Wizard Of Cosmos

07 - The Endless

‘I can’t believe this.’

Jason lay on his new bed, feeling complicated. It wasn’t because something was wrong, because everything went right.

Three days after getting his loan from Ashley Steel and the Black Steel gaming studio, he moved into his new apartment. The real estate agent she introduced was very efficient and found him a cheap place with a rental of twenty-five thousand per year. 

It was a one-bedroom apartment with a small kitchen and a bathroom. It was the best he could afford with the money he had. 

After moving into the apartment, he began his tedious daily routine. Every morning he got up early and prepared breakfast and packed some lunch. Then he would go to the library to gather information on the notable natural landmarks on earth. 

There was a reason for this. 

In his past life, when the entire earth’s population was transported to the Yuriel, most people wanted to find a way to return. However, a group of explorers, scientists, and natives of the Yuriel found the natural landmarks of the earth on the surface of the Yuriel. Also, they confirmed the surface of the planet Yuriel has gotten bigger after they entered Yuriel. 

They used these theories to prove that the Earth was no longer a separate planet but a part of the Yuriel. As for why none of the man-made structures or human creations was there, no one could explain it. 

However, Jason thought no one actually wanted to explain it because this entire thing had something to do with another alien race. 

This time, he decided to learn all about the natural landmarks by himself. Because if they had a way to escape, he was more than happy to take it. Since he was still unsure about the heights, he could reach. 

Usually, he went to the nearby park to have his lunch and rest a bit before heading to the gym. There he spent his time until 10.00 pm working on his own workout routine. 

The only problems he faced were the unfamiliarity he had with his left arm, and the constant need to remind himself not to use mana breathing. It was very painful to use mana breathing in the earth’s atmosphere and the pain was almost unbearable. 

Also, there was another thing he realised. The original regular mana breathing technique didn’t work on Earth at all. 

This meant one thing, people wouldn’t realise mana breathing was possible on earth. Since the technique he used wasn’t even going to be invented in the next ten years, he had an advantage on the Yuriel. 

In a sense, Jason wished people would know about this on their own. Then people would question why they could feel the magic nodes when they weren’t playing the game. However, another part of him wished for it to not happen. He didn’t wish to see the riots, violence and uncontrollable mobs this early. Besides, he didn't know how the World Builders would react to this. 

With the help of the nutrient fluid, he was able to keep up with this harsh routine.

Two weeks later, he got a call that made him anxious all this time.

He finally got approved by the World Builders to play The Endless. 

Two days later, a large group of technicians came to his small apartment to set up the VR cabin. Almost twenty people came to bring the VR cabin in several pieces to his apartment on the third floor. After that, another group spent almost an hour assembling the entire cabin. 

The VR cabin took up almost all the space in his bedroom except for the bed, and he had to move everything else to the small living room.

The VR cabin had an eye-catching blue and ash colour cover and many other attached units, including a section for nutrient fluid. The fluid wasn’t necessary, but if a player didn’t have enough fluid in the compartment, the game would forcefully log out them every six hours. The game didn’t have a fixed login time for the server. Making it possible for people to even completely live in the game. 

The game had an alternative power supply and the cabins couldn’t be opened from the outside. If someone needed to wake up a player from the outside, they could press a button to send a signal to the player, giving them enough time to prepare for a logout. 

He wondered why his nosy landlord didn’t come to interfere with the process, but the next day he learned that someone else had taken over the apartment complex. The new owner actually installed a security system in the entire complex and hired new security guards. 

Surprisingly, there wasn't an increase in the rent. 

The developers gave him his gamer ID, allowing him to log in to the game forum. Here he had to choose a username that would be registered as his gamer name. He had never been a gamer, and he wanted to use his real name in the Yuriel. Because of that, he used his real name, ‘Jason Hope.’

He logged into the forum using his secondhand laptop. There were not many activities except for people commenting on their expectations of games and stuff.

There were people creating subgroups based on regions and language preferences. He simply went through it and found that there was nothing new or interesting shared for the time being. It looked as if everyone was oblivious to the situation of the game.

Finally, it was today without any notable incident. The 1st of September 2025. 

Today was the day of the launch of the Endless. He didn’t go out because he was nervous. Unlike people who were waiting to play a game, he was waiting for an opportunity to live his life peacefully. 

‘Who could that be?’

His phone started to ring, and he saw an unknown number on the screen. 

“Hello.”

“Hello, Jason. This is Ashley. Tell me your gamer ID. I will ask our group leader to add you to the guild.”

He heard a familiar voice from the other side. 

“Alright. I will send a message.”

Jason disconnected the call before sending his gamer ID to Ashley before getting up from the bed. It was already 5.55 pm, and the game would start exactly at 6.00 pm.

He got up and walked to the VR cabin.

It had a comfortable interior suitable for a long rest. 

He lay down in the cabin and pressed the login button on the side panel. 

The lights turned on and the cabin started to close. A pair of goggles coupled with tubes to his mouth to supply oxygen and nutrient fluid came into his mouth. Suddenly, he felt as if his entire body was enveloped in a wave of static before his vision turned completely white. He felt as if he was being dragged through a tube.

It was time to Enter The Endless.