Everything became clear, but in a weird way, with an indelible black bar at the bottom of my field of vision.

On the right side of it, our faces, next to a green and a blue bar, with numbers indicating their capacity and availability; on the left side, five different options.

Attack, Act, Inventory, Defend, and Escape.

My body had gone on guard on its own, and I couldn't change my posture, and the floor had squared up like chess squares.

In front of me, the reptilian leader and all his minions seemed to be in the same situation as us, wondering what the hell was going on, and above his head, the letters "LVL:???" and his name with his title appeared.

"Kai, Cobra of a Thousand Martial Arts"

.

His minions, on the other hand, only had the name "Kai's Minions," and their LVL was between the numbers 54 and 52. I watched as they tried to get out of their boxes as the light repelled them.

My body had put itself on guard, and we could not change our posture.

The floor was gridded like chess squares.

And chivalrous music began to play out of nowhere.

I looked at my other companions, and over their heads was also their LVL number, hovering around the numbers between 37 and 62; Lumi is the highest level, and Saaden is the lowest level.

I had no idea what all those statistics meant; I had to find out what they were, I tried to talk to my companions, but my voice wouldn't come out, as if I was muffled by something.

Suddenly, from the ceiling of the cave, a face as white as quartz and a huge hat surrounded by clouds that seemed to be drawn by an expert painter.

"Hee, Hee, at last! Someone finally activated it! I'm so happy!

You must be in big trouble hoo hoo

-Said the face in a very, very nasal voice-"You may wonder why you can't talk or anything like you used to do; let's see, let's see where I start."

Shizar: It's him! The one who gave me the artifact... Hey! What's this! Wasn't that thing supposed to give me absolute power?!

The voices did not sound in this space, instead appearing in the black box in our field of vision.

"Hee, hee, hee...you still remember my instructions, I'm happy for you. For the rest of you, in the "Act" menu is your ability to speak, although I don't think you need to, since you, my friend, control all your companions; are you the leader of the gang or not?

You should have no problem doing so with the thousand-page encyclopedia I gave you on how to use RPGear to your advantage; I hope you've read it. At last, the contact with this space is closed, and it's getting late for me; it's time for the game to start heh heh heh. Bye byeeeeee!"

And the guy vanished...

Lumi: RPGear?

Shizar, do you have something to explain to us?

Saaden: What the #$%$#& Shizar! Where did you even get that #$%%$###!!!

And he reappeared...

"Aaaaahhh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no swearing in my game is not allowed, now if you continue."

And this time, he did leave...

~Spacetime~: Shizar answers, now.

Shizar: Calm down... I'll explain, I'll explain.

Kai: FIGHT BACK!

This posture is so horrible that it hurts to hold it. Stop #$%#ing and talk!

~Spacetime~: I rarely agree with my enemy, but he is right; this position is uncomfortable

Shizar: Saaden, Lumi, remember that time we went into a hundred-story dungeon and annihilated a red dragon deep inside it?

Lumi: I remember it clearly, Shizar.

We got a nice reward after that, but what's that got to do with it?

Shizar: When I delivered the final blow to the dragon, it faded into a bunch of little lights, and you two fainted.

I tried to wake them up, but nothing worked.

Then, a secret door opened, and out of it came an old, bearded man in a blue robe with a big beaked hat of the same color, the one who appeared on the roof of the cave.

He told me that he called himself a DM and that this dungeon was made by him to find a worthy heir for his most prized item, the RPGear.

He tried to explain to me how it worked, but I didn't understand anything he said with all those technicalities and numbers that appeared out of nowhere; I just kept saying yes to everything he said.

Until he finally gave me the encyclopedia and the RPGear. He told me to use it to gain absolute power and defeat my enemies very fast.

Kai: Well, that explains it, but do y’all want to hurry the hell up!

~Spacetime~: I've seen things like this before; the only way to get out of here is to play along with DM. The game is over when either side is defeated; Shizar, you know at least how to play the basics, right?

Shizar: I only read one page of that little book and fell asleep, but it said something about putting your palms together to start and then something about a die and stuff.

Shizar pressed his palms together, and in the hands of each of us appeared a twenty-sided die, Shizar's illuminating.

The grids where Shizar, Lumi, and Saaden were standing turned green; mine turned light blue, and those of the enemies red.

Kai's Minions: We are still frozen!

Shizar: Now you will now suffer the wrath of my axe!

