Attention inhabitants of planet [Earth]. [The Wicked God's Game] is now online.

Around the world, purple screens suddenly appeared in front of every sentient being on the planet. The words on these screens were then transmitted into the minds of the people in a cold, unfeeling robotic voice. 

A moment later, the screen was replaced by another. The message on this one was longer and the text began to scroll down as another voice transmitted its words to the world's inhabitants. This voice was much more energetic and sounded as though it belonged to a young man. 

That's right! W1K3D is now in charge you pitiful, boring, inconsequential playthings! Be grateful that I've made the decision to inform you of your new lord and master. 

To those it may concern, your universe is one that lacks a god or overseeing entity. That's right, all your religions are fake. Ha! But for entities like me, that means free real estate. Or, well, sorta free. Those ass nuggets who oversee the omniverse keep a pretty stern grip on things. But, yeah, I managed to buy your worthless reality and now I'm running the show and the game can begin.

First things first. Your world is boring as shit; so, I'm going to liven things up. I'm changing the rules. Bu~u~ut, because of the dumpster fire my last world became, I've decided to take things a little slower and give you a bit of a tutorial.

*Ahem* In one month's time, I shall begin subjecting your world to tragedy and disaster. You have until then to reach level 1 and gain access to the game. If you don't, your screwed. Think of these disasters as in-game events. As part of the game you peons will gain powers and skills. *Oooo* *Aahh* You will be able to use these to endure these events and the events themselves will come with opportunities for even greater power.

Now, you may be wondering, "How do I gain access to the game?" And, if you aren't, then you are officially too dumb to live and I look forward to seeing you die. To gain access to the game, you must reach level 1 and to do that, you have to gain experience. There are a couple of ways to do this but the best way is to kill demons. That's right, I'll be unleashing hordes of little demons I call Kuris. Don't worry, they're pretty harmless - for now.

You see Kuris will also be trying to gain experience and rise in level. They'll do this by killing you all. Still, because their base is so much smaller and weaker than you humans, I've set the bar lower for them to level up. You humans will need about 150 XP to level up while a Kuri only needs 50. But don't worry too much; for every Kuri you kill, you gain 10 XP, so kill fifteen of them, and you're set!

Hmm…What else?…I guess that's it. W1K3D out!

Once the last word was said, the screen vanished and the people of the world were left in a moment of silence. The utterly unnatural event gave credence to the screen's claims and that left people in a state of disbelief.

The minds of the people began to process and they began experiencing various reactions. There were those in denial who rejected what they had seen and continued about their day - ultimately facing reality later given everyone had seen the screens. There were those who panicked; some frantically sought protection and safety, others proclaimed it the end of the world, and a few professed this was the work of the government. This panic was also mixed with those who were scared and either withdrew into themselves or rioted. Then, there were those who saw this as opportunity for power or to escape their boring lives to embrace the fantastical they always dreamed about.

The religious had similar reactions of either rejecting W1K3D's claims and words as those of a false idol or demon, panicking and experiencing a sense of loss, or embracing them. The more deeply attached and pious they were, the more severe their reactions. There were a few who simply accepted what W1K3D said but maintained their faith under the idea that this supposed wicked god was wrong, lying, or simply maintaining their faith's teachings even if there was no punishment or reward.

Governments around the world also had similar reactions. However, they were too busy trying to handle the resulting chaos to fully take action just yet.

Unbeknownst to anyone, small swirling portals began to appear around the world hidden from view. Alleyways, sewers, basements, warehouses - anywhere they would go unnoticed. These portals were at most the size of a human head and as small as an adults hand.

Through these portals, small creatures began to hop through. These creatures resembled balls of brown fur with four, green-skinned limbs poking through - each with three clawed digits. Hidden within their fur is a pair of big, purple eyes and a large mouth of sharp teeth. Once they touched ground, they began hopping around and spreading out.

Dozens to hundreds of these creatures appeared from each portal before it closed.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Simon Lake sat dumbly in his desk chair within his dreary but adequate one bedroom, one bathroom apartment. He had not gotten past his disbelief just yet. Alone and having little contact with others, he did not have the awareness of this screen appearing across the whole world as others did.

Unsure if this was real, a dream, or if his preference for fantasy over reality had finally caused him to start hallucinating, Simon took a cautionary approach to the screen's information. A dream did not matter and he could have fun until her woke up, a delusion he could live with but should keep under control if not seek help, but if this was real…it probably did not matter.

Sitting back in his chair, Simon ran a hand through his curling brown hair and turned his hazel eyes to the ceiling. He thought, "Even if this is real, it's not like I'll achieve anything. I don't want to die but it's not like I've ever really been good at anything."

Self-depreciation and doubt tempered any excitement Simon may have felt at the prospect of his fantasy's becoming reality. This in turn allowed him to think more logically than some were right now. "Even if I did accomplish anything, that means fighting monsters and god- literally GOD knows what. Since he's calling himself W1K3D, this wicked god person seems to be a gamer and he described the disasters as 'in-game events'. I play enough games to know that could mean anything. Zombie apocalypse, mutant beasts, alien invasion, gateways to other dimensions, etc. Even if I get lucky enough to reach level 1, I don't think I'll get far and probably just skate by like I am now."

