Jake took a deep calming breath as he stepped on the ring. The entire gym was quiet at the moment, as everyone inside had stopped what they were doing the moment they’d caught a whiff of the upcoming fight, instantly making their way toward the ring as if they were afraid they'd miss it. In front of him stood Mike Howard, quite literally the most muscular university student Jake had ever seen. He could feel the muscles in his back and neck tensing, almost like they were already bracing for the impact of the senior’s fists, but he still made a point of holding his opponent’s gaze as he put on his mouthpiece and made his way toward the blue corner.
It was very unusual for the gym to get this agitated during regular practice, especially at this time of the year when tournaments and matches were still so far off. Today’s practice had started like any other for Jake, with morning practices being mainly focused on drills and conditioning. However, it seemed that the coach had other plans for today, as Jake had been tossed inside the ring midway through their two hours of morning training, followed by Mike, who looked just as confused as Jake felt.
It was only moments later after they had both been ordered to put on gloves and sparring gear, that the university’s boxing club head coach, Mr. Takeshi, had finally bothered to explain what was going on.
“The two of you will go for three rounds of three minutes, usual sparring rules.” The old man said.
“Yes, coach!” Both of them answered.
Jake looked back to the red corner, once more staring down his senior with all the fury he could muster, which turned out to be fairly easy given the arrogant smirk that stared back at him. It wasn’t the first time Jake had been taken lightly by an opponent a few years his senior, nor would it ever be the last probably, but he knew right at this moment he was about to win this match. It had been almost two months since Jake had moved to the nearby town and started attending the local university on a boxing scholarship.
It had been a complete surprise at the time for Jake when the legendary Coach Takeshi in person had offered him a full ride through four years of college, something that was almost unheard of in the boxing scene. But while some of the members of the team had been extremely eager to welcome him to the club, others like Mike had spent the last two months going out of their way to make Jake’s life absolute hell.
Jake looked at the coach who stood a few feet away from the ring, stopwatch in hand, with the rest of the coaching staff all gathered around him expectantly. From the look on everyone’s face, Jake knew everyone had been waiting for this fight for a while, especially the other students, and he had to admit a bout between the talented rookie who’d been offered a full ride and the current best-ranked boxer of the entire club was bound to be an exciting match for anyone who knew a thing or two about throwing a punch.
He was still lost in thought when the coach announced the beginning of the first round. At the sound of the coache's shout, Jake’s entire body twitched nervously, followed by the usual pounding of his heart in his ribcage. Moments later, he was dashing toward Mike. Jake opened with a quick series of jabs and combinations to test out of the waters, which the senior had no problem shrugging off at first. He had to admit, even though Mike was a monumental asshole, he was far from untalented, and his punches carried impressive strength. However, Jake hardly had anything to envy the boy in terms of power and raw strength, so he pressed forward.
He kept punching, and with every step, he grew closer and closer to his opponent until they were almost butting heads. At this short distance, they kept exchanging devastating but compact blows between the two of them, and Jake could almost hear the gasps and exclamations from the other students. With every one of their punches, the air was split apart in a “woosh” sound that was imperceptible over the loud cheering of the crowd, as small as it was. Both boxers were widely known amongst the club by now for their reckless fighting style, and it resulted in a rather awe-inspiring exchange of deadly blows being delivered over and over during the three minutes until the coach announced the end of the round and both fighters went back to their corners to catch their breath.
As soon as he arrived at his corner, Jake turned around and stared at Mike, returning the smirk the senior had sent his way a few minutes before. This time, Jake knew he’d struck a nerve when he saw the senior's brows furrowing and his jaw clenching even from that far away, and he only offered the veteran a wider smile in response.
jake had a relatively smaller frame compared to his opponent, even though he still towered over most kids his age at six foot, three inches, with a set of broad shoulders and slender muscles that bespoke greatly of the rigorous training he’d undergone in recent years. His vibrant green eyes almost seemed to glow under the gym’s LED lighting, contrasting with his dark brown hair and slightly tanned skin. His face on the other hand could almost have been considered handsome, thanks to his sharp features and strong jaw, if not for his crooked nose and a few scars here and there. All in all, he looked like the classic teenage delinquent in any movie ever, and that coupled with the fact that he was a boxer was usually enough for people to assume he was part of a gang.
