Chapter 2: The Silent Terminal.
Jacob sat slumped in his heavy gaming chair, his eyes fixed listlessly on the dark, reflective surface of his dead computer terminal.
It had been several days since the power to the entire building was cut off, leaving him in stranded in the dark, with a growing coldness that felt heavier with every passing hour.
The usual sound of his cooling fans and the entertaining glow of his PC monitor, which usually kept him occupied for hours, had been replaced by a constant boredom.
Heading out for some entertainment was a no go, after being oblivious to it for a day or two, the instant the power to the building was cut was the moment he realised that the hallway just outside his apartment door was now a nightmare of smeared blood and discarded corpses.
Portraying a grisly reality he only caught glimpses of through the narrow peephole.
Even the door itself bore the scars of the new world, as several deep lacerations and jagged markings were visible from the outside where something had tried, and failed, to claw its way in.
Today marked exactly one week since the beginning of this inexplicable apocalypse, a full seven days since those fiendish monsters had arrived and forced him to stay cooped up in his studio.
If it hadn't been for the fact that his apartment had been heavily customized and reinforced by his wealthy parents, he wasn't sure if the entrance would have held out against the initial onslaught.
Thinking of his parents brought a dull ache to his chest, as he had no way of knowing where they were or if they were even alive, given that their business interests kept them overseas the majority of the time and the fact that the internet had gone offline along with his power.
In the quiet of his room, he could only offer up a silent, desperate hope that wherever they were on the globe, they had managed to find somewhere safe to stay.
*********
GRRRRR.....
Eventually, the gnawing sensation in his stomach forced him to stand up from his chair and make his way toward the kitchen.
Upon opening the refrigerator, his face turned gloomy at the sight of the empty fridge.
He closed the fridge since there was no use keeping it open.
"I didn't know it was finally empty," he muttered to himself, his voice helpless, before he closed the door with a frustrated groan.
He began to forage through the back of his cabinets, eventually managing to find a single forgotten can of tuna, which he carried over to his bed.
He sat there, eating the bland fish directly from the tin and drinking large gulps of lukewarm water to compensate for the lack of a proper meal. Fortunately he hadn't ran out of water which was great.
As he ate, his mood grew increasingly unsettled because he was acutely aware that his supplies were at their absolute limit.
He knew that at this current rate of consumption, it wouldn't be long before he was forced to turn the deadbolt and step outside into the blood-stained hallway in search of food.
Just as the weight of that reality began to settle in, a translucent blue system panel suddenly shimmered into existence right before his eyes, cutting through the darkness of the room.
[Congratulations, Survivor! You have endured the initial chaos.]
' A system panel?' Jacob froze with the plastic fork halfway to his mouth, staring at the floating text that looked exactly like the interface of a high-end RPG.
[In accordance with the game's regulations, all participants will be given a chance to awaken a given class.]
[Beginning Awakening ceremony]
The moment he finished reading the notification, a strange, multicolored glow erupted from the air and enshrouded his entire body in a swirling vortex of light.
The vibrant colors soon began to shift and condense, taking on a deep, obsidian black hue that seemed to swallow the light around it before vanishing entirely into his skin.
[Awakening Successful]
[Congratulations on Awakening the Class: Necromancer (5-stars)]
[Skill Unlocked: Raise Dead]
Since he was a veteran gamer who had spent thousands of hours navigating similar systems, Jacob didn't panic; instead, he felt a spark of genuine curiosity and reached out to tap the glowing skill icon.
[Skill Description: Create Undead allows you to bring forth the deceased under your control with but a single command. The soul cannot resist if you are stronger than the target.]
[Would you like to set skills command speech?]
Another prompt emerged, hovering patiently in the air as it waited for his input.
'A command speech?' Jacob pondered the request for a long moment, thinking about the weight of the words he would have to utter to call upon the dead.
After a few seconds of deliberation, he decided on a word that felt ironically fitting for the grim nature of his new power.
"Come forth," he whispered.
[Command Speech Internalized]
[Since the awakening was a success, would the participant like to learn more about the game?]
[Yes/No]
Jacob reached out and picked "Yes" without a moment's hesitation, as this surreal game had now literally become his life and his only means of survival.
He felt that only a fool would choose to remain in the dark when the rules of the world had clearly been rewritten overnight.
[The Game's schematics are simple. All participants are to try their best and survive in the coming scenarios. All Viewers wish to be entertained, so please do your best to provide adequate entertainment. That is all.]
'You're joking... that's really all there is to it?' Jacob thought, feeling a wave of incredulity wash over him as the screen flickered and dimmed.
He massaged his forehead with one hand, feeling a deep sense of exhaustion that had nothing to do with a lack of sleep.
'Why do I have the feeling that some idiot pulled this entire idea straight out of a manhwa?' He couldn't help but feel a bit cynical, realizing that there a
ppeared to be absolutely no logical rhyme or reason for his entire world being plunged into such a dire and murderous situation.