The Leveling of Humanity CH 1

Chase sat on his couch in the small two-bedroom apartment he called home, staring at the news for the third straight hour. The shock of the past seven days was still weighing on him, but being from the newest generation of free-thinkers, it wasn't something he couldn't comprehend or process. Truthfully, he had often read stories, watched media, and daydreamed about being in a video game-like setting where his stats were on display. A world where he could level up and focus on what he wanted to do with more guidelines than the real world offered. This was now his reality and the reality of the rest of humanity. Everyone was flocking to the location of the pillars of light, descending from the alien ships and attacking the orbs of light to level up. Chase also wanted to go, but the closest location to him with spheres was near Atlanta. Unfortunately, that was about a 95-mile trip away, and he lacked the funds to make it there. Things had been tight for him financially since Emily had broken up with him and took most of the stuff in their formerly shared little apartment. One income to pay all the bills was hardly enough for the pricey apartment in the city where he lived, but he had to make due.

Chase found his mind drifting back to Emily once more, as it did most days, but this time it was for a different reason. A text message on his phone, the first text from her in months.

'Chase, we need to talk. I'm on my way.'

He wondered if he should reply. He had typed out a great many things and deleted them. Ranging from positive to negative, but in the end, he settled for 'Okay.' A soft knock at the door and he sprung to his feet, sliding over and unlocking it. Emily stood there, short black hair cut just like she liked it. Straight and proper, every strand in its place and trying their best to touch her shoulder. She wore a purple headband and black sunglasses too big for her small face. She wore a rock band t-shirt that matched her converse shoes and blue jeans perfectly. She smiled at him and hugged him quickly while simultaneously rustling his own black hair. The exchange only lasted a moment, but it was enough to have all his feelings for her rush back in a heartbeat. Her cherry blossom-scented body spray lingered on him as she stepped into the bare-bones apartment. The light in the room seemed to feel warmer as she turned to face him, her smile reaching her eyes.

"Hey, you." Her voice was sweet and warm, "Get some shoes on. We gotta go for a drive." Chase paused for a moment, processing what she was saying,

"A drive? I thought we would be able to talk here. But, unfortunately, I don't have the money to drive us around or go anywhere. Sorry." Chase dropped his eyes and demeanor as he felt this chance she was offering slip away. She was finally here, and he was too broke to take her out and spoil her like they used to. He felt his heart breaking and exhaled deeply to steady his emotions.

"Chase... I've missed you, but I'm not here to coerce you into a date or spend any money. Instead, I'm taking you to Atlanta because we need to level you up before the next wave happens." She stood straight, and he saw she was focusing on her status display screen. Then, with a nod and wave of her hand, her stat screen suddenly appeared to him. He exclaimed without realizing it and took a step closer.

"I didn't know you could do that with the status screen!"

"That's not all. There is a group of people online who have found different functions and different tabs. Check this out." She nudged to the right, and a new tab came up. Finally, there was a tab with a counter with only 2 hours left on it.

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I hope you're enjoying my story The Leveling of Humanity, if you are please continue reading in the next chapter: https://shopping-feedback.today/fiction/the-leveling-of-humanity-ch-2%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cstyle data-emotion-css="1x3zcuc-StoryContent">.css-1x3zcuc-StoryContent{pointer-events:none;}