2025-10-09 17:43:37The 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.
Ethan stood frozen in the chaos, heart pounding so hard it hurt. His breath shook. He didn’t want this. Not like this.
But the system didn’t care what he wanted.
A shadow lunged at him—Aaron, the tall boy with sharp eyes, teeth bared in desperation. A jagged blade glinted in his hand.
“You’ve got points,” Aaron snarled. “I can’t die here. You’ll forgive me for this—”
The blade slashed toward Ethan’s throat. Instinct roared through him. He ducked, grappled Aaron’s wrist, and slammed his head forward. Bone cracked under the impact. Aaron howled, stumbling.
Ethan’s hand closed around a broken spear shaft lying in the dirt. He drove it into Aaron’s chest before he could think.
The sound—the tearing, wet crunch—would haunt him forever.
Aaron’s eyes went wide. His mouth opened, blood bubbling. He gurgled, staggered, collapsed.
Ethan froze, staring at his own hands, dripping with blood.
The system chimed.
[Player 382 Kill Confirmed.]
[Points Earned: +7,500.]
The world swam. His stomach lurched. He wanted to scream. He wanted to vomit. Instead, he staggered back, clutching the bloody shaft, as Aaron dissolved into ash.
Not Aaron. Just ash. Just… gone.
“God forgive me,” Ethan whispered, voice breaking.
Down the field Marcus Hale stalked over to Agnes the cheerleader form earlier
She whimpered as he grabbed her throat
“You always acted all tough in school, look where that got you huh” he said lowly
She begged and tried to struggle
He widened her legs and stepped in between them
Pressing his nose to her neck and softly biting her
“Please stop Marcus__please” she begged
He tightened his grip on her neck, she choked and grabbed him for support, pinching his skin with her long nails
She struggled to breathe, his hands were bleeding from where she was struggling
She fell limp and he chuckled
Licking the blood from his hands
[Player 290, Marcus Hale+10,000 points]
A flash of light and he was taken from the field.
—
Time ticked. The battlefield shrank as players slaughtered each other. Blood painted the stone black, screams echoing like a chorus of hell.
Ethan fought on autopilot. A boy—barely older than him, trembling, begging for mercy—came at him with a stone. Ethan’s body moved before his mind did. The rock cracked against the boy’s skull. He collapsed, twitching once before stillness took him.
The chime rang again.
[Player 382 Kill Confirmed.]
[Points Earned: +9,500.]
Ethan’s knees buckled. He dropped beside the body, trembling violently, bile rising in his throat.
“I didn’t want this… I didn’t…” He pressed his blood-soaked hands to his head.
But there was no mercy.
The timer ticked down—[00:20]
—
Then came Kyra.
Her face was streaked with dirt and tears, her eyes blazing with grief. She stalked toward him, a blade gripped so tight her knuckles bled.
“You,” she hissed, voice venom. “You killed her. Lena’s dead because of you.”
Ethan’s throat closed. “It wasn’t my choice—”
“Liar!” she screamed, lunging.
The blade slashed across his arm. Pain flared hot. He stumbled back, barely parrying with his broken spear. Kyra’s strikes were relentless, each blow fueled by fury, grief, vengeance.
“I’ll kill you, Ethan Cole!” she shrieked. “I’ll make you pay!”
The timer glowed in the air.
[00:10]
Ethan’s chest heaved. He blocked, ducked, staggered. Kyra’s blade sliced across his cheek, hot blood trickling into his eye.
[00:05]
She screamed, driving the blade toward his heart.
And Ethan struck.
The jagged spear shaft plunged into her stomach.
Her eyes went wide. The scream died in her throat, replaced by a wet gasp. She staggered, choking, her hands clutching at the wound.
Blood spilled hot across his hands.
Her lips trembled. She whispered one word—“Lena”—before her body dissolved into ash.
The system chimed coldly.
[Player 382 Kill Confirmed.]
[Points Earned: +10,000.]
[Quest Complete. Advancement Confirmed.]
The timer blinked—[00:03]—before vanishing.
—
The arena floor shuddered. Survivors—what was left of them—were dragged by light into a new chamber. Their screams faded one by one, cut short as the losers were culled, their bodies dissolving.
When the glow faded, Ethan staggered forward, alone.
Around him, only thirty players remained.
Thirty. Out of four hundred.
The chamber was vast and empty, its silence louder than screams. The system’s voice echoed one last time:
[Congratulations. 30 Players Have Advanced to Intermediate Level.]
[Welcome, Survivors.]
—
Ethan stood trembling, covered in blood—his, theirs, everyone’s. His hands wouldn’t stop shaking. His eyes blurred with tears he didn’t remember shedding.
The points blinked in his vision. Numbers. Victories. Rewards.
But all he saw were faces.
Aaron’s desperate eyes.
The boy with the rock.
Kyra’s last whisper.
Ghosts. All of them.
He’d survived. He was in Intermediate now.
But something inside him had broken.
And as the others looked around, hollow and broken themselves, Ethan realized the truth:
The system wasn’t just killing them.
It was changing them.
One player looked smug and happy
Marcus Hale
Ethan glared daggers at him
“Got a problem delivery boy?“ Marcus asked
Ethan gulped and looked away
[You all have 500 points free, use it to tend to your wounds and get food , and rest tomorrow the games continue]
“I have a question” Jamal said
The system went quiet
“What exactly is the purpose for all this, I was in my dorm room playing a game and all of a sudden I'm in this hellhole, fighting for my life what is the prize?“ Jamal said
Everywhere went silent
[The prize is you survive]
Everywhere went dark
Ethan squinted his eyes and looked around
He saw a red light from under the floor
How strange.
[In your next level you get to level up
There are three level up powers, you can only pick one
Combat: Fireball, blade summoning
Regeneration: Regeneration of body parts, enhanced vision
Utility: scan, temporary clone, detection of weak points]
Mumurs broke out
The lights turned on
They were in a shop filled with food and drinks
Everyone rushed to get something
Ethan couldn't get Lena's broken face out of his mind
***
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
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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