《Pandora's Game》 Prologue: How long has it been? "...How long has it been...?" A voice whispers this in the darkness. It was a female voice, but there was something about the way it spoke. The voice was strained, low, and mechanical. As the seconds past by, the silence was her only response. The voice lets out a low grunt, groaning. A loud creak echoed through the air, a figure pulling at her limbs. The figure is encased in an open capsule. Standing on two legs, the moving being in question has the same structural design as a female human. To a certain degree. Her arms forcibly pull at the wires that connected her to the capsule. With enough force, she frees one arm from the encasement. Pulling her upper body forward, she cracks her neck from side to side. Using her free hand, she unplugs the large wires from her upper back. There was a pause in her action once she removes the third and fourth wire. Purple eyes lock onto her arms before it shifts into a red hue. Processing everything, and waking up, she slowly recalls her current state. Her mind snaps her back into reality. She was an abomination. Something that blasted woman did to her. The memories... Grasping her head, she yells in anger. This was no normal screech, shattering several glass items within the area. Furious at her awakening, she violently yanks the wires off of her. Sparks ignited from such a force along with some liquid bursting from these long tubes. Ignoring them, the woman steps out of the capsule, shaking off any residue. Glancing over her shoulder, the capsule was a cruel reminder of her imprisonment. No, it was not a prison. The woman who placed her here used it for her transformation. Her own house, to put it in simple terms. A temporary home. Yes, a temporary home that was a special lab. Was this truly her -the figure that stands in this very room- home? No. The bastardly woman gave this to her. This very room was where she slept for- How long...? How long has it been since that dreadful event? How long has she been asleep? How long was... So many questions, yet no one was here to answer them. The lab is abandoned, leaving behind test tubes, datasheets, computers, chemicals, and other things. Yet none of this mattered. It was good that the place was empty. The figure wanted to release her anger.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. "Pandora..." If that being never showed up, if she was a myth, things would have been normal. She wouldn''t have changed. She wouldn''t have feltexcruciating pain. No, this hellish pain that gnaws at her insides is her sin. Tears start to roll down her face as she yells into the darkness once more. Unable to stay still, she punches and kicks the space around her. Tables were smashed into bits, chairs were crushed, torn apart, or tossed about. Electronic devices of all sorts were damaged beyond repair from her frenzy. Books and papers scatter through the air as the violent maelstrom rips through them with her sharp fingers. Crashing sounds echo through the empty room, breaking everything that she can get her hands on. Unable to control the gathering energy around her, it burst out of her body, blasting everything away. If the computer was beyond repairs, they were unrecognizable once they hit the walls. Her eyes dart around the room, trying to find something else to destroy, but her mind tugs on the bitter memories of the dead. Her sadness finally engulfs her. Falling onto her knees, the creature lets out a cry. She moves her hands to her face, weeping at the loss of her happiness. She lost her comrades, her friends. She lost the peace that her group has established. And she lost the love of her life. "C-Can I..." Filled with remorse, she tries to grab at the empty air, trying to grasp at the light that she once saw.
Do you want to view the Memory File [0-0]? This memory is before the events of Pandora''s Game.
Yes No
The woman held her breath, staring at the screen. Frowning, the creature recalls this blasted screen. It was the same screen that started it all. Various emotions flooded her mind, curling her hands into a fist. Ignoring the negative emotions, especially her wrath and hatred, this seems like a rare opportunity. An opportunity to reminisce about her past once more- she shouldn''t. Looking back into her old life will harm her. Most likely. The pain will engulf her again. Not taking her eyes off the screen, her finger hovers over the [No] option. Thinking about it a couple more times, she was going to hit it. Before the touch can be registered, she stops herself. Will she have the time to sit down and look back on everything ever again? This seems like a one-time thing. She can remember the details in her head. She can pull it up anytime, but... The screen before her will be able to replay EVERY EXACT detail. It would be like watching a movie. Pondering on the thought, she gives in to her selfish desires. The world is in ruins. Everything turned to shit. There is no rush- no one is waiting for her. It might be a decade since she was put to sleep. The world can wait for her... She will get her revenge, but not right now. Clicking on [Yes], she sits down against a wall, closing her eyes.
[Processing Memory File 0-0 of Lauren Hook]
[Memory File 0-0] Normal? Myths are nothing but baseless rumors. Traditional stories that paint the pictures of heroes and supernatural beings that are beyond the norm. Creatures on a whole different level, heroes who can challenge the gods, and events that rocked the very foundations of society. Yet it can be false tales spun by speculations or for other purposes. Maybe someone created a myth to have someone avoid their forest, maybe one would tell a tale of a hero that can slay countless foes to suppress them, or maybe talk about dragons in caves to hide one¡¯s hidden cache. Are myths true? Who is telling the truth? Is it even a truth? Who started it all, and why must it still exist? Those who do not believe can easily shove it aside. It will not change their lives. Or so they say. On an empty greenfield, a lone woman stood there. In a simple dark purple gown, she lets the wind wash over her. Her long black hair flowed with the breeze. Her eyes were closed, enjoying the light gust against her body. She inhaled the nature around her, savoring the flowery scent. The sun reflected off of her pale skin, enhancing her natural beauty. Opening her eyes, her purple pupils scanned the green grass, breathing in the fresh air once more. If any man were to approach her, they would have kneeled. Her lips turn into a smile, slightly shaking in joy. Any being who would have seen that smile would have deemed it to be a smile from a goddess. They would have thought the girl was a good-natured woman. Extending her hand, a butterfly slowly flew into view. Seeing her outstretched hand, it gently landed onto her palm. Smiling once more, the woman offered her best smile. Then it died. The woman did not crush the butterfly. Physically, the butterfly¡¯s body was still intact, but now it was on its side. A small pest has left this world, yet the woman was still smiling. Gently, she picked up the dead bug by its wing and tossed it over her shoulder. The body landed in a puddle of blood. Turning, the woman was looking at the aftermath of a massacre. Her smile did not disappear, growing wider at the sight of these dead men and women. If someone were to see her, he or she would be confused. Why would she be smiling at death? ¡°Ah¡­ What a sight. Such beauty stained by damnation.¡± The woman ushered an ecstatic tone. It oozed with happiness, walking through the carnage. Any sane being would be startled at the defiled bodies. Guts leaked out of the soldiers, bodies torn into pieces. There are a couple of soft groans echoing through the air, survivors trying to dull the pain. A fire has started, slowly spreading across the field. Blood leaked through the grass, trying to paint over the green hue. The woman, not caring about the mess, continued to walk forward. Relishing in her steps, wearing no shoes so she can feel the blood on her bare feet, she does a little dance. Nothing too complicated, simple light steps and twirls. If it was on the open grass field, with no blood and gore, it would have been a wonderful sight. But it isn¡¯t. The woman danced through the dead. An ear-piercing scream pierced the air, snapping the woman out of her little trance. Frowning, she turned towards a furry bipedal humanoid. The muscular figure stood at seven feet with a tail half his size. With the head of a wolf and black fur, his yellow eyes locked onto her. Metal pauldrons covered its shoulder bearing a skull insignia, belts running along his waist and chest. He was armed to the teeth, carrying a decent amount of daggers, enchanted or not. This lycan had many scars all over his body. His signature scar ran down his right eye, chest covered with three or four large marks, and his arms showing many more war trophies. Noticing her irritation, the creature bowed. ¡°Sorry about that, your majesty.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ''sorry'' me.¡± Looking past the black lycan, she glared at his counterparts. These werewolves did not have any restraint- no, manners. They should have silenced their food and devoured it peacefully. Then again, wouldn''t that be boring? So engrossed in their meal, they did not notice the woman¡¯s gaze on their backs. The glare, in itself, was a warning. Ignoring her subtle signs meant death. With a flick of her hand, their heads exploded. Several other werewolves saw this, bowing their heads in submission. For some, they stopped eating the dead, cowering in fear. Others would quietly feast on their meal but chewed quietly as possible. They are whimpering, showing their utter obedience towards the woman. Folding his arms, the black lycan shook his head. Showing indifference, she says, ¡°I was hoping that our little experiment could produce better results. Whatever. Gather your tribe for the grand opening.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t the grand opening?¡± the male looked at the mess around him, ¡°We killed an awful lot of people.¡± ¡°This is a lot of people?¡± Mocking the lycan, she laughs, ¡°You kidding? Oh, good one, good one! What a joke! Ahhhhhhhhh¡­¡± She peers in the eyes of a dead soldier. He must be on his way to the afterlife right now. Thanking the merciful death he has received. A sinister thought popped up. Leaning down, she gently tapped his forehead. The moment she did that, the man was resurrected. Breathing again, he looked around. Staring at the dark-haired beauty, he quickly calms himself, assuming he was in the afterlife. ¡°Ah what a face,¡± the dark-haired woman thought, ¡°He will make a beautiful face when he realizes he''s not in heaven.¡± Standing up, she walks away. The man tried to stop her, trying to say something until he realized something. The moment she left him, he started to scream. His body thrashed against the ground like a fish out of water. Blood and guts leaked out of his body at an abnormal rate, hitting the ground. It shouldn¡¯t be moving without some sort of disturbance, some physical force, but something made his guts wrap themselves around the man. He screamed in agony, but it was interrupted when his blood invades his mouth. As if his blood and organs had a new shape and mind of its own, they attack the poor man. His eyes were stabbed by his intestines, wrapping around his face. Being turned inside out, the man was transforming into something else. Something horrible. The woman did it a few more times with a couple more bodies, the air was filled with terror. The lycan was no stranger to this scene, showing indifference. The werewolves, on the other hand, the new ones who turned, paled at the sight. They found themselves lucky, thanking the gods that they were werewolves. Some of the werewolves retreated from the area, unable to bear the gruesome transformation. The weaker ones, those who could not stomach this, hurled. This angered the woman though. ¡°Disgraceful!¡± Beheading them with a swing of her arm, those werewolves were eliminated in a second. ¡°Do not puke in my sight, you mongrels! Know your place!¡± Understanding the message, some of them ran from her sight. ¡°Put this in your lesson plans- Manners.¡± ¡°I will do so.¡± the black lycan noted, ¡°If this isn¡¯t your grand entrance, what is?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll see. This here,¡± Her finger twirled in the air, indicating the mess around them, ¡°I just wanted to mess with them. Do they think they can stop me? Me? No, they¡¯re naive. I¡¯ll show them that they can¡¯t stop me or do their jobs soon enough.¡±The lycan seemed to understand something as his eyes grew into saucers. ¡°Is it¡­¡± ¡°Yes! Now you understand my pup.¡± The woman gave a nasty smile. The cruelty behind it, the pure evil that leaked out of it, would make any righteous man call her a devil. ¡°I have been playing with this world bit by bit. There is no reason why I need to rush things, but I am getting bored. Now would be a good time to take it up a notch.¡± ¡°Hahahahaha!¡± The lycan laughed, letting out a howl and beating his chest, ¡°I cannot wait! I shall return to my tribe and wait for the slaughter! Thank you for showing me your plans, almighty one.¡± The werewolves followed after him as he dashed away. ¡°Ah, kids. They just can¡¯t wait.¡± Grunts and monstrous gibberish are coming from behind her. Several flesh-like abominations stood before her. They have lost any sort of resemblance to their previous forms. They have the same height as the lycan, but they are dragging their guts on the ground. Some of them. Out of the seven, she randomly transformed, two of them have a decent body. Ignoring their scent and their pink new skin, she issues her orders, ¡°Oh, I forgot about you lot. Go back to your base and give them my condolences. Start killing off victims until you hit the appropriate level.¡± Understanding her orders, they sprint off, blood painting their paths. ¡°I would make my message here, but it¡¯s a mess. Maybe I should¡­ Hmmm, yes.¡± Talking to herself, she starts to walk away from the dead bodies, taking the road. Behind her, the fire has grown, consuming the grassy fields. Another thought crossed her mind. "Maybe I should do that. Yes, have a few lucky beings get a head start... And mark them. Yes, yes... Then... Hehehehehe..."
The professor finished up his lecture with assignments and his office hours, dismissing the class. The majority of the class got up from their seats to head to their next destination. There were only a few stranglers, one of them being a girl located at the back. Even though she was closest to the door, she did not leave. She could have been the first to leave, but why rush it? The halls would be overrun by other students, cramming the tight hallways. There will be a lack of space to maneuver through the crowds, waiting for people who will slowly or leisurely take their time to get to their next destination. Besides, the girl disliked the tight corridors and crowds. Leaning back in her seat, her legs were crossed across one another. Wearing black boots, baggy pants, and a hoodie, she stared into her smartphone. Scrolling through the text she pulled up, she listened to her music in one ear as the other was free of her earbud. She kept one ear open for her surroundings. And by surroundings, her one open ear is for anyone who might talk to her. There have been incidents where someone would start to talk to her, only to find repeat themselves because she was listening to her music. To avoid the hassle, she developed this method, but it does annoy her when she wants to drown out pointless chatter around her. She tends to take out her earbud when a professor or an important individual would address her, but other than that, she kept to this method. It was weird, even rude, but she didn''t care. When the class ended, she increased the volume of her music, ignoring the silent glares from her colleagues. Yet no one spoke up, leaving the girl''s vicinity. They resumed with their schedule, doing what needs to be done. The blonde ignored their gaze, her eyes glued onto her phone. Even if she wasn''t on her device, she can easily ignore those silent glares with no care in the world. Her bangs sided slightly towards the left of her face, yet her light emerald eyes resonated in her quiet expression. The girl is pretty, easily captivating any man who stared at her for too long, but sadly, she isolates herself. Other than her work and business, Lauren Hook does not socialize with her classmates. Her peers. Many guys glanced at her, admiring her from afar, but they can barely make a connection with her. Some guys had approached her, trying to be friendly with the blonde. With a deadpan response or greeting, they tried to win Lauren''s attention, but as they continued their conversations, the guys understood her message. Lauren was not interested. And she didn¡¯t seem interesting. The woman was aware of their motives, yet she did not turn it down. She did not show any hostility. However, she was not going to play along with them. If they wanted to speak to her, they will need to be the one doing all the work. Thinking about what to say, what topics to ask her, etc. She could respond. She could talk back, get to know someone, but did she want to? No. Why? Just because. If it is needed, for a project or communication purposes for work, then she will talk. But other than that, no. She has no interest in it. Does she have any friends? Not really. People say that they are friends with her, but she does not say the same thing to them. She only thinks of them as acquaintances. Lauren¡¯s finger halted on a strange article about some giant fire in the Netherlands. Clicking on it, she opened it up and skimmed through it. There were little to no details about the real culprit behind this event. With no perpetrator, speculations stated that terrorists had a hand in this. That would be a possible perpetrator if these terrorists took something. The guards have been mutilated beyond recognition. Several bodies are also missing, leaving questions as to why the so-called terrorists would take them. The bodies had no correlation with each other, being selected at random. Lauren believed that terrorists were NOT behind this attack. Terrorists would, at least, take the weapons to resupply themselves. Then again, they could have a decent supply line. Yet if it was truly a terrorist attack, they could have sent a message. Left a sign that said, "Hey, this is my handiwork." And why the dead bodies? Shaking her head, she hid her phone away in her pocket. Pulling up her hood, she grabbed her backpack and a gym bag off the ground. When the halls were a bit more spacious, she walked out of the literature hall. Heading out the glass door, the campus was filled with a hundred thousand students. Well. not the exact number, but it is in those digits. Young, old, female, male, people moved about on an intended course. Students headed to their next classes or are going back home. Others lingered on the campus ground, socializing or hanging out with their friends. A couple of events were running, seeing the tents and canopies on the campus lawn. Fraternities and sororities ran a lot of events on campus, bringing life into the dull mornings and afternoons. Moving through the crowds, Lauren headed to the library. It would be a good three to five-minute walk from the literature hall. Most of the buildings on campus bear the same design. None of them have any classical or traditional structures like Greek columns or the need to make everything symmetrical. The shapes are roughly rectangles and squares. Pretty much block shapes, yet they implemented a lot of modern architecture behind their constructions. The literature hall is in the shape of an L if you were to look at it from an aerial perspective. The science building has multiple stories, reminding Lauren of a hotel. Being near a city along with a military base influenced the campus ground for this university. The Zulu System of Engineering University (ZSEU). Lauren has no clue what the Zulu stands for, but this place is a prestigious university. The university offered a diverse amount of courses ranging from a bunch of fields. The major programs it offered are within the engineering department for Systems. Systems are giant bipedal mechanized machines. They have many roles, but the military mainly used them for combat purposes. With such a revolutionary invention, the demand for engineers has skyrocketed. The same can be said for pilots, yet that will require education and training. Physical and mental training. Thinking about it, Lauren eyed at a couple of military hangers off in the distance. The university has access to some of these machines for training or simulations. There are many types of Systems, but the ones in the hanger should be the oldest models available. Reaching the library, Lauren stared at the large gathering of students sitting around the many tables and computers. The front of the library¡¯s walls is made out of glass. This is a concern, in terms of security. With glass doors and walls, someone could just break their way in. Yes, it is dangerous to break glass, but an armored suit can easily ignore shattered glass. At the least, steel and reinforced concrete make up the rest of the building. The shape of the library was in a V, but the sides are stretched out. A better comparison would be an obtuse angle. A blocky obtuse angle. Entering the building, Lauren was greeted with a calm atmosphere. On her way to the library, her trip was an uneventful one. The amount of chatter from her fellow students within the literature building and outside irritated her. The moment it did, she plugged her ears with both earbuds, ignoring the outside world. Listening to at least one song at maximum volume, she toned down the volume of her music once she reached the library. The library was another favorite spot for Lauren because of its golden rule. Walking past the wooden bookcases, she headed up center stairs. Reaching the fifth floor, it was quiet. This floor enforced silence to a minimal and was accessed to sophomores, juniors, and seniors. The first two floors are for freshmen and group projects. Lauren took up an empty desk with a computer on it. There were a few occupants on this floor, diligently doing their work. Typing on the keyboard, Lauren enters her university''s ID and password. Unzipping her backpack and pulling out a few notebooks, she looked over her agenda.