Sitting at his desk doing his best to be a good office worker, Hal was struck speechless when a cerulean text box popped up in front of his computer screen. At first he thought it was his computer, but when he turned his head slightly the text travelled with his eyes instead of staying fixed on the screen.

  'What's this? Is my computer acting up?'

  Calmly Hal paused and read the prompt more carefully.

  [Your planet has been chosen. The apocalypse is here! In six minutes your planet will be destroyed and a newly budding higher plane will be seeded with its remains. As you meet the minimum standard of health you can choose to submit your candidacy for becoming a lord on this new plane of existence. However, lordship is not for everyone. The path of a lord is filled with trials and tribulations. Therefore all have a choice. Become a lord or a servant. Choose wisely!]

  As he read the words on the screen a sickening feeling of dread started in his belly and moved slowly upward putting pressure on his heart. Hal wasn't the most athletic of individuals and now regretted all the snacks he had been eating lately. His logical brain was warring with him telling him that this was just a prank, but for some reason his feelings were fully in line with what the message was telling him.

  Moving his head to look over to his friend's cube his dread increase as the cerulean text box continuted to follow his line of sight way past the boundaries of the computer screen. Vaguely transparent it blocked most of his view, only allowing a few details to come through from behind.

  People all over the office were freaking out either becoming hysterical or going catatonic. Clearly this situation was not unique to him alone.

  [You have 30 seconds to choose: Lord or servant. If a selection is not made your choice will be made for you.]

  [Survivability Stats:

  Lord: .01%

  Servant: 30%

  ]

  [26 secs]

  Below the selection screen a timer was counting down in place.

  Sweat popped out on Hal forehead.

  'The obvious choice seemed to be Lord at first, but now that I can see that only one in ten thousand lords survive, ... . I just don't know ...'

  Thought Hal while wiping the sweat from his forehead.

  [19 secs]

  'What do I do? ...'

  This was not a time to be emotional. He had to make the right choice here. Risk it all or play it safe.

  [12 secs]

  'Calm down, if you want to survive you have to choose servant. You have to!'

  Talking to himself inside his head Hal finally took a sigh of relief. He wasn't so self consumed that he had to become a Lord. His ego wasn't that big! It wasn't necessary. Survival came first.

  Just as he was about to commit a hand landed on his shoulder.

  "Hal, ...., HAL, ... HAL!"

  Startled he looked around a saw his co-worker from across the aisle.

  "What are you going to choose?! I choose servant! Choose lord! Please, please choose lord!! Hurry!"

  She was looking to him for support, several of their male co-workers, lust filling their eyes were gathered around all trying to put their hands on her. Desperately she tried to fend them off.

  Confused Hal assumed that she and these three male co-workers were acting on information that they had received after making their choice.

  One of his co-workers skin shinny with perspiration wasn't just putting a hand on her he was reaching for more plush parts of her body.

  Harumi was one of those girls who liked to wear clothes that were in style and expensive. Today she was wearing a low cut top with a lacey knit jacket and a skirt that showed most of the long length of her legs.

  Her style choices were coming back to bite her now.

  [6 secs]

  With pleading eyes she implored him to help her out. Saw that he was frozen trying to understand what was happening. He could see that the desperate situation that she was in and knew that he had to do something. But he had never been that courageous.

  Confused he didn't know why his up to this point normal male friends were approaching Harumi like this, but he could easily see that she didn't like it.

  And then he really lost his composure when his long time friend Gan Meiyu reached over from the side. But Gan didn't put his hand on Harumi, instead he put his hand on Hal while yelling at Harumi.

  "Hey! Don't you dare get him involved in your games!"

  And then Dan continued to yell at Hal.

  "Pick lord! Hurry!! I will support you!"

  Meiyu rushed up from behind Gan and grabbed his left hand and pulled it towards the lord selection confirmation within Hal's own cerulean text box of death.

  "How are you seeing my screen?"

  Emotions immediately clouded Hal's mind. As far as he understood no one could see anyone else's screen, but obviously Meiyu could. This was even more confusing.

  There were also noises as more and more people surrounded Hal and Harumi. Some of them were trying to pull Harumi away, but Harumi now had Hal in a death grip. She was not going to let go of Hal no matter what. Desperately fighting she scissored and kicked her legs trying to free herself from the surrounding boys.

  Despite being talk, Harumi wasn't that physically fit though and her kicks didn't seem to do anything beyond further arouse and anger the boys trying to get a piece of her.

  "Hey, that loser? Come spend some time with a real man."

  "I thought you liked me?"

  "Spend the apocalypse with me. I promise to bring you joy every single day!"

  Many of them were promising things or boasting in their strength.

  All Hal could think was that these guys were crazy all fighting over Harumi when there were dozens of other girls all around them. Their division had at least a hundred cubes lined up in rows in this huge room.

  [2 secs]

  Some of the boys figured it out and several cubes down a boy entered a girl's cube as she began to scream.

