Tyler awoke in an unfamiliar bed and started to panic, until he realized what happened and where he was at. He then crawled out of bed and selected his school clothes from his inventory. The clothes pixelated around him. Now dressed, he walked across the hallway and knocked on Logan’s door. “Just a second.” Logan opened his door. Tyler was never able to get over all of the cool gadgets and trinkets in Logan's room. “Let’s go have some breakfast. My grandma makes the best omelets.”

  They walked down the stairs taking a right into the kitchen. “Good morning you two, I hope you slept well.” “I did,” they both said in unison. “Tyler, how are you feeling today?” “I’m still trying to process what happened. I have no idea what could have caused that explosion.” “It’s a strange world we live in. I was watching the news, it said that people don’t die here, they respawn. I still don’t quite understand how that works, but they are out there somewhere.” “Yeah, we learned a little about this in school. The problem is no one really knows where they go. This world is gigantic.”

  “I’m sure you will reunite with them soon enough. In the meantime you are welcome to stay here for as long as you like. What would you two like in your omelet?” Tyler and Logan sat down on stools at the granite bar in the kitchen. “Cheese, onions, peppers, ham and bacon for me,” Logan said. “I’ll do the same.” “Okay, coming right up.”

  Logan’s grandma placed two steaming plates of omelets in front of them. "Dig in," she said with a warm smile. As they ate, Tyler couldn't help but feel a sense of gratitude for Logan and his family. They had taken him in without hesitation, offering him comfort and support during a difficult time. "So, what's the plan for today?" Logan asked, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “I still need to ask the teachers what they expect from us on the creatures list and the creations menu. There’s way too much to study.” “Oh yeah, I forgot all about that. I was working on a new trap after dealing with the gnomes.”

  “The gnomes” echoed in Tylers head, hitting him like a freight train. “I think I know what happened?” “What? What are you talking about?” “I think I know who blew up my house and killed my parents.” Logan's face turned pale as he finally realized what Tyler was thinking. “There’s no way, they couldn’t have. They retreated…That means they must have come back and...” “We weren’t there…” Tyler began to sob. “We should have been there.” “Hey man, we still don’t know what happened. They still haven’t told us anything yet.” “We know what happened.” Logan got a sinking feeling in his stomach. He knew that Tyler was right.

  “How many did that quest say? 3 million?,” Logan asked. Tyler looked horrified. “You two should get ready for school. I’ll drop you off.” “No thank you, we can just walk.” “If you insist.” Tyler and Logan headed towards school. They were both now paranoid and looking for gnomes. “Let’s hurry and get to the school,” Tyler said. “Agreed” They both sprinted towards the school. Before they knew it, a small crowd had formed, all of them heading towards the school.

  “If I hear another baby cry or another elderly woman ask me where they are ever again so help me god,” Jack said, now pissed. “Where the fuck are we anyways. We are in the middle of a video game and we just got nuked by some goddamn gnomes. I want out of this video game right now.” “Honey, please calm down, you are scaring me.” “I’m sorry, but where are we even?” he asked as his frustration began to fade. Tammy looked around and all she saw was a desert for as far as the eye could see. “Hey, look over there, I think I see someone” “You’re right let's go!,” Jack said, regaining some hope. They headed off towards the two men off in the distance.

  Tyler lied about sleeping well. He was hardly able to sleep at all. Too much had just happened. He was now falling asleep during his first class, calculus. Luckily he wasn’t worried about this final. He had studied with Logan a lot and luckily, Logan was extremely good at math. “No sleeping in my class. How on earth do you expect to pass your final?” “Sorry Mrs. Roe. I had a rough night,” Tyler said groggily. “Hey, give him a break, his parents just died after all,” Aria said. The class looked shocked. “Yeah, it was all over the news.” “I am so sorry Tyler, I had no idea,” Mrs. Roe said as Tyler began to snore.

  “Tyler, wake up. You don’t want to miss your next class,” Mrs. Roe said while gently shaking Tyler’s arm. “Oh shoot. I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep.” “That’s quite okay, now hurry along and get to your next class.” Tyler was about to leave. “And Tyler, if you need someone to talk to, I’ll be here after school.” “Oh, thank you,” Tyler said awkwardly as he left for his next class.//2

  “Welcome back to Creation Class. I hope all of you had a great weekend,” Mr.Mill said. “Did any of you get the chance to upgrade your spirit jar this weekend?” As the class was responding, Tyler realized that he hadn’t checked his notifications. Shared quest unlocked: find your parents. Quest failed: Fix door. He found the notification he was looking for. Lesser Spirit Jar has been upgraded to Spirit Jar. Spirit Jar: gather 1000 spirits to upgrade Jar to Greater Spirit Jar. Quest completed: Spirit Gatherer. You have gained 50 EXP. You have leveled up. Quest updated Spirit Gatherer: Collect spirits 137/1000.

