Jack is your typical lonely office worker in New York City, the city of dreams! Where the American dream comes true! At least. That's what he wanted to think. He was just a simple It man. And he felt like it was sucking its dreams out of him instead of making them come true. As he made his way to work by bus he looked at his phone.
"Hm, absolutely nothing interesting is happening…except for this…hm…"
He scrolled through his social media and found an article.
"Odd mutation of wolf found in northern Canada, fur sharp like blades, kills 5…what the hell? Seems like a random thing to just…happen."
As he scrolled through the article. The ground shook a bit.
"Fuck! Agh…"
He was startled and looked outside. Everything seemed normal. Just an earthquake. And then…it all just happened. In seconds he could feel noise, all around him. He could see a large wolf just tearing through cars and ramming through buses. His obvious reaction was to watch. And then run. People were dying. Multiple smaller wolves. Like the ones he read about. Fur that looked sharp like blades and white as silver. He ducked into an alleyway and hurled himself over a gate. Ducking into a doorway.
"What the hell…what the hell…how is this happening?"
He ran out back into the streets, as he was desperate to find an answer, and an escape. The amount of people running like him were hindering his ability to move, he weaved in and out of alleys to get around faster. He heard a car smash into a building. And then he saw it. Looming over him. A troll. Biting off the head of a man. And then bringing his fists down upon Jack. He heard his own bones crackle and break apart. But for one second. It all stopped. His bones weren't broken. And the trolls fist was simply destroyed. He heard it wail, and then saw a screen in front of him, holographical like a sci fi movie.
[Congratulations, an outer being has intervened in your death and you have awakened. Calculating tutorial…]
"Wha…outer being? Awakened? Tutorial? What the hell is this shit?!"
[Tutorial quest 1: Level up 0/1 Time limit: 30 minutes Penalty: Death]
"Death? No no no, this isn't real, this can't be real…"
In the time Jack was talking to himself, the troll had recovered, and Jack seemed to just…feel it. He knew where the fist was going. And he swiftly dodged out of the way. It was instinctive. Somehow, the instinct he had gained from dodging bikes and people ramming into him in the crowded cities, it had been enhanced to a level where he could read punches.
"Fuck…I'm supposed to fight this to…'level up'? I get it, this is like a video game. I'll entertain it! Take this!"
He whiffed a punch. And as he heard the wind whoosh as he hit nothing. The troll certainly did not whiff. And his fist once again ran into Jack. But this time, it only barely cracked a rib. But Jack could handle it. Somehow. It was clear this Troll was beyond him. So he ran after a…wolf. And punched it. A lot. It did hurt his hands, as it was some kind of sharp wolf. and he got bit a few times.
[Congratulations! You have leveled up!]
"…is that it?"