During the whole time, Mike had been fuming by the ears at the sight of Jake’s taunting smirk, and the senior instantly dashed toward him at the sound of the coach signalling the beginning of the second round. He threw a series of wide punches at Jake, with none of them even coming close to landing, and Jake kept dodging for a few seconds until he finally found the opportunity to respond in kind. Seeing that none of his hits were landing, Mike had gotten even more impatient and attempted an even wider swing, behind which he put all of his impressive weight and power. However, Jake easily stepped under his opponent's arm and instantly countered with a terrifying uppercut that almost took the senior's head off, before unleashing a complete barrage of strikes at Mike’s head and body, who barely lasted more than a few seconds on his feet before going down.
Jake got back to his corner, his heart hammering inside his ribcage and the adrenaline coursing through his body. It wasn’t the first time he’d beaten down a presumptuous senior in a one-sided exchange of blows, but every time felt just as good as the first.
One of the coaches jumped in the ring, before taking one look at Mike and declaring the fight was over. Jake stepped down from the ring, removing his equipment and gloves while he caught his breath.
It was only moments later that Mike woke up, visibly still confused from one too many hits to the head. He looked around the ring until his eyes landed on Jake, who looked up to meet the senior’s eyes. As soon as he saw the look in his eyes, he understood why the senior was looking at him that way. Mike was scared.
Jake turned his gaze away from his senior to look at Coach Takeshi, who was trying his hardest to hide a smile before he addressed the whole gym.
“EVERYONE OUT. Go run or something” He shouted before turning his attention back to Mike who was being taken to the infirmary as everyone else made their way outside.
Barely half an hour later, Jake was running along the narrow pathway that wound through the forest near campus, beneath the towering trees that stood like sentinels. Their once-green canopies were now ablaze with amber, crimson, and gold hues, typical during this time of the year. The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and fallen leaves, yet an eerie stillness enveloped him; not a single sound echoed from the depths of the woods, except for the rhythmic thud of his footsteps and the faint rumble of the nearby waterfalls.
His morning runs were typically accompanied by the cheerful chorus of wild birds, but today felt different. Violent gusts of wind whipped against his skin, slicing through his clothes with a fury so intense that it almost felt alive. The wind was so strong in fact, that it drowned out every other sound in the forest as it swirled around him and made the air thick and hard to breathe.
Jake kept going for a few minutes, when he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, panting, before reeling in the beautiful landscape. In front of him stood huge waterfalls, and the deafening sounds of the water alone were enough to remind Jake of how majestic and powerful nature could be. Ever since moving to campus about a month and a half ago, this little escape into nature had quickly become an ingrained part of his routine, and he regularly found himself standing at the waterfalls every other morning or so. For Jake, this little outing was not only a chance to improve his stamina but also an opportunity to reflect and think, which he found pretty challenging to do on the bustling university campus.
For the hundredth time since moving here, Jake found himself contemplating just how much his life had changed since the scholarship. It had been a big change for him to move a few hundred kilometers across the country, although he had to admit he hadn’t even thought about it twice before accepting the coach’s offer.
After all, there was little holding him back; as an orphan with no known relatives, there wasn’t much to leave behind. Even so, he still found it hard to believe how completely his life had changed overnight.
Jake had never met his biological parents, and he had been raised singlehandedly by his uncle, who had unfortunately passed away when he was 16. As a result, he had been forced to spend the better part of the last two years working two jobs and attending school, with barely enough time left to train. His uncle had been the first one to teach him how to box, back when he was twelve, and he’s been hooked ever since.