  “Tyler, you already know how I feel about checking your interface during class.” “Oh, sorry Mr. Mill. I just saw that my spirit Jar upgraded. It's been a busy weekend.” “Now, do you know what you can do with a regular spirit jar?” “Uhh, capture bigger creatures like bears?” “That is correct!,” Mr. Mill said with a smile. “I was meaning to ask you, what do you expect from us on the final?” The class snapped to attention at the question. “It just seems like there are too many recipes to study all of them.” The class nodded in agreement.

  “The final will be testing what you have been learning all year. I don’t expect you to study specific recipes, but rather how you make those recipes. I also want you to know the differences between the levels of spirit jars and what you are able to do with the individual spirits.” Most of the class was taking notes on their desks just by thinking. “I will be grading your creation stat improvement as well.” “Hey, that’s not fair!,” Josh complained. “Now, now, I just want to see a stat improvement, that’s all.” “All of my stats go to my gains and that ain’t changing.” Aria proceeded to snort water out of her nose from sudden laughter.

  Back on Earth Jasper crouched beside one of the endless rows of pods. His heart was about to beat out of his chest. Sweat drops fell to the ground. He tried to slow his breathing to not alert the guard. Luckily, the guard walked right past him with the sound of his footsteps shortly fading after. “Holy shit, I did it. I actually did it. Just a few more moments and I will be back to my pod. Just a few more moments and I will become God.” Jasper had to stop himself from laughing maniacally.

  Tyler smacked right into Sophie, sending a cascade of books tumbling to the floor. “Oh my god, I am so sorry!” he exclaimed, a look of genuine panic flashing across his face. He dropped to his knees, frantically gathering the books. “How could this happen again?,” he muttered, a flicker of suspicion briefly clouding his embarrassed expression. He couldn't believe this happened twice now. Sophie’s carefully orchestrated plan had succeeded, he’d run into her, just as she’d hoped, but now that he was so close, anxiety gripped her. “Oh, it’s okay. You don’t have to. I can pick them up,” she managed to whisper, her voice trembling slightly.

  “It’s okay, I already got most of them. Here.” Sophie's face turned bright red. She quickly put them in her bag and ran off. “What was all that about?,” Tyler wondered. “Okay, onto history class.” “Well, well, well, what do we have here? Looks like Tyler has a girlfriend,” Josh said now standing uncomfortably close. “I do not, I don't know what that was.” Josh stepped even closer. “Sure, sure. It’s as plain as day.” “Look man, she’s not my girlfriend.” “Oh okay and I’m not the strongest one in this entire school.” Aria stepped in and pushed Josh away. “Hey, leave him alone. You’re just mad that he beat you in a race last week.” “Pft, whatever you say.” Josh said as he walked away.

  “I’m sorry about him, he’s like a dog. He just hasn’t been trained properly yet.” “You really didn’t have to do that, I can take care of myself.” “Oh, yeah. You sure looked like you had that one handled. He would flatten you like a pancake if he wanted.” “Okay…Well I’m going to go to class now.” “Hey Tyler before you go, I think you should ask her to prom.” “What? Why would I do that?” “Can’t you see? You guys can’t even be in the same hallway without trying to get close to each other.” “It’s not like that okay. Anyways I’m going to history class.” “You don’t have to be such a jerk about it,” Aria shouted as Tyler walked away.”

  “Welcome back Tyler, I hope you had a great weekend,” Mr. Roth said as Tyler entered the class. “It was okay,” Tyler lied as he went to sit next to Logan. “I heard you and Sophie have something going on.” “Oh great, not you too,” Tyler groaned. “Come on man, prom is coming up and I know you like her. You should ask her to go with you. After graduation, who knows where we will end up.” “I’ll think about it,” Tyler said as he opened his front menu trying to avoid the topic.

  Mr. Roth began the lesson. “Last week, Mrs. Netzel mentioned a student had a question about AI and staff coordination. That’s our focus today. Understanding the past is crucial to understanding the present and future. In this case, understanding the history of AI integration is key.” He launched into a historical overview: “Around 2700, AI became deeply integrated into daily life, demonstrably improving our quality of life. By 2750, this advanced AI detected a large asteroid on a collision course with Earth, predicting an impact date of December 12th, 2850, at 4:53 am. The AI then collaborated with global leaders to initiate the construction of massive underground bunkers designed to withstand the predicted 200-degree Fahrenheit surface temperatures.”

