"W-what the hell was that?" Said aloud. Never in his 20 years of living had he seen anything that 'unreal'.
'This was straight of of a sci-fi/fantasy game. That's not normal at all.' He thought to himself, inspecting the tiny wound on his hand where the mechanical arm had sampled his blood.
'Inheritance? Grandpa what on good God's earth have you been hiding all this time.'
His Grandfather wasn't exactly a special existence on Earth. He lived a relatively normal life to his knowledge. But he would often go on several month long trips where no one could contact him.
He had no hidden fortune, else he'd have received it by now in his will as his last relative.
In his last years, he just lived off a pension, like any old geezer who's worked hard in life.
But why did he keep this store a secret over the past seven and a half years?
It made no sense, perhaps there was more to it.
Breathing in and out, Lex grounded himself as he opened the handle to the room.
Upon entering, he found the inside to be unlike anything he had seen in the store so far. There were no windows, completely isolated, the room was made of pure metal and was completely spotless.
There were screens, dozens of screens showing something akin to CCTV, however, he had not noticed a single camera on his way in despite his scrutiny.
In the centre of the screens, was a terminal something straight out of fallout with green blocky lettering as if he had opened a command console on his laptop at home.
A strange smirk appeared on Lex's face, "Now why on earth is this stuff here? Doesn't look like a normal office room to me.
He walked toward the terminal, each step clanking on the hard metal flooring.
Reading the screen, it read:
[ Welcome Owner Lex Skyshard ]
[ It's a pleasure to meet you, I am the operating system of the Otherworld Retail Department. ]
[ Apologies for the intense first impression. It is the security policy to ensure the person enters has the correct authority to enter this room. ]
[ Are you ready to experience a different life? ]
Lex's eyebrow raised, 'Different life? What does that even mean?'
Typing on the keyboard he tried to give a question of his own.
"What do you mean by a different life?" He prompted the terminal.
Yet the response he got was not the one he was hoping for.
[ Response not recognized as an answer to prior question. Please answer, are you ready to experience a different life? ]
Lex frowned. What so he couldn't even get his own concerns answered? What is going to happen if he just says yes or no?
I suppose, a saner man would leave this be, go back to his regular life, and not hassle themselves.
'...'
But Lex didn't really have a life to go back to.
There wasn't anyone waiting on him at his student apartment, he didn't have friends or any living family members, his career is none existent, and his university course is a complete dead end with no real prospects after graduation.
'What could really go wrong for me, I'm not really risking anything here, I'm kind of reaching for an opportunity.'
It might be reckless, but if it lead him to a different life than the current one he was living, would he take it?
Yes, yes he would.
There wasn't anything special about him, his life reflected that well enough.
And he was painfully aware of it.
If he didn't come here today, he would've went home and wasted another night of his life on the consumption of media and junk food. Usually, that felt like a nice, relaxing plan.
But with his last grandfather's letter in his head, this strange, never seen before - at least to him - terminal, he can't ignore it like he's ignored everything else.
So, with a sigh and a breath, he typed "Yes." into the terminal.
*Brrzzp*
As soon as he hit enter... all the screens in the room turned off.
Suddenly the lights flickered nonstop as the ground and wall around him began to tremble.
"A-an earthquake? N-now? S-shit I've never experienced an earthquake like this. I-I need to get out!"
The trembling worsened, turning into a rumble as the room and the rest of the store visible shook.
The ground was unsteady, tripping over himself as he hurried to the door.
However, as he shook the handle, the door didn't budge, "Shit, shit, open for the love of all that's holy!"
His hands fumbled around his pocket, dragging out the keys as he tried to unlock the door.
*BOOOOM*
With one last, ground shattering bang, the tremors sent Lex flying against the wall to his side, as the earthquake began to subside. "Aghk." Lex groaned as he stood up with his back against the wall, his breathing heavy and his expression alarmed.
But the noise? It had stopped. The ground was once more stable, the walls no longer shook.
Lex rapidly clung onto the wall as if it were to move again at any moment.
He heard the terminal's voice ring out again.
[ Dimensional travel has been successfully completed. We have arrived at World Durisov. Welcome owner Lex. ]
[ Due to the low level of the store and strain of dimensional travel, mana reserves are critical. ]
[ CCTV and Dimensional Travel are temporarily out of order. Time until back online - 23:59:43s ]
*CLICK*
[ Security door has been unlocked. System menu has been unlocked. ]
"Holy crap... what did that just say?" Lex blurted out as he tried to still his out of shape heart.
***
(Herman's POV)
Within the warehouse hidden away inside a cabinet, sat a man named Herman, knees up to his chest, his breath held.
His hair was slightly grayed, long, unkept and unclean like his tattered clothes.
'Seriously?! 2 years of nobody even stepping foot in here and that guy just HAS to show up.'
