[ Starting...1 ]
[ 2... ]
[ 3... ]
The smell of rotting fish and oil hung heavy in the air, making Amphi recoil as he opened his eyes to an unfamiliar scene. Loud jazz played, drowning out the loud waves crashing together as the ship soared through the waters.
The clouds yelled; they were dark and murky, covering the vast sky entirely. Amphi stared at the mix of odd blues in his sight; the railing in front of him was the only thing reminding him he wasn't inside the ocean but standing on a metal floor with the chipped pattern of muted brown wood on a large cruise.
"Huh?" Amphi blurted out as he looked behind him, instinctively shutting his eyes as bright yellow lights flashed. Slowly, the colors returned to him, and he saw a throng of people. All of which wordlessly exchanging nervous glances.
[ Loading details about instance... Please hold on... ]
A loud sound cut through the silence.
Amphi looked around at the others; frankly speaking, he wasn't sure what was happening or where he was. The others were sweating, fiddling with their hands, and looking at each other with guarded glances. He guessed they wouldn't know either.
While he observed the people around him, a heavy pit began growing in his stomach, the stench of rotting fish pinching his nostrils and making his head throb.
'I have a bad feeling about this,' He groans, running a hand through his hair.
[ Player Name; Amphi *** Dementyev; Confirmed. ]
[ Main task: Survive for 3 days. ]
[ Side quests; [redacted] [redacted] [redacted] ]
A loud, ear-piercing screech came, earning screams from multiple people. Amphi's vision shook, his world becoming tilted as he wobbled with the sound piercing into his skull. Through his blurred gaze, he saw the grey outline of the railing and instinctively grabbed onto it.
"Agh!" He huffed as he tried blocking his ears to stop the sound, but even with his ears covered, the sound continued to shatter his eardrums. He clenched his teeth, his eyes wide from the pain. Even more screams and groans came from the crowd as more and more people fell to the ground when —
— It went silent.
[ BEEP ]
[ Good luck, players. ]
"If it wanted to say something, why make that noise? I barely remember anything, owie." Amphi groaned, the eerie noise now replaced with his heart thumping in his ears. The static beep still rang, making him nauseous. He took slow breaths to calm his racing heart, his clenched fist slowly unclenching as he relaxed.
"Owie, owieee..." He complained with a pout, though he was no longer in pain.
A sudden electric tingle ran through his fingers as the urge to rummage through his pockets overwhelmed his senses. Though he wasn't sure what he was searching for, he began feeling around like a madman. Then, he suddenly noticed, "I don't remember buying these."
He couldn't be certain since he hadn't seen the outfit in its entirety; it mostly reflected his style, but the color was far too dark for something he would choose. The pants were too long, and the shoes matched the overall fit a bit too closely.
"Where, where?" he repeated, his heart thumping as if he were missing a part of himself. The longer the time ticked, the colder his fingers grew. He felt around his body multiple times, missing the obvious bumps as he hurriedly looked for something, when suddenly he found something.
A sense of relief washed over him as he ran his hand over the rough surface of an old pocket-sized notebook with several papers sticking out. Is this what I was looking for?
A sense of déjà vu enveloped him as he stared at the ordinary notebook. It called to him, urging him to open it. It felt both familiar and unfamiliar; his heart thumped louder against his ears until every other sound became distant and the only thing in his eyes was this one book.
His finger brushed against the rough edge of the notebook before opening it to the first page—there was nothing written on it, typical for him. He turned to the next page, and in large font, he saw his name: Amphi Dementyev.
His eyes sparkled as he saw his name. What was this? Why didn't he remember something was his? Or was it something for him?
He hurriedly turned the pages, noticing that they were filled with notes about significant events from (his?) day, whether they were obvious occurrences or just peculiar feelings. For example, one of the most recent entries read, "The black cat at the coffee shop filled me with a sense of dread." Another note stated, "Upon my arrival, a window shattered."
He turned and turned and turned, planting every word into his brain. He didn't remember when he wrote it, but he remembered writing these words once. When?
The ringing in his ears had stopped. However, he still felt a tingle in his fingers, twitching as if something important to him was still missing, a sense of dread even more overwhelming than before.
