Chapter 2: New Year's Eve

A week had passed since the announcement of Utopian Fantasy’s Grand Launch. It’s the last day of 2031.

“Are you ready? Did you eat already? What else do you need?” the concerned questions of Mikaila’s mother.

“It’s okay, Mom. I’m fine,” Mikaila answered.

“By the way, why are you so early? I thought the game would be opening at midnight?”

“Mom, the developer said that the game will launch at 23:49 UTC+14. But we’re in UTC+8 time zone.”

“I don’t know what that means.”

“To make it simple, the game will launch at exactly 5:59 PM in our country.”

“But it’s 1 o'clock in the afternoon! You’re still early for that time!!”

“Mom, it’s better to be early. Hundreds of thousands had pre-registered in our city alone. So, it is expected that the Local Sites will be crowded early,”

“I see, just update me once you enter the game. A text message will do.”

“I don’t know if I will be able to text you from inside the game.”

“Well, at least text me when you reach the venue.”

“Sure, Mom,” Mikaila politely replied.

“And also, if possible, please come back before the New Year comes. OUR NEW YEAR, or whatever time zone we are in!” Mikaila’s mother requested.

Mikaila was heartstrucked by her mother’s request. But, she doesn’t know what to reply because she’s still unsure about how time works inside the game.

“I’ll do my best, Mom,” Mikaila said anyway.

“Just .... Just come back early. I don’t want to celebrate the New Year alone. And please be safe, okay?” her mother pleaded.

At that very moment, Mika felt touched by her mother's words for the first time in a long while. Mika was surprised that despite her mother’s naggy attitude, she’s still capable of concern.

“I promise, Mom!” Mika replied.

A short pause happened, but deep emotions can be felt in the air. Mikaila’s mother utters,

“Well, well! You go already! It’s better to be early, you said. Then get going!”

“Okay, Mom! See you later!”

Mikaila waves at her mother as she departs.

“Don’t forget to bring home lots of money!” her mother’s last farewell.

Mikaila starts to travel. Hours passed and she finally reached the nearest Local Site. She is surprised by the number of people already flocking the venue at an early time.

“Whoa! The venue is already crowded with people,” Mikaila mumbled.

Without further ado, she started walking towards the building. Just before she can enter, a staff already greeted her,

“Hello and welcome to the Grand Launch of Utopian Fantasy!”

Mikaila nods and smiles back.

“This is the step-by-step process on how to formally join and enter the world of Utopian Fantasy. Please be guided accordingly. If you have questions, please feel free to ask the other representatives,” the personnel explained as she handed over a small pamphlet to Mikaila.

“Oh, Okay! Thanks!”

Mikaila entered the building.

The number of people inside is obviously larger. It seems like there’s a festival happening in the venue. Banners and flags decorate the area, stalls and booths are aligned at the sides of the corridor, and lots of festive materials can be seen everywhere. Excitement can be felt in the air!

Mikaila is awed by the festive aura. She never saw such an event nor experienced the same rush before. She is like a child strolling in a carnival, observing and eyeballing every booth she passes by. When she came back to her senses, she sat on a nearby bench to read the pamphlet that was given by the personnel.

She read and analyzed every step and instruction written in the pamphlet. After reading the first time, she reread again to make sure she never missed a single word.

“If I understand it correctly, there are three Portals and three Stations that I need to pass through before I can finally enter the game,” Mikaila mumbled.

Mikaila stands up after reading the instructions. She walks toward the patrolling receptionist to ask questions.

“Hey! Please correct me if I’m wrong. We’re currently at the First Station, right?”

“Yes! The Identification Area,” the personnel answered.

“It also says here that I need to officially register and accept an agreement via the Scanning Machines, am I understanding it correctly?”

“Yep, you’re right!”

“Thanks! Uhm… sorry to bother you, but can you please show me where the Scanning Machines are?” Mikaila requested politely.

“Sorry, ma’am, but I can’t walk you there because I still have other duties to do. I can give directions, at least.”

“Sure, I understand.”

The personnel gave the directions to Mikaila.

Mikaila thanked the personnel and started moving on.

After minutes of walking, she reached the area where the Scanning Machines are located.

