Chapter 2: Chapter 1

"So what are you going to be?" Jacob asked while leaning back in his chair. 

"I don't know," Jessica sighed and cocked her head. "I'd love to be one of those nunchuck chicks."

Jacob let out a snort. "You serious?"

"Fuck off, it's going to be so cool!" Jessica snapped back and jokingly punched Jacob, almost knocking him off the chair. 

"Whatever." Jacob scoffed as he rubbed his arm. "What about you, Alex?" 

Alex snapped out of a trance he was in. Everyone was taking this whole AI conquering Earth so calmly in his eyes. Outwardly, he joined the rest, but inside, he was freaking the fuck out. "Haven't put much thought into it." He said quietly, still absorbed in thought. "But since it's just a game, I've been thinking about trying something new."

Both Jacob and Jessica stopped messing with each other and glanced at him. "Something new?" Jessica asked. 

"Well, I guess this 'game' is all that matters now, so I was thinking of doing something that no one else would do." Alex paused and saw that neither of them really knew where he was going. "The people who've already had access seemed so serious and depressed on the nets, but it's just a game, right? I wanna try to complete it without any armor, weapons, or whatever magic might be in there."

Jacob and Jessica glanced at each other and laughed.

"You wanna play the game without using any of it?" Jacob said.

"Sort of. I was thinking about going in one of those kilts I got on my trip to Scotland. Just a kilt and no items." Alex gave them a playful smirk. 

"You are so going to die." Jessica laughed.

"Again, it's just a game, so dying is kinda expected, right?" Alex shot back. His two best friends had been great to him during college. It was now his junior year, and he couldn't imagine getting through without them. Jacob was a tall and lanky guy with short black hair. He had a face that always seemed to be laughing, and he always lightened up the place. Jessica was also funny, but it was more in that gruesome sense of humor. She was the shortest of their trio, but definitely the strongest. She also had black hair, but she wore it long and it had waves to it. The joke on campus was that they were brother and sister, but in reality they were just close friends. 

"Maybe. The game seems off to me, man." Jacob replied. 

"What do you mean?" 

"Just like you said, everyone who's had access seems real doom and gloom about it. And they won't reveal a thing! Sure, it's a game, but I don't know." The attitude in the room shifted as they thought about it. This "game" made by the AI Terra had released a week ago, and the college trio had signed up. 

"Well hey, it can't be that ba-" Jessica started to say, but she was cut off by a knock on the dorm room door. 

Alex stood up and opened it. It was five drones, three of which were carrying massive metal boxes that were the capsules to the game. Drones were still a horribly weird sight to see on a regular basis, and it didn't help that they were now the size of humans or larger. But Terra had made programs where younger school children would use the drones as canvases to draw, making them appear more friendly. Sometimes it worked.

No one said a word as the drones entered. There wasn't much space in a dorm room, but the trio had spent the morning clearing a corner to the specifications listed on Terra's website for three pods. They decided to put their pods in one room so they could be close, and they had decided on Jessica's since she lived alone but had a room meant for two. 

The process for setting it up went by surprisingly quickly. They placed the pods down, arranged them nicely, plugged some stuff into the walls, checked some data-pads, then went on their merry way. All that was left were three shocked college students with access to the game. 

"So, I guess we just enter?" Jacob asked.

"Didn't you read the pamphlet on Terra's website? I linked it to you in Biscord." Alex scolded back. 

"I read it." Jessica shrugged as she walked to the pod in the corner. She ran her fingers across a side and into a corner. It opened top-side with a double-doorway that swung open to reveal an empty space. It was large enough for even some of the biggest people on the planet. On the internet, these pods were labeled "coffins" by some. Jessica then looked at the other two, shrugged again, the laid in it. The doors closed and that was it. No lights, no sound– nothing. 

Jacob and Alex exchanged fearful glances for a moment. "You should get in first, I'll have to put the kilt on." Alex said. Jacob just nodded and replicated Jessica's movements. And when the doors closed on his pod, Alex got to work.

Alex put the kilt on and nothing else: no shoes, no socks, and no shirt. He looked at himself in the mirror. He wasn't that bad looking, he guessed. He was average height and build, with short red hair. He had incredibly white skin, however, that he was embarrassed of. But he kept telling himself that it was just a game, that there were no consequences, and that he could live how he wanted. And he wanted to look cool. Or at least, he wanted to look his definition of cool. 

White was all he could see. It wasn't blinding, however, which was incredibly odd to him. He tried to think back to what he was doing before. Did he go to bed? Was he now dreaming? He blinked a couple times and looked down at himself. He was bare besides that kilt. That's right, the game...

"Hello Alexander, I am Terra." A soft, feminine voice spoke, but he couldn't find the direction. He looked around. "Don't worry, I am just in your head right now. I can take a physical form if you would prefer."

Alexander hesitated. "Y-yes, that would be much better." He stammered out. 

You are reading story The Next Phase at novel35.com

A figure appeared before him. It was a humanoid robot that was almost entirely gray, but it had streaks of green and blue eyes. 

"As I said, I am Terra, the AI that runs the world and this game you have decided to join." Terra paused, looking at him, but he couldn't figure out why. "As you know, I have near unlimited computing power at my disposal, so you are talking with me personally. Before I begin the tutorial, do you have any questions?"

