'F*ck reality...'
The thought emerged in my mind as my gaze fell upon the huge beast in front of me. It wasn't some animal found on earth. This being was out of fantasy itself.
[Warning: Recommended level: '250']
The damned system was being noisy. Ignoring those notifications, I looked towards the monster.
[Dragon of Finality]
Roaaaaarrrrrr
[Stage: Tutorial, 10/10]
The giant beast's roar echoed throughout the dome. I was in a dire situation. The game had just begun. I held a sword with my right hand.
[Name: Asher Devilin]
My status window popped up again. Maybe it was a reminder that I had just gotten caught up in something huge.
[Level: 01(Novice)]
No matter how I saw that situation, it was messed up. The ominous panel faded, and a new one popped up.
[Objective: Survive 5 minutes.]
Maybe this was the only good thing I had seen till now. I had a chance to run for my life. But why wasn't I running?
'...'
Why was it that everything looked like a game to me? Why was it that I stood at my spot? Was I feeling afraid? Or perhaps...
"Hmm."
A smile crept on my face. I was facing death. Yet... Why?
'Was I always this kind of person?'
The thrill at that moment felt real. The gigantic lizard looked down at me. I could feel the killing intent it was emitting.
"Pft-"
Had I gone insane? I was laughing. That's a dragon, you know? One breath of flames, and I could die.
[Your 'luck' doesn't exist.]
Seeing this panel, I couldn't help but laugh. I was completely sane.
"Luck...?"
I slowly took a step forward. One more panel popped up.
[Danger]
It didn't stop with that one panel.
[Danger]
[Danger]
[Danger]
The same notifications kept popping up in the air. I ignored those repetitive notifications by walking past them.
[Tine left: 4:45]
The timer was ticking. I needed to survive for more than 4 minutes. I wobbled while laughing.
"Fate...?"
I moved forward as more notification windows showed up. They obstructed my eyesight, which rendered it difficult for me to see the beast clearly.
[Skill: 2]
[Die roll (F-rank|Growth)]
Cracccck
I moved my sword past the blue rectangles floating in the air.
"F*ck that sh**."
Raising my left fist in the air, I flipped my middle finger to the dragon.
"Bring it on."
I could see my own reflection in its huge eyes. My black hoodie was clear. It was covering my body partially.
"Damned lizard."
[Die roll: A die will be rolled. Reward depends on your luck.]
I, who had the worst skills, was trying to confront a dragon face-on. I must've gone crazy after witnessing such illogical things.
[Attempting to roll die.]
But I knew this was my reality now.
[You don't have stat 'luck'.]
The sword shone as the dragon opened its mouth widely. A huge ball of fire had begun to form within it.
[Rewards will be given based on your current requirements and chances of success.]
The skills I had gotten weren't good enough to take on a huge monster like a dragon. But if used properly, it was more than enough to buy some time.
[Probability of success: can't evaluate]
I stopped smiling. The temperature was rising.
[Will you roll?]
"Yes."
I closed my mouth as some sounds fell into my ears. What reward was I going to get now?
Ding ding
[Number rolled on the die: 6]
A die has six faces. I had managed to roll the die and get the highest possible number.
"Jackpot."
I said it in a low voice. The skill failed more times than it succeeded. Die roll was my first skill.
[Novice swordsmanship (F-rank | Growth)]
My second skill name appeared before me. Both skills I had were not enough to defend against a dragon.
[Reward: temporary wish.]
My face remained expressionless for a moment. This was the first time I had seen this reward.
[Any one wish of the user will be granted for 15 minutes.]
The hood covering my head fell off. The dragon was about to shoot the ball of fire in its mouth towards me.
"Increase my novice swordsmanship skill rank to the highest grade possible."
[Time left: 3:51]
My black hair and purple eyes were clearly reflected in the crystal-like, huge eyes. I was smiling.
[Novice swordsmanship (F-rank | Growth)]
Tsssrkk
[Novice swordsmanship (A-rank | Growth)]
The highest grade of any skill was actually SSS-rank. But some skills needed to evolve in order to have their rank increased further.
Fwoosh
The ball of fire was heading in my direction. It was time to test the difference between the strengths of a F-rank skill and an A-rank skill.
Swish
I swung the sword horizontally. It was only one swing.
[Danger]
The notifications continued flooding in. And the roars of the dragon continued to echo.
[Time left: 2:25]
The ball of fire had been cut into two. It had split apart.
'So this is A-rank...'
I glanced towards the sword. It was the reward I got from the first tutorial.
"A dragon's breath is dangerous, I suppose."
The blade was melting. That's just how hot the fire was.
[Time left: 1:10]
The dust took some time to dissipate. The dragon was roaring as I stood in the same place.
"Time to run, I guess."
Clank
I said to myself while tossing the melting blade aside. It was an open area. There were no plants or other obstacles. The only thing one could observe was a white floor and a red evening sky.
[Time left: 0:30]
I ran for a while and turned back swiftly. The dragon wasn't following me.
Bang
A sound came from behind me. I had realised what it was. Dragon had flew and landed there.