He rummaged through his pockets again, trying to find any bumps he missed. He discovered an unusual lump and put his hand inside the pocket to grab a long metallic object. It was a small pen..
The color was a deep, muted red, reminiscent of the notebook. In his mind, they complemented each other perfectly. This is what he was looking for.
He clicked the end of the pen, and the tip extended and pressed onto the soft pages of the notebook, as if this action was natural to him, as if this is what he was supposed to do.
"Survival; three days," he muttered, black ink trailing behind the pen's tip as he wrote. While the memory of what it said was unclear, he remembered some details and wrote down the ones that felt the most important.
The more he wrote, the more his memory returned. With his heart now more relaxed, he could recall more.
"Three redacted, name is also three words," He muttered as he scribbled, his pen guiding him as he lost himself in a trance writing, "keywords: instance, tasks, players."
He paused, concluding that he had written down everything he needed. Looking up from his book, he noticed several gazes directed at him with curiosity. He stared back at them with his slit eyes, confused on how long he had been muttering to himself.
Upon making eye contact, they all looked away. Amphi couldn't help but chuckle at the familiar sight –
– Wait, familiar sight?'
He paused. What familiar sight? He didn't remember doing this in the past... What did he even do in the past?
His head began to throb with pain again as he leaned on the railing for support. Images flashed in and out of his mind, making it a struggle to grasp and hold onto them.
Pens... Documents... Clients...
"Detective!" He shouted, sweat dripping down his head as the throbbing subsided.
People exchanged puzzled glances as they looked at Amphi talking to himself again, as if he were an escapee from a psychiatric ward. He only chuckled at that, too distracted with his epiphany to care.
While Amphi was in his corner acting like a mental patient, a man from the other side of the cruise ship spoke up.
"Can someone explain to me what's going on?" The man's voice was loud and raspy; although it sounded harsh, his words were passive and articulated. Amphi turned to the source of the sound, just like everyone else. It was a big, burly man wearing a tight blue suit. He resembled a bear but talked and stood like a mouse.
Feeling the weight of others' gazes, he retreated, nervously fiddling with his hands. It seemed as if their stares would consume him alive if they persisted.
"I have no idea! I don't even remember boarding or booking this place!" A woman shouted from the crowd, and soon more people joined in with their confusion.
"It said to survive for three days. Maybe it's like a survival show?" A meek voice emerged from the crowd; it was difficult to pinpoint who exactly said it, but it sparked more conversation among the people.
Amphi observed the people around him, engaged in conversations as if this situation were merely an everyday annoyance. Their expressions revealed only irritation; there was no sign of fear. This struck him as unusual; usually, he would expect them to panic, to cause a commotion or cover in fear...
He withdrew into the background as he listened to the conversations. An unusual distance separated him from them, more than he typically felt with strangers.
"I have a terrible feeling about this," he shuddered, his stomach sinking as he broke into a sweat. His instincts screamed at him that whatever this was, it was dangerous.
Suddenly, the loud horns of the cruise ship blared, snapping him out of his spiral. Some people screamed and cursed at the horn, seemingly just as taken by surprise as Amphi.
"We've arrived!" A man shouted through a speaker. It was loud and static, earning more grumbles and curses from the crowd.
Amphi looked up at the top deck, where only the captain was permitted to go. There stood a man in a uniform, his large belly emphasized by the fabric, and an even bigger, grey beard. Without his uniform, he would have looked as disheveled as a homeless man. His grin was wide and toothy, revealing uneven and missing teeth.
"This ugly motherfucker again," a boy grumbles. His clothing was relatively more modern compared to everyone else there. He wore a neat white suit with a contrasting oversized jacket on top. His hair was neatly combed back, a rich blonde color that sparkled even in the dark.
He surveyed everything around him with an air of disdain, as though he alone was the king. A permanent scowl marked his face, which made a terrible first impression. The only favorable feature he had was his handsome appearance.
People looked at him judgmentally, some growing angry on behalf of the captain who was just insulted. He, in return, glared back at them as if to say, 'Know your place.'
Before anything could escalate further, a woman spoke to the captain, perhaps the only one thinking rationally. "Excuse me, where are we? I don't remember signing up. Could you please explain?"
Her voice was clear, traveling above the crowd's noise.
