Level 1: Entering the Dream World

The bell rang at Hanagasaku Middle School to signify the end of classes for this afternoon, and to make things better for the students of the school, today is Friday so looking forward to some activities to be done in the weekend is to be expected. Since it's the 16th of December, 2015, it's naturally winter season and winter is starting to show its hostility in Japan, with weather reports indicating snow storms in Aomori, particularly in the city of Hanagasaku and it hasn't been a good news for the folks.

For the 15 year old boy named Yukio Miyamoto, the hostility of winter won't faze him or distract him from doing what he does best; playing video games. Yukio is rivaled, respected, helped, and then earns everyone's trust. He was not just your average student to boot, he has 90 to 98 scores, is a consistent honor student, not much loved by girls as he doesn't know how to use his decadent charm.

Now with classes over and it's the end of the weekdays. Yukio thought of trying to ask some friends out for bonding and hanging out purposes and when he was walking out of school.

***

Fast and resounding footsteps was heard behind someone's back as one turns to see Yukio running towards him.

He saw his childhood friend, also dubbed as the "delinquent" or "troublemaker" of the school, named Nishida Keita whom everyone thinks is indeed a delinquent and a sight for sore eyes. He earned that nickname due to being rumored to have beaten 8 2nd year high schoolers in the toolshed, has four records in the headmaster's office for that incident and for the other three too. But back to Yukio's pleading.

"No" said Keita as a final answer.

He refuses though, because according to the weather reports, the snowstorm would be dangerous for them but Yukio insisted that their bonding will be on mornings and afternoons not on evenings but that point made Keita think and doubt if he should go out tomorrow with Yukio and then he asked if him if he could walk together with him.

"Of course, why did you ask sooner?" He replied.

Keita cannot refuse him, there's no chance in the world to refuse Yukio if he made a moe face straight into him and it's no biggie of a deal as Yukio is his childhood friend since they were kindergarten students. As they walk home, as the sun sets they then discussed what did the teacher do, it always proves to be an effective time passer for the both of them.

***

When he got home from school Chiaki, his mother greeted him sweetly and politely as he got home along with his younger sister, Chiyo who is studying in grade school at sixth grade. His father Taro ask him about his day and his reply towards him was kind, calm and with honesty in his body. That is what he expects when having a conversation with his son at home and when he changed his clothes he then goes to his room to play some video games, with some cartridges he borrowed from Keita but he decided not to touch it and instead plays on his pocket carry console, he knows how to play games well because he holds the position of club president in the middle school's Game Club. 

"Yukio, go down now, we're gonna have dinner" Chiaki said.

Yukio almost got carried away playing video games that he almost did not hear his mother call for him to eat and then take a bath. When his father turns on the television he then instantly turns it to the news channel but to Taro's surprise the broadcast was interrupted, by somebody he and Chiaki knew through the years. The channel was hacked and the broadcast is first told by an unknown girl it red:

"I'm so sorry to interrupt your daily news but there is something that you must hear and also by the whole world, it's urgent!"

The television turns static, suddenly playing the tv stations' anthem alongside with the interpolation from the Japanese national anthem but slower and much more distorted.

Then the broadcast was then voiced over by a masked man in a fox mask, obviously using a voice changer and concealing every skin in his body, rendering him unrecognizable aside from his aforementioned fox mask straight out of a summer festival kiosk.

"Japan, I hope your ready for a change. A change of world I guess, Why you ask? Because we're playing a little game that's why.”

“What kind world you say? Calm down, have patience, yeesh.”

"This new world exists in my dream, my imagination. For the billions of people living in this world, of all ages and ethnicity; I can show you mine which is also a perfect world to live on, to thrive and to survive. Don't worry I will be fair to you people, this world will unlike this world we currently live in right now, also I'm pretty sure the new generations can relate to this world of mine, take it as a type of open world game, an MMORPG or a massively multiplayer online role playing game to be exact."

“Anyone must make a team first, anyone, be it your friends, family, your neighbor, or your worst enemy I don't care as long as you make a team, but however the teams will be on groups of five, that's it. And if the aforementioned team defeats me fair and square, I will set the whole world free without any arguments involved. But before facing me, 19 Permissions will be required to do so. The "game" part I'm referring to in my previous statements is the quest to collect all 19 Permissions from 19 different bosses from 19 different countries with the 20th and final permission being guarded by me and if you collect 20 Permissions, everyone will not be able to access this dream world from after that. Permissions can grant you access to the next country, and the higher the rank of the permission, the higher the rank of power and magic you represent. 

