Level Up

Level 1

David woke up, startled. Beside him was Colleen who stood arms akimbo, anticipating his wake. 

"Got it?" She asked. 

He nodded, his head still feeling light and woozy from the vision or dream he had just had. 

"I probably got here because of the freak accident" He said. 

"Yeah. You did." She replied indifferently. 

"How do I get out of here?" He asked. 

"You're seriously asking me?" She questioned. 

"Sorry, it's just, I can't leave my life behind. My Dad and Sarah. They will be worried right now." He said in a dejected tone. 

"You poor thing." She said. 

"Chin up. I have a guess, or a theory, I don't know." She added. 

"Tell me." 

"Okay, so you know there are power ranks to be unlocked every 20 levels, right? The S rank, the forbidden Power. There are rumours, and they say only one powerful warrior holds the power. Who knows what the S rank is and why it's forbidden? Maybe it contains reality warping abilities or in your case, a way home. If you go ahead and complete all one hundred levels of the game, you could get out of here." She explained. 

He nodded, affirming to her words. 

"One hundred levels seem a lot. I fought a beast named Scorpo and we didn't get killed by that Dinosaur, means I've gotten to level three, right?" He asked. She shook her head, laughing. 

"You're such an oaf, Player one." She said. 

"What?" He grumbled. 

"They were just demos, you know demos for free games. I'll put you through, don't worry." She said.

"Alright, thank you Colleen. Let's fix something. I'm David Hart, not player one." He said, his right hand stretched forward for a handshake.

"You're welcome David Hart. I'm Colleen Potter." She replied, shaking his hand. 

"So, level 1. How do we do it?" He asked. 

"It's simple. Beast world is practically a world where the powerful warriors and mages capture and control beasts. Level one should be pretty simple, I'm sure you'll come across a warrior wanting to pick a fight." She explained as they walked into the town. 

The town was bursting with people and their activities. It reminded him of home, the hold up, the traffic. He saw a man pulling a cart. Inside it was an unconscious Beast. 

"Quit staring, you rent boy." He cursed at David, who had probably stared too much. 

"Okay." He chuckled and caught up with Colleen who had been steps ahead. 

"You must be hungry." She said. 

He nodded in confirmation as they both stopped in front of a Tavern. 

"Don't worry, lunch is on me." She spoke and they both entered the Tavern. Inside were men of all sorts at the tables, drunk. It was rowdy, loud and wild and as soon as they entered, the rowdiness stopped, all eyes fixed on them. 

"I don't think this is a good idea." He whispered to her. 

"I know, right? Just follow my lead." She whispered. 

Suddenly, a huge man, his face scarred with tattoos stood before both of them. 

"Look at you, pretty boy. What are you doing here with a girl?" He asked David, pushing him away from Colleen. She just shrugged her shoulders at David and smiled. His eyes widened, realising she had just set him up.…they were at a gay bar, and these men, who had not seen a good looking, young man in ages, had their primal instincts kicking in…lust. 

"I'm going to make a bride of you, pretty boy." The man said once more, grabbing him by his face. Colleen had now disappeared and the Bar was now loud. 

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Sarah arrived at David's apartment, worried. She had called him since the previous night and he didn't reply. 

"David." She shouted as she couldn't find him in the sitting room. She walked straight to his bedroom and couldn't find him too. 

"David, where are you?" She shouted again as she checked his bathroom. He wasn't there. 

"David." She yelled again, and dialed his number. His phone rang beside his PC and she ran to pick it up. She checked the notifications, he already had missed calls from her and his dad. She unlocked his phone and checked his Spotify that had ran in the background for the last fourteen hours. 

"Where could he be?" She wondered. She looked at his PC and saw it was running, but didn't pay attention to it. Immediately, she called his father, hoping he was with him.

"Mr. Hart." She said as he answered the call. 

"Oh, Sarah. Good day, what's the problem?" He asked.

"It's David. He's missing." She spoke.

"What?!"

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"Okay guys. I know you're all horny, and I don't judge, but trying to have me without consent is improper." David spoke, backing up. He stopped, feeling the warmth of a body behind him. He looked behind him and saw one of the men at the door. The man grinned widely at him and he smiled back sarcastically. 

"Come here pretty boy." The first hefty man said, making to grab him. 

"Sword." He instantly picked and his sword appeared. He brandished it at the men who only laughed. 

"Look who's putting up a fight." They laughed. 

He quickly struck the man's abdomen with his sword and twisted it. The man's eyes widened and he grabbed his crotch, falling.… he was dead. 

"You piss twink. You're fucking dead." The man behind him yelled and unsheathed his sword, striking him. He jumped out of the way and struck his face, causing a sharp slice of his head. David's eyes widened. He could not believe he was feeling it, he was enjoying the thrill.

"Axe." He selected and with his second hand, swung the axe at an incoming attack, pinning his assailant's weapon, then decapitated him with a single blow. 

He turned, facing the man at the entrance. 

"You cunt." The man cursed. 

"You're dead." He added and roared. Suddenly, the tavern shook. The rest of the men, realising this, ran away through the other door, some breaking the windows to escape. 

"Cowards." David chuckled. 

The incoming steps of a huge sturdy creature began to make the earth quake. Before David could move, the wall broke behind him and he fell. The beast stopped beside the man and faced David too. 

This beast was a Huge Warthog with golden tusks. 

"Shit." David mumbled. The Warthog charged at him and he jumped sideways. He got up and looked behind him. He had an opening to escape, but figured he would be intercepted by the beast before he could get out. 

He wondered how he could hurriedly mutilate both man and beast attacking him. Suddenly, an idea clicked in his mind. 

He quickly chopped off one man's arms and grabbed them. 

"Venom (fangs)." He selected and stabbed both arms on them. 

He attacked the man, slapping one arm on his body. He rolled backwards, evading a blow from the man. He jumped forward then slapped another arm on the Beast which was already charging him. The beast squealed like the pig it was and fell. 

He looked at both corpses and sighed. He quickly stored the fangs and left the now collapsed taverns. 

"Level 1 completed." The interface read. 

Suddenly, Colleen appeared from the side of the Tavern's ruins. 

"Pretty good fight you put up." She said, pointing her sword at him.

To be continued…