As any other day, I went jogging in the morning, but there was something different today for me.
Parallel was finally going to be released.
Parallel is a virtual reality game developed by Insanity Corporation. This game was supposed to be released years ago, but it got delayed because of problems developing the AI along with financials problems they ran during the last decade.
This left the company no choice but to seek help from externals, joining faction with another enterprising working on the same path, shares had to be shared, unknowingly to the public as to which had more. Even if they had to split the shares, Insanity Corp believed that this was better than not releasing the game at all.
Hence, after 2 years of collaboration between the two companies, they finally finished the game, releasing it to the public. The game has 4 Kingdoms, two in the Eastern part and another 2 in the Western part of the continent. It seemed simple, but there are many undiscovered areas and one Kingdom bigger than other between other things. Furthermore, there is a special feature called: The Underworld.
As the other company helped Insanity Corporation develop the game, they found out about this part of the game, and contributed many ideas to further develop the area. This area will be locked until a player finish the massive Level A Quest that will be given to all the players when they access the game.
Due to the collaboration with the other developers, many more features will be present in Parallel as well. They said that the history of Parallel will have some versatility in some areas. Which areas? The developers haven’t said a single thing about it, but where’s the fun in playing it if they are going to spoon-feed you with all the information? None!
And today was the day that the game will fall in my hands!
Such a thrill that will be!
Before I knew it, I was already jogging back home, because of my anxiousness to play the game, I had lost track of time.
As I arrived at my home, I saw that my cell phone was ringing, so I went to pick it up.
Seeing who was the one calling, I answered the phone. After all, if I didn’t, this person would nag at me the whole day.
“Yo, did your capsule arrive yet?” A man’s voice sounded over the phone.
“Not yet, but it should come soon.” I replied curtly to him. “So, what else do you want, Nicolas?”
Nicolas was my childhood friend. He was the lightweight amateur champion in Kick boxing last year and a reckless guy, and I personally think that is an understatement.
“So cutting! Well, I wasn’t expecting a warm response from you.”
“…So?”
“Well, I called to ask where you will start, so we can destroy the continent together!”
“I don’t know, I’ll tell you when I log in”
“How can you not know!?”
“Still thinking, but I want to meet the one with the highest growth rate.”
“You and your genius hunting, I keep telling ya, you won’t find someone with more skills than you, there shouldn’t be anyone in the world that can match your reaction speed.”
“Ha! I doubt I am the only living human in the world that can match me! Even if I am the only living human that can keep up with me, there might be an NPC who is equally strong too.”
“Not even I managed to defeat you, my friend” Nicolas sighs at that, but cheers up quickly, saying “And there should hardly be any NPC that can match my genius, haha! But don’t worry, man, slack off for a while and I’ll be right there to kick your ass” winking at Ezequiel.
“Haha, idiot, you won’t be able to” I smirk at him, but I knew it was true, Nicolas was a true genius, a monster some would say, if I compare myself to him in that category, I don’t even come close to match him, but… “The last thing you should lose is hope, my friend.” I said, grimacing a bit at my past.
“Hohohoho, those are some strong words.”
“That’s what I believe. Anyway, what will be your name in game?”
“Well, you are a monster beyond human comprehension…” Nicolas mused softly. “I will be called Arksen. What about you, Ezequiel?” asked Nicolas.
“Ardha. Well, I’ll hang up now, bye.”
“He- “I hung up before he could continue talking.
As I didn’t realize that I was stretching while talking on the phone, I proceed to the bathroom to have a cold shower while waiting patiently for the capsule to arrive.
After getting out of the shower, I sat on my sofa and turned on the tv to watch the news.
The news was reporting about the new game, Parallel, giving various information about its background and stuff…
*Ring*
I immediately got up and ran to the door. I opened the door. Finally! It arrived!
“Hello, I came to deliver this package for you, can you sign here, please.” said the deliveryman handing me some paper and a pencil.
“Yes.” After I signed the paper and gave it back to the deliveryman, I received my package and immediately went inside to start installing it.
‘Finally!’ I thought while the capsule is installing and after it had finished installing, a green light appeared on the capsule.
I quickly put it on, and a message appeared.
Do you want to log into Parallel world?
Yes No
“Yes.” I answered and suddenly everything went black.
“The scan on your iris and vein has determined that you are an unregistered user. Do you want to create a new account?”
“Yes.”
“Select the name of your avatar.”
“Ardha.”
“You may select the races describe- “
“Human.” I said without delay, I didn’t really care about the other races; I have always wanted to go beyond the furthest limit of a human body, as it is my specie.
“Select your gender from male, female or neutral.”
“Male.”
“Would you like to adjust your appearance?”
“Hmmm, I would like to have white hair and color of the eyes depending on my mood” What? I liked White.
“Please choose your starting point, please take note that the Underworld location is not available as it is still locked.”
