Lone Star of the Abyss

(The end of the beginning, The beginning of the end.)

_Singapore dome, Year 2094, Planet Earth

I had no idea what to write on the test sheet when it was handed to me. I was instead observing the clear, crimson-red sky that was heralding the approaching dawn through the window. Neon-lit skyscrapers are starting to glitter, and I can feel a chilling breeze sweeping through my blonde hair.

This school is housed in a skyscraper, so I can see an endless number of buildings that are tall enough to even pierce clouds, as well as a flying car that was hovering just outside the schoolyard.

On one of these tallest skyscrapers, there are advertisements featuring a holographic screen about the tournament of the (Augmented reality) game known as [Dawn]. The players are called Dawners, they are professional gamers who compete against one another in real life for coins that can be used as currency in the solar system.

The world governments distribution of the rewards from [Dawn] missions also provided for our basic needs. As a result, Dawners can be found competing with one another all over the world. This is just a typical aspect of our daily lives.

A game based on archetypes, [Dawn]. gives each player access to their skills based on their personality and beliefs. The peasant is one of the prevalent archetypes out there, my archetype is precisely the peasant. However I have this exclusive skill known as ”The jack of all trades ”, It allows me to use every archetype basic skill but I can level up any of these skills.

The virtual reality version of Dawn is called ”The world of Dawn ” where 6 billion people throughout solar system participate in this immersive experience. And no, we didn abandon reality, instead reality was too dull for us.

The government funded the entire project and allowed us to all take part in the fantasy game that tests the boundaries of reality because humanity has developed into a utopian society. As a result, some people are able to use Dawns ability in reality.

Through this classroom window Im looking at a hologram that has two mens figures on it. One of the men had a black hoodie. He was tall and athletic, and a glimpse of his demonic aura could be seen in his red eyes and black hair. One of the strongest players I admired. He went by the name of (Rith), strongest player in the SEA region.

I was mindlessly glancing at the advertisement display when I heard my teachers footsteps coming toward me. He gave me a cunning, mystifying look.

”You still haven complete your test? ” He started ambling around the classroom once more while laughing.

I panicked as I glanced at his open back; I imagine he was reading my paper and thought I had failed. The time the exam ended was displayed to me on the holographic display that was hovering in the air.

[5 minutes remaining for the exam]

Ill never finish the test in time, damn it! Who cares? If only I could play Dawn of Regression and do what I pleas instead of being forced to follow the churchs expectations. Now, as an orphan, this is a problem because I would have to follow every laws of the church to have a shelter above my head.

I shifted my focus from the window to my friend, who doesn give a damn about her exam because she is not an orphan and is therefore not subject to any restrictions. This young lady is wearing a simple black shirt, she went by the name (Setsuna).

Her long, dark hair was faintly flowing in the air, and she was looking back at me with a wicked smile while her red eyes had caught my attention.

”Ill grind more coins, don forget about our bet! ” Said Setsuna.

Setsuna flashed me a middle finger while grinning brightly and carried on with her test.

I forget the bet whoever has more coins by the end of this semester will receive the coins from the loser. If I failed this test, I will not be able to challenge any dawner tonight, it is obvious I have to spend my time on studying instead.

[Your examination has ended]

I heard an alert bell announce the examination has ended.

Well, I guess I will have to find excuses to make her let me off the hook now. I am sure she will understand, after all, we have known each other for 5 years.

As I leave the classroom, I start to close the holographic display that was hovering above my desk. A man who is a little bit taller than me was standing in front of the door. {Shan} was his name.

One might say that he is your typical kind friend because of the gentle aura emanating from his brown eyes. However, when it comes to history, he has a wild side. Even though there is no longer a system of nations or nationalities in the world, this guy would go on and on about Chinas history.

”The exam is so simple, dude. Who can forget the date of World War 3? This test is only failable by idiots. ” Shan boasts about his knowledge.

I retract what I just said; this man is not considerate or gentle. When it is not his problem, he simply keeps quiet. Moreover, his words kinda hurt me a bit, fortunately, Setsuna was in the same position as me.

”Shut up, just because I don give a damn about this test doesn mean I am an idiot ” Setsuna sighed at Shan, following that he was hit in the head with her left palm.

”Ouchh, this hurt… ” Shan grumbled.

Despite her poor academic performance, Setsuna is virtually unbeatable in the gold division in the world of dawn. Nobody dared belittle her, particularly in this school.

”You don forget about our bet, right? Einsamer ” Setna asked me as she turns to face me after knocking Shan.