  In all the commotion Hal forgot to make his selection.

  [1 secs]

  'Oh, well, this is all too confusing anyway. The default selection is probably servant, I don't have to worry. Already I can tell that being a lord is just way to stressful. Boy am I glad to be just a servant!'

  [User selection made.]

  [Congratulations on submitting your application for becoming a lord!]

  [Successful approval of you lord application will be dependent on how many servants choose you as their lord. You may increase the chances of approval by physically claiming those servants that you wish to command.]

  [But be careful, servants may also wish to select you as their lord. Please reject their appeal if you do not wish to have them as your servant.]

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  Hal met Harumi's eyes as the masses around them all fought and some even bled for recognition.

  [Selection timeframe has expired. All choices have been finalized.]

  [Calculating... 4%]

  [Calculating... 68%]

  [Calculation complete.]

  All around them people were going out of their minds. The smell of feces and urine was heavy in the air as the reality of the situation scared the piss and shit out of them. The building started to shake. Loud explosions came from outside silencing all the various sounds from within. Everyone was too captured by the mighty sounds of destruction for any spare thoughts. That was how all encompassing the experience of the world being destroyed was.

  In a way it was as if the people were giving respect to the planet as it died. Their silence was the last fleeting tribute to the world that was the coital birthplace of their existence up to now.

  And then it was over. The final cataclysmic destruction suddenly cut off and Hal wondered if he had just died.

  In actuality the system had only frozen them in preparation from their eminent transfer to the higher plane.

  Eyes locked with Harumi, Hal wished that she had not made such a big deal out of all this. He wasn't some lord. He didn't have any qualifications for lordship. He didn't even want to be a leader.

  All he would want at this moment was to have a redo. In games wasn't it possible to quit and restart. Wouldn't it be great if he could go back to six minutes ago and make some better choice.

  But there was no going back and instead Hal felt the world drop out from under his feet as he was projected into an alternate dimension. A higher plane was swiftly inbound.

  Slowly the word around him began to populate each object being drawn and then filled in, before finally taking on a three dimensional presence. Except that once everything was fleshed out the surroundings became more and more real until with a splurt the plants all around flouresced giving off an excess of vitality. It was unquestionable and brutally clear this was real, the sense of life all around was suffocating.

  [Congratulations! You have been transmigrated to a higher plane as a Lord!]

  [This world is a transitory world in safe mode. All higher civilizations have been locked out of this plane. In one year's time this plane will either become a world upon which the human race may seed the universe or this plane will break apart and be claimed by the various parties currently warring for control.]

  'What!?'

  Hal still wasn't able to accept what had happened.

  'Why am I a Lord? I wanted to be a servant. What did Meiyu do?!"

  [A higher plane has been seeded with your planet's materials. The local cosmos has also been seeded with your main star, planets, and objects. This plane in safe mode is a designation supported by a generous benefactor whose gift of 10 sextillion gigahertz of energy will sustain this plane for 1 year.]

  [The new Lord's Novice Protection will last 10 days.]

  [This plane's benefactor will host several Novice Lord Events. Please stay tuned.]

  And then the helpful cerulean text screen stopped popping notices and Hal heaved a sigh of relief.

  'At least I can relax and take my time to grow all by myself. I don't think I will compete for any rewards or titles. Just a modest growth to stay alive, that will be good enough for me. And if I die, who cares, anyways.'

  Thinking weird thoughts Hal looked around, finding himself in a clearing with high mountains rising up above trees all around him.

  'Sigh, this is so beautiful. This higher plane really is kind of nice!'

  Taking a deep breath Hal smiled a little bit turning so he could get a full 360 degree view. A small stream emptied into a little lake in the distance. He could see the light glinting off the water through the trees. Directly opposite of the lake the woods became darker even a few paces beneath the canopy.

  Still there was nothing scary or large coming his way so he thought he would take a stroll closer to the lake to see more of the environment.

  As soon as he moved he realized that his old modern day clothes were gone. Now as he moved it became apparent immediately. All he had on was a runic. No pants, no shoes, nothing else besides a rope knotted around his waist keeping the tunic from flying up. It was actually a bit too windy all of a sudden.

  Embarrassed, it was this moment that the system began transmigrating people into existence all around him.

  Crying and screams broke the previously serene atmosphere.

  [Your servants have been transmigrated or instantiated.]

  [Summary:

  Transmigrated Souls: 28

  Dependents:14

  Instantiated Souls: 22

  Dependents: 61]

  'Ah, thanks?'

  Was all Hal could think. It felt like the system was out to get him. If he was going to be a lord, why couldn't he be alone!

  [Your welcome. A grateful Lord is rare!]

  Suddenly the system said something that scared Hal almost to death.

  'That is just too creepy. The system has an AI?'

  Speaking out loud Hal was quick to reply back.

