2025-10-09 17:45:10The light shifted, and the chamber revealed itself fully. Rows of steel-framed bunk beds lined the room. Along the far wall stood machines—food dispensers glowing with holographic menus. Another corner shimmered with showers and sinks. Cabinets brimmed with towels, soap, and strange bottles labeled only with system symbols.
It looked… almost normal. Almost safe. But the smell of blood was still in everyone’s noses, the screams still echoing in their ears.
The silence stretched, broken only by the shuffle of exhausted feet.
Then someone sobbed.
A boy collapsed onto his knees, burying his face in his hands. Others followed—crying, cursing, whispering prayers. No one celebrated. Thirty out of four hundred. The truth crushed down on them all.
Ethan stood still, his hands trembling. He looked down at them—blood under his nails, streaks dried on his skin. He rubbed them together hard, as if he could erase what he had done. But it clung, sticky in his mind.
Aaron’s eyes staring up at him.
Kyra whispering Lena’s name.
The boy with the rock.
Ethan’s throat closed. He turned away, heading toward the showers. The hot spray pounded down on him, pink water swirling at his feet as blood rinsed away. But it didn’t matter. No matter how long he scrubbed, he still felt dirty.
---
When he returned, the room had come alive with noise. Players were crowding the food dispensers, arguing with the system screens.
“This is insane—eighty points for food?” a girl snapped, slamming her fist on the machine.
“Water is a hundred!” another cried. “We’ll starve before we fight again.”
The system didn’t answer. The menu just blinked, cold and unchanging.
Ethan approached cautiously. His 500 points glowed faintly in the corner of his vision. Enough for a meal, water, maybe a bit of treatment. But his stomach churned at the thought of eating.
He grabbed a tray anyway and stood back. That’s when he noticed the others.
A tall Asian boy with broad shoulders and tattoos creeping up his neck leaned lazily against the wall, watching the chaos with amusement. He had a smirk that didn’t quite hide the sharpness in his eyes. Ethan overheard someone whisper his name—
Sky Lee
Near the corner sat a pale girl with long black hair, her eyes sharp and calculating. She hadn’t touched the dispensers. Instead, she sat cross-legged, observing everyone like pieces on a chessboard. Naomi Park.
And then there was Claire Winters—a small, blonde girl with round glasses, nervously clutching a tray of bread and fruit. She caught Ethan staring and, after a moment, walked toward him.
“You… you didn’t get food?” she asked softly.
Ethan shook his head. “Not hungry.”
“You need strength.” She pushed her bread toward him, her hands shaking. “Please. Just… eat something.”
He hesitated. The kindness in her eyes was almost unbearable. But finally, he took the bread, nodding once. “Thank you.”
She smiled faintly, though her lips trembled. “I—I was a med student. Before this. I wanted to save lives, not…” Her voice broke, and she turned away quickly.
Ethan’s chest tightened. He wanted to tell her she wasn’t alone, that none of them had wanted this. But the words wouldn’t come.
---
Tension simmered. Marcus Hale, the smug boy from earlier, leaned against a bunk, his eyes on Ethan.
“Well, well,” Marcus drawled. “Delivery boy survived again. What’s your secret? Hide behind corpses until the clock runs out?”
A few players snickered weakly, desperate for any distraction. Ethan didn’t answer. He stared at the floor, jaw tight.
“Leave him alone,” sky Lee snapped suddenly, pushing off the wall. He had a swagger to his voice, but his fists clenched. “He’s here, isn’t he? That means he did what he had to.”
Marcus sneered. “What, you his guard dog now?”
Before fists could fly, Naomi’s voice cut through the tension, cool and sharp. “Save it. If you waste energy killing each other here, the system wins without lifting a finger.”
The room fell silent. Even Marcus faltered, scowling but dropping back onto his bunk.
Naomi’s dark eyes lingered on Ethan for a moment—measuring him—before she returned to her seat.
---
As night fell—if it could be called night in this endless metal place—the survivors settled uneasily into the bunks. Whispers filled the dark: memories of home, fragments of lives now severed.
“I was supposed to take my bar exam…” someone muttered.
“I was getting married next month.”
“I just wanted to graduate.”
Ethan lay stiff on his bunk, staring at the ceiling. Claire was on the bed across from him, curled tightly under a thin blanket. Sky Lee snored softly in the corner. Marcus muttered something smug even in his sleep.
Naomi didn’t sleep at all. She sat upright, eyes half-lidded but alert.
Ethan closed his eyes, but the darkness brought no peace. Faces swam before him—Aaron, Kyra, the boy with the rock. His chest tightened until he could barely breathe.
“Why me?” he whispered into the dark. “Why am I still here?”
The system didn’t answer. But he felt it, watching, calculating.
---
The silence shattered.
[Intermediate Level begins tomorrow.]
[Rest while you can. At dawn, choose your Power Upgrade.]
Three glowing icons appeared in the air above the bunks:
Combat: Fireball, Blade Summoning.
Regeneration: Regrow body parts, Enhanced vision.
Utility: Scan, Temporary clone, Weak point detection.
Murmurs broke out instantly.
“Fireball? That’s insane!”
“Clone? No way that’s real…”
“Do we get only one?”
[One path only. Choose wisely.]
The icons vanished. Darkness returned.
---
Ethan lay awake long after the others had drifted into uneasy sleep. His heart ached with grief, his hands itched with blood that wasn’t there.
But somewhere beneath it all was a spark.
He had survived. Not because he was strong, or ruthless, but because he thought, he adapted, he endured.
And tomorrow, he would do it again.
Not just to survive.
But to find out why.
And maybe, just maybe… to stop it.
