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The boy sprinted across the room, his feet barely scraping the smooth, white floor as the sirens continued to wail. His heart pounded in his chest, every breath ragged and desperate. The lasers flashed, searing the air with their deadly precision.
He weaved, ducked, and spun, narrowly avoiding the deadly beams that sliced through the space.
Even for a minute, he thought. I can't keep this up.
He glanced at the clock. The countdown was mocking him—
4:50...
4:49...
Shit!
He pushed himself harder, the weight of his body dragging him down with each step. His muscles screamed in protest. Every instinct told him to run, but he couldn't just escape. He needed to figure out a way out.
Then, in a flash, he saw it.
There was a pattern.
The lasers didn't cover every inch of the room. There were gaps— spaces where the beams didn't reach. He could use them.
His eyes darted from laser to laser, calculating his next move as he dodged another pulse of water, the wet ball whizzing past him with alarming speed.
But the ball wasn't just water.
It was a weapon in itself.
It slammed into him with sudden force, pushing him dangerously close to a laser's path. His breath hitched as the water's weight sent him stumbling. The laser flashed, missing him by a hair's breadth.
This is bad. I can't keep this up forever.
His chest burned, lungs screaming for air.
4:38
The timer was ticking down too slowly. The seconds stretched like an eternity, every moment feeling like it could be his last.
"Damn it..." he grumbled, trying to steady his breath. "This body is... too weak now."
Just as he cursed himself, a water ball came flying at him, its shape glinting in the red lights. He twisted, narrowly avoiding its path— but in the process, he triggered a laser.
His heart skipped a beat as the beam snapped forward.
Instinctively, he flung himself sideways, but it was too close.
Just before the laser could hit him, there was a flash of movement. The ball of water collided with the laser.
Impact.
A strange reaction.
In the blink of an eye, the laser hit the ball and— Mist.
A thick, swirling cloud of vapor erupted from the collision, filling the air around him.
The boy froze, momentarily stunned.
His mind raced.
He jumped back, narrowly avoiding another set of lasers that shifted too quickly, barely making it past the next water ball that hurled itself at him. But his focus had shifted— something clicked in his mind.
He checked the clock.
4:12.
His chest tightened. I'll die before I get halfway through the timer...
Following his late realization, without a second thought, he dashed toward the mirror.
The area around the mirror was strangely still, empty even, as if it were lying in wait. He felt the weight of every step he took, the oppressive silence thickening with each movement.
He was close now.
And then— click.
The trap.
As soon as he was within range, the lasers flickered to life, surrounding the mirror in a deadly cage.
The boy's heart hammered in his chest.
There it was. The pattern. The answer.
"Aha! The correct answer!" he scoffed, barely containing his disbelief.
He had figured it out.
It wasn't about running or avoiding everything. No, the key was the mist and the mirror. There was a connection between them— something that he now understood.
A subtle, quiet realization, but it was his alone.
The boy's heart hammered in his chest as he spotted the gap in the laser cage.
Without a second thought, he launched himself forward, his fist crashing through the shimmering barrier with a sickening crack. The mirror shattered into a thousand jagged fragments, scattering across the room like sharp daggers.
For a heartbeat, the world seemed to freeze.
The lasers, now deflected by the broken mirror, ricocheted off the walls, streaking through the air in chaotic arcs, carving new paths of destruction.
Boooom!
The boy's instincts kicked in.
He ducked, rolling to the side, narrowly avoiding another stream of lasers that sliced through the air with deadly precision.
Steam billowed up around him, thick and suffocating, as the room seemed to close in on him.
But he didn't stop.
He pushed forward, crawling, sprinting, his every move a dance of desperation. His breath came in sharp gasps, but his mind was clear, sharp, focused.
More lasers blinked to life, tracking his every movement with eerie precision.
But the mist— the thick, choking mist —was everywhere now. It swirled around him, a confusing fog that clouded his senses and masked his every step.
For a moment, he felt disoriented, but he fought it off, forcing himself to stay focused.
"Where...?" he groaned.
His eyes darted around the room, scanning for any clue, any advantage.
As the mirror's shards settled on the floor, he grabbed a jagged piece, his fingers tightening around the sharp edges. He studied it for a moment, then turned toward the wall.
There had to be something— some way out.
His gaze landed on the walls, and a flicker of realization sparked in his mind. Slowly, he stepped forward, holding the shard tightly.
Carefully, he positioned it in his hand, waiting for just the right moment. Then, with a steady breath, he aimed the shard at the wall, using the refracted laser beam to slice through the surface.
Pssst...