Ever since getting that scholarship, however, he had been able to reduce his work hours, as he was no longer in need of money to the point of working every night and weekend, free to spend more time training and attending classes. It also meant he had all the time in the world to work on his stamina, and he found himself running around town almost every day now.
Growing up, Jake never had the opportunity to travel and see the world, which resulted in him having an unsatiable thirst for exploration and adventure that he quenched by running outside every chance he could, and it was during one of his excursions around the city he’d found the forest. It was surprisingly close to his dormitory, and devoid of people at most times as it was right next to a university campus, and truth be told his generation wasn’t exactly famous for their love of the great outdoors, especially so early in the morning.
Jake only looked around for a bit before heading back to the narrow pathway with renewed vigour. He didn't want to enter too deep inside the forest or leave the trail as he still didn’t know the area all that well, and he was supposed to be in class in an hour, so he just went down the same path as earlier, this time heading the opposite way, retracing his steps.
He easily made his way across the forest, even though the path was littered with rocks and roots that stuck out of the ground. Like every other boxer he knew, Jake spent a lot of his training time running outside to build his stamina, and he preferred to run in arduous terrain like this as it drastically increased the difficulty.
Stolen story; please report.
For some reason, Jake had never quite fit in anywhere, not by default of not trying, however. He’d gone through the entirety of high school without making so much as a friend, most likely because he spent all of his free time working and training, but also because he was different. As far as he knew, everyone could tell that much.
Still, he had somewhat found kindred spirits in the boxing team members, as boxers respected strength, so naturally, they respected Jake. Most people his age would probably disagree, but coming from a kid who had spent his entire life fighting for every inch, he knew better than anyone that in the end, only the law of the strong truly mattered, and his teammates were part of the few that could understand that.
He was still quite far off from actually making any friends just yet, but he had to admit he was pleased some of the other members had finally started going out of their way to engage with him, and he’d made it a point of actually trying his best to try and engage with them in return.
Lost in thought, Jake had barely noticed he’d already gotten out of the forest, and he stopped a few steps away from the edge of the trees to take out his phone and proceed to stop his running app. It was a that exact moment that he started to notice something was up, even though he couldn’t exactly pinpoint what at the moment. He felt the wind brushing past his face, and the whole atmosphere around him felt oppressive like his instincts were trying to warn him that something was wrong. He was still quite so way out from the dorms, so he couldn't see anyone around but he had the distinct impression he was somehow being watched.
With a glance to the top right corner of his phone screen, he immediately noticed that he didn’t have any signal, which was by itself quite odd since he had done this run numerous times before and never had any problems with the signal, even when deep inside the forest. He thought it over for a few seconds, finally deciding to head to the dorms for lack of a better option when suddenly the whole world went silent. This particular morning had been unusually calm up until now, but this time Jake couldn’t make out a single sound from his surroundings.
He even tried to clear his throat to make the uncomfortable silence disappear, but he was met with utter shock when he couldn’t even hear the sound of his voice, or any other sound for that matter, including his breathing. Fear quickly crept through his mind, and even though he tried his best to remain calm, he didn’t get much time to even think about what had happened before his vision grew darker at a noticeable speed. At first, he’d thought that the sun had disappeared behind thick clouds, but quickly realized that wasn’t it when his surroundings grew pitch black in mere moments. He stuck one of his hands in front of him, and he grew increasingly confused when he saw that he could see his hand perfectly, as well as the rest of his body from head to toe, although everything around him remained covered in an oppressive shade of ink. This time, a vivid fear and panic took hold of his mind and he could feel a knot forming in the depths of his stomach. As time went on, breathing kept getting increasingly harder as less and less air entered his lungs with each ragged breath, and the pain in his stomach intensified to a point where Jake wished he would pass out.
The whole ordeal felt like an eternity, but something finally changed inside the uncomfortable darkness, just as a weird bell-like sound echoed into his ears. Jake frantically looked around in the darkness, until his gaze fell on a giant blue screen, on which text was written.
> [Integration completed. Landmass has been upgraded and randomized. Ambient spirit energy has been upgraded. Planet has been repopulated. Welcome to the Multiverse.]