"Besides, this god seems like an ass. He said there were a number of ways to gain XP but only told us one. I bet that was intentional. Either I'm right and there probably isn't much hope to level up for people or I'm wrong and these Kuri will be so easy to find, most people should be able to get to level 1. However, if this includes kids, the elderly, the disabled, and other groups, then suffice to say, he's an ass."

Letting out a deep sigh, Simon got to his feet and left his bedroom-slash-workroom where he spent his free time either working on his computer or just surfing the internet. He then walked down the little hallway to his living room-slash-kitchen to get a can of soda.

The room did not have much. There was a couch and a coffee table Simon used as a dining table. Situated atop some tote containers was a television with various game stations connected to it - controllers sitting on the table. To the side of the room was the kitchen counter - complete with sink and stove -, some cupboards, and a refrigerator.

Opening the fridge, Simon grabbed a can, opened it, and started drinking as he shut the door. Leaning against the counter, he tried to muse about other ways to get experience but quickly gave up as there were not any clues. Then he began to think about the only stated way to gain XP - killing Kuris.

Initially unsure if he would be able to kill them, Simon brushed that thought aside given this was all hypothetical. "The main issue is how dangerous they actually are and finding them. Since they're supposed to kill humans, they can't be completely harmless. Of course W1K3D could be lying and these Kuris are mammoth sized monsters that will need tanks to beat. Not much point in thinking about it if that's the case. If they really were small and harmless though…"

"Let's look at this a different way. What if I were W1K3D? He said he had a world before but it became a dumpster fire. So, if I'd fucked up once before and were a sadistic, gamer asshole, then I'd want to rig things so that the players - or maybe NPCs - would get royally fucked over, but give them just enough ability to fight back so they don't get wiped out. Meanwhile the Kuris would be harmless enough that just about anyone could beat them - or at least a majority - but dangerous enough to still be a problem…"

"It really depends on what a Kuri is capable of. They could be poisonous, electrified, have really pointy teeth and claws, or maybe they're just smart."

Not finding a potential answer to any of the questions or possibilities he can think of, Simon shrugs it off and puts the matter out of his head for now. "W1K3D said we had a month, so there's no point in worrying about this now."

Deciding to prepare something for lunch, Simon pressed off the counter and turned around to open the cupboard and grab a pot. He then dropped the pot in the sink and turned on the faucet. However, as the pot began to fill with water, he heard a purring noise.

*Kuri, Kuri*

Simon turned his head and saw a ball of brown fur standing on four green legs peak out from behind the kitchenware. It looked small enough to fit in his palm.

Staring at the creature, Simon absentmindedly said, "Defiantly not a mouse…Is this a Kuri?"

As though in response, the creature stepped out behind the kitchenware, reached the edge of the cupboard, and then lunged at Simon. The fur at the front of its body parted and opened to reveal is mouth full of pointy teeth. *!Kuri!*

Caught off guard, Simon jolted back and waved his arm at the creature. However, his arm came into contact with the Kuri's mouth and it bit down on him. "Ow," Simon yelled. The Kuri's bite was not strong but he could still feel its many teeth pierce his skin.

The creature then used its four limbs to brace itself and began trying to pull off the chunk of Simon's arm that it had bit into. Again, Simon yelled in pain. His first instinct was to try and grab it to pull it off, but he remembered something from a show he watched. A scene reminiscent of the situation he found himself in that suggested trying to pull it off would just help it in tearing off a chunk of his arm and it would cause less harm to make it let go. In response, he spun around and slammed his arm - and the Kuri - into the wall.

The impact succeeded in stunning the creature and making it let go of Simon's arm. It fell to the ground while he cradled his arm. Wanting something to defend himself with, he turned to the sink and now overflowing pot. He turned off the facet, dumped out the water, and held the pot by the handle with both hands as he turned back to the Kuri.

The fuzzball recovered and seemed to shake off its disorientation. It then quickly hopped back onto and scampered up the wall. Not wanting to let it get far, Simon rushed forward to strike at it with the pan and successfully batted it away.

Knocked off the wall and hitting the ground, the Kuri stood up and tried to quickly flee but was dazed and wobbled around.

Fueled by adrenaline and having nearly had a bite taken out of him, Simon quickly rushed forward before it could recover and brought the pot down on the creature with all his might. There was a sickening *CRUNCH* as it struck.

Lifting the pot back up to check the damage, Simon saw that the creature had been reduced to a flattened pulp of brown fur, bone, and gooey purple blood. He got to his feet and took a step back. Calming down, he said, "Well…if that was a Kuri, I guess they're not too tough."

As if to mock him, Simon heard a series of overlapping voices behind him.

*Kuri, Kuri*

Turning his head, he saw about a dozen more Kuri around the still open cupboard.