Apocalypse Tutorial System

Chapter 6 : The First Pest

“Wait, run? Rendi, why are you acting like the world is ending? It’s just a blackout!” Sari shouted, her voice echoing down the hallway as she struggled to keep pace with his sudden, frantic energy.

“It’s not the blackout, Mbak! It’s the kitchen! Your kitchen is high-key a hazard zone right now!” Rendi skidded to a halt in front of Unit 2A, his hand trembling as he reached for her door handle.

“Hazard zone? I cleaned the counters this morning! Get your hands off my door!”

“Mbak, please, I’m not joking! Give me the keys! Give them to me right now!”

“Why? So you can break more of my stuff? Absolutely not!” Sari clutched her purse to her chest, her eyes wide with suspicion. “You’re acting super sus, Rendi. I’m calling the police. I’m actually doing it this time.”

“No! Don’t call the feds! There is literally a monster in there! If you go in there without a strategy, you’re gonna end up as a main course!” Rendi hissed, glancing up at the hallway ceiling as if expecting obsidian tendrils to drop at any second.

“A monster? In my kitchen? What, did my sourdough starter become sentient? Grow up, Rendi!”

[ ALERT: TARGET HAS BEGUN THERMAL SCANNING. FIVE SECONDS UNTIL DETECTION. ]

“Ayo, move!” Rendi didn't wait. He snatched the keys from Sari’s loose grip, his new agility making the movement look like a blur of light.

“Rendi! That’s literal theft! Give those back!”

“I’m saving your interior design, Mbak! Stay back!” Rendi jammed the key into the lock, turned it, and burst inside.

The apartment was pitch black, save for the faint orange glow of a streetlight filtering through the open kitchen window. The air felt heavy, vibrating with a high-pitched hum that made Rendi’s teeth ache.

“Where is it? System, give me the UI!”

[ TARGET LOCKED: PHASE-SPIDER (GLITCHED). LOCATION: ABOVE THE REFRIGERATOR. ]

“Phase-Spider? For real? That sounds like a mid-game miniboss! Why is it here now?!”

“Rendi? Who are you talking to? Turn on the lights!” Sari stood in the doorway, her phone’s flashlight cutting through the gloom.

“Mbak! Turn that off! You’re literally acting as a lighthouse for a predator!”

“Predator? The only predator in here is the guy who just broke into my home!” Sari stepped in further, sweeping her light across the empty kitchen counters. “See? Nothing. Just my toaster and my blender. You’re insane.”

“Get down!” Rendi lunged at her, tackling her to the linoleum floor just as a massive, invisible weight whistled through the air where her head had been a second ago.

“Ayo! Watch the elbows! Are you trying to kill me?!” Sari shrieked, pushing against his chest.

“Did you hear that? That whoosh? That wasn't a draft, Mbak! That was a leg!”

“A leg? Rendi, there’s nothing there! It’s just air!”

“Not for me it isn’t!” Rendi scrambled to his feet, his eyes locked on a space three feet above the fridge. “I need a weapon! Where’s the chef’s knife?! The big one!”

“In the second drawer! But don’t you dare touch it! That’s German steel!”

“German steel is perfect for a bug-fix! Bet!” Rendi ripped the drawer open, his fingers finding the heavy handle.

[ WEAPON EQUIPPED: KITCHEN KNIFE (D-GRADE). ATTACK POWER +2. ]

“Two? Only two? System, you are stingy fr! Give me a crit chance or something!”

[ CRITICAL HIT WINDOW OPENING IN 3... 2... ]

“What are you doing? Why are you holding my knife like that?” Sari scrambled toward the living room, her voice shaking. “Rendi, you’re scaring me. You’re literally stabbing at nothing!”

“I’m not stabbing at nothing! I’m stabbing at the glitches!” Rendi roared, lunging forward. He felt the knife sink into something thick and rubbery.

A screech that sounded like grinding metal echoed through the room—to Rendi, it was deafening. To Sari, it was just the sound of Rendi’s sneakers skidding on the tile.

“Take that L, you six-legged freak!” Rendi shouted, twisting the blade.

“He’s having a breakdown,” Sari whispered into her phone, her thumb hover over the emergency call button. “He’s literally fighting the air in my kitchen. It looks like a fever dream.”

“Mbak, don't look at me, look at the fridge! It’s literal scrap metal now!” Rendi yelled, ducking as the invisible monster retaliated.

The refrigerator door suddenly dented inward with a violent thud, the metal groaning as if crushed by a massive fist. Sari gasped, her flashlight dropping to the floor.

“Did... did the fridge just implode?” she stammered.

“Gravity surge! No, wait, it’s the spider! Watch out!” Rendi vaulted over the kitchen island, the knife flashing in the moonlight. “Ayo, System! Where’s the hitbox? I’m missing the timing!”

[ SUGGESTION: TARGET THE CEPHALOTHORAX. LOWER YOUR STANCE. ]

“Lower stance? Say less!” Rendi dropped into a deep crouch, feeling the Focus Penalty from the previous hour still dulling his reflexes, but his new strength carried him through. “Stay there, you overhyped mosquito!”

He lunged upward, driving the knife deep into the empty space. A fountain of viscous, black sludge erupted into existence, coating Rendi’s face, his hoodie, and the white kitchen cabinets.

