Justin was a police officer in charge of looking after this white flame, as there were still people in this building working the night shift when the lockdown happened. He was there with his buddy from the station, "Dan the Man," as he would say. Justin was in his late 40s and mostly did route work like this.
Dan said something while looking at the white flames. "Man… I keep saying this, but… what the hell's going on with the world?" He grabbed the necklace under his shirt, the necklace had a cross on it.
Justin thought to himself.
Everyone around the world is asking that question…
Justin was a good man and wanted to brighten the mood. "What haven't you heard? It's the apocalypse! And we are allllll going to die, painfully too." He said jokingly.
Dan smiled. "Don't jinx us now, or it might actually happen!" He put the necklace back.
That's when the flames made a grinding sound and disappeared, and, in their place, a tall man appeared.
Justin was shocked. "Hey! Wh… whoa." He saw the shield and sword on him… as well as the blood.
The man raised his hands. "Ahhh, I can explain."
The man explained everything that he had been through…
Justin and Dan didn't believe a single thing the man was saying; it was all too ludicrous.
Really? He expects us to believe that explanation?
Then the man said something. "Try saying it. What do you have to lose?"
Looking like simpletons who get tricked easily, but with everything that's going on... ahhh fuck it.
Justin sighed, "'Status Window.'" His eyes widened when he saw it.
-----------------------------
[STATUS WINDOW]
Name: Justin Karter
Level: 1 0/50 EXP
Condition: Healthy
Strength: 8
Agility: 6
Endurance: 7
Intelligence: 5
Passives: none
Skills: none
-----------------------------
This…
He tapped his buddy repeatedly and gestured to the window in the air. Dan just looked confused. The tall man was just standing there smiling.
The tall man spoke. "Told you, now do you believe me?"
Dan spoke next. "No, you're joking, right?"
"Just say the damn words!!" Justin shouted.
Dan was silent and then gave in: "'Status Window.'" After that, he was as shocked as Justin.
Looks like he sees it too… But if what this person said was true… It looks like I'm going to be busy for a while, and I'm going to have to deal with superhumans now too…
Both started to panic. They couldn't believe this was real, but the proof was right in front of them. It's just like a gaming system, but that can't be real, right? But it was real, and if what they heard was all true, it frightened them immensely. As police officers, they know how bad people could be, and if any one of them could get that much strength by leveling up a few times then…
This country is going down the shitter... no, the world is.
Justin started trembling. "Fuck, it really is the apocalypse."
The tall man's smile shifted. "We need to talk to someone about this."
He's right; this is too much for us to handle. We need to keep this secret for as long as possible, but… It's been about 5 hours since this all happened; surely the higher-ups know about this and are also keeping it from the public…
Dan regained his composure. "You're right, you need to come with us to the police station and talk to the chief about this." He was now holding his necklace again.
He's right, on the off chance that he didn't know about this.
Justin rubbed his face. "Right, we shouldn't radio this information in, since a lot of people have police scanners now. Let's just say we have new information about what's happening and head back."
They left the building and entered the police car; Dan sat at the wheel. The tall man sat in the back poking at something in the air after he said, "Status Window."
Justin looked at him puzzled. "Ahhh, right! I forgot, what's your name? I'm Justin, and this is Dan. Also, ah, what are you doing?"
He paused for a moment. "Ah, I'm Max, and I'm increasing my stats with the points I just got from leveling up."
… I'm not going to get used to this.
Justin tapped on the side of the door. "So, from what you told us, you get 5 points for each level up, and you can use those to increase your stats, is that right?" Max nodded.
Justin continued taping, "That's a bit much, you know. I mean, if I leveled up two times, then I would be twice as strong as I am now. Is it hard to level up?" Max shook his head.
Justin stopped taping "… so anyone can…"
Max cut him off. "There's no stopping it, you know."
Dan spoke for the first time since they got in the car. "After this I'm quitting the force..."
Yea, that's probably the right idea. He's got a family too, so I don't blame him. As for me… I have no one, so I will stay.
He looked out the window. "… Good thing this happened at night when almost everyone was at home sleeping."
Dan spoke quietly: "… yea."
They were quiet for the whole time in the car as they drove. When they made it to the police station, there was a crowd of reporters at the front of the building. They parked a distance away.
Justin got out of the car first. Leave your stuf--" When he turned around, Max bolted to the reporters. He was fast, inhumanly fast. One cameraman saw him and pointed, shouting to the rest.
