"I am sorry," the nurse said to Simon. "We tried everything, but she is gone."
Those words stuck with him. Even though it had been six months, he still thought about those moments every day.
"We tried... tried... tri—" Simon mumbled to himself.
"Are you okay, Simon?"
Simon looked up. he was at his mundane office space, and it was one of his coworkers. He wanted to say something, but instead he smiled and responded, "Everything is fine. Did you need something from me, Natalii?"
Natalii nodded. "Yeah, everyone on the team is planning to go to that new restaurant down at South Park for dinner. We just closed such a big partnership deal, so I was wondering if you'd like to join us."
Simon scratched his head and made an awkward face. "Sorry, I... I have other plans."
Natalii quickly responded, "Is it because of your girlfriend?"
Simon looked confused and glanced back up at his coworker. "Excuse me, I think there's been a misunder—"
Natalii cut him off. "It's okay, I understand. Young people need to experience love and all that. Besides, it makes a lot of sense. I mean, every time the team has plans, you keep making the same excuses."
Simon chuckled. "I don't think I can hide anything from you, can I?"
Natalii smiled back. "You don't have to worry—I won't mess up your plans. Just introduce me to your girlfriend next time."
"Well, I'll try."
---
Simon's keys hit the kitchen counter with a metallic clink. The apartment felt emptier somehow, as if Natalii's assumption had highlighted just how alone he really was.
I'll try? What the hell was I even saying? he thought to himself. Now I have to figure out some other random excuse.
He quickly grabbed a beer from the fridge and walked to his couch, just a few steps away from the kitchen. He turned on the TV and loaded up the game.
Now I'm stuck here trying to play this dumb game for the hundredth time already, he thought. I don't get it, sis—what was so special about this game that you kept playing it for the past fourteen years of your life?
"The Academy Dream" was once a game that gamers thought had some potential, but within less than a month, it flopped miserably. The overall premise was that it was set in a magical academy, where players would control the main character, Liam. The thing about Liam was that he was a commoner who got into the academy through a special selection process that only a few commoners could pass through.
However, for the most part, the student body was made up of the nobility and royalty, as it was an extremely prestigious academy. This was a game of magic and swords, where players would navigate politics, fight in battles and missions, and by the very end, the main character Liam would become a hero and fight against a great demon, earning the respect of all.
To put it simply, the premise was extremely generic and cliché. However, what made it unique were the different routes Liam could take. Even if canonically, he becomes the hero at the end, he could also become a villain, a king, or even transform into a demon. These different routes made gamers interested in seeing how far they could push the character.
When the game released though, many people quit due to the numerous bugs and glitches, the linear storytelling, and the one-dimensional characters. Even though players knew the story was cliché, it was still too unbearable to play.
After the initial release the game didn't receive any updates as if the game was forgotten by the developers as well. It was destined to become a game lost in history.
"Tch, what's taking so long for the game to load?" Simon said out loud.
He had been sitting there for a solid fifteen minutes and was still waiting for the game to turn on—it usually didn't take this long.
"Goddamn it, why just... why can't you just work!" he yelled. He then stood up and tried turning the TV off and back on again to restart the game.
This game, even though he was annoyed by it, was his only connection he had left with his sister. When she was alive, he never really played it because he was never a big fan of video games, but after her death, this was the only thing he was willing to do.
When Simon sat back down on his couch, the game finally started to work, and he saw the homepage as usual. But something was off—at the bottom right of the screen was a new icon shaped like a fox. Simon was curious and decided to click on it with his controller.
However, when he did, a big blue screen appeared right in front of his face.
[Congratulations, you have been accepted into The Academy Dream]
Simon, confused, started swinging his hand in front of his face. "Am I drunk or something? All I had was a single can of beer."
[Assimilation currently in progress]
Simon quickly stood up and tried to run away from the blue screen, but he couldn't.
[Assimilation complete]
Then Simon started to feel drowsy and was knocked out cold.
When Simon began to open his eyes, he wasn't in his dimly lit apartment. He wasn't on the ground either—he was sitting in a well-lit room on a wooden chair, apparently having been drooling on his desk, which was covered with papers.
Then the door to the room swung open.
"Simon, what the hell did you do? The duke's son said he wants to see you!"
A young boy who appeared to be around sixteen years old stood in the doorway. He had dark, curly brown hair, red freckles, and thick circular glasses. He wore a proper suit and tie uniform with an emblem of a sparrow.
Simon recognized this emblem, and without even thinking—because he still felt drowsy—he said, "Are... you a student at the Guardian Academy?" which was the setting of the game.
The boy looked at him with confusion. "What kind of question is that? Obviously, I am, and so are you. Seriously, what's wrong with you today?"
Simon's eyes widened as he started to remember what had just happened moments ago in his apartment.
"Wait, hold up. How do you even know my name?" Simon asked the boy.
The boy responded, "What do you mean, how do I know your name? I've known you for a whole month now—we're roommates, after all. Anyway, that's beside the point. DID YOU NOT HEAR WHAT I SAID EARLIER? THE DUKE'S SON IS LOOKING FOR YOU!"
Then a tall boy with blond hair, blue eyes, and an imposing stature appeared, wearing the same suit and tie uniform with the sparrow emblem. He was standing right behind the other boy when he bellowed, "Are you Simon?"
Then a blue screen appeared again.
[Mission 1]
[You have made a grave mistake in the past with the duke's son.]
[You must quickly resolve this issue with him.]
[Failure to do so will result in death.]