There it was. The stash. Iliya pursed his lips and nodded at himself. He had expected it to be bigger, for some reason? In the center of the lounge, surrounded by chairs and tables, was a stack of maybe a dozen peaches. If Iliya ignored the fire raging behind him that was starting to creep into the entranceway, the whole scene would have been quite anticlimactic. Thankfully, the heavy smoke in the air and heat of the moment added some drama. Iliya crawled towards the stash. Hesitant, he reached out a hand and picked up one of the peaches.

As soon as his hand touched the fuzzy flesh, a pulse reverberated through the room. The furniture in the lounge shook, as if struck by heavy wind and then paused in place. Iliya turned behind him. The fire, which had reached the entrance desk he previously hid behind, stood stock still. Small embers froze in their mission to consume the fake wood of the desk. Aside from the oppressive heat, it was like being in a photograph of a disaster scene. There wasn’t immediate danger in the stillness, but there was still an energy that promised horrible things if allowed to play out naturally.

Iliya’s phone in his pocket began to vibrate again. Still holding the peach, Iliya reached into his pocket with his other hand to check the screen. He didn’t want to put down the peach, just in case.

Congratulations, Challenger Red for completing your tutorial challenge!

Challenges Completed: 1 / 4

Do your best to become a full Player!

Please seek out the Moderator of Feed the Kitten for your bonus reward!

A sudden wave of relief hit Iliya, and he was surprised at the strength of it. Not only had he passed his first game, but he would be receiving his bonus. He resisted the urge to fist pump.

Iliya looked up from the screen to the scene of fire rampaging through the hall. It was frozen for the moment, sure, but he wasn’t sure if going back upstairs was a good idea. His phone vibrated again:

Special Message from the Moderator of Feed the Kitten:

Get back up to the kitchen.

Iliya rubbed at his eyes. Guess there was no choice. Still clutching the peach, he rose to his feet. Coughing from the heavy smoke, he got through the lounge and the entranceway before standing in front of the sea of flames that made up the hall. Iliya had some regrets. Sure, his strategy worked out. He had presumably freaked the professor out enough that he had abandoned his post. Iliya got the peach from the stash. But all actions have consequences.

Or maybe not, Iliya conceded as he stepped into the hall. The flames parted for him, making a path like he was Moses walking through the Red Sea. Iliya had his breath taken away. The effect was stunning. He felt like a phoenix rising through the ashes.

Proudly, he made his way down the hall and up the stairs. At the landing where the stairs met the second floor, the professor lay on the floor. He, much like the flames, was frozen. He lay outstretched on the floor, legs skewed and arms covering his head. Iliya crouched down. Just barely, Iliya could see his face contorted with fear. He still wasn’t sure what happened with those burned people, or the professor, and it seemed he wouldn’t find his answers here. Even if the man hadn’t been paused, his wide, terrified eyes and drooling mouth told Iliya the man was beyond coherent conversation. Iliya almost pitied him.

Iliya stood back up and entered the kitchen. Inside, the Moderator was still on the table, but it held Peaches in its jaws. The poor kitten looked upset, her paws hanging down in a defeated manner. The Moderator spit Peaches out, and when Peaches fell to the table, her fur changed. The deep black seemed to melt out of her fur, starting from her pointed little ears to the bottom of her paws. Underneath, her fur was a bright orange mottled with streaks of brown. So that’s why her name is Peaches, Iliya thought. Peaches began to meow pitifully, and she made her way towards Iliya. Unsure, he held out the peach. Peaches swatted it out of his hand with the strength a kitten should not have, and then she climbed onto his hand.

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“Hello again,” Iliya greeted Peaches and the Moderator. Peaches chirped a happy response, and the Moderator snorted.

“Red,” the Moderator cat began, “I have never seen a tutorial challenger absolutely destroy a game in the way you have. First, you pick apart a loophole in the monologue. Then, you set the room ablaze. You even have Peaches making a petition for the food stash to change into peanut butter.”