“Ew! Oh, big yikes! This is foul!” Rendi gagged, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. “System, tell me this isn't toxic! It smells like a dead hard drive!”

“Rendi... you’re covered in... in tar?” Sari stood up slowly, her light hitting him. “Where did that come from? It literally materialized out of nowhere.”

“It’s ichor, Mbak! Glitch blood!” Rendi panted, his chest heaving. He stood over the 'empty' space on the floor, the knife still held firmly. “Is it dead? Give me the notification!”

[ TARGET NEUTRALIZED. EXPERIENCE GRANTED: +500. REWARD: SPIDER SILK GLAND (COMMON). ]

“Five hundred XP? That’s it? I almost died for half a level?” Rendi groaned, sliding down the side of the counter. “I’m unironically tired of this game already.”

“Rendi,” Sari said, her voice small. She walked forward, her flashlight beam trembling. “Explain. Explain right now why you are covered in black oil and why my kitchen looks like a crime scene, but there’s no victim.”

“The victim is the spider, Mbak. It’s right there.” Rendi pointed to the floor.

“There’s nothing there. Just a puddle of black mess.”

“Wait... the camouflage is still active even in death?” Rendi squinted. “System, can we get some transparency here? My reputation is at zero health.”

[ DISSIPATION SEQUENCE INITIATED. 10 SECONDS UNTIL VANISH. ]

“Look closely, Mbak. Watch the puddle.”

Sari leaned in, her phone light fixed on the black spill. Slowly, a large, fuzzy, obsidian-colored leg materialized in the center of the liquid. It was three feet long, covered in serrated spikes. As soon as it fully formed, it began to turn into grey ash, crumbling away into the floor tiles.

“What... what was that?” Sari staggered back, her hand over her mouth.

“A Phase-Spider,” Rendi said, his voice quiet. “It was invisible. If I didn't come in here, it would have laid eggs in your pantry. No cap.”

“You... you saved me?”

“That’s the protagonist lifestyle, Mbak. It’s mostly cleaning up ichor and losing your marbles, but yeah. I saved you.”

Sari looked at him, then at the dented fridge, then at the black stains on her wall. “You look like a monster, Rendi. But you’re not the one who made that leg.”

“I’m just the guy with the German steel knife,” Rendi said, offering a weak smile.

Suddenly, a loud, rhythmic knocking came from the apartment door.

“Mbak Sari? Rendi? It’s Adit! Open up!”

“Oh no,” Rendi whispered. “Not the content creator. Not now.”

“I’m coming in! I brought professional help!” Adit’s voice sounded muffled but urgent.

The door swung open. Adit burst in, his gimbal and phone already rolling, capturing everything in high-definition glory. Beside him stood a middle-aged man in a sharp grey suit, carrying a leather briefcase and looking deeply concerned.

“Yo, the views are peaking! We’re at half a million! Everyone wants to know if you’re actually possessed!” Adit shouted, scanning the room with the camera. “Wait... Rendi? Why are you covered in grease? And why are you holding a knife? Bro, is this the final boss of the vlog?!”

“Adit, shut it off! You’re making it weird again!”

“Rendi, this is Dr. Aris,” Adit said, stepping back to gesture at the man in the suit. “He’s a top-tier psychiatric counselor. I told him you’re seeing invisible stats and fighting air ghosts. He’s here to get you back into the server of reality, my guy.”

“A psychiatrist?” Rendi looked at the doctor, then back at his own blood-soaked hoodie. “Ayo, doctor, look at the fridge. Does that look like a hallucination to you?”

“Mr. Rendi, let’s stay calm,” Dr. Aris said, his voice smooth and clinical. “Adit has shown me the footage. You’re under a lot of stress. Let’s put the weapon down and talk about these ‘System messages’.”

[ WARNING: NEW MISSION TRIGGERED. ]

[ OBJECTIVE: EVADE ENVOLUNTARY INSTITUTIONALIZATION. REWARD: +10 CHARISMA. ]

“Institutionalization? You’re actually kidding me!” Rendi stood up, the knife still clutched in his hand.

“Rendi, put it down!” Adit pleaded, keeping the camera focused on the knife. “The viewers are saying you look ready to snap! We’re going viral for the wrong reasons, bruh!”

“You guys don't understand,” Rendi said, his eyes darting to the window. “There’s more of them coming. I can feel the server lag.”

“The server lag?” Dr. Aris reached into his pocket. “Rendi, look at the candle Adit is holding. Focus on the light. You’re having a dissociative episode.”

[ URGENT: DETECTION AT NEIGHBORING PERIMETER. HIGH-LEVEL THREAT DETECTED. ]

The floor began to vibrate again. This time, it wasn't a thump. It was a roar—mechanical, ancient, and bone-deep—coming from the street outside.

“That’s not a spider,” Rendi whispered, his grip tightening on the handle. “Doctor, Adit... if you want to stay sane, you need to turn around and run. No cap.”

“Rendi, what is it? What are you seeing now?” Sari asked, moving closer to him despite her fear.

[ THE REAL GAME HAS ADVANCED TO VERSION 0.9. COMMENCING WORLD-MAP INTEGRATION. ]

A massive, bioluminescent red light flooded the apartment from outside the window, brighter than any police siren.

“It’s here,” Rendi said, the crimson light reflecting in his eyes. “The tutorial is over.”