A few days later, Jack was sitting on his bed, smoking a cigarette and naked with only a white blanket to cover him. Beside him was a woman of his age. She groans as she half wakes up and sees Jack looking at something.
"What is it?" The woman asks.
"A package just arrived." He replies. "At 3 A.M.?" She asks, confused. But seeing him ignore her, she goes back to sleep.
In Jack's hand were two items. A gold bull ring with an inscription on it and a gold coin. There was also a note that says: "The gold coin is your pass to the game. It will also protect your identity. Choose any checkpoint station listed and show it to them; only then can you play. As for the ring, I know you'll be able to use it. I won't be able to contact you for a while, so feel free to play anytime. And you also have to play once a month. It's the quota for the record."
"Fucking wise-ass," Jack whispers on his breath as he stands up. Feeling the movement, the woman wakes up again and sees the now totally naked Jack putting something away.
She smiles mischievously as she calls him for another round.
…
After the woman left his apartment, Jack immediately went to check his phone. He wipes his coughed-up blood from his hands and sprays alcohol before checking on it.
He looks at all the places included in the list as he checks each and every one of them. All of them have one thing in common - it was 24/7 open establishment.
They were either a bar, a convenience store, a fast food restaurant, or café, or a diner. He also immediately searches for their owner, and most of them were owned normally by normal people, or so he may have thought.
However, seeing that the old man didn't say anything about the checkpoints, they are most likely not harmful to him. As for why…
"This ring is the one in the old man's hand that I saw earlier. If I read these weird inscriptions, it would spell out… Babel's Library." It was weird. The inscription didn't look like any formal language in Earth, but Jack was easily able to understand it.
For Jack, it was nothing new. Ever since that incident in his life, understanding any language has been a breeze. It was as easy as breathing.
He still didn't get what it was and its purpose, but seeing that the sun is about to come up, he just wears it on his right ring finger, which surprisingly fits perfectly. With his one-night stand gone, he starts preparing his breakfast as his morning class is just a few hours away.
…
It has been weeks since the old man and Jack made the deal, and the classes have already started again. Chloe and her friends were eating at a McDonald's near their campus when someone eye-catching entered.
They saw quite familiar faces as they remember the famous sophomores on the campus. Especially so, after they see the 6 foot 5 inches (196cm) tall guy who was the tallest of the group.
"Are they the varsity basketball team?" One of her friends asks her, seeing her staring at the group.
"No, I don't think so." Another chimes in. "You know them, right? Chloe?" One of the girls asks.
She was taken out of the trance as she heard her friend's question.
"Yeah… That tall guy was a classmate of mine in one of my previous subjects last year. I think he's taking Psych. If I remember correctly, his name was Jack?" Chloe said. Surprised, one of her friends asks.
"Do you have his number? Do you think he needs a sugar mommy?" She asks as the others laugh and tease her, but Chloe seriously answers her.
"I don't think so. There were rumors that he was a millionaire, than just wanted to finish college."
"Really?" "Yeah." "Too bad."
As the conversation happened, Jack went to the bathroom after a sudden urge. There, a strong pain in his abdomen and chest made him groan.
"UGHHHH *Cough!* *Cough*" He tries to suppress the noise as he didn't resist anymore. He vomits a puddle of blood in the sink.
"Fuck! Is this you giving me signs, old man? Do I need to play now? I haven't even figured out your gift." Jack says quietly before cleaning up the mess.
For about a year now, he has been diagnosed with a permanent brain damage that causes him to cough up blood and extreme pain or hyperalgesia, making his life a living hell.
"I didn't earn all this money just to fuck some girls, drink some alcohol, and smoke shit, just to die. Alright, if you want me to play, I'll play." Jack resents himself as he feels a hellish pain in his legs, making him sit on the bare floor of the bathroom.
Just then, several knocks can be heard outside the only restroom in the fast food restaurant. What follows was the voice of a woman, asking if the person inside is going to get out anytime soon.
With this, Jack forces himself to stand up, wash everything, and clean himself.
"Coming!" He said as he opened the door. But then, a familiar face greets him. He disregards it as the woman hurriedly enters the restroom and locks the door. Then, Jack returns to his own business.
After returning to his table, he immediately says goodbye to his friends, saying that he has an emergency before leaving and going home.
The whole afternoon was spent researching the game to but he didn't manage to find anything. As if it never existed. But the ring and gold coin were evidence of it being real.
After he finally manages to finish his preparation, at 10P.M., he packs up before going to the 3rd nearest checkpoint near his apartment. It was in a red light district, and it was a bar that wasn't really famous, named 'Garden of Eden'.
Jack finds the name quite intriguing, but doesn't mind it. He entered as he put his black hood on. Despite being unpopular, the bar had bouncers that are checking everything. Jack lets him check the bag.
And although there was nothing suspicious in his bag, mostly food and utility items, the bouncer asked him.
"What are you here for, sir?" The small but wide bouncer asks the tall Jack. Confused, Jack answers vaguely, feeling that this in itself is part of the mystery.
"To enjoy myself. Maybe play around and get drunk." Jack declares. The bouncer simply whispers…
'To play…' Before asking for an identification. Jack immediately takes out his ID and without taking it, the bouncer pushes it back and starts whispering.
"Sir, if you are here to play, I think you know what I'm looking for." Hearing this, Jack immediately takes out the gold coin from the old man. Seeing it, the bouncer nods and says to Jack.
"You may enter. Go to the bartender and show it to them, then go to the room given to you. Good luck with your game, sir." With this, Jack enters the bar.