Once Max saw this, he shouted too and slowed down when he got close. "GOOD NEWS, EVERYONE! I got information about the white flames that are appearing!" All the reporters turned to him as well as the cameras. He stopped as they all started to ran towards him.
Justin and Dan turned their run into a jog; they were too far and couldn't stop him. The reporters then surrounded Max.
What the hell is he thinking?!
Questions came flooding in.
"Sir! Why are you bloody?! Are you alright?!"
"Sir! What do you mean?!"
"Is that a sword and shield?!"
"Sir! Do you know what's affecting the world?!"
Questions kept flooding in as Justin and Dan approached the crowd, then Max shouted, "Quiet! I'll answer your questions, but first watch this, or you won't believe me." As they quieted down, Max bent down, and then, with all his might, he jumped high in the air.
Justin looked at this, mouth wide open. "Wh-what the hell!" Max landed back down in the crowd. They were all shocked and couldn't process what just happened.
That's when Justin felt Dan tap his shoulder. "Tell the chief, I quit." He gave him his badge and gun, then he walked back to the car.
I know what he is doing… but why?
Justin heard Max speak in the crowd, "Now everyone here and the ones watching this at home, I want everyone to say 'Status Window'"
…
Max had an idea as he looked at the two police officers.
I need more people to enter the gates… If I can get these guys to bring me to the station, then I'm sure there are plenty of reporters for me to talk to. But is that the right direction for me to take? to put myself in the spotlight for the whole world to see? There is also a possibility that this information has already spread. Well, I'll see if that's the case based on these guys' reactions.
Max told them everything. As one was shaking and the other holding onto a cross, Max knew that at least these guys knew nothing about anything.
Right, now get a grip and take me already.
The guy who looked like he was in his 40s spoke. "Fuck, it really is the apocalypse."
Ah… I guess he figured it out… Things are going to be tough for them here on out.
Max' smile shifted. "We need to talk to someone about this."
The other guy regained his composure. "You're right, you need to come with us to the police station and talk to the chief about this." He was holding his necklace.
Bingo!
…
Max was in the back of the police car. "'Status Window'"
-----------------------------
[STATUS WINDOW]
Name: Max Carter
Level: 5 0/255 EXP
Condition: Healthy
Points available: 5
Strength: 14 /\
Agility: 12 /\
Endurance: 5 /\
Intelligence: 7 /\
Passives: [The First to Challenge—162 hours—Unique] [Challenger First to Reach Level 5—167 Hours—Unique]
Skills: | Lesser Slash |
-----------------------------
I still haven't tried that skill yet, but that can come later. Now what do I put the points into… Now, I think I should go endurance. That will increase my physical stamina, and since I can use Lesser Slash every 5 seconds with my new passive, I think it will be a good investment...
He put all his stats into endurance.
The man in his 40s looked at him puzzled. "Ahhh, right! I forgot, what's your name? I'm Justin, and this is Dan. Also, what are you doing?"
guess he's got questions…
…
After Dan parked, Max made a mad dash for the reporters.
Being in the spotlight isn't a bad idea; if I can get people who are high up to notice me, then maybe I can make some deals with them in the future. But first, I need as many people entering the gates as fast as possible.
Max shouted at the top of his lungs, "GOOD NEWS, EVERYONE! I got information about the white flames that are appearing!"
…
Max spoke to the crowd, "Now everyone here and the ones watching this at home, I want everyone to say 'Status Window.'"
Everyone started shouting questions at him.
"What the hell was that?!"
"'Status Window'? What do you--" One reporter dropped her mike.
"Yes, what do you mean, say 'Status Window,' and how di--" another one.
"I've never seen someone jump so high! How did you do that?!"
The questions kept coming, but as more and more said the two words, the questions diminished. Once most were quiet, Max spoke with a booming voice. "As you can see, it's like a video game system, and those white flames are gates to a video game world! In them you will get gear like mine! With it, You will fight monsters and level up! But that's not all! You can't die in them! So, there's no risk!"
He spoke half-truths: "I know it's hard to believe, but it's TRUE!" When you say, 'Status Window,' the truth is right in front of you! Now I'm going to go and complete even more gates! See you around." He jumped and did a backflip over the crowd, then he ran off into the night.
Mannn, that clearly sounded like an advertisement for a shit product. Anyway, that should do it; all they need to do is say the words, and they will believe me. With this, the new gates should appear in a day or two. Since there is nothing left for me to do, let's go home and sleep.