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Luckily, most of her assignments are online. Typing a sentence here, clicking on the right answer, she sped through her homework. As she went through her work, a sudden question attacked her. She was still finishing her work, but her mind decided to bring this up randomly. It was a common, simple question. A question that people asked one another. A question that her parents - adoptive parents- asked her the moment they sent her here. A question that teachers may ask someone who is reaching adulthood. A question that one might be asked as a child. A question that ate away at Lauren''s soul. What do you want to do? What do you want to become? A simple question. Some people can answer it right off the bat. Others would beat around the bush, say something that they might want to do. Most people can answer it, but Lauren¡­ She couldn¡¯t find a TRUE answer to it. Oh, she can answer it. She can say the typical response of whatever can give her money or the job that can take care of her necessities, but it was not a true answer to her. It was a forced one. Nothing genuine about it. The next big question after that would be why? Why do you want to be...? Why do you want to do this? Why do you think it is a good idea? Lauren can, once again, find answers to these questions, but they don''t seem true to her. Her responses don''t feel real to her. It was like her answers were a lie. It was a generic answer that defeated her purpose of being true to herself. The blonde didn''t lie about her personality as much. She showed her true colors, showed how she didn''t care for society. In terms of being knowledgeable, having a life, having money, having the necessities, she DID CARE for these things because she needs them. She does have moments of happiness, but it isn''t... enough. Yet her mind was trying to figure out why she can''t feel for something. Why she can''t feel... passionate about something. She has seen classmates, university or below, have a passion that would make Lauren jealous. She would ask those individuals what made them go after this particular career. Or why they would chase after this dream, even if it was something ridiculous or small in terms of better choices. They would mention a concept, a feeling, that Lauren did not have. She knew it, heard about it, read it, but it had no real effect on her. Something she lacked because of her status. This feeling is a double-edged sword, making Lauren envious of those who had it and hated her past for not having it. Love. Love was what motivated people in so many ways. A career path, their desires, their wants and needs, their loyalty, love can do a lot of things, yet Lauren was unable to feel it. It was like that one emotion did not exist in her system. And there was a major reason for Lauren''s apathy. Her parents. Her REAL parents. They left her. They abandoned her, and never left any signs on who they were, where they went off to, and other important details about Lauren''s real mother and father. Because of their disappearance, Lauren was raised by her adoptive parents. Sure, she should have some sort of love in her system because of this, but the blonde killed it the moment she understood her status. Her adoptive parents were not her real parents. Ever since then, Lauren killed off that emotion. Lauren is grateful to her adoptive parents. They treated her well, treated her with kindness and respect. Yet she did not love them. Reflecting on it, the only true friends Lauren could call would be her adoptive parents. They are always with her- always giving their undivided attention. They supported her when she needed it and vice versa. She never harbored any ill emotions against them, but she knew that they weren''t her real parents. Just knowing that they''re not her real parents, Lauren could not accept their love or give them any love. She didn''t know how to. She seen it, her adoptive parents showered her with it, but she just couldn''t do it. Lauren could fake it, but it would be a lie. A lie that she didn''t want to make. Glancing at the clock, she lets out a huge sigh. She¡¯s messed up. She already came to this conclusion, understanding how stupid this was. And pathetic it was. Rubbing her forehead, Lauren pushed her emotional problem aside. It was getting late, and she wanted to hit the gym. She already took care of most of her schoolwork, clearing up her weekend. At the least, hitting the gym relieved her stress. Changing her mindset to working out, she logged out of her computer, leaving the library. It was a fifteen-minute walk from the library to the gym. Stretching her upper body along the way, she arrived at her destination. Unlike most of the campus buildings, the gym building is huge. One can say that it was like a football stadium. It has a simple rectangular shape. Compared to the library, the gym''s walls are made out of reinforced concrete. There are glass windows, but they are on the upper levels. The reason why the gym is so big is due to the Reserved System Pilot Training Corps (RSPTC) and the standard Reserved Military Training Corps (RMTC). The university provided military programs for future pilots, enlisted soldiers, and officers. Making sure that their potential recruits are ready for action, the military gave the necessary resources needed for their physical training. This allowed the gym to have the most current high tech workout machines along with the best up-to-date equipment. The military has a couple of academic lessons in fields that the university does not have. Those specific programs are hidden though. Going through the doors, the gym was packed. At a glance, multiple squads were doing their exercises in sync. Hitting the ground as one, making sure to count as one, a uniformed body. This was obvious the corps going through their physical training. Military companies use this gym throughout the morning and afternoon. Maybe late into the evening as well. Pulling back her hood, Lauren approached the security entry point. Since this is a prestigious university, they do not want any trespasser or stranger to use the gym. Pulling her university ID from her pocket, she eyed the ID reader on top of the turnstile. Sweeping it, the machine gave Lauren a green light. Next, she pressed her index finger onto the finger scanner that allowed the turnstile to unlock itself. Flashing another green light, Lauren pushed through the turnstile arms. Finally, showing her ID to the guard, he acknowledged her identity. Keeping her thoughts on how redundant the security is, she headed to the female restroom. A couple of women were in there, chatting with each other or changing. Not paying attention to them, Lauren unzipped her hoodie, revealing her tight black tank top. Some girls silently gasped at Lauren¡¯s body, amazed at her arm muscles and shape. Her arms are not too bulky, yet it still has their appeal. Ignoring her sudden audience, she shoved her jacket inside the gym bag. Undoing her belt, she pulled her pants off as she swapped into black baggy sweatpants. In those moments, some girls blushed at the sight of Lauren¡¯s bare legs. Yes, they saw her black panties, but their eyes noted her round ass and her toned legs. Two girls giggled and whispered with each other, looking at Lauren. Oblivious to this, Lauren swapped her boots out with white running sneakers. Locking everything up, she headed out of the room.
The moment she left, the girls who watched her spoke up. ¡°Goddamn. I feel beat.¡± A brunette looks at her arms, frowning at their shape, "I was trying to get that shape. Maybe I should quit-" ¡°Don¡¯t take it personally. She just¡­ My god. I didn¡¯t know she was that hot.¡± A red-haired woman fanned herself, trying to stay calm. ¡°Isn¡¯t she that quiet girl at the back of our Introduction to English course? Lauren?¡± A dark-haired girl asked. ¡°I think so. I-I didn¡¯t know she was that¡­¡± A blonde-haired never finished her sentence, flabbergasted. It seems like they were unable to forget such a scene. A couple of the other girls rolled their eyes and left. Talking about Lauren, a new girl entered the conversation. ¡°She tends to work out in the morning and late at night. I am a bit surprised to see her here already.¡± ¡°Aieeeee! I-It¡¯s Alayna!¡± Some girls squealed while others rolled their eyes. ¡°Oh god¡­¡± Cursing to herself, the red hair beauty rubbed her forehead. She, too, hits the gym daily to make sure she can keep up with her appearance. Being one of the top students of her class, she engaged with the faculty, professors, and students. A lot of people knew Alayna Whitney due to her background. Being the daughter of Daniel Whitney, her family runs a powerful company that mass-produced the Twin Fire System (TFS), model. Giving a couple of brand new models to the university, they treated Alayne Whitney with a lot of respect. Knowing that her father donated powerful instruments to the university, she does not abuse her power as a benefactor. Or blackmail the university. Being kind natured, the university gave Alayna her own private house on campus along with several other perks. Wearing her gym outfit, she wore baggy sweatpants, a black sports bra, and black running shoes. Her long bright red hair flowed behind her. With a nice body as well, she folded her arms against her chest. By doing this, it highlighted the size of her breasts, making some girls blush or curse under their breath. One can see the sweat running against her light olive body. Looking at her stomach, one can see the light lines that make up her abs. Alayna does not have the same body physic as Lauren, but she is no slacker. The brunette looked at her. ¡°You know that girl?¡± ¡°No." Alayna answered, "I do not know here. I heard about her, seen her, but that''s it.¡± ¡°E-Even Alayna does not know the quiet beauty!?¡± Insulted, Alayna returned the question, ¡°And what, you girls know her?¡± ¡°Nope,¡± they answered in unison. ¡°I am not a know it all.¡± Shaking her head, Alayna got off of the wall, going to the exit. ¡°Have you seen her body though?¡± the other redhead asked. ¡°Countless times. What are you- Nevermind.¡± Not waiting for a response, she left the room. As the door closed behind her, the last thing Alayna heard was a bunch of squeals. Scratching her cheek, she went to the lounge area. She took a seat at a table, drinking a bottle of water she purchased. Her eyes drifted through the gym until she found her target. Lauren Hook. Strangely, the moment her eyes landed on the blonde as she does a couple of pull-ups, a sudden feeling rammed into Alayna. Irritation. She was not jealous of Lauren. There was no hatred or negative emotions toward the blonde. She heard about Lauren through her classmates and rumors though. At first, she didn''t believe them. She ignored such silly talks, going about her usual day. The redhead would have ignored these gossips until they gave her description away. At the time, she didn''t know that the Dead Rose was Lauren. The first time Alayna met Lauren was in the changing room. The first year and day as a freshman, Alayna decided to hit the gym. Wanting to start a healthy routine, she went early in the morning to work out in peace. Other people had the same idea. At the least, the changing rooms weren''t packed. Thankful for a somewhat empty room, she stumbled upon Lauren. During that time, Alayna ignored the beauty, but she secretly sneaked in some glances at her figure. Without knowing her name, the two of them would always hit the gym early in the morning or late at night. Throughout the year, Alayna suddenly became interested in Lauren. What for? Eh... obvious reasons, but her sudden nickname piqued Alayna''s interest. With a notorious reputation, the curious Alayna somehow got her hands on Lauren''s schedule and a basic profile. They were both in the same year. Currently, they are halfway through their sophomore year. The two have different majors. Well, Lauren did not declare a major yet, but Alayna knew that the two would never be in the same class. Alayna''s goal was to obtain a major in System Engineering and Piloting. There was no way that the two will ever have the same classes. As a System pilot, Alayna will be taking exclusive courses that are tied with the military. Lauren, not pursuing anything in the military career, will be unable to take the same exclusive courses like Alayna. Anyways, the reason why Alayna felt irritated at the sight of Lauren was due to the lack of communication between the two. She wanted Lauren to make the first move. The ''Dead Rose'' should have noticed the same pattern. They are always in the changing room at the same time for Pete''s sake. It should have ignited some sort of interaction. Or so she thought. Lauren just resumed her usual routine, ignoring Allayna. ¡°Maybe she¡¯s shy? Or she doesn¡¯t like me? Or maybe she¡¯s dumb- Eh, that¡¯s a mean assumption. If this goes on any longer though, I might get annoyed at her silence. I think I should talk to her.¡± Watching her (in a not so creepy way), she went up to the second floor. On this floor, the workout machines focus a lot on the upper body. There is an area off to the side where people can lay down mats and use stress balls. Looking towards the far left, Lauren is working with the dumbbells. Blinking, Alayna saw the number of people around Lauren. Some were close, doing their exercises with the dumbbells, but other members were keeping their distance. Their eyes were locked onto the stunning blonde, sort of pissing off some other students. This was a good thing, to see people working out in the gym, but for the wrong reasons. Because of Lauren''s predictable schedule, she has her secret fan club. Apparently, the ''Dead Rose'' doesn''t show much of her body in class. When Lauren does her usual workout routine, people can get a glimpse of Lauren''s amazing body if they go to the gym, although they, the admirers and fanboys or fangirls, will have to work out as well. Yet if there are too many people stalking Lauren, the staff will kick them out. ¡°Does she know that she has a secret fan club? I mean I have one, too, but-¡± Snapping out of her thoughts, Alayna watched Lauren lifted a dumbbell to her chest before alternating to the other one. She was going at a steady pace, most likely following the tempo of her music. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail, sweat sliding off of her ivory complexion. Giving her a few more minutes, Alayna decided to make the first move. The fact that neither one of them interacted with each other, despite a year of working and changing together, bothered the redhead. Approaching the blonde, Alayna gathered up her nerves. She was not going to shy away from this. Noticing her presence, Lauren stopped her routine, pulling both of her earbuds out. ¡°Yes?¡± This was the first time Alayna heard her voice. It was a pleasant, soothing voice. Surprised at her tone, Alayna forgot her plan of attack. She stood there, speechless. Lauren blinked a couple of times before her voice changed. ¡°You need something?¡± "Why is her voice so dull and dead?" It completely ruined the beauty of this encounter. Thoughts aside, there were hidden messages behind those words and tone. It was not pushing the redhead away, but at the same time, Lauren was bothered by Alayna''s disturbance. Trying to find the right words, Alayna said, ¡°I thought I''ll introduce myself. You see, I don¡¯t know if you noticed, but we hit the gym on a day to day basis. We come here around the same time, so I thought I would say hi. My name is Alayna. Alayna Whitney.¡± Extending her hand out, Lauren understood the gesture. Putting down one of the dumbbells, she wiped her palm against her pants before shaking the redhead''s hand. ¡°Lauren.¡± Returning her hand to her side, Alayna felt a sudden burst of warmth circulating through her body. Nodding at the successful interaction, Alayna smiled. ¡°Finally! I talked to her! Hahahahahahaha!¡± ¡°Well, Alayna, it was nice meeting you. I need to resume my workout regiment. Sorry for wasting your time, see ya.¡± Lauren returned the dumbbells onto the rack, leaving the redhead. She silently stands there, dumbfounded. ¡°E-Eh?!¡±
After her workout, Lauren took a hot shower and changed into her original pants, boots, and a new clean tank top. About to pick up her bags and leave, a sudden bell caught her attention. Weird. Doubting herself, she pulled her earbuds out. With an empty locker room, no one could have rung a bell. And the bell sound shouldn''t be able to penetrate through these walls. The sound wasn''t too loud, but it wasn''t too soft either. It was like the sound was in the restroom. Something wasn''t adding up. Shoving her stuff back into a locker, she left the changing room. Waiting outside for the ringing, she heard the clicking, clanking, and dribbling of basketballs. The bell rang again, having that same sound pitch from inside the locker room. Troubled by this mystery, she wanted to test something out. "Excuse me." Tapping a dark male''s shoulder, he looked at Lauren. "Hey, you need something?" "Yeah, do you hear a ringing? Like a Christmas bell?" Honestly, Lauren could not describe the sound. It was nowhere close to it, but it was no reception bell sound. Raising an eyebrow at her, the man listened for the sound. Once twenty seconds have passed, a ring chimed through the air. "You heard it?" "No. I don''t. It might be someone down the hall." "Ah, well sorry about that." "Nah, it''s all right. Take care." Leaving Lauren, the blonde decided to ask a couple more people about the sound. After a couple of minutes, it seemed like no one can hear the ringing. They all said that it might be a reception bell. Problem is, the ringing has a soft, gentle, soothing sound that echoes for a minute or so. A reception bell has a short, high pitch ringing sound. It is shorter than a minute. Something''s not right. No one else can hear it. How come? Lauren was utterly puzzled at the sheer fact that she can hear it. Questions arose from this eerie mystery. Should she get help? It was a simple answer. No. They would think that she''s crazy. No one else can hear the ringing. Slapping her forehead, she knew that this will end badly. Then again, it sounded like this bell will continue to ring no matter what. If she does not stop it, the ringing might haunt her for the rest of her life. Fuck it. Heading down the main hallway, Lauren decided to investigate the mysterious sound. Warning signals flashed through her mind, warning her that this was a bad idea, but she ignored them. Wandering, with no sense of direction, she blindly followed the ringing noise. It rang every few seconds, making her turn through many different hallways. She went left, then right, head straight, then took another left, then a left... Realizing the number of turns she had to do, this gym was pretty huge. And it feels like a maze. Was it always like this? She continued her aimless stride down the hallways, hearing a subtle change in the ringing. The gentle, soft ringing slowly turns into a deeper, hollow pitch ringing like a church bell. Lauren paused in her advance, waiting for it to ring again. Why did the sound change? And where are the guards? This is a restricted area- there should be guards in this section of the gym. Also, there should be some staff members roaming about, cleaning up the place. There was no doubt that Lauren was in the restricted area of the gym. This place had a mix of local facilities and military ones. The latter was closed off to the regular university students. Someone should have stopped Lauren already. Lauren contemplated her choices. She should press on or run away? She could run, but there might be a chance that she will get lost and bump into trouble. Shaking her head, she continued her pursuit. Following the noise, the bells turned into a far more... sinister tone. It sounded like bells, but hearing them, it made her see death. Feel death. Think about death. Shoving such nonsense away, Lauren tried to ignore the sound. Venturing further and further down the halls, the lights grew dimmer. The temperature dropped from a comfortable warmth into a chill. Lauren hugged herself as she slowly moved forward. A chill crept up her spine, immobilizing the blonde. Her nerves are acting up, feeling... dread? This was new to her. Playing scary video games, she knew the feeling. Despite her notorious nickname, she''s a human. She can scream, be scared, be frightened, but the reality is that it wasn''t real. That the horrible creatures she faced in those games were not real. Her hands and body shook at this horrible feeling that was telling her something. The stupid bells rang at a certain interval, loudly echoing in Lauren''s ears. So loud that the blonde lean against the wall. Her mind quickly pointed out something. Why was she thinking about monsters at a time like this? The first thing she should be thinking about is the unknown dangers or intruders. Monsters... Her eyes landed on a strange red color on her hoodie. Blinking, Lauren pushed herself off of the wall, staring at her- "B-Blood..." Lauren''s face was pale, paler than usual. Unable to contain her shock, she bumped into the opposite wall. Gripping her chest, she tried to control her spasms. Her mind is racing through a bunch of questions. Unable to answer them, she tied to scream, but something in her gut is telling her to stay quiet. It was hard to keep it in. The constant bell ringing is getting louder and louder, never stopping. These sounds affected her current state. She could not focus, she felt numb, her sight was blurry, her hearing is consumed by the constant ringing, and she can smell a foul stench. Something was in the gym! Someone was killed! She must get help! She must! She felt sick. Grasping her head, trying to control her thoughts, trying to keep it calm, she slowly stood back up. Panting heavily from her panic attack, she needs to get out of here. Yet something was wrong. The moment she regained her composure, Lauren could not hear the loud ringing sounds. It disappeared, leaving an eerie silence that loomed over her.This was a warning in itself. Lauren was going to- ¡°So AnOtHeR MoRTAl fALls fOr ThE BAiT? GoOD¡­ I HUNger FOr MORe FLESH!