“You didn’t die, Scarlett. You’ve just logged out from the game.”
I quizzically looked at him. My mind still can’t keep up with his sudden information. And it doesn’t make sense, especially that I saw and felt myself dying.
My eyes were locked on his when I felt everything beginning to blur. The pang in my head was suddenly unbearable.
“Finally… Welcome back, Aquarius.”
Damn.
Damn.
How could I forget those damn things?
How could I lose my memories before DANIMA even existed?
“Scarlett… Gala tayo…” I looked and saw Thalia closing one of the books I was reading.
I languidly rolled my eyes at her went back into reading. My professor gave us two readings, the first one is the De Anima, and the other one was On the Soul.
But I wasn’t studying just to get good grades. I am also interested in the conscious mind because it might give me a clue what is happening to my brother, who was fallen into a comatose state.
“Stop bothering her, moron.” Hunter hissed to Thalia. My eyes passed through Hunter when I saw Clover, who just entered the Celestial Kingdom from the grocery. And I can see the packs of Potchi in it.
Napansin ko ang biglang pagtabi sa akin ni Darren. Isa pang panggulo. “You’ve been obsessed with Aristotle’s study lately…” sabay kuha n’ya sa On the Soul kong libro.
Kukuhanin ko sana iyon sa kanya nang bigla n’ya iyong binasa. Pinagagana n’ya ba ‘yong utak n’ya?
Nagulat na lamang ako nang humarap s’ya sa akin na may kasamang ngisi, “This one is actually a pretty cool concept…”
I heaved a sigh and went back to reading again.
“Umalis ka nga d’yan sa tabi ni Scarlett-chan. Ang pangit mo sa view,” dinig kong sambit ni Zayn. Paano ba naman ako makakapagaral sa mga ‘to?
“Scarlett! Pansinin mo ako!” Pangumgulit ni Darren, inis ko s’yang dahil hinihigit n’ya ang braso ko, “Gagawa ang akong virtual reality game!”
If I remember it right, their department’s final requirement was a game, and they were given a month to finish their task. I grimaced at him. Doing a simple mobile app would be a hassle for a month. How could he think of making a virtual reality game?
Dumb head.
Clover suddenly flicked his forehead, “A month, moron. Do you think you could actually do it?”
But if he is going to use the concept of De Anima and On the Soul, I might as well help him with his stupidity.
If he is going to follow Aristotle’s concept, then I might get the chance to talk to Kuya Lance, if ever that the only thing needed to his game was our conscious mind. And then that idea could actually be helpful to wake him in his slumber.
Nilingon ko si Darren at kinuha ko sa kanyang kamay ang libro ko saka tumayo.
“I’ll help you with your stupidity.” I smirked. Zeus suddenly pulled me away from Darren when he gasped at me, and the twins suddenly wrestled him.
Napangiwi na lamang ako nang bugahan ni Zach si Darren ng tubig.
“Tangina ka! May kanin-kanin pa!” Inis na hinagad ni Darren ang kambal na bigla na lamang tumakbo palayo sa kanya.
Para silang mga tanga. Mga isip bata.
“No! No! Hindi ako papayag na ma-solo mo ‘yong crush ko!” May diin na sigaw ni Zayn habang tinuturo pa si Darren, “Sasali ako sa katangaham mo kahit sobrang labag sa loob ko!”
A tiny smile curved into my lips while watching the twins. Though most of the time they are annoying, I can’t change the fact that they are cute at the same time.
And just when I was about to get back to my room, Hunter cleared his throat, “We are the Zodiacs, right? Then let’s help Darren by making the impossible possible.”
We all blinked at him multiple times as if we are waiting for his cue about his joke.
Logan suddenly held his phone high looked directly to Darren, “Let’s begin the preparation tomorrow.”
Nang matapos ang usapan ay dumiretso ako sa aking kuwarto at nilagay sa bookshelf ang mga librong hawak ko. Kusang tumaas ang kilay ko nang marinig akong sunod-sunod na pagkatakot sa pinto hanggang sa buksan ko ito.
“Are you testing your luck, Lexie?” Logan, my brother asked. I shyly scratch the back of my head when he came in and nodded. “We will help in Darren’s game, but whatever happens— if ever that, this won’t help at all. Don’t lose your main which is to stay hidden from the Alvarez’s eyes.”
This will be going to be a long, rough month.
And I just hope that this game could make me actually reach my dream.
After almost a month of preparing for the goddamn game, we finished most of the critical and vital codes for the virtual reality game. My contribution to the game wasn’t just the books’ idea, and I even contributed the idea to use our phones as our life forces and the key to log out from the game.
But we still haven’t decided which prize to give to the winner.
“Side event lang naman ‘to.” I heard Austin said. He was talking to Darren, making me squint my eyes at him.
Nagpaplano pa rin talaga s’ya ng katangahan kahit sa laro. Alam kong malandi s’ya pero pati ba naman sa laro ay kailangan n’yang isingit iyon?
“Yeah, yeah. A game also needs romance like that. I will be trusting you with that one,” Darren mumbled while tapping Austin’s shoulder.
And when Darren left, Austin wickedly grins as he types something the codes.
Tangina… Bakit ang sama ng kutob ko sa kanya?
Hindi ko alam kung namalikmata ako o hindi. May nabasa yata akong sinulat n’ya na kailangan matulog katabi ang ka-partner.
I will not try that fucking event.
I grimaced and was about to walk away when Darren pulled my arm, “Have you thought of any?” He asked.
I unknowingly scratched my chin and shook my head. He insisted that I should be the one to name the game we will make, but I think it should be him, especially that he spends more time more than us.
“Wala pa,” tipid kong sagot sa kanya saka s’ya tinalikuran.
Darren actually gets the concept of soul, which is actually related to extraordinary things.
The ‘Soul’ term we used will be called to the extraordinary abilities that each player will be possessing. I even said that I wanted power like Trafalgar Law’s, but Darren said that it would be impossible because he wanted to stick to the kinesis and manipulation of things.
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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