Jake kept looking at the screen for a while, and those old RPG games immediately came to mind, not that he had played much of any game. He kept reading the text over and over again, his expression growing more and more skeptical as he did. Nothing that was said on the screen made any sense to him, but he still grew anxious from the small amount of information he could gather. The landmass had been upgraded? And his world had been repopulated? Just how ominous could this screen get? And just what was the “Multiverse” mentioned at the end of the message? Questions kept piling up, but he doubted he’d find answers any time soon.
He slowly raised his right arm toward the screen before it suddenly disappeared as easily as it had appeared a few moments earlier. He looked around the darkness for answers once more, but he didn’t wait long until the very same “ding” echoed out again, and another screen popped up exactly at the same place the first one had been a few moments earlier.
> [Tutorial Questline (1\3) | Survive | Time limit: 23:59:51]
“What the f — “ Jake said as he looked at the new screen with a puzzled expression.
He didn’t even get the time to read the whole thing twice before the screen disappeared and his surroundings lit up again. He could once again hear the faint sound of the wind, meaning his hearing had most likely come back along with his vision as soon as the screen had disappeared. As soon as his senses went back to normal, an oppressive force overcame his entire being, and his body suddenly felt unbearably heavy. Even the simple act of breathing became a challenge for him, and he had to consciously strain himself to breathe in and out small gasps of air, otherwise, he would most probably asphyxiate. The pressure crashed down onto his whole body, to a point where even standing upright had become unbearable, like he was being crushed under a giant boulder, every muscle in his body straining under the pressure.
Jake arduously glanced all around him with his eyes alone, unable to turn or tilt his neck due to the strain, like his head was now so heavy he could barely lift it. He kept surveying the area and trying to figure out where he was until he realized he had never truly left the edge of the woods when the darkness fell. All in all, his surroundings looked the same as they had been moments ago, and he slowly but surely got a little more relaxed as the seconds passed. The strangest thing was that although his surroundings seemed unchanged, the enormous pressure that pushed down on his body hadn’t abated in the slightest. His feet felt like they had sunk into layers upon layers of thick mud, and he wasn’t even able to take a single step. He tried lifting one of his arms in front of him, and it felt like he was trying to lift an entire mountain range, as he barely managed to hold his arm up for a moment before it came crashing down to his side again. Had he been drugged somehow? Or worse, was he so ill that his whole body felt so weak it could barely support its own weight anymore? The state of his body did nothing but contribute to the already huge amount of anxiousness that stemmed from the apparitions of the screens earlier, as well as the strange dark place he had somehow stood in moments ago.
He looked toward the edge of the woods, half expecting people to come out of the shadows laughing hysterically. He had been the subject of his fair share of pranks back in high school, although he had to admit this one would have to be the most elaborate he’d ever witnessed if it truly was a prank. However, the figure that met him at the edge of the forest was not that of one of his fellow students, but rather that of the most horrendous wolf Jake had ever seen. It was at least as tall as a great Dane and as thick as a bear, and its piercing grey eyes were locked in on Jake. As though its massive size wasn’t concerning enough, he could tell the beast had spotted him even from where it stood, far in the distance.
Barely an instant or so later, the beast let out a thundering roar, immediately dashing toward Jake, who instinctively tried to run away, but he didn’t even manage to take a single step. He looked at the beast, as it kept inching closer with every breath, and his mind spun in circles as he could barely formulate any coherent thoughts. It was like his mind had been crippled by fear, paralyzed by the looming threat of the creature. The situation looked awfully bleak for him, as he still hadn’t regained any control over his body, which was still under the effect of the mysterious pressure.
He glanced at the beast, which was still around 25 meters away, and he couldn’t do anything but watch as the beast was almost upon him. His body was exhausted from the strain, and he could feel his sore muscles would barely be able to keep him on his feet for a few more seconds. Was this how he‘d die’? Would he be devoured without even putting up a decent fight, stuck in place and unable to move?
