Chương 1

08: 58am Cutting it close again. I set up my things and powered up my work laptop while greeting my colleagues around me as is expected. Another mind-numbing day starts. At least it's Friday.

12: 30pm Idle chatter followed me as I made my way to the cafeteria. I picked up my sandwich and microwaved it for a bit before sitting down at the far corner. I was just about to take my first bite when I noticed a small black spot near the corner of the cafeteria. I blinked, but it was gone. Must be something in my eye, I thought as I started on my sandwich.

02: 57pm"How long, Alex?" My manager, Mark, asked for the umpteenth time. His micromanaging grated on my nerves like the worst nails on blackboard sound imaginable.

"Just sending you the file, it should reach you by the time you go back to your seat." I replied as I pressed send on the email. Mark turned around and left without a word. Their meeting will take about 45 minutes, plenty of time for some procrastination and a coffee break. As I was getting up, I accidentally knocked my pen off the table, but it seemed to hang in the air for a fraction of a second longer than it should have. I frowned. … No. That didn't make sense.

I picked it up and dropped again, but this time everything seemed normal. Probably imagined it. I got up and walked to get my coffee, my mind distracted by the black spot earlier and the pen just now.

04: 55pm Just five more minutes. I looked around the office, all my colleagues working away, or at least pretending to work, most of them keeping an eye on the clock just like me. The colours seemed a bit muted today, like there was a barely perceptible haze surrounding everything. Something felt off, but I just couldn't pin it down. Maybe I'm just trying to look for something that isn't there. 05: 00pm Finally, the weekend.

I started packing up my things and getting ready to head out before Mark found an excuse to have me stay for another hour. It had been yet another long week, and with the month-end coming up next week, I would have to work overtime as usual. Therefore, my motivation to escape from the office unseen was even higher than usual. Why did I become an Accountant? Month-end closings are the worst. I finished packing up in record time and started for the door, dreaming about lying down in my bed.

Just then, a notification pinged on my mobile. I unlocked it and immediately saw the icon for my email app. Dragging the notification bar down, I saw it was an email from Mark about next month's budget. He has the annoying habit of using read-receipts, so he gets a notification whenever someone opens and reads his email. Doing the smart thing, I put my mobile back in my pocket and pretended not to have seen anything. Just keep walking. Just keep walking.

"Heading out on time today, Alex?" called out Lauren, the receptionist.

"Yup, have to escape before I'm seen" I chuckled. Lauren laughed along and replied, "Yeah Mark has just gone down to Steven's office, and he'll be out any minute now. Better hurry!"

"Thanks for the tip, have a nice weekend." I said and got out the door, immediately heading for the stairs down to the parking lot. Not risking waiting for the elevators today. Two minutes later I was sitting inside my old Kia with the windows down, moving towards the exit of the parking lot. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

Another black spot flickered into existence in the middle of the parking lot, larger than before. It lingered for a fraction longer. No one noticed.

Even though most workers had the same idea as me on a Friday evening, which was to get out of the office as soon as possible, few were able to be as successful as I was today. As a result, I was able to mostly beat the evening traffic on the way back, and I was also able to find a parking spot close to my apartment building. I keyed in the building code, climbed up to the second floor, and was within my apartment before 5 30pm. During the next 10 minutes, I changed my clothes and went to the bathroom.

As I was washing my face, I looked up and saw my oval face staring back at me from the mirror. My dark brown eyes, usually with a hint of boredom in them, felt a bit sharper today. Water droplets clung to my tanned skin as I studied the familiar face in the mirror, the slightly wide nose, clean-shaven jaw, and rounded chin staring back at me. Not bad, I thought with a slight chuckle. Shaking my head at my silliness, I finished washing up and got in my bed with my laptop on my lap.