There are approximately fifty Scanning Machines stationed in the area. Each machine has a long line of people waiting to have their turn to be scanned. Mikaila has never seen such long lines for a long time, the last one she saw was when her favorite Kpop Idol Group had a concert. Mikaila has no choice but to line up and to wait patiently.

After an hour, Mikaila is finally nearing the Scanning Machine.

Mikaila turns her face to check the line behind her. She saw that people were still coming and continued to fill up the line.

“Oh! It’s my turn! Finally,!” Mikaila gratefully muttered.

She steps forward at the front of the Scanning Machine.

The Scanning Machine has a screen twice the size of a normal monitor of a computer. On the screen are words that say “Please Tap to Proceed”.

Mikaila tapped the screen and an automated voice started speaking,

“Hello and Welcome! To begin your registration, please fill up the necessary information displayed on the screen,” the voice instructed.

Mikaila stepped closer to the machine and read every text on the screen. She tapped an input box and suddenly, a holographic keyboard appeared at her front. Mikaila was surprised and amazed at the same time. She began typing every necessary detail to proceed to her registration. After submitting the inputted information, the keyboard disappeared and the automated voice spoke again,

“Before we continue with the next step, please check if all of the information you entered is correct.”

Mikaila browsed and double-checked the texts.

“If you’re done, please smile to continue,” the voice instructed.

Not knowing what exactly to do, Mikaila smiled awkwardly.

Instantly, the screen changed and the voice spoke again,

“You have a beautiful smile! But we’re sure your smile will be twice as great when you finally enter the beautiful world of Utopian Fantasy!”

“Hehe,” Mikaila fake laughed.

“The next step will be the Player Agreement. The screen shows the scope of the agreement and the Terms and Conditions that the players should agree upon.”

Lengthy texts and wordy paragraphs suddenly appeared on the screen. Mikaila is obviously overwhelmed.

“You can scroll through the page by waving your hand upwards or downwards. If you wish to proceed to the next page, wave your hand to your left. Likewise, wave to your right if you want to go back to the previous page,” the automated voice continued.

Mikaila tried waving her hand and the pages changed like what the voice said.

The automated voice continues,

“If you’re done reading, say the words “I’m in” if you agree to the conditions and “So sad that I have to lose this wonderful opportunity” if you disagree.”

The voice repeated the instructions twice.

Mikaila began reading. She analyzed and reviewed every statement. She makes sure she doesn't miss anything. When she finally reached the bottom of the first page, she noticed that the Player Agreement has a total of 28 pages. She was shocked and disappointed at the same time. Without a choice, she carefully read through each page of the agreement.

Minutes had passed. Mikaila is still on the 14th page. People at her back are starting to get impatient. Eventually, they started to complain,

“Hey! Can you please hurry up? There is still a long line behind you.”

“How long will you keep us waiting?”

“So slow”

Mikaila is starting to get conscious,

“I’m sorry! Just a bit left,” she apologized.

After that, Mikaila began speed-reading.

“Come On! I’m hungry already!” another complained.

Mikaila frantically swiped through the remaining pages and ended up agreeing without further examining the whole conditions.

“Thank You for agreeing! To continue, please place your right arm inside the chamber with your wrist facing upwards. Make sure that your arm is elbow-deep inside the chamber,” the automated voice further instructed as a small chamber begins to open.

A white light glows inside. Mist also comes out from the entrance of the small chamber.

Straight off, Mikaila placed her hand inside the chamber as instructed.

The light inside the chamber turned to yellow when she placed her hand inside. The automated voice speaks again,

“Please stand by and avoid any movements until instructed.”

Mikaila followed the instructions.

Suddenly,

“Aw!!!” Mikaila shrieked.

“You can now remove your hand from the chamber,” the automated voice instructed as the light inside turned to green.

“What was that!?” Mikaila ponders while moaning about the pain she felt on her wrist.

“Please move a few steps away from the machine to proceed with the scanning,” the voice instructed.

Mikaila did what the voice instructed.

“Scan complete! Please check the scanned details on the screen.”

Mikaila stepped towards the screen and read the displayed details,

“Mikaila T. Gabriel …. Age …. 20 years old ….Female…. Height …. Blood Type?…. Hair Color? …. Skin Color? Body Size!? Overall Health Condition!? How did they know that?”