He would spit on the floor right now if he could. But it was quite cramped in the cabinet and didn't want to sit with his own spit.
Holding his head in his hands. 'Aw man I'm gonna lose my house. AGAIN!'
'What do I even do? I don't want to leave! It's practically my home!'
Herman had been living here, in this warehouse, unnoticed for quite a long time. He found it on a stormy night on the streets, nowhere to go, he noticed an abandoned store that had seen it's age passed.
So he took sanctuary there, and then again, and then again, until it eventually just became where Herman stayed. Sure it wasn't in his name. Sure he was trespassing on private property. But at least there was roof over the man's head which was enough for Herman to break a few laws.
But now that peace was threatened!
Herman stayed as quiet as possible inside that cabinet, as he heard the crunching of glass outside followed by cautious steps.
The man in the warehouse didn't speak, Herman saw flickers of a phone's flashlight in the crevices of the cabinet door.
'Shiiiittt he's getting close... don't open the cabinet... don't open the cabinet!' He willed mentally.
As by a pure miracle, the man stepped away from his place of hiding.
Listening to the footsteps, he noticed the man who was of course Lex, walk away and closer to that cursed door.
About a month into staying here, Herman had tried to open that door a couple times. Both times the mechanical arm stabbing him in the hand and kicking him away.
And then it dawned on him, the only way to keep staying here is if that door deters the intruder.
Then he heard the strange voice.
[ Dimensional control room door unlocked... Last date unlocked 7 years 4 months 22 days ago... Security protocol activated... Confirming identity... Identity unknown... Require more data... ]
[ Extracting blood sample...]
"Get off- ow. Fuck that hurt..."
'Hehe, that thing'll kick him out! And I can keep living here in piece. Feel the same pain I did, sucker!' He thought as a grin took place on his face.
But the response from the door was not the same he had received. It completely rejected Herman, even extending a mechanical leg to kick him in the gut to push him away.
However unfortunately...
[ Analysing blood... Relation to owner identified... Identification as Grandson of Leo Peckham - Lex Peckham. Confirmed death of Leo Peckham through Lex Peckham's memory... Confirmed... Inheritance protocol starting... Inheritance protocol complete. ]
[ Welcome, Owner Lex Peckham, to the Otherworld Retail Department. Please enter. ]
'Crap.' He thought as the grin faded as quickly as it had came.
He heard the man named 'Lex' panic before entering the room even he had not seen the inside of.
Admittedly he was little jealous, but that was beside the point.
'That guy's the new owner! Ohhh my peaceful life is over! Well- it was never peaceful before but my sanctuary will be taken from me! I have to get out of here before he returns.' He thought as he slowly opened the cabinet door.
Peeking his head out, he surveyed the surroundings, the security door was closed and he was in the clear.
'Better start finding somewhere new now rather than later!' He smirked.
If at this point Lex was looking at the CCTV and not the terminal, he would notice a haggard man exiting one of his storage cabinets. However, his mind was fully occupied with the mysterious terminal.
As Herman was about to stand up... the world around him began to tremble.
"Aw crap. Not the time!" He accidentally blurted out, covering his mouth.
And like that, he crawled back into the cabinet, 'I'll uh... weather the earthquake in here. You know, it's actually quite cozy if you ignore the splinters...' He thought, as he was dragged along with the dimensional travel, same as Lex.
***
(Lex's POV)
'Different world? Is this a joke?' Thought Lex.
Surely it was a jest? No such thing REALLY exists on Earth... right?
Lex had watched countless hours of anime, played too many games for his own health to not have an inkling of what it was suggesting.
"T-there's no way. Not till I see it with my own eyes!" Lex said aloud.
Lex rushed back to the security door, determined to see the current state of affairs outside.
Opening with ease this time, the door swung wide open-
"STAY BACK!" Herman suddenly shouted, scaring the life out of Lex.
Jumping out of his skin, Lex stayed with his back against the side wall staring down the perpetrator, "Who the hell are you-"
"Who are YOU?" Herman questioned back.
Herman was stood in a fighting stance, broom in hand, ready to strike.
"The owner of this bloody store!" Exclaimed Lex. "The real question is, who the hell are you? And why are you on private property!" He pointed at him, the fact that he was in a different world pushed aside as he now had a squatter on his land.
Herman brushed the matter aside with hand, "I liv- I was just uh... hiding here because of the earthquake?" Said Herman, still pressing Lex with the broom.
Lex narrowed his eyes, for some reason, he could've swore the old fogie was going to say lived here.
'I suppose its possible he came from outside when it struck... But unlikely.'
Lex eyed him up and down as he connected the dots, noticing the man's ragged apparel.
'The trash, cans, meal boxes, booze, it was this guy squatting in my bloody store wasn't it?'