Chapter 5 Entering the game

''Grandpa, are you okay?''

Seeing that his grandfather was still staring at the TV with a look of disbelief on his face even after the livestream had ended, Arthur finally asked him before he walked towards him and patted his shoulder.

Old Luke instantly returned back to his senses after feeling the pat on his shoulder, as he mumbled to himself a moment later

''Is this real?''

Naturally, Arthur couldn't blame his grandfather, since he himself was also having difficulty accepting all of this as well.

If he hadn't witnessed that terrifying, vomit-inducing scene back in the bus station along with Leonard, he would probably be unable to believe all of this as well.

''The Minister said that everyone has to go to the nearest airport and obtain one of those bracelets to join that game. Son... what do you think?''

Arthur shook his head after hearing his grandfather's question, before he answered a moment later

''Grandpa, nobody really knows anything about this game just yet, but right now, no person in the world can refuse to participate in it either.''

Although Arthur's response was simple, it was still the same thing that old Luke had in his mind, causing the old man to let out a sigh as a complicated look appeared in his eyes.

Indeed, that General Giu had called them 'slaves of the Gwong war tribe', showing the value that humans had in her eyes.

They were truly nothing more than slaves.

Combined with the cruel scenes that every person had seen in the livestreams all around the world, with the aliens mercilessly killing any human who appeared in their sights and even destroying entire buildings along their path, old Luke understood that there was no person in the world who truly had a choice anymore.

Grabbing a brown, old jacket from the closet next to the door of the room, Luke turned around and looked at Arthur before he said

''Arthur, let's go son.''

On the first floor, behind the shop, there was a small garage with an old car inside.

Normally, Arthur and his grandfather would either take the bus or a cab to get to the airport, but at this point, Arthur and old Luke both understood that neither buses nor cabs would be available today.

Everyone would definitely be rushing to the airport right now to obtain those 'universe bracelets' that the red-armored general of the Gwong war tribe had mentioned.

At the same time that Arthur entered the car and sat on the passenger's seat next to his grandfather, Arthur's phone started to ring

''Ring~ Ring~''

''Arthur, are you okay? How is your grandpa?''

''Leonard, I'm fine. What about you? Are your parents safe?''

Leonard's voice had lost his usual playfulness and was now filled with worry the moment that Arthur picked up the phone. It was only after hearing that Arthur and his grandfather were really fine that he seemed to have calmed down, as he then answered

''Thank god. My parents are okay too. You saw the news, didn't you? I'm already on the way to the airport. Man, the streets are already a mess here, be careful on the way!''

Hearing that Leonard and his parents were also alright, Arthur heaved out in relief as well.

Aside from his grandpa, Leonard was the only friend that Arthur had, who was almost like a family member to him.

On the way to the airport, Arthur and old Luke were both shocked when they witnessed the scenes on the streets.

Destroyed cars and motorcycles had filled the ruined streets, while buildings that had collapsed were everywhere as far as the eye could see. Corpses had also filled the streets and the sidewalks, regardless if it were elderly men and women or children, as the pools of blood coming from their bodies had painted the ground red, making a truly terrifying scene.

Even though Arthur had already seen this scene through the livestreams earlier, seeing it up close was truly a completely different sight.

The city that Arthur and Leonard were living in was considered to be relatively small, with less than 200.000 people living in it, but the closer they got to the airport, the more packed and filled with other cars and motorcycles the streets became.

Everyone seemed to have the same idea, to get to the airport as quickly as possible.

Arthur and his grandfather were considered to be among the earliest ones to get to the airport, but they still had to wait for 8 hours for their turn to arrive, simply due to the sheer amount of people who had gotten there before them.

Finally, 8 hours later, Arthur and his grandfather both handed their IDs to a government official.

Surprisingly, behind the official, a group of 10, black-armored aliens from the Gwong war tribe were standing, protecting an enormous container.

The official fearfully walked to the container and grabbed 2 small, tightly-sealed black boxes from inside, before he handed them to Arthur and old Luke along with their IDs and said seriously

''These are your universe bracelets. Don't lose them or the government won't provide you with new ones! Remember that according to the pact, you have 1 month to come here and hand over the 90 elemental stones.''

Leaving the airport, Arthur and old Luke soon returned back home.

Inside his room, Arthur sat on his bed and took a look at the small black box in his hands, only to realize on top of the box there were no words, but only a bunch of weird symbols that he had never seen before.

Ignoring these symbols, Arthur opened the box and saw a black bracelet inside, looking somewhat similar to the bracelet that the red-armored general of the Gwong war tribe, General Giu was wearing during the livestream.

The bracelet itself seemed to be much larger than a normal bracelet that a human would wear, while its design was relatively simple, looking like a normal but relatively thick wrist bracelet.

The only exception was the bunch of weird symbols engraved on the bracelet's surface, that were similar to the symbols on top of the black box.

Touching it with his hand, Arthur realized that the bracelet's surface was cold and smooth, giving off a refreshing feeling to the touch.

Holding the bracelet with both hands, Arthur pondered seriously for a moment before he mumbled to himself a moment later

''Let's see what kind of game is this going to be.''

With a curious look on his face, Arthur put the black bracelet on his right hand and closed his eyes.

At that moment, a dim white light appeared on the bracelet's surface, as the runes on it started to light up one after the other.

Before he could even react, Arthur suddenly felt himself losing consciousness and collapsing on the bed a moment later.

The ethereal voice of a woman appeared in his mind the next moment, making Arthur unsure if he was actually dreaming or not

<Binding the 'intergalactic neuron bracelet'...

.. bind complete!

Welcome host, to the Game of the Universe: Zenith.>