"Haah."
At first I was actually excited about my brilliant plan to catch whoever's trying to murder me. Seemed foolproof—there's no way some assailant could just waltz into my dormitory on a whim, right?
...Shit. I definitely just jinxed it.
The moment I stepped outside, reality threw me a low blow. This facility was massive—sprawling like a small city with grounds that seemed to stretch on forever. I felt like some village kid gawking at a metropolis for the first time, which was definitely not a good sign when you're trying to survive an assassination attempt.
But luck smiled on me. I stumbled across a huge board displaying a simplified school map, easy enough to read that I memorized the layout in a few minutes.
When I arrived at what was supposed to be my building, though, I just stood there getting more and more baffled. The place was gigantic—so absurdly massive it felt ridiculous to call it student housing. It was basically a skyscraper made entirely of glass.
Two towers. One for the high-ranked students, one for the "rest of us." The caste system was painfully obvious. High-rankers got entire rooms to themselves, unlimited access to the augmented reality lab, more points, and a mountain of perks to go with. No wonder nobody wanted to lose their rank.
I entered the building reserved for us weaklings, immediately drowning in a sea of people. How could there be this much foot traffic? After what felt like forever, I finally reached one of the many elevators and pressed the silver button.
Ping.
The doors slid open to reveal blessed emptiness, as if some deity had heard my unspoken plea for solitude. I stepped inside. The doors whispered shut behind me, and holographic buttons materialized in mid-air, accompanied by a sterile voice.
[Please select a destination.]
I resisted the urge to comment on the unnecessary AI and tapped the button for floor 498, where my room was supposedly located. No idea who my roommates would be—bullies, psychopaths, or maybe just as lost and confused as me. At this point, I didn't care. I just needed to survive until tomorrow.
The elevator began its smooth ascent, which I found oddly calming despite everything.
Alright. Let's review what I actually know:
- I'm trapped in a game
- I have no memories, yet somehow I know this world intimately
- I have a mission... and apparently need to survive long enough to figure out what it is
That's it. That's all I've got.
But hold on—what the hell is that noise?
I glanced up at the ceiling. Something was scraping against metal up there, a sound that just wasn't right.
It didn't stop.
No, It only grew louder.
"What the hell—"
ZIZIZIZIZ!
A new sound joined in, like someone sawing through the elevator cables. Panic hit me like a freight train. The elevator lurched to a stop.
Something was very, very wrong.
My mind raced through scenarios. Who could be behind this? The assailant, obviously, but how? Was this a trap I'd walked into, or had they somehow predicted I'd be here?
Or maybe...
They'd been watching me this whole time.
Desperation kicked in instantly.
I needed out—now!
My eyes shot to the ceiling hatch. Could I force it open? I jumped, trying to land a solid hit, but it didn't budge. Next option: the doors.
BANG!
I slammed my shoulder against them, trying to force them apart. Nothing. I kept ramming into the doors even after I felt something pop in my shoulder joint, pain shooting down my arm.
"Dammit!" I hissed, clutching the injury.
The sawing sound intensified. This was supposed to be my chance to confront whoever wanted me dead, and instead I was trapped in a metal coffin, couldn't even see my attacker's face.
Then the noise stopped.
Everything went perfectly, terribly still.
The next thing I knew, the elevator was falling.
"No—"
Gravity failed me.
BOOOOOOM!
---
I gasped awake.
[Mission in progress...
Objective: Death looms around the corner. Survive until tomorrow [00:17:34:32].
Reward: An affinity.
Failure: Death.
Respawn: 3/5]
Dammit.
It happened again.
But why couldn't I ever see my attacker's face? How did they always know my next move, predict every decision before I made it? None of this made sense. I should've avoided confrontation entirely, so why did it feel like I'd been watched the whole time?
I glanced around, paranoid. Everyone seemed absorbed in the teacher's lecture, oblivious.
Wait.
The teacher.
If I could stay in the teacher's office during lunch, I might actually make it through to the augmented reality class... and maybe, maybe, avoid another death.
It wasn't much of a plan.
But it was all I had.