The beam sizzled as it cut through the air, and with it, more mist poured from the walls, thickening the haze around him.
The boy moved methodically, tracing the walls with the refracted light, each movement deliberate. The mist spread, filling the room with a dense fog, and he used it to his advantage.
The countdown clock ticked down relentlessly, its beeping a maddening reminder of the limited time.
But the boy didn't care.
He was locked in, his mind consumed with the task at hand. Every second mattered, but so did every movement.
Then, through the mist and chaos, something caught his eye— a door, faintly visible in the distance.
"That...!"
His pulse quickened, and a surge of hope rushed through him.
Without thinking, he sprinted towards it, shard still in hand, knowing this might be his only chance.
He was close now, just a few more steps.
The lasers, the mist, the water balls—they were all irrelevant. His focus was absolute.
With one final leap, he grabbed the door handle and flung it open.
Without hesitation, he jumped through.
~
"Ahhh!"
The boy screamed, his voice echoing into the void.
He was falling— plunging into a dark, endless abyss.
The air felt heavy, yet his body remained visible, illuminated by an eerie, unknown light that seemed to cling to him. Around him, the darkness pressed in, vast and unrelenting.
Suddenly, glowing words appeared before his eyes, floating like holograms in the void.
[ Initializing New Player Details... ]
A mechanical voice resonated in his head, monotone yet unnervingly calm.
[ Strength: 12 pts ]
[ Stamina: 15 pts ]
[ Resilience: 20 pts ]
[ Knowledge: 30 pts ]
The boy blinked at the strange numbers. He didn't understand, but something about them felt significant, as if they were assessing him in ways he couldn't fathom.
Then more words appeared, accompanied by a subtle chime.
[ Because you found an answer that the developers liked, you will receive additional points to be transferred later. ]
[ Additional Points: 50 pts ]
The boy's heart skipped. "Developers? Did they...?" he trailed off, his voice trembling.
The voice continued, ignoring his confusion.
[ Attributes will be added based on how you solve the tutorial's three tests. ]
The boy exhaled sharply, forcing himself to calm down. His heart still thundered in his chest, but his mind worked quickly, trying to piece things together.
No, they couldn't have known.
His golden eyes dimmed from their earlier panic, now glinting with a cautious determination. As he continued falling through the endless void, he spoke aloud, testing the strange system.
"System... can you tell me how the three tests judge you? Is there a criteria? Can you explain?"
He poked at the floating interface, his tone measured but curious.
[ ... ]
The boy's brow furrowed at the silence. Then, a moment later, new words materialized before him, the glow pulsing faintly.
[ Tutorial One is a test to characterize attributes from the person to the player. ]
[ Tutorial Two is a test to characterize attributes from the environment to the player. ]
[ And Tutorial Three... you will find that out, runt. Hehe~ ]
The boy flinched, his hands instinctively clenching into fists. "What the...?" His voice trailed off, caught between confusion and frustration.
A shiver ran down his spine at the playful tone of the last message. It wasn't like the monotone system voice— it sounded... alive.
"There's a facilitator in the tutorials?" he muttered under his breath, his jaw tightening. He didn't like the sound of this. What else am I missing?
Before he could push for more answers, the interface shifted.
The floating words dissolved into fragments of light, reforming into a new message.
[ As you have completed Tutorial - One, you will now be transferred to the area of Tutorial - Two. ]
The boy gritted his teeth, his mind spinning with unanswered questions and growing irritation. He didn't like this— any of it.
"Damn. I hate this," he muttered, his voice low but charged with anger.
The system wasn't done with him yet.
[ Thank you for playing Champion of the Hill. ]
The words hung in the air for a moment before the void around him erupted in light. Blinding, all-encompassing light.
He flinched, shielding his eyes, but the brightness pierced through his closed lids.
Then, as suddenly as it came, the light vanished.
The boy gasped, opening his eyes to find himself standing on a strange new terrain— a barren, rocky field beneath a blood-red sky. Strange symbols glimmered faintly on the ground around him.
Above, faint whispers echoed, as if the void itself was speaking in a language he couldn't understand.
Before he could react, another message materialized before him.
[ Tutorial - Two: Commence. Objective: Adapt to your environment. ]
A low rumble shook the ground. The boy's breath hitched as the terrain shifted, the rocks around him rising and twisting into towering, jagged forms.
"Adapt?" he whispered, his voice shaky. "What does that even mean?"
The air grew still— too still —and then a guttural roar echoed from behind him.
He turned sharply, his eyes widening. Something massive was emerging from the shadows, its glowing red eyes locked onto him.
"Adapt," the boy repeated, his voice cracking. "Right... no pressure."