["system initializing."]
These words were coming from the cafeteria, but none of them said this word. The students heard these words in their heads. They were all looking among themselves in shock.
"Is this a prank?"
"Where is that coming from?" Jin said with curiosity in his eyes.
No one could provide an answer as they all kept looking around, paying no attention to the girl on the floor asking for help.
[world 23 41: 71 accepted.]
[world synchronizing.]
"Synchronizing what?" a student said. Close to Jin said.
The ground and the building trembled lightly.
"Impossible! Is this an earthquake?" one of the students shouted.
"How can this building be shaking?" another yelled in disbelief.
This was the Rose High Building, designed by one of the nation's best architects, renowned for its advanced earthquake absorption system. Yet, as the tremors grew stronger, even the sturdy structure began to crack, sending waves of fear through the students.
The earthquake ended; it didn't last more than thirty seconds, but it was enough to instill fear in the students' minds.
"When I get home," one student muttered, trembling, "I'm definitely telling my father to sue these architects."
["synchronizing complete."], The unknown voice said again.
Immediately after that thought, a blue light screen appeared in front of each student, displaying the message:
["Congratulations! Your world has been accepted to participate in the game."]
The message changed.
["Welcome, player."]
"Is this a joke?" asked the student with a disbelieving smile, struggling to accept what was in front of him.
"I think I'm dreaming," a female student said, her voice trembling with uncertainty.
"I don't think so. Why would I be in your dreams?" Sara King said arrogantly. She was Kato King's little sister.
The female student felt hurt by Sara's response, her expression reflecting a mix of surprise and disappointment.
The student in the cafeteria and Kenji got another message from the screen.
["D grade high-tier goblin has appeared."]
["D grade high-tier goblin, as declared this area its territory"]
["You are in D-grade high-level goblin territory."]
["You are in F-grade low-tier goblin ."]as appeared"]
Then they appeared.
Three figures stepped through the large doorway of the cafeteria, humanoid, yet somehow wrong. Their skin was a sickly green; they were half the size of an average human, dotted with boils and moles. Rusted armor, which provided less protection, clung to their bodies. The one on the right carried an old, worn-out crossbow; the one on the left, a jagged metal bat. The one in front dragged a chipped, rust-stained blade across the floor, sparks spitting as it scraped the tiles.
The students froze.
"Is this… some kind of prank?" one whispered."Maybe some art project?" another said, half-laughing. "But they look so real," another student said.
But the laughter died when the lead creature's smile widened.
The girl screamed, "Stay back!" and tried to crawl away.
The goblin lunged.
The rusted blade flashed, and her scream was cut short as the weapon sliced across her neck. She fell still. Blood pooled, bright against the white tiles.
A moment of silence, then chaos.
"What the fuck!" a boy shouted, stumbling backward as he saw the girl's head rolling towards him. The goblin with the crossbow raised his weapon and fired. The bolt punched into the boy's shoulder, sending him crashing to the floor in pain.
"This is real," he said, "shit," he cursed as he felt the shape pain cross through his body, and he tried getting to his feet.
Before anyone could react, the goblin with the bat leaped onto him, slamming down with a brutal swing that crushed his skull.
Blood splattered across the tables. Panic broke. Students screamed, chairs toppled, and the cafeteria erupted into chaos.
Kenji's red eye gleamed, narrowing again as the creatures stepped forward, grinning at the terrified crowd.
What are these things?" someone yelled."Where are the guards!?"
Jin took several steps backward before they heard the alarm system at the school.
"Bam, bam, bam" as the alert system rang, some of the lights around the cafeteria turned red, and a male voice was heard soon later on the several speakers mounted beside the walls of the school.
"Everyone get into the bunker, this is an S-class emergency, the school is under attack," he said out loud, screaming at the top of his lungs.
What?" Jin said, Who dares attack the school? Is this the doing of terrorists, he thought.
Jin looked at these creatures, "No, this is something else, safety first." Jin turned and ran.
The student in the cafeteria screamed out loud, as they scattered around, more and more of these creatures started entering, each attacking the Rose High School student.
"What are these creatures?" Kenji thought as he saw more and more body dropping down on the floor lifeless, this creature seemed to be enjoying themself, it wasn't a hunt, more like a sport to them.
One of the goblins looked at him and charged at him. The goblin was still several steps away when he remembered something back then his grandfather had said back then.
"You see an enemy you know nothing about charging at you, what do you do?"
Renzo Mochizuki He was drinking a tea in one morning, is mood was relax, kenji in the other hand was doing a stance, several broken object placed on his two arm which was stretched out, on his wrist the was a big black cuff connected to a chain which was connected to a iron ball hanging on the air, it wayed several tons, kenji also bent down slightly, is legs spread wide squating down using is toes to stand.
Kenji felt deep pain, but he didn't dare move; if he did, what his grandfather would do to him was unimaginable.
"I asked you a question, won't you answer me?" Renzo said as he dropped his cup of tea and stretched out his right hand to grab a cane beside him.
