They had been lied to.

Blood splattered across the ground, sinking between eroded stone. Screams, full of pain and horror, filled the mysterious chamber they’d found themselves in. Everyone retreated, the unfortunate shoved down and trampled over in the blink of an eye.

Their attackers followed, bones rattling with each step and swing of their rusted chipped swords. They were relentless. Driven by a single purpose. Before their previous victim hit the ground, their purple beady eyes, aglow with murderous intent, jumped to the next.

One of those unnatural gazes landed on him.

Chest aflame with a suffocating heat, Sam took a shaky step back then twisted, sprinting alongside the rest.

This was nothing like a game.

----------------------------------------

Essay completed, Sam closed his laptop and took a sip from a lukewarm mug of coffee, a glance cast around the buzzing café.

Crowded places never called to him. Why bother going out when he had all he needed back home? That said, he and the many cliques of fellow students –each tucked in their own booths- took a shine to this place. It was on the way to the dorms and the food was good despite the low prices.

The perfect gathering place for all but those on the tightest of budgets.

To think he no longer fell into that category.

It’d taken years of single minded work. He fallen out of contact with old friends, cut away problematic habits and built a monotonous routine.

Was it all worth it?

If he felt like eating out he could. If he felt like buying a new game or book he could. Hell, if he wanted to go on a trip between semesters, a bit of penny pitching and self control could easily make that possible.

Freedom and peace of mind at the expense of company? There might be times where he felt lonely. Especially now; watching so many different groups of people laugh and chat their day away reminded him of simpler days. Rougher days but simpler ones. He was only human after all. Still, Sam wouldn’t give up the life he was building for anything.

Fun was great and all, but he wasn’t a child anymore. Too many people refused to grow up until it was too late and their recklessness destroyed not only their futures but possibly those close them.

He knew that all too well.

Sam lowered his emptied cup with a sigh. The familiar inviting smell of coffee and bitter taste always made him unusually reflective.

Best to get a move on before he starts theorizing about the meaning of life.

Laptop slipped into satchel and bill paid, Sam left, the ring of the café's glass door signaling his departure. He joined the sea of people on the sidewalk, on his way back to the dorms.

‘I’ll edit the essay tomorrow night.’

‘Did a new volume drop? I’ll have to check when I get chance.’

‘I should’ve gotten another cup to go.’

Countless random thoughts cropped up, replaced by the next as quickly as they appeared, his body almost entirely on autopilot. He made this trek almost everyday.

And today was no different than any other.

He froze.

《 Personal ID 》

Designation: Sam

Race: Pure Human

Sex: Male

Age: 21

Alignment: Neutral

Titles: Lone Observer

Core Attributes: [Strength: D] [Agility: D] [Endurance: D] [Perception: C] [Charisma: D] [Intelligence: B] [Luck: E]

Inherent Attributes: [Aura: B]

Traits: Level-headed, Sharp Senses

“Okay.” Sam muttered to himself. He looked around to see if anyone else saw the dark blue game-like window floating before him.

His surroundings dwarfed the absurdity of the window.

Forward, behind. Left, right. Up, down. It didn’t matter where he looked, white space awaited. An endless pure white void that shook his sense of balance. How was he even standing in the first place? He blinked away the irritating pangs brought on the void and refocused on the floating window of information.

No amount of thinking shed light on how he ended up here. School, the Café, the walk home.

Then nothing.

Was this some kind of lucid dream? It’s the only thing that made sense. This window. The endless space that stretched out in all directions. Neither could be called natural.

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A punch to the gut dampened that theory. The familiar sting of pain was too distinct, too clear, to be a product of his imagination.

‘What the hell is going on?’ Sam wondered through a wince.

“A human with a unique ability and useful traits, that’s rare.” A voice, gentle and feminine, broke the unsettling silence. He twisted and turned but found no one.

Now he was hearing voices? Rather then dreaming, maybe he was going crazy.

“Where am I?” Sam called out. Stupid as it felt, better to try something than nothing. Or maybe he should’ve kept his mouth shut; using any logic to navigate this confusing situation sounded like a recipe for failure.

Rather than hearing something, he felt something.

A presence, almost like wind, swirled about, goosebumps appearing wherever it brushed against him. Whatever it was settled at his neck, almost as if to peer over his shoulders.

“It does take particularly bad luck to be chosen among the billions of people on Earth to take part in this but this might be the lowest rank I’ve ever seen from a human.” The voice said once more, almost whispering in his ear. He’d have tried to put distant between him and whatever the unnatural presence was, but the thought of taking a single step in this endless space left his stomach doing flips.

Instead, he fought back a shiver and probed for information.

“Take part in what?”

“A game, little one. A game full of struggle and perhaps even triumph but one that will inevitably spell your end. Consider yourself a necessary sacrifice.” The voice said. It sounded almost mournful, the weight of its presence even stronger.

Sacrifice? As in death?

The quickened beat of his heart grew too loud for Sam to continue ignoring. Confusion might have a tight hold on him but he knew one thing; he didn’t want to die. He couldn’t die.

Not after all the work he’s put in.

“Such a defiant spirit. It’ll buy you a few seconds if nothing else.” For a moment, no, less than a moment, a mere fraction of a second, a woman appeared, forehead pressed to his and eyes shut. “I’m sorry.”

