"I'll leave the circle," Gawain said, casually raising an arm as he locked eyes with Lucius.
Almost immediately, a ripple of disbelief spread through the crowd.
"No way! He's actually going out voluntarily?" someone whispered, their tone a mix of shock and awe.
"Right? Look at him—he's armed like he's going to war! Who in their right mind carries that much gear?" another chimed in, bewildered and a little irritated. It wasn't every day someone strolled through a once-normal world decked out like they were the star of an action movie.
Gawain could feel their eyes on him, hungry and judgmental. A few people looked at his gear like starving hyenas eyeing a carcass. It made sense. In a world teetering on the edge of chaos, resources were precious. But Gawain? He wasn't worried. Not about them. Not about any of it.
Lucius, however, was more observant. His gaze lingered on Gawain, a brow raised in curiosity. "Are you sure?" he asked, as if waiting for some hesitation, a moment of second-guessing.
Gawain's answer came without a second of delay. "Yeah. I don't like conflicts. So I'd rather stay away from this cesspool." His tone was flat, bored even, like all of this—this chaos, this tension—was nothing more than a mild inconvenience.
The response didn't sit well with some of the crowd. "What a lunatic!" someone shouted, their voice edged with irritation. "He thinks he's the main character or something!"
"He's just going to get himself killed," another chimed in, eyes darting around nervously. "Or worse, get us killed."
Gawain clicked his tongue in mild annoyance. As far as he was concerned, they could whisper all they wanted. He had no time for this circus. Unfortunately, life loved bending him over, and not a moment later, a familiar, grating voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't the walking armory himself," Gawain heard a sneering voice. He looked and saw a rather tall man stepping forward, with a cocky, self-satisfied grin Gawain remembered all too well. "I like your gear, pretty boy. How about you hand it over? Maybe then I'll let you walk out of here."
'Oh God! How did I forget about this muttbrain?' Gawain thought with a sour look. The weird navy blue hair, blue eyes, fair skin and a nearly 6'2 tall frame. This was a guy who Gawain unfortunately recognized way too well: Marcus Jensen, the local bully. His obnoxious laughter filling in the tense scene as he approached, swaggering like he owned the damn place.
'Even looking at this guy pisses me off.' Gawain thought, barely holding himself from choking the bastard to death. In his last life, Marcus was someone who made his life a living hell. He would make Gawain weaken the monsters and then kill them to farm all the experience points. And Gawain was still pretty salty about that, even though he managed to kill him off by the end of the tutorial.
The guy had been an absolute menace. Lucius was someone who managed to keep the man in check, but whenever he was away, Marco made sure to flaunt his power and terrorize everyone in the group.
Gawain barely blinked. "No," he replied bluntly in a flat tone.
The word was simple. Direct. Flat. It didn't leave room for interpretation.
For a split second, Marcus blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected such a blunt refusal. His shock quickly turned into anger, his face twisting as if Gawain had insulted his very existence. "You think you can just say no to me? I always get what I want!"
Lucius stepped forward, trying to de-escalate the situation. "Let's not make this worse than it needs to be. We need to stay focused—surviving should be our only goal right now."
Marcus shoved Lucius aside like he was nothing. "Shut up, old man! I don't need your advice!" His focus shifted back to Gawain, and he took a threatening step closer, his fist raised as if he intended to make good on his threats.
That seemed to piss Gawain off even more. He had a lifetime of dealing with bullies like Marcus before—and he'd be damned if let this bastard even touch him.
The moment Marcus moved, Gawain's body reacted instinctively, his mana flowing throughout his body, elevating his stats much beyond human level.
In one swift motion, he grabbed Marcus' wrist, twisting it just enough to unbalance him. Then, with a single, powerful shift of his weight, Gawain slammed Marco to the ground in a perfectly executed judo throw.
The sound of Marco hitting the dirt echoed across the silent crowd. Gawain planted his boot firmly on Marcus' head, pinning him to the ground like a bug.
"Know your place," Gawain said quietly, his voice low and dangerous. "Just because you were a big shot in your little gutter doesn't mean you can touch me. I don't give second chances. Don't piss me off again."
Marcous' cronies, stunned by the speed of it all, finally snapped into action.