“Sorry?” Iliya offered, a bit anxiously.

“Don’t apologize.” The Moderator grinned with a smile too wide for its face. “I’ve decided to invest in you. After a challenger completes their first game, they get an ability that will help them. Either the Moderator from the first game can design it for you, or the game world will give you an ability that suits you. I’m going to give you something special.”

“Something… Special?” Iliya asked. He wasn’t sure he liked the sound of that.

“Something special,” the Moderator confirmed. It made a gesturing motion with its paw, and the tablet moved in front of its face. “You know, out of the four beginner challenges, this is usually considered the most difficult.”

“Really?” Iliya thought about the game. It seemed pretty easy to him- a challenger either got a fetch quest, or had to defend a small area.

Peaches blinked up at Iliya. “It’s because you have to beat another challenger! In the other games, you get teammates and you have to beat people that come with the game. Like me!” Iliya remembered how Peaches unhinged her little jaw like a snake. He shivered. And the Moderator… There was something dangerous about it. Something dark coiled up in a small cat body.

“So what happens now? Aside from getting an ability?” Iliya wondered.

“You can have a small rest, and then you’ll do the next game,” Peaches instructed. “You’ll get some notifications of places where challenges you haven’t beaten are opening. Oooo! You should do the circus one next!”

Was that the one with the clown? Iliya licked his lips. It might be good just to get that one over with. He wasn’t scared of clowns, not really, but he wasn’t sure he was ready for that to change.

“You know,” the Moderator continued, “you got fairly lucky that you didn’t have to confront Blake head on. He had a combative ability.” The Moderator looked at Iliya, considered. “Or maybe it wasn’t luck at all.” Iliya shrugged in response. It tapped a few more times and once again, Iliya’s phone vibrated.

This time, the phone showed a menu screen. At the top there were a series of tabs, and most of them had little locks obscuring their function. Only two tabs were open to be selected at the time: GAME and PLAYER. Iliya clicked on GAME first. At the time, all it said was:

You are not currently playing a game!

Iliya took in the fact that his first game was indeed over. Another wave of relief washed over him, but it seemed like he wasn’t done yet. He clicked on the PLAYER tab. This section held a lot more information.

Challenger Red

Games Completed 1

_______________

Ability The Monster’s Body is a Cultural Body

There were a few more words blacked out with locked boxes, which Iliya assumed meant there were even more things he could unlock. There was also a small arrow at the bottom of his player profile. “The Monster’s Body is a Cultural Body?” Iliya asked, curious. “What does that mean?”

“It’s the name of the ability I gave you. The more games you play, the more skills you’ll get, and the stronger your skills will be.” The big cat blinked lazily. “Read about your first skill.”

Iliya nodded and clicked the arrow.

Skill

Prosperity Makes Monsters- When a game is successfully completed, Red has a chance of recruiting a character from the game as an ally. This character must be alive at the end of the game, and this character must be a non-human monster. Each ally recruited will have its own skills and limitations when summoned. Both the skill Prosperity Makes Monsters and recruited allies can grow stronger when used.

Current amount of allies capable of summoning- 1 / 3

It’s just like pokemon, Iliya thought. “One out of three?” Iliya asked, looking at the Moderator.

Peaches swatted lightly at his nose. “Look at the next page!” Iliya had a feeling he knew who his first recruited ally was. He smiled down at Peaches and booped her on the nose. She sneezed.

Monsters

Peaches- Peaches is a little kitten. Don’t underestimate the size of her appetite! She can be summoned once per game for an hour, and without restriction outside of games. (Note: Peaches is restricted from doing any harm when outside of games.)

“So you’ll be coming with me?” Iliya never had a pet before. And he definitely had never met a talking cat before. Still, there was something charming about Peaches. Iliya rubbed one of her little ears.

Peaches nuzzled into his chest. “Can I have more peanut butter and tin foil when we go home?”

“Sure.”