A golden light blinded him.

Sam blinked.

A massive stony chamber replaced the boundless void.

What should’ve been a relief incited nothing more than paranoia and fear. The chamber was dark, flickering torches sparsely lining the upper half of the walls only serving to create an ominous atmosphere. Worse, no exits were in sight.

At least his body seemed to favor the change of scenery, the nauseating flips of his stomach settling down. He had a feeling the small victories were going to be his only solace in this insane situation.

Especially since his satchel and phone were both missing. Calling for help wasn’t an option.

Careful, Sam toed his way across moss covered stone. Nothing in particular truly yelled danger. The air was oddly fresh despite the chamber being sealed off and somewhat worn by time, however, something still felt…off for lack of a better term. It reminded him of the few times he stayed late after school to finish up extra work.

Once bustling halls, void of any life?

He tugged at the collar of his buttoned up shirt, eyes darting about.

This chamber set off the same alarm bells. Something was fundamentally wrong with this place.

Never the less, he foraged on until he stood below one of the torches. Much like the ground, moss caked the walls, growing over and between every crack it could. This close, he finally took notice of an odd little detail.

Sharp indents.

A flash of light came from behind.

Sam twisted around.

A pillar of flames, others from blinding lights, and a few from an abyss like darkness. Within moments he was no longer alone, countless people began to fill the massive chamber, arriving in equally fantastical ways.

And all of then treated it as if wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. Granted, many of the people shuffled about anxiously, none were gobsmacked by the sudden and supernatural entries like him. Some were already exchanging introductions. The dark and eerie atmosphere banished by their animated chatter.

This could’ve been mistaken for the first day of school rather than a sudden case of kidnapping.

“Status!” One of the people shouted. “Only shit, it really is like a game. You seeing this, dude?”

“No. Can you see mine?”

“No….I guess we can’t see other people’s windows? Eh, who cares, if that so called god dude was telling the truth, pretty soon we’ll be flinging around fireballs and summoning tornados like total badass.”

An odd conversation if ever he heard one. It wasn’t the only one that sounded so nonsensical. Most of those who arrived in identical fashions to each other immediately broke out in conversations of the same vein, buzzing with excitement.

Status, magic, gods, and goddesses. Just a few minutes ago Sam wouldn’t have expected to hear terms of that nature outside of a video game or anime but here he was. Surrounded on all sides by people talking about a supernatural being choosing them as a representative for a game made it impossible to remain skeptical. Based on the bits of information here and there he could paint a clear enough picture.

‘That voice was suppose to explain things to me wasn’t it?' Sam’s annoyance lasted only moments. What was the point in getting worked up over some game? World shattering revelations aside, if all this was just a precursor for a contest his life shouldn’t be in danger. If he lost he’d return to his comfortable lax life and forget any of this ever happened. If he won then maybe he’d get something alongside returning home.

Then again, that woman’s words had been rather ominous and this still qualified as a kidnapping. A stark contradiction to the bubbly excitement of the would be competition.

It couldn’t hurt to stay on guard.

In an effort to avoid attention, Sam kept to the walls, wondering towards a corner as he resumed his examination of the walls, all the while keeping an ear out for useful bits of information.

He ran a hand over the deep cuts that marked them. Like everything about this situation, the damage veered from the norm. Erosion couldn’t leave such a distinctive, sharp marks. They were done deliberately.

During his examinations, Sam wiped sweat from his brow and messaged his chest. A subtle burn danced around his heart, eating away at his focus. A side effect of his sudden appearance or something else? No one else showed any visible signs of an internal struggle and it wasn’t like he could do anything about it, so he powered through, focusing on the wall.

‘Its almost like some type of blade left this mark.’

Barely a moment after the conclusion formed mechanical clicks came from above. Everyone fell silent, the quiet tension between them no longer suppressed by excited ramblings. Portions of the ceiling shifted, falling dust forcing those with enough sense to move aside least they be crushed.

Faint snaps and dull clangs reverberated throughout the chamber.

Piles of rusty and chips swords now laid in piles, dropped from pitch black openings that were soon sealed as stone slid back into place. The foolishly confident among them didn’t hesitate to approach the weapons and start fiddling around with the old equipment.

Something else dropped in alongside them.

Sam narrowed his eyes, moving so he could get a look at one of the piles but careful to keep his distance. During his younger days he’d been on the receiving end of a harsh beating or two. Not memories he liked to dig up, but the snaps that accompanied those fallen blades dragged them out from the darkest corners of his mind.

He took in a sharp breath, heart rate rising a few beats.

Bones laid hidden beneath the piles. Human bones.

「Alert」

「Quest Generated: The Culling」

「Description: Relentless undead pursue you. Do what must be done to ensure your own survival.」

「Objectives: Survive.」

Crimson liquid shot through the dark window. Ran through by a rusted blade, one of the other participants fell back, hacking up blood. A skeleton loomed over the fallen body and with a yank, wretched the blade free, splattering blood on other participants. More skeletons formed, bones drawn together and affixed by an invisible force, angry purple flames flaring to life in their eye sockets.

They advanced with merciless swings.