《Athesea World》 Volume 1 Chapter 1 - Alternate World We are in August 10, 2045, a time where technology evolved to a new level. Helm Nielwald took technology to a level that even surpassed the technology that the governments that ran the world boasted of mastering. A world that was run by nuclear weapons became run by a game where life and death are step by step. Three years and two days earlier on this same day than the current present day, a communication reached all the people on the planet that would change their existence and for others it would be their final destiny. ¡ªMy name is Zeon and I am 16 years old and I am in Kitano High School in the district of Osaka, a city in Japan. What can I tell you about myself?... Actually I have nothing special I''m just a boy sitting at a desk looking out the window waiting for class to end each day and taking notes that barely pass the pass ¡ª!Zeon!....When are you going to pay attention? -shouted the teacher pointing a ruler towards his head "Emm... I''m sorry, professor," he answered, opening one of his books quickly. "Pay more attention or you won''t pass the finals that will come in three months," he replied, turning around to continue the class. Since he was saying two squared of the cube is... <>...while he swiped his hand over a hologram coming out of the bracelet The bracelet showed in a small hologram that was covered by his book the current news Today, for twenty years, the dead of Russia''s domination over what is currently the Reorganized USSR has been commemorated. The United States declares its separation from its West side and is divided into Western States and Eastern States The greatest invention of the modern era, nanobot bracelets, reach hundreds of millions of sales in a few hours. < > Then in the next moment the devices of all those present and when opening the alert a counter began to mark a countdown of 60 seconds. "Damn¡­this alert won''t close!¡­Should we wait the sixty seconds or should we remove the device?" <> "Listen to me whoever is responsible for this is going straight to the student council!" ¡ª The leader of the Yase council warned in turn that she was trying to remove the device by brute force ¡ªIt is impossible just to see the magnitude of this, the person in charge will not allow you to take off the bracelet so easily, I think that in five you will be able to do it ¡ªshe answered to calm him down a bit "I know that..." Yase added, sitting down frustrated and somewhat embarrassed, sitting down looking at the other side. ¡ªShe''s going to ignore me... typical of Yase was always like that¡ª.<> Zeon watched as the counter went down to zero but the alert faded, he swiped through all the sectors of the device but did not find it anywhere nor any clue On each nanobot bracelet appeared a hologram of a person who was unknown. ¡ªWelcome to the whole planet to a new world, our revolutionized real world in which you can mark the course of it <>... When looking for it, I found out that this was not false, they showed videos of a hologram that emerged from the bracelets from all over the world on the main social networks The man on the screen asked them to pay attention to his next instruction and told them "if you pronounce Synchronize you will be pleasantly surprised" The man disappeared and then I heard shouts that said Synchronize!... Synchronize!... Synchronize! from everywhere including my own classroom... Zeon also whispered Synchronize and his eyes couldn''t believe what he was seeing. Anyone would think that the real world had been exchanged for a virtual one <>. Zeon pinched his skin to see if he had fallen asleep but the pain was real, the news he saw said the same thing that everyone saw and he also felt a breeze from the wind in the windowThis text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Zeon turned his eyes to the side and saw Yohiko, one of his classmates, his arms transformed into robotic arms and Yase, the leader of the student council, began to fly with huge wings, enjoying it around the room, but the tranquility turned into disturbance. in less than we thought A scream caught everyone''s attention and they took so long but they watched as Ronu''s body slowly disappeared as if it were a hologram and a sword stuck in his torso that came out of Yore''s arm ¡ªAhhhhhhh! Zhare yelled... I... Yore for... why did you kill Ronu? "Don''t you see it?... I leveled up," answered Yore. After these words, Yase flew out the window in fright and no matter how hard some tried, there was no one to stop Yore with words while she continued her slaughter Zeon couldn''t take it anymore as Yore killed one partner after another so he looked up and down but he