"Why are you laughing? Did I say something funny?" asked Nabil.
"Do you think you are in an anime?" asked Athoi.
"No... But I said that because I feel like it's not real, even though I know it is. Everything that is happening looks like a fantasy story from an anime," said Nabil, glancing around at the surreal landscape illuminated by the moonlight.
"Yeah, true. However, I am Athoi. I'm currently a survivor, and I was a student before entering this world.
I was doing a part-time job when suddenly time stopped, a portal opened, and I ended up here," said Athoi.
"Oh... I was at home, actually. I was opening the game server, and then a download file came. I clicked on it, and then something weird happened, and I ended up here," said Nabil.
"Downloading? What were you downloading?" asked Athoi, her curiosity piqued.
"I don't know. It was an in-game file with a 666 MB size," replied Nabil, shrugging.
"Wait, 666? It's the devil's sign. Tell me what happened after that," said Athoi, her eyes widening.
"Look, don't get angry with me. Well, actually, I am one of the admins of the server. My cousin and I made this server. After making it, we fell asleep. Then my cousin, who lives in America for his studies, sent invitations to different groups, and overnight it reached 49 players. When I came back from school, I opened the server, and it told me to download a file. I downloaded it, and then we got trapped here. Well, technically, it's my fault," said Nabil, scratching his head.
"What the hell... You mean that file brought us here?" asked Athoi, her voice rising.
"Maybe," said Nabil, looking down.
"No... Tell me, where does your brother study? I mean, which university?" asked Athoi.
"It's maybe Hedrox University," replied Nabil.
"No way... I am also a student at Hedrox University. Also, I mentioned the three guys who betrayed me after I came to this world. All are from Hedrox University," said Athoi, her tone shocked.
"Maybe my cousin sent the invitation to your university groups or something," said Nabil.
"What's your brother's name?" asked Athoi.
"His name is Yamin Khan," said Nabil.
"Oh... The name doesn't match. How does he look?" asked Athoi.
"He is 5'5, pretty short, has curly hair, and has a butterfly tattoo on his arm," said Nabil.
"What's his year and subject? I mean, I am in the second year in the department of finance," said Athoi.
"First year maybe. His subject is maybe physics-related," replied Nabil.
"I know him. He was in the Bangladeshi community of the university. Hedrox University is international, so every country has a small community. I am in both the Japan and Bangladeshi community," said Athoi.
"Oh... So why are you asking this?" asked Nabil.
"Are you dumb? Can't you understand the connection? How did we end up here? I am sure your brother is connected with this. As far as I know, he does devil worship," said Athoi.
"My ex-boyfriend had a good friendship with him. He was Bangladeshi, so he had a good friendship with all the Bangladeshis of the university. He told me that," said Athoi.
"Even if he does, there's no way he did this," replied Nabil.
"Listen carefully. The download file was 666, and it's the sign of the devil. Yamin is a devil worshiper.
Also, you mentioned that he did the remaining work after you fell asleep. Then, overnight he added 48 players because there is an e-sports club in the university, and he sent an invitation to our group.
In America, it was daytime, so the members accepted it. I also did the same. The group had 120 students from different countries who study at Hedrox University, and they joined it," said Athoi.
"So what does it prove?" asked Nabil.
"A lot. Listen, the group's message was like:
'[Hey guys, just think after we open our eyes and find ourselves in the world of Miniworld. We would know the real meaning of survival. But we can't do that.
By the way, I've opened a Miniworld server where we can play together and create our beautiful bond. I am a first-year student, so I don't know much about everyone, so we can get to know each other through the game. Please join - ]'
A message like this came from your brother's ID, and I also tapped the link and joined the server. Now tell me, why did he say about finding ourselves in the world of Miniworld? It's not a coincidence," said Athoi, her voice trembling with conviction.
"What the hell, are you telling the truth?" asked Nabil, his face pale.
"Yes, I am. Trust me. And I think you are the only person who has entered the world who is not from Hedrox University," said Athoi.
"Shit. If you are telling the truth, that means Yamin is also trapped here," said Nabil, his mind racing.
"He is, and I think he is killing other players. Look, now only 21 players are alive. I think he is finding players and killing them," said Athoi, her face grim.
While they were talking, suddenly Whfi shook, causing both to look back. They saw some big flies shooting lasers from their eyes.
"Oh no, this again," said Athoi, drawing her bow and arrow and starting to shoot. Leon woke up and began shooting energy balls at the flies.
