05:59:50
I woke up in tears, bathed in sweat, as my flight instinct pulled me back into the safety of my blanket in the corner of the bed. Yet this was not my blanket, nor my bed or room.
My mind was no longer consumed by fear, but my body still reacted as if I had just woken up from a fire. The last thing I remembered was being struck in the forehead by a metal piece from clashing swords. Did I survive? I asked myself as I entered the bathroom to get a better look in the mirror. I appeared completely fine, not attractive—never seemed to be—but there were no wounds. But who brought me back to my room?
As I made my way out of the bathroom, I wiped a tear off my cheek and noticed the clock.
It read January 1st, 2050.
"That must be a mistake."
I frowned, trying not to dwell on it. Instead, I should focus on these clothes in front of me. From underwear to casual attire, work outfits, and coats, they all fit perfectly and matched my usual style. Even a pair of glasses that perfectly complemented my eyesight. Whoever took them off and put them in my drawers ensured they stayed exactly where I found them yesterday.
But who am I kidding?
I hurried over to the table clock and squinted at it. January 1st—it was not January 2nd. I closed my eyes tightly, rubbed them, and looked again. Still January 1st.
"Well..." I slowed down my breathing and tried to convince myself. "It must be broken."
The next thing I did was to check if I was hallucinating or dreaming. This couldn't possibly be the year 2050. I couldn't be in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, in a superhuman school facility.
Pinching myself didn't work. Headbutting the wall didn't work. Even trying to drown myself in the sink didn't work.
"Reenggggg"
"Morning roll call! All students assemble in the yard in five minutes."
The clock made a familiar sound, and now I recognized the voice—it was Kai's. I quickly finished fixing myself and stood facing the door, my hand on the knob.
"What if..." I paused as the realization hit me, and I sank to my knees before gathering the courage to face the outside. "What if it really is January 1st?"
I'm trapped in my own creation and can't escape. Even if my parents are here, are they really "my parents"?
After a while, I rushed back into the bathroom to clean my face again before finally opening the front door.
"Ah, crab sticks!"
The sun rose from the East, blinding me once again. I took a deep breath before surveying the yard. Indeed, two lines of students were there, dressed in dark green uniforms, and Kai, in a dark suit, stood facing them with his arms crossed behind his back.
...
Multiple locations around the world, 2022
{When Kai finished his speech and introduction, he particularly noticed the blonde girl in glasses in the front row, Shiki. "Your power usage will be supervised. And that's all you need to know. Remember, this is your life now."}
[By the way, where is the head admin's character?] A player asked in the game's group chat before typing in his character's action.
Just as he finished his question, the head admin's message popped up, and his character—a normal human teaching civics named Thuong—made her debut.
{A young woman in her mid-twenties approached the students after Kai's speech. She was wearing a dark blazer with a white button-up shirt, trousers, and a pair of glasses. She seemed nervous and confused as she walked forward, though she was already ten minutes late. As she reached the head instructor, Kai, she looked at everyone, wiped away some sweat, and asked, "Hello... I think my clock wasn't working. Is today January 1st, 2050?"}
Curious about this character and why the head admin described her in such detail, which deviated from the quick inputs of actions and fighting in the game, the players scrolled up to check the in-game date and her profile posted in the "NPC's Profile" section.
[Thuong? She's weird.]
[Nah, I think she's cute. But the admins didn't list any powers for her?]
[Let's continue the roleplay. I want to try my character's power!]
{Adam used his time manipulation power to stop everything in its tracks, allowing only himself to move and interact for a brief period of time. He walked over to Thuong to get a closer look, staring at her chest for a moment before walking behind her. He rested his arm on Thuong's shoulder and let time slide forward again, noticing that Thuong was sweating. He wiped some sweat off her nape.}
[What the heck did he just write?]
[...] Upon reading Adam's input, an admin responsible for managing the NPC "Kai" frowned before expressing his disbelief in the admin group chat. [Everyone, give me a minute.]
{Kai pulled out a specially made pistol designed to take down superhumans and fired a shot straight at Adam's forehead, instantly killing him with more speed than he could react.
"This will be your civics education and team bonding teacher, Miss Thuong."}
...
Project Alpha, 2050
As the scene unfolded once again, I didn't even flinch, aside from a slight startle at Adam's initial teleportation and his finger running down my neck. Everything was clearly a repetition. Adam got shot in the forehead, a girl from the line was called up to revive him, and Kai said the same thing about having a test fight with longswords.
Right then and there, I broke down, trembling on my knees, begging every deity in existence to let this be an incredibly cruel nightmare rather than the reality I was facing.
[Breaking down after being touched? Was her backstory... traumatizing or something? It still seems like an overreaction.]
[Great job, dude. You messed up the first female NPC.]
As Kai helped me up from the ground, I saw Adam and another male student with black hair shake hands before receiving their blades from a stack. Soon enough, they charged at each other again, engaging in a brawl that the eyes could not follow.
