Chapter 1 - Death Of A Peerless Nerd (1/2)
Swoosh!
A humanoid silhouette was sliced in two instantly, its body parts falling to the ground as if they were lifeless, to begin with.
”Hah.”
Next, to the body, a young man sighs in relief, he was of medium build, less than average height, with dark hair, brown eyes, and a light brown skin tone.
Normally a person his age should be filled with the vigorous nature of youth, however, this young man appeared somewhat more mature. His heaving chest and deep breaths revealed that he was tired.
His expression displayed indifference, his faced hardened by constant battle. He was brandishing a sword; this sword was covered in blood.
Surrounding him were approximately 50 or so corpses, littering the floor.
”Damn, these guys didn't give me enough experience! These demons are too weak; I just wasted five minutes for nothing!”
After muttering to himself the man returned his katana to its scabbard and checked his body, to ensure he was all in one piece. He was pleased with the results, for his white robes were spotless. There were no cuts, dents, not a single speck of any sort on them, not even a drop of blood. It was almost as if he hadn't been in a fight at all! After realizing that nothing was wrong, he started looking around.
”Ah, I never did notice the surroundings. The moment I entered this place I was fighting!”
The young man gasped at the immensity of the room, it was a large circular hall, with the diameter of an entire building. Its height stretched as far as the eye could see, it's black walls covered in ancient looking golden runes.
”Right it is time to go face the boss.”
After taking in the view, the man slapped his own face and started taking steps forward, these steps, however, were not normal.
The moment he took a step forward a sheet of ice, half a meter in area, would form beneath his foot. Every time he took a step forward this occurred, and a new sheet of ice would form, eventually creating a flight of stairs, coiling upwards, made entirely from ice.
After a while the boy was out of sight, the steps turned into a vapor and dispersed. The floor was empty, besides the bodies left by the young man. Behind the bodies was an open door, if one was to go through that door, a very large, long cave would be found. The cave was seemingly normal, with the exception of the floor, every single inch of which was covered in blood.
The dismembered body parts of seemingly humanoid creatures littered its entire length, forming heaps the size of houses. All these body parts looked as though they were cut apart cleanly, by a blade, a very sharp blade. On close inspection, these parts were twitching, with minute movements, as if they had been alive a few minutes ago...
...
Will's family situation was a bit complicated. The Chamberlain family was always successful because Will's father was a wealthy businessman. Will's older brother Michael was also skilled in the business world and helped his father manage various companies. Jane, the second born sibling, was a talented Martial artist who was very gifted for her age. She was predicted to compete internationally in the future. Will - was Will, he had no special inclination or ability. The family was always a bit competitive, but things changed a few years ago.
Will's father remarried a few years ago. This woman was considered to be the perfect woman. She was smart, intelligent, and beautiful, the perfect trophy wife. She came from a rich family and had two children from a previous marriage. They were twins, a boy, and a girl. They too were very accomplished and intelligent. Lisa was a famous classical pianist at only 12. Dillan was a science savant who was offered scholarships to universities by the time he was 13. Needless to say, Will's stepmother doted on them and was extremely proud. To Will, his stepmother was a devil who brought two demons into his life.
When they became part of the Chamberlain family, the competitive atmosphere thickened. Everything became a competition to see who could achieve the most to gain their parent's approval. The family seemed to naturally divide into two groups, the guys against the girls. Michael and Dillan had an intellectual bond and started their own company. Jane and Lisa became allies over a love of martial and classical arts. They aimed to help each other exceed their goals. Will's father focused on the sons and his stepmother pandered to the daughters. Will was expected to keep up with the high standards set by his parents and siblings, but couldn't. He slipped through the cracks and was left on his own.
Will struggled with depression but eventually reached a numbness towards the people he called family. Because he went unnoticed, he had the independence and freedom to do whatever he liked. Will developed many hobbies and focused on them during his free time. He indulged in online games, which lead to an interest in anime and comics. He spent the majority of his time reading web novels. He especially had a fascination with Chinese and Japanese novels. They gave him a sense of happiness in a fictional world that took him away from the troubles of his real life. Will soon became an Otaku. He became so engrossed with these web novels, that he taught himself how to read, write, and speak Mandarin and Japanese. He had the dedication and after three years, he was almost fluent in these languages.
