Boom!
A deafening sound echoes through the dark alley as two teenagers, one had a light skin brown complexion with a lean build and a dark messy hair with a frightened yet annoyed expression on his face. Jumping over a wall, he stumbles as he swiftly begins to continue running, a big duffel bag clutched to his chest like his life depended on it and that was Dex, our little troublemaker. And the other one who followed behind him, the one who had just fallen after he failed to successfully jump the walls, well, that was Malo, Dex's best friend.. Cursing he also stumbled as he continues to run after Dex.
"Rule one of dealing with the mafia: Don't steal from them.
Rule two: If you're dumb enough to break rule one, don't do it with Malo.
Yet here I was, sprinting through a Brooklyn alleyway with five million dollars in a duffel bag and a guy behind me who could literally light fires with his mind."
Dex was pulled out of his thoughts as he heard the furious growl of the Mafia enforcer, Gianni, "Pyro" Russo. Who shoots actual fireballs from his hands, making Dex stumble mid chase and continue onwards, adrenaline keeping his body going. His mind still racing with thoughts.
Dreamscape is the VR game that gave Gianni his powers.
And thats why i need it to survive.
The"Level 50 Rule":Reach max level, as far as many are concerned that was a point of breakthrough. And pick one ability to keep IRL. No one knows how it works really.
The mafia monopolizes high-level accounts which is why they're pissed about the stolen cash.
As Dex continues to run, heart still beating and legs aching and trembling, but still alive due to Gianna's surprisingly bad aim, he glances up at a Neon Dreamscape billboard which showed a player of a warrior class engaged in a fight against a monster as they teleport around and fought with skilled precision.
"I'd spent months watching gameplay streams. Level 50 players could do shit like this for real. And I'm here stuck level-zero, dodging a human flamethrower in a back alley-"
Again, he was pulled out of his thoughts yet again due to Malo's annoying and heavy panting right behind him. "Should've—huff—negotiated better!" Dex's sweating face contorts in agitation, his hazel eyes glancing at Malo briefly as he snapped back "You grabbed the money and ran!"
"Yeah, but Dreamscape's, like, an investment! We'll pay 'em back" He pauses, then continues. "After we get superpowers!" He exclaims, like an orphan who just found out their parents had come back for them.
Dex was just about to reply and curse out Malo more when a fireball singe's his jacket, making him yelp in surprise. Biting his lower lip he speeds up like never before. "Gianni was Level 53. Fire Resistance unlocked. Me? Level Fucked."
An hour passes by and after a tiring chase, Dex and Malo barely escaped but they did after running to the station and getting in the train before Gianna could get on it as well. There was a very strict law which prevented any irl ability user from using their power against anyone in public. So they were safe...For now. After splitting the money needed to buy the Vr Pod and headset, Dex and Malo split ways heading towards their own homes.
As Dex neared his house, he gulped, heart beating so hard he felt it might escape his chest.
As he walked in a very hurried manner, his mind drifts back to him and Malo's situation. "We have roughly , and hopefully 48 hours before the Luciano family locks onto us. And the only way out?Get the game. Grind like hell. Pray we unlock something better than 'Burn to Death.'
Thinking about this, he reaches his home, which was a whole headache of its own as he opens the door and walks in prepared to face the far more terrifying beast inside.