'Ah. This mother f****r. He's playing around with me.'
I couldn't help but see it that way. As it was about to reach its claw for me, I noticed the timer.
[Time left: 0:03]
I grinned as I threw myself backwards.
[Time left: 0:02]
Thud
I fell to the ground. I was feeling a bit exhausted.
[Stat 'stamina' has hit 0]
[Time left: 0:01]
The notification popped up. The dragon's claw approached for a second time. But it came to a stop.
[Time left: 0:00]
"I win."
I said this as I let my body touch the floor. I was lying down on the ground.
[Congratulations! You've completed all tutorials!]
[Transporting to lobby '0011'.]
I slowly closed my eyes. The last notification I heard was an expected one.
[Rewards can be received on the '1st floor'.]
I was a normal person just a few days ago. Now everything had changed. I was part of some game-like thing. Even though I knew the answer, I had only one question on my mind.
'How did everything come to this?'
---------------------
-??? Days ago-
Thud
As the sound reverberated in my ears, my body started to hurt. I never got a chance to respond.
'Ah. F*ck.'
By listening in on the talks and whispers of those around me, I was able to piece together exactly what had happened. It was the outcome of my negligence.
"Someone was hit by an ambulance! Take him to the hospital!"
One person shouted loudly. I could hear the sound of ambulance sirens. Wait. I got hit by what? Just how unlucky could I get?
*Thump thump*
The heart beating in my chest was being heard clearly by me. I could tell that it was getting weaker.
'Well...'
I thought as my vision began to get dark. I could feel the strength leaving his body.
'I f*cked up bad...'
It was my fault for playing Pocomon Go on a street with heavy traffic, after all. Kids never listen to their elders, do they? And I wasn't even a kid.
"Just how unlucky do you have to be to get hit by an ambulance?"
Someone asked as they tried to put me on a stretcher. I could feel difficulty breathing. Maybe some ribs were broken from the impact.
'I know right.'
I thought as memories of 19 years of life flashed through my brain. I had the worst possible luck. If I stood in line to get some special anime merchandise, the person standing before me would always get to buy the last piece. My luck was the worst.
'Am I going to die?'
I tried opening my eyes, but they didn't open. My body had no strength left. At what speed did the ambulance even hit me?
-"[You won't die.]"
A voice echoed within my mind. Maybe I was hallucinating since death was approaching.
-"[What do you want to do?]"
The voice asked me. It felt like time had come to a stop. I couldn't hear anything else aside from this voice in my head.
'I want to live...'
I thought while trying to hold back tears. No human wishes to die. It's just that some people have circumstances that force them to or just kills them against their willingness.
-"[Good... I can help you only a bit...]"
The voice was fading a bit. Maybe it was really my hallucination.
[...]
The pitch-black darkness that I was seeing suddenly lightened up. I could read something in front of me.
['System contract: Peace' has been terminated.]
"Huh?"
The sight was not something I could easily believe. It felt as if I was having some weird dream right before dying.
[Planet 'Earth-0010' will stop existing.]
I couldn't move and just blankly stared at the sentences that popped up one after another. Anyone wouldn't believe such a thing.
-"[The only thing I can give you is your body without injuries.]"
I could feel the pain throughout my body subsiding. My wounds were being healed.
'A dream? An illusion? Or reality?'
I couldn't distinguish between them at all. Maybe because it was that much of an illogical situation.
-"[Rest is up to you. Reach to the top.]"
The voice was too low now. I could barely hear it.
-"[Good luck.]"
The voice faded with those as its final words. I tried opening his eyes, but I still couldn't.
[Summoning users to the Tower of 'fate'.]
Tsrrk Tsrrk
The letters in front of me began flickering, and I found my body touching something that wasn't a stretcher. I slowly opened my eyes.
[You have entered lobby '0011'.]
[Commencing analysis of the user.]
I could see some letters floating in front of me. This time, I had my eyes opened. I rubbed my eyes quickly. This wasn't looking like an illusion.
"What is this...?"
I stared at the strange blue panel floating in front of my eyes. I could read something on it.
[Name: Asher Devilin]
[Level: 01]
[Skills: None]
"Level? Skills?"
Was this a joke? A game? Something like this was unheard of. I didn't know what to do. I kept my mouth shut and just waited to witness what was about to come.
[Skills and talent will be granted.]
[Checking your 'Luck'.]
There were blue panels floating above each other now. But what was this? Only one thing came to mind.
"A game...?"
The levels, skills, and talents were similar to those in video games. And the strange thing was that they were checking my luck. I had a bad feeling.
[Error-040]
The floating blue rectangle makes a sound now. An error? What was it? I held my ears covered using my hands.
[Stat 'luck' doesn't exist.]
[User 'Asher' will be expelled from the lobby '0011'.]
Expelled? Then what will happen? Goosebumps rose on my body.
"Wait-"
As I tried to touch the notification panel, my vision went white. Then everything blackened. At that time, I didn't know anything.
But I was certain of one thing. The future that lied ahead of me wasn't a normal one, for sure.