Karan found himself in a boundless dark abyss. He was floating in the abyss, just being carried away, when a blue hologram appeared before his eyes.
__________________
Do you want to enter Dreamscape?
Yes (Won't be able to log out for 9 hours)No (You will sleep normally)
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He chose the first option. Just because he was curious about what Dreamscape was.
At one moment, he was in the void, and in the next, he found himself standing in a rather weird place.
There was a very dense fog all around him. And most importantly, there was light, which made him remember who he was.
Didn't I just go to sleep? He thought. He remembered distinctly that he was out on a job, and as he was tired after a day of work, he went to sleep at his base. And he was wearing just boxers at that moment. Now, khaki-colored pants, a white cotton shirt, and black military-style boots had replaced his whole attire.
"What.." He mumbled, looking around. "What happened?"
It is then a bunch of holograms, blue windows started appearing before his eyes.
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[ DREAMSCAPE INITIALIZATION ]
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Synchronization Complete.
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Aether Interface: Stable
Consciousness Anchor: Established
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You are alive.
You will not remain so indefinitely.
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Remaining Time has been assigned.
When it reaches zero, termination is immediate.
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Death within this space is irreversible.
Death outside this space will not save you.
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Survive.
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What in the tarnation.. He was left utterly confused.
"End simulation. Log out," he commanded, but nothing happened.
Well, it was worth a try at least.
The window vanished as he willed it to.
With the windows, slowly the fog started to thin out as well.
Soon Karan found himself standing in a very large city square. He was standing on cobbled ground, and around him were houses made of wood and stone, so ancient that they looked straight out of history books.
In the middle of the square was a white marble fountain, above which was a very large, blue, cuboid-shaped crystal, floating in the air. Scribbled on all the faces were Commandments in blood red color, which looked rather ominous.
But the thing that left him speechless was the air. It was not the crystal floating high in the air that surprised him, nor were the rows of houses which looked something out of a history book. What surprised him was the mountains in the distance. They were green, the sky was bright blue instead of faded greyish blue that he was used to. The air itself was so clean and so fresh, it truly felt like a dream.
It is when a flash of light appeared by his side, and a man appeared beside him. The man seemed to be in his middle ages and was wearing clothes similar to his.
"Hello there," the man said, "Can you under…" But before the man could continue, the flashes of light started appearing all around them. And before they knew it, the empty city square was filled with people.
It started as whispers, people talking to each other, trying to understand what was happening. And slowly, mayhem broke out.
Everyone started speaking at the same time, some crying for their families, some panicking, some thinking that they had died.
Karan stayed silent, cause he knew panicking won't help.
"This is awesome," he heard someone say. He looked over his shoulder, and there he saw some kids, teenagers. They were high-fiving each other.
"We are going to level up like crazy dudes," one of them said.
Level up? Then he remembered his nephew, who talks about role-playing games and other stuff. Personally, he had never played any game, nor did he have any knowledge about them.
Now curious, he made his way to the teenage group.
Karan was standing tall at 6'2, the kids immediately got intimidated by him. "Do you guys have any idea what is happening here?" He asked them,
One of the kids, with a smile, said, "Dont you get it? We have been chosen to go into the fantasy world. We will get to fight demon lords and make a harem,"
Karan raised his eyebrow, "What?"
"Haven't you read any webnovels in your childhood?" one of them asked.
Seeing his clueless face, one of the teenagers answered, "Just wait till you get acess to your status window. Or someone from this world comes and gives you a tutorial of how this world actually works."
Karan didnt understand a word that the boy said. But he did remember that earlier windows vanished because he willed it. No by any verbal or written command.
Status, he commanded, and a blue window appeared before his eyes.
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[ PLAYER STATUS ]
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Name: Karan Ahuja
Tag:
VillageNumber: 67
Level: 3
Class: Unassigned
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Karan stared at the window for a few seconds, trying to take in whatever was written on it.
Tutorial. He commanded, yet nothing happened this time. At the same time, he also noticed that no one noticed that he had a window open before his eyes.
Karan wanted to know more, but knew that talking to kids would be futile. So he turned around and started heading towards the only signboard that he saw when he got here in the first place.
Several people were already standing near the fountain, reading the text from the crystal when he got there. And up close, the words scribbled in blood red color looked more ominous…
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THE COMMANDMENTS
The More You Advance, the More You Will Understand.
The More You Understand, the Less the World Will Protect You.
1. Life Is Measured in Time.
Time is finite.
When your Timer reaches zero, termination is immediate.
2. Death Has No Boundary.
Death within the Dreamscape is death in reality.
No separation exists.
3. Beasts Bear Runes.
Slaying beasts grants Runes.
Runes can be converted into Time.
4. The Fallen Leave a Remnant.
Upon death, 30% of the remaining Time will manifest at the location of termination.
It may be claimed by others or recovered later, if you return.
5. Death Is Not Release.
If Time remains after death, you will reawaken in your Beginner Village.
What was lost will not be restored.
6. Distance Determines Threat.
The farther you travel from your village,
The stronger the beasts you will encounter.
7. Risk Defines Reward.
Stronger beasts yield greater rewards.
Safety sustains life.
Danger advances it.
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Safety sustains life, danger advances it. The line resonated with Karan. As it was very close to the principle that he had been following in his life. And all that was left for him was to see, what more this world has to offer him...