Beep!! Beep!!
Damn... I hate this morning alarm. But did I set an alarm in the first place?
"Anushka!! Wake up! Today is your school felicitation, don't you want to go?"
Ah, yes. I almost forgot that today is felicitation but today I also have to upload the last chapter of my novel's first volume. I will do it once the program is over.
Anushka got over from her bed and started to get ready for the felicitation program.
She was so excited because she was finally meeting her school friends after the farewell party.
"It feels like we just met yesterday in our classroom and today we all be meeting on our own felicitation ceremony" Anushka thought to herself on her way.
after some time, she stood in front of Shravani's home, one of her closest friends. then suddenly someone shouted Anushka's name from behind and saw her rest of her friends – Anjali, Shravasti and Anagha.
"Guyz, ICONIX had reunited once again after our last meetup", Shravani said after coming out from her house.
"For real, and today will be the first day when we go to our school as former student", Anjali added.
"Come on, let us go to school first or we will be last on our felicitation", Anagha said and we went on our way to the school one last time not as student studying but as a student who were studying in the school but not now since we all graduated from that school.
when we reached the school, we saw all of our classmates and they all were looking so good and happy because our school has finally ended because we finally broke free from this hellish school and its so-called disciplined management who didn't even gave us our one and school trip on our last year and gave us the worst annual sport day ever...
"As expected, Shruti scored 95%." Anagha said while recognizing that Shruti has the potential when she herself had also scored 96%.
And then there is me, who barely managed to be one of them who attends the felicitation ceremony.
After some formality the program was about to end when our former class teacher asked Shruti to give some guidance to our juniors.
Well, I don't have to listen it since it was for juniors so I look at my phone and quickly uploaded the last chapter of first volume of my novel and kept my phone back.
Then when Shruti was about to end her guidance to juniors my phone vibrated even thou I always keep its vibration off.
I took a look at it, there was a massage from unknow application which said nothing but, "congratulation!!".
and then the screen blanked off.
"What the...!! don't tell me its died. I will not get a new phone if it gets broken." Anushka panicked while trying to start.
but all of her attempt were of no use.
Then suddenly we all heard a voice in our ears...
"Welcome! my dear players.
please enter your name to survive in this world as a player."
every one of us glanced at the sky from where the voice of coming.
A mysterious guy who doesn't look real because of its appearance was floating in the middle of the sky.
everyone was so stunt to speak but then that guy came down and started to talk, "I thank you for entering your name. (we didn't enter our names at will the system did it by default) I'm the narrator of your survival game. my name is Liz."
"And now let me tell you this, 'the world you all have been living is gone and now only the strong will survive.' and now this is reality.
"You all have to participate in trials in order to increase your level and to ensure your survival."
"I hope you guys' luck in surviving and making some profit for me. for now, bye then".
after saying that, the narrator disappeared.
Students and teachers erupted into confusion. Panic filled the air.
"What is going on?"
"This is too real to be a dream…"
"Are we going to die?"
"I don't want to die…"
Fear and chaos spread like wildfire.
Then, cutting through the noise, Shruti who was already on the stage with the mic in her hand spoke with surprising calmness.
"Please, everyone… calm yourselves. We need to adapt to this situation, not fall apart."
Even in the middle of such panic, her steady voice began to quiet the room.
Subham Sir, one of our school administrators, looked at her with disbelief. "Shruti, do you know what's going on? This… this can't be real. But it doesn't feel like a dream either. What should we do? Do you have any idea what the first trial might be?"
Shruti took a breath and replied, "I think I might know what's coming. This situation… it's extremely similar to a few anime series and especially to a web novel I once read."
Gasps spread through the crowd.
"If I'm right," she continued, "then somewhere in this room, a portal will appear. And from it, F-rank goblins will emerge. I'm not completely sure until we receive actual trial information… but that's the highest possibility. I'm pretty sure that none of you will understand it now but eventually we have to survive it."
My heart dropped.
Did she know that it's actually a web novel our world just turned into?
Does that mean she read my novel too?
Could it be that she is the reader who reads my novel regularly?
No, this can't be happening. If she really had read my novel than she would have told me or Anjali about it.
Maybe she doesn't know that I'm the author.
Its better if people don't know about that I am the author.
And in a matter of moments, because she seemed to know what was happening, Shruti had become the de facto leader of our school.
After a few seconds,
A glowing system window suddenly appeared in front of all of us:
---
#1st Trial – Slaughter the Portal Goblins
Rank: F
Time Limit: 20 minutes
Clear Condition: Eliminate all goblins within the portal area
Reward: 1500 coins, Level UP
Instruction :
Entry is allowed only in team of five people.
