It was another quiet morning. The morning sun was peeking out over the horizon. The birds were unusually subdued, staring at all the passers-by without making a sound. The cold wind bit at the exposed parts of skin. It was too early for winter, but the seasons had been following someone else’s calendar lately. Summer had come with a bang and ended with a whimper one month early. It was now supposed to be the middle of Autumn. Bon zipped up his jacket and began to jog down the boulevard.

He took a turn and saw a girl warming up near a bench. She was not some drop dead, gorgeous super model, but she was all that Bon had to look forward to during his run.

“Morning Sarah,” he greeted her, while she kicked her legs.

“Hey Bon,” she smiled at him. “Did you sleep well?”

“Like a baby. You look great.” She looked a little bedraggled to be honest. Her job was taking its toll on her, but she always managed to find time for their morning run together.

They began to run down the streets, towards the beach. It would be very cold there, being out in the open, but they were used to the place. Also, there would be very few people there.

Sarah pointed at the sky, “Look at the birds!”

Up above, a murder of crows was flying in concentric circles, each circle moving in the opposite direction to its neighbor.

“Wonder what they’ve been smoking,” Bon said.

“Can birds even smoke?” Sarah laughed.

“If they can breathe they can smoke. Just ask the Marlborough Man.”

“He died of cancer.”

“We will need to channel his ghost then.”

Sarah punched his shoulder playfully, “Don’t be silly.”

Bon pushed her back. They played a game of gently nudging each other as they ran on the sand.

After their run, Bon walked Sarah back to her room and then went back home to take a shower and change. He ate some cereal and drank his regular two mugs of coffee. Coffee was a gift from the gods, and the Prometheus who had first discovered how to brew it had Bon’s heartfelt thanks.

Bon browsed the news feed on his phone while he drank. There had been another mass shooting in a school. What had this kid been thinking? Had he been bullied so badly that all he had left was a desire for vengeance? Bon had been blessed with a good school environment with good friends. He couldn’t understand how someone could do something like this.

Bon read the next headline. Trouble in Afghanistan again. Nobody who meddled with Afghanistan had a good time there. This had been true for centuries. Someone long ago had called Afghanistan ‘The Great Game.’ It seemed to be a game that nobody could ever win.

The next headline stated that there was some kind of massive anomaly building up in the atmosphere causing changes in the weather patterns worldwide. Hopefully it would get warmer soon.

Bon went to his university and joined his friends in the classroom.

“Hey Bon,” Toby called, his stomach most likely full from a breakfast that probably involved five pounds of meat. Toby could out eat anyone. “Did you finish your project?”

“Compiled the program last night,” Bon said, sighing as he remembered all the trouble he had gone through. “Had to junk half of the code and do it over.”

“Well, at least you don’t have to worry about getting a job after graduation,” said Phil. Phil was Toby’s opposite, short and as thin as a stick.

“I can’t believe graduation is only two weeks away,” said Bojana. She looked very classy today, in her purple dress and with that silver necklace. She was a foreign student from Serbia. She had bonded with their group as soon as she arrived at the university.

“What are you going to do after you graduate, Bojana,” Bon asked. “Are you going back to your country?”

“Of course not,” she said. “I don’t want to go back. My family would drive me nuts.”

“You’re already nuts,” Toby said, howling in pain when Bojana pinched him. “But it’s true. I didn’t say anything wrong, did I? Didn't you burn down half the woods behind the girls’ hostels last summer?”

Bojana covered Toby’s mouth with her hands, “One more word and I’ll kick you.”

Phil snickered at Toby’s predicament while Bon just shook his head. Those two were always fighting with each other. Bojana was like fire and Toby like gasoline.

The professor came in at that moment and everyone took their seats. Then followed a continuous three hour lecture with no breaks.

Just as the bell rang and the lecture ended, they heard the sound of an explosion. The ground shook. Plaster fell off the ceiling. 'What the fuck was happening?' Had someone decided to bomb the university? Everyone ran to the windows to take a look. They all stared at the place where the auditorium used to be. There, in its place, was a big black conical structure towering to the sky. The class rushed outside to get a better look.

“What the hell is happening?” asked Toby. “Are aliens invading Earth?”

