1 #01: Countdown

The room was dark, not because it was midnight but because the resident was accustomed to this type of setting even on Sunday mornings. There was a desk placed towards the southern wall below the window, on which various university books, pamphlets labeled with the name "Dreams Online", and a laptop were placed. A cupboard marked the northern area of the room and beside it was the door to the washroom. There was a single-person bed(in the east) on which a teenager was sleeping soundly until his phone rang.

*Ring Ring-Ring Ring

No response was shown.

*Ring Ring-Ring Ring

This time, the fingers twitched.

*Ring Ring.....

A hand suddenly grasped the trembling iPhone and took it to the ears, "Why are you disturbing me so early John?!" The drowsing boy muttered.

"Early! It's 11'O clock Adam! Did you forget we had to go shopping!" A sharp voice came from the speaker.

"Why're you sounding like a girl?"

"It's Me you idiot!--", there was a change of voices suddenly on the other end of the call, "Darling cool down. Hey Adam! dress up and come to the park, we'll pick you up," a male youth's voice alighted on Adam's ears.

"So that was Martha huh? Anyway, sorry I forgot. I'll get ready...pick me at 11:15"

"Got it."

----<Fourteen minutes Later>----

Adam, dressed in casuals and his hair combed, came out of the three-storey flat(looking at his phone periodically) and set forth towards a nearby park. One can say that Japan had both Modern and Traditional feel to it and Adam, being a foreign exchange student, was fascinated by this. He reached the colony's prime road, turned right, and arrived at the park's front gate. He then looked at his phone, turned right, and reached the park's front gate....."Huh, not again", that was Adam's reaction, thinking he was hallucinating. It was like a Deja-vu but too real for him. Still, Adam wasn't THAT much surprised as these strange events were occurring frequently since last year when he turned twenty.

"Where are you lost Adam? Get in," a smart teenager called Adam from his car, standing in front of the park. He was in the driving seat along with a pretty girl with elegant features, sitting beside him.

"Ah...nothing John," Adam pulled the back-gate and settled himself. "So where we heading?"

"Akiba of course but before that...Happy Birthday!" the girl, Martha, spoke and handed a small gift(with a big smile). John released the clutch and they all went off.

Akihabara is one of the heart-locations in Tokyo, a massive shopping hub famous for the extreme variety of commodities available here - especially electronics and anime-themed ones. You can say it's heaven for those "shopping freaks", one of which is Martha, John's girlfriend and an old acquaintance of Adam. It had been one and a quarter hours since they arrived here but she was still not done yet, moving from one store to the other, and dropping the luggage on the two of them. Adam was carrying four bags at the same time(kind of workout you don't expect after waking up).

"What's wrong with her? Is she even human?" Adam asked John in a depressing voice.

"I also don't get how she can have this much energy. Well, she said she was gonna buy things in advance for Christmas," John replied, himself also carrying three bags.

"Whatever, she's a gorilla, like Kohaku*." The words hadn't completely left his lips that he felt a sinister figure glaring at him from behind. "Ahh...I-I meant strong like Kohaku...and pretty also...hehe."

Two taps on Adam's shoulder and he turned to face Martha, smiling at him with her eyes closed(indicating a fierce emotion behind it). In return, he also gave a nervous smile and she moved on{Adam: phew! Saved}.

"John, give your bags to Adam....he loves strength," Martha directed John and went ahead.

"NANI?!"

"Too bad brother, you provoked your old sis~," John sighed and left the bags on Adam's so-called strong body {Adam's inner mind: how did this happen-BooHoo}.

There was a massive showroom beside Adam, having glass windows and doors for looking in as well as decorations adorning the store glamorously(pretty expensive). A neon hoarding was installed above the entrance, with letters "Dreams Online Workshop" lighting it up. It was a name that was quite famous these days as being the greatest MMO*. Adam gave a look at the store, went to John, and handed him over the bags{John: The fuck!}. He briskly came back and entered the showroom. "WELCOME ADVENTURER!" A pair of digital voices(female) greeted him.

"Huh...such showoff, but a nice one," the first thoughts that came to Adam as he heard the greeting and looked around the store. It was a place you would expect a billionaire corporation to hold even in these small streets, a luxurious eye-catcher for people of class(non-ones too). Despite being a game store, people of all ages were filling this place, discussing various topics like <World Bosses>, <Dieties>, <Holy Barrier>, etc. He had only one task in mind and that was to get some in-game items.

