And because we will be the Alpha Testers of the game, I picked the Opinokinesis as my soul.

“Good Evening, players.” I looked behind and saw Hallie recording her voice. It was deepened and a robotic-like sound, “DANIMA will be holding its first guild war in our history. The mechanics are simple, each guild must— Ah! Bakit putol?”

Dahan-dahan naman akong lumapit sa kanya at napangiwi. Nabasa ang kanyang hawak na papel dahilan upang maging smudge ang ibang parte nito.

Chinat ko naman sa kanya ‘yong mismong linya na sasabihin n’ya na ako mismo ang gumawa, nang ngitian niya ako ay nag-thumbs siya sa akin.

“Thanks, Scarlett.”

Tipid akong ngumiti sa kanya saka dumiretso sa kusina upang kumuha ng Potchi na dala ni Clover. Napangiwi ako nang makita ako ni Hunter na lumalamon ng Potchi sa gilid habang siya’y kamot-ulong nakatingin sa akin.

“Problem?” I asked him.

He wryly smiled, “I can’t decide which ability should I pick. Nakakainis kasi si Darren at minamadali ako.”

Hunter went straight to the refrigerator to get a glass of water while I was just watching him. What kind of power suits a king like him?

“Mag-aassume ako na akong ang iniisip mo ngayon.” Ngisi n’ya sa akin sabay upo sa aking tapat.

“Ikaw nga.”

Nanlaki naman ang mga mata ko nang bigla s’yang nasamid at dahil sa taranta ko bigla ko na lamang naihagis sa kanya ang isang pakete ng Potchi.

“Aray ha,” sambit n’ya habang may ngiti pa rin sa kanyang mga labi. Sinong tangang nasaktan na pero nakangiti pa rin?

Muli akong napatitig sa kanya. Isa s’yang hari. At kasabay nito ang pagkubra ng isang ngiti sa aking labi ng dahil sa isang ideya na pumasok sa aking utak.

I stood up and smiled at him, “Electrokinesis suits a king like you.” After that, I left him in the kitchen.

Hunter and Zeus of Greek Mythology are both kings, and it will be awesome if they will wield the same element.

And I think Hunter will look pretty cool with electric blue eyes.

“This design suits the event. It is elegant and mysterious at the same time. What do you think, Maddie?” I heard Thalia said. As our future architects, they are assigned to design the venues of the events such as Dungeon of Drakona and the Guild War.

Maddie handed a blueprint to Thalia, “Darren said that our main battlefield would be a Phantom Academy-like. So, I used my resources to get this to Mr. Montano.”

Nakangising lumipat ang atensyon ko sa mga lalaking nagtatalo sa computation sa aking gilid. They are categorizing the points if the quests are challenging or not.

I walked to them and went to Clover’s side, “You want?” I asked while giving him the pack of Potchi he bought.

Natatawa n’yang ginulo ang buhok ko, parehas kaming tumingin kina Zayn na nagsisigawan dahil sa bigayan ng puntos.

“300 points nga lang kasi ‘yan. Bot lang naman ‘yang mga ‘yan e,” singhal ni Zach sa mga kasama.

At dahil wala naman akong pakielam sa pointing system nila ay hindi na ako nakisali sa kaguluhan nila. Pinagtatalunan nila ang magiging unang puntos ng mga player kung saan may papasok na mga bots sa Phantom Academy na kailangan nilang patayin.

Iniwan ko naman sila dahil sobrang ingay nila at napagdesisyonan na tumngo sa aking kuwarto. Ilang beses akong kumurap dahil may pusa sa aking harapan at nilalantak nito ang mga Potchi na nakatago sa aking cabinet.

Buntong-hininga kong kinuha ang pusa at lumabas, nakita ko naman si Darren at Zeus na magkasama. Hawak ni Zeus ang bandwrist, gamechip at isang wire na magsisilbing gamit namin upang makarating sa virtual world.

“Darren kindly programmed a cat inside the game.” And even without his approval, I left him with Zeus and got back inside my room.

I was surprised when the cat suddenly jumped in the bookshelf’s direction, making the books fall to the ground.

He was sitting on the top of my De Anima book, making the letter ‘E’ covered with his butt.

My brow automatically raised as a smile suddenly curved into my lips.

That’s a good name.

After all the trial and error. Darren actually got the highest grade among his colleagues. Most of the students were curious about Darren’s creation. And because of that, we made a bunch of game chips and band wrist so that all the students could play.

“Do you think Phantasia is good?” Darren asked.

I smiled and looked at him in the eyes, “It is a privilege. Being guided by the stars is.”

“Walang thrill kung sasali tayo sa kanila pero alam na natin kung ano ang premyo,” sambit ni Austin.

Darren suddenly smirked, “I already knew that you’re going to say that, so I improvised. And you’ll witness it once you enter the game.”

Nakangisi kaming kumuha ng mga gamechip saka nag-unahan sa pagpasok sa kanya-kanyang mga kuwarto. At nang dahan-dahan kong pinikit ang mga mata ko ay nalipat ako sa isang bagong mundo.

Ang buong lugar ay balot sa itim hanggang sa may isang asul na liwanag ang tila bumulag sa akin.

“Welcome to DANIMA, Game Master.” A robotic lady appeared. Even though I alpha tested this game, I am still fascinated by it. “You are already a player once you enter the DANIMA world, but you will only be recognized as one until you received your insignia.”

“And as the Game Master, you already knew the DANIMA and the Phantasia itself. The system will require you to erase your memory inside the DANIMA, and you’ll retain it after you log out.”

I smiled. Darren sure is ready, huh?

“Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

“Welcome to DANIMA, player.”

#

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