Player Zero:No Exit

8

THE FIRST NIGHT RAID

Jack's point of View

The alarms started as a low hum.

I was sitting alone near the back of the village, close to a stack of empty crates. No one had offered me a place to stay. No one told me to leave either.

Just space.

Then the hum became a sharp metallic ringing.

LOUD.

Over and over.

Players froze mid-step.

Then someone shouted—

“Raid!”

Everything moved at once.

Lanterns were lifted. Weapons drawn. Boots hitting dirt fast.

The air changed.

Fear.

Real fear.

I stood up slowly.

“What kind?” someone yelled.

“Outer field breach!”

“Multiple signatures!”

The red-haired player was already running toward the wooden walls. His sword drawn. Calm. Focused.

Level 50.

This was his world.

Torches along the fence burst brighter as players climbed the guard platforms.

I hesitated.

I could stay behind the houses.

Hide.

No one would blame Player Zero for not fighting.

No one expected anything from me.

Another scream cut through the air.

Not human.

Something deeper.

Something wrong.

The first impact hit the gate.

BOOM.

The entire fence shook.

Dust fell from the beams.

I moved without thinking.

Toward the wall.

If I was going to die, I didn’t want to do it hiding behind crates.

When I reached the fence line, I saw them.

Creatures taller than the ruin hound.

Their bodies twisted and armored with dark bone plates. Long arms dragged against the ground. Their mouths opened too wide, filled with uneven teeth.

Red text floated above them.

BONE STALKER – LEVEL 27

BONE STALKER – LEVEL 29

BONE STALKER – LEVEL 31

There were five of them.

Players around me swore under their breath.

Level 31.

That was above most of the village.

The red-haired player stood on the platform, calm but serious now.

“Hold formation!” he shouted. “Don’t split!”

The first Bone Stalker leapt.

It cleared half the fence in one jump.

It landed inside the village.

Chaos exploded.

Screams.

Steel clashing.

The creature moved fast—too fast. It swiped one player aside like nothing.

HP bars dropped quickly around me.

I grabbed my knife.

My hands were shaking.

This wasn’t a duel.

This was slaughter.

One of the Bone Stalkers crashed through a weaker section of the fence near where I stood.

It landed heavily in the dirt just ten steps away.

Its head snapped toward me.

Red eyes.

Locked.

Of course.

Player Zero.

Easy target.

It rushed me.

I barely rolled aside as its claws tore into the ground where I had been standing.

Dirt exploded in my face.

I scrambled up and slashed its leg.

The blade barely scratched it.

It didn’t even react.

Then it backhanded me.

My body flew sideways.

HP: 21/40

Pain exploded across my ribs.

I hit a wooden post and slid down.

The Bone Stalker turned toward me again.

Slow this time.

Like it knew.

Like it was enjoying it.

Around me, players were fighting their own battles. No one saw me.

No one could help me.

The creature lunged.

I raised my knife uselessly.

Claws raked across my chest.

HP: 11/40

The world tilted.

Sound felt distant.

It struck again.

HP: 4/40

My vision blurred.

I fell to one knee.

The Bone Stalker lifted one massive arm for the final blow.

HP: 1/40

The number blinked red.

My heartbeat pounded in my ears.

Not again.

Not like this.

Something inside me shifted.

Not light.

Not fire.

Just pressure.

Like something deep in my chest tightened and snapped.

The world slowed.

Not fully.

Just slightly.

The creature’s arm came down—

I moved.

Cleaner.

Faster.

Not skilled.

Just sharper.

I stepped inside its reach instead of away.

My knife drove upward.

Straight into the soft gap under its jaw.

This time—

It went in deep.

The creature froze.

I felt strength in my arms that hadn’t been there before.

I pushed harder.

The blade pierced through.

The Bone Stalker let out a horrible choking sound.

Then collapsed.

Silence hit around me for half a second.

Then the noise of battle returned.

The body dissolved slowly into particles of dark light.

A message flashed in my vision.

ENEMY DEFEATED

TARGET LEVEL: 29

My breathing was ragged.

My body felt like it was tearing itself apart.

Across the battlefield, I felt someone watching.

I looked up.

The red-haired player stood on the platform above.

He had just finished cutting down another Bone Stalker.

But he wasn’t looking at the others.

He was looking at me.

Not amused.

Not irritated.

Not mocking.

Serious.

He saw it.

He saw that shift.

More Bone Stalkers were being pushed back now. The village fighters regained control.

Within minutes, the remaining creatures retreated into the darkness beyond the fence.

The alarms stopped.

Only heavy breathing and scattered groans remained.

I was still kneeling in the dirt.

HP: 3/40

It had risen slightly.

Slow regeneration.

But something else appeared.

Faint.

Almost hidden.

CONDITION: THE UNWANTED

GROWTH TRIGGERED

My hands trembled.

Growth?

Triggered how?

At near death?

I didn’t feel stronger.

I felt empty.

Like something had taken energy from somewhere deep inside me.

Boots crunched against dirt.

I looked up.

The red-haired player stood in front of me now.

Up close, his face was calm.

But his eyes were sharp.

“You killed a Level 29 alone,” he said quietly.

I didn’t answer.

Because I didn’t know how.

He studied me for a long moment.

Then he said something different.

“Player Zero…”

No laughter this time.

“…what are you?”

I didn’t have an answer.

Above me, the sky symbols flickered faintly.

Like something had noticed.

And for the first time since entering this world—

It felt like I had taken my first real step forward.

Not because I was strong.

But because the system had reacted.

And whatever “The Unwanted” was…

It had just begun.