  "No, wait! I didn't mean it like that! I mean, I just wasn't expecting the system to reply back..."

  Silence greeted Hal's words leaving him in suspense. Evidently this system had limited ways to interact.

  Sighing Hal started trying to figure out what to do with all these people. The AI didn't need to prompt him, but instead of giving a smart response he just said in his mind.

  'Thanks bringing these people here. I will support them of course I will. You got it!'

  The last Hal said with some pep in his tone, but really he was overwhelmed.

  "Hal! Hal! Over here!"

  Suddenly a voice that he knew brought his attention to his right. There was Harumi standing before him with a bright smile.

  "I knew it! I am so glad you got me away from all those men!"

  Harumi said.

  But Hal was anything but excited to see her.

  'This is going to be trouble, for sure.'

  She couldn't help herself, even in a tunic ending in a much more conservative mid thigh length compared to the short short skirt she wore to the office and no cleavage at all Harumi was still breathtakingly beautiful. Her skin was clear and her features refined. Black hair hung straight down from a perfect part down the middle of her head. The lustrous glossy fullness ended just above the small of her back.

  But Hal was not taken in my her looks. He had sat directly opposite of her for two years at Anderson INC. He knew all the boys she had dated and how she had lead them all on as if it was some kind of game. She had had five steady boy friends all rich who had showered lavish gifts upon her at every opportunity. And in between steady boy friends she had had many suitors who sometimes showed up behind him and in front of her cube to fight it out over her. Literally fight. It was a drama show, constantly.

  The cubes had been made of sound suppressing material, but with only three sides of the cube enclosed the fourth side let all the sound transmit directly across to Hal.

  So all the discussions about boys with her two best friends who had often sat with her in her cube to talk had all come through loud and clear. And they hadn't been shy about gossiping about everyone. And Hal meant everyone, including him. So he knew exactly what she thought of him. Which was weird, because he wouldn't have thought that she would be interested in a boy that she thought of as weak and stupid.

  But obviously she was interested enough in him to select him as her 'lord'. It was all confusing and this plane was just too weird.

  On the other hand, of course he wasn't above appreciating the care she took to make herself presentable. She worked out, had hobbies, and ate only the best of food. Over the two years he had known her she had even gone out of her way to ask him almost everyday how she looked. Hal had become good by necessity at figuring out what she had changed about her outfit. He had to come up with something to say every time and he wasn't about to say that the only reason she looked good in such revealing clothes was because she was lucky enough to have large C cup breasts.

  On more than one occasion he had fought back by making sure she knew he wasn't interested in being her boy friend. Hal had no interest in being one of the pathetic beings that fought and slaved for her attention. Besides it was all just too much.

  'I am not interested in dealing with your drama!'

  But Hal only said this in his mind. His mother had drilled into him that he would always treat women with respect.

  Thinking about his mother, he wondered where she was. He had moved out of his father's house ten years ago, going to college and then working had taken up so much time that he didn't often check in with his parents.

  Perhaps they are both Lords or maybe they decided to be servants. Hal didn't know and had no way of finding out.

  Just then Hal's train of thought was interrupted by two screams as both of Harumi's friends found her in the mix of humanity that was Hal's servants and their dependents. Hal had thought that they were being attacked or something, but instead it was just girls being girls. His nerves were already totally fried.

  One of the women looked over at Hal and not liking his facial expression or something proceeded to take Hal down a peg.

  "Oh, don't worry. You are not that important. Harumi just needed to get away from those disgusting pigs."

  Sarah, one of Harumi's girl friends, took the moment to immediately clarify what happened putting Hal in his place.

  Harumi seeing that his girls were about to cause some drama turned away so that the three of them could start chatting with each other.

  Relieved at escaping with just his pride taking a hit Hal moved in the opposite direction trying to get away from them as much as possible. But again his attention was pulled away.

  "Hal!"

  This time the voice he heard was most welcome.

  "Meiyu?"

  Meiyu walked up to Hal with Gan dragging behind.

  "Gan, too? How are you guys!"

  This was the best of all possible outcomes. His two best friends in the whole world.

  Hal had met Gan in college when they had been grouped together for a project in some class they had both forgotten the name of. Since then they had graduated together and it had been Gan who had suggested they apply as programmers at Anderson INC. Just like that they had been working together in-depth for six years.

  Meiyu and Gan had started dating some four years ago and had been going strong ever since. They weren't married preferring to live their lives to the fullest before completely committing and having kids. Once kids came they would have had to devote everything the the little ones.

  It was crazy that they had all made it to this other world together now.

  "We are doing fine."

  Gan answered his tone of voice and facial expression shouted stress. Hal realized that Meiyu was the one holding Gan's hand. Comforting her boyfriend she turned to Hal.

  "What are we going to do?"

  Her first question brought a lot of psychological pressure to Hal. He wasn't cut out for the pressure of leadership and wished that he had a girl friend holding his hand and comforting him right now.