¡± Standing before her was a creature straight out of a video game. A horrible realization slammed into Lauren, the blonde regretting her decision to come back here. She wished this was a nightmare, yet she felt like it was all too real. The thing before her was... unreal. It couldn''t be real, yet it is. An abomination stood before her. [Memory File 0-1] Abomination Hannibal The creature stood before Lauren, staring at her with all of his eyes. There were at least twenty or so eyes scattered through his body. His head, surprisingly, had no sockets, but there are five large eyes on his torso. The body was composed of flesh and skin, yet it was rearranged in a way that makes it inhumane. Muscles, organ, and blood vessels covered him as if it was his skin. Or his new skin. He had one mouth that ran through his chest. It was a gaping maw that had several rows of teeth that varied in size and shape. His tongue swirled in his giant mouth, waiting to lash out or wrap up his next meal. Doing some slight movements, the creature flexed his left hand in and out of a fist. Taking a closer look, it seemed like he has murdered someone, spotting the flesh blood on his three fingers. His three digits have been tampered with, making grotesque, thick knife-like fingers. It somehow recreated its fingers to be 24 inches longer than a regular human, revealing more bones and meat that made its hideous form. The tip of its fingers has bones sticking out, making three sharp talons. The right hand was nonexistent as there are no fingers. The former hand was shaped like a round ball, reminding Lauren of a sledgehammer surface. Compared to the left arm that has a resemblance to a human arm, even though its thicker and more grotesque, his right arm was more of a brick. The elephant-like legs and feet were thick enough to support his large upper body. Blood dripped off of him, not dying from the amount of blood loss, but the thing that got to Lauren the most was how it added skin to its body. Flesh human skin. "Ah, YOu LiKE mY SKiN? I hAD to... cOVeR mYseLF sINcE iT''s A CrIMe tO bE NAkEd... HaHAhaAha!" The abomination joked. Lauren ignored it though, her attention was on the sloppily stitched skin. The color varied and the areas it covered were random. The abomination did a bad job of covering himself properly, seeing its tender flesh and muscle. Lauren can guess where the skin came from, giving her an uneasy feeling about his past victims. Her eyes looked at the decaying flesh beneath his skin, realizing that the horrible smell was coming from him. The smell was so horrible, it made her gag for a bit. Unable to stop herself, Lauren started to hurl onto the floor. If the creature was insulted by this, he said nothing. Her body trembled violently at the reality of such a monstrosity. She gripped her stomach, trying to gather her wits. "This can''t be real..." She whispered. "OH, BuT iT IS!" the creature laughed, hearing multiple voices echo within each other. Male voices of different pitches and tones were jumbled together, making a ghastly, terrible voice. Or voices. It was close to the voices of a human being possessed by a demon. A voice that highlighted the supernatural. "I WOndEr wHAt NUMbeR i aM oN? FifTy? FiFTy-NiNe?" The blonde understood his intentions. It was obvious and clear as day. Slowly, Lauren backed up, preparing to leave. "HoLD iT. YOu RuN WIthOUT seEinG thE MEsSaGE, I WIlL kiLL yOu." Freezing in place, Lauren debated on her options. This could be a trick to stop her. Yes, that is possible, yet he had the chance to kill her on several occasions. The moment she had a panic attack when he revealed himself, the moment she puked, and this conversation itself, he could have ended it. And what was stopping him? "M-Message?" Lauren asked weakly. Her hand was against the wall, using it as a support. She might as well buy some time. Her body was not in a good state to run from this abomination. She needed time to also regain her composure. Being in a frightened state will surely get her killed. The creature nodded his head at Lauren''s compliance. "YeS... WOn''T MaKE a DIffeReNCe, bUT THeY''Re ORdErs, aNd I ObEY." Using his left hand, he started to touch the air in front of him. Lauren watched the creature, puzzled by his actions. Could he see something that she can''t? It took a minute, hearing the creature muttered a few things. Pushing at the invisible device, something appeared before the blonde. A sudden image of adark-haired woman stood before her. Displaying the woman from her head to her chest, she looked at Lauren with a raised eyebrow. There was a moment where the image was consumed by the woman''s face and her dark purple eye. Staying silent, Lauren noted the woman''s strange behavior. It didn''t take a genius to figure out what she was doing. Minutes flew by, the mysterious woman still eyeing the blonde. By now, Lauren felt like an exotic animal in a cage. Even the abomination was puzzled by the woman''s strange behavior. "What... the... hell? Hey, Hannibal, why did you pull a weird one?" The woman, acting as if she was there, turned towards the creature. The abomination tried to shrug, unable to do it properly with his body structure. Or maybe he did shrug his shoulders. There was a slight movement in them. "I doN''T knOW. It''S rAnDoM." Facing Lauren, the woman propped her chin on her right hand. Her eyes squinted at Lauren, trying to read something. Their target of interest, standing absolutely still, remained silent. If she says anything, it might anger this being. For all she knows, this dark-haired woman is the master of this creature. Well, it seems like it. Sweat ran down her head. She wanted to run. To leave, escape, and warn someone about this, yet her survival is her utmost priority. "Say, why are you boring?" That question stabbed Lauren a bit too deeply. It shouldn''t have, but she was... bothered by it. Maybe it was a lure to get her to talk. Or a test? Regardless, Lauren could not ignore it. But what was boring about her? "Excuse me?" "You... haven''t had any fun in your life. It''s like you''re a generic gal with no huge interests. You seem dead. No, you are dead in a strange way. I wonder why?" She looked at Lauren once again. "Say, you interested in a better life? You want power?" "No." Lauren gave an immediate response, surprising the woman. "Why are you rejecting my-" "I don''t trust you. And even if I want to stay deadpan with little goals or interests or none at all, I know that being evil is not on my agenda." The woman frowned at Lauren''s answer. Rubbing her chin, she muttered a few things to herself in a different language. Her eyes locked onto Lauren from time to time, showing a... determined expression. A chill ran down her spine. Putting her hand down, she seemed extremely serious for some reason. "Hannibal." "YeS?" "Do I give off an evil presence?" "DePEndS." He doesn''t explain. The woman did not ask him for one, still thinking. "Ain''t I attractive?" "YeS." "I will have to dwell on this. Here is a special order. If this girl is unworthy, I want you to capture her. INTACT. Knocking her out will be the best possible action." She looked into Lauren''s eyes. She said, "Human, you piqued my interest, so no matter what, you will have my mercy. Regardless, you will be tested. Know that if you fail, we are going to see each other face to face. If you succeed, I will award you. This world will turn into my game. A game for my amusement. I will unleash Pandora''s box onto this world and spread chaos. This little interaction here is a little gift to lucky individuals like you. You are not the first to get this offer, but this is if you can beat my testers. Most contestants have been... disposed of. Show me what you got, I will be watching. You have one minute for a head start. Good luck, dearie." The messages disappeared after those last words. Hannibal unleashed out a ferocious roar that shook the very air. Lauren quickly ran away from Hannibal, sprinting down the many hallways. She grabbed the edge of a corner, swinging herself into the next hallway. There was no way she could beat the damn creature with her bare fists! No amount of martial arts can tackle a giant blob of muscle and flesh! She needed a weapon. Why not get help? Why not run to safety? Even if she did, there was no way that a human could destroy such an abomination. And help? Who would believe her if the creature doesn''t follow her? And if she was the target, why would she endanger fellow students with such a monstrosity. No, she had to take care of this herself, even if she didn''t want to. What foul luck. Lauren quickly checked the rooms in her current hallway. She took a quick peek inside the room she opened. The place was filled with junk. There were weights, bars, some baseballs- nothing that could damage a giant monster. There was nothing useful in this room. Run, open, look, repeat. Lauren prayed that she can find a decent weapon. There has to be some military equipment stashed away in this section of the gym. Breathing a bit heavily, a booming voice stopped her for a brief second. "HErE I COME!" A malicious laugh rumbled through the hallways. Picking up the pace, Lauren continued her process. She tossed a few items across the floor in a couple of rooms. She did this to confuse the creature. She wanted to throw it off course. Make the abomination believe that she could be in this room. Hopefully, he wasn''t so bright. Scattering more items in a different room, she did this for several other rooms. A few more minutes passed by as she rested against a wall. Sweating badly, breathing heavily, her body started to feel the fatigue. This was bad. She went through fifteen rooms or so. There was no useful weapon that can combat the giant blob. Anything can be used as a weapon, but she needed something that can damage the giant hulk. Sadly, she found nothing. By running deeper and deeper into the gym, Lauren hoped that she could stumble upon a weapon cache. On the plus side, with all this running, she was able to ignore the cold temperature. The lack of light was still an issue though. It made it harder to- A tongue wrapped around Lauren''s left arm, pulling her to the ground. She released a yelp, staring at Hannibal. Laughing, he slowly reeled Lauren towards him. "SmARt. BeTTEr thAn otHeRs..." Impossible! Why was he here?! "How did you find me?!" Lauren could not contain those words. She thought she fooled the creature pretty well. She made each room look like a mess, making as little noise as possible while she ran for her life. There was no way it could have found her so quickly! Did he know this trick already? "EAsY. OnE, yOUr sWEat. SECoND, smELL." Lauren stared at the creature in disbelief. She took note of this. She unzipped her hoodie. It was weird for this creature to have a weak grip on her, making her feel like some priceless antique. Regardless, she made him regret his careless action. "MaKE tHIs eaSy-" The blonde quickly slipped out of her hoodie, pulling her captured arm out of his grip. She sprinted down a hallway, turning around a nearby corner. Seeing this, Hannibal stared blankly at the abandoned hoodie. Hannibal eyed at the hoodie. His mind was trying to process what just happened, and why he allowed it to happen, He growled at his own incompetence. He was enraged by his own mistake because of Pandora''s command. His tongue pulled the hoodie into its mouth. Teeth slashed and shred the hoodie into tiny bits. Spitting the remains out of his maw, he unleashed out a terrifying roar. Ramming his right fist against the wall, he pursued his prey. "GeT BaCK HeRe!" Lauren continued to take random turns deeper into the gym. Hannibal was hot on her trail, violently slamming into the walls. Abandoning the smaller rooms, she has to look for a big door. Cursing at her stupidity, that should have been the first thing she did. Worse, the fact that this abomination followed her because of her sweat and smell made her feel like she wasted too much time on her previous actions. Instead of trashing a room, she could have widened the distance between them. She should have known that these little tricks would not work on him. Better yet, she should have known that his senses were still intact. Of course, he would have some way to find her. He most likely hunted down his other prey in the same way. No, he might have a couple more tricks up his sleeve, but he won''t say what they are. He was an abomination after all. But Lauren can be reckless. She does not have to stay quiet anymore, running in earnest. And with her escape, she seriously pissed off the monster. The monster was right behind her though. As Lauren grabbed the edge of a corner, a door flew past her. The blonde did not halt at the sudden object. She figured out what the abomination was doing. Hannibal ripped out a wooden door, flinging them at her. Her time was still ticking along with her stamina. He planted his feet firmly into the ground, opening his giant mouth. Hannibal got into a fighting stance. His tongue was coming for her. Lauren saw this. She immediately entered a nearby room. The door right behind her was pierced by Hannibal''s long tongue. Laughing, Hannibal slowly walked forward. "StUPiD! YOu JuST trAPPeD yOUrSeLF! YoU''Re MiNe! ComE ON oUt MOrtAL or eLsE-" He never finished his words. The moment he bent forward, a sudden flash blinded him. "UuggUGgHGGHGH!" He heard the human''s footsteps. "YoU BItCh!!!" It must have been sheer luck. The room she just left had a couple of weapons she could use. It wasn''t part of the storage though, which puzzled her. Why would someone leave those items in that room? She obtained a couple of flash grenades, a holster with a 9mm in it, a barbeque lighter, a small combat knife, and a couple of magazines. Despite the random placement of these items on the floor, she decided to take them for her survival. The gun and knife will do nothing against the abomination. but it gave her some reassurance. The flash grenades will be a huge help, but they''re limited. She has to use these four flash grenades correctly. A barbeque lighter by itself would not do any true damage against Hannibal, but if she can get a carb cleaner with a spray... It can produce a decent substitute for a flamethrower. A small one. It may not be enough to handle such a monster. Shoving her thoughts aside, she continued to sprint for her life. The creature in question will be hell-bent on killing her. Well, punishing her. His mysterious master said capture, but she didn''t tell him NOT to punish Lauren. "HuMAN!!" It seemed like Hannibal snapped out of his daze. As she was going to run. All of his eyes landed on Lauren, tossing a chunk of wood. Going around a corner, Lauren barely dodged the attack. It smashed into the corner, the door exploding into tiny fragments. Hannibal rushed towards the corner. The moment he turned into that space, flames engulf his sight and body. He growled at the impact, swinging his arm at Lauren. She was aware of the distance, trying to avoid any contact with his arm. She did not notice the sudden expansion of his long fingers. His sharp fingers scratched Lauren''s stomach. She contained herself, holding in her screams and the pain as she backed away. She redirected her tiny flamethrower at his face. The only damage inflicted on the abomination was his scorched skin. He was unfazed by this, laughing at the blonde. Lauren distanced herself further from the creature, watching Hannibal fling his arm again. The one with his blade fingers. She tossed a flashbang at him, blinding Hannibal once more. As she turned, Hannibal had fired his tongue. Lauren felt an intense amount of pain coming from her back, letting out a scream as she slammed against the wall. She forced herself to run away from her spot, taking the precious seconds to get away from the abomination. Her body was trembling at the overwhelming pain coursing through her. Her breathing, her condition, her nerves getting the best of her. She felt sluggish. Weak. The creature was right behind her, towering over Lauren as he boasted his actions. "YoU buRn ME, I hUrT yOU!" Lauren fired her pistol right at his head. The monster protected himself with his club-like arm, laughing at the student. "Is THaT aLl?" Before Lauren could do anything, Hannibal fired his tongue. She evaded it, but the monster immediately tackled her. His movements did not match his physic. He moved at an uncanny speed that was outside Lauren''s predictions. His large size should slow him down. Not the other way around. Lauren flew across the air until she slammed against the wall. She ushered out another scream, trying to ease the pain from the impact. Trying to push herself off the ground, the creature whipped one of her arms, making her fall flat on her face. She grasped her burning arm from that quick strike. He used his own tongue as a weapon. The creature mocked her, letting out a laugh that echoed through the halls. "CaN''T TrUsT yOU foR ONe SEcOnD! YoU aRE sOmeTHING!" Lauren tried to muster up some plan, figure out a way to avoid the creature''s attacks. She had to do something or else he''ll- She rolled on the ground, avoiding his sudden appearance. She barely evaded his leg. How did he do that? He teleported? Lauren eyed at her former spot where Hannibal''s giant foot was at. If she was a second late, he would have pinned her down. Without a second hesitation, Lauren covered her front with both arms, feeling a heavy kick against her forearms. She slid across the ground, hitting another wall. She felt the crushing weight and impact against her arms. "ToO sMArt..." The creature muttered, irritated. "CaN seE."Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. She had to make a move. Her body was a mess right now, but she had to force them to move. As she tried to get off the floor, Hannibal fired his tongue. It traveled through the air in a few seconds. Lauren rolled out of the way, tossing a flashbang at him. It exploded a few feet in front of him. Lauren was going to make a run for it, but her gut told her to stay put. She listened to it as an arm flew into her view. The arm clawed into the wall. "...AdAPtING!" Hannibal was unaffected by the flash. His eyes were locked onto her. How did he... "eNOuGH of tHaT. YoU shOULd-" Lauren unleashed another blast of fire. Hannibal allowed the flames to wash over him. "PaThe-" All of Hannibal''s eyes stared at the sudden flashbang. Unlike the other times, the flashbang was not this close to his face. This one was right in his face. It exploded. Hannibal roared in agony, swinging his body around violently. Lauren took her chance. She ducked under his swing, moving to a corner. She took out another flashbang and aimed it at his face. Hearing the second explosion, Lauren sprinted down the hallway. She was low on items. She could not- will not win against this abomination. The monster was capable of many things. She should no chance against him without any help. She needed to get her hands on military-grade equipment. As she got to a corner, someone pushed her to the floor. She yelped at the action, seeing a gun to her face. "What are you doing here civilian?" An armored man stood before her. There were several other soldiers staring at her. Lauren eyed at their equipment. This was not your normal soldier within the university. They were well geared- decked with some advanced protections. They were active military personnel with dangerous weapons. They wore a clothed mask over their bottom face as they had goggles over their eyes. The goggles were attached to their helmets as their body had military vests on. There were bits of armor plating over their limbs, but they were ready for combat. "Hold on, she''s hurt." One of them pointed out. "... think we found our target boys. You three, get her out of here." They picked her up, carrying Lauren away from the others. "W-What..." "Don''t ask. Let''s just say that we were hunting for the thing you''re up against..." "You are?" Lauren noticed the strain in her voice. She coughed at her dehydration. A soldier offered his canteen as they went down several hallways. She took the container, drinking the water. "Yeah... something you don''t want to know." The other soldier concluded, "Best that you let us take care of this and forget everything." "Hey, do something about her injuries." The soldier on Lauren''s left stated, "She will bleed to death if we don''t!" "Stop moving." The soldier who was not holding me by her side took out some spray, "This will sting." Lauren felt the spray touch her wound. It stung a lot more than she thought, making her scream a bit. "Damn... that thing did a number on you! How long have you been dealing with that thing?" "I don''t know!" Lauren replied, "You know that monster had been slaying a lot of students?! Why are you lot here now!?" "What are you talking about? We have been here for some weeks now. We didn''t have any contact or clue of this creature until now. You are our first survivor." Lauren stared at the soldier. She was the first one? And these guys have been here for that long? "How many of you guys are in the building?" "There are-" "Hey, she''s a civi." "Doesn''t matter. She fought against that thing. At the least, we can tell her some stuff." The soldier on Lauren''s right answered, "There are seven groups in this building hunting down this monster." Lauren would have been grateful, glad, at their arrival. She would have been relieved at their presence. But this doesn''t make sense. if they have been here for this long, why didn''t they spot this creature already? How come she was their first survivor? There were more questions, but she knew that this wasn''t right. And sadly, she had an answer to this. "...where''s the military cache? Your storage area?" The soldiers eyed Lauren in a confused manner. "Excuse me?" "We have to get to the weapon cache. We have to arm ourselves. Hell, we need more than a few soldiers against that thing." Lauren explained. "Excuse me, miss, you do not need to know where it-" "The creature is aware. He''s smart enough to plan every action of his. He might have killed your other groups." "Nonsense." The soldier who wasn''t carrying Lauren came into her view. "We have maintained our radio communications ever since. Everyone is accounted for. Listen to this." He pulled his radio out, clicking the side of it. "Tango Delta Five to all squads, sound off." "Tango Delta One here." "Tango Delta Two here." "Tango Delta Three reporting in." "Tango Delta Four here." "Tango Delta Six copies." "Tango Delta Seven hears ya." "See... everyone is accounted for." Lauren would have believed him, but three of those responses were the same. Tango Delta One, Two, and Four has the same response. Sure, it could be protocols, but there was a distinct sound Lauren heard in the background. Radio feedback. It was soft, but there was an echo from those groups. Lauren wanted to test something out, but she had no clue if these guys were going to go with her demands. "Tango Delta One to all squads, has anyone spotted a civilian in the restricted area?" Lauren froze in place. "Tango Delta Seven to One, description?" "Blonde haired female. Long straight hair. Green eyes. Roughly in her twenties wearing gym clothes." The soldiers around Lauren looked at her. Lauren snatched the radio from the soldier before he made a response. "What are you doing civi!?" They point their weapons at her. "Saving my life!" Lauren gripped the radio in frustration. She needed to expose Hannibal for his trickery. The monster could mimic voices. "Tango Delta Three to One, we have her," Lauren replied. "We''re at the eastern area before you head back into the gym." "Really? We were in that area Tango Delta Three. You sure you spotted her?" Lauren glanced at the soldiers in front of her. They would have overwhelmed her by now, taking back their radio, but they eyed at the radio. "... shit." "We have to get going... Now. You''re right, we have to get to the cache now." The soldiers led the way, aiming their weapons as they rushed down the corridors. Lauren followed them, confused by their sudden declaration. She was going to ask them why they were listening to her now, but the radio answered her question. "Tango Delta Seven to One, you do remember where you were supposed to be at, right?" There was no response. "Fuck. This creature fooled us for this long? What''s your name?" The soldier peeked around a corner as the other two went by him. "Lauren." "And you came from the eastern area, right?" "Yes." "The bastard took out One, Two, and Four." "The fucker knew what was up. You''re right. We need to warn the others and get an army against this thing." "If we can survive." A soldier muttered. "How was he able to hunt you down?" "With my scent," Lauren answered, "He might be chasing us as we speak." "How good is his nose?" One of the soldiers stopped the group with a signal. He did not say anything, motioning them to go back and around. Lauren followed the two soldiers, watching the last one follow at a snail''s pace. He walked backward. His attention was towards the area they did not enter. There was only one reason for his sudden action. Lauren wanted to say something, tell them that he will find them in due time. Their radio echoed through the hallway. A voice exclaimed through it. "FoUNd yOU!" "RUN!" Lauren screamed at the soldiers, hearing a sudden crash behind them. She looked over her shoulder, watching their rearguard get tackled to the wall. He tried to shoot, but the creature whipped his tongue across his head. The soldier''s head rolled on the ground. Hannibal eyed at them. "EnoUGH!" He teleported in front of the group. He was going to attack, but a volley of bullets stop him in his track. "Get over here, now!" It was another military squad. They rushed over to them. Rockets flew past their head. Some of them hit Hannibal, but the ceiling collapsed from the impact. The rubble blocked the corridor, separating the monster from the group. "Guessing you''re the civi?" The leader of the military group stood before them. "And... you two are from Tango Delta Five. What happened to the others-" "Dead." The soldier gave a quick response, "We have to set the alarm." "It will happen soon." A siren rang throughout the building, red light lighting up the entire place, "Get her out of here. Now." "But we-" "You aren''t safe. That thing is still alive. We just brought you some time. Go." "Hold on, you can''t stay-" "Don''t talk back to me, soldier!" The man pointed down the corridor. "If we can''t buy you time, you know where the cache is. It can''t get in there. Now go!" A loud thump could be heard near the rubble. The leader of the squad gave out his orders. "Everyone, position! Load up and spread out! Do not crowd around these damn corridors!" "Let''s go." The soldier dragged Lauren away. The other soldier followed suit. "The damn bugger won''t stay down." The soldier stated. "It''s a goddamn abomination, that''s why." The other soldier chided. "... I''m sorry." Lauren softly said that, troubled by these new emotions. "For what? We''re doing our job ma''am." The soldier stated with convention. "Just in case..." The soldier gave Lauren a keycard. She didn''t accept it at first. "What is that?" "The keycard you''ll need to get into the cache. It''s a spare one. If something happened to either one of us, you''ll need to get in there and wait for help-" "Hold on, we''re going to get through this together-" "Please, don''t say that shit." The soldier rolled his eyes, "It''s not going to be a happy ending woman. That thing just tore through that rubble. I can barely hear the explosions or gunshots... Then again, this blasted alarm is messing with my hearing. He is hunting for you. Whatever the reason, we might as well give a bit of confusion." "What do you mean?" Lauren stared at the two. They stopped in front of a steel door. The size was big enough to get a System to go through along with other big vehicles. There was a small steel door that a human could do through. "We have been with you for a while, so your scent is on us." "Specifically, your blood." Lauren eyed at their uniforms. A bit of her blood was on them. "Don''t tell me you''re going to..." "Yep. Now, get in there. Before the bastard discovers our little trick." Lauren could not contain herself any longer. "Are you mad!? What the hell is wrong with you two?!" She looked at them, "Aren''t you going to run away?! Abandon me?! Why are you still with me even though your squad is dead?! Why are you doing this for me?!" "Oi... she''s being a feisty one." The soldier joked with his pal. "Yeah... not a bad way for us to go out. At the least, we saved some pretty woman before we die." The soldier opened the door with his keycard. Lauren tried to resist him, but he pushed the student into the weapon storage room. He shut the door before she could escape. Lauren pulled out her keycard, trying to open the door. She can''t let these two die for her! As the card reader scanned her card, it flashed a bright red. Access Denied. "Sorry love... Your card won''t work now. I keyed a command for higher-ups only. You will have to wait for someone else to save you. This is goodbye, Lauren." Lauren heard them dash off, leaving her be. She wanted to curse, scream for them to come back. Yet that would waste their efforts. The blonde felt a tremendous gap in her chest, tearing up at the action. Why did they do this for her? Why did they sacrifice themselves for her? What for? WHy?! She backed away from the door, pushing away her depressing thoughts. This was one of the many military storages located in the gym. Lauren was looking for this place, but she would have met her demise. Without the soldier''s keycard, she could not access this place no matter what. There were huge boxes scattered about. Red barrels could be spotted in the corner along with some other recognizable canisters. What caught Lauren''s attention was a couple of System models and some Armored Mechanized Frames (AMF). AMF is a heavy armor suit for foot soldiers. It was like a miniature version of a mech. She noticed a red button on a metal pillar. It was a distress button. Lauren punched the alarm, agitated at her predicament. She could not cope with these new feelings and the dreadful fact that she was shown utmost kindness by some strangers. It bothered her immensely. It was like a scratchy sensation when she had a cold. Her mind was unable to think, demanding a justification behind their actions. She just wanted this nightmare to end. She cradled her head, trying her best to ignore it all. She bumped into something. She glanced at the table with several documents on top of it. Taking a closer look, she noticed a report of a familiar event. It was the incident that happened in the Netherlands. There were a few similarities with the article she found online, but this was a military report. Lauren eyed the paper, giving it a good read several time over. Several military organizations have been attacked constantly by some unknown force. Investigating these matters, they concluded on a couple of things. The ringleader is a woman named Pandora. Exact details on her description and goals were unknown. There were a lot of Missing in Actions (MIAs) from the body count. One of their names stood out like a sore thumb. Hannibal Backman. Ironically, there was a folder with his personal information right next to this report. Lauren skimmed through it. Hannibal Backman was a student from ZSEU. He was sent to the Netherland for an internship, doing a joint mission to examine a new System model developed by the Germans. He left the university about a week ago, reporting back to ZSEU every day. It seemed like his reports stopped coming in by yesterday. Academically, he was an average student with decent grades. Most of his physical scores were above average. Looking at his face photo, he looked nothing like the monster that he is now. A yellow color highlighted his name. He was a MIA. Once she was done, Lauren turned her attention towards the other documents. There was a detailed procedure on running into this mysterious woman or anything of... the supernatural? Lauren blinked at that particular word. Supernatural? Why did they say that? Despite Hannibal''s monstrous appearance, there was no way that it could have happened magically. There are mutations in the world. It would be better to say something other than the supernatural. An accident, experiment, test subject, or a failed experiment. Why would they use such a... sketchy, illogical word. But... Hannibal was doing stuff that was unimaginable. He did things that went beyond the norm. He did things that could be explained by magic or by the supernatural. Putting down the reports, Lauren eyed the other items on the wooden table. There were five USB looking objects with AMF XIC and a number after it. The number indicated what key is for what AMF. Lauren picked up three of the keys as she walked towards the AMFs. The AMF can vary in size, shape, type, and usage. The ones standing before Lauren are the XIC-12 Designed for frontline combat. They inflict a decent amount of damage with their equipment and their armor can take a beating. She had seen a couple of videos displaying their firepower and durability. Sadly, she has no exact knowledge of what they are made out of. Like making reinforced concrete, the armor for the XIC-12 must have combined various alloys, metals, or other materials to make the interior and exterior to make the armor plating. Underneath all of this plating is the body frame that supported it. Pretty much, power armor from video games and novels were a good comparison to the AMFs. Anyways, the XIC-12 was open, revealing the interior skeleton body frame. On the back region of the armor, there was a small monitor that displayed a gas gauge and other things that one might find on a vehicle. A port was next to this screen, indicating where the key should be inserted at. Making sure that these XIC-12 are ready, Lauren checked their fuel and their condition. If she needed to use this, she hoped it would be easy to pilot. Thinking about it, she could just get into the machine and test it out. Test out the controls, get a feel for it, and get comfortable with the machine. Before she could do anything, the metal doors started to move. Very slowly. Lauren decided to get into the suit. Her distress signal could be answered by an officer or higher-up... Or the worse case scenario, Hannibal killed someone of a high stature to get those doors to open. Heading for the XIC-12 with the 3 on it, she shoved the key into its hole. Twisting it, the suit activated itself. Lauren stood and adjusted herself within the skeleton frame. Once she stopped moving, the XIC-12 automatic functions kicked in. Sensing the pilot, it closed the top of its armor over Lauren. It locked the armor together, letting out a hiss. Gears moved about, securing the pilot in place. In complete darkness for a few seconds, Lauren''s vision became the XIC. Seeing through the eyes of the suit, a small display of a blocky bipedal stick figure popped up on the bottom left of her vision. The figure had a green color to its entire body. She did not want to risk her survival against the monster. Lauren thought about the previous two soldiers that were with her. She froze up in the suit, forgetting about her predicament. Once again, the new sensations from these new emotions was ruining her focus. Before she got lost in her thoughts, a voice called out to her. "Hey! Are you an ally or enemy? If you are in the suit, move around a bit." There were a lot of soldiers entering the room, weapons aimed at her. She slowly moved her arms. There was no difficulties whatsoever. Operating it wasn''t too hard, it was like moving her actual body. Disappointed, Lauren thought it would have been a bit harder. Maybe the Systems had a complicated operating system. That would explain the many programs and training for System pilots. "Are you an ally? Talk or we will open fire." "A-Ally." Lauren responded. "You, what are you doing in the XIC-12?!" "Hey, incoming hostile at three!" "What?!" Four soldiers were at the entrance, firing towards the right. One of the soldiers got pierced by a tongue while two died from sharp dagger-like fingers. The two soldiers impaled by the fingers were dragged away from Lauren''s view, the last soldier rushing into the storage cache. "Get into position, move it! Use whatever you can against that thing!" Hearing their commander, the soldiers ran about, getting into position. Two soldiers picked up the AMF keys on the table, running to the XIC suits. All of the soldiers focused on the entrance, guns at the ready. Lauren watched the two soldiers enter the XIC suit, moving towards an open crate. Seconds flew by as the soldiers nervously wait for their target. Lauren decided to follow the other AMFs to pick up a weapon from the crate. As she arrived at the crate, she heard the gunfire. "FIRE!" Bullets, rockets, grenades, a lot of projectiles flood the entrance. "Wait, hold your fire!" The commander ushered this command, staring at the two mingled bodies of their own soldiers. The bodies flew through the entrance. Half of the soldiers stared at the mutilated bodies. "BIg mIStAKE!" Hannibal rushed through the entrance, rushing towards the right section of the storage. He flattened a soldier with his huge legs, shooting his extendable arm towards two soldiers with rockets. The commander snapped out of his daze, ushering his command again. "Open fire! Kill that bastard!" Hannibal teleported from his spot, smashing a soldier with his club-like arm. He covered his face from a machine gun, extending his club-like arm at them. "We have to use heavier ornaments against him! Bullets will do no good!" Lauren exclaimed. Three rocket launchers were fired, trying to hit the giant monster. Hannibal evades them with ease, teleporting to those soldiers. Before he could kill the last heavy soldier, one of the XIC suits slammed into him. Hannibal slapped him away with his club arm before he charged at a random soldier. The soldier flew towards the wall. Three soldiers with flamethrowers doused him in fire. The creature uttered a cry before their upper bodies were smacked off of their lower halves. Lauren tried to hack Hannibal down. The creature noticed her approach, grabbing her sword. He swung his club-like arm at her, sending Lauren into the wall. Before she could recover, Hannibal rammed Lauren''s suit with his body. She flew out of the weapon cache, staring at the abomination. He was holding her sword now, aiming the weapon at her suit. Even with this protective suit, Hannibal had the edge. He can outmaneuver her. The XIC was saving her from any real damage to her body, but for how long? He was still nimble, quick, and powerful to hold an AMF weapon. They stood no chance in a normal confrontation. Lauren barely avoid Hannibal''s sword as she got back to her feet. Hannibal was ready though. Hannibal pounded his right arm relentlessly against Lauren. Trying to block his attack, the monster changed it up now and then. A swing at her head, slash across her stomach with his left hand, headbutting her, there was no end to his combos. He raised a sword, laughing. "PaTHeTIc! YoU wIlL-" A rocket exploded on his back, interrupting him. Growling, he watched two XIC-12 approached him with rifles in their hands. A line of soldiers aimed their rocket launchers at Hannibal. With this slight distraction, Lauren swung at Hannibal''s head. Unexpectedly, the head flew off of his chest, earning an angry reaction from the creature. In a fury, he grabbed Lauren and flung her towards the reinforcements. Slamming into the two XICs, Lauren saw the rockets flew past them. Hannibal waited for the last second to dodge them. He teleported from his spot. The rockets blasted a hole into the wall. Hannibal reappeared on the outside, leaving their sights. "After him!" One of the XICs pursued the creature with the two-foot soldiers. The other XIC pulled Lauren up, handing her a customized rifle and sword. "Don''t try to engage a tough opponent like that without a weapon. At the least, you gave us time to get better weapons for the situation. Come, we have to kill that abomination." "Right." The XIC moved on ahead, not looking to see if Lauren would follow. She did not follow them, understanding the gap between them and an abomination. No, he is still Hannibal Backman in a way. Yes, he''s an abomination, but he isn''t an idiot. He isn''t a monster who lost his thoughts and his ability to think. Hannibal was always several steps ahead of her, winning in each engagement. The only real reason to why she''s here right now was due to sheer luck. He would have finished this little game already. He was capable of ending it. If she followed those soldiers, she will lose. It was time to end this. She went back to the military storage room. Frowning, Lauren ignored the gnawing guilt of leaving those soldiers to die. She tried her hardest to avoid the two soldiers who sacrificed their lives to buy Lauren some time. Their sacrifice won''t be in vain. She will end this. She will kill him. Yes, kill. The creature won''t kill her, but he will not stop. She cannot ask him not to capture her. She could not tell him to stop. He will follow his orders, so the only possible way to stop it is to kill it. Lauren lets out a small sigh, hating her current predicament. She has to do what she needs to do. Besides, that woman from before is surely... She needed to prepare a trap. The chances she''ll pull this off is very unlikely. Even if she could fool him through his sight, his other senses may catch onto Lauren''s tricks. Regardless, she had to try. This had to end. Lauren continued her train of thought on, reasoning with her subconsciousness. Her guilt. There was no possible way to close the gap between an abomination and a machine. When Lauren engaged Hannibal, the difference was quite noticeable. No matter how fast Lauren moved in her suit, the monster was faster. It could have pounded her for ten solid minutes if he wanted to. Even with the numbers on their side, the abomination can easily dodge their attacks. Especially from the XIC, due to their weight and bulky bodies. Hannibal had a flexible body compared to a robotic one. Another reason was