Every team member must eliminate at least one goblin.
Any member who fails to kill a goblin before the trial ends will die immediately.
If even one member fails, the entire team forfeits all rewards.
---
One of the teachers spoke up in panic.
"What is this?! Do we all have to go in? It says we must form teams—what do we do?"
Shruti took a deep breath before answering.
"I don't think we have a choice. We need to enter in teams. My suggestion is two girls and two boys per group, since there are more girls than boys, along with one teacher for each team. That should maximize our chances of survival."
To everyone's surprise, people began nodding almost immediately. Within seconds, Shruti's calmness had earned the trust of nearly the entire school.
But then, suddenly—
"Jump!"
All eyes turned toward the voice in shock.
Five girls had already dashed into the portal on their own.
It was me—Anushka—and my friends.
--------------
As we crossed the boundary, the portal closed behind us.
Everything went black. We were now inside a cave, cold and dark. Thankfully, we had brought our phones with us.
Its flashlight helped us see.
Then another system window popped up:
---
Thank you for entering the first trial. Would you like to receive weapons for goblin slaughter?
Click [OK] to proceed.
---
We all clicked "OK," and D-rank daggers appeared before us, basic but sharp. Good enough for F-rank goblins. Or so I thought…
Then I saw them, twice as many goblins as us.
"What the hell?! There are double the number of goblins!" I yelled at the system, furious.
"Forget that for now," Anjali said. "The rules are clear. We each have to kill at least one. That's priority one!"
"Already done!" the others said in unison.
Except me.
Suddenly, Shravani screamed, "Anushka, behind you!"
A goblin rushed at me, blade ready to strike. My instincts kicked in. I spun and drove the dagger straight into its eye. It dropped instantly.
"Hah! Piece of cake," I smirked.
"Don't act so cocky, Anushka. You were the last one to kill a goblin," Anagha said, forcing me to face the truth.
"For real. Even Shrawasti did better than you," Shravani added, making me feel even more embarrassed.
Then came the final message:
Congratulations! You have completed the First Trial.
Reward granted.
We made it alive.
But this was only the beginning.
Because I knew exactly what kind of suffering awaited my friends in the future.
After all,...
I was the who wrote them as supporting characters for the protagonist of my novel.
"Hey, Anushka! Look!" Shravani pointed. "The portal's back!"
"Guess it's time to return… to our hellish school," I said.
---
Meanwhile, chaos stirred back at school.
"Who just went in?!" Shruti demanded.
"I think it was Anushka, Anjali, Shravani, Anagha, and Shravasti," someone answered.
"What?! They went in without asking me?!" Shruti, worried about us.
"They won't come back unharmed… it's too dangerous," she whispered, more to herself than anyone else.
"Weapons! They don't even have weapons!" someone exclaimed.
"We should wait," Shruti said, trying hard to stay calm.
Just then, a student shouted, "Look! They're back!"
We stepped out of the portal, not a single scratch on us.
Shruti marched over. " How could you all be so reckless?! What if something had happened?!"
" I'm sorry, Shruti. It was my idea. I'm the one who told them to come with me", I said. "But honestly… don't you think it's wrong to lead everyone like this? In the end, if someone dies, they die alone. The rules are clear."
Some students looked shaken by what I had just said.
"If not me, then who will lead them?" Shruti argued. "I'm just trying to keep us safe based on the knowledge I have!"
"From some random novel you read?" I interrupted. "Seriously?"
Shruti stared at me, stunned. "Wait… Did you read it too? We could work together—"
" Stop relying on that story. And no, I haven't read the novel you're talking about. This is the real world. How can you seriously believe a novel became reality? That only happens in fiction".
I snapped. "What if the story had changed just after we became a part of it?"
Sarika Ma'am stepped in. "How could you talk to Shruti like that?! She's trying to help!"
I lost my temper and said, "Tsk. Come on, girls. Let's go. We're better off relying on ourselves than on half-baked theories."
Shruti stood frozen, her mind racing.
" She may not know the story, but I'm sure she's read dozens of novels like this. Probably more than me".
"Ugh… I should've finished the novel before coming here."
"But the author stopped uploading new chapters…"
"…What am I supposed to do now?"
---
After some time…
"Hey Anushka, why did you leave the school? It's the safest place for us. We should've stayed," Anagha questioned Anushka's decision.
"Yeah, we all agreed to that," the others chimed in.
"Think about it. Don't you think, Shruti's attitude had changed? And ever since the world changed, I've been getting a really bad vibe from her. It's better if we stay away from her," Anushka replied firmly.
"But if we help her, maybe she'll protect us. Maybe she'll be different this time."