And they could all go home
Not like he had one
*****
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Chapter Ten: The blood forest
The players heard the voice [Intermediate Level – Quest One Initiated.]Objective: Survive the Blood Forest for six hours.Conditions: The forest itself is alive. The predators inside are endless.Special Note: Skills must be tested. Only those who adapt advance.The chamber door shuddered open, spilling red light into the bunk room. A hot, metallic smell rolled through—like iron left too long in the sun. Marcus stretched with a cocky smirk“Finally. A proper hunt.”No one answered. Their silence was the silence of the broken—thirty faces, hollow-eyed, all thinking the same thing: not again.They stepped through, one by one.The Blood Forest towered above them, its trees black and slick, as if grown from dried gore. The leaves weren’t leaves at all but jagged crimson shards that rustled with an awful whisper. The ground squelched when stepped on, soft like mud.Claire gagged. “This place is—”“disgusting?” Naomi said, finishing for her. Her voice was calm, steady, but her gaze swept
Chapter nine: The choice
The chamber smelled faintly of ozone, like the air before a lightning strike. As the thirty survivors shuffled into the new room, the walls pulsed with three towering icons—Combat, Regeneration, and Utility—each a column of light that hummed softly. Above them, in letters that shimmered and refused to be ignored, the system announced in its unblinking voice:[Intermediate Level Skill Allocation]Choose one path: Combat / Regeneration / Utility.Selections are permanent.Target for Mastery: 20,000 points to reach Master Level.Choose wisely.People stared, jaws slack, fingers twitching. This time the system didn’t offer weapons or trinkets. It offered identity: what they would become in this game.Marcus was already grinning like a man who’d found his prize. “Ah — power,” he said, as if the idea of Combat had been waiting under his pillow. He stepped forward at once, shadowing the Combat column with a swagger that made a few people try to laugh and a few more scowl.“Maybe I’ll take Re
Chapter eight: The bunkers of survivors
The light shifted, and the chamber revealed itself fully. Rows of steel-framed bunk beds lined the room. Along the far wall stood machines—food dispensers glowing with holographic menus. Another corner shimmered with showers and sinks. Cabinets brimmed with towels, soap, and strange bottles labeled only with system symbols.It looked… almost normal. Almost safe. But the smell of blood was still in everyone’s noses, the screams still echoing in their ears.The silence stretched, broken only by the shuffle of exhausted feet.Then someone sobbed.A boy collapsed onto his knees, burying his face in his hands. Others followed—crying, cursing, whispering prayers. No one celebrated. Thirty out of four hundred. The truth crushed down on them all.Ethan stood still, his hands trembling. He looked down at them—blood under his nails, streaks dried on his skin. He rubbed them together hard, as if he could erase what he had done. But it clung, sticky in his mind.Aaron’s eyes staring up at him.Ky
Chapter seven: The final Culling
The arena was silent, suffocating, waiting for the next cruelty. The players stood trembling, bloodied, still reeling from the forced battles. The walls groaned, shifting, until the black stone field stretched wide like an endless battlefield.The voice came, sharp and merciless:[Quest Three – Part II: The Final Culling.]Objective: Kill.Requirement: Earn 10,000 points in thirty minutes.Reward: Advancement to Intermediate Level.Failure: Elimination.The air thickened with dread. Students gasped, sobbed, cursed.“No… no, they can’t make us…”“This is murder! We’re not—”The countdown began.[30:00]And then chaos erupted.—Screams tore through the field as desperate players turned on each other. Makeshift weapons clashed—blades scavenged from fallen monsters, rocks, pipes. Flesh split, blood sprayed, bodies crumpled. The system chimed relentlessly:[Player Eliminated.][Player Eliminated.]Each death was a number, a cold notification. Each scream was a reminder of the horror.Etha
Chapter six: The Partner's blade
The blue glow faded from the rest chamber. Survivors blinked, squinting as the lantens twisted, reshaping into a massive black arena. The walls towered high, slick and seamless, impossible to climb. The air was heavy with the stench of ash and iron.Then the voice came. Cold. Merciless.[Quest Three: Trial of Pairs]Stage One: Select a partner.Stage Two: Battle another pair.Victory Reward: 3,000 Points.Bonus: Eliminating an opposing player grants 2000 Points.Failure: Death.The silence that followed was deafening.Students exchanged wide, terrified glances. Murmurs broke into shouts.“What the hell? Fight each other?”“They want us to kill each other?!”“No—I can’t—I can’t do this—”But the system wasn’t interested in their protests. A countdown appeared in the air.[Partner Selection: 3:00 minutes remaining.]Chaos exploded.—Marcus immediately grabbed a trembling boy by the arm. “You. You’re with me.”“No—please—I can’t fight—”“Then you’ll die,” Marcus snapped, dragging him fo
Chapter five: The hidden Chest
The survivors stumbled out of the clearing, their bodies trembling, their clothes scorched and smeared with ash. The glowing doorway faded behind them, sealing the Night of Shadows away.What greeted them was not another nightmare, but a vast chamber carved of smooth black stone. Strange lights flickered faintly on the walls, pulsing with blue light, almost like veins. The ground was even, the air warmer. At the center lay something completely unexpected—mats, water jugs, and sealed ration packs stacked neatly in a pile.The system voice chimed in.[Interlude Chamber – Level One]Time Allocation: 2 Hours Rest.Combat Suspended. Recovery Recommended.For the first time since the game began, there was silence. No snarls in the dark, no dripping blood, no countdown in their ears. Just the faint hum of the chamber.Some collapsed immediately, gulping down water until their throats burned. Others tore into the ration packs—dense bars that tasted of chalk but felt like heaven after fear and
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