“Hmmmm, place me at the area where the being with the highest growth rate is.”
“… Your request has been granted.”
After hearing that, I was enveloped by a white light. Surprised, I closed my eyes out of reflex, and before I knew it, I was standing in a strange place. My eyes remained closed as I was still feeling dizzy.
“Hey!” A female voice suddenly shouted at me and I opened my eyes to look at the direction where the voice came. I saw a young man and a girl that seemed around my age a few meters ahead of me.
As I recovered from the nauseous feelings, I remembered that the voice had said ‘Your request has been granted.’ This must mean that one of those two people must be the genius that I am searching for.
I immediately ran up to them, ignoring the messages I received when I logged in. Upon reaching them, I immediately asked the person in front of me, who I sensed was a little strange. “Are you the most talented one in this world?”
“Yes, I am.” The young man said unhesitant and unabashedly.
“No, he isn’t.” The girl refuted his claims almost immediately.
“Huh?”
“Of course, I’m the most talented in this world, Peko!”
“A wimpy being like you? Someone who learnt magic because he was too lazy to move and do sword training? Psh, don’t make me laugh!”
“That hell wasn’t sword training!”
‘Hmmm, something weird is happening here’
“Ha! Yeah right… Oh! Almost forgot, hey you human, do you have a map?”
“Hmm? Ah, lemme check” I responded checking my status window too.
Name Ardha
Alignment Neutral
Race Human Level 1
Class None
Title None
Fame 0 Infamy 0
Health 100 Mana 100
Strength 10 Agility 20
Vitality 10 Stamina 12
Wisdom 10 Intelligence 10
Luck 0 Leadership 0
Attack 1 Defense 0
Magic resistance 0% to all elements
‘Huh? why do I have 20 Agility and 12 stamina?’
“Check notifications” I said aloud.
You have learnt a new skill! Sprint. +10 Agility +2 Stamina. Do you want to see the skill description?
“Yes”
–
Skill: Sprint (Passive) Beginner Level 1: 1%
Causes an explosive dash and permits you to sustain your maximum speed for 15 seconds without damaging your muscles.
10% decrease in stamina consumption while running.
Your agility will increase by 2 per level.
Your stamina will increase by 1 per level.
–
Hooo, what a useful skill’ I thought being amused
-Warning: Due to you not starting in any city, you will be given a map to the nearest safe location, if you don’t arrive there in 4 days, you will be spawned in a random location and will be given the death penalties.
‘Uhhh, seems I’ll have to run’
New quest! Unlock the seal to the Underworld!
Find a way in the continent to unlock this seal and begin the adventure and battles with the Underworld! There are multiple ways of unlocking it in all Kingdoms.
Quest level: A
Requirements.
-Start your adventure in the Parallel World!
Rewards.
-Fame
-Unknown. Depends on the player and what he does to unlock it.
Good luck citizen of this World, as you’ll need it.
‘And here it is! The start of an adventure, and now, onto the map!’
“Map information. Show to… excuse me, but I don’t know both of your names, mine is Ardha by the way…” I said while realizing that the girl’s finger was going towards my face as though she was going to poke me.
“Ohhhh, I thought you zoned out, my name is Peko and this guy is Zenith.” The girl introduced both of them with a cheeky smile on her face.
“Nice to meet you both.” I said with a slight smile. “Show Map information to Peko and Zenith.”
Then a window appeared with the map. By the looks of it, it seemed that it will probably take about three days to reach the nearest village.
“So, depending on our speed it will take around 2 to 3 days at most…” Said Zenith with a thoughtful look on his face
“Yup… oh yeah! Ardha, what was that flash of light which you appeared from?” Peko asked excitedly with her eyes shining.
‘Hmmm, seems like these people are NPCs.’ Momentarily forgetting why, I appeared in front of them, I answered “Well, I sort of transferred from another world…”
“Ohhhhh! Like us, isn’t that right, Zenith?”
“Hmm, sounds similar to our situation.”
“Huh, you guys aren’t from this world?”
And at this remark, these two froze up… Seems like they accidentally blurted out something they shouldn’t have said.
“Ehhhhh, kinda, yeah… ummm… We are humans like you, what nonsense was I talking! hahahaha… haha…haaa” Peko said with a sheepish smile while averting her eyes.
*Sigh* “We got careless, well it doesn’t really matter, we can kill him.” said Zenith coolly.
“I wouldn’t mind dying, but even so, I will come back, you know?”
“Huh? How come? Are you immortal?” Asked Zenith
“Kind of, if I were to die, I would come back in 4 days, so… Where are you from?” I asked, ignoring the fact that they were seriously contemplating to kill me just now.
“Hooo… might as well, since we already screwed up… are you able to keep secrets?” Zenith said coolly, as though it wasn’t even a secret while Peko, who was still fidgeting from embarrassment about her mistake, was about to stop Zenith from saying anything.