Feels like I have so much time left in the day, no wonder people who have a good work-life balance are always so calm and happy. A nice quiet weekend is just what I need now. Watching some anime, catching up to the few litRPGs I regularly read, and maybe take a walk in the park to see the flowers. Spring has started, and I really should get out more, I spend all day cooped up in front of screens as it is. Just then, my mobile rang. Dreading it to be Mark, I was relieved to find that it was my mother calling.

I swiped the call notification, but for some reason my mobile lagged unnaturally for half a second before connecting. Why did the mobile lag? Another weird thing today…

"Hi Mom, how are you?"

"I'm good dear. How are you? Are you still at work?"

"No, I got out early today, luckily. I'm okay, was just getting to bed to relax when you called." Uh-oh. As soon as those words left my mouth, I knew I was in for an earful. My mother has always disapproved of me staying glued to either my laptop or my mobile, 'wasting my life away' as she puts it. Although she is the kindest woman I know and a wonderful mother, I really should have thought before I spoke. Maybe getting to relax so early made my mind at ease. Rookie Mistake.

"Going to bed? Alex! Look at the time! The sun is out, spring is here, it's the weekend, why don't you go out for a change? People your age are so active, just yesterday Margie was telling me about how Lucas is aiming to run in next month's marathon despite his demanding job. Why can't you be more active like him? Always staying inside, you weren't like this when you were growing up. You were always out, playing with your friends…." Here she goes. Best to let her get it out of her system.

My mind wandered as she continued. She wasn't wrong, I really was active throughout my childhood, barely staying indoors for meals and to sleep. Somewhere along my high school years though, I started preferring to stay indoors and be alone. Maybe it was because we moved right before the start of high school, or perhaps it was just me growing up. I never really excelled at anything since then, just putting in the minimum effort to get by.

I still easily got into top 10 positions in my class even with the bare minimum, but I never really saw the need to really push myself. Maybe if I had, I wouldn't be just another accountant right now? Still, being a CPA at just 24 years of age is something.

"…. I'm not forcing you to do anything, I'm just saying why not try something new for a change?" she said. Oh, I guess she is finished.

"Sure Mom, I already planned on going out to see the flowers bloom this weekend. Don't you worry."

"Well, I guess it's better than nothing" she sighed.

"How's dad and Anna?" I asked, desperate for a subject change.

"Both are fine. Your dad is doing something or the other in the garage, and Anna is still at work as usual. Your sister really is the complete opposite of you, always working!"

"Just pick one thing to be annoyed at, either me staying in bed or Anna always working." I joked.

"By the way, have you noticed anything weird today?"

"Weird? Nothing comes to mind. Why?" asked Mom.

"Nothing, just feels like a weird day today" I answered. We chatted for half a minute more before hanging up. Peace, at last. I started some mundane browsing over social media, when a post caught my eye. It was simply asking whether anyone else is experiencing network issues today, as the poster had multiple instances of his internet dropping dead for a couple seconds. The comments were mixed, a couple having experienced the same, while most had not noticed anything.

One comment though said that many apps of his were really buggy today. There is no storm nor is there any news about an issue with any network companies, so why is this happening? My mind went back to the small lag when I picked up Mom's call, and now that I think about it, her voice did break a couple times for a split second. Too many small coincidences to be nothing. But what could possibly be the cause of all this? I got out of bed and looked around, but everything seemed in place.

The same small one-bedroom apartment, sparsely decorated, but clean enough. The bathroom looked fine, no running taps or leaking pipes. I looked out the window, but the streets looked the same as well. A couple walking by holding hands, birds chirping, insects buzzing, everything normal. But why is there a nagging feeling that I am missing something? Thinking about it for a couple more minutes got me nowhere, so I just got back into bed and picked up my mobile again.

The time was 05 59pm, and I saw it turn to 06 00pm for a split second before the screen went black. A loud bell sound rang in my ears and a blue screen appeared in the air right in front of my face, making me flinch backwards and bang my head on the headboard. Ding! Planet 646287 has been chosen to be assimilated into the multiversal System. Inhabitants shall be transported to a tutorial area while the planet transforms. Prepare to be transported.