The Rise of the Algorithm King

Chapter 3

Storm's eyelids began to lift open as he slowly woke up from his slumber.

"I'm not dead?" Storm frowned with a disappointed look. He remembered ingesting a poison that was enough to kill twenty men..why then was he still alive. "Maybe the pills were all fake. Darn the man that sold it to me." 

"My bracelet." Storm glanced at his wrist, but his bracelet was gone. Thinking about it, images of earlier began to flash back.

The whole bright light that filled the room..and also..

"What was thats screen i saw earlier?" Saying those last words, the same screen from earlier materialised right in front of Storm.

[STORM WALKER HAS REACHED THE REQUIREMENT]

[VESSEL HAS BEEN ACQUIRED]

[TO PROCEED, VESSEL NEEDS TO COMPLETE THE ACCEPTANCE QUEST]

[CLICK ON YES TO ACCEPT, AND NO TO DECLINE THE POWER]

[YES] [NO]

Storm glanced at the screen in front of him in bewilderment.

"Haha, I didn't die, instead I was struck with madness and now I am seeing things." Storm rubbed his dirty blonde hair with a chuckle as he shifted his gaze away from the screen and laid back on his bed.

"I have a terrible headache. I'll just sleep it off and hope things get back to normal by the time I wake." Storm muttered as he closed his eyes to sleep.

[IF VESSEL DOES NOT ACCEPT, THE POISON YOU DIGESTED EARLIER WILL TAKE IMMEDIATE EFFECT AND KILL YOU.]

Storm's eyes shot open and he jumped up from his bed. "What is this?" Storm panicked.

For someone who attempted to take his own life earlier, he was really afraid to die. 

[[CLICK ON YES TO ACCEPT, AND NO TO DECLINE THE POWER]

[YES] [NO]

[0:0:10s]

[0:09s]

Storm shifted his gaze back to the screen with a racing heart. 

"Power? What power is it referring to?" Storm wondered in contemplation and his gaze fixated on the screen. After several seconds of contemplation, he finally accepted.

[VESSEL WILL NOW BE TRANSPORTED TO THE QUEST LOCATION]

Receiving the last set of notification, Storm vanished from his room instantly.

Moments after Storm vanished, Grandpa Sikes finally forced the door open after trying for hours. Entering into the room, he glanced around with a puzzled expression.

"Huh? Where did he go?" Grandpa Sikes mused in confusion as he didn't seem to find Storm inside. The window wasn't big enough to fit Storm, how then did he exit the room?

***

Storm appeared in a certain location a few seconds after vanishing from his room. The place looked like an empty train station with different vast sections and bright lights.

[YOU ARE NOW IN THE ACCEPTANCE QUEST VENUE]

[SURVIVE FOR 5 HOURS]

An holographic screen popped up right in front of Storm. Storm examined the screen in contemplation.

"Survive from what exactly?" Saying those words, Storm began to hear footsteps from a distance until what looked like a rat the size of a man appeared.

The rat stood on two feets, blade-like claws, razor sharp fangs, and a sharp tail wagging behind.

Catching a glimpse of the monster, Storm gulped and cold sweat trickled down his face.

"I'm supposed to fight that?" Storm gulped with a racing heart as he stood metres away from the rat. The rat examined its prey for a few more minutes before charging in.

Watching the rat charge towards him, Storm turned around and began to run for his life. Storm's body was quite fit and he was agile, so it was easy to close a distance in a short period of time.

"Ha..ha...ha...ha.." Storm kept panting heavily while running as fast as his legs could carry him with the giant rat following him closely behind.

The giant rat leapt up into the air and landed in front of Storm, causing him to halt his steps quickly.

"Shit!" Storm cursed as the vicious rat closed in on him and slashed its blade-like claws towards him. The claws moved through the air at incredible speed, and Storm managed to move his body sideways, dodging the claws.

But even if Storm had dodged it, the tip of the claws still scraped his ribs area and had caused blood to be drawn. 

Storm gritted his teeth in pain and leapt several metres backwards to create a gap, but the rat closed in on him instantly and sent out its claws once more.

Reacting swiftly, Storm lifted up both hands and grabbed the claws when it was only inches away from his face. The sharp edges of the claws sunk into Storm's palms and caused blood to flow, but he still didn't let go.

He knew fully well that if he released the claws the monster would rip him to shreds.

"AAARRRGGGHHH!" Storm screamed in pain as the sharp edges kept sinking into his palms and caused more blood to flow and stain the tiled floor.

Still holding onto the claws, Storm gritted his teeth and began to lift the rat off the floor with all his might. He kept screaming while pulling it up, and his muscles could be seen bulging.

Storm managed to lift it a few inches off the floor and sent it crashing against the wall nearby. The rat's head hit the wall and caused the neck to twist as it dropped dead.

"Ha..ha..ha.." Storm fell down on his knees breathless. Blood seeped out of his palms and his whole shirt was now drenched in sweat.

While Strom was trying to catch his breath, he began to hear footsteps from ahead, causing him to shift his gaze and all he saw was hundreds of the same giant rats charging towards him.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Storm lamented as he rose up and got in a fighting stance as the rats kept charging towards him.

He knew running away would be useless. He already tried running against the previous one but it didn't turn out well. Storm now had only one option, which was to stand and fight.

[ACCEPTANCE QUEST COMPLETED]

[VESSEL WILL NOW GO DORMANT UNTIL THE PROCESSING IS COMPLETE]

Receiving those last sets of notification, Storm collapsed to the floor unconscious.