"And I have a condition just for the government, for the emperor of this nation, and as well as other world leaders. First, all of you aren't allowed to arrest me as interrogation won't work on me and if I die while this other world goes on and functioning, you won't be able to set everyone free forever and destroying mother controller would not cut it, I possess the necessary kill codes to stop the dream world from continuing function. 

"I also have the power to kill everyone with a single system code command so be wary of your actions as the lives of countless individuals are at the palm of your hand. Only I know how to set the world free. I now control your fate that's the bottom line and the summary, even if you reiterate what I said verbatim.” 

"My utmost apologies for my late introduction, my name is Tsukishima Ren that will be all thank you and goodnight Land of the Rising Sun" Ren said and bows. With the static disappearing and the distorted audio from the start of the hijacked broadcast playing in reverse.

***

Then finally the broadcast ends and their television came back to normal, bringing back the news like nothing happened. 

"This is kind of unprecedented and surprising I should say, do you agree correspondent Sawashiro?" asked by chief anchor Akamichi to the weather correspondent, Sawashiro. 

Which she fired back with a yes as she doesn't know what to say after that broadcast; she didn't even caught wind of a single thing the individual named Tsukishima Ren said to the whole nation.

The whole city, the whole prefecture, the whole Japan and the whole world saw this unexpectedly, they then thought it was a bluff, a joke, or a stupid hoax made up to waste their time, however Yukio's parents thinks otherwise. But as Yukio sleeps in his room everything was fine and serene and with no disturbance he also thought that the guy, which is named Ren maybe lying. 

"What is he up to?"

"What are his plans?" 

"Is something bad will happen?" he wondered and he dozes off.

But then shifting to Ren, he then activates the Dream World via the Mother Controller (Codenamed: Sekai) to life.

"Alright, welcome everyone and I hope you all enjoy my world!" Ren exclaimed excitedly.

And a second later it rapidly spread across the world like wildfire with some not noticing it, some panicked and confused while others are amazed of the changes they are currently experiencing as they slowly turned and transferred into some kind of a game or something like a fantasy; a dream of some kind. 

After a few minutes Ren also joins them in entering the Dream World. 

***

Back to Yukio, he was dreaming about his other childhood friend slash crush Tachibana Ayane and then with him confessing to her. For the hundred and ninety seventh time this year.

“I like you, please go out with me” he said as he bows.

"Of course I'll go out with you, I feel the same way" she said to Yukio as an answer for his confession.

Same reply, same answer and the feeling is mutual. As the cherry blossom petals are falling on them and with her gratefully accepting his confession, on the back stood Keita supporting as his wingman at his confession that have gone right and merry but however.

Something is wrong

To some point his dream starts to shuffle and getting weirder and weirder with each passing second as he was about to kiss her.

***

"May I ask what you two lovebirds are doing?" queried a mysterious voice.

And then without warning, Ayane vanished as the dream was starting to turn into something much bigger, much much bigger than he anticipated though then on the same time, the cherry blossom he stood on morphs into a certain person and that person is none other than Ren himself.

Yukio berated him for interrupting the best dream he has yet, and remembered that he is the guy from the broadcast interruption, he saw him with his very own eyes, as well as his parents. Ren says he's correct and he's here with some intentions. He then dropped one line whilst being straight to the point.

"I am here to make your life miserable" 

For Ren, an old fashioned confession takes him back to when he was just a high school student, saying your feelings to a girl you like and then bowing to show respect, really sets him back in time. Yukio sheepishly told him to not judge his way of confessing and by "making his life miserable" what does he mean by that? 

He calmed down and gets straight to the point, after apologizing to Yukio for ruining his un-real first kiss. He should consider himself as special as he himself came to tell him that Yukio is a lucky one and a special kid or as he said directly to him, that he is "one in seven billion". He then took off his mask to reveal his identity to Yukio.

"My name is Iwabe Hanazono, I'm a local here in Hanagasaku just like you" Iwabe expressed in a collected manner.

By him being the Chosen One. Yukio inheriting his curse, the curse of this dream world gives him an advantage from others, all because this mysterious stranger named Iwabe wanted another teenage son that is more mature, he was hoping to make Yukio his surrogate son. 