< Mob name - Stinkray
Mob type - insect, hostile >
Stinkrays continued to shoot lasers at them.
In response, Athoi started shooting arrows, and Leon, now awake, began throwing energy balls. However, the Stinkrays easily dodged their attacks.
Athoi handed her bow and arrows to Nabil and said, "Don't shoot, and tell your lion not to shoot either."
"Why? They're attacking us," said Nabil, confused.
"Don't question it, just listen to what I said," Athoi replied. She donned her armor, drew her sword, and teleported onto a Stinkray's back, stabbing it with precision.
As the Stinkray began to fall, she quickly teleported to each remaining one, killing them all in the same way. The rapid teleportation confused the Stinkrays, and the survivors fled.
Athoi teleported back onto Whfi's back. "Told you. Glad you listened."
"That's impressive. You handle your powers really well," said Nabil, genuinely impressed.
"I've practiced a lot. By the way, what's your skill?" asked Athoi.
"It's 'Pet'," replied Nabil.
"And what about your ability?" asked Athoi, as she sat on the roder and began removing her armor.
"It's making mobs my pet," Nabil answered.
"I think you misunderstood my question. I have one skill and one ability. My skill is 'Healing' and my ability is 'Teleportation.'"
"Are they different?" asked Nabil.
"Yes. Skills can affect other players, while abilities are a player's personal power," explained Athoi. "Check your stats."
< Skill - No Ability - Lev 01
Ability - Pet - Lev 32 >
"It says: 'Skill - No Ability - Lev 01' and 'Ability - Pet - Lev 32,'" said Nabil.
"So your skill is 'No Ability,'" said Athoi.
"What does that mean?" asked Nabil.
< Its a skill that can block other players' abilities if you touch them. It can't block all abilities. If the other player's ability level is higher than your skill level, it may not work properly if the player resists. >
"I don't know, tell me what your system says," suggested Athoi.
Nabil read aloud, "It says: 'It's a skill that can block other players' abilities if you touch them. It can't block all abilities. If the other player's ability level is higher than your skill level, it may not work properly if the player resists.'"
"So basically, it can block others' abilities if you touch them, but it won't work if the targeted person resists and has a higher ability level," summarized Athoi.
"Oh...then it's a useless skill. To level it up, I have to use it, but it seems impractical," said Nabil.
"It's not useless. It can be useful, but it's difficult to use effectively. The problem is leveling it up. I can help you with that, but only after I fully trust you," Athoi assured.
"Okay," said Nabil, his eyes heavy with sleep.
"You look sleepy. You should rest," said Athoi.
"Yeah, I'm tired," Nabil admitted.
"Leon, sleep in the middle of the roder," commanded Nabil.
Leon lay down in the center, leaving space for Nabil and Athoi on either side.
Nabil lay beside Leon and said, "Don't worry, Leon will lay in the middle. You can sleep on that side."
"Thanks," said Athoi, appreciating his consideration.
"This boy is really thoughtful. Even in this situation, he made sure I was comfortable by using Leon as a barrier," thought Athoi as she lay down. "It feels like I can trust him, at least more than those guys or my ex," she pondered, gazing at the stars before closing her eyes.
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Day 23 - 7:12 AM
Whfi was still flying. Nabil woke up and saw Athoi sleeping, hugging Leon, who was also asleep.
"Whfi, land where we can find drinkable water or edible animals," Nabil instructed.
Whfi nodded and, after flying for a while, spotted a big pond where Drogs were drinking water. Whfi landed, causing the Drogs to scatter. Whfi began to drink.
Nabil climbed down, surveyed the area, and said, "Another day starts, but no progress."
< We are now 11,800 kilometers away from our previous spot. >
"That's a long distance. But we're still in a plain biome," Nabil said as he started drinking water.
Leon woke up, looked around, and saw the Drogs. He jumped and ran toward them.
"Leon, don't attack them like that," Nabil called out, running after him. "Take me with you," he said, climbing onto Leon's back.
"We're eating innocent animals for our survival, but if you attack and kill them slowly, they'll feel more pain. It's better if I kill them instantly," Nabil explained to Leon.
They reached the Drogs. Nabil jumped down, aimed at a Drog's head, and swiftly decapitated it.
"Great, one down. We need more," Nabil said, hopping back onto Leon's back. Together, they repeated the process with several more Drogs.
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