”I was doing charity work for the church, ok? Beside, this is just a joke right ” I continued with a poker face ” I have only 10k coins left for this months expense. ”

Normally I would just listen to her and say little, but I have to come up with an explanation, and I guess she could see right through me. She just stared at me and rolled her eyes, then flashed another middle finger. Damn this girl? How could I have dealt with her personality for 5 years? Wait a second, she is probably going to fail too and will be grounded by her parents.

”Well, you are going to fail as well. Lets just make it even. ” I smirked at her.

Setsuna seems to be intimidated by the discussion of test.

”Whatever, lets put this test discussion to rest now, ahhhhhh ” Setsuna messed with her hair before going on

”Ive heard the ICE QUEEN is also on the top floor, so lets go there. We could sneak up on her and rob some of her coins. This time I will take revenge on her. ” There was a wicked grin on Setsunas face.

”Ok…. but we need to put an AR glass on so the ICE QUEEN won get hurt ” Shan and I looked at each other and nodded.

Once we put on the AR glass, a body protection system will prevent players from actually hurting each other unless they are high rank Dawners. It should go without saying that harming a civilian constitutes breaking the law. The new version of the body protection system won activate if you use it to harm a civilian who isn playing Dawn of Regressor because some criminals take advantage of this system to commit crimes.

Hyun Hee is the ice queen, the dominant figure in the west dimension of the virtual world. She is quiet and unassuming, which is why Setsuna always picks on her in real life but leaves her alone in the virtual world.

I was contemplating the world of dawn as I spoke with Setsuna and Shan and walked past students to reach an elevator made of glass from which I could see through an entire city. From above, I could see kids playing in the park, a street musician playing guitar as usual close to the park, and people moving about like ants.

From this view alone, I already love this city and hopefully one day, I could have a family to spend this daily life with. However, right now I just want to be with Shan and Setsuna.

I heard a voice, distracting me from this relaxing view.

”Einsamir, Im always interested in learning about your archetype. Please share. ” Shan cocked his head in my direction, his eyes wide with intrigue.

I am aware that my archetype is probably uninteresting to him so I just pretended to smile, I didn respond as well which intrigued him even more. Unless you have skills like creation, the peasant archetype won do much damage. I concentrate on improving my creation skill so that I am well-versed in potions.

We took the elevator all the way to the top of a building as Shan and Setsuna chat about small talk. Once we reached the top of the dome, as the cold breath of the air brushes through us we were able to see an endless red sky from the top, which had reddened every glass building.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

We took the elevator with a protection barrier, so I was unaware that the battle was presenting here. As soon as I reach the roof, the structure begins to literally tremble. Many of the students behind me are quaking with fear as they watch people killing one another, While others jumped into the fight without thinking it through.

At the same time, I caught sight of Hyun Hee, she was fighting many high rankers. She has a short ashen hair with the length below her chin wavy in the air, her brown eyes large and mysterious. The pillar of light shines on this girl who is fighting against other high rank dawner.

My teacher, who had just arrived, is now perched on a tree of the top of this structure, the roof floor is an artificial garden. He did not attempt to intervene as he observed Hyun Hee fighting with other high rankers.

As I watched the battle between Hyun Hee and other high rank dawner, I became aware of how skilled high rank dawners could be even though their actions did not have the same impact as they would in the real game environment. High rank dawners are comparable to real soldiers in that they train their bodies and minds to push the boundaries of reality.

Although I have seen Hyun Hee perform before, this is the first time I have seen her perform to the fullest. I have just realized that, with the exception of Rith, the majority of high ranker have gathered in the top of this building. Which indicates that something is off but Im not sure what.

Like on a real battlefield, there were explosions everywhere! The building is almost about to collapse at this point! I mistakenly believed that the end of World War 3 had ushered in a permanent state of peace. Its certainly not a joke, is it? These high ranker is currently breaking the law in order to murder civilians and a young girl.

”Ohh tell me, Prophercy. Is it true that the judgement of god will arrive upon this world? ” One high ranker with a dejected expression summoned a flame and threw it at Hyun Hee.

Hyun Hee used all of her energy channeling into the sword to snuff out the flame and said, ”Youll understand it in the next ten minutes. ”

Prophercy? Rumors circulated regarding the archetype of [Prophercy] that had the power to foretell the future. If there are any such players, shell probably find every boss and hidden skill in this world to become the best player there is. Since [Dawn] is just a game and was used in World War 3 to train super humans, I erroneously believed that Dawner could only perform a limited set of feats without interfering with the laws of time and space..

What if, however, [Dawn] was merely a new experiment to create a brand-new class of supernatural soldier? This is in the realm of possibility, Dawn of regressor in short known as project [DAWN] used to be a supernatural experiment in the third world war.