"What?" wondered Yukio in confusion

***

Iwabe told him some private family information. Though he has a teenage son, age 14, another son age 11 and a daughter age 4, he would love it if he has a more mature son. And on his way here he was hoping that Yukio would care to be his own son. 

"No" he said sternly

He cannot adopt him or be a surrogate parent for him because his biological parents are alive and well.

Iwabe told him to reconsider as he can be his surrogate dad in the shadows, plus he's the son of his senpai, Chiaki. He wants to experience parenthood with more matured kids. When he mentioned his mother, Yukio instantly obliges.

"Maybe I can be your dream world son, only because you're nagging me" he replied.

Now that all the matters are settled, he warned Yukio to endure something as it may sting a little. Instantly, he was stabbed in the heart by Iwabe's very own hand and as his hand is on the other side of Yukio with blood dripping out of him. He then removes it making Yukio fall to the ground. 

Now as he had said earlier, he'll inherit the curse, along with that curse is his own power.

"You're gonna share my power; the greatest power of them all, Yukio Miyamoto. But in return you're gonna share all the pain and despair that I have inside, They will form as events and also murders in the future." he said but Yukio never expected him to share his power. 

"I am advising you to be careful and at least stay alive until you are strong enough to defeat me. From now on I am gonna act as a bad guy, well kinda, a stalker, guardian and also a father to you. Yukio-kun." 

As he finished speaking, he smiles at him and then he vanished on the bottom of a lotus, kinda strange that he didn't die.

***

He only felt drowsy

As his eyelids start to give up on him and with the drowsiness taking over his entire body, he hopes that his allies would be a good people, not bad ones and he also hoped that they're sexy, handsome and not as ugly as witches early in the morning. 

A few hours had elapsed and he sees himself shaded by a tall tree, denying his body any shred of moonlight.

With a whoosh and a crash, Yukio was awoken by a cacophony of cold gusts of wind, leaves falling, branches snapping and also by the rude awakening of the Gate Guardian and the keeper of the Permission of East Timor; Atsuto Tsuchiyama by smashing the ground and making the leaves and some big branches fall to him. 

"Heya sleepy boy, are you awake now?"

"Am I dead?" Yukio wondered

"Hahaha no, you're alive and still breathing"

"Who are you?" He asked the mysterious person 

The man introduced himself as Atsuto Tsuchiyama, for now he's a hologram brought out by a special mail from Ren himself, he then welcomes him to the Dream World, not exactly a world but a competition you need to win in order to return to the real world and to win he must defeat Ren. Atsuto then gives a notice from Iwabe that he must wait until 6:00 A.M. SDT (Standard Dream Time).

Currently in Japanese Standard Time its 10 in the evening. Note that the time in the Dream World and World Time are same every country follows their country time even in this imaginary world. Dream world is a world same to the real world but with different country names, for example China is living in a futuristic Shang Dynasty, and Cambodia is called the Phkarlan Kingdom and is not living in the Khmer Rouge time, instead living a medieval and mixed modern technology style. Atsuto explained. But Yukio pleaded him if he could sleep, Atsuto allow him as his teammates will arrive six in the morning so Atsuto having nothing left to do or say, lets Yukio sleep peacefully.

***

After eight hours worth of sleep later he was awoken by a huge pressure like he was being crushed or something and when he woke up he saw two people one being a boy and other a girl. 

He then knew that it's his new teammates to his adventure and competition but to make it even more exciting for Yukio they were his two childhood friends Keita and Ayane all along. 

Keita is in great delight while Ayane is in great disgust as she was going along with Yukio and Keita and blamed the creator of this world but to cut the conversation a huge tree branch fell down and hit her in the head knocking her unconscious.

"Karma right there" Keita said then laughed as his laughter was soon followed by Yukio’s. 

"Keita lets explore the town" he proposed.

With nothing to do, both Yukio and Keita agrees to the deed so they went to the town dragging an unconscious yet mumbling Ayane. While at the same time thinking about their fates in this dream world.

-Level One completed-

Author's note: Thanks for giving this chapter a read, and I hope I can give y'all another chapter ASAP. The enthusiasm and eagerness I have in working on this novel makes me wish I had a long vacation to be honest, but unfortunately as a student my studies come first and I have insecurities about my current writing style and thinking if it's not right after reading other works, but atm I don't mind.  ✌️(^_^)✌️