Ayaan looked at his Quest screen.
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QUEST SCREEN
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Name: Ayaan Rakshit
Level: 0
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ACTIVE QUEST
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Tutorial Quest
Objective: Survive for 30 minutes
Reward:
- Level Up (+1)
- All Stats +2
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COMPLETED QUESTS
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None
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FAILED QUESTS
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None
==============================
As soon as he finished reading, a timer appeared below.
Tutorial Commences in 00:00:05
00:00:04
00:00:03
00:00:02
00:00:01
00:00:00
TUTORIAL BEGINS
"See you soon Maya."
Ayaan said to Maya who is comatose on the hospital bed. A grey light enveloped Ayaan's vision and he felt the world around him change.
When his vision came back, he found himself standing in the same hospital room. However, instead of the usual disinfectant smell, a pungent odor invaded his nose.
The room is in the worst state it could possibly be. The walls are decayed, the doors broken. The bed is rust and deteriorated with no one on it. He turned around and looked at the window. It is also broken down and he got a good view of the city.
There is no great view of the beach and there is no sign of new year celebrations. The city's sky is graced with a blood colored moon and the city looked like it went through an apocalypse.
At that moment, from the corner of his eye, Ayaan saw the timer begin.
00:29:59
00:29:58
The tutorial has officially begun. Ayaan didn't think much. He walked out of the room. The corridor is just as messy as the room. With cobwebs decorating the whole place.
*BAM* *CRASH*
To his right, the sound of a metal door crashing came.
*GRRR*
He turned around to find a person, or rather something that looked like a person, a man to be precise. His body is distorted. His muscles overly grown, head unusually big and skin looked a shade of grey. His eyes are bulging out, fangs growing out of his mouth.
The hair is red in color.
On top of the creature, a clear holographic indicator showed its name and level.
Level 0: Mutated Human (Failed)
*GRRR*
The mutated human came running towards Ayaan. It is relatively slow, maybe because of its ununiform legs. Ayaan looked around.
As the creature came closer, he kicked up a rebar nearby and caught it before swinging it straight at its head.
*SWOOSH* *BANG* *CRASH*
The rebar cut through the air, and hit the side of the head squarely. It broke through the skull, spraying blood all over Ayaan's face. The rebar impaled itself into the skull.
A health bar appeared on top of the creature along with its name and the level.
Level 0: Mutated Human (Failed)
[█░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░] 2%
Only 2% left.
As the monster tried to reach its arm towards him, Ayaan kicked it away. It crashed on the ground with its head first and died.
The monster disappeared into a puff of red neon sparkles.
[Exp+1]
Ayaan got an Exp notification indicating its death.
*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*
He didn't give it much heed and instead focused on the banging sound coming from either side of the corridors. They are coming from the metal doors of the other rooms. He chose to go right and ran towards the next room.
*BANG* *CRASH*
By the time he reached the spot, the door opened and crashed into the ground, followed by another monster coming out.
Level 0: Mutated Human (Failed)
*SWOOSH*
He swung the rebar and bashed its skull in. The monster's skull cap flew away as it fell backward with its brain matter spewing out.
[Exp+1]
Ayaan took a peek inside. Only after confirming that the room was empty, did he move forward.
*CRASH* *CRASH* *CRASH*
By now, the headstart he had disappeared. The doors of all the rooms crashed open and more than twenty monsters showed up.
Ten on the right side and twelve on the other side. Ayaan took a look around. The corridor is wide enough, but when they are all coming it would be too narrow. They can also surround him. He slipped into the empty room.
He pulled the bed from the center of the room and brought it close to the door. He stood on the other side, keeping the bed between him and the door, while holding the rebar tightly.
*GRRR* *GRRR* *THUD* *THUD*
Their incomprehensive sounds and heavy footsteps echoed through the corridor. Soon, the swarm of monsters came to the door. As soon as they stepped in.
*SLIDE*
Ayaan kicked the bed, slamming it against the first monster. It slipped and fell into the bed, while simultaneously the path for the other monsters got blocked, albeit for a moment.
*SWOOSH*
He banged the head of the monster on the bed and killed it.
[Exp 1]
*SLIDE*
The monsters pushed the bed to the side and swarmed in. Ayaan put his back against the wall and got ready.
Even though more than a dozen monsters came in, there is not a hint of surprise, shock, or panic on his face.
He is a bit tense but that is it.
*SWOOSH* *SWOOSH* *SWOOSH*
'Above the ear.'
'On the nape'
'Precise.'
'Keep the movements sharp'
He kept instructing himself as he attacked them.
The rebar made light work of the creatures.
However, he did feel the recoil strongly. He had to hit them as hard as he could to take them down in one blow.
Another lucky thing is that there are no remains of the monster left on the floor leaking and bleeding. A slippery ground was the last thing he wanted.
*BANG* *BANG*
When he was done with the last of the twenty-two monsters, he finally heaved a sigh and came out of the room. He carefully looked on either side, and only after confirming that there is nothing, he came out and walk towards the stairs.
The stairs upwards are broken. Pieces of those stairs are still on the lower flight.
