I find it superfluous to say it out loud, but being woken up by the voice of an asshole who is blatantly taking the piss out of you does not please anyone. Especially when, despite the artificiality of the sound, it is still easy to guess the human shit grin hidden behind.

That said, the System's metallic voice quickly resumed speaking, repeating its first sentence a second time and in the same damn way. [Congratulations Players for passing the most innocuous part of our Game!]. Then, after waiting a few moments so the guinea pigs... I mean racehorses... I mean Players could give him their undivided attention, he began to explain the rules of what he later called: 'the Second Phase of the Game'.

[Before I continue, I wish you a good morning. Did you sleep well? Did you get enough sleep? This is the Presenter speaking. Did you miss me? Ah, the director is telling me to use a more appropriate language. Eh... Then let's start again from the beginning. Testing, testing. Is the microphone working? What do you mean, it's... Ah, very good.]

I mean, well... Let's use Roberto's spontaneous words to describe the general impression that those few lines managed to give to the rest of the group as well. "Another genius. Fantastic," he said among other things with a will to live that, with difficulty, could barely touch the minimum union.

[As I said before,] continued the Presenter as if nothing had happened, demonstrating an adaptability worthy of someone experienced in show business. [I congratulate the Players who have survived up to this point. This presentation is taking place simultaneously on all Quadrants of the Chessboard, which is why I understand that teams who have not been able to agree and stay together over the previous two days may find my congratulations distasteful. I will warn you, however, that if you as a group have been struggling with similar difficulties then it is almost impossible for you to make it through Phase Two of the Game of the Ancients.]

At that point, the Presenter seemed to have a small technical problem with the microphone, which shot off a whistle so loud that our dear group of runaways had to plug their ears. Fortunately it didn't last long and, since communications had not yet resumed, Mario took the opportunity to comment: "Ah, good. So at the end of the day we are among those who are well off? It's hard for me to imagine the others then," shaking his head but with a slight excitement in his heart.

If, as in fact he had imagined from the beginning hearing the term Chessboard, there were to be other groups and, therefore, other people, then he would definitely have a chance to find his ex, in case she was also forced to participate in that same fucking game.

[I apologize for the inconvenience, I'm working with imbeciles here who don't know how to do their job. Huh? Yes, imbecile! I'm talking about you! Wasn't it your job to check the equipment before going live? Oh, it's my fault? Let me finish up here and you'll see. These idiots... Ah, fuck. Why didn't I turn off the microphone?] He stopped for a second time, closing the audio channel of the microphone as soon as he finished speaking.

Roberto had to light a cigarette to avoid swearing, complaining in record time with a: "But is it my impression or are we in the hands of a bunch of desperate assholes?" finding the silent approval of Mario and, surprisingly, a nod of assent also from little Sabrina. She, however, unlike the big man, seemed to pay more attention to Camilla, there beside her, than to the voice.

[Apologies again for the inconvenience. My colleagues are getting the big-mouthed newcomer in line, so there should be no more interruptions from here on.] He later returned to say after a static noise probably due to the reactivation of the audio channel dedicated to recording.

[I hope you have already familiarized with the System Items obtained through the Chests and the Personal Skills. If not, I'm sorry for you, but you're going to have a very bad and very short stay in your Quadrant. Moving on, from this moment on the game goes into Phase Two. Monsters, Experience Points, Credits, Chests and Penalties will be added to your Instance immediately after the end of this presentation. Indeed, more specifically, you will be tested by a first Mini Boss with a difficulty that can be between One and Three Stars. The choice of difficulty level will be totally random.]

Once the speech was over, the world in which the Players had been transported underwent a series of violent tremors, enough to make both Roberto and Alex fall out of bed; the only two imbeciles sitting poised on the edge. The mall itself, on the other hand, didn't seem to feel the blow despite the precarious state of the building, almost as if it hadn't even felt it.

Shortly after, before the eyes of the entire group, a set of bright bubbles began to appear, rising upwards from the floor. The strange substance seemed to almost dance on the spot, first going upwards and then coming down to ground level before resuming the cycle again. Not that any more strangeness could have surprised them by now, let's be clear. However, it didn't help keep their mental state stable either.

[The time limit for the start of Phase II is seven days. I wish you all to survive until then. And, a little dispassionate advice. Do what you can to increase your strength before then, but avoid attempting the impossible. A dead comrade is worth even less than a weak one. Very well, now that I have finished; I will leave the rest of the explanations to the Assistant of your Instance. Good luck Players, you will need it! Oh, but have you booked lunch yet? Why not? If this keeps up, I'm quitting this fucking job. No! I don't give a shit about the contract, I... Ah, shit.]

Needless to say, the presenter had once again forgotten to take off the microphone. An undoubtedly great start to the day.

"Assistant? Does that mean we will finally have someone who can explain something useful to us?" Meanwhile, the Alex who had just fallen on his ass asked, somehow managing to simultaneously ignore both the Presenter's gaffe and the strange luminous substance still prey to the Saturday night fever. He had expressed the question addressing the rest of the group in general, but with special attention to the two usual idiots.

Mario, for one, agreed with the hypothesis, hoping himself that it might be so. "It would be a breath of fresh air in this shithole. Am I wrong, or did he talk about a lot of stuff we don't know about? Experience Points, Monsters and Chests are fine. But what the fuck should be the Credits? Did we end up in a casino? Are we supposed to be counting cards?", even finding the strength to be an early morning dumbass.

"You forgot he mentioned about a Boss," Roberto expanded, also in pain, causing a chain reaction that led Alex to ask again, with a less than pleased expression on his face, "So that was a broad turn of phrase to say we're fucked?" Question that made both the smoker and the giant nod, as if they had heard the most trivial doubt in the world.