  “As predicted, the asteroid struck on December 12th, 2850, causing widespread devastation. By 2900, the bunker construction was complete. In 2910, martial law was enacted to facilitate the safe relocation of the global population into these underground shelters. It was believed at the time that these bunkers would be humanity's salvation. However,” Mr. Roth continued, his tone shifting, “in 2950, the AI detected a massive solar flare, an extinction-level event that even the bunkers couldn't withstand. It was then, in the face of this new, unavoidable threat, that the AI devised a new plan. It orchestrated the rapid development and construction of a vast network of neural interface pods—essentially, ‘Matrix chairs,’ if you’re familiar with the historical simulations—designed to facilitate the seamless transfer of human consciousness into a virtual reality.”

  “To preserve humanity, the AI began the mass transfer of human consciousness into the virtual reality. By the year 3000, with the physical Earth having only 500 seconds left to exist, the transfer was nearly complete, with new people still being added to the simulation constantly.” Mr. Roth paused for emphasis. “Now, in this simulated reality, the AI controls everything. It provides us, the teachers, with the curriculum, dictates the ‘quests’ or learning modules you undertake, and even structures the educational items you receive, much like a video game tutorial. The AI essentially runs the entire simulation and our educational system within it to ensure every person—every one of you—has the best experience possible. Class dismissed!”

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  Students flooded out of the classroom. “So, this AI is basically God right?,” Tyler asked Logan. “Yeah, sounds about right.” They went to the side of the lunch room. They both spawned a recliner with a floating table and sat down. A plate of Pizza appeared from nothing before Tyler and sushi in front of Logan. “This is way more convenient then waiting for mom to cook,” Tyler thought, then turned grim. “You okay man?” Logan asked. “I’m worried, I hope my parents are doing okay out there.” “I’m sure they are, hey after this week is over, we should go look for them.” “Really? You would help me find them? What about your Grandma?” “I’m sure she will be fine, anything I can do to help.”

  Bong Bong Bong Bong! “Well, it’s time for class.” “Okay, I’ll see you in PE,” Logan said. Tyler continued down the hallway.

  “Welcome back to class. It’s so nice to see you,” Mrs Netzel said warmly. “Hi, Mrs. Netzel,” The class said simultaneously. “Today we will be learning about the different types of elements. Each creature has a different type of spirit. For example, a Rock Golem gives you an Earth Spirit.” “What is a Rock Golem?,” Aria asked. “That would be a question for your combat teacher. For today, let's just say that it gives you an Earth Spirit if you can manage to defeat one. Now, if you defeat a Yeti, you would receive an Ice Spirit. If you use multiple Ice Spirits or more potent Ice Spirits, you can create stronger Ice creations or enhance your own abilities.

  Who can tell me one of the spells that they know?” “I know a spell called flare,” Tyler said. “Okay, so that is a fire spell. If you access your interface, you can see that it has a number next to it. What does it say?” “It says 0/10 Lesser Spirits.” “Good, so you would need to defeat 10 Lesser Fire Creatures in order to level up your Flare spell. The AI does a great job on telling you exactly what you need to do to level up your spells along with everything else.”

  “I used an amulet over the weekend and it upgraded the spell by 30%,” Tyler said. “There are a few different ways to upgrade spells. Using spirits is just one of those ways. You can also create, find, or buy spells as well.” “Does anyone have any further questions before we finish the day?” “What are the most powerful spells?,” Aria asked. “No one really knows quite yet. The AI tries to make this game enjoyable for everyone every day and is always coming up with new, fun features. That is all the time we have for today. Remember to study hard for your finals on Wednesday.”

  Breaking glass was heard from the back of the classroom. “Oh, you thought you could run from us, huh?” A gnome said as he held up an RPG. “Take this!,” he shouted, firing the rocket. The gnome flew backwards out the window. Gnomes killed 403 of 3,000,000 flashed across Tyler’s interface. You gained 0 EXP. A mini RPG has been added to your inventory. The rocket slowly traveled across the classroom. It finally hit a wall with a Pft sound. Everyone in the class just stared at the window. “Well, that was weird. I’m just going to go to my other class now,” Aria said as she got up and left. The rest of the class trailed after her.

  “As we are nearing the end of the year, I want each and every one of you to be ready to achieve your dreams in this new world,” Mrs. Moore said. “That includes you, Josh, now pay attention!” Josh snapped out of staring at Aria, then blushed. “Sorry, Mrs. Moore, won’t happen again.” “Anyways, as I was saying, it is very important that you are prepared for what is out there so you won’t have to respawn every few moments.” Tyler felt like he was punched in the stomach. “Man, I sure hope they are okay,” he thought to himself.