"Ahh!" she screamed as she stumbled backwards, her bag clanking against the metal floor. Soon, more people screamed as they looked at the captain's face. What was once a normal human face was now something else.
There was no mouth, no eyes, no nose—just skin covering what everyone once recognized. He didn't move or say anything, but despite his stillness, it felt as if he was staring at everyone.
[ ____ failed side quest [ redacted ], reducing overall 20% of all points ]
The metallic voice spoke once more, earning gasps from the crowd. Only Amphi had a notebook out amidst the chaos, writing everything down.
"Everyone, as you can see on the side, we've arrived at LoVel Island!" The captain shouted, his face had returned to normal, a toothy grin, his voice vibrant and cheerful. As if none of that had happened.
Upon seeing the unnatural sight, people's expression shifted to fear, as if the shield of normalcy had been shattered and their eyes had been revealed to the real horror of the situation. Amphi looked at everyone's reaction with narrowed eyes, they acted odd. It felt like everyone else knew something, and only he was the odd sheep.
'Asked place and event. Failed a side quest. 20% reduction.' Amphi wrote all he understood, 'What could it mean?' He thought, 'There is a side quest... A quest...'
"Is one of the quest's requirements that we do not question our situation?" He asked the air, hoping the metallic voice would answer his questions.
Nothing.
'Does it not answer? Or was my assumption incorrect?' He questioned himself, but before he could continue his train of thought, the captain spoke again:
"LoVel Isle needs no introduction; I'm sure everyone is already familiar with it! It's a land of beauty, untouched by factories. There is no waste, no unsightly buildings, or cars to mar its beauty!" He laughed like a certain old man, Amphi couldn't remember exactly who, but he recalled winter and red.
Although his voice sounded warm, his tone held a mischievous edge. He looked at the boys that called him ugly, as if he was delivering a 'joke' only they could understand.
The boy quickly understood the man's gaze; His father owned many companies in the construction and the car industry, and the captain was clearly insulting him. He scowled, fists clenched, glaring at the captain.
"Tch, when I get back home, I'm making sure this vagrant gets fired," he declared, his tone laced with disdain. Though he spoke of the captain as if he were utterly insignificant, the tension in his body told a different story. His knuckles clenched so tightly that they turned pale, and deep furrows etched themselves across his brow, making his simmering anger unmistakable to those nearby.
The people who were already flocking to him naturally agreed with him, managing to find a way to praise him even in this situation, inflating his ego at every turn. Listening to their fawning, he smiled arrogantly.
Amphi listened to the entire ordeal. He wasn't concerned about the injustice or the urge to punch the overly arrogant man, but rather the words "Back home."
'If I remember correctly, he's also the one who said, "This motherfucker again."' He thought as he rubbed his chin. "Again," he repeated as his eyes shone with an epiphany.
'He's normal,' Amphi smiled. The man appeared aware of the situation, unlike the group he had interacted with previously. Even the group around him seemed as if they were on a trip they had already planned.
Amphi smirked mischievously as he thought of a devious plan.
"Excuse me..." Amphi tapped the shoulder of a tall man who looked both clueless and confident. He approached the man with his shoulders lowered, pretending to cower like a helpless, scared boy. "I noticed that those people seem to know where we are..."
He pointed at a group of arrogant rich kids who had been causing a scene earlier. Even without Amphi directly asking, the man understood the message. He nodded at Amphi, flashed a toothy grin, and gave him a light tap on the shoulder before walking over to confront the group.
"Hello, is this a movie set or something? I don't remember anything about this place..." He asked them. He was confident in front of Amphi, but with them, he became more passive and hunched.
'The voice didn't speak?' Amphi furrowed his brows as he hummed. While he proved his hypothesis wrong, it still didn't answer his questions. The man turned out to be more useless than he had hoped.
Just then, another man, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation shouted, "I don't know what the f*ck is going on, but you guys better let me go home. I just got back from the military-"
The man's eyes widened as the group he was shouting at had all their faces vanish, just like the captain's. The system's metallic voice sounded again:
[ ____ failed side quest redacted, reducing overall 20% of all points ]
Everyone fell silent as they looked around at who had failed; eventually, all eyes were on the man who looked as pale as a ghost.
