Chapter 3
"What the hell?!" Zen gasped in shock as the sound of something heading his way grew louder and louder with each passing second.
Slowly, the wolf emerged from the darkness, its eyes glowing like embers in the night. Its fur was a matted tangle of gray and black, bristling along its muscular shoulders as it padded silently across the forest floor.
The air was heavy with the scent of damp earth and decay. The wolf's hot breath misted in the chill air as it snarled, revealing jagged teeth stained with the remnants of its last kill.
As it moved, its hackles rose, casting long, shifting shadows across the trees. Its eyes burned with a fierce, primeval hunger that seemed to pierce the very soul.
The sound of its low, rasping growl vibrated through the air, a warning that this was a creature not to be trifled with. A monster forged from the very heart of the wilderness, oozing raw menace.
'What the hell is this? Is… is it too late to say that I'm cooked?' Zen shakily thought, his grip on his sword slightly loose.
Without any primal warning, the wolf lunged at Zen with astonishing speed.
"Crap," Zen muttered as he shakily held his sword, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. His breathing was uneven, panic wrestling with focus.
The wolf was now upon him. With a powerful leap, it bolted towards the stunned Zen like a blur of death.
"Crap! Pull your freaking self together, Zen!" he scolded himself as his eyes widened. His hands clenched tightly around the sword as he swiftly leapt back, barely avoiding the wolf, which landed exactly where he had been standing seconds ago, kicking up small leaves.
'I don't even have any freaking skill set. No cheat, no skills, nothing. Just me, a sword, and a freaking wolf right in front of me,' Zen complained inwardly, a mix of anger and dread swirling in his chest as the wolf quickly spun around and dashed toward him again.
"Okay, just breathe in. You've watched several movies, several animes, so this should work," Zen muttered, narrowing his eyes. His gaze never left the beast that zipped around him with blinding agility.
He kept his stance firm, eyes darting in every direction as he tried to track the wolf's movements. Suddenly, it zipped in from his right, charging at him with terrifying speed.
At the perfect moment, with a grin spreading across his face, Zen spun around and brought his sword in front of him in a clumsy but determined arc, aiming to strike the wolf's paw that was now reaching for him.
Clang!
The sound of steel clashing against claws rang through the forest. The wolf was momentarily suspended in mid-air. Zen's grin widened as he pushed forward, trying to strike its paw down with everything he had.
Smack!
In an instant, the wolf spun and slammed Zen with its tail, sending him hurtling backward like a ragdoll. Trees snapped and cracked as his body slammed through them, blood spraying from his mouth with every impact.
Finally, a sturdy tree stopped his violent flight, breaking with a thunderous crunch as Zen's body slammed into it. He slid off the shattered trunk and hit the ground with a painful thud, his limbs sprawled and twitching.
"Curse these game developers for making this shitty game too realistic. I can feel my internals screaming in pain," Zen groaned loudly, coughing as he forced himself to lift his head.
He could already hear the beast dashing toward him again, faster this time, with even more bloodlust in its steps.
'For goodness' sake, this is just level one of the game. How hard is this damned game?!'
Boom!
The wolf exploded from its position in a flash, heading toward a stunned Zen, who twisted his head all around, trying to locate the beast. But it had already zipped into the air, aiming to crash right into him.
As if sensing it, Zen quickly glanced upward, and in the blink of an eye, his sword shot above his head just as the wolf collided with it.
Bang!
Crack!
Shatter!
The whole forest trembled as the beast slammed into Zen's sword. The weapon shattered immediately. Pain throbbed through his hands, and he fell to his knees, crushed under the beast's initial weight.
"Damn it! How weak is their fucking weapon?!"
Before Zen could even think about getting up, the beast zipped again. In another flash, it appeared right beside a stunned Zen, who could do nothing but open his mouth in shock.
Whack!
The wolf slammed its paw into Zen's face, sending another spray of blood from his mouth. Three of his teeth went flying as his body hurtled backward, crashing into several more trees in a violent burst.
No sooner had he tried to stand up when the wolf appeared in front of him again. It leapt high into the air, then came crashing down with tremendous force right onto Zen's head.