"I hope you're okay, Miss Thuong," Kai said, standing beside me with his eyes fixed on the fight. "The blonde one is Adam, and the other is Gilbert. They each have their own special abilities, and we may have trouble getting all these students to get along. I assume you received the papers, but let me know if you need any assistance."
Hearing his words, I couldn't help but bite my lip. Get these supernatural maniacs to get along? When you all can casually kill and revive each other in the blink of an eye? Furious, I grabbed Kai's collar and pulled him closer, glaring at him as best I could—was I trying to be intimidating? Tears started streaming down my face.
"I have nothing, and I know nothing. This isn't where I belong. I don't know how or why I'm here. I've died twice, and I'm stuck inthis absurd place. Please, bring me home. Just... please!"
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
I tightened my grip on Kai's collar, almost choking him. It was at that moment that the same thing happened again.
{The young woman said, her hands tightening around Kai's collar, almost choking him. She didn't notice Shoto and Atlas already eyeing her strangely, nor did she notice the swords of Adam and Gilbert clashing nearby.
"Keng." Suddenly, a piece of iron broke off from their swords during their clash and flew towards Thuong, hitting her on the head at an unreactable speed. Even Kai's experienced eyes couldn't follow, and it killed her instantly, surpassing the threshold for revival.}
[What the... So she's dead? Just like that.]
[Hey... I don't think you mentioned this part of the girl's plot to me, head admin. How am I supposed to react? Isn't she supposed to be a teacher, like her profile said? And why did you randomly kill her off so early in the plot?] The admin in charge of Kai expressed his concern in the admin group chat.
...
Gasp
I woke up in tears, drenched in sweat, as my instinct to escape pushed me back into the safety of the blanket in the corner of the bed. But this wasn't my blanket, bed, or room.
"No... no... no... no, please, God, no!"
I rushed to dive toward the table, not fully free from the blanket yet. As a result, it wrapped around my legs, causing me to trip and land face-first on the hard floor, resulting in a minor headache and a snap in my neck. But that didn't bother me as much as what I suspected was happening. I stood up and grabbed the table clock, wiping my eyes in terror to see the time:
January 1st, 2050 | 06:00:02
As far as I knew, this was my second time the metal had struck my forehead—or my third "January 1st" since waking up here, in the middle of the sea, thirty years into the future. Events were unfolding exactly like the plot I hastily wrote for a roleplay game.
I took my heart out and swore to all the lords that were watching. I had noticed that my position was different this time, to the right of Kai instead of the left. But the feeling of metal penetrating my forehead was the same, right down to the inch, and it ached as I thought about it.
"Just kill me—" My voice broke as I furiously scratched my hair. I started to aggressively brush my teeth, get dressed, and wait in solitude for one hour.
"It's just a bad dream. You're not deranged... You're not deranged..."
Why was I suffering like this? What had I done to deserve it? Was it because I accidentally killed myself? Because I smoked outside of work? Because I was an atheist? Not womanly enough? No, no, I was going insane. I wasn't deranged.
"Reengg- Click"
Before Kai's voice in the table clock could tell me to come down in five minutes, I immediately shut it off and rushed outside. I didn't care about the sun trying to burn me. I looked down to the first floor and saw some female students, all in their dark green uniforms, skillfully dashing out faster than my eyes could catch up. Were they transforming into a bright light and moving even faster through the gaps in the dormitory's front wall? And was that teleportation? Before I could even reach the stairs, all ten of them were already assembled in the yard.
Maybe I was just unlucky. I decided to stay on the other side of the field this time.
"Keng"
Suddenly, from one of their swords, a piece of iron broke from their clash and was sent flying towards me. It hit me on the head with unreactable speed, instantly killing me. Even Kai's experienced eyes couldn't react in time. It bypassed the body condition threshold for revivability.
...
"Gasp"
I woke up in tears, bathed in sweat as my flight instinct pulled me back into the safety of my blanket in the corner of the bed. Yet this was not my blanket, my bed, or my room.
It was January 1st.
It didn't matter where I stood. The piece of metal hit the exact right place, down to the pixel.
I made a mental note. I officially admitted to myself that this was "death." I had died three times, three days, three January 1st, each time with only one hour to spare. Was this my fourth time? I wasn't sure. I needed to stay calm.
When the clock struck six, I got up, splashed water on my face, brushed my teeth with mint paste, put on my glasses and work clothes, and made my way downstairs to the first floor of the dormitory building.
The scene was pleasing. Fresh air blew in from the vast sea, there were trees, actual grass, and stones on the artificial facility. It eased my mind as I continued my investigation.
There were four rooms, each complementing the size of the building. I opened each door to check, but three of them were empty. The only presence was the shallow darkness. The room was identical to mine on the second floor, but there were no beds in sight. Before I could check the last room nearest to the entrance of the building, the door opened from the inside.
A female student walked out, already in uniform with long blonde hair and glasses. I recognized her as the only female with blonde hair in the line from yesterday, apart from Adam.