didn''t have armor like Yohiko or weapons like Yore, he only had a pocket watch. <>. he asked himself He also looked around more and could see above each person a green bar that referred to life and a blue bar that Zeon supposed was referring to mana and above these the name of the person accompanied by a number. When he saw Zhare''s number he had a [1] and then but when he looked Yore already had a number [5] with a red name The first thing Zeon tried to do was try to tell the teacher to stop this but he wasn''t with any of them ¡ªWhere will the teacher be?... Where are we really?. "Think fast! ... Wait, the teacher didn''t have a bracelet, maybe that''s why he''s not here with us." So as a test Zeon yelled Desynchronize and to his surprise it worked. He opened his eyes and raised his head to the front. ¡ªZeon, do you know what''s happening?... Some fell asleep and didn''t wake up¡ª. Others woke up after a few minutes The first thing that came to Zeon''s mind is because he didn''t ask anything about the dead students, so he looked again and all those who supposedly died, it''s as if nothing had happened to them, they were trying to wake up others. "Do you remember anything from just now?" Zeon asked, keeping a distance. "You mean Fainting?... Ah, I don''t remember any of that. Layers put me under pressure." <>. Zeon sat back in his place and yelled Synchronize! When he returned to reality where everyone had some kind of supernatural ability, he saw that Yore was heading towards him with his sword raised to finish him off. << Is he going to kill me?... Will this be the end of me?... I couldn''t even observe everything >>. Panic Zeon quickly opened his pocket watch and turned the handle to number forty and everything around him turned black and white. When he fixed the clock it did not work like a normal clock but it moved in the opposite direction towards 0 "It''s as if time had frozen, no in fact it''s like it''s much slower," he murmured in shock. The clock had started its countdown to zero, fifteen seconds had already passed ¡ªI only have 25 seconds left, what do I do? Zeon went quickly and only thought of two questions ¡ªIf I kill Yore, will I be the same as he is?... Why was this system implemented, which is almost fanciful? Many more unimportant questions began to surround him but then he thought that the only possible way forward is that if he didn''t kill Yore he was going to kill them all. ¡ªI''m sorry I don''t have any other alternative this is for the good of others... damn I only have ten more seconds Zeon with difficulty was able to remove Yore''s weapons from his hands and stabbed him, ending his life. The time instantly returned to normal and the clock closed, not allowing it to be opened. ¡ªYore''s weapons did not disappear but those of the others did when he died. Is it because I had them when he died? [You have obtained Sword of Life[1] and Sword of Death[1]] "Did you kill him, Zeon?" asked Zhare. I looked at her sadly and without knowing what to answer I said Desynchronize and when I woke up I ran out of school When I got home the bracelet opened by itself and showed me the following message [Congratulations on reaching level 5 you can to the Virtual Inventory... To use said inventory say Inventory Activate] [Virtual Space limited to two Simultaneous objects] [Next use of Special Skill Desynchronize will be in 10 hours 30 minutes 45 seconds] "Virtual Inventory?" Special ability? Zeon whispered in surprise. Inventory Activate From the bracelet a hologram with three occupied spaces expanded "Time clock?... So that was his name and the swords also appear." What happens if I press on the sword of life? Zeon pressed on the sword of life from his inventory and from his hand appeared a curved sword surrounded by a white aura. From the fright Zeon released her and fell to the floor nailing himself in the same ¡ªThe... The object became real... Impossible! Activate Inventory ¡ªhe repeated and selected the three objects from his inventory [System error: Unable to use three items simultaneously... You must reach level [10]] ¡ªI can only use both swords or else the clock and one sword, although if I select only the clock I figure that I have to wait 11 hours and 30 minutes, it must have a use cooldown to balance the skill ¡ªInventory Deactivate ¡ªI say and both the inventory and both swords disappeared from the place Zeon sat at the computer for a few hours and all the news was talking about the same thing "Billions of people fell into a deep sleep and some are slowly waking up... Medical agents are treating those they can but Services are Collapsed and they don''t know the root cause of this" "England, the Reorganized USSR, China