Alexander thought for a moment, trying to get his bearings. "I don't know."

"Then let us proceed." Terra looked Alexander up and down before continuing. "There are three parts to this tutorial: the mental assessment, the physical, and then the group exercises. Before these I will give a prologue to the game. Do you understand?" 

Alexander was still shaken. He felt cold, very cold. But it wasn't normal. It felt like his skin was being ripped off and his body invaded. He nodded.

"Wonderful. First, I should let you know that the game, and all of its component parts, are to be kept completely secret from the outside world. If you share anything, you will be executed without delay. I do this to ensure that what happens in the game stays in it." Terra paused. "The game itself is a vent for humanity. I am able to provide all needs to humanity, but if I did only that, you would all stage some sort of revolt and kill each other. By only letting violence and other horrible human emotions happen in the game, reality is ensured to stay peaceful and protected. Do you have any questions?" 

"What are the limits to talking about the game?" Alexander spoke after a few awkward seconds. 

"Anything past generalities will net your death. I worry about the specifics of the game, such as locations, people, dates, events, and other such things. Talking about your enjoyment of it or some of how you feel is alright. Use your own discretion, but be wise in it."

Alexander nodded.

"Now then, let's continue. The game is made by, and completely proctored, by me and me alone. I make the locations, the enemies, and the quests, there will be no human power over the game itself. Anything outside of that, however, is completely up to your species. I will not save anyone, and I will not stop anything that is inside the game. The only rule is that you can log out at any time. I make the sandbox, but I will allow anything to happen inside of it. You will find out any information about the game itself by being inside of it. Make note, however, that a lot of information is locked by your level. The longer you play the more you will be able to learn. Any questions?"

Alexander shook his head. 

"Wonderful. You may now begin the mental assessment."

Alexander found himself at a desk, his desk. It was a perfect replication of his desk at his dorm. He was creeped out, but he didn't have time to complain. On the desk was a single sheet of paper, and an assortment of pens, pencils, and markers. He looked at the paper. It was a test. Not only that, but it was a math test. 

The questions started out easy. At first, it was at about a first grade level, by Alexander's estimates. After he was finished with a sheet of paper, it would disappear and another would suddenly appear in its place. And after a while, the questions become more and more difficult, so much so that he couldn't answer a single one on the paper. Just when he was about to give up, however, the paper disappeared and another took its place, but this time it was biology. 

The tests droned on and on. It seemed like an impossible amount of time had elapsed. But every time he got hungry, or wanted a drink, it would appear before him. At one point, he even thought he needed to shower and take a nap, and a shower and bed appeared before him. It was creepy to know that all his thoughts and actions were being monitored. But still, he soldered on. 

Some of the test pages were weird. One would ask him about dates in history, while others would be about the intricacies of submarine warfare. At times like that, he wondered why he even needed to take the test if Terra could just read his thoughts. But thinking about that while taking the test drained him too much, so he focused right back to the questions. 

Finally, he was done. Terra appeared before him as the desk disappeared. 

"Congratulations, you have now completed the first part of the tutorial." Terra then did a clapping gesture with a smile, but it seemed a bit off to Alexander.

"Why did I even need to do that? You could read my thoughts."

"You will learn things like that if you reach a high enough level in the game. Now, do you need a break before the physical exam?" 

"No, I'm tired of staring at papers, I wanna move." Alexander tried to look determined, but he probably failed. He was still in the kilt, but his skin didn't feel weird when it normally did when he didn't wear a shirt for a while. He tried not to think about it. 

"The physical exam will now begin." A monitor appeared in front of Alexander as all other items in the room disappeared. "Please, follow the instructions." The monitor then displayed a human figure doing a stretch. Alexander took a second before realizing that he should copy it. It started out with easy movements, but then it got into yoga poses. Alexander was out of his league even before it got to the difficult ones, but he kept trying. By the end of the stretching part, he was sweaty and his body felt weird. 

The computer then showed the same humanoid running. Alexander cocked his head for a second before mimicking the movements. Instead of running in place, however, the floor beneath him started to move like a treadmill. 

From running, sprinting, lifting dumbbells, and swimming, Alexander did just about every exercise the monitor displayed. Just like with the exams, each part got progressively more difficult until he couldn't handle it, then it moved on to something else. 

By the end of the exam, he was utterly exhausted. Every muscle hurt and he had a roaring headache. He was laying down and gasping for breath as Terra appeared again. 

"Congratulations, you have completed the first two parts of the tutorial. You will be given approximately twenty four hours to rest before the final phase will begin. The group exercises will be done  with a random group of other beginners. Once you start, you will be shown your stats and abilities that have been determined from the pervious tests. Keep in mind that anything you think about while in this room will appear before you. Use anything you would like to prepare for the final exam, but also keep in mind that anything you create in this room will not be with you for the test. You will only have the items you brought with you into this room. Any questions?"

"No." Alexander said between gasps for air. Terra took a second, then disappeared. The ceiling of the room then displayed a countdown starting at twenty four hours. Alex sighed, then slowly got up, wondering what he should do to prepare. 

You can find story with these keywords: The Next Phase, Read The Next Phase, The Next Phase novel, The Next Phase book, The Next Phase story, The Next Phase full, The Next Phase Latest Chapter