Ki? As in Ki Atama, the creator of VIgard and the CEO of Nexus? The greatest programmer and technician the world has ever seen? I can barely contain my excitement at the prospect of hearing from him.

An avatar slowly begins forming above the colosseum. The sky turns a dark shade of orange, and a giant man wearing a flowing golden robe loads in front of the sky. His face is covered by a hood, but there’s no mistaking he’s the god of this world. No, not just the god of this world, the gods of Romgard, Typiskgard, and this world. My personal hero, Ki Atama. But the atmosphere is…off. I know he muted us, but the silence is still erie, and his avatar that watches us is far from reassuring. The hood covering his face is unnerving, and the sky changing color feels unnecessary. Why would he do such a thing?

[Congratulations on joining Midgard.]

He speaks through the system. Why? His avatar is right here, isn’t it? Unless…of course, he’s trying to hide his avatar's voice. He wants to play with us, and doesn’t want us to recognize him.

[I would like to first tell you all something that may come off as rather shocking. Midgard, despite it being the newest launched game for my system, will only have you players currently online until it is beaten. You 100,000 have an amazing opportunity in front of you. Not only are you the only ones with access to this game, but you are also the only ones who can beat it. And I highly encourage you to beat the game. There are 2 reasons I encourage this. Firstly, and you will all be excited to hear this, the player who beats this game will take over as CEO of Nexus.]

He pauses, giving us time to process what he means by that. I need time. I could become the CEO of Nexus? Just by beating this game? I…I have to be the one who wins. Ki Atama was the reason I got into programming at all, and now I have the opportunity to take his job from him by beating his greatest game? No wonder he said he doubted anybody would be able to beat it, he must have made it borderline impossible…But he didn’t account for me! I’m going to win but…Something still isn’t adding up.

[I would next like to inform you of the second reason I encourage you to beat the game. None of you will be able to logout until the game is beaten. As of now, there is no way for you to logout of the game, nor is there a way for anybody from the outside world to interfere.]

My stomach drops. Immediately I check the logout feature of the game, which was there just minutes ago when I went through the menu. It’s still there! He’s lying, he’s making some sick joke. But, I might as well log out just to check.

I…I can’t log out. My heart starts racing. There’s no way. The log out button dissolved as soon as I selected it. It’s gone. I can’t…I seriously can’t log out? I’m stuck in this game? This game he told us in interviews was nearly impossible to beat, that we didn’t have any information on? What about my family? My sister? My friends. My friends are in here with me. It just became that much more important we find each other.

[I’m aware that might not be enough motivation, so I have added one more feature. As with all other games, you will all have two respawns before you die and permanently pass away in game. To increase your immersion in the game, and to treat it as your new world, after your third and permanent death in game, you will die in real life. Attempts to turn off the game, or remove the VIgard from the user, will result in permanent death.]

…This can’t be real. This goes against every law around VR technology. One of the most fundamental safeties required by Nexus was that their games couldn’t actually affect you in real life! This can’t affect my real body, it can’t! But…It could be the same principle as why we can’t log out. The VIgard system channels the electrical signals from the brain to the system through the temple’s connector. Forcibly disconnecting from VR from an external source would cause permanent brain damage, if you managed to survive in the first place. If when we die in the game, he’s programmed it so that our VIgard permanently disconnects us from our body, he could be telling the truth. No…He is. He’s telling the truth.

I’m trapped in Midgard. This is my world now.

[I would like to take one second before the game starts, and thank Kazesoku]

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

…What. What?! ME!?! I see my avatar’s face plastered on the sky, along with my username. Why is he thanking me?!

[He’s my very first hero, the one who’s been with me since the beginning. Gilgamesh. And he is also the first murderer, the first player to kill another player. But don’t worry Kazesoku, I’ll clear your rewards and punishment system before letting you all out.]

I can feel the eyes of those around me narrow in. They know it’s me. Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of eyes stare at me with vitriolic hatred. He’s making it sound like I knew this was going to happen, like I approve of it and that’s why I killed Kiraki. The other players are registering that. They can’t take out their frustration on Ki, he’s godly in this world. So…They’re directing it towards me.

