My footsteps echoed in the empty corridor, each reverberation dissolving into the heavy darkness, like a dense fog that swallowed sounds. The air was cold, damp, with a faint smell of wet stone mixed with something metallic, as if the walls hid ancient, rusted secrets. Torches on the walls flickered weakly, casting long, dancing shadows on the cracked stone floor, making the place seem even more menacing. I felt small, insignificant, like an intruder in a realm that did not belong to me.
Ahead, immense doors stood closed, imposing like a boundary between my world and something unknown. The sculptures of chaotic hands – with long, sharp nails and only four fingers – seemed to shift slightly in the trembling light, as if they were alive. I approached, my heart beating faster and faster. Whose hands are these? I wondered, recalling the demonic skull I found earlier. The curved horns, the elongated shape... everything suggested a creature from the dark stories I had read in manga or fantasy books. But this was not a story – it was real.
Suddenly, the translucent panel appeared before me, pulsing with its familiar red light:
[DS] [Notification]: The Candidate has reached the first challenge. [Notification]: Success in this adventure.
"Ah, so even the system wishes me luck... How benevolent," I muttered sarcastically, my voice trembling. What is hidden beyond these doors? Is it a test? A trap?
I reached out my hand to the cold door handle, feeling an electric shiver run up my arm, as if the metal pulsed with an energy of its own. My instinct suddenly awoke – that sense I had developed in school, when I felt the scornful gazes of Kenji and his group, the mockery that followed me during every break. All those moments had taught me to recognize danger, to avoid it. And now, my instinct screamed in my mind: Run! Danger is here!
I didn't want to open the doors. A part of me wanted to turn back into the dark corridor, curl up against the wall, and wait for the end. But what end? To starve to death, alone, like that demonic skeleton? Or to face what was beyond, even if it meant death? I only have two choices, I told myself. To rot here or to die fighting something – anything – beyond. At least, I would choose how to end it.
I clenched my fingers around the handle, thinking that it might all be an illusion, a nightmare from which I would wake up in my shabby room, smelling of alcohol and cigarettes. I inhaled deeply, feeling the cold air fill my chest, carrying a faint scent of hope – or perhaps just the illusion of it. I pulled with all my might, my muscles painfully straining. The doors were heavy, as if made of solid stone, weighing hundreds of kilograms each. Why did they have to be so big? I wondered, panting. Is opening them part of the challenge? A test of strength for someone like me, with weak stats?
I tried again, putting in more power, ignoring the pain in my arms. This time, they moved. A small gap appeared between them, letting in a wave of cold air with a strange smell – like burnt sulfur mixed with old blood. Through the crack, I caught sight of two red dots glowing in the darkness, like the eyes of an unseen being. Their gaze seemed to pierce directly into my soul, as if they knew all my weaknesses, all the humiliations of the past.
"Hah! What the hell is that?" I whispered, a lump in my throat. Does the end await me beyond?
With these thoughts, I kept pulling, even though my heart was screaming at me to run. The doors opened wide with a long screech, followed by a dull boom – BOOOOOMMM! – that echoed like thunder in my chest. The darkness beyond was dense, impenetrable. My heart pounded thump-thump... thump, like the beats of a drum in a heavy, painful song.
I took a deep breath and took the first step over the threshold. Suddenly, a faint light appeared on a wall ahead, coming from a torch that ignited on its own. How? I wondered. Was it a mechanism activated by my steps? Or something magical? The pale light revealed a little of the room – a huge space, like a gigantic hall, with high, cracked walls, as if carved by giant hands.
"It would be good if that's a good sign," I muttered, but my instinct knew better. This place was not a hope. The smell of death hung in the air, and the shadows seemed to move on their own.
Other torches lit up, one by one, illuminating the hall. It was enormous – big enough to fit giants, with a ceiling lost in the darkness. The walls were covered in deep cracks, as if scratched by huge claws. There was no living being, just an oppressive void, with a smell of burnt smoke and dried blood that turned my stomach.
I took a few steps forward, looking around, hoping to understand what I had seen through the door crack – those red eyes. Nothing, I told myself. Did I imagine it? Or is something hidden?
Two minutes passed, but nothing changed. The hall remained empty, silent, only the echo of my breathing resounding.
"Now what? What am I supposed to do here?" I shouted, my voice echoing into the void.
With one eye, I checked the [DS] panel, opening the notifications menu, hoping for a hint:
[DS] [Notification]: The Candidate has reached the first challenge. [Notification]: Success in this adventure.
Nothing new. Just the same vague messages. Where is the challenge? I wondered, frustrated. There was nothing here – just cold walls and flickering torches.
After a few minutes of waiting, thinking about what to do and whether to try to leave, something changed. In the center of the floor, a faint, translucent light began to rise, like a luminous vapor. It immediately caught my attention.
"What is that?" I murmured, with no idea what was coming.
The light slowly transformed into a circular symbol, with luminous lines that pulsed like living veins. Ancient runes were interwoven around it, strange symbols I didn't recognize – like those in my books about magic and demons. At the same moment, the doors closed behind me with a boom, sealing me inside. I didn't go to try to open them; my attention was captivated by the circle. I stood motionless, like a statue, watching it form.
The circle pulsed with energy, raising a dense, reddish mist that trembled like a living veil. The pungent smell of burnt smoke intensified, and the air vibrated with a faint murmur, like distant whispers. Slowly, monstrous silhouettes began to take shape from the mist, their eyes gleaming in the darkness.
The silhouettes became clear: creatures with red skin, streaked with black stripes, as tall as a man. Their eyes were yellow-reddish, sharp like a snake's. Black horns jutted from their foreheads, curved and menacing, and their hands – with four fingers and sharp claws – perfectly matched the sculptures on the door. They appeared one by one, until half the hall was filled with them. A red aura emanated from their bodies, making the air heavy, oppressive, as if their presence was sucking the oxygen out of the room.
"Don't tell me this is my challenge!" I whispered, hoping it wasn't true.
Suddenly, a sound rang out, and a new notification appeared:
[Ding!]
[DS] [Notification]: To leave this area, the mission must be completed. Objective: Kill 100 Demonic Creatures Progress: 0/100
[Warning]: Current parameters are insufficient to complete the objective. A hidden condition is required to access the necessary power. The condition cannot be disclosed.
[Ding!]
[DS] [Notification]: We once again wish you success in this adventure. We await results from the Candidate.
"Are you kidding me?" I shouted, my voice breaking. "How can I kill these? With my bare hands? With level 0 stats?"
The creatures howled in chorus, a collective roar that shook the walls. Their eyes fixed on me, filled with hunger and hatred. There was no more time for questions. The challenge had begun, and I was alone against them.