Step, step…
As I exited the shower and headed toward my bedroom, my body still slightly wet, a towel hanging low around my waist.
Water dripped from my hair and body, falling onto the ground.
The sound of my steps echoed through the apartment.
A cool wind came through the window as I looked outside, my eyes landing on the moon.
My body shivered from the cold.
I reached out with my right hand and closed the window, then walked toward my closet and put on something warm.
After that, I walked over to my desk, pulled back the chair, and sat down. I turned on my PC, picked up my glasses from the desk, and put them on.
I pulled my slightly wet, long dark hair back with my right hand and put on my headset. I took a deep breath in… then slowly exhaled.
It's finally today…
That new update everyone has been talking about.
As I opened the game, I saw the number of currently active players above the loading screen.
9,856,764 players.
Huh…?I haven't seen such a high number of active players in this game for a long time now.
THE VERA GAME.
In the year 2088, in the country of Vera, the Vera Game was finally released. After just 24 hours, 10 million people bought it. After 7 days, that number increased to 40 million.
But after a while, people started seeing the game as boring. Because of that, after 3 months, the number of active players dropped to just 3 million.
Which isn't really low… but also nowhere near what people expected.
But now, after a year since its release, today the new update would finally come out.
Will this update bring the game back to how it was …?
The update was at 98%.
And there was a small sign under the percentage saying:
ONCE THE UPDATE FINISHES, ALL ACTIVE PLAYERS WILL DIRECTLY JOIN INTO THE GAME.
After a few seconds, the number of active players suddenly jumped.
9,988,999 players.
And just then—
99%.
Shortly after that—
10,000,000 players.
That's when the update finally hit 100%.
I stared at the screen with full focus, waiting patiently…
Suddenly—
A HUGE blue light burst out from the screen.
"—What the…?!"
I was forced to shut my eyes immediately, raising my arms in front of my face to shield it from the light.
Slowly, I felt warmth spreading across my skin.
A sharp ringing filled my ears.
The strong scent of wood and grass rushed into my nose.
And a powerful gust of wind pushed my body slightly backward.
I slowly opened my eyes.
What I saw—
A huge city in the distance.
The bright light of the sun right in front of me.
And thousands of people… all around me.
"…What?"
I looked down.
I was standing on grass, wearing a black and blue oversized t-shirt, matching loose pajamas, and black hiking boots. On my left wrist was a small dark metal bracelet.
I quickly turned around to see what was behind me.
A massive forest.
Trees over 10 meters tall stretched far into the distance. It looked ancient… like something from another age.
But the view was slightly blurry.
I touched my face.
…My glasses.
The ringing in my ears slowly faded, replaced by voices—shouting, screaming, confusion everywhere.
Everyone around me… was wearing the exact same thing as me.
I turned to my right.
A guy was on his knees, crying hard, smashing his head against the ground.
"HELP! HELP!"
"WHERE AM I?!"
I quickly went over, knelt next to him, and forcefully stopped him from moving—then punched him lightly in the stomach.
Just enough.
He froze.
"…Ah… Ouch…"
He whimpered, then slowly stood up. I stood up as well.
I gave a slight smile and softened my eyes a bit, trying to look calm.
I rubbed the back of my head with my right hand.
"Oh… sorry. I really didn't mean to hit you. I just didn't know what else to do to help…"
He looked at me for a second—
Then he suddenly grabbed my hands and bowed.
"THANK YOU! I REALLY NEEDED THAT!"
—And right then—
ATTENTION EVERYONE.
A strong, deep male voice echoed through the air.
All the noise around me instantly disappeared.
Silence.
Then—
Something appeared in the sky.
A huge red sphere, about the size of a human body.
It had arms. Legs. No head.
Just a mouth on the sphere itself.
Floating.
"Now, now…" it said, flying around like a child playing."I think I gave you all enough time.
Everyone stared up at it.
"You're all probably wondering where you are… when you are… and why you're here."
It paused.
"Let me tell you."
"YOU ARE ALL IN THE VERA GAME!"
A pause.
"But here's the thing…"
It took a deep breath…
Then shouted:
"THIS IS YOUR NEW REALITY!"
"What the hell are you saying?!"
"WHY DID YOU KIDNAP US?!"
"LET US GO!"
People started shouting, picking up rocks, throwing them—
They passed right through it.
Like a ghost.
The creature stopped moving, floating still in the air.
Its mouth closed.
Then slowly opened—
"FEAR."
A powerful blast of air slammed most people to the ground.
I looked around.
I wasn't the only one still standing.
A few others were too.
The ones who fell—the ones shouting before—were now completely silent.
Their faces… filled with terror.
The red sphere smiled.
"I see… so there are some of you who are worthy after all."
It cleared its throat.
"ANYWAY—"
"As I was saying—"
"YOU ARE NO LONGER IN THE WORLD YOU USED TO KNOW."
Some people slowly stood back up.
"YOU ARE NOW IN THE VERA GAME WORLD."
"ONCE YOU FINISH THE GAME—YOU WILL BE GRANTED ONE WISH."
"ONLY ONE."
"THERE ARE NO RULES."
It covered its mouth and laughed.
"HAVE FUN… HEHEHEHE…"
Then it added—
"By the way…"
"IF YOU DIE…"
A pause.
"THEN THAT'S IT."
And with that—
It disappeared.
Silence.
Everyone froze.
The guy next to me leaned closer and whispered:
"I've read novels about this… you know? People getting pulled into games they play…"
I looked at him, taking a small step back, then spoke in a calm, low voice with a slight smile.
"Yeah… you're right. I have too."
"So this is one of those… huh…?"
He nodded and grabbed my hand.
"Listen… let's team up…"
He stepped closer, looking me straight in the eyes.
"You need to make friends in situations like these."
"…Yeah."
I nodded and shook his hand.
"You're right."
"I accept."
"I'll be your partner."
...Partner, huh? Sure.