  “As most of you are aware there was a gnome attack in Mrs. Netzles classroom.” Some of the class started murmuring. “A gnome attack?” Looks of concern fell across the classroom. “Don’t worry, we have already talked with the AI and it assures us this won’t happen again. A barrier has been set up around the school. “However, the point remains that you need to be prepared. Who knows the best way to deal with said gnomes?” After almost an hour of Mrs. Moore talking about different scenarios, Tyler was struggling to see the point in all of this.

  Bong Bong Bong Bong! “Oh, thank God,” Tyler thought to himself as he swiped his belongings into his inventory. Tyler caught a large figure approach him out of the corner of his eye. “Hey Tyler, are you ready to lose in gym today?,” Josh asked. “Leave him alone,” Aria scolded. “Last I recall, I beat you,” Tyler said. “That’s just because you got lucky,” Josh said as he poked Tyler in the chest with his finger. Tylers interface flashed, “You have taken one damage.” “Seriously Josh, cut it out. Let's just go.” “Fine, fine, I shouldn’t waste my time on weaklings anyways.” Josh scoffed as he walked off with Aria.

  “What’s his deal?” Tyler thought to himself as he walked out of the classroom into the hallway. “Hey Tyler!,” he heard Logan shout from across the hall. Logan jogged to meet up with Tyler. “No running in the hallway,” Mr. Flannagin called out. “Sorry, Mr.Flannagin,” Logan said as he and Tyler continued to walk towards gym. “What’s up man?” Tyler asked. “I was just thinking, maybe after school we could go visit Stone-eye?” “That would be fun, but finals are on wednesday.” “Oh shoot, I forgot all about that. Maybe we can this weekend or something?”

  “This weekend, after we graduate the first thing I'm going to do is find my parents. If only I could just message them. They never learned how to properly use the interface.” Logan lightly grabbed Tyler by the shoulder. “Hey man, I already told you we are in this together. We will find your parents. I know! We should get Stone-Eye to come with us. He would have no problem taking down bears, he's gigantic.” “I don’t know, he is kind of weird. I’ll have to think on it.” “Come on just image, he gets a tree sized club and bashes the bear into oblivion.” “Well, that does sound kind of cool.”

  “Hey, lovebirds. Are you ready to lose?,” Josh asked as Tyler and Logan entered the gym. “I already told you. I beat you last time. I’ll beat you this time,” Tyler said. “Is that so, you see I’ve been …” “Are the three of you ready to start class,” Mr. Woods interrupted. “Yes sir,” The three of them said in unison. “Good, now go run 10 laps for making the rest of the class wait for your conversation.” “Aw man, seriously, no fair,” Josh complained. Tyler was surprised how easy it now was to do 10 laps.

  “Now that the interruptions are over we can begin. Since tomorrow is career day, this will be the last class until finals. Today, we will be doing the actual test, just so you can know exactly what to expect.” The class looked shocked. “Funny enough, it’s the same thing we do every week anyways. What I am really looking for on the test is improvement since you first started the class. The test will consist of: Reaction Time, Speed, Coordination, Strength, Endurance, and Flexibility. The exact same things we’ve been working on all year. Now, who wants to show off their reaction time?”

  “I’ll give it a shot,” Logan said shyly. “Good, now step into the center of the room on the red X.” Logan walked to the center of the room and turned to face the class. “Okay, are you ready?” “Yes, sir.” “3,2,1, begin!” A paintball materialized from nothing and shot towards Logan. Logan easily stepped to the side and purple paint splashed across the floor. Two more paintballs shot towards him. He ducked, then green and yellow was added to the floor. 5, then 10, then 15 paintballs hurled towards him creating a cool canvas behind him. Once the paintballs got up to 25, he was finally hit in the side by a red paintball that he nearly avoided. “Good show! Excellent work! Who wants to go next?”

  “Oh, this’ll be easy. I should have really ranked up after this weekend,” Josh bragged while walking to the now clean X in the center of the gym. “Okay, let’s see how you do. 3,2,1 start.” Josh easily dodged the first paintball, then the second, then the fifth. By ball 10 Josh almost seemed to be having a hard time. Ball 11 hit Josh square in the chest. “Hey! No fair, this thing has to be broken. There’s no way that was able to hit me.” “It’s okay Josh, this is just a training exercise so you will be prepared for the test.” Josh marched back to the rest of the class muttering under his breath.

