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It is currently the Year 21XX on a certain planet called Earth.

It is a marvelous planet, exceptionally able to sustain life, and had already housed life for thousands upon thousands of millenniums. Different kinds of species had come and go during its period of being, but the species it would be known for its current housing would ultimately be known as "Homo Sapiens", or more commonly known as "Humans".

These people were at the apex of the predatory chain, with a more highly evolved brain than anything else on the surface of the planet. As people evolved, colonies came into being. Soon, towns emerged. Then cities. People of similar races and identities flocked together. However, things changed. Leaders came into power, and arguments happened for reasons only God knows what. With the evolved version of weapons, it came with armies. And with armies, came destruction. Then the First World War happened. A huge loss of life, however, the people of Earth didn't learn. Then came the Second World War. Another genocide. Within the span of less than a century, millions of people had died, becoming a part of history.

Since those times, people have slowly progressed forward, forgetting the painful memories of the past. With the advancement of technology, also came the emergence of Virtual Reality, there came multitudes of possibilities. First came the idea of a new economy, within a new world, its markets could be explored and more people would have a way to make money. But for this new generation, it meant only but one thing.

GAMES, GAMES, and GAMES!

Long have people dreamed of being able to roam an expansive world with their own bodies,

Long have they dreamed of seizing their own future with their own hands,

Long have the people romanticized of magic, steel, and ADVENTURE.

Now, with technology at their disposal, a company named Sakkaku Inc. from Japan managed to create the ultimate virtual reality game. It required you to purchase a console as well as a helmet-based like gaming system which required you to slip it over your head. Once plugged and logged in, you would be thrown into the virtual world. Now, all these hardware were not cheap. It's costs, not to mention the existence of a monthly subscription fee, could be said to be almost astronomical for the average public's taste. It was the equivalent of buying a luxury item, such as a camera, or a massage chair. You also had to subscribe to their personal internet network in order to ensure smooth playing conditions.

Even with all these conditions, it was still a highly anticipated game, and within just a month of it's release, it had already garnered a player base of over 300,000 worldwide.

***

"..and that concludes our class for today. Please turn in the homework I have just distributed next week, class. Enjoy your weekend!" the voice said, with a hint of sarcasm at the end.

The entire class groaned, their teacher had just unloaded a bunch of homework onto them to do over the weekend. That meant doing the homework. Doing the homework meant less time. Less time meant less fun.

A young man dressed in the school's signature uniform was sitting in the middle of the class and he sighed when numerous moans of dissatisfaction murmured among his friends. He walked over towards their seats and standing with both his hands folded, stood beside their table.

"Evaaans." One of his friends wailed upon seeing him.

The young man that had just walked over to his friends was named Evans S. Jr. The young man was 17 years of age and he was just slightly above five feet and nine inches tall. He had black, disheveled hair and hazel brown eyes. He had light, yet tanned skin that bordered on the line of white and brown. He was also the tallest in his class, yet Evans didn't really look that imposing while standing directly next to his friends. It was probably due to his thin and lean build as Evans didn't really work out, nor did he really bother about eating properly. Evans would also be what society called, a "geek". Though he still was pretty good looking for a geek.

"Milly, if you moan any louder than that, you're going to be turning heads." Evans said with a snicker.

"I can't help iiiiitttttt." said the voice that belonged to the girl named Milly. "And can you not, that's disgusting!" she added with a disapproving tone when she realized what Evans actually meant.

The girl named Milly, was sitting with a cross-legged position on her chair, she had her face in a pout as she talked to Evans. Milly's real name wasn't actually Milly, it was a nickname Evans made up for her, as her real name was a mouthful. Millenois A. Summers. With long and dark brown hair that hugged her shoulders, and with similar hazel brown eyes like Evans. She had a somewhat pale complexion, with hints of pink that showed here and there. In response to Milly's blunder, a cheerful laugh could be heard coming from another boy beside her. "You're cute for someone with your size Milly." The boy teased.

Milly's face contorted at the boy's comment and shook her fist in anger. "I'M FIVE FEET AND FOUR INCHES OF AMAZING, OKAY?!" she almost screamed at the boy sitting next to her.

"Yeah? Five feet and four inches of anger too, if I might add." The boy snickered again.