her occupation. She was no soldier. She was dragged into this by sheer randomness. She didn''t want some giant freak to chase after her for some strange ass woman. What''s worse, Lauren tried to avoid the weapons due to Hannibal''s unique position. He can easily steal or hijack an AMF weapon and use it against them. That would be bad. Opening the suit, she looks for an emergency button that could close it back up. She remembered this feature on a couple of online videos. Getting out of it was a different story. Lauren has no idea on how to get it out of its state once she sealed it up. No matter, she resumed her plans She positioned the suit inside of the warehouse, having it stand in front of the table. On borrowed time once again, she entered another XIC armor suit and have it positioned at the entrance of the storage room. Lauren passed the table with insightful details about what was going on. Eyeing at them, Lauren decided to shove it into the last XIC armor suit. Doing her same routine, she tested out her AMF to see if everything was operational. Once it was, she walked over to the huge wooden crates. Inside of them, Lauren can see the various weapons. Pistols, rifles, blades, axes, most of them are small or medium arms. They do not have thefirepower like a Gatling gun or a rocket launcher. Finding a knife, she took it and went over to the red barrels. Some of them have a recognizable yellow hazard sign with a flame on it. Stabbing three of the drums, she dumped her knife on the ground and picked up one of the barrels. Walking over to the space between the entrance and the wooden table, she poured the gasoline all over the floor. She did this to the other two barrels she made a hole for. Once that was done, Lauren placed the red barrels around the wooden table and the XIC suit. Next, she went for another tank with a different substance inside of it. Propane. Positioning them around the barrels, wooden table, and the XIC armor, she revisited the XIC weapon box. Taking in a bit more details of the XIC suit, she noticed several weapon slots. She placed her blade on her back, sticking to the armor-like glue until she pulled it out. A belt was strapped around the waist, allowing magazines to be clipped onto it along with grenades and other assortments. It also has a pistol holster and sheath for a knife. Grabbing what she can, Lauren was armed to the teeth now. Sadly, she has no experience with reloading a weapon. Finishing her little trap, she goes over to the XIC suit in front of the wooden table. Moving the limbs, Lauren made the XIC wield the assault rifle. She even made it look down the sights. Making sure everything was set, she got into position. Her trap was ready. Hannibal knew that she will be right here. She was standing beside the XIC suit that was at the entrance. "Let''s end this..." Lauren faced the open hole, waiting for Hannibal to show himself. It took a while before the person in question appeared through the hole. Enraged, he fired a full clip at her and the XIC armor. A few shots hit her, but they did no damage. The XIC suit in front of her took the most damage though. She was hoping that the suit would fall on its front, but it was in a kneeling position. This would make a convincing act though. "YoU''RE dEaD!" Hannibal hurled the gun at Lauren. She dodged it, watching him sprint forward. Firing at the monster, he did not dodge the incoming bullets. A sudden flash of red washed over his body for a brief second, stopping the bullets before it touched his flesh. "So he did have a trick up his sleeve." She thought. She tossed her sword at him, but he deflected it with a blade. Once he was halfway to Lauren, she went back into the military storage. Being quick about it, Lauren picked up two rifles in each hand and headed to the far end of the hanger. Hiding behind a tall box, she can hear him ram the kneeling XIC. Seeing the XIC in front of the table, he released out a triumphant laugh. "HaHAhAhaHA! YoU..." He would have finished his sentence if he wasn''t annoyed at the wasted time for capturing this one woman. He decided to speak for a second to throw Lauren off guard, but he immediately jumped at the XIC suit in front of the table. Landing on top of the suit, he smacked the weapon out of the XIC''s hands, pressing his body against the head of the suit, "aRe DoNe fOR!" He fell for it. If he was calm and collective, he would have noticed the empty XIC. "No, you are." The creature noticed Lauren standing at the far end of the hanger. Blasting both clips of her rifle at the propane, gas, and Hannibal- Lauren''s XIC burst through the storage room walls, bouncing against the ground. Her vision was blurry as hell, her mind was shaken at the results of her trap. She heard her armor scrape against the ground, denting the suit and Lauren''s hearing. Everything was still moving, throwing Lauren''s senses into disarray. Once the momentum was slowed down, she was rolling. Eventually, she came to a stop at the far edge of the perimeter. The nearby forest was in her sight, but she looked back at her massive explosion. The flames were huge, burning up parts of the gym. There were a couple more explosions, showing how dangerous it was to play with flammable or sensitive chemicals. Thinking about it, maybe that was a bit too much... Lauren didn''t think it would work due to his senses and the small number of explosions used for it, but the blonde forgot to count the AMF''s inner functions. The suit does use a lot of energy and has a very sensitive core. Being exposed to an explosion played a key part in this. Although it seems like it must have gotten to the Systems as well. "Ouch..." Lauren felt a tremendous amount of pain coursing through her body. She forgot about the injury on her back. She had not patched it, the wound still oozing out her blood ever so slowly. Luckily, the interior of the suit had soft paddings in the inside, cushioning any damage that could have been dealt with Lauren''s body, but her back wound is still an issue. "Congratulations, you have passed, Lauren Hook." Hearing her name, she recognized the familiar voice. Turning, the mysterious woman from before had appeared before her. "Pandora." "In the flesh," she smirked, giving a wicked smile. "Let''s talk." [Memory File 0-2] Upgraded Lauren pointed her gun at Pandora. A force pulled Lauren''s weapon to the ground. The woman smiled and scoffed at Lauren''s action. "None of that now." "It was worth a shot. I just wanted to test it out. Do you have telekinesis powers?" Pandora blinked at her question. The woman narrowed her eyes. Lauren stood there, allowing Pandora to do her thing. It seemed like Pandora can read her mind, understanding why Lauren would say such a bizarre question. Pandora expressed her disappointment. "You kidding? Do you know WHO I am? Not only that, but you don''t believe in magic or the supernatural? What are you? A skeptic? An atheist? You saw my magic at work earlier!" Lauren tilted her head. "That was your doing? Thought it was Hannibal''s doing. He tampered with an invisible panel, so I thought it was an ability of his." "No, that was my doing." Pandora stroked her chin. She complimented Lauren for her recent achievement. "Speaking of my tester, I am impressed at your dumb luck. I watched most of your engagements. Annoyed at how my... thing damaged you, yet you survived through it. Some quick thinking here and there along with a small survival instinct. You won," A wicked smile appeared on her face, "But at a cost. You allowed a lot of people to die. You sacrificed them for your survival. Have you no shame?" Shame? Lauren glared at Pandora with a burning hatred. It surprised Lauren that she could hate someone, but her mind brought up the two soldiers who did a lot for her. The overwhelming sadness would eat at her if she thought about it for too long. Her mind was able to point out one thing though. There was a simple explanation for all of this. If Pandora did not tell the monster to do what he did, this could have been avoided. She would not have- Is Pandora taunting her? Provoking her on purpose? How twisted is her personality? Would she be glad at her sorrow? Lauren ignored her emotional pain. She gave Pandora a logical response. "Your pet went out of its way to hurt me, you know? You gave it specific orders to capture me." "I did say that... And I remember him..." Pandora muttered a few things to herself. She sighed. "You''re still breathing though..." "I gain some medical assistance from the soldiers. Either way, they had a duty to stop your abomination. I just happened to be there at the wrong time. It was their duty to help out a civilian. They were heroes against that monster." "Really now? Sounds very cliche. Either way, I saw what you did. I plan to keep tabs on you. I can''t wait to see who else will die under your watch. So many people died for you today. It might be a bit stressful though, heartbreaking even? Don''t worry, don''t worry, I think I got the perfect gift for you. I applaud them for their dedication and heroism though. But I digress, my words will not have any effect on you. Better yet, it is a waste of time to talk about those insignificant lives." Lauren left eye twitched at her remark. The culprit of this incident was standing right in front of Lauren. And insignificant? "It surely is, since you were the one who started this. What was that abomination doing here? What was the point in having that thing kill innocents?" "He was leveling up and showing revenge to his former comrades." Pandora answered, "The real reason, though, is to see if anyone can stop him before the actual chaos kicks in. As I stated, this world will turn into a hellhole for my amusement. You should brush up on your knowledge about me and my box. Well, at least know of its importance. Several other lucky contestants took down some of my abominations, but you took out one of my strongest... things. A shame. I was looking forward to a unique evolution. He murdered at least one hundred people before you stopped him. It''s sad that my pawn was a fool. I can only view these creations as mere pawns now. You did impress me on his elimination though. You knew that he was enraged at his failures, so you set up a trap for him. If he was calm, he would have noticed the subtle differences with the XIC suits. Nothing beats a giant explosion. The other contestants would group up and kill my tester. Granted that a lot of people die in the process, it wasn''t interesting. They overpowered my pawns with a lot of guns. Seriously, there''s no fun in that approach. No creativity in their victory. Your execution has entertained me, granting you better benefits compared to the others. I will be giving you your stats and skills now. I''ll advise you to step out of your suit." There was a brief moment of silence as Lauren digested this. "...Alright." Giving a mental command, the XIC suit opened up. Stepping out of the suit, Lauren stared at a baffled Pandora. "That''s it? No questions?" "I''m not going to doubt your words. I don''t think running is an option, and you can kill me if you wanted to. I saw what you can do from my previous action. A fraction of it, but it revealed your powers nonetheless. So-" Lauren stopped in her sentences. Pain flashed through her body, falling onto the ground. Pandora eyed at the injury. "Your pet did this to me." Lauren cursed. She tried to get up, but she fell back on her knees. Pandora seemed... agitated. "He did this much damage? I see... He''s not even my minion then. Here, let me heal you." Lauren planned to refuse it, but she choked on the groans that attempted to flow out of her mouth. A soothing sensation enveloped her body, taking away the painful sensations. Lauren could not see what was going on, but Pandora reverted the damage done to her. Lauren did not know how bad her wound was She thought that it was not that bad. Pandora saw the damage. Her skin from the middle of her back towards her neck was gone. Slashed right off. Her back was fine now. Pandora wondered how Lauren was able to survive for this long with such a wound. Even if the soldiers tended to it, it should have affected her performance. Especially inside of the XIC suit. Her eyes were glued onto the blonde. Pandora reevaluated her. Lauren broke the silence. "What do I need to do now?" "You will have to drink my blood." Pandora wasted no time in her response. She waited for Lauren''s reaction. She just nodded. Silence again... "That''s it? THAT''S IT?! What''s wrong with you? Aren''t you going to question me? Are you sure-" Pandora stopped in her rant. Her thoughts drifted to some random thought. Lauren answered Pandora''s question. "Why should I? My mind is saying screw it. What I thought wasn''t real, is real. So why should I worry about drinking blood from a magical being? My earlier statement still stands, so even if I don''t want to, I will have to." Lauren shrugged. Pandora stared at Lauren once again. Her gaze was intense, trying to figure out the blonde before her. This bothered Lauren. "Are you sure you don''t want to join my side? You will be safe from the incoming doom. I will give you power beyond your wildest imagination." "No." Lauren answered without any hesitation, "I already said that being evil is not part of my goal. And if I worked for you, I will be ordered around. I do not like giving up my freedom." Pandora was wrong to judge Lauren due to her history. Yes, she can be boring, in a way, but she was simple to understand and true to herself. Nodding at the response, Pandora accepted this. Yet... "Know that this offer will always stand. Now, let''s get on with this before I neglect my duties." She summoned out a small knife, slice a tiny mark on her right index finger. She conjured up a goblet into her left hand. She positioned her right finger over the goblet. A small drop of blood fell into the goblet. The moment her blood touched the bottom, it filled up half of the glass. Impressed by the small trick, Lauren was going to take the goblet from Pandora. The entity pulled the goblet away from Lauren. She drank her own blood. Taken aback, and disgusted a bit, Lauren raised her eyebrow at Pandora. "Um... I am supposed to drink that, right?" "Yes, but you have to kiss me." It seemed like Pandora was telepathically talking to her due to the obvious. Now it was Lauren''s turn to be puzzled by this. "You said I have to drink your blood, right?" Pandora nodded her head. "So why do I have to KISS you? Is it a mandatory requirement?" "Maybe." "... maybe? What did you do for the other contestants?" "Just shut up and kiss me. What''s wrong, I thought you were accepting of everything?" "Yes. But now I think you''re doing this on purpose. Why do you want a kiss? I can just drink the blood from the goblet, from your finger even, but why does it have to be with a kiss? You are just transferring the blood from your mouth to mine through a kiss. I can just drink the goblet and be done with it." Lauren displayed some anger, clearly irked by this idea, "Is this some joke?" There was a huge reason why Lauren disapproved of this. "I am evil, remember? Do I have to force you to kiss me?" That was no good excuse for her to kiss Pandora. Not even a valid reason. Being evil does not mean you should kiss them?! It was like kissing a stranger- IT IS kissing a stranger. Lauren had not known about the woman before her. Yes, she''s some mythical being that the Greek gods created, but what about it? The biggest reason for Lauren''s furious disapproval was the action. Kissing? Kissing was a thing between people who had a special relationship. It had to do with love in some way or form. Lauren, well aware of her lack of love, did not want to give such a thing to a stranger. Let alone an evil divine being. Showing a nasty frown with hatred in her eyes, Lauren could not accept this. Yet, once again, she has no choice. The way Pandora blushed a bit with a wicked smile sickened the blonde student. This was so one-sided, but it didn''t make any sense. What was so good about her? Why would Pandora do this to her? There must be other people who have a lack of love, or they have a simple life and situation like hers. What makes her so special? Why was she being selected by this madwoman? Nothing was making any sense, yet Lauren was getting tired from these shenanigans. "Might as well. I can''t do this willingly." Lauren folded her arms, "I will remember this, you know." The woman did not mind, ignoring Lauren''s warning. Heck, she seemed ecstatic about this kiss. "And just my mouth. Just. For. This. Transaction." Lauren emphasized these words. She had no clue if Pandora would do something else to her. She wanted to be sure she was given explicit instructions on what she can do. She was afraid Pandora might... fuck her. Oh, Lauren was aware of Pandora''s beauty, and she did not mind loving another girl, but no. She just can''t. Not now. And sex was a reserved action towards someone she would truly love. Still, Lauren felt a bit of jealousy towards Pandora''s happy behavior. Walking forward, Pandora stood before Lauren. Grabbing her chin, Pandora applied her magic to Lauren''s mouth. Their soft lips pressed against each other. Closing her eyes, Lauren allowed Pandora to do what she wants, clearly agitated by the entity. Lauren''s opened her mouth, feeling Pandora''s tongue slide into hers. A small intoxicating sensation dazed the blonde, their tongues playing with each other. Lauren ignored it, feeling the blood flow into her. Swallowing it, Lauren made sure to down it immediately. The dark mistress was lost in her world, still kissing the blonde. Lauren allowed this to slide for a few more seconds before she had enough of it. She violently pushed Pandora away. "You did that for your own gains, you pervert." There was no blush or love from Lauren. Her indifference was turning into dislike. Before Lauren could think of anything else to say or do, a strange screen appeared.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
Welcome, Lauren Hook to Pandora''s Game!! (???) You are one of [thirty-three] contestants that killed one of the testers. By killing [Lvl. 20 Hannibal Backman], you have impressed Pandora! As one of the lucky contestants, you will have a huge head start compared to the rest of humanity! Aren''t you proud of yourself? You should be! Anyways, the world will be thrown into chaos in [01:06:30:10]. During that time, you should prepare yourself! No, really, you should! (©b¥í©b) Oh wait, I should be calling you an [Alpha] instead of contestants. During the initial phase, you could find other successful [Alpha] or [Beta] humans and group up! Or you can prepare a safe house! Know that there will be many, many monsters from the legends and tales of old. This game will turn the world upside down! The things you have learned will most likely die out. Economics, politics, order? Pffffft, please. Let there be chaos! Anarchy! Bwhahahahahaha! Becoming an [Alpha] or [Beta] before doomsday will grant you a lot of power compared to one who has not killed a tester. Hell, you are a lot stronger than the normal human now. There are a lot of things to explain, but I think I will leave that for later. Everyone else will be seeing my message again when it''s doomsday. Ugh... more work. £¨£þ¡õ£þ£»£© I digress! Since you have killed a tester on the first day of the initial phase, you are an [Alpha]. If you have played video games, you can think of this as alpha testers or beta testers. Pretty much, you are the first group that has shown that humans can survive against the supernatural; can survive against the odds! I would go through all the details about an [Alpha], but each individual will gain a bunch of specialized traits and skills based on how they performed. Also, Pandora will gift each [Alpha] a unique skill (be grateful you maggots- I mean...). So with that being said, you can bring up your info, and other sorts, with a mental command. Isn''t that great? You don''t need to say weird things while you walk around the normies- I mean other people. Well, that is all, your helpful message display-senpai is done now. Have a good one! And don''t die~! (¨R?¨Q*)
Weird notification system. Staring at Pandora, Lauren asked a very simple question that should have been in that message. "So how do we beat your game?" "That information will be revealed at the start of my game. None of you guys can stop the countdown unless you kill me. Several lucky contestants thought they could stop me, you can guess what happened." "Right." Still mad at Pandora, Lauren pulled up her character info.
Name: Lauren Hooks Age: 21 DOB: 12/24/1994 Level: 1 Species: Human Sex: Female
General Information Attributes Job Information
Guild STR 43 Name Level Progress
Lover DEX 40 Alpha 1 0%
HP 200/200 (+0.3/sec) AGI 40 Destroyer 1 0%
MP 170/170 (+0.5/sec) END 43
EXP 0% INT 45
Title [Alpha Tester], [Pandora''s Love], [Lone Alpha Wolf] WIS 38
Monster LCK 10
Dungeon
Skill List
Name Level Proficiency
[Destruction] 1 0%
[Mana Armor] 1 0%
[Mana Manipulation] 1 0%
[Mana Weapon] 1 0%
[Mana Slash] 1 0%
[Meditation] 1 0%
[Suppression] 1 0%
Perk List
[Pandora''s Grace], [Lone Alpha Wolf], [Alpha Tester], [Apathetic], [Dead Rose]
Lauren eyed at the numbers, a bit surprised at how high they are. Shouldn''t it be a bit lower? And how come the titles repeated themselves in the perk list? Maybe they have different effects? "The titles give a bonus. If you see them in the title list and the perk list, just know that they may have different effects." Pandora explained, "I gave you a couple of extra perks specifically designed for your build." "What is a [Destroyer]?" "You can make the system answer your question, you know." Lauren mentally asked what a [Destroyer] is, seeing another notification screen.
