Lin Wu was a normal university student that was majoring in biology. He lived his life as average as anyone could. His likes and dislikes were very similar to other people of his age. He liked video games, anime, comics, novels, dramas, and all such things. And of course, he was also a single dog just to add a cherry on top.

It was the day before his finals and he had been grinding hard and cramming all he could before the morning came.

“Oh damn, I should have at least started a week earlier. Why do I always torture myself like this?” Lin Wu said to himself.

One could see disposable cups of coffee and cans of energy drinks lying on his table and also around him. One would think that these were accumulated over a few days, but it was not so. Lin Wu had been binging on coffee and energy drinks to keep himself awake and his mind running.

He had already had a way too high a dose of caffeine and his hands were shaking with tremors, yet he did not stop and was still feeling sleepy and drowsy. Lin Wu glanced over to the bed that was opposite to his and saw his roommate sleeping soundly.

Unlike Lin Wu, his roommate was a model student who was free from the ‘Influences that plagued the youths of today’. He did not play video games, and neither did he spend any time on hobbies. He was at the peak of what one could call a prodigal scholar.

“Bloody Normie. Leaving me alone to study.” Lin Wu cursed.

Lin Wu’s eyes then wandered over to the mini-fridge that was located on the other side of the bed. His eyes lit up with a greedy glint as he kept on staring at the mini-fridge.

“Hehehe, I’ll just give you a little punishment for leaving me alone to study. If we are roommates, then we should suffer together, my pain is your pain.” Lin Wu said with a slightly creepy tone.

Lin Wu then sneaked to his roommates’ table and picked up a long ruler that was placed on his table. He used the ruler and slid it in the gap between his roommate’s mattress and head board. Skillfully using the ruler without making any noise, Lin Wu pulled out a small key chain that was hidden by his roommate.

~Hehehe~

Lin Wu took the key in his hand and silently laughed.

“Now all the contents of your mini-fridge are mine.” Lin Wu muttered.

He then used the key and unlocked the door of the mini-fridge. As soon as he opened the door of the mini-fridge, the shining cans of energy drinks illuminated his eyes.

“You’ve been hiding the Special Limited Edition ‘Ultra boost energy Elixir series’ from me all this time. But no more, I claim these as mine now.” Lin Wu spoke to himself.

The ‘Elixir series’ was a brand of energy drink that was widely popular among people currently and was a favorite of Lin Wu. The can that he was holding in his hand was a special limited edition version that was recently released but was very hard to find. Lin Wu had stood in the line for hours but still could not buy it.

The energy drink that he had in his hand was claimed to be a thousand percent more powerful than any brand on the market and was said to the best to drink while studying and working.

Lin Wu popped open the can of ‘Ultra boost energy Elixir series’ and his mouth started drooling.

“Finally with this, I shall overcome the tribulation that is the ‘Final Exam’.” Lin Wu proclaimed.

And with this, he took his first sip. Intense joy spread across his body as his mind entered a state of euphoria.

“Delicious! I can feel the energy coursing through me.” Lin Wu exclaimed.

He then chugged the entire can and sat down to study. He could feel his mind working faster and faster until when finally the words started to come out of his textbook.

“Ahhh, such is the power bestowed by the ‘Ultra boost energy Elixir series’.” Lin Wu uttered with jubilation.

Lin Wu could see the words forming images in front of him in the air, which would then enter his mind. But every time these entered his brain, he felt a throbbing pain in his body.

“This is but just the pain of success.” Lin Wu affirmed to himself.

He kept on reading for an unknown amount of time until when finally; he started to feel incredibly cold.

“Why is it so cold all of a sudden, this is the middle of Summer?” Lin Wu wondered.

He was just about to stand up to close the window, when he discovered that he could not move at all. His body felt as if it was frozen.

‘Wha-what’s happening to me? Did I overdraw on my brain?’ Lin Wu thought to himself.

He tried to speak but found that he was unable to do that either. Resigning himself to his fate, he let go.

“Ah, I’ve already studied enough to pass the test in the morning. I should just take a nap till then, I’ll be fine in the morning.” Lin Wu spoke to himself in his mind.

And with these as his last words that went completely unheard, Lin Wu entered his final slumber.

*****

“Huh, did the power go out? Why is it so dark here?” Lin Wu thought.

Lin Wu looked around, but all he could see was darkness everywhere.

“But wait, even if the power went out it should not be this dark, it should be morning now.” Lin Wu said to himself in a confused tone.

He then tried to move and discovered that he could barely move. In fact, he could not even feel his limbs, all he could feel was his torso.

“Did I sleep wrong and block the blood circulation to my limbs?” Lin Wu muttered to himself.

He thought that waiting for a while should fix it, but even after five minutes he still could not feel his limbs. Getting desperate at this moment, he decided to call for help.

“HELP! I can’t move. I can’t feel my limbs.” Lin Wu shouted, but no words came out.

Lin Wu then realised that all he had been speaking till now, was only in his mind. No words were actually coming out of his mouth.

~Ding~

Suddenly a ding sound was heard in Lin Wu’s mind as if it was a notification from his smartphone.

“What’s this?” Lin Wu thought to himself as a window suddenly appeared in front of him.

SYSTEM ACTIVATED:

ISSUING QUEST: Error! Quest directory not found.

ANALYZING: Please wait a few minutes

“Chickie nuggies! What the hell is this?” Lin Wu exclaimed.

~Ding~

NEW PARAMETERS IDENTIFIED: Formulating new quest directory

FIRST QUEST ISSUED: Break out of the egg.

“EGGGGG!? WHAT DO YOU MEAN EGG?”