Before he was done with the bullshit, however, Roberto noted that Camilla had kept her cool this go-around despite probably not having a clear idea of the meaning of the terms said by the Presenter or their ramifications in the short and long term. At the end of the day, for someone with no direct experience in online or offline role-playing video games, imagining how dangerous a Boss could be could be no walk in the park.

Even with these disadvantages at hand, however, the girl had not panicked as she had during the past few days, which aroused the boy's curiosity. "You look good," he told her in fact a few seconds later, returning Camilla's firm gaze with one, apparently, much less worried.

"I understand that we are in danger. You'll explain to me later what those things mean, for now I want to focus on what's going to happen," she replied to him, not changing her expression, but looking for a brief moment for the figure of her beloved Alex, causing a smirk to appear on Roberto's face.

Between the cunt and the demon with the nice ass I thought they didn't make half a brain, instead I have to retract myself. Whatever happened between the two of them yesterday I have to say that it definitely put them in the right frame of mind to avoid cracking up badly. Well, well, well... Can I start expecting something positive? He thought then without wiping the grimace from his face, satisfied with the evolution of events.

While these little bar talk consumed precious time, the luminous substance seemed to conclude its strange dance. The bubbles slowed down quickly, condensing from time to time in the direction of the central point of the axis of rotation. The orbits in which they moved decreased in diameter with each revolution, creating in a relatively short time a single luminescent geoid.

The object then, a bit like a bird's egg would do, began to move slightly from side to side, until a multitude of marks and cracks were created on its surface. A subsequent tap from the inside was all it took for another strange creature to emerge from the now less and less shiny and already evaporating shell.

[Good morning Players.] The newcomer took off, observing the group in front of him practically at knee height as he barely reached a meter in stature. In addition to this, his body was only human in its upright position and facial features that reminded a bit of a grown man and a bit of a newborn monkey. The skull retained the classic proportions of the human species or the offspring of their close relatives, however, from the neck down, a nice thick brown hair covered most of his bipedal body, giving him a rounded shape that, thanks to the canine paws with long nails, formed an appearance ridiculous enough not to create discomfort.

"Are you our guide?" Roberto asked almost without batting an eyelid, accustomed by now to his fellow adventurer Pen Pen. Mario, Alex and Camilla had to take some time to process in their brains that exotic appearance, while Sabrina let escape a: "How cute…", said in a very low voice and wide open eyes.

The little creature, however, managed to hear her, puffing up his little chest with what must have been a surge of pride. Also because, at the time of creation, he had not been given any form, as was the case with the rest of his colleagues, so he had taken his first days of life to choose an appearance that could be accepted by the general public.

[My title is that of Assistant. To be precise, my full title is that of Automatic Assistant to Instance XK2234 of Quadrant 692AKB. If you find it more comfortable, feel free to call me XK22]. Said the creature in response, already showing itself to be extremely more serious and reliable than the Presenter.

Roberto, however, seemed to take that brief first greeting the wrong way. Rather than glossing over the information he had just been told, he paused for a moment to ponder and imagine on a three-dimensional plane the mess that must have been that sort of Cartesian coordinate string. "Ah... Instance XK2234 of Quadrant 692AKB. Instance XK2234 of Quadrant 692AKB..." Then lost in his home-made calculations, he ended up muttering the same sentence several times, but not reaching a result that could satisfy him.

"XK22?" He asked at the hour directly to the Assistant who, without making the slightest wrinkle, replied, [Say it, Mr. Roberto,] with the same degree of courtesy and prior information about the crew that an AI from a science fiction story might have. The boy was fascinated by that look, but had to put his bullshit aside in order to ask, "You just said an Instance of a Quadrant, right? Even so at the very least I think I see three dimensions if not four. Can I just ask where the fuck you guys put us? Are we still in science fiction or have we turned into pure fantasy instead?"

XK22 appreciated the doubt and, with a brief clap of his 'hands', hailed Roberto's observation. However, it couldn't help him get a better idea than the one he already had in his head. [I'm sorry, that's classified information. I don't yet have the privileges to answer or even read that System data]. He told him immediately afterwards with great regret.

Alex took the opportunity to find an answer to his problems, asking before anyone else could speak, "So can you tell us how the Skills work? What should we do to activate them? Or, maybe some tips on how to use them?" However, the little being even this time had to apologize and repeat the same lines of dialogue as the previous time, not possessing the proper privileges.

From there on, Mario and Camilla also tried to ask him questions, one in particular was about being able to find another person within the Game and another was about what would happen in case of completion or at its end. However, both received the same desolate response in which XK22 repeated that he did not possess the privileges to be able to answer.

"What can you tell us that would be useful then? I was happy to finally have a tutorial, but now I have the impression that nothing has changed from before," Roberto entered the scene at that point, visibly annoyed by the uselessness of the Assistant.

[I'm very sorry, the rights at my disposal must be unlocked through the use of Player Credits. Prior to their purchase, not even the Assistant has the ability to access the System data containing the answers to your questions,] XK22 then said, while giving new valuable information to the group and rekindling a spark of hope in Roberto.

[There is, however, one thing I can tell you right away,] the little being went back to say, partially happy to be of service. [The appearance of the first Mini Boss has been successfully completed. Until its defeat, any chance that comes out of this mall will be denied by the System. The difficulty obtained from the function for the causal number is one Star, the lowest difficulty. Please be careful, the Monster selected by the System is a Bolzig. Their race has a very slippery body that is resistant to cutting weapons]. He later concluded as if he was giving them the breakfast menu, while from outside the room a loud gurgling began to spread through the room.