ESTHER

When Esther saw the list of rules and conditions that she and her family were now forced to live by for their survival, she finally realized how much of a choice she had made for them. She essentially sold them into slavery, and it was to a family that quite a few members of her family did not have good relations with.

She turned her head towards Nathaniel and saw that he was looking at her. His eyes just seemed to carry judgment within their purple glare and she felt a need to defend herself.

“I did not have a choice Nathan, it was the only way we could survive.”

“did your hear me say anything, it’s already to late to regret anything and don’t call me Nathan. My name’s Nathaniel.” His voice was scathing, and even though there was currently an understanding between all of them it was obvious her brother was trying to get his anger under control. The question was who was he angry at.

Esther knew Nathaniel did not have to say anything, even she felt pretty stupid right about now. They were basically slaves and to get to this point she had to sleep with someone that was basically her brother’s enemy, not to mention he was from a family that her father did not approve off. But she still felt slavery was better than death, and at least it was not going to be forever. Two years seems like a long time, but it would pass by in a flash.

“Enough Esther, you don’t have to explain yourself, we know you did what you thought was right. And it was all to save our family. We won’t judge you for it even if we now find ourselves stuck in a rather unsavory position. We will get past this as a family.”

Esther felt like vomiting, while the while speech from her mother seemed all righteous and peaceful, it left a bad taste in her mouth considering that it came from the person that could only be considered the worst sinner in their family of five. As much as Esther loved her mother, that woman was a snake, and they all knew it.

They lapsed into a period of silence as flashes of light lit up around them and other people from earth appeared on the hill beside them. This people received the same orientation as them, though not all of them were here under a slavery contract. Those of them that were however had varying degrees of reactions to the fact that they had basically lost their rights as human beings for the next couple of years.

Some of them cried, others screamed and shouted in rage, some of them gathered to talk among themselves hoping to find a loophole to get out of this predicament. One man even demanded that he wanted a lawyer. Esther found the whole thing extremely funny, this was not the earth.

The laws that governed this world were very different than what they all knew and expected. In this place, in this world the ultimate goal was strength, because this was what it was designed for like every game ever made. Unlike earth of 3086, Zion of 0004 moved on a slogan and mantra of one rule and that rule alone……… might makes right. So all this noise being made was just that……noise.

Esther turned to her family and said to them.

“We have to figure out our next move, I have no intention of remaining a slave for two years.”

They all had a surprised look on their face, Esther was the last person they expected to raise a protest about their current predicament and wanted to find a solution to get out of it. After all she put them in such a position in the first place and told them to endure.

Her father immediately had that rare serious look on his face as he turned to them.

“So what do you have in mind?”

“Nothing as of yet, but we have to make a concrete plan in case we’re separated.” Esther replied.

“I don’t think they would separate us.” Faith spoke up for the first time since they arrived on Zion. Though she still looked a little overwhelmed. Then their mother asked.

“How can you be sure.”

“we were brought here together, I think it would be stupid to separate us for no reason at all. I have played other virtual reality games before, and I know that according to this game we can be considered a party of sorts.

Being in a party has numerous advantages and can increase our efficiency when working. The only thing we can worry about is that we might work in different areas, but in the end I think we will remain together as a family.”

Esther was no stranger to games, and even though Zion now served as the new home for humanity, she knew it was made and designed as a game. So certain laws still applied and what Faith said was one of them.

In games like this, certain groups of people can come together to form either a party which can comprise of two to fifteen players, or a mercenary group from seven to thirty players. Or a guild from ten to millions if not billions of players. And each group has its own perks and advantages when many people are gathered together.

In a previous game she played, experience and loot drops increased by 3% any time she was in a party, by 5% when she was part of a mercenary group, and by 5 to 25% when she was in a guild. For each level the guild gained, the experience percentage increased by 5%.

Faith’s theory about them having an advantage all for the fact that they were a family might actually check out. But for now she had to keep her fingers crossed. She was about to say something else when the sound of a horse neighing drew her attention.