He walked (passing walls displaying scenes from the game: a big white tree in the center of a settlement, a glowing blue pond, statue of a female figure with orange eyes) to the counter in front and greeted the receptionist. Progressing with his trade, he purchased the desired items and brought out a golden card(Game ID) which he double-tapped on a black-colored cuboid-shaped tech to pay through in-game currency.

"Player...Nate. Done! Your in-game payment has been made."

"Alright, thanks. I'll head out then--" Adam suddenly felt a tingling all over him, reacting to which, he suddenly started staring in all directions. It wasn't such a big deal to have these sensations sometimes, but for Adam, "tingling" was just a reference to a strange feeling he felt on his twentieth birthday(when all the Deja-Vu's started). Seeing the receptionist startled, Adam gathered his senses and left the store only to bump into someone and dropping his card.

"Ow...are you alright?" a sharp and sweet voice landed on Adam's ears. He looked in front, and saw a slim but soft(smooth) figure of a woman, staring him with her shimmering brown eyes. "Not to be rude but you should watch where you're going Mister or you'll end up in Narnia* one day, which'll be cool I guess."

"Ahh...yes! I'm sorry," Adam suddenly spoke, breaking his absent mindset due to the prior event. He observed the lady in front, looking at her decent attire which presented her as one of those 'mannered' high-class people. At the same time, her way of speech and hairstyle told of a carefree person not bound by standards.

She bent, picked up Adam's card, and returned it to him, "Look out for your belongings kid."

"Ah, yes. Um, are you perhaps a public figure? I feel like I have seen you recently, somewhere."

"Oh my, haha. No, I'm just a traveler, have come from far to visit a friend here. He's a writer and social worker."

"That's cool. Have a safe and enjoyable stay here in our place."

She then recollected herself and walked past Adam, following which a whisper tickled him, "My friend needs you. It has begun, buckle up." Adam was bewildered by this; his first reaction was his eyes seeking that lady who wasn't in sight anymore as if she was never there. It was as if his heart was sinking with weight while he was sweating all over.

----< 8:15pm-Same Night>----

"Evening Mrs.Umezaki. I went shopping so I brought these on the way back. I hope you'll enjoy them," Adam was handing a seafood packet to a middle-aged woman who lived on the ground floor of his flat.

"Ah! Arigato dear. You really do keep us in mind, haha," the woman laughed softly, taking the packet. "Why don't you come in? Satoko is also free." When these words were spoken, a fade exclamation(coated with embarrassment) was heard.

"Ahh...well haha. I think some other time Mrs.Umezaki, got some work to do."

The gate closed and Adam hurriedly made way to his room(flat). The landlady's request was tempting to him but the fact that a <timer(red-colored)> had appeared at the corner of his vision was pretty disturbing for him (for anyone I guess). He opened the door carefully and locked it when entered. He looked from one corner of the room to the other before glancing at the <timer> which noted [00:02:01] and was decreasing. Adam was anxious as to where this was leading.

Thinking about the possibilities, remaining time passed and the <timer> vanished after striking zero. Adam's eyes were filled with worry but along with it were the sparkles of excitement (a mediocre teen with casual life sure had his hopes lifted). Half a minute passed but nothing happened {Adam: huh...did I missed something}. Soon several minutes ticked off but there was no sign of anything interesting or peculiar. Adam's expressions were a bit down, so much for the hype. Then out of thin air, two message tabs popped-up,

⁅ SYSTEM shutdown in progress ⁆

⁅ You are now eligible for <breaking-off> ⁆

"What the...?" Adam pondered in confusion. For some reason, he wasn't bewildered by this but instead was examining the scenario. Shortly after, an echoing voice(female) filled his room.

"Do you want to leave this world and start your tale in another one?" The voice was sharp.

"Ahh....what?"

"You wanna leave this world?"

"No...I guess."

"Oh, I see...too bad it doesn't matter. I was just asking to make a cool scene but I guess things don't always go the 'fictional way'. You have been summoned or whatever into the world of Detera to free it from misery and domination."

"The fuck are you saying, Miss. You just come out of nowhere and try to drag me into some(scam) isekai shit...without my consent!"

"Yeah amigo, that's the plan {Adam: excuse me!}. Don't worry though, seeing your life here, you don't have much to lose(except your parents and two friends) but to gain in that place! A fantasy world full of wonders and new things to discover. You'll love it and can become anything."

"No thanks."

"Enough with this shit. I already told you to 'buckle up' before. Detera needs you and you're goin' there in three, two {Adam: w-wait!!!}...one.