In a dark alley, eerie growls and the sound of flesh being devoured filled the air. Shadows of distorted humanoid figures with holes and broken parts feasted on flesh next to the freshly deceased corpses.
In a corner, a woman's lifeless body sat against a wall, her torn flesh oozing blood.
Suddenly, her ginger twitched, her eyes regained a spark and with a gasp, she weakly uttered, "Where..."
Her wounds miraculously healed as she struggled to stand, bones audibly cracking.
Feeling something wrong, she inspected her hand and found that there were bite holes on it.
Her pupils trembled in horror as she unconsciously held her breath.
But it did not stopped there.
Because the next moment, she witnessed her injuries closing up in a grotesque way, little thick strings of blood wriggling upwards before it started to connect and regenerate itself.
In just a split second, all the wounds in her body disappeared without leaving any trace, as if they never existed at all.
"W- What the hell...?" She couldn't help stuttering as cold sweat dripped down her face.
Suddenly, an excruciating pain came from her head. It was so painful that she could only open her mouth but couldn't scream, the corner of her eyes turning red as tears welled up in her eyes.
'It hurts! It's so painful!'
Countless of kaleidoscope-like images suffused her sight, and although she was in so much pain that she could barely think clearly anymore, she somehow knows that these images were her memories.
Yes, it was her memories.
She rememberes it clearly now, her name is Iris. She just completed the game she had been playing for 8 years when suddenly, her vision went black.
And then, she wakes up in this place...
That last thought gave her an ominous feeling and she subconsciously glanced around and found a puddle of water beside her.
Supporting herself with both of her hands, she lowered her head and stared at the puddle.
In the next second, her eyes widened in surprise as reflected in the water was her appearance.
Touching her cheek, she muttered, "This- is this...me?"
Unable to comprehend her situation, she couldn't help falling into silence before suddenly remembering something.
'This face- it looks awfully familiar!'
'Wait! Isn't this person that girl who is the first to die in one of the Trials?!'
Thinking of this, cold sweat involuntarily dripped down her forehead as a grin appeared in her face.
"This is insane!"
Just as she covered her face with both of her hands from dismay, thinking that she will die, a chilling realization dawned upon her.
'Wait, didn't i woke up covered in wounds and bite holes?'
'Isnt that just the same scene that happened to her in the game?'
'Then doesn't that mean- she already got killed?'
'W- Wait a minute! If so, what killed her?'
Just as Iris had a foreboding feeling, an eerie growl resounded behind her.
Although she had heard countless growls before in the game, this low and cryptic laugh-like snarling is definitely easy to remember!
'No way-! If it is that creature, then the Trial I'm currently playing is-'
As she stiffly turned her body, she was faced with a black humanoid figure with empty eyes. There were giant holes in its body, similar to as if it was shot by a giant perfect round bullet.
Its body was limp as dark liquid kept dripping down from its limbs.
'There is no way! This-! It is definitely an undead creature! Grade F substance 8F41!'
'A Living Dead! The Wretched!'
If this is put on short and simple terms, it is similar to a zombie.
They are known as cursed and used to have been humans.
But after their agony rose and their faith was lost, they became undead creatures known as the Wretched!
'If there are Wretched in this Trial, then most likely the game i am playing is a Grade 12.'
'Although this is the lowest grade, this is still one of the most difficult Grade 12 Trials there is!'
'And the name of this Trial is-'
[Error!]
[An [Error] has occurred in the Trial!]
Beep-
[A New [Defendant] has arrived!]
[Welcome to the Trial "Cursed Pandemic"!]
[Trial: "Cursed Pandemic"]
[Player Count: 7/11]
[Difficulty: Grade 12 (B)]
[Time Limit: 7 Days]
[Task: Players Must Survive the Pandemic known as Curse for Seven Days!]
[Reward: Evolution]
[Penalty: Mutation]
The words of the system confirmed Iris' thoughts and she couldn't help complaining internally.
'This damn game, why do i have to possess this body at such bad timing?!'