and other first world powers call this the worst global crisis and ask people if they have acquaintances to take them home" "Western States and Eastern States increase their forces on the border arguing that neighboring countries can take advantage of the current situation to invade territories" Zeon lay down on his bed and looking at the ceiling began to reflect on everything that was happening ¡ªIf I didn''t have this special ability I''d be like the others, that means everyone must have a hidden ability... There are certain levels that unlock items and/or functions and if I kill a person with their item in my hand the system kills me. leave it to me... I wonder if it will work with animals or physical parts? Zeon fell asleep until he was woken up by an alert that had reached his bracelet, in said alert he said the following "By exceptional decree in Japan classes and exceptional jobs are suspended until further notice, stay at home and don''t go out" - Does it mean that they thought it was a terrorist attack from some country?... It may be something extremist but not even in wars had classes been suspended Volume 1 Episode 2 - Raiden the Swordswoman Two or three days passed in which the people of Japan did not leave their houses, the news kept repeating over and over again that the number of both dead and awakened people only increased. << What time will it be? >> ¡ªasked Zeon while he opened his eyes¡ª. I can''t believe it''s only 10:15 in the morning Zeon suddenly heard a loud noise inside his house that forced him to get up to see what it was. But he couldn''t even get to open the door when the intruders burst into his room. "STOP THERE!... Stay still or we''ll shoot," ordered the four armed strangers as they aimed at his entire body. << Who are these people and what do they want from me? >> ¡ªhe thought while he tried not to move a muscle so they don''t shoot him. Then one more strange man appeared behind the men but this one was wearing a trench coat and is not armed like the others. ¡ªLieutenant Ryukugu, the objective of the mission is already secured. -Perfect... thank you officer ¡ªZeon Erebus... my name is Ryukugu Tenji I am the lieutenant and director of the Synchronization association "Synchronization Association?" He repeated surprised. ¡ªWe fight to make a better world with this technology and for that we need to go back to how we were before to rebuild the course of this technology. One of the officers threw clothes at Zeon to change to go out ¡ªYou will have to accompany us to the barracks if you resist, we have approved to kill you instantly so do not try anything << Can I really trust them?... For now I don''t have many options >> ¡ªhe thought worried. "Okay... I''ll go with you." One of the guards put a bandage on his eyes and with handcuffs he chained his hands. They kicked towards the headquarters indicated by Ryukugu and after a long trip they arrived at the headquarters of the Anti-Synchronization Association. ¡ªAlffa code 234534243 ¡ªwas what Zeon heard from one of the guards before they sat him in a chair and took off the bandage from his eyes and the handcuffs Zeon with difficulty trying to get used to the light again looked around him and he was locked in a room and in front of him Ryukugu Tenji was sitting staring at him "Do you know why you''re here Zeon?" -Do not know -We think you know the truth of everything that is really happening "You mean people are asleep and awake?... I only know what''s on the news." ¡ªYes, but in fact your teacher said that you only woke up twice while the others were still asleep. << It''s true... he saw everything. Why didn''t I think about it before?>>. -What do you want from me? ¡ªWe are trying to know what we are facing, that is why we want to know everything you know about what is on the other side "What will you give me in exchange if I tell you something?" -You help us and in exchange for that you will have your freedom or you can stay locked up in a cell for lifeIf you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡ªIf I show them, they have to make sure that no one here is going to do anything to me. ¡ªYou are not in a position to request anything Zeon "Give me your word or I won''t say anything." "Pfff... I even got blackmailed by a child," he said frustrated to himself. It''s ok I promise you they won''t hurt you ¡ªI know that everyone who yelled synchronization entered a virtual world where killing players helps you level up and each player has a special ability. Zeon supported his arms on the table and then putting his head on the table looking sideways said -Synchronization! Almost instantly he woke up in front of Ryukugu ¡ªMy special ability is