Kenji immediately answers, "I will fight head one."
Kenji was about to finish his sentence when his grandfather used the cane to wipe his head. "You fool, you are too confident in your ability."
Kenji was about to cry; he was already in deep pain, and now Renzo added more.
"The best thing you can do is run, and observe your surroundings and enemy, find weakness and be certain of victory, life is too precious to charge into any danger, Kenji."
"Alright, grandfather, I will remember your words," Kenji said, with a sincere expression,
Grandfather felt at ease seeing that Kenji was listening,
"Grandfather, can I stop this now?"
"In your dreams, you bastard, how dare you touch my fine wine?" Renzo said with an angry expression.
Soon, Kenji came back to his senses, seeing the unknown creature dashing towards him, Kenji made a run for it, scattering along with the student.
The male voice on the speakers kept repeating, urging students to head to the bunker on the ground floor. Then, suddenly, the man's voice broke into a scream, followed by a loud crashing sound. After that, silence. The broadcast cut off, and the line went dead.
The bunker was on the ground floor, so everyone instinctively rushed downward. Some students darted straight for the elevator, pressing the button with urgency. The doors seemed to take an eternity to open, and goblin growls grew louder behind them, fueling their desperation as they awaited a way out.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck! Open!" a student from another class shouted, frantically jabbing the elevator button. Panic twisted his voice as the goblin growls grew louder, and the doors stubbornly refused to open.
Hope surged as the elevator doors gradually opened. He'd never felt such excitement over something so mundane. But behind him, some students were already being picked off, one by one, acting as a shield. With a racing heart, he stepped inside, only for his head to be split open by an axe.
They were goblins inside, and student bodies lying around sucked in blood. The students sprinted away in a different direction from the elevator.
"The stairs," Kenji said to himself.
He dashed right toward his Favorite stairway. Amid the chaos, he jumped over bodies and dodged goblins, moving quickly to avoid detection. On his way, he saw students using each other as shields to prevent the goblin's blades, abandoning their close companions in a desperate bid to survive.
"This is human instinct at its peak," he thought.
Reaching his destination, he found the stairway door closed. Kenji quickened his pace, using his shoulder to crash through the door. Once inside, he pressed on, racing downward with urgency.
The way the majority of the students ran was wild and uncoordinated. They were spoiled rich brats who had never done a day of hard labor in their lives. As they screamed and stumbled, calling for help, their panic only made them clumsier. Kenji couldn't help but laugh internally. "So this is what happens when luxury meets fear," he thought to himself as he ran.
"Why?" Kenji asked himself.
"Why am I pushing myself so hard?"
After losing his grandfather, the only person who ever truly cared for him, Kenji found himself living a life he was never interested in. There was no purpose. He had no one but himself, no reason to fight, no reason to keep going. So why was he even running now? He slowed his pace for a moment, his thoughts echoing louder than the chaos around him. "What am I trying to save?" He wondered, his eyes empty yet burning deep inside.
Kenji felt strange; he had nothing to live for and nothing he cherished, yet the instinct to survive took control. He couldn't comprehend the feeling.
Getting to the first floor, Kenji noticed a female student opening the ground floor door and trying to run upward, but before she could even step on the stairs, she was shot from the back, an arrow right in the middle of her back.
She looked up and saw Kenji on the first floor heading downwards.
"Help me," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Kenji looked at her.
Kenji looked at the beautiful girl injured on the floor, asking for help, and he remembered her, the things she did to him, how she looked down on him when he was beaten to death by Jin. When given to chance, she even participated, "Why would I help you?" Kenji thought.
Kenji can't even guarantee his Survival; helping someone with a fatal injury felt foolish to him.
Kenji instantly changed direction, opening the first-floor door to take another route.
Some students ran past him to the left as he entered the first floor. Kenji glanced over and saw goblins coming, armed with close-combat weapons. Realising the goblin noticed him, Kenji quickly followed their path.
The road was narrow, barely wide enough for four students to run side by side. As they pushed forward, a female student fell behind, her breath coming in quick gasps. Sweat glistened on her forehead; the three ahead didn't glance back or show concern.
Kenji had already caught up to them.
"They are small, and their speed is incredible. "Kenji said, observing the goblins chase them.
"At this rate, she won't make it," he said to a female student running alongside them.
Her speed gradually dropped, each step feeling heavier than the last. Her breaths came in deep, laboured gasps, and she could feel her heart pounding in her chest.
In just a few seconds, she was already apart from the group. She looked back, seeing that the goblins were getting closer.
"I have to survive," she whispered repeatedly, drawing on every ounce of energy she could muster. Each word felt like a mantra, fueling her resolve to keep moving.
It all happened suddenly. An arrow whizzed past the female student, shattering the glass beside her and striking her neck. The arrow came from inside the class, hitting her from the right side of her neck, and came out from the other side. The arrow was stuck in her neck. Time seemed to freeze as she felt a sharp pain followed by a warm rush. She drops down on the ground, choking on her blood.