But it was safe to say that along with the sound of hooves pounding the ground and the breath of the horse, she could hear steam and creaking of metal. She turned her gaze back to the valley and almost had her jaws unhinged from their place in her mouth. Metallic black horses with bronze under belly along with manes made of a crystal that glowed an earthen yellow. There were eleven of them, majestic, tall and very much terrifying. The heavily armored soldiers sitting on top of them were not helping matters either as their black armor which completely covered their entire body let off an aura that gave everyone who looked at them legs of jelly.

The riders were coming from the castle town, and in no time at all they got to the top of the hill, coming to a stop before the people or slaves waiting for their master to come fetch them. The lead rider had a man sitting right behind him.

He was a sharp contrast to the heavily armored soldiers that escorted him here, he was thin, had a crooked nose that looked as if it has been broken one to many times, sharp slanted eyes that spoke of an oriental heritage, and the glaring fact that he was white.

Esther and her family lived in an age where white people in Africa was no longer rare, but the she knew for a fact that the Olagoke's were a predominately African family that were somewhat old school in their dealings. They were not racist per say, but they just believed in paying attention to their own people first before paying attention to foreigners.

Every body here could be considered black, after all they were just transported from what was the most populated country in Africa, keeping much of their previous features with the only thing changed being their hair color and eyes. It was really surprising seeing a white person here, his skin color made him stick out like a sore thumb.

“good day everyone my name is Smith and I welcome you to Zion. The town you see before you is Orun, it is a town located on the western fork of the continent known as Benin, or as it is popularly know on Zion, the Devils trident. Orun is ruled by his royal highness high chief Benson Olagoke. And you are all under his employ. So if you would follow me, I will assign you to your stations while telling you the rules you would have to observe and follow, now come along.”

Esther looked at her family as they all fell in line behind Smith and moved towards the town in the distance. The armored guards and robot horses brought up the rear as they all marched to the sound of smith’s voice as he explained everything about their new home.

FAITH

Faith was stuck in a dilemma, this was too real. Everything she could see, everything she could touch, everything she could smell, even the taste in the air. It was all too real and completely unlike anything she ever expected. In the almost twenty minutes that she had spent since she and her family showed up on Zion she has not been able to reconcile the fact that she was in a game rather than a real world. The only thing that seemed out of sorts was the fact that there were two suns and glowing screens appeared out of thin air without a holographic projector.

But with each passing moment she was beginning to find her self immensed in this world, her knowledge and belief of reality was somehow rapidly shifting. What was real and what was fake, the urge to pee which she had been fighting while she was strapped in a pod with needles stuck in her skull was still very much there. She could feel her stomach rumble as hunger made itself known.

How was this possible, she knew mankind had grown to the point that even interstellar travel was as easy as snapping their fingers. But how was it possible to completely stimulate reality down to the tiniest details. The grass was green, and she could feel the wind caress the surface of her skin as a shiver went through her body from the cold. She had no idea what to do, her family seemed to be okay as they readily accepted this reality as their own and even started making plans for their future. It irked her that they were not as shaken as she was, it made no sense.

The gates of Orun loomed in front of her, it could not be considered a gate per say, but from where she was standing, there was a straight path to the castle. The other buildings lined both side of a wide street all the way to the gate of the castle. It was obvious to Faith that this was a developing town with nothing much to its name. A lot of people moved around going about their own business only sparing a cursory glance at them as they moved in a single file towards the castle like sheep to a slaughter. It was a really uncomfortable feeling but it was something she could not do anything about.

As they made their way towards the castle and haphazardly arranged town, Faith made it a point to make sure she listened to everything Smith had to say about the town of Orun and the rules that governed it. She learnt a lot about the status quo of the town and what was expected from them.

The town of Orun had five combat classes, and about ten life classes. Most slaves or servants were given the life classes and expected to work and bring in revenue for the castle. Orun was still a growing town, so it was basically still trying to find what would fit and contribute to it’s development. The life classes were blacksmithing, Alchemy, herbology, farming, fishing, mining, logging, cooking, masonry, hunting.