  “How did you get so good at this?,” Tyler asked Logan after he came back feeling slightly defeated. “I’m not sure, ever since I leveled up, I’ve felt a little different,” Logan shrugged. “Oh wow, I almost forgot. I leveled up too! It’s been a long day.” “Congrats, what did you put your stats in?” “Since you two want to talk, Tyler you will be first for our next exercise followed by Logan. This one should be easy for you considering you did so well last time. Ah, yes the speed test.” Mr. Woods inhaled deeply.

  “Now go stand on that line over there.” A line materialized a few feet away from the class. “You are going to run to the finish line over there.” Another line materialized 1500 meters away. “On your mark, get set, go!” Tyler bolted off in a straight line towards the finish line. “And time!,” Mr. Woods shouted across the gym through a randomly spawned megaphone as he clicked an old fashioned timer. “1 minute and 55 seconds, a little slower than last time. This would cost you on our final. Now who’s next?”

  “I can take on that twerp right now,” Josh boasted. “Language!” “Sorry, Mr. Woods.” “Now, on your mark, get set, go!” Josh almost flew off the ground. He started running almost as fast as an antelope. “How did he get so fast? He wasn’t that fast last week?,” Tyler asked Logan. “And time! 1 minute 41 seconds. That’s a new record! Well done Josh. Josh sauntered back with a self-satisfied smile on his face. "Not so quick now, are you, Tyler?" Mr. Woods interjected sternly, "That's enough. Now, Aria, you’re up."

  “Do I have to? I don’t want to hurt my new shoes, I just got them from completing a quest.” “You have to if you want to graduate. How many times have I told you you have to wear proper attire in the…” The glass ceiling of the gym exploded showering razor-sharp shards down onto the startled class. “What in the hell?” “You thought we wouldn’t be able to find you didn’t you? This is the gnome police and you are wanted for the murder of over 100 of our fellow brethren. This time we’ve brought backup! Fire!”

  A green ball of slime shot out of a cannon. It started screaming all the way down to the ground where it disintegrated into pixels on impact. “Uhh, I don’t think that was supposed to happen,” said the gnome. “No! Jimmy is dead! I didn’t think that would kill him. He was such a nice dumb ball of slime,” another gnome said as it started crying. “Hey, AI, what’s going on? I thought this was fixed already?” The gnomes and their equipment teleported away. The ceiling of the gym snapped back to normal. “Problem fixed,” a voice said, seeming to come from every direction at the same time.

  Mr. Woods waited a few moments. “Problem fixed? That’s all you’ve got?,” Mr. Woods asked as he looked towards the sky waiting for a reply. He soon realized he wasn’t going to get one. “Anyways, I think we are done with our pre-test for the day after that rude interruption. Now, when you come to school tomorrow. You are to report to the gym in the morning for an assembly.” The class looked around confused. Mr. Woods continued. “Tomorrow is career day. You will be shown your options for life after graduation. That is if you graduate.” Mr. Woods looked at Josh who looked down at the ground. “That’s all for today. Class dismissed.” //3

  Tyler and Logan started running towards Logan’s Grandma’s house. “Did you see the look on Josh’s face?” Logan asked. “Yeah, it seems like he is in some real trouble,” Tyler said distractedly. “I heard if we don’t graduate, they make us do summer school or even retake the entire year.” “Great, just what I need, another thing to worry about.” “Hey man, school is over in three more days, then we can go look for them together.” “I just hope they are okay, what if I never find them?” “We will find them, I promise.”

  They reached the house and Logan ran up the stairs and opened the door. “Grandma, I'm home!,” he shouted through the house. “Oh, just in time, I just made some tea. Why don’t you two have a seat at the table?” “We would, but we have to study for finals,” Logan said.

  For the next several hours Tyler and Logan studied for their finals. “Man, my stamina is getting low” Logan said as he looked outside. “Oh shoot, it's dark already. My grandma probably fell asleep. Let's go to the kitchen and make some food.” “That sounds amazing,” Tyler proclaimed.

  Tyler and Logan headed down the stairs cutting through the dining room to the kitchen. “What do you feel like? I should have enough coins to order something from *****,” Logan asked. “Oh, I can buy us something, it's the least I can do for letting me stay here. How about we get some steak and lobster?” Tyler paid 2 Gold, then two plates materialized in front of them.

  “I'm so glad we have this stuff to eat. Apparently my parents had to eat stuff like tuna sandwiches back on Earth…” “Don't think about it. We are leaving on Saturday” Tyler sighed digging into his food.