[There are 100 floors in Midgard. The 1st floor, that you are all currently on, is a tutorial floor. And of course, once you’ve cleared the 100th floor, you earn the right to beat the game. After that, the rest is for you to discover! Enjoy my world, level up, and win your freedom. Win my position. Now…Let the game begin!]

Ki’s character model shatters into shards of rainbow, dissolving againt the orange sky. Soon after, the sky returns to its normal blue hue, and as if to mock our horrible situation the sky is beautiful. We, the 100,000 players now trapped in Midgard, are left alone in the colosseum with one notification.

[The world is now open. Good luck!]

“Kazesoku!” A man screams out, drawing his sword and pointing it at me. His blade shakes, his face is contorted in rage, “You…What’s going on! Why did you do this to us?!” Me? He’s blaming me for this? What an idiot. I’m just as unaware as-

[{Administrator Ki} is forcibly teleporting you]

“Haha…” I can’t help but laugh at how hopeless this situation just became. Really? I’m being teleported now? When everybody mistrusts me anyways? “Hahaha!” It’s funny. It really is. What could I do to explain this to them, that I’m not involved in this?

“You…Why!?” A girl calls out to me, her voice giving out. I can hear distant screaming, the 100,000 people in the colosseum are going to panic.

“Calm down! Everybody just calm down!” Another girl shouts, jumping to my defence. I regard her. She stands between me and a growing crowd of angry players. Her caramel hair is straight, and falls like silk to her shoulders. I can barely see her face, just her side-profile as she stands like a bodyguard for me. But she doesn’t seem to have a good handle on the game, her username is still visible over her head. {Seika_}But as I look out to the crowd, and they begin jeering and shouting at me, I know she’s outnumbered. I smile. My teleport is going to load in just a few more seconds. I can’t save my reputation. Almost every player in the game is going to want to kill me. And being killed in this game means…They’re going to try and kill me. They want me to die.

I reach out and place a hand on the girl’s shoulder, I can’t let her defend me. They’ll only target her when I’m gone. “Everyone!!!” I shout, finding my voice shockingly powerful.

[Title ‘Gilgamesh’ has been used to increase presence when addressing other players.]

[Congratulations! Bonus point has been added to ‘Presence’ Stat!]

Convenient. I need to use the next seconds wisely. “First,” I shove the girl away, “Who the hell even are you?!” I exclaim. She looks back up at me with wide shocked eyes. I can’t focus on her, or else I might lose my nerve. “Secondly! I will fight-”

[Teleportation completed]

= = = = = =

“-For you!! I will beat…” The world around me has changed dramatically. I’m in a field with knee height green grass. On the horizon to the left of me, a large city stands. I’m willing to bet that’s where the colosseum was. There are small dirt paths through the field I’m in, but I don’t stand in any of them. To the right on the horizon is a forest, both ahead and behind me there’s nothing but plains as far as the eye can see. “I’m screwed,” I finish meekly, falling onto my butt in shock. I’m trapped in this game, I’m trapped in VR, every player in the game is going to want to kill me, and Ki Atama is the one to blame. Why did he teleport me right then? At the worst possible time? What could I do? What should I do? I need to find my friends. We need to form a guild. Together, we can clear this game. That’s the answer.

I hear a growl. I rise to my feet, and turn to face it. An enemy wolf has spawned, and snarls while pacing towards me. I draw my sword. It’s not the wolf’s fault, but it came across me at a bad time. I clench my grip on the blade, and walk towards the wolf. Its growl turns into a roar, and it charges forward. I dash forwards myself, my blade suddenly glowing golden as my swordsmanship skill activates. I stab forward as I meet the wolf, it opens its mouth to bite me.

We meet for only a second, and I skid to a stop, turning around and facing the wolf. It doesn’t even hit the ground, it just shatters into rainbow shards, dissolving into nothingness.

[‘Gray Wolf’ defeated! +8 Exp!]

“A lone wolf…” I mumble, looking at where it used to be. I shake my head, dissuading any thoughts of working alone. That’s a terrible idea in games like this, especially if we want to clear floors. Presumably there will be dungeons. Those are impossible alone. But…I can’t meet up with my friends right now, can I? They’re probably playing it smart, in public. I can’t be seen in public. I’ll need to wait for the world to get bigger, for there to be more floors. So…I look to the woods ahead of me. I can’t stand still, so instead I’ll move forward.