Apparently there were more lifestyle classes, but the town had to be upgraded to the next level before it could afford trainers of other lifestyle classes. But on certain and rare occasions, the servants are actually given combat classes, especially when those classes could serve to help the development of the town. The five combat classes were warrior, rogue, archer, druid, cleric. From this combat classes there would be advanced classes or special classes obtained during the process of the gameplay. But this was no longer just a game, this was their life now. Besides classes were not something any one of them would have to worry about except the one given to them for the next two years.

By the time they got to the front of the castle Faith realized it was a lot more shabby than it looked from a distance. The walls were covered in vines, the pavement were cracked and even the huge double doors seem to be in various state of disrepair. Even though Zion has not gone online for more than six years, the state this castle was in only showed that it was under poor management.

But Faith could not blame the Olagoke, this family were politicians first and then business men second. Management did not seem to be their strong suit, and if they don’t learn how to properly manage their resources they just like every other amateur who might have experienced strategy and kingdom building games, would fail and loose everything they have.

But Faith will not worry about anything that had to do with the Olagoke family. That family was full of snakes, which was surprising considering the whole of Nigeria used to see them as saints. But in Zion, Faith felt that there were some things that could no longer be hidden.

NATHANIEL

This was the ugliest castle Nathaniel had ever seen, he really had no idea why the Olagoke family will choose to live in such a dump, and right in the middle of nowhere to boot. Nathaniel was not dumb, in fact the sins of their parents aside, his sisters and himself had gotten access to the best education money can buy, by relying on a trust fund some king in their past had kept aside for his future generations. So even though they were considered middle to low class citizens, they went to school with the best society had to offer. And that was the only saving grace their family actually had, but education had gotten to the point where everybody in the world could have it if they wanted it.

Degrees and PhDs no longer meant anything if you did not have someone on the top. But education aside, Nathaniel realized that Orun was most probably a frontier town, a town built after an expedition or a migration. The fact that the sea was staring right at them from the eastern horizon was more than enough explanation.

But the castle was quite old, which meant this town used to be a prime part of the game, but since Zion is no longer a game but the new home of the human race, handing the castle over to an African family with deep pockets did not seem to be a problem. In this world the government had zero power, they could be placed in a position where they can still affect the lives of their citizens, but in the end true power belongs to the company who made the game, and the inhabitants who were already here before everyone else arrived.

So while this was not the revenge he envisioned, he was quite smug about the fact that the Olagoke family was quite literally pushed to sidelines. Out of sight and out of mind.

“Attention everyone, you will now all be assigned to a plot of land, which will serve as the spot where your future home would be built. It is up to you how you build it, or where you can get the materials from, but that spot will be your home. Am I clear?”

At first no body answered Smith. Because quite honestly they were quite confused. But the crux of the matter remained that they were not offered any housing facilities, It was really unexpected. Just as expected there murmurs coming up from among the crowd of people, but before it could turn into a full blow argument Smith shouted.

“Silence!!” Nathaniel had to admit though that this guy was really loud, but his voice got him the result he wanted as everyone had been shut up.

“I do not care about your grievances, I’m not your father and the Olagoke family has no obligation to take care of you or provide for you past the parameters stated in your contracts. You are servants here, not tenants or guests. You should be thankful that you were even given land without any strings attached. If you really want to complain then I assure you, you will be doing it from the bottom of an unmarked grave.”

His words were enough to send a ripple of calm through out the entire group of people standing there. The intentions he insinuated was terrifying and quite real enough to push out ant form of resistance left in their bodies. The real world was just as cruel and every single person here knew it. Zion should not he any different, especially when you considered the fact that it was still growing.

“Now you all will be allocated a land by family size, group size or if you’re just a single person. There are four families here so if you hear your name, move to the right. The Ahmed family, the Ike family, the Alafia family, and the Omaye family.”

When Nathaniel heard their family name he moved to the left with his family and the others called. The Ahmed family were the biggest of the bunch, two wives, seven children, one father, one uncle and two aunts. Nathaniel fought the urge to whistle in awe at their size, they were quite a bunch. Just like their family who had varying features to show that they were related, the Ahmeds all had green hair and red eyes, except for the mothers they were blond and brunette respectively. The uncle and aunts also had green hair, so that would probably make them the younger siblings of the father.

