2 The day is here...
3 years have passed.
The 18-year-old immature, unfit, and hesitant young boy had evolved into a bulky, masculine, mature, composed, disciplined, and even somewhat endearing man.
"Today is July 15th, but I'm still not sure of my descent."
He heaved a deep sigh.
In two days, he was going to become 21.
In contrast, he was still under 21 and would not be moved, according to the memory fragment he possessed.
He closed his eyes, remembering the challenges he had to overcome over the previous three years.
His overly busy schedule, science classes, training in survival skills and daily military-level exercises, as well as his refusal to attend social gatherings, his long nights of labouring for money, as well as making contacts that would be beneficial to him in the [Selection Area], reading novels, and much more, all played in his mind.
He had never once relished a moment of his life throughout these three years.
Both the looming difficulties and his personal limitations were known to him. He wasn't a soldier and lacked any survival abilities, he wasn't a nerd who devoured every novel under the sun to find the ideal golden finger, and he wasn't even a scientist who could come up with inventions that would give him an edge in the [Selection Area].
He was just an 18-year-old living his typical life three years ago, which comprised getting up, going to school, preparing for exams, eating, wasting time on social media, and sleeping. Nothing in that schedule could aid him in a place where the laws of the jungle prevailed.
He had to work very hard day and night to at least master the fundamentals and intermediate level of a weeb, soldier, explorer, scientist, and lastly "a hustler" because he couldn't achieve what he wanted in just 3 years.
He had modified his name to mimic those residing in Genesis Plane, in accordance with John Jacob Bastor IV's memories.
After being [Selected] in the [Selection Area], he would travel to Genesis Plane.
People who lived there had names that began with a splendid name and followed with a majestic family name.
In some ways, it resembled the naming tradition on earth, but the name "Raghav" was everything but regal.
He decided on "Brian" as his new name two years ago.
His name didn't have a family name because that will be decided once he stepped on the Genesis Plane after getting [Selected]
Although he went by the name "Alexander" on paper, everyone nicknamed him Brian.
These odd double names resulted from preventing anyone from connecting the current him after their transmigration. He did it for his own reasons, of course...
…
In this fashion, a few hours went by as Brian simply thought back on all he had learnt over the years and eagerly anticipated the life of challenges ahead.
The arrival of July 16, 2025, was still a little over an hour away. Brian halted his train of thought and moved over to his parents' room in the lavish home.
With the real estate knowledge from a year before, he had already discovered how to generate revenue.
Brian began his metaverse real estate career with money borrowed from the Bastor family as the initial investment.
After a year, he had established a modest reputation in the field and had enough money to pay for his own training costs.
In order to fully focus on developing his body and mind, he moved to the USA with his parents and left his schooling.
His parents were quite proud of him, just like any other mother and father would be.
In contrast to other parents, they were also quite supportive of his decision to leave Boston University.
You recall what I said earlier, Mom? Dad?
Brain enquired with worry in his voice.
Yes, we have both heard this a million times by this point.
Brian's mother Pooja replied in an uncaring voice
His mother's remark left him stunned, and his father, "Ashok," nodded in agreement.
After a brief discussion with his parents, Brian simply shook his head and walked to his room.
The golden fingers for both his parents and himself had already been decided.
He had frequently asked his parents to remember it because of his caution.
In his room, Brian took off his casual clothing and put on the carefully constructed, tailor made protective suit which was fireproof, waterproof, and heat-resistant.
For just one item of clothing with a three-month battery life and solar charging capabilities, he had paid more than $100,000.
One could only bring their own body and the clothing on it to the [Selection Area].
Brian sat down on his bed to take a nap while still donning the incredibly cosy outfit. He wanted to go with his parents since he couldn't bear to see them venture into the perilous world by themselves.
He was born a day late, which was unfortunate, so all he could do was wait nervously.
He had provided as much information as he could, and he had even coerced his parents into attending the survival skills session. Other than waiting, he really had no options.
…
When Brain was sound asleep.
A white light blazed across the entire world at precisely 1:27 am GMT.
Everybody who was awake felt as though the world was ending when the odd white light appeared.
Everyone over the age of 21 started to feel a force lifting their body and severing their connection with the earth just as the white light began to fall toward the ground. Everyone experienced it, and it was a very bizarre feeling.
*swoosh*
Everyone disappeared along with the white light in a jiffy.
…
Brian had a troubled heart when he awoke in the morning. In a desperate attempt to see his parents' faces again and to avoid having to enter that [Selection Area], he ran towards their room. He also hoped that everything in the memory pieces was a lie.
Sadly, all he discovered was an empty bed with unmade quilts.
Even though Brian had mentally prepared himself for this, it was still intolerable. He wanted to yell, shout, and cry so hard, but tears prevented him.
He had undergone rigorous training as a soldier to ensure that he would not cry or allow his emotions to overcome him.
He moved dejectedly to the living room television and turned on the news.
"Breaking news: It has been reported that a white light inexplicably came in the earth's orbit at 1:27 am GMT and left at 1:28 am, taking with it everyone over the age of 21.
Government agencies and space agencies are all in the dark about how and why the occurrence occurred.
Compared to earlier, fewer individuals are still employed by NASA and ISRO, but those who are still there are making every effort to discover where our loved ones have vanished.
Additionally, NASA states that it has lost contact with inhabitants of satellites in earth's orbit." A fairly young reporter with obvious facial sweat flowing was reporting while looking dejected.
"Not even space dwellers were spared." Mumbled Brian.
He turned off the TV, got up, and went to his training area to warm up and do some stretches.
Brain did nothing but rest and eat during the day so that he would be in peak shape to descend.
Even though Brian was aware of how far he had come in three years, there were a lot of people who qualified to be his opponents.
27 million people are in the world's military alone. The neighbourhood police and special agents are not included in this figure. Imagine how many lawbreakers, mafia, terrorists, and shadow forces there are given how many law enforcers there are.
There is no precise estimate of the total population of weebs, although there are more than 500 million Chinese readers of web novels alone.
Brian was not deterred by these large numbers; on the contrary, they inspired him to battle. He sought to control the entire human population.
[Selection Area] was more like a colosseum where anyone could employ any strategy to defeat the opposition rather than a jungle where the strong preyed on the weak. The weak are vulnerable at all times, and betrayals were more frequent than one-night stands on earth.
No one was weak enough to be taken for granted. Everyone had an equal chance of surviving, and only their cunning brains could enable them to make the best use of the available resources…