Will had a deep interest in history, mythology, and ancient fighting styles, especially in the Orient. He was constantly researching and reading about these topics. Will eventually reached above the level of an average native speaker in reading in Mandarin and Japanese. It did not matter what the media, whether a game, novel, comic, if it was related to ancient eastern warriors, or eastern philosophies and religions, Will had to see it, play it, read it. He was particularly drawn to Xuanhuan or Xianxia novels, particularly ones that dealt with concepts such as immortality or supernatural powers.
Though Will was involved in the world of online gaming, he was not particularly well known. He did not stand out or have any special skills. He was average at best. When it came to his gaming life, he didn't care about reaching new levels or gaining new weapons, etcetera, he did have an obsession with 'grinding' his skills. He was convinced that this was the closest he would ever be to martial arts. Will only played online games that had a warrior class such as a Samurai class. As long as he could use a sword, especially a katana, he was happy. He dreamed of becoming a skilled swordsman, but he knew he would never have the endurance for the training that was required. He was lazy, though he idolized the skills of swordsmen, he knew that the romance of the image was more than just beautiful techniques and life philosophies. It took years of training and effort to master the simplest of techniques. He was disillusioned of his dream by the expectation of sweat, blood, and broken bones. To fulfill his underlying dream, he immersed himself in his fictional worlds of mysticism, magic, and power. In his worlds, he was able to destroy mountains and crossover into different dimensions. His reality was hell, but in his fantasies, he was in Utopia.
Will was often mocked and bullied by his peers at school. They called him names and yelled out, ”Geek” or ”Nerd” as well as other insults as he walked past them. He paid them no attention; he didn't care what they called him. He learned from his family that he was never going to live up to the expectations of others, so why bother? It is just a waste of time. Will was happy living in his own world, a world of worlds. He wasn't offish and didn't go out of his way to be an outcast, but it just happened that way. Rather, he was an open and honest person who spoke his mind. Will was always open to new ideas and theories. People at school just didn't understand him. He didn't follow the trends and didn't go to parties or chase girls as his popular older brother did. Will didn't pander to the norms of society. Will's reasoning was that normal is relative; one person's normal is different from another's. The idea that there is normality in any group of people or society is just an illusion propagated by people who blind themselves from the truth. He did have a few people who liked him, but they were very few.
After school, Will spent his time in his room or walked around the city alone. His walks were his world where he became who he wanted to be, a character in an adventure. He could listen to music and imagine himself off in a dream. These walks were his physical exercise, his mental release, and his creative outlet.
Will visited his Aunt and Uncle in Cardiff, Britain, from his biological mother's side. He was glad to be visiting them. They got along well. This was a chance to escape the nightmare of his four siblings. Luckily they were all back in New York, far away. Will's mother disappeared when he was very young and he didn't have any memories of her. His father still kept in touch with her side of the family for the sake of his children who visited them often. Will enjoyed Cardiff, especially because his relatives lived in a middle-class suburb with a lot of trees and nature. It was beautiful and tranquil, unlike the cement cacophony of Manhattan that he called home.
On October 30, 2015, Will decided to take a walk. It was a hot summer day in Cardiff and he was walking down the street, with his earphones in and his music playing, immersing himself in his world. Suddenly,
”BOOM!” A loud noise deafened Will instantly causing him to stumble.
”Ah damn!” He exclaimed and he ripped out his earphones.
He was sure the noise came from within his mind, but it felt as if he were standing next to a loudspeaker. His ears were ringing from being deafened when a mechanical voice began.
”System Initiating
Ten-
Nine-
Eight-
Seven-
Six-”
Will was confused.
”What's going on?” he asked himself.
The voice came from within his head. He didn't have his earphones in and there were no speakers around. Perplexed, he stood and waited for the voice to stop the countdown.