Heavy footsteps could be heard all around; someone was running in a hurry. "Bang..." A gunshot echoed through the air. A body could be seen—a healthy yet fragile body. Closing in on the body... it was the protagonist's uncle, who says:
— With great power, comes great responsibility...
I reach for the remote, grabbing it and turning off the TV. I turn around and face the man in front of me, gray-haired with a stern expression.
— I don't understand why you like this movie so much. I've seen it a million times and I always know what's going to happen.
— My boy — he says, placing a hand on my shoulder — you are still too young to understand certain things. (The man said, looking directly into my eyes).
I step away toward the hallway, looking at the framed picture of my uncle and aunt, married and happy. Turning left, I enter my room—messy and filled with an inexplicable smell.
— I really should listen to my uncle about cleaning this room — I whispered to myself, complaining.
I head straight to my computer, passing my bed and sitting in my chair. The bright light from the monitor makes it hard to see the screen as it slowly flickers to life. My expression suddenly changes as I see something unusual—a strangely normal notification.
— "Do you like something you can't predict? Something unexpected?" — I whisper to myself while staring at the message.
Below the message, there's an "OK" button. I place my hand on the mouse, dragging the cursor to the button.
— This is weird. Why would this be on my computer? And a system notification, nonetheless? — I grumble, rubbing my head with my left hand.
Without thinking much, I suddenly press the button... and nothing happens.
Sitting in my chair, I look around at my closet, my desk, my books, my bed, and finally, my backpack. I look at my own body, running my hands over myself, trying to find anything unusual.
— And... nothing. I guess it was just a bug.
Suddenly, a loud and fast sound echoes. "Btzzz..." A blinding light from the computer hits my eyes, forcing them shut. A masculine voice echoes inside my head, repeating incessantly:
— System implanted. Please choose your class.
I open my eyes and see a transparent blue window. On this panel, it says CLASSES, with three figures below: Recreator, Encoder, and Architect. Without a clear goal, I tap on "Recreator."
The blue panel shows a description: "Scans objects to recreate and use them."
— Would it be like scanning my computer and being able to recreate it into a brand new one? — I say to myself.
I look at the other two classes. Encoder: extracts attributes (hardness, heat, weight) from an object and "injects" them into another target. Architect: decomposes large masses of raw matter to restructure terrain and create barriers.
— Interesting, but out of all of them, the Recreator is the one that caught my attention — I whisper, thinking with my finger on my mouth.
I tap "Confirm" below the description. Suddenly, I look around; where my room used to be, there's now an empty space, just a white room. My vision begins to blur, and I start to pass out.
Just a few seconds after blacking out, I wake up and stand.
— What the hell happened?... — My head was throbbing, and I felt around the floor, trying to understand how my room had turned into this destroyed scene.
I looked where my poster wall should have been, but now there was only a perfect hole, revealing a narrow Tokyo street outside. The smell of damp asphalt flooded what was left of my room. My eyes land directly on two people I've never seen before. One of them, on the right side of the street, is screaming non-stop:
— You little shit, you cut my damn finger off!
For a moment, listening to the shouting, I look around again. Feeling the smell of age, I see my room worn down by time, yet my things are still there. Apparently, it has aged. My door to the hallway was open.
Ignoring the two people in the street, I head straight for the hallway, tripping over my own feet from nervousness. I fall to the floor and notice that the person who always sat on the sofa is no longer there.
I stand up, looking around. My uncle's room door is open, but there is no room inside—only the city landscape. Behind me, the worn-out bathroom. I walk quickly to the living room, seeing mold everywhere; I can feel vines touching my body, hanging from the ceiling.
I look at the kitchen: normal as always, but with cracked walls and mold all around. I walk toward the front door, reflecting on my current situation.
— I need to think, stay calm... — I breathe in and let it out with a sigh while closing my eyes.
When I open them, the blue panel is there again, floating right in front of the exit.
[Tutorial Started: Survive until Phase 1]
I wasn't in my Japan anymore. I was inside a game...