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Shizar selected from his menu the option to attack; several boxes lit up around him; he approached the minions, set them as his target, and rolled his die; he flew and fell to the ground, getting the result of "20."

His axe glowed, power could be seen flowing from the die into the weapon, and he lunged at the minions within his reach, splitting them in half with a single blow; a third of the minions had already fallen.

Shizar: Unbelievable... that technique is the same one I used against the dragon, but... I don't feel exhausted, HA, HA, HA, HA, did you see that reptilian scum? You don't stand a chance against me!

Kai: Ngggggg... He's an axeman and beats my spearmen with all the attack range in the world?! It doesn't make sense! Leqkyu! Do something!

Leqkyu: I would... if I could, sir... but I can't move yet

Lumi's die lit up as follows.

~Spacetime~: The higher the number, the better the attacks, I see

Lumi: Shizar, do you want to select an attack now!

Shizar: Ehhh... yes, if this must be your attack!

Lumi: I do not come to play; I come to win, admire my power, reptilian scum

Lumi raised her staff as she threw the die through the air, and when the die stopped on the number "14."

From her staff appeared a fireball of considerable size, and Lumi looked like she wasn't messing around; she wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible. She pointed the staff at Kai, and the fire shot out at him, but just before it impacted him, it stopped, and Kai's die lit up.

Kai: Oooh seeeehhh.

Kai rolled the die and landed on an "18," and with one punch, dispelled the fireball.

Kai: JA, JA, JA... You were saying?

Lumi: I-Impossible... It was a spell of the strong ones...

~Spacetime~: The die has 20 sides; if you get a 20, you skip the enemy defense, but if not... you compete against each other's number...

Lumi: Hell...

Saaden your turn!

Saaden rolled his die, and it landed on the number "4."

Saaden slipped through the enemy spears, but, ended up when he was about to attack, he tripped over an insect, and his attack was to be ineffective. It was the turn of the minions' defense, so they threw their dice and came together in the air, making a single die that landed on the number "20."

Saaden fell to the ground, completely missing his attack, and the reptilians took advantage of his vulnerability. They raised their spears and impaled poor Saaden like a fox skewer, his blood spilling onto the floor of the cave, as the reptilians laughed. Lumi covered her mouth from disgust at the sight of her partner being skinned by the reptiles.

Shizar: SAAAADEEEN NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! they won't get away with this!

Kai: So, they can see that they are not the only lucky ones.

Lumi: Saa-den... It can't be, it can't be real... it can't be real... it can't be real... it can't be real...

Leqkyu: My lord, it is your turn now.

Kai: Let's get this over with once and for all

Kai tossed his die into the air, and when it landed on the ground, it showed the number "20." Kai, in a split second, lunged at Lumi, slowly and painfully constricting her; we witnessed the poor beast as she slowly ran out of air... until she was crushed into a noodle by the cobra beast.

Shizar: Enough is enough; this is getting RIDICULOUS, TWO TWENTY IN A SEQUENCE AND TWO OF MY FELLOWS DEAD, I WILL #$##$%$#%#%$%#$%&#$%#$%#$%&$&#$#$%" %#&&#$%#$%&%%!

Kai: Yeah, if you talk all you want, it was good while it lasted.

Leq, it's your turn! Don't waste it!

Leqkyu: Yes, my master, activating my artifacts! Now!

Leqkyu dropped his die, falling in the staggering amount of 17; from his back came two mechanical arms that assembled in front of him, forming a sharp drill powered by magic, and he lunged at Shizar, the drill accelerating faster and faster until it reached its maximum speed. It was Shizar's turn; if he rolled a single-digit number, he would die, but if a double-digit number was rolled, he would survive.

Shizar: Saaden... Lumi, this is for you...

Shizar, with a tear on his eyelid, rolled his die to try to counter Leqkyu's 17, and when the die fell, he had stood on a balancing point, between 20 and 1, swaying back and forth, trying to define the fate of the beast.

Shizar: Ones from Above, all-mighty, Ones from Above; I bow to you asking for wisdom. The fate of the kingdom is in your hands; evil must not win this day, so give me the luck I need to fight and pursue my destiny, our bright futuEEHHUUUU----

His prayers were interrupted by the sound of his insides being ground by Leqkyu's drill.

The die had landed on "1", and he had no way to defend himself in that position.

