The final countdown was excruciating, especially since Max had run out of space for new items. His sixth cart had broken down under the weight of what he called "emergency backup rocks" (identical to his regular rocks, but with more emotional significance), and the squirrels had unionized, demanding increased nut payments for their guard duties.
```
Time Remaining Until Transfer: 1 HOUR
Warning: All tutorial items will be reset
```
That's when the sky cracked.
Not metaphorically—it literally split open like broken glass, revealing a writhing mass of darkness behind the peaceful blue. Max's first thought, bizarrely, was that it looked like one of his premium dirt samples had somehow gotten stuck to the sky.
"ATTENTION ALL TUTORIAL PARTICIPANTS," the familiar announcement voice boomed, but this time it carried an edge of urgency never heard before. "EMERGENCY PROTOCOL INITIATED. DEMONIC INCURSION DETECTED. IMMEDIATE EVACUATION REQUIRED."
Red warning windows popped up everywhere:
```
WARNING: Tutorial Zone Integrity Compromised
Emergency Transfer Protocol Activated
Random Dispersion Required
PREPARE FOR IMMEDIATE TRANSFER
```
"What's happening?" Elara shouted over the sudden chaos, her healer's staff glowing with defensive magic.
Griffin already had his daggers out, backing toward Max's cart convoy. "Nothing good. Those aren't supposed to be here." He pointed at the dark shapes descending from the crack in the sky—twisted figures that definitely weren't part of any tutorial monster set.
Max looked at his precious collection, then at the approaching demons, then back at his collection. His mind raced through every video game emergency scenario he'd ever encountered. "We need to—"
The ground shook as the first demon landed nearby, its impact sending several of Max's carefully organized rock piles scattering. The creature looked like someone had tried to make a dragon out of broken glass and nightmares, and had somehow succeeded.
"RUN!" Griffin yelled, grabbing both Max and Elara.
But Max broke free, diving toward his carts. "Just let me grab the premium dirt samples!"
"MAX!" Elara screamed, "THEY'RE JUST ROCKS!"
"They're specially categorized rocks!" he corrected, snatching up his most prized specimens and stuffing them into his pockets. The demon was getting closer, each step melting the ground beneath its crystalline claws.
```
Emergency Transfer Initiating in:
10...
9...
```
"Max, we have to go!" Griffin tried to drag him away again, but Max was determined. He grabbed one final handful of his most promising stick specimens, ignoring the demon's roar.
```
8...
7...
```
The crystal dragon-thing swung its tail, smashing through Max's first three carts. Weeks of careful collecting scattered across the ground. The squirrel union immediately declared a state of emergency and evacuated with their nut payments.
```
6...
5...
```
"MAX THOMPSON," Elara used her full-healer voice, the one that could probably scare demons. "GET OVER HERE RIGHT NOW."
```
4...
3...
```
Max finally turned to run, his pockets bulging with rocks and sticks, just as the demon unleashed a breath of crystalline fire that turned his remaining carts into abstract art.
```
2...
1...
```
The last thing Max saw before the white light engulfed him was his collection exploding in a shower of carefully categorized chaos. Then everything went white, then black, then somewhere in between.
When his vision cleared, Max found himself alone in a dense forest he'd never seen before. Ancient trees towered above him, their canopy so thick it made twilight of midday. Strange bird calls echoed in the distance, and something that definitely wasn't a tutorial monster crashed through the underbrush far off to his left.
```
Emergency Transfer Complete
Location: Unknown
Status: Isolated
Tutorial Items Reset
Special Abilities Granted Based on Performance
```
His pockets were empty—even his emergency evacuation rocks had vanished in the transfer. For a moment, despair threatened to overwhelm him. But then two new notifications appeared:
```
Special Ability Unlocked: "Endless Bag"
A unique inventory space with infinite capacity, granted to those who demonstrate unusual dedication to item collection.
Special Ability Unlocked: "SCENE CUT!"
A passive skill that automatically completes dialogues and social interactions based on optimal outcomes. Granted to those who consistently demonstrate an aversion to extended conversations.
```
Max stared at his empty hands, then at the mysterious forest around him. Somewhere out there, Elara and Griffin had been teleported to their own random locations. The tutorial zone was compromised. Demons were loose in the world.
And he had an infinite inventory.
A smile slowly spread across his face as he spotted an unusual-looking mushroom growing on a nearby tree. It was glowing slightly, which probably meant it was poisonous, which definitely meant it was valuable. He plucked it, watching with satisfaction as it disappeared into his new bottomless inventory with a soft pop.
"Okay," he muttered, already eyeing what looked like some promising rocks nearby. "This is fine. I have an infinite bag and no one to tell me which rocks aren't worth collecting." He picked up the first stone, admiring its completely ordinary appearance before it vanished into his inventory. "I just need to collect enough resources to... you know, survive. And find my friends. And maybe figure out what's going on with those demons."
A distant roar shook the trees. Max ignored it, focused on a patch of suspicious-looking dirt.
"But first," he decided, dropping to his knees to examine the soil composition, "I need to restart my premium dirt collection. For survival purposes, obviously."
Something huge and probably dangerous crashed through the trees behind him. Max grabbed another handful of dirt.
Some things, after all, never change—even in the face of a demonic apocalypse.
Besides, he reasoned as he finally turned to face whatever monster was approaching, he had a lot of rocks in his infinite inventory now.
And he'd always wondered if demons could be defeated by a properly executed dirt attack.
Time to find out.