“At least I would be better at keeping them than you guys.” I said with a teasing smile.
“Hahah, good one, you seem funny, human. Well I’m from the Underworld, my parents sent me here to train and watch the human world, and this girl alongside me is my sla- “Zenith got interrupted by a kick to the shin by Peko.
“I’m your what, Milord Zenith, who suddenly seem to have a death wish?” said the girl with a cheerful smile that seemed all too frightening, as though she was daring Zenith, who was already crouching from the pain, to say anything more.
“Ughh, that hurts, you poop head!” Zenith, who obviously has no EQ or was too absorbed by the pain to notice Peko’s expression, shot back, while Peko’s smile became even more frighteningly cheerful as she moves towards him.
Before she could kill him, I moved forward and interjected, “Ummm, guys, before you kill each other, wouldn’t it be better if we start travelling to our destination first?” I suggested, trying to save Zenith from a painful death.
‘Nice played, Human!’ Zenith’s eyes seemed to say to me.
“Hmph! I’m not a poop head, and the Human got a point… I’ll just punish you later, so don’t think you have escaped!” Peko smiled at Zenith creepily before returning to her cheerful mood. “So, shall we go?”
“Ok, let’s go! Hmm… the nearest village’s name seems to be… Hellish Village?” ‘What kind of name is that for a village!?’
“Ohhh, sounds like home” said Zenith casually.
“…” I did not reply to that comment.
A question appeared in my head that I couldn’t help but ask, “You guys… As residents of the Underworld, wouldn’t the people of any place have hostile intentions against you?”
“Well, that may be true, if we weren’t Demi-Humans and without the necklace that hides our dark presence.” said Zenith
“Ohhh, that explains a lot then. Oh right, can I borrow one of your swords for the way there?”
“Sure. Just take both.” Zenith said while giving me the two swords.
One sword was a black-colored sword while the other one was a white-colored sword. The black one was larger and seemed to have more power while the white one was lighter and seemed more fluid to handle with a sharp curve at the end.
“Hey! You can’t just anyhow give those Mighty swords away!” Peko immediately berated Zenith at how casually he passed me the swords.
“It doesn’t matter, even I can’t use their full potential as they are. Without their fullest potential, they are just normal swords with high physical attacks, and that still depends on the wielder’s abilities.” explained Zenith, easing my mind a little.
“Hmmm, check information on both swords.”
Half of Death’s Sword (Black) (Sealed) Attack: 50 ~ Durability: Infinite
A half of the Death’s Mighty Sword that used to be one once upon a time. It will combine with Half of Death’s Sword (White) when it receives the force of its chosen wielder. Needs its other half for the process.
Restriction (Sealed)
-Unknown.
Bonus (Sealed)
-Unknown
This sword will respond to the user strength and abilities, causing it to be stronger or weaker depending on the wielder. In its sealed form, its bonuses and restriction will not apply to the user.
Half of Death’s sword (White) (Sealed) Attack: 30 ~ Durability: Infinite
A half of Death’s Mighty Sword that used to be one once upon a time. It will combine with Half of Death Sword (Black) when it receives the force of its chosen wielder. Needs its other half for the process.
Restriction (Sealed)
-Unknown.
Bonus (Sealed)
-Unknown
This sword will respond to the user strength and abilities, causing it to be stronger or weaker depending on the wielder. In its sealed form, its bonuses and restriction will not apply to the user
“Woah, these swords are legendary items even when sealed. Even when they adjusted to my abilities, their attack power are still a whopping 50 and 30 respectively!” I exclaimed, surprised at the stats of the two swords.
“See? Nothing to worry about Peko, its powers are totally sealed.” Zenith shrugged.
“50 and 30… that’s an amazing amount for a normal Human.” Peko mused to herself.
“What are you saying, even for me is 60 and 35.” Said Zenith.
“Hey, stop calling me Human this and Human that, I have a name too!” I interrupted their conversation as I felt bothered.
“Oh, sorry, Ardha, right? Well you can use those swords till we get to the town.” Zenith said.
“Sorry…” Peko muttered, still distracted by the conversation just now. ‘This Hu-, no, Ardha, seems to be very special’
“Well, let’s go! Zenith and Peko, our adventure starts now!” I exclaimed excitedly. Finally! After all these talks, we can finally embark on our new adventure! Furthermore, these guys seems to be fun too. Zenith and Peko, the Demi-Humans, huh…
“Yeaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!” Exclaimed Peko with equal excitement, finally snapping out of her dazed state, eager to finally start with her mission on the human world.
“Up we go.” Though he said it coolly like his usual manner, it seems that he is equally excited and anxious to start the adventure as well, as there are hints of eagerness and excitement in his tone.
And so, our journey begins… To the Hellish Village!