Just when he was about to climb down…
*GRRR* he saw a monster taking a turn and climbing up the stairs to his floor. He kicked on a small concrete slab. It slid down the stairs and crashed into the monster.
[██████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░] 50%
Its health bar was reduced by half. He took the chance and ran towards it and smashed its head into the wall, finishing it off. When he took a turn, several other monsters were coming up. He once again backed against the wall and started swinging.
His training as a soldier came in handy. He has always been decently fit, but he believed he wouldn't have been able to swing the rebar with this much force this many times a couple of years ago. At least not without tiring himself out.
He jumped down the stairs and was greeted by another creature.
*BANG* He caught it by surprise and bashed its head in.
The corridor is now empty. The stairs to the lower floor are intact. But he decided to check the current floor a bit. This room like the one on the top has twenty-four rooms. This made him frown because the monsters he killed didn't number twenty-four.
At this moment, Ayaan's eyes widened and ears perked. He jumped backward.
*SWOOSH*
Something fell from the ceiling and dropped on the floor with a heavy thud.
Level 0.5: Mutated Human (Unstable)
The monster is similar to the ones before. But It is not as distorted as them. The thirsty and greedy bloodshot eyes, and overgrown fangs are still the same. It is also clearly not in the right state of mind. However, it did appear a lot stronger and a bit smarter than the rest.
This monster ambushed him.
And it is not blindly attacking him when he stands there. It is thinking, at least slightly."
Ayaan held the rebar tightly and stepped forward as he got ready to swing, and that's it. The slight display of intelligence disappeared. The monster fell for the feint and came at him.
Ayaan stepped to the side and tripped the monster, as it fell forward, he slammed on the back of its head, as hard as he could.
*CRASH*
It fell face-first into the ground. But it didn't die immediately.
[█████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░] 48%
As it was about to stand up, Ayaan smashed the rebar on the back of its neck.
*CRACK*
The neck snapped and it finally died.
[Exp+1.5]
A bit higher than the last. He didn't understand what's up with these .5 levels and Exp. Since the last monster of this floor is accounted for, he gave a quick check of other rooms and walked down.
He checked the timer.
00:18:35
More than twelve minutes have passed. It felt a lot longer.
To his surprise, there is not a single monster on the floor.
His vigilance reached its peak. He didn't feel relieved from their absence, instead became threatened.
'Observe'
'The doors are broken down. The dents indicate their presence. But they are not here.'
'They moved'
'Where?'
'I came from upstairs. No openings to outside from windows or corridor ends.'
'Downstairs. That's the only way.'
'Why? What changed?'
'I was on the fourth floor at the start. Monsters from the third floor tried to come up.'
'Both floors have similar layouts. Each floor has a fixed number of monsters. Twenty-four.'
The second floor has the same layout. Same number of rooms. What changed?'
'Only one. It led to the first floor.'
He closed his eyes and remembered the layout of the hospital.
'2nd, 3rd and 4th floors-patient rooms'
'1st floor. Clinics, Radiology'
'Difference, a wider corridor, a bigger space to navigate, and fewer rooms.'
'The layout will not be the same. Why would monsters go there?'
'No, why would humans take that chance, when they are trying to fight an enemy that's coming from upstairs?'
'Why would I do that, if I am in their place?'
'Think. Listen, observe'
He thought to himself, trying to focus on his senses.
*GRRR* *THUD*
He could hear it. He could feel it. The sounds made by the monsters.
'Ambush'
Ayaan opened his eyes and ran into a nearby room
A dusty old mirror in its bathroom.
He took off his shirt and wiped it clean. It is still blurry. But much better than before. Holding the rebar in one hand and the mirror in the other, he slowly went down while crouching. With every step, he was careful not to make a sound.
The mirror is not too big, about one and a half feet tall and one foot wide. He arrived at the corner.
He huddled up in the corner and placed the mirror against the wall. He picked up a small stick nearby and used it to push the mirror slowly.
He tilted the mirror at a certain angle.
Then he saw it. A bunch of monsters. The failed mutated humans.
All of them are standing in a formation and they hold the pieces of stones, or rather the bricks and fragments of concrete slabs in their hands.
Just from the reflection he could count around ten, but he believed there could be more. After all, the twenty-four monsters of this floor should go somewhere.
He tried to get as many details as possible as he looked in the mirror. He did get a glimpse of a moving monster behind this formation.
That's where the footsteps are coming from.
He took a few steps back, picked a stone, and threw it against the wall. It Ricochet and went towards the monsters.
*GRRR*
*SWOOSH* SWOOSH*
*CRASH*
A bunch of rocks flew up the stairs and hit the wall. Ayaan waited for them to come up, but they didn't. They are still standing in the place. They just picked another rock each and stood there.
Ayaan's gaze turned colder. A mindless beast has been tamed and is now being controlled. What brought it under control?
He looked at the timer.
'00:10:10'
'Ten minutes left. Should I hide it? I can easily pass as long as I hole up and they don't come up. Even if they do, I can defend.
Pick a room, block the door, create obstacles, and kill. The quest will be completed.'
As he thought, he suddenly remembered what Ark said.
'Never settle for the minimum'
He rushed into the corridor and looked around. His gaze landed on the elevator.