Niles tossed the VR helmet to the side as he huffed in annoyance. The first trial had taken longer than expected and he was tired and hungry. He wanted to eat something, but he thought how much of a coward he was. 

 

A knock on his window had Niles jump as he noticed his friend sitting outside his window.

 

"Niles!" His friend shouted.

 

"Huh? Hi hi..." Niles chuckled awkwardly.

 

“Why so sad looking when I know you won a VR set?” His friend asked. 

 

“Apparently I got picked to be a player killer or something in Tranquility Online and it’s so much stuff to remember Alex!” Niles sighed. 

 

“Cool, can I see?” Alex questioned. 

 

“Wait! Don’t cause if you get me killed I will owe a dollar for each time!” Niles shouted. 

 

“You would owe money?!” He thought. 

 

“It’s because they want you to take the trial seriously!” Niles panicked. 

 

Alex yawned as he wondered what to do with himself Nile shook his head and looked through his drawers before pulling out his wallet and keying information into his phone. 

 

“I am guessing you died,” Alex laughed. 

 

“Shut up bro! I didn’t have the guts to kill someone else in the game yet!” He scolded. 

 

Playing with his phone he sent the company the dollar he owed. Alex was in hysterics as Niles groaned. Alex then proceeded to give him a pep talk that would surely be helpful in the future.

 

“Already the other five are hitting the player board?!” 

 

[1. Nova.] 

 

[2. Palope.]

 

[3. Survey.] 

 

[4. Owl.] 

 

[5. Ouija.]

 

“What is that?” Alex pried. 

 

“They are the other beta players in the game,” Niles noted. 

 

“I thought I heard you talking in here!” A female voice chimed. 

 

Niles and Alex jumped back as their eyes. The door opened to reveal a young girl with short black hair and bright green eyes, wearing the same outfit that they wore. She smiled at them warmly and closed the door behind her.

 

“Welcome to my humble abode Alex!” She smiled.

 

“Starlie, why are you bothering us? Mom already knows he comes through the window,” Niles shouted. 

 

Alex drew his fingers through his long black hair and smirked while Starlie rolled her eyes and walked out of the room. Alex leaned closer to Niles.

 

“We’re still friends, right? You never changed after all those months,” Alex said.

 

Niles blinked.

 

“Uhh, yeah! Yeah, we are friends!” Niles replied awkwardly.

 

“Great! Now cuddle with me!” Alex grinned.

 

“Wha--” Niles began.

 

Alex cut him off.

 

"Hello no you freak! Do not touch me! I hate it! No, I really do!" Niles yelled. 

 

They both laughed together as Niles tried to shove his best friend off. He laughed even harder when he finally got him off. Sneaking a glance at the clock he frowned as he saw it was almost 5 pm, the group was supposed to meet together today. 

 

“Fuck! I can’t even get a hot pocket!” Niles sighed. 

 

“How come?” His friend replied. 

 

“I need to meet in the VR at the spawn place for PK beta players!” He admitted. 

 

“I guess I will hop by later and looks like I will bring some leftovers too in case you need it,” Alex winked. 

 

“Shut up! I will be fine as it won’t be that long!” Niles yelled. 

 

“Whatever, I am out!” Alex snorted. 

 

He jumped out the window and landed gracefully on the grass below. Before taking flight and jumping into one of the nearby trees. Niles grumbled annoyed as he pulled the VR headset on to log in to the only game he owned. 

 

[Logging in….] 

 

[Please wait…] 

 

[Processing…Processing…] 

 

There was a long pause before he was automatically logged causing him to re-log into the game. He groaned.

 

‘Shit! Shit! Shit!’ He cursed internally.

 

[The beta server is now online.]

 

The system spoke once more Niles glared at his computer screen. This thing was broken beyond repair. There were a few notifications in his inbox. 

 

[You have (1) new message.] 

 

[Dear Niles, please use the transfer pen to be transported to [Girenia]  

 

He noticed the key in his inventory that had been placed there when he had entered the game

After reading through the new messages he decided to log in to the server and use that transfer pen. He took the transfer pen out from his bag and wrote the words ‘Transferring to [Girenia].’