Amphi smirked, wearing an all-knowing smile. "The task is to not act out of character and to avoid alarming the faceless."
[ ____ has identified the side quest: Do not alarm the NPCs. Increasing overall 30% of all points.]
Gasps echoed through the crowd as people chatted, trying to figure out who could have possibly solved it. Some were alarmed, while others praised him.
"Who was that? Who guessed it right?"
"If I wasn't distracted, I would have guessed too. It's common sense."
"Shut up, David, you can't even tell left from right."
"It was me, I guessed it."
Silence fell as everyone gazed at the man claiming to be the guesser. They exchanged glances while studying the lanky figure.
He had dark brown, messy hair that reached his shoulders. He was tall but unusually thin, as if he were malnourished. His skin was pale, as white as porcelain teacups, as if it had never seen the light of day. His eyes were sunken, and his dark eye bags were so pronounced that they were visible from a distance, even with the mess of hair covering most of his face.
While some looked down on him, many eagerly gathered around, showering him with questions and compliments in hopes of gaining his favor.
He answered all their questions nervously, stuttering at times, yet he still maintained his presence. This was enough to convince most of the crowd, and soon everyone started flocking around him, making him even more anxious than before.
The only one who knew the truth was Amphi, he was the only one who heard the words;
[ Amphi Dementyev has identified the side quest... ]
He shrugged his shoulders at the man who had stolen his credit. At least it confirmed his suspicion that only the person named could hear their names. Upon closer inspection, the man wasn't completely wrong, either. Just like Amphi, he would eventually figure it out; Amphi just happened to reach that conclusion faster.
He noted down details about the man; if he ever wanted to learn more, he wouldn't hesitate to find the malnourished-looking, intelligent man. After all, if someone else can handle all the effort for him, why should he?
"Uh, hi." The man whom Amphi had sacrificed strided back to him and said. He looked as normal as before, though his eyes were narrowed as he looked at the center of attention.
Amphi squinted his eyes at the man; Is he jealous? Does he think we're on the same boat?
Amphi smirked mischievously before lowering his head and adjusting his posture to appear more meek. "Oh, hi!"
Seeing Amphi's passive state, the man smirked, feeling more important. "If you need any help, just ask me. I may not be the smartest person in the room, but I can assist with other things, like you saw there."'Help?' Amphi thought, completely forgetting what he had done..
"Of course! Thank you so much!" Amphi clasped his hands together as he thanked the man, his smile wide despite having forgotten any accomplishments the man had made.
"Ah, by the way, my name is Herald, Herald Cox," Herald said, extending his hand towards Amphi for a handshake.
"Oh, yes, my name is Amphi Dementyev. It's a great pleasure to meet you." Amphi said, returning the gesture.
Despite Amphi's demeanor, Herald couldn't shake off the shiver as he gazed at Amphi's closed-eye smile; it felt as if he had just made a wrong move that he would soon regret.
"Do not push each other! Descend in an orderly fashion!" the captain shouted at the crowd of people leaving the boat that had stopped near the shore.
The unaware group exchanged glances, and when they saw the 'guesser' follow the faceless people, they too descended from the boat.
"Aren't you coming?" Herald asked, his feet already moving as he looked back at Amphi.
Amphi examined Herald more closely. His hair was cut neatly but appeared unkempt; it was unbrushed and tousled. He wore a dignified button-up shirt paired with tight jeans, which accentuated his long, slender legs. Although the outfit suited his stature, he seemed out of place in it, resembling a caveman who had suddenly put on a luxury suit.
His hands were covered in blisters; clearly, he had done a lot of handiwork. Perhaps a carpenter?
Many people who appeared just as confused as he was didn't seem to match their clothing choices. A girl, who looked as if she wished the ocean would cover her, wore a dress that was as revealing as a bathing suit. Meanwhile, a man who seemed ready to tear off his tight clothes and dance around naked was dressed in a neatly tailored suit.
'The outfits and our other items may relate to our identity; I should look at them when I get the chance–
–Amphi?" Harold said, snapping Amphi out of his thoughts.
"Oh, yeah, sorry. I'm coming," he nervously chuckled before sprinting towards Harold and walking out of the boat along with the others.