Destroyer: This is a rare class designed for the heartless. [Destroyer] focus on their survival, using any means necessary to stay alive. They use their own being as a weapon, manipulating the mana around them. There is no weapon that a [Destroyer] cannot make, no moment where the [Destroyer] is defenseless. Compared to any other magic class, this class does not need any specific cast spells. They can make whatever weapon or spell they want from their imagination.
Since Lauren was clueless about her other abilities, she pulled up the definitions of her perks and titles.
Title
[Alpha Tester] - As one of the contestants who survived the initial phase on the first day, you have gained +10 to all attributes, and a +50 in HP and MP.
[Pandora''s Love] - [Hidden]
[Lone Alpha Wolf] - By being alone and an [Alpha Tester], you will gain a small recovery rate boost to HP and MP.
Perk
[Pandora''s Grace] - Graced by Pandora, you have gained a passive +20% exp bonus
[Lone Alpha Wolf] - By being alone and an [Alpha Tester], you get a +3% to all attributes, +10% to HP and MP, and +20% exp. If you are not alone, you do not get the bonus, but your nearby allies will lose -5 to all attributes, -20% to HP and MP, and a -25% exp gain. In terms of context, by being alone, it does not count against you if there are enemies within your vicinity.
[Alpha Tester] - By being an [Alpha Tester], you will receive a passive +10% exp bonus along with a random skill.
[Apathetic] - You are unfazed by the death of strangers. Emotions that you might have for others may be erased from your system.
[Dead Rose] - A nickname you have earned from your university days. With your stunning beauty and uninteresting character in society, you deal more damage against everything by 3%. Also, you have a hidden charm that might captivate your foes.
Skill
Destruction - This is a passive skill that will kick in when your opponent has 50% HP. After a successful hit on your target, an explosive burst of mana will unleash a 5% AOE attack to all enemies within a 90-foot radius. The 5% will be based on your opponent''s remaining HP. Note that your STR and INT and the enemy''s STR and INT can influence the 5%. You cannot turn off this skill.
[Mana Armor] - A skill that can manifest an armor out of your mana. The higher the level, the lower the mana cost, increases the strength of your armor, and faster activation time.
[Mana Manipulation] - A skill that gives free rein on how to mold and use your mana creations. The higher the level, the more things you can shape, the cost of mana is reduced, lower the amount of mana used in manipulating, strengthens your mana creations, increases the molding and making process, and faster activation time.
[Mana Weapons] - A skill that gives free rein on what weapon you can conjure up, or if you have an existing weapon, can power it up with your mana. By increasing the level of this skill, will strengthen your weapons, reduce the cost of mana being spent, increases activation speed, and increases the durability of your mana.
[Mana Slash] - A common skill where you gather your mana in your weapon (or your own body) and swing outwards. A crescent shape of mana will fly towards your enemy. The higher the level, the stronger the [Mana Slash] is, faster activation speed, stronger [Mana Slash], and reduced mana cost.
[Meditation] - Activate this skill by sitting down and clearing your mind. You can recover your HP and MP. The more levels in this increase the speed rate and increase the amount of HP and MP recovered.
[Suppression] - A skill that creates a heavy atmosphere around you depending on your 1. overall level, 2. your mana, and 3. level of this skill. This can freeze your enemies in place, slow them down, or lower their stats. This does not affect your allies.
This was impressive. Slightly. There were a couple of downfalls, especially the [Lone Wolf] perk. Lauren frowned at it. She disliked the fact that she has to be by herself. With those negative benefits, it would also force other people away from her. She had a question of how she even earned the [Dead Rose] perk. Lauren knew about it, not thinking it was a huge deal, but did a lot of people call her that? The [Destroyer] class was an impressive class. It was not your typical mage class. It had a lot of leeways, giving the user a lot to work with. They could make up any weapon like a giant cannon to cover both their hands or conjure up wings to fly. Looking at the boxes again, Lauren should increase the levels of her skill before trying that. However, she did the opposite thing. She felt a sudden surge of mana burst out of her hands as she tried to create a railgun. Her weapon barely had a millisecond to manifest itself in her hands. Her mana immediately hit 0. She collapsed, feeling the fatigue. She almost passed out. She wobbled side to side before falling on her ass. Quickly, she meditated a bit to regain some of her MP. "Trying to summon a giant weapon already? You shouldn''t do that. When your mana hits 0, it will make you weak and vulnerable. Might pass out as well. What might happen to you if someone just saw some stranded, hot woman all by herself-" "I get it. I was just testing..." Grumpy, Lauren continued her recovery. "I think I have a lot of questions about a ton of stuff still..." "Hmmm, sadly, I am out of time." Pandora pulled out a pocket watch, "I might have one of my assistants come by and chat with you. For now, you should leave as well. Your giant mess is attracting A LOT of military personnel." Getting up, Lauren eyed the giant explosion she created. Firetrucks, giant bipedal machines, soldiers, ambulances, several important departments are investigating the scene. She was far away from that mess. It did not prevent them from checking the surrounding area. Hopping into the XIC, she decided to take this suit of armor. If she left it, it might be used against her. They will assume that most of the equipment has been destroyed. Or supposed to be. Lauren scanned her area, looking for the evil woman. It seemedPandora left the scene while she was getting back into her suit. Sighing, Lauren walked off, heading back to her house. (Will add some stuff later) Lauren lied on her bed. She tried to get some rest. She rubbed her forehead. Her feelings and thoughts were all over the place. With the world going to shit, she needed to prepare for the worse. One, she will not bother with her schoolwork anymore. True, knowledge is power, but at the same time, she is not ready for the end of the world. Or the end to such peaceful days. There were so many things to do, and she only had a day left. Even if she was above a regular human now, she still needed food, sleep, and other necessities. She has a couple of weapons, but she does not know how to use them. Correction, she knew how to shoot a gun and how to put a magazine in a gun. She does not know is how to put bullets in a magazine and how to clean a gun. She could look it up, but she would rather find a teacher for this or watch someone do it. The XIC suit is definitely out of her expertise. What would happen when it gets damaged? How can she unlock it once you activate emergency mode? How do you maintain it? If she went into the military programs, she would have some idea of how these things work. She tried to empty her head. With some peace, she closed her eyes. She heard the crickets outside, but it wasn''t that loud. Eventually, the noise started to zone out. She- A knock interrupted her sleep. She thought about getting up to see who it was, but she stayed put. They will leave her alone if she does not answer. Make them think that she was not home. Nodding at her plan, she closed her eyes again. Sadly, the knock came back to haunt her. Lauren glared at the door. She wanted this person to leave her alone. She was cranky at the bullshit she had to go through today. An old being, created by some Greek god, came out of nowhere and planned to fuck the world like it''s her toybox. An abomination scared the living hell out of her. She had to deal with people and fights... She yearned for some goddamn rest. Determined to stay in bed, Lauren thought she won. It changed when a voice was added to the mix. "Lauren? Lauren, I know you''re in there. Open up." Not wanting to leave the comfort of Mr. Pillow, Lauren responded with, "Can you leave me? I want my sleep! I have a test tomorrow." "No, I need to talk to you." The voice sounded familiar. Hugging her large pillow, Lauren asked, "Why? Is it a life or death situation?" "Yes." Lauren paused at that answer. "I HAVE to talk to you." "HAVE to? Why? You''re disturbing my beauty sleep." Lauren refused to get up. She heard the intruder curse a quiet storm of words. Slightly quiet. "I didn''t know that the Dead Rose was such a lover of sleep!" "Well, I had a rough day. Fuck off." Lauren lost her patience. Lauren cursed the woman, "I want to sleep." There was silence for a minute. The voice behind the door whispered in a very subtle voice. "I saw you with Pandora. We will talk RIGHT NOW. Or so help me, I will break down this door." This was... Someone saw her talk to that bi-. Lauren hopped off her bed. She walked to the door. She stared through the peephole. She recognized the red bright hair. Alayna wore a hoodie, red turtleneck sweater, some tight blue jeans, black boots, and... "Why do you have handcuffs?" This was a huge concern. "...Are you an agent for Pandora-" "Fuck that woman. No, I had to take her reward for killing her stupid abomination. That thing wanted to- Ugh..." Lauren never finished her sentence. The abomination was still fresh on her mind, "Anyways, I am not opening this door. And you better have some goddamn certificate or license for those handcuffs." "Certificate? What- Oh..." "I will sue you. I know for damn sure that you do not have any goddamn training in it." "I-I... how am I suppose to restrain you if you try to kill me?" "Do you honestly think I will do something like that?" Lauren knew better than to trust a stranger, especially if they just talked to you for a few minutes in one day. To be honest, Lauren was aware of Alayna ever since their first day at the gym. "Yes. For all I know, you could be tempted to have a go after the Dead Rose. I have seen your eyes on me every time we''re in the changing room together." This surprised Alayna, blushing madly. Using this opportunity, Lauren opened her door and pulled Alayna in. She disarmed Alayna of the handcuffs. Lauren pushed Alayna onto the bed. Unable to respond in time, Lauren grabbed both of her wrists and held them above her head. Using a bit of her mana, a heavy pair of light purple shackles formed around Alayna''s wrists. Speechless, Alayna looked at Lauren. "Y-You work for-" "No, I don''t." Lauren frowned, "I hate that woman. Especially since she made me... for my reward. Damn bitch. It wouldn''t be... I better not say it if she''s watching me." Lauren purposely left certain words out of her sentence. "W-Watching you?" Alayna seemed horrified at the thought. "Doubt it. I think." Lauren thought back on Pandora''s words. There could be a small chance that someone could be watching her. If she just died, Pandora will most likely do something about it. If Lauren died, she would like to stay dead. Even if she did a stupid mistake. Anyways, she looked at Alayna. "Are you the only one who saw me talk to Pandora?" "Y-Yes... W-What are these?" The redhead could not lift her hands from the strange shackles. "W-Wait, aren''t you a hypocrite?! You just arrested me!" "Pffft. Those aren''t handcuffs. They''re magical cuffs. There''s no need for a certificate for my magic." "A-Anyways, you are restraining a future pilot- W-What are you doing?! D-Don''t take off my shoes!" "Just making sure you''re getting comfy. I don''t want dirt on my bed. H-Hey don''t kick me!" Evading Alayna''s kick, she undid the laces on her boots. Tugging them off was a struggle since Alayna was resisting. She almost got kicked Lauren in the face. Lauren dumped her boots on the ground. "Socks on or off." "O-On." She was blushing heavily, trying to keep herself together. Lauren would have asked about it if she wasn''t so damn tired. Her apathy was increasing. She conjured up another set of magical cuffs around Alayna''s ankles. "Do you want your jacket on or off? And that heavy sweater?" Confused by these questions, Lauren clarified any misunderstandings by saying, "I am going to be sleeping with the blanket on, I am not so heartless to leave you on the ground or away from warmth. I understand how important it is to sleep in comfort. You''re going to be hot in that." "W-Why am I sleeping here?!" "Cause you pissed me off. You can cooperate with me, or I will just use my magic to make a nice cocoon for you. Gag and blindfold as well." "T-Then you''ll get in trouble! T-That''s illegal." "I''m already in trouble. Someone saw me talk to Pandora, the being that will bring the world into mayhem. If I committed one crime, despite my innocence, I might as well become a criminal instead of a fraud." Alayna eyed Lauren, seeing a serious expression on her. She wasn''t kidding. "What was with that kiss-" A sudden force knocked her out. Lauren stared at the unconscious Alayna. She wanted to test out her [Suppression] skill. She didn''t know it was that effective. Then again, Alayna has no resistance, or stats, against her powers. Did she saw that much? So she must have been nearby. The important question was why would Pandora have someone watch them? She must have felt her presence. If she was a powerful being, she should have seen Alayna... unless she purposely let her see them together. What for? Scratching her head furiously, Lauren decides to undress Alayna''s upper body. Ignoring her large breasts and naked skin, Lauren replaced Alayna''s sweater with one of her t-shirts. Once she took care of that, she did not bother with the magical cuffs. If she tries anything funny, she will respond accordingly. Besides, she''ll have to crawl out of her bed if she tried to escape. Settling back in her bed, Lauren pulled the blanket over them. The moment she placed her head on the pillow, she went to sleep. [Memory File 0-3] Preparing, Training, and Killing [00:17:30:27] The timer was ticking. Seventeen hours, thirty minutes, twenty-seven seconds. Lauren was already awake, waiting for her ''guest'' to wake up. She must have been tired. Usually, they would both be awake around 5:00 AM to hit the gym. With this impending doom, Lauren decided to work on the essentials. Her survival. She needed to study up on a decent number of things. Already reading several articles about cooking, what you need for an apocalypse, things you should buy, and brushing up on a bit of mythology, Lauren did not want to be ill-prepared. Pandora dropped a huge hint on what they may be fighting against. Being a Greek being of the past, minotaurs, gorgons, harpies, sirens, and other things will invade this world. Lauren was not sure if all of those specific creatures will come, but it was better to be prepared than being ignorant. There was a slight problem with what Lauren should do the moment shit hits the fan. This was no nuclear attack, scratching out the need to go into a fallout shelter. It was no zombie apocalypse, but there could be smaller versions of it if zombies do pop up. The question was should she stay here or get out? Looking around the small one-story house, she looked at the relatively simple interior. No walls were separating the different sections of the house except the bathroom and the garage. It was one huge room where the living room, bedroom, dining room, kitchen, and computer room are joined together. This was her adoptive parent uncle''s house. Noticing where it was located, her parents gave Lauren this house when she told them that she wanted to attend ZSEU. Smiling softly at their actions, Lauren texted her adoptive parents about the incoming danger. They would not believe her if she told them without any proof. Luckily, the XIC suit had a few handy features. AMFs had a sending device that could not be traced back to her location. If Lauren sent the information on her smartphone, there was a high chance that the military will be knocking on her door... Even though someone saw her with Pandora, she wanted to repay her adoptive parents for all they''ve done. Her adoptive parents were confused about how she got her hands on the info, and why they had to use secret means to reveal the info. By attending this university, Lauren easily said that she had friends and contacts in the military. Accepting the lie, her adoptive parents were concerned with her wellbeing. It surprised Lauren to the point that they called her, asking her if they want them to pick her up. Remembering a bit of their genuine concern, she felt a bit touched by it. They talked about a lot of things, but what surprised her was their confession. They were worried about her because they loved her. Even if Lauren didn''t love them fully, it warmed her heart though. She declined their offer, asking for some money. Her excuse for not going with her adoptive parents was generic, "I have friends here, and I don''t want to leave them." They did not press any further, finally letting go of Lauren. She heard crying on the other end, but they were ready for this moment. They said their farewells, Lauren ending the call. The blonde sighed loudly. If she could, she would leave with them. But she can''t, Pandora has her eyes on her, and with these powers, there will be no peace. She would bring danger to others. And she did not want her adoptive parents in the crossfire. Checking her bank account now, Lauren was surprised at how much money they gave her. With the incoming doom, it would make sense that money might become useless. Still, it might be best to have some on hand. This means she has to go to the bank, but she has no ride. Then again. she also needed to restock on a lot of things. Food, clothes, survival gear, stuff that she''ll need when Pandora unleashes her demons in this world. Scratching her head, she sighed at the sudden workload she had to do now. "Hey... Where am I?" Alayna got up from the bed, stretching her arms out. She stopped, pulling the blanket off of her to stare at the magical ankle shackles. She stared at Lauren, trying to figure out why the blonde was in front of her. Blinking a few times, she suddenly screamed. Another sigh escaped Lauren''s mouth. "My house. You''re at my house." "Y-Yes... I-I- Oh yeah! You! What did Pandora tell you? W-Why were you in an XIC?! What happened with that monster?! A-And can you get this off of me?! I-I can''t believe you-" "I still don''t trust you." Lauren did not look at Alayna, watching a video, "You had handcuffs, threatened to kick my door in, and you know about this. You, for all I know, might go back to your bosses, turn me in, and they might end up capturing me and dissect me. I, for one, do not want to be in that position." "I-I think you''re exaggerating-" "Maybe, but I know that they will arrest me and question me till they get everything out of me. Your people want to know what Pandora is doing. Right now, I cannot waste any valuable time on trivial matters. Homework, classes, playing politics, working out, it will not save us when Pandora unleashes her box. Tomorrow will be doomsday." There was silence between the two of them. "Doomsday?" Alayna''s voice trembled at the information. "W-What do you mean?" "As I said, Pandora plans to release her box onto the world by tomorrow-" Lauren eyed at the timer, scratching her head, "Why the bloody hell is she doing it at midnight though? No one will be awake- Hold on. There are time zones and whatnot. Great... This complicates things. I just hope that Pandora will make her announcement a bit later than that. I might need to sleep before the timer hits zero." "T-Timer? What timer?" Confused by Lauren''s blabbering, the blonde explained the countdown she can see. "The countdown is counting down the remaining time until Pandora unleashes utter mayhem onto our world. If I explain everything to you, you must promise me not to turn me in, not to tell anyone else unless I permit you, and you must help me with a few things- nothing bad, I can assure you." Alayna, already seeing her talk with Pandora, agreed without any hesitation. "Yes, I will agree with this. Tell me... EVERYTHING." Undoing the shackles, Lauren revealed all of Pandora''s plans. A lot of different emotions appeared on Alayna''s face. Sadness, anger, shock, a bit of happiness, but fear was the last emotion that remained on her face. She took in everything, checking the house. She eyed at the food, water, the garage, the closets, weapons, clothes, supplies, she took note of every item Lauren has. Taking everything into account, she says, "I will go and fetch a bunch of items that we''ll need. Do you have a spare key?" "I do? Why do you ask?" "Don''t you want me to help you? I will be staying here, right?" Lauren shook her head. "You are not staying at my place. You have a bit more protection and power if you stayed on campus." Alayna looked at Lauren. It was like her brain stopped for a second. "E-Excuse me?" "I wouldn''t mind some items or things to help me with maintaining the XIC suit, having a bit of material to clean my guns, having more bullets, some armor, and other items, but you will not be staying here." "Why not?!" It was a desperate shout that surprised both of them. Lauren ignored it though, declining her intentions. "I don''t want you to die." She said this on purpose to motivate, and hopefully, appeal to Alayna. Knowing that the girl may have a crush on her, it would be better if she kept her distance. And honestly, she doesn''t want this redhead to die. It would hurt Lauren if something bad happened to Alayna. Seeing the effects of her words, Alayna had a troubled expression. A blush can be seen, but her eyebrows are moving up and down. "I-I''ll... just get some equipment that you will need. Do you even have a car to go to the city?" "The only thing I have is the XIC suit. I don''t know if I can take that through the streets though." "You can." This surprised Lauren. "I will have to teach you on getting it out of its emergency mode though. You don''t want some random person hijacking your XIC suit. And don''t worry, some military personnel just walk into the city with their vehicles because they needed to get something. If anyone bothers you, just show them the military card you received along with your XIC key. Those two are acceptable forms of identification for military personnel. There are other papers and IDs you need, but you''re not trying to get into a military facility. If you try to use that military card off-campus, it will not work. I highly advise you not to use it in the city." Alayna leaned into the XIC, examining its condition and fuel. As she does this, Lauren averted her gaze from a certain female body part that was sticking out. After her thorough inspection, Alayna pressed the emergency button, closing the suit. "On the back here, there is an ID reader and a key slot. By scanning the military card, you just need to insert the key and twist it." Alayna addressed the two items to unlock the emergency mode. Following her procedures, Lauren scanned the card and placed the key in the slot. Giving it a twist, the emergency mode was deactivated, revealing the cockpit once more. "And that''s it." "So I can use this as a form of transportation?" Lauren asked. "Yep. Now, before I go, I will need that spare key." Lauren did not want to give her a spare house key, but it was only temporary. "Follow me. Know that this key is just for today. Afterward, you will give it back." Heading back into the house, she opened up a drawer and handed Alayna the spare key, "Don''t lose it." "I-I won''t!" So much excitement for one key... Heading out first, Alayna left Lauren''s place in a jeep. Watching her leave, Lauren prayed that she wasn''t tracked back to her place. Entering back into her house- "Hello mortal." There was a shady female figure sitting on Lauren''s kitchen counter. Legs crossed, the being had a nice body. Curves, nice assets, and a dangerous aura. She had a very tight suit on, reminding Lauren of some assassin characters in video games, yet the outfit has modern and magical materials woven into it. The material might have incorporated Kevlar and other present-day fabric. The design and appearance had an aesthetic dark fantasy design to them. Her face was covered by a mask and hood, seeing her sharpen a knife with a whetstone. No doubt about it, this was one of Pandora''s minions. The woman did say she would send someone to answer any further questions. This agent waited for Alayna to leave Lauren''s house before revealing herself. Staring at her, a sudden box popped up.