"You want to go back to that school? After everything unfair that happened to us there?" Anushka asked, her voice rising.
"Yes, I think we should," Anagha said. "And I'm sure no one from our school will die."
"You sure have some confidence, Anagha. I didn't know you had it in you." Anushka smiled faintly.
"Fine. But first, let's go home. Grab bags packed with food, water, and at least two pairs of clothes. If you want to bring anything else—like your phone—do that too. Meet back here in exactly 30 minutes."
"Okay!"
We all returned to our homes. Strangely, we didn't see a single person. No neighbors. No parents. No signs of life. But instead of breaking down, we stood strong... and came back to the school.
"Is everyone here?" Anjali asked.
"Yes, we are," the rest answered.
"Anagha, do you still believe in Shruti?" Anushka asked.
"Yes. She's capable of anything. I know that."
"Then let's make a bet. If everyone from our school survives under Shruti's command, I'll give you all my reward coins. But if more than 50 people die… you'll give me all of yours."
Anagha smirked. "Ha! That's clearly in my favor. I accept."
"Yeah… I let's see that," Anushka muttered.
"The atmosphere changed," Shavasthi whispered to Anjali and Shravani.
"Yeah… but why would Anushka make a bet that clearly doesn't benefit her?" Shravani asked.
"Because she's an idiot. That's the only explanation," Anjali said.
"Who are you calling an idiot?" Anushka cut into their conversation.
"You, obviously," they replied.
"You could at least hesitate before saying it out loud," Anushka muttered.
When we reached the main hall of the school, we noticed even more students missing.
"Hey, remember the bet?" Anushka said with a smile.
"Yeah I know."
"It's obvious. The ones who didn't clear the portal trial... are dead." Anushka break through the silence in the school.
A chill ran through our bodies. Those students—they were once our classmates.
"Oh, Shruti. Glad to see you're alive. But if I had to guess, about 40% of the school's population is gone, right?"
"How can you say that so coldly?"
"I'm just being honest. So, Anagha… looks like I won the bet. Hand over your coin."
"Anyone who wants to stay with Shruti can stay. I'm not stopping you. But I'm leaving," Anushka declared.
"I'll come with you," Anagha said.
"Okay," Anushka nodded.
Just then, all remaining students and teachers were summoned to the school ground.
A glowing system window appeared:
#2 Trial - Survive the Zombie Apocalypse
Rank: B
Time Limit: 7 Days
Condition to Clear: Survive for 7 days by killing zombies
Reward: 25,000 Coins & Level Up
Penalty: none
Instructions: You can enter solo or in groups
Bonus: One hit to the back of a zombie's head is enough to kill it
---
"Ah… this trial is just like the one from my novel," Now I'm sure that this world really turned into my novel.
Another window opened:
Choose your weapon and buy it.
"So we can buy items now? But Anagha might not have enough coins. I should help her—"
Before I could finish her thought, she saw Anagha holding a cricket bat.
"Wait, how did you afford that?" she asked.
"Oh, didn't you know? Some sponsors noticed my performance in the first trial. They gifted me 5,000 coins," Anagha said casually.
"Sponsors?" Anushka repeated, confused. "What sponsors?"
I didn't get any messages… nothing about sponsors at all. What's going on?
Things are a bit different.
Ding!
A notification popped up:
---
#Information: Sponsors
Sponsors are non-participants who watch the trials. They find entertainment in observing human struggles and reward subjects they like with coins. They can also choose one subject to follow and support until the subject's death. They may even share their skills.
---
Is this... my skill? But the name… 'Author's Right'? That must be because I wrote this novel…
"Hey, Anushka! Don't space out!" Shravani called.
"Oh—right. Sorry," she replied.
So this ability is only visible to me… and its only level 1. That's why I can only see basic system info. Maybe if it levels up, I can learn more.
Anushka looked at Shruti.
Show me her information.
Suddenly, a surge of pain ripped through her.
Spark!!
A blast of thunder spread through her entire body, leaving her trembling.
Ding!
What was that? I tried using my ability to learn about Shruti, but instead I got zapped. Maybe I can't access someone's data until my skill get activates on its own.
Then a voice echoed through the air.
(Hello, my dear subjects!)
It was the Narrator.
(Oh my! Quite a few survivors. Congratulations on passing the first trial. You've all seen the details of this sub-trial, yes? Good. One more thing—there will be a Sponsor Selection Event at the end of the sub-trial. Your sponsor will follow your progress till your death. They may even share their power if you impress them.)
Anushka narrowed her eyes.
So this is how this world works. Coins. Sponsors. Trials. Death. Now I get it…
The real game starts now...
_To be continue_