All hope seemed lost when suddenly a small tingling sensation appeared around his stomach area. It wasn’t uncomfortable, yet it felt as though his stomach had started heating up from the inside, and the weird sensation quickly spread from the centre of his midsection to the rest of his entire body. Simultaneously, the mysterious pressure that had been pushing down on him this entire time lifted, and a huge sensation of relief washed over Jake as he felt his entire body lighten, his muscles finally free from the strain.
His entire body painfully creaked and strained as he took his first step forward, and he soon amassed enough momentum to turn his slow and painful walk into a slow and awkward jog. While most of the pressure was gone, he was still unable to run as fast as he had just minutes ago, and it took every ounce of willpower in his being for him not to stop running and let himself fall flat on the ground. Sweat poured down his neck, back and chest as he kept on putting one foot in front of the other, straining himself like never before when a sudden bloodthirsty roar acted as an effective reminder that he was far from safe. From the sound of the roar, he also knew that the beast had gotten a lot closer in the mere seconds since it had started chasing after him, and the weird sensation coming from his stomach intensified, to the point of becoming uncomfortable, almost unbearable. If the sensation in his stomach had felt like a warm pressure before, it had now become akin to a burning weight that pressed down his midsection. Whatever was going on with his digestive system was the last of Jake’s worries, however, and he simply ignored the pain as he kept running, now almost just as fast as he had been running before the darkness fell.
Another roar thundered from behind him, this time so close that a chill went down his spine as he desperately kept trying to run as fast as he could. All hope seemed lost, but he finally saw an opportunity after running for what felt like an eternity, even though he had realistically only been running for a few seconds.
A few dozen meters in front of him, a small aperture appeared between two giant slabs of rock that were embedded into the ground. It looked like an ordinary cave, which seemed fairly common in the area, and Jake had seen a lot of them all around the forest, even though he had never entered one before. However, that would change today, and although he would normally have given his soul to the devil not to enter an unknown cave with a bloodthirsty wolf on his heels, he hoped that the entry to the cave would be large enough for him to pass through but small enough for the massive frame of the wolf to be trapped outside, which was probably his only hope of making it out of this furious escape alive.
He immediately headed straight for the cave with all the strength he could muster, every inch of his body aching and hurting like he had somehow been running for years without pause, but he still managed to keep on running. His stomach was now radiating a painful burning sensation that kept intensifying with every step, to a point where Jake could barely focus on anything else as he made his way toward the cave.
Jake was only a few feet away from the crevice when he shot a glance behind his back, trying to locate the beast again, but he didn’t have the time to turn all the way around before incredible pain erupted from his back. In his confusion, he suddenly wondered how come his feet had been lifted off the ground before realizing he was flying headfirst toward the cave.
His entire body was sent flying toward the cave and although he miraculously passed through the entrance in one piece, only slightly bumping a shoulder, his luck didn’t last long as his body brutally landed inside the cavern, scraping the skin of his knees, arms and back as he landed on sharp stones that littered the ground. Unmoving, he lay on the ground for a few seconds before he could think again, and the beast’s roar echoed louder than ever before inside the cavern. Thankfully, the beast had only been able to stick its head inside the entrance when it started clawing through the rock, trying to widen the entrance so it could follow Jake inside.
Jake was anything but willing to find out whether the beast could get in or not, and he only hesitated for a second before he arduously got up, and immediately headed deeper inside the cavern, toward the darkness. He only took a few steps before a deafening crash of rocks echoed throughout the whole cavern, and he immediately turned around, to see the entire entrance simply cave in on itself, shrouding the cave in absolute darkness. At least, it meant that he was mostly safe from the wolf, but the bad news was that he was most likely trapped underground.
The burning sensation inside Jake’s stomach intensified, to the point where the heat and pressure assaulting him had become nothing short of unbearable torture. He let out a silent shriek before his entire body went numb, and he fell face first on the cold hard rock, his mind slowly fading into darkness.