The boy's name was Cory J. Linhof. Both of them were Evans's trusted friends, and they had stuck with each other throughout their high school period. Unlike Evans, Cory had light brown and curly hair. He was only slightly shorter than Evans, but Cory seemed to be bigger than Evans. His muscles that he trained showed clearly through his school shirt, and whenever he flexed, his shirt would become taut.

"Well, forget about that. Hey Evans, are you gonna go buy GateArk after class so we can finally play Horizon together this weekend?" Milly nonchalantly asked. GateArk was the name of the machine that Sakkaku Inc. developed in order to access the virtual reality world, most people also shortened the full name of Reach Your Horizon to just Horizon, just to make things easier.

Cory nodded enthusiastically at what Milly said, both of them had already started playing Horizon about a week after it was released and had been waiting for a few weeks for Evans to join them in-game. Since both of them came from well to do families, it was pretty easy for them to acquire it. However..

"I don't know guys, I really do want to play, but you know my family's.. circumstances." Evans replied with a pause in the middle and then continued. "I really can't afford it." Evans looked down and his facial expression showed sadness, as his family was already struggling to even provide for his education, it really couldn't be helped. In today's society, money pretty much ruled, and with money you could do anything you want. Evans understood the pains of his parents, that did their best to put food on the table.

Milly looked at Cory and grinned. There was a mischievous sparkle in both their eyes, there was something they knew that Evans didn't. Putting on an obvious facade, Milly and Cory both shrugged and started packing their bags to leave. "I would do anything to play with you guys really.." Evans said meekly. "I could get a part time job during school break maybe?" Holding their school bags, Milly and Corry stood up from their seats, still having the same mischievous sparkle in their eyes. "Well it can't be helped." both of them said together.

***

Evans gasped. He couldn't believe his eyes as he stared at the helmet-like object within the opened box.

His parents gazed at him from his room door affectionately.

"Happy Birthday Evans!" they both said in unison.

"My birthday?" He quizzically said. "Oh right. It's already that time of the year isn't it." It wasn't as if Evans had forgotten his birthday, he remembers it very well. Just that he wasn't used to celebrating his birthday as he didn't see a point to it, his friends, understanding as they were, didn't question him about it.

"There's a note inside too, make sure you read it before you start playing." His mom affectionately said.

"Thanks mom, but how..?" His heart was aching, he knew that the machine cost a bomb, yet his parents still got it for him.

"Don't worry about it, just read the note inside, okay?" His mum enthusiastically chimed. His father grinned, it made him happy to see his hardworking and filial son tremble with excitement as his unpacked the box. It had been ages since they got him anything for his birthday. As they were turning to leave his mum gave one last wink at Evans before closing the room door shut.

His hands were still shaking as he stood there gawking at the helmet he held in his hands. It was an GateArk.

The machine created by Sakkaku Inc.

It was real.

He was holding it.

The moment he held the helmet seemed like eternity that he almost forgot the note.

He trembled as he opened the note.

Hehehe, are you happy Evans?

Cory and I pooled our money together to help get you this.

Don't worry, we helped you get the machine at a a much cheaper price through my dad's connections.

Your parents bought the machine while we took care of the monthly subscription payment for you.

With this you'll be able to play for 6 months!

You've been such a good friend to us that we just wanted to repay the favor.

That feeling between me and Cory is mutual.

When you get in-game, maybe you could send us a PM?

We'll be at one of the Beginner cities, called Viajecamino waiting for you alright?

My username is Mae while Cory's is Braveheart.

Let's go adventuring!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

After he finished reading the note, Evans smiled warmly.

"They really are such good friends."

Those two had been through good times and bad times with him.

Even now, just before they were going to graduate and most likely going separate paths.

They had still wanted to give him a present.

Truly, he felt lucky from the bottom of his heart for possessing such friends.

"Now I gotta go meet them in-game!" he said while gripping the helmet tightly.

His body was almost a blur as he hurriedly began setting up his game system, eager to dive into a new world. As he finally finished setting it up, he sighed with a breath of satisfaction. Then, lying down on his bed, whilst staring up at his ceiling, he put on his helmet, and turned on the machine.

"Gate, ON!"

Main PageChapter 1 - Viajecamino