desynchronization that''s why I was able to wake up "Are you saying it''s like a game?" I ask intrigued ¡ªIf something like that¡­ once you die you wake up in the real world with no memories but I don''t know if other players can do the same as me. "When you decide to tell us the truth, I''ll come back, don''t waste my time anymore." ¡ªYou should be able to see this... Inventory Activate... Sword of Life and Sword of Death From the hands of Zeon the two swords that he pronounced were created and Ryukugu from astonishment went back and fell from the chair "It''s... It''s... Real... Incredible." ¡ªInventory Deactivate ¡ªZeon replied as the swords disappeared from the hands "So if a person wakes up, it means they were eliminated from that virtual world by another player?" -Exactly that but I have a theory that what people had in their virtual world can now make it real Ryukugu stood up and walking from one side to the other he continued to explain to Zeon what his objective was for / with him. ¡ªBasically to win your freedom I want you to work for us undercover in that virtual world "Doing what work?" ¡ªWe want to get to the bottom of everything and know what we have to stand by in case something happens that we cannot see ¡ªI want two things in exchange, the first is my freedom without restrictions or surveillance at the end of everything and the second is that I don''t know what I''m facing so I need help with swordplay -The second request is no problem... the first I must discuss it with my superiors After the requests, Ryukugu left and a long time passed until one of the surveillance soldiers entered the Zeon room. "We have orders for you to come with us... we must handcuff you, excuse us." Zeon followed the guards through the corridors of the facility until they reached an elevator and went up two floors. -What is this place? Zeon asked, shocked. "It''s the Zeon training area," Ryukugu replied from afar as Zeon slowly approached. ¡ªOfficer remove the handcuffs and leave "Are you sure Lieutenant?" If something happens, it will be my responsibility. The officer took Zeon''s handcuffs off and left the scene. ¡ªDo you recognize the girl who is next to me Zeon? ¡ªI don''t think I''ve met her. "Are you seriously bringing me Ryukugu for this insect?" "Don''t worry, Raiden, we need your help... Zeon, she is the national kendo champion, there is no one better than her in the country who can help you train." "Is she a national champion so young?" "Come stand in front of me, I want to see what you have," Raiden said, taking a wooden shinai from his back. "But I don''t have any practice sword. "You will use your true insect swords," Raiden replied with a withering face. But I could hurt you "You couldn''t touch me even if you wanted to." ¡ªInventory Activate... Sword of Life and Sword of Death ¡ªSo those virtual swords became real Zeon pounced with his swords but Raiden waited for him with his shinai stopping between his eyes and dodging him with a single thrust to knock him to the ground ¡ªNever attack your enemy letting yourself go, you leave many holes... Come on, get up, insect! Zeon grabbed his swords and ran towards Raiden and when he was close enough to him he slipped and tried to attack at his feet but Raiden jumped up and stabbed him in the head. Blood came out of Zeon''s head and covered part of his face. "This boy is useless Ryukugu... he has bad posture, he doesn''t think properly, he leaves many gaps open, it''s a waste of time, I''m leaving." -Stop there! Zeon exclaimed. I need to get stronger, strong enough to depend on myself. ¡ªOne more opportunity Zeon and if you don''t show something worthwhile I''ll leave Zeon walked slowly measuring the distance and threw the sword of life towards Raiden and ran behind with the sword of death, he collided the sword with raiden''s shinai three times but then Raiden stabbed him in the hand and the sword flew out and then another one in Zeon''s chest and it also flew out "Well at least you tried, I''ll take these two swords and return them to you when you finish your training... take this Shinai and practice two hundred side blows and three hundred side blows for when I come back in 2 hours." "WHAT?... it''s impossible for him to do that." "Then you will never see your swords again." Raiden grabbed the swords of life and death but to the surprise of the three when Raiden took them some warning signs came out [You have increased the Sword of life to level 5 and you have increased the Sword of death to level 5] [Death Servant Skill Unlocked] [Life Fortitude Skill Unlocked] "Do my swords evolve according to the ability of the bearer?" ¡ªThat only shows how devil you are insect... start training right now