to wrap my mind around the image on the phone.

It was me in the video. My face, the clothes I was wearing, even Margot twitching in the background. On the screen, I went over to the syringe, picked it up, and plunged it into my leg. A green check mark appeared, though that wasn’t the end of the video. It rewound to the beginning. Once again, there I was, standing there with a grin on my face as I looked at the syringe. I turned away demonstratively, after which I dropped to my knees and started writhing around the same way Margot was. The camera dropped slightly lower to show the girl. My hair stood on end. Margot was gone, in her place some kind of beast barely reminiscent of a human. It had enormous teeth, long claws, spikes all over its body, and deformed, bulging eyes. The arms and legs had turned thick, stubby, and lizard-like. Snapping its jaws, what used to be Margot leaped up to the ceiling, threw the door open, and disappeared. The camera went back to show my bluish face. An X appeared to show that I’d failed the mission, and the video ended. It was replaced by another countdown.

30… 29… 28…

I looked over at Margot and nearly vomited. The girl’s face was exactly like the one I’d seen in the video. Her body was also starting to change, turning from human into monster. Her right arm burned intolerably. I held a hand up in front of my face, and that time I couldn’t hold back the spasm—my fingers were lengthening and turning blue. That did it. In one leap, I was next to the couch, where I grabbed the syringe and thrust it into my leg. There was a flash of pain, the world around me started to spin, and I was swallowed by an encroaching darkness.

Waking up suddenly, I found that I didn’t even have a headache. The first thing that occurred to me was how much I had to have drunk to have a dream like that one. But that thought was quickly chased away when I looked up and saw the drooling beast staring hungrily at me from a couple meters away. I had to wonder if my underwear was still clean. The scraps of clothing and the beads around its thick neck told me that the beast really was what was left of the cute girl. A third thought hit me, and I quickly held my hand up to my face. A wave of relief washed through me—my fingers showed no signs of the bluish tint or deformation. Hooray! There was at least some good news in all the chaos.

Once again, my phone buzzed, and the monster growled menacingly. It crouched like a cat ready to pounce, though something held it back. I pulled my gaze away to look at my phone. Wondering fleetingly if it really was mine, I ignored that idea. What was on the screen was far more important.

Welcome to World of the Changed!

Number of registered players: 105,778,331. An additional 500 million former players were selected randomly and added to the list of players on Earth.

Have fun!

It took a while for that to register. So, this is the release? What, is this an alien invasion? The whole thing was a plot to enslave Earth? But why wouldn’t they just make everyone monsters then? Why make it so complicated?

The game will begin in ten minutes.

Familiarize yourself with the status table for your character.

I automatically tapped the button that came up, and it was followed by a small table:

Before I really got a chance to study it, a new window popped up:

Because you did a great job during the prerelease, the following bonuses are available to you:

Beginner. For getting to the highest level (3 coins and 50% off all items at the store for two hours).

Small. For finding a dungeon (8 coins).

Medium. For beating a Champion (12 coins).

Large. For beating a dungeon (KORT-I energy pistol).

Skill: Pistol shooting +1 (1).

Loyalty bonus. The game was open on your phone when it launched (attribute syringe).

Would you like to accept your bonuses?

And there were the two bonuses, one a green check mark and the other a red X. There was no doubt in my mind which I was going to pick—the green button swirled away. The space around me drifted oddly. Two items appeared in my palm: a familiar syringe filled with a green liquid and a miniature pistol. Almost like I’d slipped out of reality for a second, my heart stopped as I gazed down. That’s some kind of magic! The pistol fit my right hand perfectly, almost as if made from an impression. Of course, it was unusual, with neither a bolt nor a safety. Something more like a blaster from a fantasy movie.

One minute until the game launch.

Careful! There’s an aggressive monster within three meters of you.

Get ready for battle and remember that there are no respawns in World of the Changed!