SLAM!

 

A young man barged through the doors of the hospital and rushed to the counter, scaring the nurse at the desk and a few patients chilling at the waiting lounge.

 

 “C-Can I help you sir?” The nurse stuttered as she reached her hand under the desk for the security button.

 

“Janet Horace!” The young man responded urgently.

 

“W-What?” The nurse paused as she tried to register the young man’s meaning. She vaguely remembered that name but she didn’t know what or where that came from.

 

“Mrs. Janet Horace!” The young man calmed himself and repeated. “Where’s the room to Mrs. Janet Horace?”

 

“Oh…and you are? What’s your relation to her?” The nurse remembered.

 

“I’m her son. Can you quickly tell me where her room is?” The young man asked.

 

“Right! Yes, right away.” The nurse nodded as she searched up the patient’s name. “Room 303, go to the elevator on the right and the room should be on your left.”

 

“Okay, thanks!” The young man dashed to the elevator and headed up.

 

After exiting the elevator on the third floor, the young man made a dash to the left and entered room 303. As soon as he entered, he saw his mother sleeping on a bed. The young man tried to approach his mother but he was stopped by the nurse attending her.

 

“I’m sorry, who are you?” The nurse asked as she held up a hand to stop the young man.

 

“I’m Janet Horace’s son. How is she? How is my mother?” The son asked with worry.

 

“She’s stable now. She needs her rest. Please visit later.” The nurse replied.

 

“B-But….” The son looked back at his mother and after a few seconds, he compromised. “Fine, I’ll go out.”

 

While he left the room, the nurse followed with a clipboard. “Your mother is stable now. But she needs surgery. The cancerous tumor in her stomach had reached a critical point. If we don’t remove it soon, it could grow to fatal and incurable stages.”

 

“I know…h-how much does it cost?” The son tentatively asked as he sighed anxiously.

 

“About a hundred thousand dollars.” The nurse estimated as she checked the files.

 

“A hundred thousand?!” The son gaped in shock. He did not have that much money. “H-How long do I have?”

 

“Any time between today and next week. Remember, you only have until then. Any longer and the tumor could develop terribly.” The nurse reminded.

 

“Alright. I’ll be back soon. I’ll have the money so just wait for me!” The son steeled his mind and turned around.

 

He didn’t have that kind of money but he must think of something, even if it meant selling the house and whatever he owned. The young man took the elevator down to the lobby and headed towards the door.

 

Just as he reached the door, he caught a glimpse of the TV from the corner of his eyes. There was an advertisement showing. The advertisement displayed the popular game Battle Chess. Currently, the forty-fifth tournament was about to start.

 

Normally, this wouldn’t have caught his attention. But the cash prize caught his attention. The tournament was one week long starting tomorrow and the cash prize was five hundred thousand dollars.

 

He was tempted to join. Battle Chess mainly followed the rules of regular chess, but with a few differences. Though he never played it, he was pretty good with regular chess. Should he try his chances?

 

The young man knew his limits. He could not take first prize, but even third prize gave a cash prize of a hundred thousand dollars. After a second or so, he firmly decided on trying out. If he failed to pass the preliminaries, he will have to sell the house.

 

The young man rushed home and scrambled to his room. Underneath his bed, amidst a plethora of dusty chess books and magazines, he pulled out a beat-up metal carton. After blowing away some dust, he removed the flimsy lid.

 

Inside, there was a deck of cards, a ragged metallic book, and a silver card gauntlet. These was a gift from his father before he died. At first, it served as a bad memory, but now it was something that he could use to save his mother.

 

The youth grabbed the card gauntlet and fitted on his left hand. He looked through the deck of cards and randomly picked out a pair of shieldwarriors, a pair of horsemen, a pair of bowmen, an elite warrior, and eight clubmen. Since this deck of cards was the most basic, there were no special cards that could boost his combat power.

 

After he inserted the fifteen cards into his card gauntlet, the young man lifted up the metallic book. As soon as he opened the book to the first page, a sound echoed and he found himself transferred to a mysterious and empty white room.

 

DING!

 

<Welcome new Cardist! Please register your name and begin the test battle!>

 

The young man looked about curiously before stuttering. “J-James Horace.”

 

<Welcome James Horace to the Battle Chess Lobby. Please begin the test battle to complete the registration.>

 

James looked about, trying to find out who was speaking. “Who are you?”

 

<I am the artificial intelligence Amy. I will be your guide to the world of Battle Chess. Do you have any other questions?>

 

“Amy, how come I can’t see you?” James asked. Wasn’t it normal to see the AI or did he hear wrong from his friends?

 

<As this is version 1.0, I am not equipped with a holographic body. To equip me with a holographic body, please visit our shop. Battle Chess shop has a variety of holographic bodies ranging from as low as ten thousand dollars to as expensive as a million dollars. Which would you like to buy?>

 

James sucked in a breath of coldness when he heard the price. “U-Um…I don’t have that kind of money yet. Maybe some other time.”

 

<Okay, do you have any other question?>

 

“Ah yes, what are the penalties for losing?” James inquired.

 

<There are no penalties for losing except a drop in your rating score. As you are a new Cardist, this test battle will determine your rating. Win and you will gain a good score depending on the difficulty of the match. Lose and you will start off with a score of zero.>

 

“I see.” James nodded in understanding.

 

<Do you have any other questions?>

 

“No, not at the moment.” James shook his head as he prepared himself for the test battle.

 

<Okay, then let’s begin the test battle.>

 

“Bring it on!” James pumped himself up as he held his gauntlet up at the ready.

 

A flash of white light appeared and James was engulfed. When the light disappeared, so too did James. He was gone as well! No, rather, the most accurate phrase was that he had entered the battlefield.