The Ike family had only four members, a mother and her three children. The oldest was about eight, while the youngest was just a toddler, all four members of the family had hair the color of volcanic ash, their eyes were normal. But based on how red the mother’s eyes were, Nathaniel could tell she had been crying. The Alafia family were just three, two aged parents and a daughter that seems to be in her early to mid twenties. However the first thing Nathaniel noticed was how beautiful she was, if he was not so conscious of his surroundings he would probably be drooling all over the place. But in regards to how her genes were shared, she had her mother’s silver platinum hair, and a pupiless pure white glowing eye just like her father. This family was the only one that seemed more fantasy like than the rest.

The rest of the people were alone so they were all sent of towards the right side of the castle by one of the armored knights. Then Smith turned to the families and said to them.

“If you would follow me, I will assign you a plot of land where you would have to stay from now on. Food and water will be sent to each of you later, but beware such luxury will only last for the first week so that you all can get acclimated with Zion. Tomorrow your designated class and work areas will be sent to you, and if you’re willing you can begun work immediately or wait until your one week period of grace is over, either way unless you work you will not be paid.”

With his piece said Smith led them out of the castle and moved west while skirting the edge of the rather ancient looking building. The walls were filled with cracks and moss, and if Nathaniel had to hazard a guess it would seem like the castle was abandoned for quite a number of years before it was recently occupied.

From where he was standing Nathaniel could see the snow capped mountains to the north, and the forest in the west was about five hundred meters away. It was quite a distance but even from where he was standing he could not help but appreciate the trees and how green they looked. Nature had become quite rare in twenty second century earth.

Smith led them north for another fifty meters until the castle was quite a distance away, and then he allocated plots of land that had already been marked out. The biggest was about twenty square meters and that was given to the Ahmed family, that was a lot of land but when you consider the size of the family, and the fact that it might be possible for procreation in this game, it would take a lot more land to handle their numbers.

There were other people around however, and many of them were in the process of moving planks, digging foundation or nailing two pieces of wood together. They all ignored each other and focused on their work, everybody here seemed to have the intention of minding their own business.

After they received their own land a system prompt appeared in from of all five members of the Omaye family.

[YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN A PLOT OF LAND MEASURED AT TWELVE SQUARE METERS…..CONGRATULATIONS. THE LAND MENU CAN NOW BE ACCESSED FROM YOUR STATUS MENU. YOU WILL RECEIVE BONUS FROM OWNING LAND IN ZION SO BE SURE TO OWN MORE LAND.]

Nathaniel felt that system prompt was rather awkward but it’s message was received loud and clear. Smith now turned to them with a rather eerie smile on his face as he gave them final instructions.

“Tomorrow will be the start of a new day in a new world I hope you’re ready because Zion is completely unlike your former world travelers. The sun is about to set so I will advice to find a way to get some shelter, or at least some weapons because non of that will be provided for you, and it’s quite widespread knowledge that the gnolls in that forest ahead love to come out and play at night. Well then good night and see you in the morning, whichever one of you survives that is.”

And then Smith swaggered back to the castle leaving Nathaniel with the urge to slap him silly. He turned back and saw his family looking right back at him and each other, he couldn’t help the sigh that came from his mouth as he said to them.

“So this is it?” Non of them gave him an answer, but it was written all over their face. There was a silent resolution within their eyes, it really wouldn’t be easy, but they will try their possible best. Nathaniel let out a breath of relief and said something he had been itching to say since they arrived in Zion.

“Status!”

NAME: NATHANIEL OMAYE

AGE: NINTEEN

RACE: HUMAN

LEVEL: 0

CLASS: NONE

SUB-CLASS: NONE

STATUS: CONTRACTED SERVANT

HEALTH: 18/18

STAMINA: 34/34

MANA: (LOCKED)

STRENGTH: 8

VITALITY: 6

AGILITY: 4

DEXTERITY: 4

INTELLIGENCE: 9

ATTACK: 1-16

DEFENSE: 12