"Y-you bastard! Let go of hi-!" One of them, braver (or dumber) than the others, lunged at Gawain. Bad move. Gawain, still calm, still in control, unsheathed his sword with a fluid motion, mana crackling along its edge, and pointed it at the man's throat.
"I said something, didn't I?" Gawain said coldly. The 'cronie's' widened in shock, as he felt the cold steel touching his throat, and a felt a trickle of blood flowing down.
"You wanna go too?" Gawain glared at the other cronie, with an icy tone. The crowd that was once buzzing with whispers, immediately fell into a dead silence. Every eye was wide, disbelief and fear rippling through the group.
Gawain glanced down at Marcus, still squirming beneath his foot, humiliated and furious. But Gawain wasn't done yet, and pressed him down hard.
"Listen up," Gawain said, raising his voice to address the crowd. "This world? It's not some cozy safe zone. You've seen your levels. You know what's out there. Stop hiding in this pathetic bubble waiting for someone else to save you. You either level up or you die. It's that simple."
Someone in the back yelled, "You're insane! You're just trying to get us all killed!"
Gawain rolled his eyes. "I'm giving you a fucking advice. Take it or leave it. That's up to you. It's about your life and death. And the choice is up to you too."
With one final glance at Marcus, Gawain removed his foot from Marcus's head, planting it instead on his chest—this time without the mana. He didn't want to kill him, but he did want to make a point.
"Be a good boy and behave," Gawain said, his tone almost mocking. "And keep your dogs in check."
Then, without another word, Gawain pumped mana into his legs and sped off into the distance, leaving behind a stunned, trembling crowd and a humiliated bully sprawled in the dirt. He didn't know how things would play out this time, but he was sure that Lucius would take care of things here.
______
The first "quest" of the first scenario was deceptively simple: survive five waves of monsters over the span of five days. That's it.
The advice Gawain had given them, though, was much more crucial than they realized. Most of the others didn't seem to get it, but he did. 'The Safe Zone will shrink over time. It's better to get stronger now', Gawain thought to himself. The window of opportunity was small, and sitting around waiting for the next wave would be a fatal mistake.
Now you might be thinking, where Gawain was going. Well, you gotta keep some things a secret to make a story interesting, don't you? Where's the fun in laying everything bare?
"Where's that cave?" Gawain muttered under his breath, leaping onto a tree branch and pausing to survey the landscape.
The area was hilly, with light fog weaving through the trees like it was part of the forest itself. The woods were less dense here, the trees spaced further apart, allowing for stretches of open ground to appear between the patches of forest. The horizon was blurred by the mist, making it difficult to tell just how far the hills rolled on.
Grr...
His gaze dropped to the ground below. A small pack of Grey Fur Wolves wandered through the underbrush in their typical lazy steps. This forest was vast, a nearly endless expanse of danger and opportunity. In the early stages, most people wouldn't dare venture beyond the safety of the "Safe Zone." Not until desperation—or stupidity—pushed them to explore.
Lucky for Gawain, he wasn't most people. He'd scouted ahead before in his last life. He knew the forest better than anyone did, and while they were scrambling to stay alive, he'd be quietly claiming everything the tutorial had to offer.
The wolves circled below, their glowing eyes scanning the undergrowth for any movement. It almost felt like they were waiting for... something. Gawain crouched, silent and still, watching them as they prowled. "I need to hide and escape these guys," he murmured to himself, barely above a whisper. "I don't want to farm them. Not now…"
He pumped mana into his legs, feeling the familiar surge of power flow through his muscles. In a blur of movement, he dashed through the trees, careful to keep his presence hidden. The wolves didn't catch a whiff of him as he shot past them, moving toward his goal.
He knew exactly what he was going to hunt. And he knew exactly where to find it... well, almost exactly.
_____
(Safe Zone)
"O-Oi! W-Wait! Where the hell do you think you're going, you coward?!" Marcus screamed, his voice laced with both pain and fury. His eyes were wild as he watched Gawain vanish into the distance.
Turning on the crowd, Marcus's face twisted with indignation. "D-did you guys hear that? He's a lunatic! Talking like he knows something we don't! We need to decide who stays and who gets kicked out. That bastard's an idi—"
"Enough!" A booming voice cut through the air, stopping Marcus in his tracks. He whipped around to see Lucius stepping forward, his expression stern and filled with disappointment.