Karen [Lvl. 100 Pandora''s Assassin] - These individuals are loyal to their dark mistress. Being offered with power and redemption from their past mistakes, they serve to kill, assassin, and corrupt. Karen, one of the oldest assassins, is a trusted individual Pandora will send out to make sure the job is done. Karen has served the dark mistress ever since her rebirth, not failing the dark mistress in any way. She has executed many important individuals to ensure that chaos can spread throughout the world. She, unlike most creatures or beings under Pandora, does not kill for the fun of it. She only follows the command of her highness, doing what needs to be done. If you were to engage her, be at least lvl 150+.
"This is why I hate showing myself to mortals... Or should I say testers... I told Pandora that this was a waste of time. Why would she want a couple of meatbags getting a head start? Why not unleash the chaos and have everyone struggle at the same time? If there were an army of minotaurs, not one mortal would gain her grace..." It sounded like she was a young woman in her twenties or mid-twenties, but there was a harshness and dislike towards Lauren. Or to humanity. Curious about her, Lauren leaned against the wall. "And you aren''t one of us? Surely, you used to be a human." She stopped her movements. She placed the whetstone away, staring at Lauren. "I was, but humans are weak. When cities were ravaged and pillaged by barbarians, do you think a woman had a chance to resist their invaders? No, they didn''t. Why? Because humanity, males, did not see the need to train their other sex. Why? Because they wanted tools. I see humans as a weak link to their true forms. A form that can be gifted by our benevolent Pandora. She saved me from my despair. She showed me the weakness that you, humans, have." She threw the knife at Lauren. Unable to dodge it, the knife landed right beside her head. Using some ability, Karen was before her. For a brief second, a gray smoke wisped through the air the moment her knife slammed into the wall. The smoke quickly transformed into Karen, standing in front of the blonde. She cornered Lauren against the wall, looking down on her. Seeing her red eyes, Karen whispered into Lauren''s ear, her tone leaking her malice. "YoU sickEn me. YoU deCLineD Pandora''s GiFt." Pulling her knife from the wall, she walked over to her previous spot. Lauren would have been frightened by this, yet her anger was rising to a boiling point. There was a reason why Pandora was treating her differently, and it was hinted through her stupid kiss. The blonde never asked for her mercy or love. She did not even want this special treatment, remaining neutral despite Karen''s aggression to her. Unable to control her tongue, Lauren said, "I don''t care about your lust or stupid love for your mistress, I just want to prepare for the end of the world. You should confess your love if you''re jealous of ours-" "You are testing me, human!" A dark purple aura coated Karen''s body, giving off a dreadful sensation. Lauren, flinching from this because her body could not resist it, countered with, "You might anger Pandora. For a high being, you''re letting my words cut you so easily. Isn''t that a sign of weakness?" Karen immediately silenced her fury, folding her arms. "And Pandora was telling me that I was dealing with a very simple person. She does not see your true colors-" "I bet she does, but she doesn''t care. Anyways, I have a tight schedule, and I want to ask my questions. Once I do, you can leave." "I leave when I want. I must watch over you, protect you if the military tries to do something to you." Lauren blinked at the last part. "She KNEW someone would investigate your little mess from last night. If you didn''t stop that redhead, I would have-" Before Karen finished her words, a blade was caught between her fingers. The assassin crushed the mana dagger, looking at Lauren. "You harm her, I will not forgive you or Pandora." Lauren glared at Karen. The assassin laughed at this, noting the strange behavior. "You love her? Really-" "Not love. Just a friend." A lie, but Lauren did not want Alayna to die because of association and a slight misunderstanding. Karen did not press any further, waiting for Lauren''s questions. "Are there any rules for exposing or warning other people about doomsday?" "Nope." This was met with confusion, Karen explaining Lauren''s unique position. "Understand that Pandora would not care much about the military attacking any lucky [Alpha] or [Beta] who exposed the information. They are on their own. You, on the other hand, will be protected if the military were to attack you. Other than the redhead, I took care of the people that followed her. Don''t worry, I just implanted lies into their heads. I did not kill them." Lauren took out her phone, seeing if she can find a thread on the internet about doomsday. There were several of them. She clicked on one, skimming through the messages. It seemed like some of these threads have proof of the incoming doomsday as the other threads barely have any proof. This got mixed reviews, some people agreeing with them while the majority mocked them. With such info though, the military will search for them. That answered one of her questions. "Is there any rule preventing friendly fire?" This earned a small laugh from Karen. "Friendly fire? Nonsense, there is no such thing in the living. You''re asking me if the other contestants will be protected from each other?" Lauren nodded. Karen laughed in earnest, mocking her question. "There is no such thing as friendly fire. There is no safety between those with powers and those who have none. If you wanted to, you can hunt down other [Alpha] or [Beta] winners or go on a massacre." Lauren thought as much, wanting some clarity on the grim situation. She suspected as much, but this confirmed the chaos that might be unleashed for today. If she goes to the city, she had to be armed and ready for a confrontation of sorts. Thank god Alayna told her that it was fine to bring her XIC suit. The blonde suddenly cursed at one small thing she did not plan on. The distance of her house to the city. There was no way for her to get there in a day with the XIC. Even though it is a vehicle, it''s not like a car. It would take twice as long to move from point A to B. "I didn''t think this out thoroughly..." Lauren rubbed her forehead, irritated at this one mistake. "What''s the matter? You forgot something?" Lauren ignored the sneer or mockery in Karen''s tone. "I didn''t think about the time it''ll take for me to get into the city and back." "Ah, that is a problem," Karen said in a very troubled manner. The tone was an act, having a pinch of worry, but it has a bit of sarcasm in it. "Pandora saw this coming, giving a solution to your dilemma. But before I tell you, do you have any other questions?" Lauren was a bit wary of Karen''s aid. She ignored it, for now, going back to her questions. "Can an [Alpha] or [Beta] help a contestant pass their trial?" "Yes, however, our testers are strong enough to deal with them. If an [Alpha] or [Beta] does engage against a tester and help the contestants, then it''s fine. And if the tester engages against an [Alpha] or [Beta], they have some perks and skills to increase the difficulty. It might not be hard for the [Alpha] or [Beta], but it does kill off the contestants if they cannot keep up." "Are there any dungeons or creatures I can fight against before doomsday?" "There are a couple within this area, but I will recommend something that might be to your liking." "A quest?" Unable to see her expression, Karen looked like she nodded. "Yes... Looks like you were going to ask about it, or you knew it would be a thing. Pandora''s Game has a lot of the mechanics you would find in a roleplaying game. I will say that you asked important questions that our display screen did not mention. I will inform her of these things later. I will not go into the details of your quest until you asked all of your questions." Lauren accepted this, continuing. "Skills are leveled up by using them, right?" "Correct." "And they do not play a huge role in leveling the overall level." "Correct." "Defeating an enemy or accomplishing a quest will give me the experience to the overall level?" "Yes. Know that the total levels of your jobs do not add up to your overall level." "To gain titles and perks, I will have to do an action that meets their requirements? The same can be said with jobs as well?" "Yes. Another thing you can do is to level up your skills and job levels. There will be a chance that something will pop up. When you level up your overall level, you can also have a selection of the things you could acquire. Maybe display-senpai has a lot more things to add in her introduction box." "What are the lover, dungeon, and monster boxes?" "That will be unlocked when the game officially begins. Same with the guild function." "Can you show someone else your info screen?" "Yes." "Can you hide certain things on your info screen?" "Normally, no, yet you can do so." Puzzled, Lauren was going to ask, but Karen gave a simple answer. "Pandora will find it troubling if other people see the title she bestowed upon you. [Pandora''s Love] is a very special one that will raise a lot of questions. A lot of beings under Pandora have this title." "Can you see the info screen of your enemies?" "You have a lot of questions. No, you cannot see the info screen of your opponent unless you have a certain skill for it. The only thing you can see from the enemy would be their health gauge, their name, level, if possible, and a small description box." If possible? So there might be a chance that an enemy will be too strong to reveal their level. "How do I unlock the hidden details of a perk, title, job, or skill?" This question made the assassin pause in her quick responses. She tapped her left cheek, thinking. "...it will reveal itself in due time. I cannot say how exactly, but it does." A very vague, open answer, but Lauren accepted it. "And lastly, is there another form of currency." "Yes. Pandora, don''t know how she forgot about it, did not give you your coins. Here you go. Everyone starts with this much- enjoy." A screen popped up before Lauren.
You have earned 3000 ?! Because this is your first time earning these coins, know that they will always be with you as long as you''re alive! There are several different types of currencies used by Pandora''s Services. Coins ? - Used for most transactions and the main reward for completing a quest. Blood Coins (BC) - Are gained by killing other people with skills and whatnot. Tear Drops (TD) - A currency shaped like a tear. You can gain these by doing a ''good'' quest. Skull Coins (SC) - A currency shaped like a human skull. You can gain these by doing an ''evil'' quest. Pandora Coins (PC) - Special coins that Pandora can award. Know that if you die, your money will be transferred to your killer. Even if it is a monster, they will hold onto your cash until someone successfully kills them. To access Pandora''s Services, please consult with me, display-senpai, or a nonhostile agent of Pandora. Note: Nonhostile agents of Pandora can still kill you if you do not show your respect.
Pushing the notification away, Lauren told Karen, "I am done with my questions. What is this offer that you have?" "Not mine, but Pandora is giving you one. If you do not take it, you won''t be able to use my services to get into the city easily. Here it is." Opening up a screen of her own, she pushed the empty air towards Lauren. A different colored notification box blinded Lauren.
?First Quest for Lauren?
From: Pandora Quest Rank:¡ï¡ï (Below Normal) Alignment: Evil Rewards: 1000 Exp 10000 ? 10 SC 5 TD 2 PC
Description: By obtaining new powers, Pandora decided to give Lauren Hook the first quest that will reward her with more power and money before doomsday. Sensing three other [Alpha] players in Zulu city, Pandora wants them dead. They have created a bunch of issues for the military and the normal lives of civilians. Time Limit: By the end of today. Location: Zulu City Mission: Kill all three [Alpha]. Cathy Luis Callum Hardin Anthony Galloway There are no consequences for declining or failing this quest. Karen will deal with it if Lauren cannot complete it or declines it.
