"Transport"
The last sound not even escaping my mouth before my vision flickered as I felt a brief falling sensation, all too abruptly correcting itself as I stood on a solid surface again.
Before me lay the same softly glowing walls, the same identical room but for the doors that were now missing. What replaced them were just three, evenly spread out and clearly colored without a hint of transparency. I wouldn't have thought they were doors, but for the familiar shape and the faint rippling.
I first looked at the purple door, trying to see though the surface when the voice unexpectedly spoke, again using the localized voice. "This is the community hub, you can meet other players there"
"Players?"
"Other heroes in the contest between dimensions. Henceforth referred to as players in the grand game of Dimensional Wars, heroes of their respective homeworlds"
I blinked in surprise, I hadn't expected the voice to actually answer my question. I turned my gaze towards the gray door.
"This is the challenge room, here you can earn points and risk your life completing the challenges set forth"
I shivered and finally looked towards the last door of soft green.
"This is the living quarters, here you will be given the basic necessaries required for upkeep. If you wish to improve on this, you must spend your points"
"Just what are points?" I asked, the voice had mentioned them a few times without explaining anything. I waited, but the voice didn't respond. Why would it have answered my previous question, but ignored this?
The adrenaline high was finally wearing off and I could feel just how tired I was becoming. Quickly walking towards the soft green door, I couldn't help but flinch a little as I first pressed my hand through the solid seeming surface without encountering any pressure, then followed through with my body.
The temperature didn't fluctuate, but it was still a creepy feeling to see your body disappearing into a wall.
Much like the previous room, the walls here glowed too with the same level of light. But horrifyingly, something was missing. I looked with a dismayed expression at the simple spartan room.
No really. It was just a simple, bare, room. No bedding, no cupboards, not even a table. Just a bare room.
"Your upkeep has been determined, you require a bed, bathroom and food" the voice spoke.
A darker door with the same glowing effect seemed to reveal itself on the wall as if I had overlooked it previously, a normal door handle forming in place. A thin mattress, pillow and blanket appeared in the same manner, just slipping into view. Sitting on the ground next to the mattress was a single loaf of hard black bread.
This looked... Worse than my room back home.
I didn't quite want to check, but I reluctantly opened the bathroom door to reveal that- yep. That's a hole in the center, one that looked like a hole into the void. Really, it's literally a circular hole with no other decorations. Not even a seat or raised lid.
But it looks big enough to slip a foot inside... I shivered.
Another thing that stood out about the room was the way it gently sloped towards the hole, and the wooden bucket that sat there innocently next to the wall, filled with clear water. Quickly checking the previous room, I accepted that there was no other water in the place. What I would drink and use to wash.
Would the water bucket refill itself? What about the bread?
"Does the bucket refill?" I finally asked the air, it had answered my question before so it was worth asking again.
"The bucket refills when empty and not in use" the voice dispassionately spoke.
"Does the room clean itself?"
"This is not a required part of your upkeep, so no. However, you can purchase this using your points"
Again, it mentions points. And I'd consider a clean living space as a required part of my upkeep.
"What if it gets really dirty" I persisted, surely it doesn't consider bio-hazardous waste to be livable!
"If it reaches the standard where it no longer fits your necessities for upkeep, then it will be remedied"
So live like a pig until it fixes itself, got it.
"How can I earn points?" I asked again. But much like before, the voice didn't answer.
"How can I spend points?" I asked, the voice didn't answer. It didn't answer when I asked how many points I had. How to meet other players, what was 2 + 2.
Leaving the 'bathroom' I walked over and looked down on my new bed with reluctance, it was better than the floor I reluctantly decided as I undressed before finally lying on the bed and wrapping the blanket around myself.
The adrenaline leaving me made me realize just how tired I was as I closed my eyes, the room's lights dimming automatically. Sleepy and ready to call it a night, I fell asleep despite the hard surface beneath the thin bed.
When I next woke up the walls were glowing again, I had no idea if it was morning or not. I winced, my body felt sore. Sitting up and letting the blanket fall away, I looked around.
It really wasn't a dream.
Stumbling to my feet, I had to first answer one of my most urgent needs, and face a new fear. The hole.
Let me tell you, any thought of sleep quickly disappeared when I approached that black void in the floor. Just looking at it, you could tell that it wouldn't hesitate to destroy anything that enters it. And there's nothing to stop me slipping and sticking a foot inside...
Washing up from a meter away, I watched it all drain away with nary a sound into the dark hole. I shivered again, never going to approach that hole.
Taking a drink of water which refilled itself when I looked away, I chewed on the thankfully not hard bread as I sat on the bed pondering what to do. My muscles still ached from the night's sleep, my neck had a nasty crick in it.
Sitting on the bedding, looking at the softly glowing green door that led back to the main room I pondered what to do.
Returning to Earth, not a good option. By this point I was willing to bet that the governments had the doorways on full lockdown and were actively experimenting on bypassing the restrictions. It wouldn't surprise me if they found a way already to move objects through the doors.
So returning to that area had it's risks, I knew the doorways protected me from gunfire... But what if the guns are already inside? I know that this problem would only escalate the longer time went on, their desperation growing as time passes. But, this is my life now and I wasn't prepared to give it up. Not until I had a reason.
So that option was off the table.
There was the option of staying in this room forever, living like a poor man in conditions I already found tiresome. Nothing interesting to do around here either.
Still an option, but one I liked less and less.
The last two options were the community hub and the doorway to the contests.
I wanted to know what the contests were even more than I wanted to visit the community hub, but there's a chance I can't go back if I enter the contests area, such as it forces me into something.