Bang!
Boom!
The entire forest roared when the wolf landed on him, and then...
{Game Over!}
{Player Zenixx Lost}
"Curses!" Zen roared in anger as he appeared back in his room. His hand shot toward the VR helmet, yanking it off and hurling it across the room.
It slammed into a wall and shattered on impact. Zen sat up from his reclined position, anger seething through him as he quickly turned to glance at the time displayed on his phone.
9:40 PM
"Tsk." Zen scoffed and hopped onto his computer, swiftly navigating to the website of the game he had just played. He scrolled over to the review tab, eyes blazing.
"You want a review? You'll get one," he muttered through gritted teeth as he noticed only three reviews posted, all by low-ranking players. Not a single one from a pro player like him, which made a grin crawl onto his face.
{*Hey there, this is player Zen the Destroyer, and I'm here to drop my review on the ArcadiaX game that just launched a few hours ago, and I'll go straight to the point.
First off, the game room, I must say, is nice. The option for a solo or team player is also welcomed, as it offers flexibility unlike some other games.
The game design, the mechanics, and even the controllers were all well thought out, and I will surely give the developers a five for that. Now, to what actually brings me here.
Just like the game has some good functions, it also has a lot of vices. Now tell me, how the hell will a game have so many procedures to follow?
Game enthusiasts like me don't enjoy wasting time and prefer to jump straight into the action. So if you're anything like me, avoid this game.
Because I can assure you, the game's procedures are so lengthy that I could practically fall asleep and come back later.*}
Zen paused from typing for a few seconds. A smile crept onto his face, then he continued typing, fingers dancing eagerly over the keyboard.
{*Oh! Let's not forget how I encountered an error while I was being transported to the main game. I mean, what if something had gone wrong? Like a hack to my gaming ID, personal details, and so on? You all need to work on this better.
Like I said, the world is realistic. Loved that one, and I could tell the developers really took their time creating it. Now to the weapons—although there are a variety of weapons to choose from, they are all weak.
So useless that even a mere kitchen knife would be better than the weapons there. How the hell would you even make the beasts so OP that fighters who are just getting accustomed to the game can't fight?
There are no skill sets to make use of, no second chances, no respawn, nothing. You lose, you lose. Their VR headset is so uncomfortable and itchy.
Not to make this review lengthy, but all I want to say is this—ArcadiaX is officially the worst game in the universe. And I highly do not recommend this game to any players.
I could make something better in my sleep… heck! Sandy Crush is even better than this garbage. No offense, but you all need to work better.*}
Zen finally finished typing his review and, with a smirk of deep satisfaction, clicked "enter," officially uploading it.
"Now, that is good. That is what you all get for making me lose my first game." He scoffed as he leaned back in his chair, arms folded, eyes narrowed in petty vengeance. Glancing at the time, he saw that it was already ten p.m.
"Normally, I'd have stayed up late to play more games, but this damned game has just completely ruined my mood. So yeah, I'm off to bed. I hope that review teaches you all never to mess with a pro player." He muttered, rising to his feet.
He closed his PC, grabbed his phone, and casually strolled over to his bed. His room was dimly lit, the only light being the soft glow from his phone screen.
Without bothering to undress or even plug in his phone, he collapsed onto the bed. His phone dropped beside him on the mattress with a dull thud.
It didn't take long—barely five minutes—before he drifted into a deep sleep. A soft snore began to echo throughout the room, signifying just how exhausted he was.
Meanwhile, across the room, the broken VR headset that had been smashed against the wall and now lay in shattered pieces on the floor, began to stir.
The fragments started to glow, emitting a strange, ominous white light. It was faint at first, like the flicker of a dying bulb, but it steadily grew brighter.
Then, the pieces started to twitch. They trembled as if being pulled by invisible strings, the glow intensifying with each passing second. One shard inched forward, followed by another, and then another. It was as if something ancient and unknown had been awakened.
The headset pieces began to shift and squirm across the floor, moving unnaturally, defying physics, as though they had suddenly been brought to life by some unforeseen force.