As the final white light cleared, Yuji's eyes fluttered open as he slowly took in the sight of the virtual world from the sky.
Just then, he realized that he was falling from the sky at a comically high speed. His eyes searched for something to land on.
"Huh?" he felt a buzzing on his smartwatch that read: "Falling. Please initiate the emergency landing protocol."
Without wasting any moment, he pressed the button on the watch as a protective sphere barrier was generated around him.
A moment later, he crashed onto the ground a few meters away from where he had landed. Slowly, the protective barrier started to dissipate. He took in the sight around him, a gloomy warzone with ruins and who knows what creaking beyond the lurking darkness.
"Am I the only one here?" he looked around, but found no one. Not even a trace of life.
Just then, his watch buzzed again. When he looked at it, the contestant's count had already dropped significantly from ten thousand to nine thousand. The real test had begun.
With that, he started to roam around the area, searching for anything that he could use as a means to succeed. After a few minutes, he came across an old house.
But it seemed that no one had reached it. Perhaps he landed in a less competitive area?
"A lucky start. Never thought I would say that."
He walked towards the house — the door wasn't locked, and he just went in without a second thought.
Inside, there was no furniture, only empty rooms and dust. But he insisted on checking the rooms. One after another, he was disappointed to see that all of them were empty.
There was only one room left. He braced himself to be disappointed once again. To his shock, there was actually something inside the room — a 277 Luger Pistol, a few magazines, a Claymore, a few strings, and spikes. He was expecting a more primal weapon, like swords and a bow, but this was far better. Far more dangerous.
"Jackpot," he murmured to himself.
He approached the items, picking up the pistol from the ground. It seemed to be in good condition. He put the gun in his pocket and began inspecting the other items.
"This could come in handy."
But then he thought to himself, how can he carry all of them? He tapped his chin, looking around the room for a bag or any means to carry as much as he could.
Suddenly, an idea struck him. He opened his watch again, scrolling through the list of applications inside and opened a function called Interdimensional Storage.
He pointed the watch at the items on the ground. The watch started to suck in everything into its infinite storage like a space vacuum.
As the last item was stored inside the watch, Yuji suddenly heard a growling sound outside the old house. Whatever it was, it didn't sound like a human being.
He placed his ears against the wall, the footsteps growing louder with every step. It knows, it knows that someone is inside. Yuji seized the initiative and walked slowly towards the exit, careful not to make any sound.
Just as he was about to open the door, the wall beside him crumbled as the creature banged against it, causing him to be thrown a few meters away into the wall. His gun fell out of his pocket beside him.
When he opened his eyes, he quickly analyzed the creature in front of him.
"A Voidling.."
A black creature with white marks all over it. A hand shaped like a sword, and a figure like a human being.
Yuji quickly reached for his pistol, but the creature was faster — it lunged towards him and swept the gun away from him. Its other hand raised high to cut Yuji in half. But he reacted fast and rolled to the side, running towards his gun in desperation.
The Voidling chased after him again, aiming for his neck. But just as the blade almost hit him, he ducked and back-kicked the creature at the last second, keeping a safe distance from it. Yuji then dove for the pistol on the floor and pointed it at the creature.
The creature let out a deafening scream and charged towards him — enraged. Yuji narrowed his eyes, aiming at the Voidling's head. If he missed this, it would cost him everything that he has worked for.
Just as the creature's blade reached his neck, Yuji fired three shots, directly at its head.
For a moment, the world seemed to stop as if coming to a temporary halt; the creature itself looked paralyzed and unmoving, but then it collapsed onto the floor with a thud.
Yuji was left panting and breathless; he hadn't anticipated such an abomination would be present in this world of absolute chaos.
He placed a hand on his neck. To his surprise, there was a red liquid flowing from his neck.
"Blood…?"
He was bleeding — and the pain felt real. Could it be that the brain was actively sending nerve signals within the simulation?
No, this wasn't the time to think of trivial matters. He must attend to his wounds, or he will die from the loss of blood. Desperate, he tore a piece of his shirt, wrapping it around his neck.
"This should do it… for now."
So much had happened ever since he landed. The question now is what should he do? Should he continue forward? Or should he stay and build a stronghold? Either way, the goal remains the same: survive and graduate.
And yet this is only the beginning.
[—End of Chapter]