The tension in the room began to ease. A striking young woman stepped forward, wearing a luxurious purple silk pajama set with glowing trim. Her arms were crossed, and her expression was firm.
"Who are you, and why are we trapped here?" she asked defiantly.
That's when it hit me—everyone was in pajamas... except me.
The tall man took a few more steps and spoke again. His voice was calm and firm, like someone who'd given this speech a thousand times.
"My name doesn't matter. You may call me the Administrator."
Before anyone else could react, another guy, cheerful and friendly-looking, spoke up:
"What is this place, and why are we here?"
The Administrator turned to him, his smile unsettlingly beautiful.
"This is O.N.E.X.U.S., a plane inside your minds. It will generate worlds based on your affinity with dreams... or nightmares."
He paused, scanning each of us slowly.
"M.A.P.A.S. is the system that will follow and assist you on your adventures. You may think of it as a virtual augmented reality game."
The room burst into reactions. Some people laughed with excitement; others whispered, trying to figure out if this was some kind of elaborate prank.
Me? I couldn't shake off that strange feeling crawling under my skin—a mix of anxiety and warning.
Suddenly, the murmurs died down. The Administrator raised his hand.
"Very well. Let the edition begin."
A parchment-colored screen appeared in front of each of us, floating midair, with golden glowing letters. Some looked thrilled. Others were confused. I just stood there, frozen.
"Choose your Dreamer name."
The screen in front of me read: "Enter Dreamer name."
I thought hard. I wanted something epic. A name worthy of a protagonist.
But then... I heard a whisper in my ear, soft and strange:
"Raaaasheeeeed..."
"Rashed?" I repeated, startled.
Then I saw it. The name typed itself onto the screen.
"Wait, no—I haven't chosen yet—" I tried to erase it, but it was too late.
A notification popped up:
"Congratulations and welcome, Dreamer: Rashed."
I let out a low sigh.
"Seriously...?"
A few more minutes passed as everyone else picked their names, muttering, laughing, and swearing under their breath. Eventually, it seemed the naming was complete.
The Administrator clapped his hands once, loudly.
"Now then. Next comes your class assignment. Depending on your real-world skills, a class will be granted to you."
Another clap.
Beams of colored light descended upon each of us.
I saw gold, silver, and deep violet. Clearly, rarity existed here too. Even in this world, talent seemed to dictate your future.
Above me descended a dim, grayish light—almost like a shadow. Then a message popped up on my screen:
"Congratulations. You have obtained the class: Alchemist."
Even I had to admit... that name sucked.
Soon after, another screen followed:
Class: Alchemist
"You can create potions and learn crafting recipes."
"Well... I guess that's not too bad," I muttered.
Finally, they gave us something called a "Macuto"—a kind of inventory bag. It could hold up to a thousand items, regardless of size. Pretty handy, honestly.
Then came the starter money, in the form of Neiros. The amount we received depended on our luck stat.
Not to brag, but mine was a two-digit number...
Negative.
My luck stat was -15. So I received... absolutely nothing.
I could feel people staring at me—pity, secondhand embarrassment, maybe even shame.
Then, the same cheerful guy from earlier stepped forward and raised his voice:
"We should help our friend out. It's not his fault his luck stat is negative."
Many nodded in agreement.
One by one, the Dreamers walked past me, dropping five coins each into my Macuto. There were about 300 of us.
When Ethan—that was his name—passed by, I heard he had a double-digit positive luck stat. He'd received nearly 50,000 Neiros. He dropped 1,000 into my Macuto.
"Thanks," I said.
"You're the weakest one here. You'll need all the help you can get," he replied, smiling. He felt like the older brother I never had.
Then the silk pajama girl walked up. Elaine. She also dropped 1,000 coins into my Macuto.
"Here. Buy yourself some clothes, shameless," she said, eyes narrowed in disgust.
In the end, my Macuto showed a total of 3,495 Neiros. More than some others had, but no one really seemed to care.
I smirked to myself.
Sometimes... playing pathetic has its perks.