“Fuck!” Bojana ran towards the tower, followed by the entire class. She stood looking at the tower in a daze. “This isn’t an illusion,” she tapped on the tower’s exterior.

More and more students and teachers joined the crowd, examining the tower from every angle. There were no doors or windows, no openings of any kind. The structure was so tall that Bon couldn’t determine its height. He couldn’t see where it reached.

A moment later, a message appeared in front of his eyes.

Congratulations! You are qualified to enter the Trial Tower

Prepare for teleportation in five minutes

“Did you see that?” asked Phil. Bon and the others nodded. “I’ve read stories about these things online. Maybe the first story of this kind was a prophecy.”

“What did the story say about this?” Bon asked urgently. If they only had five minutes he wanted to spend it talking to Sarah, but Bon thought that Phil’s explanation was more important.

“The tower teleports you within," said Phil, "where there are many different dimensions. It trains you to fight monsters and become super human. It’s just like a role-playing game, with stats and magic.”

“C’mon,” said Toby. “You don’t really believe all that stuff do you? How can something like this even be possible?”

“Then how can this tower exist?” asked Phil.

“What happens after we kill all the monsters?” asked Bon. “How do we come back to Earth?”

“We have to clear the highest level of the tower,” Phil said simply.

“Do we go in together?” asked Bon.

“Not initially," Phil said. "We might meet up again later at higher floors.” Phil seemed a little too happy and excited by what was happening. Had he been dreaming of going through something like this?

Teleporting in 5

“Stay alive everyone," Phil shouted.

3

“Till we meet again,” said Bojana.

1

Bon’s vision turned dark.

Teleporting to the First Floor of Trial Space 245

Error

4645%$#@!

Teleporting to the First Floor of Trial Space 732

Error

Teleporting to the First Floor of Trial Space 953

Error

Break

Teleporting to the First Floor of Alpha Test 22

Teleportation Successful

Time ratio adjusted 1:1,000,000

All Death Penalties Have Been Removed in Alpha Test Dimension 22

You will respawn in the Safe Zone after experiencing death

Welcome to the Tutorial Tower

Good Luck

Phil had been right. This was just like a game. Had Bon encountered a glitch in the system? ‘All death penalties have been removed,’ that sounded like a good thing. It was good to know that he could respawn within the Tower. With an infinite number of lives, he would be able to beat this thing and get back to Earth quickly. He wondered if Sarah had been chosen by the Trial Tower as well. He hoped she was okay. If she wasn’t in the Tower he hoped that she would wait for him. If she was outside the Tower, she might think he was dead.

When Bon’s vision returned, he found himself near a swamp. There were plants and mud all around him, and water surrounding everything. A golden light encircled an area around him. This must be the safe zone. He would probably resurrect in this location whenever he died. He plodded through the mud around him, going in the direction of the water’s flow. The foliage was thick and Bon found himself wishing that he had a machete. Branches were poking at him from everywhere, and he kept scratching himself against the thorny bushes.

“Inventory,” he said out loud. Every RPG he'd played had an inventory system. He thought that he might as well try his luck.

A blank space appeared before Bon. His inventory was empty.

“Hide HUD,” the red and blue of his health and mana bars on the top of his vision was a little disorienting. He would prefer not looking at them. His maximum mana was 0 anyway, and his health was a measly 10. All his quick skill slots were empty. It didn’t make sense to keep the HUD on.

And then Bon heard a mighty roar. A gigantic green tree with a mass of mud stained roots for feet was running towards him from the swamp.

Discovered (BOSS) Mangrove Giant

As the first player to discover this Boss you have gained some stats and skill points

STR +3

AGI +3

CON+5

INT +3

WIS +2

SP +2

Bon turned around and ran. He was no match against this monster. He had encountered a Boss as soon as he entered this place. What kind of bad luck was that? The Mangrove Giant, in a sudden burst of speed, caught up with him and pierced his chest with one of its roots. It pulled Bon into the air and smashed him against the muddy ground over and over again. Bon's mind blanked out for a moment, and then suddenly went into overdrive. Oh fuck! This was hell. Death penalties removed? It didn't feel that way at all. Was he going to die for real? Wasn't this just some kind of RPG? Bon screamed. It hurt so much.

You have died