"You really want to question someone's sanity when you started the fight?" Lucius's voice was calm but sharp, the kind that silenced any rebuttal before it even formed. He took a deep breath, turning to address the confused and frightened crowd. "Look, we don't know where we are or what's really happening, but that man made a good point. Mr. Wisp called this a 'tutorial,' and it seems to be following game rules."
Lucius let his words settle, scanning the group's faces for any hint of comprehension. But most of them just stared back in fear and uncertainty, whispering among themselves. Some were still trembling, unsure of whether to trust Lucius or to run and hide. Their eyes darted around like cornered animals.
He pressed on. "We need a plan. A formation. Warriors in the front. Mages at the back for support. Thieves can move around and finish off anything that gets past us. This way, we have a chance."
But his voice was met with silence. Fear still clung to the air, thick and suffocating. No one moved. No one responded. Some exchanged confused glances, others looked down, too scared to say anything at all.
Marcus sneered, pushing himself up from the ground, dusting off his clothes. "Shut the hell up, Lucius. You're not the boss of me." He shot a glare toward the older man before turning to his cronies, motioning them over. "If that emo bastard can survive on his own, so can we. Come on."
Lucius stepped forward, his voice steady but urgent. "Marcus, don't be stupid. It's dangerous out there."
But Marcus wasn't having it. "Dangerous? I don't care! I'm not waiting around here like a sitting duck! If it is an RPG, then I'll kill these bastards and level up! And then I'll find that emo bastard and cut him into pieces." He flipped Lucius off with a vicious smirk before walking away, his 'friends' trailing behind him, albeit reluctantly.
Just as they were about to disappear into the forest, a loud and eerie voice echoed from the sky.
[The First Task is now commencing. Try to survive.]
Everyone froze. For a split second, the world stood still. Then, out of nowhere, growls filled the air, coming from all around them.
Marcus stopped dead in his tracks. His bravado quickly crumbled. "Oh...shit..." he whispered, eyes widening. After all, he was the first one to realise what was about to happen.
The growling grew louder. Before they could even react, wolves—dark, snarling, and much larger than any normal wolf—emerged from the shadows, their eyes glowing in the dim light as they slowly circled the group.
Panic swept through the humans like wildfire. People screamed, stumbled, trying to back away, but there was nowhere to run. The game had begun, and survival was no longer an option—it was a necessity.
Marcus stood frozen, his earlier bravado replaced with sheer terror. Lucius, though afraid himself, stepped forward, his voice rising over the chaos. "Everyone, to the formation! Now!"
Unfortunately, the command was a... tad bit too late.
_____
(Somewhere in the tutorial far, far away)
It had taken Gawain almost half an hour of careful searching before he finally spotted the place he was looking for. He landed on a tall tree and he grinned widely as his eyes locked onto the hidden cave entrance below.
"There it is!" he whispered with excitement.
The entrance was nearly invisible, concealed behind thick vines and shrouded in a heavy fog that clung to the ground. It was tucked away so well that most would have walked past it without a second glance. But not Gawain. He knew this place and had been looking for it from the moment he set foot in the tutorial. Everything he'd done so far had led him here, to what lay inside.
Without wasting another moment, he leapt from the tree and landed softly on the ground. His blade made quick work of the vines, slicing through them effortlessly as he revealed the mouth of the cave. The fog seemed to part slightly as he stepped inside, the air turning colder and heavier with each step.
The cave was dark, only a faint shaft of light filtered down from cracks in the ceiling, casting long shadows on the damp stone walls. Gawain's footsteps were careful, quiet. The deeper he went, the darker it got, but his eyes had already adjusted. He could sense it—he was close.
Then, in the stillness of the cave, he heard it.
Grrr...
The low, rumbling snore echoed through the cavern, faint but unmistakable. Gawain's grin widened as he reached for the twin swords on his back, the blades humming softly as he channeled his mana through them. The faint glow of his power illuminated his path, making the darkness seem less suffocating.
"Rise and shine, mutt," Gawain whispered with a wicked smirk, his voice barely a breath above the silence. He crouched low, eyes gleaming in anticipation. "Papa wants some meat for his soup."
_____