Armin stared at the message, blinking in shock. For a moment, all kinds of questions flooded his mind.
'Arena? Where am I? Have I become one of the Missing?'
He was agitated, but before he could recover, the words changed.
[Loading player information.]
Now there was another familiar yet strange world…player?
After a few seconds, the blue window extended!
—————— ✧ ✧ ✧ ——————
PLAYER NAME:Armin
PLAYER ID: EARTH78923
NICKNAME:- (Set Nickname)
LEVEL:0
EXP: 0/100
HP:100/100
MP:-
?????:None
??????:-
??????:-
RANK:Unranked
RANK POINTS:0/100
???? ????: 0
????? ????:0
MATCHES PLAYED:0
?????????:None
??????:None
??? :None
????:None
????: 0
RESTRICTIONS:
Idle Decay
Hub Restriant
Noob
BUFFS:
Newbie Protection [Currently Inactive]
Loot Boost
—————— ✧ ✧ ✧ ——————
Armin felt lightheaded all of a sudden as he stared at the status screen floating before him.
Playername, nickname, HP, MP, rank….they were all terms he recognised. There were very few people who wouldn't be familiar with these terms in the 21st century. Moreover, being a game addict at one point in his life, he could tell what each part meant without needing an explanation.
But the thing that terrified him was the situation itself.
He didn't know what was happening at all.
He'd just been at his cabin, but just a few seconds after, he was in this white void with some strange words floating in front of him. He didn't know whether everything happening was real or if he'd gone mad.
Despite his shock, he went over the status screen.
Most of it was filled with question marks - he guessed that there would be some kind of conditions to fulfill if he wanted to figure out what they meant.
He could understand the first couple of things. The Player details, HP, and MP. He was curious as to know if HP and MP meant what he thought they would do.
However, the thing that interested him the most was the 'Matches played' which sat at 0. He wondered what it meant and what games he would have to play.
The next thng that caught his atendtion was the restriction and the buffs. There were two buffs and three restrictions, which made him wince even though he didn't know what they meant.
He wanted to check out what it was, but before he could, the screen disolved and new words appeared in its place.
[The Restriction - 'Idle Decay' is in effect]
[Beginning Matchmaking]
[00:00]
[00:01]
[00:02]
"Matchmaking? Wait- I don't even know what this is! Wait!!"
But Armin didn't have any time. Just as his frustration peaked-
[00:003]
[Match found]
Before he could react, an invisible force pulled at him, and he disappeared from the white void.
✦ ✦ ✦
[You have entered Lobby - EARTH789]
[The game will begin in 01:30s]
"What in the name of fucking god?"
Armin muttered to himself as he looked around, holding his head that felt like it would explode.
He read the message and once again dreaded the familiar term.
'Lobby?'
First, there was status, player, and other game terms. Now a lobby? He was starting fear what would come next.
While he'd been in a white void just seconds ago, all alone, now he was in a place he could only describe as surreal.
It was an amusement park.
There were slides, train rides, water pools, carousel horses frozen mid-gallop. And more importantly, this time he wasn't alone!
"Where are we?"
"What's happening?"
"Does anyone know why we are here?"
"Mike? Where are you??"
"God! Anyone else seeing this weird screen?"
It was chaos.
There were people. People just as confused as him.
Armin looked around - there were all kinds of people of various ages. Some kids who couldn't be older than ten, some elderly people who looked like they'd been pulled from their beds. There were people wearing white coats, pajamas, business suits, and gym clothes. A woman in a wedding dress, frozen in shock, a man in a chef's uniform.
And from the way everyone was reacting, he became quite sure that no one knew what was happening.
"Is this some kind of prank?"
"I was just at work and then-"
"Mommy! I want to go home!"
There was confusion and fear all around.
"Everyone, calm down!" A middle-aged man in a police uniform tried to take charge. "Let's figure this out together. Did anyone see how they got here?"
"There was a white void," someone called out.
"I saw words! Like in a video game."
"Me too! It said player and-"
"Look, what the hell is that?"
Someone pointed upward, and everyone's eyes snapped to the sky. There, massive and impossible to ignore, a huge timer was counting down.
[01:02]
[01:01]
[01:00]
[00:59]
The murmurs turned into panicked shouts.
"What is that?"
"What happens when it reaches zero?"
"We need to get out of here!"
A young woman in scrubs- a nurse, maybe-was hyperventilating. "This can't be real. This can't be real."
An older man grabbed her shoulders. " Breathe. Just breathe."
Armin felt his own panic rising.
'Calm down'
He tried, but there was no way his mind could listen to him.
It was assuming all kinds of scenarios that might have led him to this place, all kinds of things that might happen, all of kinds of worries that he didn't want to have now.
'Calm the fuck down.'
He tried again, to no avail.
Someone tried to run towards the edge of the amusement park, only to hit an invisible wall and bounce back.
"We're trapped! We're fucking trapped!"
"The timer!" Someone screamed. "Forty Seconds!"
The chaos intensified. Some people were crying. Others were shouting at each other. A group had huddled together near the carousel, holding onto each other. The police officer was still trying to organize people, but his voice was drowned out.
Armin's eyes darted around, taking in the pandemonium. There were maybe around seventy to eighty people, maybe more - all pushed into whatever this was.
[00:30]
[00:29]
"Please! Someone help us!"
"Is anyone listening? HELLO?"
He realised. Even if he did calm down, there was nothing he could do.
The timer continues its merciless countdown.
His heart hammered against his ribs as his palms became slick with sweat.
[00:03]
[00:02]
[00:01]
[00:00]
The invisible force yanked at him again, more violently this time.
"Not agai…"
His words fell into emptiness as he disappeared, and he wasn't the only one who vanished.
All the people who were gathered in the lobby disappeared along with him.
The Death game was about to begin!
─── ✦ ✦ ✦ ───