Chapter 1: God's Playgrounds
God's Playgrounds is finally here!
On the sixth of June, it will be dropping to a limited capacity, and six months later, on the first of 2081, God's Playgrounds will be available to the public!
The world hadn't slept since the announcement of God's Playgrounds. Forums were exploding. News anchors debated talent tiers like spot analysts. Everyone, from CEO to student, awaited launch day like the beginning of a new era.
Leaked details, theories about talent systems, and launch-day rumors dominated every conversation. You couldn't escape it. No one wanted to. This was a time of change and opportunity. A new era where new stories will unfold.
One of many stories of this new unprecedented era begins at Villarreal University. Ranked as the top higher education institution in the United States of America.
Every Villarreal University student was a genius or a wealthy expert in a particular field. Yet even these prestigious students couldn't escape from the sheer excitement and anticipation that God's Playgrounds brought.
The sole international VR game developed in partnership with every country! Some still didn't believe the project was real. But here it was, hours from launch.
Whether it was from within the walls of the classrooms or in the halls, students were feverishly discussing anything related to God's Playgrounds.
"Sarah, don't tell me you already got your grimly little hands on a pod."
She flipped her hair back with a grin. "Please, I pre-ordered it before the pre-orders went live."
"Also, my hands aren't grimy."
"Dude, I can't wait for it to drop this afternoon! I might skip my last class to ensure I'm the first on the servers. I might get an achievement."
"Fat chance. That's the kind of achievement governments rig for themselves. Ours included. It probably doesn't exist." said a chubby student, puffing his chest.
"Who cares about achievements? I'm drooling to get my hands on a Calamity-grade talent." the chubby student said, wiping the dripping drool from his mouth.
The student beside him snorted. "With your RNG? You'll be lucky to get the 'Better Punching Bag' talent."
Such scenes were now as common as grass. As humanity's most significant announcement, second only to the declaration of the end of the Silent World War, the insane amount of advertisement for the game was mind-boggling.
God's Playgrounds is humanity's second home.
God's Playgrounds the new frontier.
God's Playgrounds, there is no limit.
Phases such as these were played at every home, and although no game footage leaked with the most advanced technology used to create the game, the global population was more than ready to jump in.
Many students are making preparations for the big day. Some snatched any crumbs of information on the game, while others took a much more proactive approach.
"One more down," Dean muttered with a wide smile.
"How many do we have left, Barbara?"
Dean glanced to his side, where Barbara Jackson walked with her usual confident stride. Cropped black curls framed her sharp eyes, and her smooth brown skin practically glowed under the hallway lights.
Her tall, slender, athletic build and commanding presence made her look more like a star athlete than a vice president. She was the second runner-up in Class A-6—and the second most shameless sophomore on campus, right behind Dean himself. If he was the king of bold moves, Barbara was the queen of doubling down.
Barbara looked down at her clipboard and scratched a name before speaking calmly.
"Two more. Just the President and VP of Class A-2. Then we've got all the sophomore leaders locked in."
"Prefect. With everyone's help, that increases the odds that we can snatch more resources." Dean said confidently as he nodded with approval.
His plans were coming more smoothly than he had thought. There was far less resistance to forming a party than he initially imagined. Even those stubborn guys from class A-3 were easily convinced, which made his job much easier.
Reaching the doors of class A-2, Dean, and Barbara stepped inside.
At the same time, a young man was alone in his little world. The classroom chatter was like a parade happening right next door. You could imagine how poor his sleep was.
In the back corner of Class A-2, where the light from the windows just barely reached, sat a student with messy black hair and shadows under his eyes. William looked like he hadn't slept in days—and probably hadn't.
While the rest of the class buzzed about the game, he slumped against his desk like it owed him sleep. His petite figure and slender build made him easy to overlook, but his good-looking, almost delicate face had a quiet charm that made people glance twice.
Everyone knew two things about William Edison: he never missed a perfect score—even outshining the class president—and he didn't speak unless absolutely necessary.
He wasn't the only one who stood out.
Walking in his direction was undeniably beautiful, with a gentle, elegant face and calm authority. Her long, silky chestnut hair swayed behind her as she walked toward William's desk, heels clicking softly against the tile.
With a glance, you would know her identity as Jessica Lavender, the vice president of Class A-2. As vice president, she was always near the top of the class—save for two frustrating exceptions—and had a reputation for grace, intelligence, and poise. Despite her composed presence, she was the only one who dared to talk to William like he wasn't a ghost.
One by one, the students stopped talking and noticed her walking toward William.
"It seems VP Jessica will talk to William again today." Whispers filled the room as Jessica grew closer to William.
"Do you think he will score above the class president again for yesterday's test?"
"Probably, he gets 100% each time."
"Tsk, the class president is going to be pissed."
"Yeah, no shit. I would be pissed off if I got shown up every single test. Basically, telling everyone I don't deserve my position and can be replaced anytime."
"By the way, you think she will invite him to party with her?"
Once near the boy, Jessica lightly tapped his shoulder and said, "William, are you awake?"
The boy stirred, raising his head with a sigh.
His deep black eyes reflected Jessica's appearance, "Hard not to be with all this shouting."
Please don't ask me to join.