"Uh..." I was momentarily speechless, forgetting my position as the supposed teacher. I slightly tilted myself downwards to greet her. "Hello, my name's Thuong. I seem to be lost."
The student turned towards me, a slightconfusion on her face. She nodded even lower than I did and placed one hand above her chest.
"Good morning, my name is Shiki. I've seen your name on the faculty members list, Miss Thuong. I believe you are confused. We are in the women's building, and the teachers' rooms are on the upper floor. Are you feeling unwell by any chance?"
"Ah..." I hadn't regained my confidence yet. Nervously, I clasped my hands together, interpreting her question as more of an interrogation rather than genuine concern. "I am... unwell. I think I may be hallucinating. It feels like a very long day, with each hour stretching into four. I'm confused about everything."
I didn't dare mention the phrase "death loop" or anything similar. It would be too much of a burden to put on a student's shoulders. However, Shiki, upon hearing my confession, calmly took hold of my left hand and looked into my eyes.
"I'm concerned about you, Miss. Are you okay? Would you like a healer or some rest?"
"It's not a physical ailment." I shook my head, awkwardly trying to smile it off. Even though more rest could alleviate my concerns, tiredness, and worries, it would only bring more if I died again. So why bother?
"Why are you up so early, Shiki?" I tried to force a smile, wiping any negative facial expression off my face as I stood up straight, trying to appear a bit taller.
"It's my biological clock, miss. Before the first roll call of the school year, I like to take a look at the weapons we'll be using today," Shiki answered, her eyes glancing in the general direction of the main building, where the swords were likely kept.
Her response made me feel rude for asking such a question. But then I was pleasantly surprised, widening my eyes at Shiki immediately.
"You knew there was going to be a roll call and a weapon test?"
"It was listed on the one hundred and seventy-third line of the Project Alpha's contract terms and conditions," Shiki explained.
Who in their right mind would read all those lines? I thought to myself, simply nodding in acknowledgment. I supposed it was for the benefit of both parties, considering the presence of superhumans and the need to manage them by providing benefits.
Something clicked in my head as I remembered... All the students, including Kai, were young and attractive. It might not mean anything significant, but it reminded me of character creation tropes from the roleplay groups I used to participate in. Given the existence of time manipulation, light travel, and teleportation, I had encountered those abilities commonly in character kits. I knew how to counter them with my own character's abilities. I stared at Shiki, trying to push my luck. I rudely held her head still to maintain eye contact and asked in a deeper tone.
"Listen... I will die in one hour. Please, tell me right now, Shiki, or whoever might be controlling you. Do you know about the year 2022? I am the one who wrote the outline for Project Alpha! I am Thuong, a 26-year-old teacher trapped in my own plot, reliving the same day in 2050. I used to be a roleplayer under the alias of..."
Before I could finish my sentence, I was suddenly engulfed in hellfire. I felt my skin melting, and tears streamed down my face as my flesh and bones were consumed by another small combustion, leaving nothing behind.
...
"Gasp"
I woke up in tears, drenched in sweat, as my flight instinct pulled me back into the safety of my blanket in the corner of the bed. However, this was not my blanket, my bed, or my room.
It was January 1st.
It marked the fourth death, or perhaps the fifth life, for me in 2050.
It seemed that breaking the fourth wall was not allowed. Whoever or whatever was out there, whether a deity or a person, was preventing it.
"I am a roleplayer who wrote Project Alpha in 2022."
As I expected, when I'm alone, nothing happens. In the context of gameplay, a character's actions are only inputted when there's a reason to do so. That means no one would input their character doing things in their own private room unless there are other people around to interact with. It would go against the essence of roleplay, which is to interact. Besides, it would be annoying for other players if my input took up space while I engaged in solitary activities.
In short, when I'm alone, I can do anything, and no one would know.
With this realization, I wondered if someone was controlling me. If I were to strip naked in the middle of a roll call, would someone have to type it out? Or would I never do it because they wouldn't? I sat down, staring into the darkness, contemplating who was in charge—my conscious mind or the hands of whoever possessed more knowledge than they let on.
Perhaps this wasn't the work of just one person. Maybe the entire school was involved in making my life miserable. Alternatively, all the characters here could be under the control of a single individual, someone who played out every character alone. At that point, they might as well write a novel instead.
I thought about writing a message on my wall, stating, "Project Alpha was written in 2022 by me," when no one was looking. However, further thoughts made me realize that it wouldn't work. If anyone saw it, it would lead to the following inputs...
"Character A entered the room, looking around to see what he saw." I muttered with my eyes closed, trying to remember how to roleplay.
Then, someone with the knowledge, preferably the one controlling me, would type out, "What he saw on the walls was the writings..."
But wait, that raised questions. If someone was truly controlling me, how much knowledge would they have to type those words? If they knew about the words I wrote, I would be instantly torched alive without waiting for the mentioned Character A to appear. On the other hand, if they had no clue about what I wrote because it was never inputted, what would happen to the words when a character entered my room?
"There was only one way to find out for sure," I said to myself as I dressed casually and walked downstairs.