"Once again, I welcome you all to a world where strength is the key to all things. A world where the word ' Power ' is known to be honourable and today you all present here have decided to visit this world. Just as the clock never ticks backwards but later on gets back to where it had started ticking from, you have made a choice and there is no going back until the time is right," The white-haired man said, with a smile constantly playing on his lips. "You shall now receive your devices."
The left wrist of each player began to glow with a bright light that disappeared as quickly as it had appeared leaving behind a screen as wide as their wrist, with both ends inserted into their wrists making it impossible to take it off.
Max stared at the inserted screen on his wrist in awe.
' This is so cool,' He thought filled with excitement.
"The screens inserted on each player's wrist is a device that displays your rank. To be able to access other vital information within the device, it will request a username input and once that is done, you can continue into the game. Just as the rule states, ' Kill to survive,' the number of kills a player acquires automatically causes an increase in rank and a reward of gems at some point in time. As time goes on, a player will meet with demons and beasts who will count as kills and even a demon or beast who can be taken by the players as a familiar only after being defeated. As a player's rank increases so does his strength but once he is eliminated he is given a second chance to respawn in a safe zone outside the game area until the next game starts. If the player is eliminated once again, he will be transported out of the game entirely and will be denied access."
"The kills shall continue among the players till two life chances have been exhausted which leads to the last man standing becoming the winner and being handsomely rewarded."
The white-haired man spread his arms wide apart.
"Let the slay begin!"
Bright lights enveloped the space, binding every player into it.
The second time Max opened his eyes since he entered the game, he found himself in a dark and quiet forest whose only source of light came from the moon.
"So the game begins, now what?" He asked rhetorically as he looked around. His eyes then fell on his wrist on which a screen was now inserted.
"What does this do by the way?" He wondered as he proceeded to tap the screen. To his amazement, a screen displayed before his eyes.
[ Welcome, Player 3125 to Harbingers Of Death ].
A programmed voice said what was written on the screen in his head.
[To proceed, please input username].
Beneath was a blank space which he knew very well was for his username. There was no keyboard on which he could type his name. It was more like the screen was part of his vision.
[ Player 3125, your system allows you to communicate with it through your thoughts. Please input username]
[ Shadow_Demon ]
The username he had come up with in his mind immediately appeared on the screen.
[ Weaponry available on the system ]
[ Shadow_Demon, do you wish to check out the weaponry? ]
Max responded with his thought.
[ Yes ]
Moving onto his weaponry, the only weapons available were dual blades.
[ Lunar dual blades ] :
[ Weapon's Skill activates under the influence of the moon, either in crescent or full shape. Boosts strength and speed of player's attacks 3× than usual. Skill deactivates under the disappearance of the moon ]
[ Attack power and defense all depend on the moon ].
"Interesting," Max said to himself. "It might be useful if I happen to get attacked at night."
Thankfully, it was night already. The other weapons had been greyed out, signifying they were locked and required a specific amount of gems to be unlocked.
Currently, he had no gems in his account as he had yet to complete any missions. He hadn't been given any either.
[ Do you wish to equip the lunar dual blades?]
[ Yes ]
In his hands was now a blade each. The design on the hilts looked ancient yet the style was very much attractive. What fascinated Max the most were the pure white gems engraved on the hilts of both swords, which took on the shape of the moon.
The swords had sharp edges that looked like they could easily slice through solid objects.
"Lunar dual blades, huh?" He whispered to himself as he stared at the blades in admiration.
[ Special skills available ]
[ Do you wish to view skills?]
[ Yes ]
All the skills available on his system were locked as well as greyed out. They required specific rankings to be unlocked.
He looked at the device on his wrist, which displayed his rank as zero.
[ You are currently not in the world ranking ]
The game obviously made a player work hard to get to the top.
A notification soon popped up on the holographic screen before his eyes.
[ Earn a spot in the world ranking ]
[ Defeat 10 Players ]
[ Reward: 200 gems ]
It was his very first quest! All he had to do was defeat 10 Players and then he would earn a ranking that suited his number of kills.
*. *. *.
"Sire, the game has begun," A white-haired man stood in flowing robes with his head bowed behind a seated man.
The young man seated fondled with his hair, keeping his eyes fixed on the huge screen before him.
"Let's see how things are going to turn out," He sighed.
"As you wish sire," The white-haired man replied.
The young man stood up and moved towards a corner of the room. He took off a coat and hat hung on the wall and put them on. He then made his way towards the door which opened on its own accord as soon as he stood before it.
"I'll catch you later. I have some business to settle," He said as he walked through the door which immediately shut behind him.
.
.
.
.
Luckily, Max had made it close to coming out of the dark forest with the help of his system's map. He kept his eyes wide open in case he came across a player.
His fingers firmly wrapped themselves around the hilts of the blades as beads of sweat covered his forehead. Being in a game was a lot more different from controlling a game character with a console. He had come across several creepy-looking creatures, expecting them to either attack him or run away in fear, instead they watched him quietly as if waiting for him to strike first before they would unleash their wrath on him.
Time was flying by very quickly and he was yet to find even a single player. Suddenly, an arrow swiftly moved through the air towards him. As if he had expected an attack at that moment, he acted on instincts and quickly titled his head to the side, allowing only the sharp and pointy tip of the arrow to slightly brush against his left cheek. A cut opened and blood slowly trickled down his cheek.
"You sure have good reflexes for a beginner like yourself," A voice said.
A man dressed in black appeared from behind the bushes, giving way for the moonlight to fall on him, with an arrow placed against the string of a bow in his hands, ready to take another shot at the boy.
"We're all beginners anyways. It's weird how a game was launched a few days ago and denied every player access until today. Funny, isn't it?"
Max remained silent, tightening his grip on the hilts of the blades.
"Can't speak?' The man laughed.
Max wasn't paying attention to the man's words anymore as the information on the screen before his eyes caught his interest.
Player Name : [ Klinx Karl ]
Rank : [ Mortal being ]
[ No. 5219 ]
Number of kills : [ 23 ]
Special skills : [ No current skill. The first skill will be unlocked over the next 17 kills ]
"I'm quite sure you don't have a rank yet or do you?" The man asked, unable to get a glimpse of Max's wrist.
That question got Max wondering if he was the only one with a system. He had thought it was something normally accustomed to the game. Perhaps some players were given one while others weren't.
"Alright if you don't feel like talking. Let's get over with this then."
A smile appeared on Max's face. He swung the blade in his hands with excitement slowly engulfing him. He felt like the moon was smiling down at him.
"You mean I will get over with you now," Max said, placing emphasis on ' I '.
The man's brows lifted themselves in amusement.
"So you speak?"
"And I kill too."
The smile on Max's face broadened and his purple eyes shone brightly under the moonlight.
AUTHOR'S NOTE :
Thank you for taking the time to check out this book. I hope you enjoyed reading so far. If so, please support by voting with power stones and leave your thoughts on the book in comments and reviews.