Just the memory of last year's invite made his stomach twist. Remembering the embarrassing moments when he was invited but couldn't afford to buy a VR pod to play made him cringe.
With God's Playgrounds, he didn't even bother looking up how much the early access pods cost. He knew he couldn't afford them.
William really wanted to curse under his breath but stopped himself, noticing the warm smile on Jessica's face.
*thud thud*
Just as William finished talking, footsteps drew closer to the classroom.
"Yo, Jessica! We're pulling together a launch party for God's Playgrounds tonight—want in?"
Stepping into the classroom was Dean Sky, president of Class A-6. Broad-shouldered, clean-cut, and always dressed like he had a meeting with destiny,
Dean radiated that impossible mix of charm and power that made both teachers and students lean in when he talked. His family ran several multi-million dollar companies—but Dean had made a name for himself long before anyone cared about his last name.
Dean himself has a lot more influence than the other top students. Greeting Jessica, who ranked 7th, he swept around the packed room.
Quickly following behind him, Barbara and she also attracted attention. Her eyes locked onto Jessica, and she wrote something down on her clipboard before noticing a lack of a class president in the room.
"So you interested? We have already gathered everyone else. It will suck not to have you." Dean continued with a smile before pausing.
Noticing William next to Jessica, Dean scrunched his eyebrows before realization hit him.
"Damn William, is that you? I haven't seen you since last year. Tsk… you look like through hell and back."
Shaking his head, an excited light appeared in Dean's hazel-colored eyes as he extended the invitation.
"You want to join us. I'm sure the other class presidents and Vice Presidents won't mind."
'Damnit, I didn't want to hear this question the most!' William, hearing Dean, showed some annoyance. Opening his mouth to shut down Dean, but before he could say anything, Jessica reacted.
She lightly frowned as she heard his words. "Please be more considerate of William."
Hearing Jessica's concerned voice, he stopped himself from denying Dean and, after hesitation, said words that stunned everyone in the classroom.
"Sure. Just don't cry when I steal all your loot." William said before putting his head back down to sleep for the rest of the class.
There was utter silence in the class. So quiet that you could hear the faint sounds from the other courses. Jessica, especially, was shocked to her core after defending William.
Dean laughed. "Still got that bite, huh? I'll hit you up after school—you still got my info, right?"
After making his statement, Dean turned around to leave the classroom. Stopping at the door frame, he said, "Jessica, I almost forgot; you are joining, right?"
"If he's down, I don't see why not?" Jessica, hearing Dean, snapped out of her shock and responded to Dean.
Dean nodded and was about to leave when Barbara grabbed his shoulder. She rolled her eyes and asked.
"You forgot about A-2's class president. We need to ask if he wants to come along." Barbara pointed out that they only got half of their goal.
"Oh yeah,"
Dean returned to Jessica, "Jessica, let him know he's invited. If he shows, great. If not, William's in. No big loss either way."
"That settles it, right?" Dean asked.
Barbara shrugged, scratched class A-2 off her clipboard, and wrote down William's name.
"Settled," Barbara said casually before leaving with Dean.
....
Several hours later, across the city lies a large marble house or, more accurately, Dean's mansion. Inside, Dean was eagerly staring at his brand new stasis pod created solely to run God's Playgrounds.
The sleek metallic gray paint covering the pod was of the highest quality. It's inside decked out with the least comfort technology. This custom-built pod alone cost 10 times the base model, but in addition to the custom pod, the room walls had each generation of stasis pod to ever come out with the God's Playgrounds Stasis Pod at the center of it all.
"Finally, in about 30 minutes, the game should be released." Heaving excitedly, Dean opened the stasis pod and laid on the soft memory cushion pads.
Closing the pod's door, Dean could see his room slowly fading into black as he closed his eyes, awaiting the new virtual world.
.....
In the college dormitories, William looked at an odd black metal ring with blue lines flashing and fading randomly.
'You know what, screw it, I already made a promise in front of Jessica that I would be there. I can't chicken out now.' William, strengthening his determination, slid the black ring on his finger.
*Ding*
The Virtual Reality ring is pairing up with God's Playgrounds. Please don't remove the ring, which will restart the attachment progress.
*Ding*
The VR ring is downloading the game God's Playgrounds. Please stand still.
Please find somewhere to lie down safely before the ring finishes the download.
Hearing the robotic voice that resounded through his head, William showed no panic or hints of surprise. He calmly went over to his bed and laid down, shutting his eyes.
....
Trending on every site and platform was a countdown towards the release of God's Playgrounds. Even though most of the public couldn't play until much later, everyone was still excited by the prospect.
Parents and their children watched the news as they covered the basic information released to the public.
"In less than 5 minutes, God's Playgrounds will be ready and released."
"We are here to provide you with some information on the new and already the most popular game before its release."
The calm news anchor said as he zoomed in on the chart on the screen.
"As you can see, God's Playgrounds main attraction lies with the special talents randomly given to each player."
"The topmost rank is the calamity rank, followed by A rank down to D. There is also a unique rank which doesn't fit into the spectrum." The anchor man continued until the final ten seconds. Simultaneously, all screens across the planet started counting down.
10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…
0!
Dean's vision became black while his five senses distorted and warped. After what seemed to be a few seconds, the black void turned white, showing the grand holy words that burned into the minds of millions.
God's Playgrounds!