While the community hub had it's own risks, the name indicated that only other heroes were able to access this. So a place that I shouldn't be persecuted just because I was the first person to enter. For sure it has its own risks, namely people attacking me. But it said community hub, and that's not really a community hub if people could attack you at any moment? I wasn't sure.
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Not sure yet why they would attack you, but there's always an ass ready to screw you over.
"Can people attack me in the community hub?" I tested the voice and waited. But the voice didn't respond. I tried a few more times with different questions before finally giving up.
It didn't seem to respond to questions deemed unnecessary, or non-relevant. It had explained more when I entered new areas.
I sighed, my path forwards seemed clear. I'm likely to find out more information inside the community hub, rather than rushing blindly into the contests room which by definition, contains more danger.
With another soft sigh, I dressed and slid my new shoes on before striding towards the green door. Exiting it, I looked over the circular room which looked just the same as before.
The grey door and the purple door lay before me. I sighed again, reluctance filling me. I didn't like this manner of blindly walking into a situation I had no control over.
Reaching out towards the purple door, contrary to my expectations when I tried to enter; Instead of passing through, the surface was solid.
"To enter the community hub, each hero must first prove they are worthy" the voice intoned.
I grimaced, again a situation out of my control. I wanted to enter the community hub even more.
I turned to face the gray door reluctantly. I looked again towards the green door, I could always live inside there couldn't I?
Returning home was out of the question at this point, every door out of this place would surely be guarded. If I return, I can't just disappear without being caught almost immediately.
In the scenario where my life isn't ruined by entering their clutches, I would only be relevant for a limited period of time, milking the fame of being the first one inside and consequently the one who gave it all up out of fear.
Signing book deals for my best seller "That hero could've been me!" and giving speeches on how great it was, the mysteriousness of it all and how I wish I stayed inside.
I sighed again, it really drove in the reality didn't it. I have the chance of a lifetime right now, and I wanted to give it up. Granted, I still didn't know the reality of this place but I still have to stride forwards. Even if I ignored the part where I alone apparently represented my home's chances of survival.
I tested the gray door, and with a sinking heart saw that it was definitely something I can walk through.
Doing so, the voice rang out again as I absorbed the view before me. Somehow, I knew that voice was being played all across the world.
"From the moment the hero stepped inside the contest area, Earth gained 10 points. Each week, a point will be deducted from Earth's pool. Once the pool hits zero, Earth will be destroyed"
My heart dropped, blood drained from my face and I stood there. Stunned at the sight, stunned at what I had just heard.
I now know for a fact that even if it hadn't been before, my face was definitely going to show on national news. Anyone that hears about me, knows who I am, what I am capable of.
They're going to want me dead. Removed from the picture. I can't do this.
"The contest area is where the hero can pick assignments to complete, picking an assignment will reward the hero, and your world; Points"
I looked around as the voice spoke, a giant black wall stretched before me with leaflets of paper seemingly scattered over the wall and occasionally fluttering from unseen hands. Sometimes, a paper would detach itself from the wall where it faded into the air before another paper faded in to replace it.
As I looked around, it wasn't a giant wall I dimly realized. This was a giant room. The place glowed with it's own inner light, the gray ground, walls and room not seemingly being the source of light as it had been in the other rooms. The light seemed to come from the air itself. The same black disk in the center of the room lay there.
"Different assignments abound, many choices to pick from. Each assignment lists the details and the reward attached to the assignment. If the hero succeeds in death, the points will still be rewarded." the voice continued dispassionately.
"The assignments are shared with many other worlds, if an assignment is taken, it will be removed from the walls of the other worlds. The points can be used in trade in the community hub, or to improve aspects of your hero's base."
"To accept each request, 10% of the reward's points rounded up will be taken as collateral"
My legs were weak at this point, this was far and beyond something I can handle. Sitting abruptly on the floor, my legs like wet noodles I shuddered for breath. Fright overwhelmed me when I finally realized I'm in far beyond my head.
Minutes passed as I began to calm down, my eyes closed as I tried to block out the soft rustle of paper.
Finally letting out a deep breath, I crawled dispiritedly over to the nearby wall to look at the slips of paper. I had no desire to, the door stood at the side silently, the gray surface as unassuming as ever.
I looked over the papers intently, noting their information as my face fell yet again.
The requests on the paper... They were simple, absurdly so. Not even decoration on the papers, just simple lettering.
Slay the Goblin King - 30 points reward
Deliver the Flower - 700 points reward
Battle Royale - 20 point entry cost, 780 points reward
Exorcise Ghost - 40 points reward
I focused as I thought, there's a reward for each paper, and the rewards were likely matched up with the difficulty level.
A goblin king, that was doubtlessly out of my league. The flower reward, it's extremely high but also obviously had some elements in it that affected the difficulty level. The ghost was on a even higher level than the goblin king reward, so clearly it should be more difficult. I had a strong feeling throwing salt wasn't going to help.
The battle royale, my heart quavered as I looked at it. I know what a battle royale is, that's a fight to the death among many people.
And even as I looked at that piece of paper, the reward changed to 800 points. People are actually signing up for it.
Shivering, I slowly stumbled to my feet and dragged myself through the gray doorway, not stopping until I reached my room where I collapsed onto my thin mattress and quavered in fear.
I regretted. I regretted taking the shoes, I regretted not accepting the beating. I regretted not leaving through another doorway immediately, and I regretted stepping through the gray doorway. That's what triggered all of this.
The system would've taken care of me if I hadn't stepped through the gray doorway, there would have been no pressure on me, just slow leisurely days of eating and sleeping as I wallowed like a cow in beautiful obliviousness instead of this nightmare.
I cried myself into slumber, the exhaustion overtaking me.