The automated voice speaks again,

“Please say the words “Utopian Fantasy” to continue.”

Still puzzled, Mikaila is still reading the details.

“Hey! What are you waiting for!?” the person behind Mikaila angrily exclaimed.

“Utopian Fantasy,” Mikaila said with a frightened voice.

“Congratulations! You are now officially registered as a player! You can now go to the Second Station by entering the First Portal at the end of the hall. Thank you and Good Luck!” the final messages of the automated voice.

Mikaila hurriedly walked away from the machine.

A few steps after, Mikaila can’t help but stare at her wrist again - she’s still in a deep ponder.

Mikaila proceeded to the end of the hall. Shortly after, she saw the First Portal.

The Portal is as wide and as tall as the hall - it covers the hallway itself. The area beneath is not visible because there is opaque violet energy emanating at the entrance.

Automated Voice Reminders can also be heard nearby,

“Reminder! This is a One-way Portal. Once you enter, you cannot go back to this station using the same Portal……….Warning! You will feel slight dizziness once you cross the Portal. A designated resting shed is available on the other side. Thank You!”

These voice instructions are played in a loop.

Mikaila stepped closer to the Portal. She was anxious at first. She, then, saw two younger boys playing at the entrance of the Portal. They are sticking their hands in and out and they are having fun. Mikaila’s doubts were slightly taken away by the boys’ laughter.

“There’s nothing to worry about, I got this,” Mikaila comforted herself.

She steps closer and closer.

“Here it goes!”

Mikaila sprints to the Portal. She succeeded in crossing to the other side; she ended up at the entrance corridor of the Second Station. She felt the dizziness right away, so she immediately waddled towards the resting shed at the right side of the corridor. She lay on a couch and rested there for a while.

Moments passed. Mikaila finally regained her strength. She left the resting shed and walked towards the other end of the corridor. The corridor is a long passageway so it took her some time to finally reach the main hall of the Second Station.

When Mikaila finally reached the main hall, she was surprised once again.

The area is multiple times wider than the reception of the first station, and the number of people is significantly larger. The hall is like a circular chamber with the Main Desk at its center. The Central Main Desk is also circular; it is stationed by multiple game personnel and desk managers. Above the circular desk is a floating circular monitor. The words “Regional Waiting Area” are displayed on the floating monitor.

Booths and food stalls can be seen at the circumference of the circular hall. Benches and couches are scattered in the area for people to rest on. On the side opposite to Mikaila’s, a closed Portal can be seen. The Portal is ten times the size of the first one. Above the Portal are two digital clocks; one showing the time in the regional area, and the other shows the time in UTC+14.

“So, this is the Waiting Area that is written in the pamphlet,” Mikaila whispered with amusement.

She walks to a nearby lounge and sits on it. She opened the pamphlet to reread the next steps. While skimming on the pamphlet, Mikaila overheard two people talking nearby,

“So, what are your plans?” the first man asked the other.

“Well, it is how it is. We’re poor, as you know. We’re used to celebrating New Years like a normal day,” the other man responded as he glanced at his family happily conversing nearby.

He continued,

“As a father, it’s hard for me to see my children eating dried fish at a New Year while the rich children are merrily feasting on their banquets. I thought to myself: “what if we do something different this coming new

year?” So, we decided to join the game. If the game turns out as a wonderland as they promised, I’m sure that my kids will be gleeful and we will finally experience a happy new year for a change.”

Mikaila is touched. While listening to the strangers, she remembered what her mother told her before she left the house,

“Shocks! I forgot to text Mom!”

Mikaila quickly grabs her phone. When she opened it, she noticed that the signal was already blocked and she couldn’t text her mother anymore.

“Oh no!” she muttered with worry.

“I hope Mom won’t get mad at me,” she sighed.

Mikaila tried to send messages a few more times. Suddenly, a lady approached her. The lady seemed to be within the same age as Mikaila. The lady is shy and her face is pointing at the floor. Later on, the girl spoke and asked Mikaila bashfully,

“Uhm……..Can  ….  Can you please be my friend?”