I saw how his body had been left upright with a hole in his thorax; you could see through it, his organs writhing as all his blood spilled out; it was me against them now. Since it was finally my turn.

Kai: We'll give you a chance... I see that you are very strong; your look and reaction to your dead companions indicate it, just like me. You saw all your companions die one by one, and you never made any grimace, nothing, an unfeeling being like me. I allow you to join me and conquer this furry world once and for all; how about it, eh?

.

I made the gesture that I would think about it for a moment...until the following words came out of my mouth.

.

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- "Beware the worm"

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- "Space, what did that have to do with it?"

.

-Said Hunter, being interrupted by me.

.

I stopped walking, but Hunter didn't stop with me.

.

-"Don't move, I said; watch out for the worm."

Hunter's claims were interrupted by a giant sandworm, opening its enormous maw and swallowing him in one bite.

- "I haven't seen one of these for years; its skin is hard as a diamond, but for me, it's not the case," -I said to myself as I pulled my sword out of its sheath- “Maybe it's only been a couple of days, but I already missed using you gripping forward.”-

I grabbed hold of the worm's body, clinging to it with all my strength.

The worm was moving at very high speed; it was hard to stand on it.

- "Roast worm for dinner...doesn't sound bad at all.".

I raised my sword above my head, and with all my strength, I threw my sword at him, the edge of my sword cutting and piercing its body in half, like the zipper of a pair of pants opening on its own; it was so strong that I created a shockwave that kept cutting all the way to his mouth, he ended up wide open.

I searched for Hunter among the slimy insides of the worm, walking for quite a while on that soft, slippery worm flesh until I found him at last in a fetal position, drenched in slime and... other fluids. His eyes were wide open, and he said nothing when he saw me, as he seemed to be in shock.

I looked at him and lifted him up, but he would not stand.

There is no choice but to carry this whining beast until he gets over it.

- "I told you, Hunter, to watch out for the worm." -I told him as I put him on my back, keeping him from slipping off in unorthodox ways-"Anyway, as I was saying..."-.

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~Spacetime~: It would be stupid not to do it if I say no, you guys would kill me, and I'd rather live than die

The frame he was standing on turned red, and since there were no longer any enemies in the space affected by the RPGear, reality gradually returned to normal. Materializing again that hourglass with the twenty-sided die inside it.

"So...tell me what your name is." -Kai said to me, smiling and extending his claw hand, "I read your name in the weird space, but I don't know how to pronounce it if I'm going to work with someone, I have to know how to say it.

"How nice of you to ask," - I quickly unsheathed my sword using a reverse grip and, at full speed, hit the guards with tremendous force, knocking them unconscious, including Kai.

"But with you, I have nothing pending, with your brother-in-arms, on the other hand."

Leqkyu, who was standing next to Kai, froze; I approached him and grabbed him by the artifact on his back.

"W-what do you want from me? I didn't-" - I interrupted him with a...

"Shhhhh"- To then speak softly to him - There is no need to make a big fuss; the RPGear, while no longer acting, is still active.

And I am so much faster than you, you may wonder, why I never acted against you before?

I let my turn pass me by many times; I would just use it with some object of what I had on me.

I left my companions to die.

Yes maybe. But honestly, they didn't mean anything to me; life and death are the same, only in reverse.

"You are a madman..." -Leqkyu said to me, with all the rage in the world.

"I am Spacetime, and I have come to collect what belongs to the "Ones from Above."

The green energy began to flow from my implant into my sword again, preparing it for extraction. The Topoid tried to flee, but I was faster; my sword pierced its body, extracting the essence of the beast; my work was done.

"Leave a message for your boss." -I said to Leqkyu as I picked up the RPGear and headed down the main path-"You'll be fading out in no time, so be quick to put on that message that Spacetime sends his regards and best of luck with your plan."

"Wait... what..."

"Ciao, topito."

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- "As I was coming out of the" - I was interrupted by a murmur from Hunter-

-"Home... Home... ahead..."

- "I see you've seen it, puppy."

- "HOW DID YOU CALL ME A BASTARD SON OF A-!"

- "The cure for all your traumas is to insult you, you curious person."

- "SHUT THE FUCK UP, WE'RE SAVED, THERE'S A SHACK UP AHEAD"

- "Exactly, we have arrived; it is an inn that I visited many, many years ago... it is a place I can call...

- I paused a little, and after swallowing some saliva, I continued- "Home"...