After a short debriefing on what's happening I was escorted on a plane where a dozen or so other players were chatting, then the player functions were open as a couple of messages were muffled as I chose Immersion on the get go.
The plane ride lasted only a minute since it took that much time for the transport to be filled, that was fast considering how long the debriefing was. A kind of gas filled the plane as all of us were unconcious.
**
I open my eyes as the blaring alarm of the plane woke up others. We were in the back part of the transport where the door was opening and the light peeking through.
"Alright! When the lights turn green that means go, you have a time frame of a minute to decide when to go, and will be automatically pushed out the plane if you have not! Are we clear!?"
The one in charge barked orders through the speakers on the plane. Some responded while others just kept quiet, and there were the noisy one's.
I was the first one to stand since 30 seconds passed nobody even moved. I got looks as I walked to the back of the plane, then jumped. I could hear someone gasp before the wind was all I heard.
This was where free falling was a requirement to play and not for the faint of heart. There was an accident where someone who had a disease had a heart attack while playing. That was the only time the game had an accident and it never again happened.
The reminiscent view of the ground from above was thrilling to say the least, now I somehow have to land in one piece, while surviving in this treacherous land.
**
The spot I had landed was an abandoned Information Building with a huge disk on top. Another part of the game that stood out was it's immersion and unless you had a teammate -since teams were given comms- you would definitely be on edge.
This was where tension was the norm; A branch breaking, bushes rustling, and howls of the beasts that roam the land. Not that I mind since I was used to it, but my body wasn't.
It was night time when I finished. After looting the building I had found a combat knife, some rations, and arrows but no bow. A golden glow enveloped me after I had settled at the rooftop beside the disk. A blue screen appears with the words 'You have leveled up!'. I swipe the screen and it scatters like sand in a breeze, then I formed a triangle with my hands and another blue screen appears, more larger and obviously more words.
{Name : Miracle Level : 2 23/50
Skills : Scavenging + Status : Normal
Hunger : 43% Sanity : 100%}
Same old, same old. This was your Info, it tells about you; like level, skills, etc. etc. Name, do I even have to explain? Skills as the name suggests is the part of your Info where the skills you learned or using are, Status again as the name suggests it depicts your status if you are tired, poisoned, bleeding, etc. etc. Hunger then Sanity.
This was where it gets interesting; Sliver of Hope wasn't just a normal survival game, it had tons of guns, maps, items, and most importantly monsters. The roar I heard after I landed was definitely from a Tier 2 beast and speak of the devil.
A shadow burst from the trees lunging towards me, I rolled in time as the beasts claws sunk in the metal rooftop, stuck. I got a good long look at it since it was a full moon, a wolf the size of a car, and as tall as a human glared and growled at me. It had silver colored fur, a black mane with a single horn on it's head.
It didn't took long for it to un-stuck itself from the rooftop, then it starts to circle me, looking for a chance to strike. Not long after I had shown a gap in my defense it lunges, my reaction speed was one of the best but my body was subpar now more than ever.
I rolled forward and under it's belly but was still grazed in the face, the warm liquid ran down as a stinging pain was felt from my face. My hand holding the knife upwards as if unhindered by the pain. I didn't even flinch. The force of the lunge plus my strength managed to make a fatal wound on the monster's underside, the guts were hanging down and as a last stand it growled, but no more than a second it's huge body lay limp on top of me. So heavy.
I managed to push the carcass to the side as I greedily breathed in. After a while a golden glow enveloped me again, as I ripped a part of my shirt and placed it on water then cleaned the wound on my face. I then opened my Info.
{Name : Miracle Level : 3 13/100
Skills : Scavenging +, First Aid +, Knife Mastery + Status : Bleeding (Mild) Hunger : 69% Sanity : 90% }
I check my skills.
{Scavenging - When searching has a higher chance of finding loot. With your luck I'd say 0.01%
First Aid - Your skills are subpar at best, good for only bandaging up wounds.
Knife Mastery - Your skills are slightly better than a person who just touched a knife -oh yeah you were one just moments ago.}
I smile bitterly as the same shitty description greets me. This was one of the unique parts of the game and instead of people getting angry it was the opposite, they started working hard to develop their skills.
A growl emerged from somewhere I warily surveyed my surroundings but later found out it was from me. Hopefully I can eat in peace.
**
My wish granted I start my trek to find other survivors to kill them. The irony I know, but the blue screen in front of me says otherwise. {You are designated as a -Killer-} Other than food and monsters the other thing you have to be careful is the Killer. Every game -well some gamemodes there's a player or team that is designated as the Killer, the story behind it was that every batch there was some psycopath that if he/she succesfully kills everyone they are free. The free part means a bonus, the game ends when the Killer is killed, the survivors last a week, or all of the survivors die.
Do note that time flows differently here. A day here is like 2 hours tops, the time dilation also makes communicating even harder. That was why when gaming you have to either be doing nothing or clear your schedule, since the only way one can contact you is if they go online. Since this was the second time the sun came up I've played for atleast 2 hours. Sis is gonna be mad if I take any longer than 6 so, let's begin the hunt.
**
There are many items in the game that either aid the survivors, the killer, or the monsters. There are also guns. On that note gunshots were heard throughout the night, many stopped a bit later, I presume atleast one of them died then I head towards that direction.
The sound and the smell of blood attracts the beasts and every night they target the person with the least amount of Sanity. The other features of Sanity lay in a psychological way. The lower it gets the more "paranoid" you are, and once it passes certain thresholds you begin to hallucinate, hear something that isn't real, and see something that isn't there. The first time my Sanity became like that it was hard to distinguish either there was something there, or there was nothing.
It was easier for the Killer to ambush them that was why they had to team up. The Killer is decided a day after they land so that the players wouldn't take advantage of the fact that they could kill anyone before they get items, plus the Killer was already a psycopath so he didn't need Sanity anymore. But has a higher chance to be attacked than the survivor who had the least Sanity.
It made the game more fair since you could just group up and when the beasts attack you would expect that person to be attacked but then it lunges at a different person which leads to either that person lied and had lower Sanity or he/she was the Killer.
As I walk through the forest, the smell of blood became more denser. I came nearer and nearer to the crime scene.
In a clearing, bodies decorated the grass as the blood added finishing touches to the gory scene I am witnessing. The guns were mediocre at best, only handguns, they're even damaged.
The looting part of the game was good. Beside the dead bodies were bags, I go near it and a screen that highlights what I need appears as the non-highlighted parts were those of no use to me either because I can't use them or too damaged.
Through sweeping the area I chose a simple Desert Eagle. The ammo that was grayed out was now glowing, since now I can use them.
Some bandages, a water bottle, and two rations. Quite a haul for a single person, even though I haven't killed anyone just yet, hunting them was easy.
Especially when it's the first game. I just so happened to be the Killer.