 

Niles ended up in a field of flowers surrounded by purple grass and wild roses. There were two men standing there. One with pale white skin and short black wavy locks. The other had a pale green coat. The white-haired man wore a black vest that looked similar to the white dress shirt his mother always wears to work, and blue jeans with an orange belt.

 

[ Mr. Coen.] 

 

[Aodh.]

 

He gazed at their usernames as they stood patiently as the other users logged in he glanced at the other users. 

 

[Owl.] 

 

His outfit was a white cloak holding two daggers sheathed on his waist, black pants that ended just above his knees a black belt with a silver buckle, and white boots.

 

[Survey.] 

 

The guy looked more feminine holding a chakram to his side in a sailor suit style uniform with white gloves and white shoes with a single yellow stripe on the side. The white gloves were also adorned with golden embroidery. 

 

[Palope.] 

 

Her brunette hair was up in two buns as his male gaze gawked down at her large breasts tucked into her black tube top that hugged her perfectly. Her eyes narrowed dangerously as she stared at him. barely noticing her torn jean pants as he could feel the heat rise to his cheeks. 

 

[Ouija.] 

 

Blonde hair braided into a ponytail, he stood there mysteriously in his long black robe as he held onto a sachet, his third eye opened up. His red eyes were filled with malice as he glowered at everyone around him

 

“This is the start of a new era, my dear subjects~” Ouija exclaimed.

 

Everyone gasped as the Ouija raised his hands into the air, as he began to speak,  “Let us begin our journey to power!”

 

All the arrivals nodded as Ouija’s words rang through their skulls, echoing loudly throughout the virtual reality space. 

 

Niles felt intimidated by the other players as he looked like a typical stalker, which seemed to irritate Ouija. He looked over and glared at Niles who flinched slightly. Ouija then smiled happily.

 

“Welcome my dearies~ You may call me Ouija,” He announced proudly.

 

A small cough made the small group turn toward the two men up front as Mr. Coen came forward with a serious frown on his face. 

 

“You are the beta Player Killer Class holding unique features compared to the mainstream fantasy role-players in this server. There are two servers in total right now meaning we're running two unique teams of six!” Coen stated. 

 

“You must give this trial your best as you were given the rules on the first day, but this meeting is to make sure you see who the other members are mainly…I expect you to realize this is an authentic test hence why being killed has negative effects on your performance,” Aodh explained. 

 

There was a silence as everyone held their weapons close to them nervously Mr. Coen tapped the microphone lightly and spoke up. 

 

“Now, listen carefully children, these two gentlemen are in charge of the games in Tranquility Online,” He explained.

 

“Oujia and Survey will be submitting reports so be at your best in this game,” Aodh noted. 

 

“Please take this time to get to know your fellow partners during the duration of this very lengthy trial as we gather data. Tomorrow you will be training to be the perfect player killer that will challenge the top players!” Mr. Coen announced. 

 

A large screen popped in front of them displaying an elf player [GodSlayer] holding a large sword as he killed another elf player [ClingOnSteel1998] in front of the main town. 

 

“As you know the trials in this game are incredibly difficult, and you must prove yourself or die attempting. It is important for you to know how to fight if you are ever to face your greatest enemy as you eventually will fight these two!” Aodh stated. 

 

“Is this a recorded performance?” Owl asked. 

 

“GodSlayer is involved in this project if that is what you are asking and he will be challenging each and every one of you once you reach a certain level!” Mr. Coen shouted. 

 

Out of all of the players, Niles had the worst start of them all; but he knew better than to expect anything less considering how he had started in this game and how he currently played in real life; though admittedly not that well.

 

“We will be monitoring everything you see and hear during the next 24 hours! If you discover anything wrong then please contact us! Our numbers are located in your email!” Aodh said with a smile. 

 

Niles could feel Nova’s gaze burning into him; though he didn’t dare look up at the boy’s face

Nova sighed deeply but kept his gaze focused forward, staring straight ahead with an unreadable expression, but if Niles were to guess he would say it was irrational madness and disappointment.

 

“Hey, it's my third kill in this game..who knew I would get to see your ugly face again!” Nova grinned with malice.