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World of Game

The moment I wake up, my head feels dizzy and heavy.

“Ugh, my head.”

After my head feels better, I start to inspect my surrounding. I was inside an unfamiliar bedroom, yet I didn’t feel panic at all. That is because this room is much better than mine. The comparison is like heaven and hell. Soft and nice bed, well-designed furniture, there’s even an oil painting that makes a person with no value for arts like me think it was a beautiful painting.

Finally, I managed to gather my strength and looked around the place. There’s a desk inside the room, but there’s nothing inside. Getting out of the room, I found out that the place I am in is a 2LDK building. Aside from the bedroom I awake in, there’s another spare bedroom with a similar design, a living room, dining, kitchen area, and two bathroom.

“Where am I? where is this place?”

I tried to get a better grasp of my current location by looking outside of the window. I couldn’t believe what I saw at that moment, and I even doubted my own eyes. High-rise buildings in neon lights, futuristic floating cars were flying around, giant holographic signs decorating the sky.

“Am I still dreaming?”

The scene that I only saw in movies is presented in front of me. At that moment, I also realized the reason why I was stranded in this place.

“That man from WIC, he must be the one who brought me here. I wouldn’t mind living here in this place since it was much better than the pigpen that I call home. But, what about my sister’s treatment fee?”

As if knowing that I would ask that question, a floating notification window appeared in front of me.

「Dear Ryker. Congratulations! You have been chosen as one of the players for participating in the World of Game. When you are reading this, your sister has undergone the treatment. However, I might lie to you. The only way for you to find out is by getting out of the game world. I wish you luck!」

“F*ck!”

I couldn’t help but curse out. After all, there is a big chance that the man in the suit from the WIC is lying to me. They already lied about the contract itself. Initially, I didn’t think much about the contract. However, I realized it by now that I have been scammed. I remember it clearly since it was only two sentences.

「By signing this paper, WIC will immediately give $5,000,000 to Ryker. In return for the money, Ryker has to come to the WIC building tomorrow.」

It said immediately on the contract. By logic, the WIC should have been able to transfer it to my bank account within minutes. Secondly, I was tasked to come to the WIC building, but there was no explanation about any further arrangement.

From the moment I passed out and was brought to this place, the WIC has breached the contract or does things freely since it doesn’t have any clauses about it.

“I can’t believe anything that man said. I don’t even know whether my sister has gotten her treatment or not. I guess there’s only one way to find out, and that’s getting out of this place.”

I know that it wouldn’t be an easy task. I looked out again, and the futuristic world was displayed in front of me.

“First, I need to find out where I am and how to get out of this place.”

I grabbed some clothes and prepared to go out. However, before I step outside of the apartment, another notification window pops out.

『Welcome, Ryker, to the World of Game. This world was brought to you by WIC. We hope you have a wonderful experience exceeding your expectations.』

This time, I am reading the message carefully. I don’t want to be tricked again and got myself in an unfavorable situation. After reading it several times, I managed to find out several things.

Firstly, this futuristic world setting is called the World of Game. Secondly, the WIC has some hands behind it. Thirdly, the notification windows are acting like some kind of game interface. Although I lived in poverty, I have watched the news about virtual reality.

I once saw it on the news, but it was something that is still in development. Replicating feelings or senses isn’t something the current VR technology can do. Was it a secret technology developed by the WIC? I could care less about all of that since my goal is to get out of this place. Because of that, I left the apartment that I was in and stepped outside.

I didn’t realize it before, but the apartment comes with a sound-insulating feature. The moment I stepped outside, I immediately heard the noise coming from the crowd. I see a bustling night market with people announcing what they sell and inviting business in front of me.

“Master Karas is going to hold a game of poker against Wild Bill. Tickets are available to purchase for one coin.”

“The monthly battle royal event will be held next week, with only one coin to register. The prize pool this time is twenty-three coins.”

“Come, play a game of dice with me. One coin to play, and if you win, I’ll give you two coins.”

“I’ll give you an unforgettable night for only one coin. You won’t regret it in your life.”

I realize that everything uses a coin, from watching an event, registering, playing, and even enjoying the nightlife. Also, nobody is selling food and drinks as there are no food stalls, hot steam coming from food being cooked, or delicious smell that usually lingers on a night market.

If there’s one thing that I couldn’t get out of my mind is a dazzling holographic window that is floating higher than any building in this city. I couldn’t see it from my apartment window, but I can see it clearly now.

『World of Game』

『Top Leaderboards

1.       Joker – 64 coins

2.       Queen of Dice – 58 coins

3.       …

4.       …

5.        

10.    Raven – 33 coins』

“What is that?”

『The top Leaderboards show in real-time the people with the most coin.』

I was surprised by the sudden notification windows, but I realized that the system interface is created to help players like me, and answer our questions. I didn’t dally and asked one thing that I am dying to know.

“How to get out of this place?”

『Once a player managed to have 100 coins, they could get out of the game world.』