This Trial might look simple and all, but if you listen closely to it, you'll realize that there is a hidden agenda.
The game she had been playing for eight years known as [Faith: Evolution], is a Horror MMORPG Game where it exists in the setting of Futuristic and Steampunk with the background of an Ancient British Empire.
In the game, humans can evolve into greater beings and can even become a deity. But in order to evolve, one must go through Trials also known as Death Games.
The Trials can be triggered intentionally or not as it can also appear at random times and places, which are only rare cases.
And this Trial she is currently in, as the penalty says, turns the players into mutated Wretched once failed.
And that is not only the bad thing about this Trial, because the worst thing is that with each passing day, you'll slowly lose your sanity bit by bit until you finally fall into madness.
Seeing a Wretched before her, Iris couldn't help feeling sick and wanted to vomit.
'Although i often see them in the game, it is not that gruesome as this!' She thought, clicking her tongue silently.
'If i get caught or bitten by this thing, i will surely become die in just seconds!'
Iris immediately looked around, trying to find any means of escape.
Suddenly, her eyes widened in horror as she saw that surrounding her were piles of corpses with the same injuries as her before.
'This is not looking good at all!'
She then saw the Wretched rushes towards her and as she tried to escape, she was unavoidably grabbed by her shoulder.
'Shit-!'
Splatter!
"AHhhhh!" Being bitten on the shoulder, Iris let out a shrill scream, her flesh being torn apart as the sound of being ripped suffused the alley.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she gritted her teeth. 'It hurts!'
'It hurts! It hurts you bastard!'
Biting her lower lip until it bled, Iris subconsciously grabbed the head of the Wretched before her nails pierced through its skull.
Even so, the Wretched continued to bite her flesh.
Iris did not give up though and she ran backwards along with the Wretched until they hit a solid wall.
Reaching the wall, Iris held on to the head of the Wretched before she kept crushing it towards the wall.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The sound of something being crushed echoed and Iris slowly felt the bite loosening on her shoulder.
With a one final blow, she let out a grunt before the head of the Wretched splattered into lumps of black flesh.
As the Wretched slid down, Iris leaned against the wall as she held her shoulder and panted heavily.
There was a mix of cry in her breathing.
'Fuck, that hurts so much!'
The corner of her eyes were red and she glanced around with her eyes.
After seeing that there is no any sign of other Wretched, Iris finally broke down and fell to her knees.
'No way, i just got here and i'm already dead?'
If a person is bitten by a Wretched, then the curse in their body will slowly crawl up from where it is bitten towards the brain.
Panting, she couldn't help letting out a sardonic laugh, "How pathetic."
"And here i was just beginning to enjoy this fantasy-like experience, not to mention that it was a game I had been playing ever since in first year of high school."
Looking up, she saw the crimson sky and thought, 'Maybe this is just a dream though, a realistic feeling at that.'
Just as she was lost in thought, she noticed that a minute had already passed and yet she still hadn't mutated into a Wretched.
Puzzled she looked down at her shoulder and found that the part where her flesh was bitten off, was slowly healing itself just like the moment she woke up!
"What...? Is that- even possible?"
As if to answer her question, a blue holographic screen appeared before her eyes.
[Name: Iris]
[Age: 25]
[Sex: Female]
[Species: Human]
[Passive: Regeneration]
[Ability: (Locked)]
[Reminder: The Status Window will level up based on the level of the player.]
Iris stared at the panel for a long time, but what caught her attention the most was her passive.
[Passive: Regeneration]
Iris looked at it for a moment before deciding to press it.
[-This "Passive" allows the user to regenerate any part of their body once wounded!]
[-Reminder! The more greater the wound is, the more time it takes to regenerate!]
[-Warning! If the heart is pierced or the neck is sliced off, the user can no longer regenerate!]
Reading this, Iris finally couldn't help but grin as she muttered softly, "This is insane."
"So you mean to say, that all of this- are not just a dream of mine?"
"Did i really possessed the game?!"