Yes No
"You got to be shitting me...?" Lauren read the quest mission over and over again. Does this have to be some sick joke? She did not... "You kidding? She wants me to kill three other [Alpha] players? I barely know how to use my powers." "By accepting this, you can get some training out of it. You are resourceful. Besides, if you do not accept it, I will not be teleporting you to the city. You''ll have to walk there." Lauren did not want to waste any time getting to the city. This alone persuaded Lauren to the job, but the issue was the action she must commit. She had to kill random individuals who barely survived their tests against a monster of some kind. Even with this, knowing the horrors of being overpowered greatly against an abomination, Lauren was not entirely bothered by it. The thought of killing people did not trouble her. What troubled her was the lack of... humanity. Weird. She would have some complaints about it, but- Her [Apathetic] perk must be influencing her. Lauren thought about the lack of sympathy or empathy in her body. It... disturbed her. Reflecting on the deaths of the previous soldiers, she... felt no guilt or remorse about their deaths. She tried her hardest to feel guilty about it, trying to remember the same feelings she had when Pandora brought it up. Nothing. Lauren could not replicate the same feelings she had before getting the [Apathetic] perk. She knew how she felt and why, but her body just could not replicate it. When she thought about other things, like Alayna and her adoptive parents, she was able to feel an array of emotions. She made a note of this. The perk was like a double-edged sword, giving her pros and cons. And even with this perk, she can still judge an action for being humane or inhumane. The only thing is, even if it''s inhumane, she can easily ignore any guilt or remorse that came with it. As long as the individual had no strong connections to her. She rubbed her forehead, hating how this toyed with her emotions. She did not linger on it for too long, understanding that the world will change in a couple of days. She had to be ready for it or she will die... Correction, she will be enslaved by Pandora if she fails. "I have no time to figure out if there are any other options for me. Let''s do this." Karen raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh? And you said you aren''t evil... A bit of a hypocrite-" "It''s not like I am doing it on purpose. Time is ticking and you can blame Pandora for my lack of humanity-" "Our gracious ruler is giving you the benefits of being a true entity in this world... One that goes beyond humanity. You will become one of us." Lauren did not give her a response, hitting the[Yes] on the quest panel. "Let me get ready. I need to arm myself." Lauren walked away from Karen, disgusted by the slight revelation of how strong the [Apathetic] perk was. She should have known how strong it was, but she dismissed it. No, she was not aware of it since... she barely cared about people in the first place. She did have an apathetic attitude with a bunch of individuals. Lauren threw these thoughts aside, focusing on the quest at hand. "Let me know when you''re ready then." The assassin headed to the garage. Going through her clothes, Lauren picked a tight black sweater, covering her from the neck down along with some baggy dark green pants and some old worn-out boots. On her belt was a pistol along with two pistol magazines, a knife, and two flashbangs. She stared at her reflection, looking like a military recruit without a jacket over her. This will provide a decent cover-up if she bumped into any soldiers during her visit. Lauren went into the garage and entered her XIC suit. She did not bring the giant XIC rifle, planning to grab one from... somewhere. "Ready." Karen snapped her fingers, teleporting them right into an empty garage. Feeling woozy for a second, Lauren wobbled in place, uneasy about the quick teleportation. She got over it after shaking her head for a few seconds. It might be because of her skills or levels that made her feel okay. If she was a normal human without any powers, she might have reacted a bit more to that teleportation. Testing out her movements, she was fine. Before Lauren headed out, she asked Karen, "You can teleport whatever I have with me, right?" "Yes, so if you brought a ton of junk here, I can teleport it back to your place." "Can you help me with my shopping?" The assassin did not answer her question, unsure of what she just had. "Excuse me?" "Can you help me with my shopping? I plan on doing it, but I might get interrupted if those three [Alpha] players show up... so can you help me?" Lauren just asked this out of sheer randomness. It is true that if she had to fight against the three players, she would not have time to shop for her supplies. "Why would I help you with YOUR shopping? Let alone expose me to the public?" "I could tell Pandora that you were a mean agent who didn''t help her favorite [Alpha] on a small task like shopping." Lauren decided to blackmail the agent. Dumb move, but Lauren was doing something she wasn''t comfortable with. Well, mentally, she knew it was not right, yet she had no issues with it. Also, she wanted to speed things up, so a helping hand wouldn''t hurt. Karen did not take this lightly. She was angry at this foul play. She was shaking in place, ready to punch Lauren. Finally, she gave her answer. "Fine. You have a stupid list?"Lauren blinked at the assassin, surprised she complied with her demands. Noticing her boiling temper, Lauren got out of her suit, handing her the written list. The assassin grabbed it, almost tearing it, and teleported away. "Jeez, you could have resisted and declined the offer." Lauren entered back into her suit, heading towards the city. Coming out of the garage, she noticed that the surrounding area was quiet. Venturing a bit further, she can hear the loud chatter and noises of a populated city. Standing on the sidewalk, Lauren gazed at the tall buildings having five to eight-story floors or more. People pass by her wearing an array of clothes. Most were wearing business attire, browsing through their phones as they head to their destination. Some people were in regular clothing, hanging with friends, or enjoying their days off. Noticing a military AMF though, they distanced themselves from Lauren. Cars are crowded on the streets, honking, and waiting for the upcoming traffic to move. Thinking about where to go, her thoughts were interrupted by an explosion ringing through the air. The peaceful atmosphere was destroyed as civilians ran past her. Some people abandoned their cars, heading towards the nearest shelter. Sirens blared through the streets as civilians were heading towards evac shelters that popped up from the ground. Military personnel aided with the evacuation, guarding these spots. Lauren only heard the explosion, trying to see where it came from. Another explosion rang through the air. Lauren finally found where it was coming from after a minute. Down the street, three XIC suits flew through the air, crashing on top of several abandoned cars. Next, a System was tossed into a building, shattering the glass wall and making a dent to its infrastructure. Several other XICs revealed themselves, evading incoming spheres from a levitating being. Zooming in on her, Lauren took notes on her appearance. She looks like a seventeen-year-old girl wearing casual clothes. Red and white sneakers, blue pants, and a yellow t-shirt. Her brown hair is tied in the ponytail, but she was unleashing her magic onto the military forces, defending herself. Problem was, she was hurting a lot of non-combatants as well. Not everyone could evacuate in time. The girl, well aware of this, had a painful expression, yelling at two boys right below her. A silver knight charged through the foot soldiers, hacking them down. With no shield, Lauren watched the knight cut down his foes, ignoring the bullets that shot at him from every angle. In the past, the knight''s armor could not handle the introduction of gunpowder and the use of muskets. This person should not be standing, but the bullets are being deflected off of him. Unable to explain it with logical means, the man must have some skill to deflect the incoming shots. He ushered a fierce warcry that forced some soldiers to charge him, slicing them all down in one go. The armored man has the abilities of a tank, but it''s a bit hard to protect the levitating girl from the ground. The last person was making a huge mess. With a round body and glasses, he pointed at the soldiers and civilians. A surge of electricity ripped through them, leaving no survivors. A legless being hovered near the child, having electricity swirl around his entire body and the child. The elemental has a head, two arms, and two hands with three fingers, scanning the area as his master gave another command. Executing it with no hesitation, an electric blast erupted around him, frying anyone within the circle.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "Great. I have to take out some kids." Once again, it did not truly bother Lauren, but it was still a bitter realization. Then again, when Pandora releases her box, there will be hard choices to make. This was just the beginning of it. Yet why would Pandora offer her this quest to exterminate some kids? Couldn''t she give a quest to hunt down some of her monsters? There might be a chance that Pandora purposely gave this quest for her benefits. Maybe she thought Lauren would go to her side the moment she does something immoral. The sooner she tossed her humanity, the better. Sadly, Lauren will not fall that easily. In the end, Pandora is an evil bitch. Shaking these needless thoughts away from her mind, Lauren focused on the job at hand. Several other XIC suits passed her, firing at the floating girl. Noticing their approach, she placed a shield in front of her. The bullets could not penetrate her mana shield. With her free hand, she gathers mana for an attack. Understanding the gesture, Lauren ducked behind a building. Flinging her spell, the magical attack blasted through the ground towards the armored suits. The energy ball does not hit the soldier, going between them, but the moment it touched the ground, an explosion blew them away. Taking note of the girl''s attack, most of these spells had a charging time. If she had some quick spells, she was not using them. There was a chance that her quick spells do not deal enough penetration damage against heavy armor. And it seemed like her magic spells have a certain range. She used her spell the moment they were 250 feet in front of her? Safe to say that she utilized her magic from medium to close range. Out of the three of them, the summoner and the girl had the most firepower. Picking up a giant rifle, Lauren continued to watch their fight against the military. Further away, beyond the range of the female mage, cars were tossed aside by two giant machines. Systems. Towering around three and a half stories, they pulled out long-range weapons to use on the teenagers. Deeming the threat level for three [Alpha] players, the military is utilizing the heavy weapons. One of the Systems balances a rocket launcher on its shoulder as the other machine held a large sniper rifle. It seemed like they understood the players'' powers. Even if she could see them, there was nothing that she can do. Listening closely, Lauren could hear their conversation, "Anthony! We got two Systems aiming giant weapons at us! I need help!" "Got it, Cathy! Come on Zerit!" He regrouped with the knight, who should be Callum, pointing his finger at the two Systems. "Fry those suckers Zerit." "As you command!" The elemental places his hands together to have electricity flow between them. A ball started to form, growing in shape and size. Once the elemental has the right amount of energy, he unleashed the destructive ball towards the two Systems. The two Systems noticed the incoming projectile. They fired a missile and bullet at it, hoping that it would disperse the electric ball. Destroying their shots, the ball of energy appeared before them. Upon impact, a huge electric explosion burst out of the energy ball, consuming the two Systems. Once it pulled the two Systems into it, the burst of energy disappeared, leaving a clean round cut on the building and floor. Lauren estimated that the attack range of Zerit was half of a mile. Or close to. Zerit wobbled a bit from his attack, telling his master, "That sapped most of my energy. I won''t be able to do that again." "We should retreat. We can''t hold them back if they start pulling out the big guns." Callum pointed out. "And where the hell are we going to retreat to!?" Anthony exclaimed, "Look at the destruction we did! There is no way that they will let us leave!" "We have to! Even I am running low on my mana. I rather fight another day than fight to the death." Cathy stated, breathing heavily. "I think the area over there is empty. They won''t be able to catch us. Let''s go!" As they made their way to where Lauren came from, the blonde decided to tail them. The three [Alpha] players were being cautious, attacking any military opposition that came in their sights. They destroyed any helicopters that would linger too close to them. Planning two steps ahead of them, Lauren sprinted towards the general area that they might go through. Ignoring the curiosity of why these houses are empty, Lauren examined the house that she''ll ambush her first target. The houses, for some odd reason, have their windows and doors opened. Next, examining the thickness and material of the house''s walls, she could burst through them with the XIC suit. She can shoot through the wall if need be. Looking back at the three [Alpha] players, they were still heading in her general direction. They were cutting through these houses, hiding from their pursuers. Lauren went into a hiding spot, waiting right between two houses. She was positioned in front of the wall, waiting for the summoner. Patiently, she waited. The amount of combat has died down, hearing their voices. "I-I think we lost them." Cathy started. "Hope so." Their voices were going through the house Lauren just examined. "Come on Anthony!" Hearing those two leave the house, Anthony panted heavily, taking a breather in the house. "H-Hold on guys... I need-" Lauren took the opportunity to attack. She charged through the house, ramming the boy across the room. With his elemental nearby, it tried to stop Lauren. Lightning swirled through his arm, planning to unleash a shockwave at Lauren. Activating her [Suppression], her skill stunned the being in place, freezing his movements. Anthony was in no condition to move from his spot. The [Suppression] immobilized him. "Anthony!" Callum noticed the disturbance, rushing back to the house. Zerit strained against the [Suppression], trying to unleash a quick electrical discharge, but Lauren manifested her [Mana Armor] around her XIC suit. Aiming her gun right at Zerit''s head, she unloads the entire clip. If Zerit had more mana, it would have deflected those shots or stopped them, but the elemental was drained. Unable to stop the bullets, he took the damage, his body evaporating into the air. "M-Master..." "Zerit!" Lauren would have felt a bit of pity towards their relationship if she could. She felt nothing, pulling her sword off the XIC''s back. Anthony was in no position to run. His arms and legs were crushed from the initial impact on the wall. His back was dislocated to the point where he could not stand or push himself off the wall. Blood ran down his face, looking at his killer. Tears flowed down his face, crying at his unfortunate demise. With a quick stab to his chest, Lauren ended the boy''s life. "NO!" Using a skill, Callum forced Lauren to face him. He was a second too late, ramming his two-handed sword against the tough XIC suit. "How dare you!? Don''t you have any shame?! You killed a young boy!" Lauren kicked him away, sending him out of the house. The knight was standing upright until he bent forward, feeling pain from an unknown attack. Looking up at his ally, Cathy buckled at the unknown pain, suppressing a yell. Pulling her blade out of Anthony''s body, Lauren slowly stepped out of the house. She waited for the two to move, remembering Callum''s question. She replied with an emotionless response. "I am only doing what I need to do." "Killing innocents?!" Cathy was up in the air, conjuring a powerful spell. A surge of electricity rain down on Lauren, destroying the area around her. The XIC suit manifests a [Mana Armor], giving twice the protection against Cathy''s lightning spell. The two teenagers realized the threat before them. They were fighting against another [Alpha] player, one who was tasked to kill them. Waiting, Lauren silently observed the two teenagers. Callum got into a fighting stance, understanding the danger they were in. "Get out of her Cathy. You won''t survive if we stuck together." "W-What? N-No, I can''t do that! We have to-" "Not with this person. Whoever she is, they have a lot more skills than us. We just got ours yesterday night. We were lucky to obtain it, but this person... She will indirectly kill you. Didn''t you lose a good chunk of your HP? Like 5% of it?" Cathy''s face turned pale. She swiped her hand in front of her, slowly nodding at Callum. "Run. If you are not around me, you won''t take that unknown damage. Don''t worry, I''ll be right behind you." "B-But... I-I-" "Go!" Callum bravely charged at Lauren, her blade meeting his, "Go before reinforcements arrive!" Tears ran down her face, flying deeper into the abandoned sector. Lauren did not make any move on Callum, waiting for the knight to focus his attention back on her. She could strike him, make him pay attention to her, but she was in no rush. This knight certainly displayed anoble andchivalrous heart. He backed away, apologizing. "Sorry about that, shall we continue our fight?" "A noble soul. I apologize for my actions, but I have my orders." Lauren admired his sacrifice for his comrades, saying, "Let me fight you without the suit." He contemplated on it, weighing his options. Lowering his stance for a bit, he allowed Lauren to exit out of the suit. She hopped out, pressing the emergency button so the suit can be sealed. She stood beside her suit, staring at Callum. The knight held his breath, staring at Lauren''s real body. She had no armor and no weapon, puzzling the knight. "Where are your weapons? Your armor?" "Come to me. You''ll see." The knight hesitated. He couldn''t fight against an unarmed target. Especially a girl. Sensing this, Lauren crouched against the ground, confusing the knight. "Then I''ll come to you." Sending a bit of mana to the tips of her feet, she launched herself at the knight. Coating her bare hands with energy, she grabbed Callum''s helmet and slammed him into the ground. Backing away from him, she evaded a swing from his sword. He quickly rolled back into a fighting stance, charging at Lauren. She evaded the swing, blocking his body tackle. It was a quick one, trying to throw Lauren off her footing. Sliding against the ground though, she stepped forward, punching him at his open side. Taking it, he swung his two-handed horizontally at her. She ducked, aiming for his vulnerable side again. A sudden coat of light morphed around his body, absorbing her punch. It was only a brief second, giving Callum the time to back away. He ushered out a warcry, powering his blade as he swung at Lauren. A burst of light flew at her. Lauren coated her mana around her arm, unleashing a [Mana Slash]. Their attacks clashed in the air, canceling each other. Another surge of mana covered his blade, unleashing the same attack on Lauren. Running at him, Lauren returned his attack with another [Mana Slash], sliding against the ground as the two attacks canceled each other again. The knight held his blade behind him, charging for an attack. Sadly, he did not expect Lauren to be right before him. Sliding beneath the slashes, she quickly gave him a strong uppercut, a hit to his neck, several quick jabs at his chest, and a strong punch that forced him back. Whatever she was doing with those punches, they felt like metal. Each strike did a bit of damage against Callum''s HP, but it interrupted his focus. Even if his armor and mana can deter the actual damage of her mana punches, his body had to move along with her strikes. He was losing his strength, feeling blood drip from his mouth. He already lost 10% of his health point (HP) from their fight against the military, but he lost 8% more from Lauren''s [Destruction] skill earlier and lost another 4% from her melee strikes. Staggering from her assault, Lauren conjured up a shotgun. Firing two times, twelve bullets slammed against Callum''s armor. There was no visible damage to his armor, but he took a considerable amount of damage to his HP. The shotgun was an effective weapon, but it cost a decent amount of mana per second. It consumes 15 mana per second to use a medium firearm. 5 mana to fire a shot. In total, she used up 40 mana out of 170. She did lose a bit of mana before using the shotgun. Calculating, Lauren could end this, but at the same time, she will not gain the most experience by ending the fight too soon. In a way, it might be cruel to extend a one-sided fight, but this fight will help Lauren work on her skill proficiency. By killing Anthony, it only leveled her main level and job class. There was a small display screen above his head, revealing itself every time Lauren successfully landed a hit.
Callum Hardin [149/300 HP]
After a few seconds, 149 turned to 146, taking the passive damage from Lauren''s [Destruction]. Doing some quick math, Callum would have 142 HP, but his STR might be higher than Lauren''s STR stat. Regardless, Lauren will slowly chip away at his HP directly and indirectly. Once Callum hit 50% of his overall HP, he started to emit a thick glow around his body. The previous glow around his body activated on his command. This one seemed to be a passive skill, activating when Callum has 50% HP or less. He yelled into the air, showing renewed vigor in his movements. Striking downwards, Lauren empowered her hands with chi, slapping the blade away. She punched his vulnerable side, realizing a change in his body and stance. Earlier, when she punched him, he would slide against the ground, being forced back. Now, he was firmly in place. He quickly adjusted his blade, swinging it horizontally at Lauren. Retreating, Lauren glared at Callum as she covered her body with a bit more mana. Her empowered fist attached small spikes on her knuckles. Waiting for him, Callum swung his blade in an unexpected style. Holding his two-handed sword with one hand, he aggressively pressed forward, trying to hit Lauren. The blonde evaded his wild swings, blocking an incoming elbow, kick, or punch he threw her way. With his powerup, he was able to push Lauren back, giving him some breathing space from Lauren''s aggressive push. Not only that, but he also damaged her a bit. Even though she coated her body in mana, his punches, and kicks penetrated through those protections. She could physically feel the impact and weight of those attacks, chipping away at her own HP. It did not stop the blonde. Even if she took a hard punch to her body, she stood her ground and countered him. Every time he made her back up, she would immediately appear before him, hammering more punches at him. Despite his efforts, he could not stop her fast jabs. She did not aim for his sides anymore. She took advantage of any openings Callum had. When she evaded his sword, punch, and kick, she would twirl around him and backhand his back. Trying to jab with the blunt end of his blade, he swung his blade in a full circle, trying to stomp on her. She slid away from his jab, ducked under him, and slid between his legs to avoid his stomp. As their fight wage on, Lauren''s [Destruction] skill ate away at his life. Not just his HP, his concentration was fading as the internal explosions gnaw at him. On the outside, he could withstand Lauren''s assault, meeting her attacks head-on. The problem was the blasted magical explosion that ignored his physical defense. Granted that his STR and INT were not allowing the full damage of Lauren''s [Destruction] skill, he could not ease the internal pain or damage. If there was a skill to do so, he would want to have it right now. Deciding to use another skill, his mana around him explodes outward. Sensing this, Lauren thickens her [Mana Armor], remaining in place. She did not advance though, allowing Callum to power his blade. Releasing a [Holy Slash] in front of her, he watched his attack push Lauren into a building. Collapsing upon impact, the house crumbled as dust and smoke engulf Lauren. Taking advantage of this, Callum positioned his blade beside him, gripping it with both hands. His entire body is oozing with a yellow light. He squinted at Lauren''s position which was covered in smoke. He braced himself for a counterattack, sensing her presence in the clouds. As the seconds ticked by, Lauren burst out of the smoke. Callum unleashed another blast of energy from his body to prevent her from getting any closer. Successfully, she was pushed back, allowing Callum to activate his strongest skill. "[Sixfold Holy Slash]!" His arms moved at an incredible speed, unleashing six slashes of light at Lauren. Compared to his [Holy Slash], this move had twice the amount of firepower, having the ability to penetrate through magical defenses and thick materials like rocks or bricks. Callum was confident of his skill, knowing that Lauren could not respond to it. He was right. Lauren could not meet it head-on without sacrificing a good amount of her mana. That was why Callum felt cheated when she evaded his [Sixfold Holy Slash]. The move was pretty fast, giving a second pause before it can hit its target. It was an impressive skill, a good trump card to have against her. Yet the blonde was able to dodge it with ease because, she too, had magical powers. Especially with skills that gave her a lot of flexibility. Lauren knew that he had a trick under his sleeve. He tried to use it a few minutes ago, failing to activate it properly. Playing video games, Lauren understood the concept of charged attacks. He had one. There was no proper way to meet it head-on unless she risked a ton of mana to create a suitable weapon to counter it. Her [Mana Slash] does not have enough power to cancel Callum''s [Sixfold Holy Slash]. With these factors, Lauren used an indirect method to bypass his strongest skill. Manipulating her mana to her soles, she exploded it, sending her into the air. Next, Lauren manifested wings on her back, staying in midair. Callum was fooled for a second that his attack worked. While he celebrated for a brief moment, Lauren conjured more mana around her hands, turning them into thick demonic hands. With sharp fingers, Lauren added more mana around her body to reinforce her dive. Realizing that Lauren evaded his skill, he looks around. The moment he looked up, Lauren descended on him. It was a fast dive, giving the man no time to react. If she did, he would make her waste more mana. She grabbed his face and slammed him into the ground. Right after that, Lauren clawed at his body, moving her hands in quick succession. Already undoing her wings, she picked him up and slammed him into the ground again. Wrapping a thick mana rope around his arm, she dragged him through the air and into several houses. She tugged at the rope, having his body fly right at her. Creating a bigger demonic hand for her right hand, she slammed Callum into the ground for the final time. With so much mana in her demonic hand, she tested out a theory of hers. Pouring her mana violently into him, spikes explode around them. Since it was her mana, they did not hurt Lauren. Callum, on the other hand, received the full damage of them. With so much mana, the spikes penetrated through his [Mana Armor] and physical armor. Letting go, Lauren evaded a swing of his blade. "I... I-I..." He used his two-handed sword as a crutch, pulling his body off of the ground. His knightly image was destroyed. The armor was battered, revealing dents and huge tears through the plating. Blood poured out of the open tears of his armor. He was missing some chunks of his flesh, seeing a few of his internal organs or his bare bones. Breathing heavily, he tried to finish his sentence, but he coughed violently, falling onto one knee. Still attempting to get up, Lauren calmly explained his defeat. "Armor can hinder your true speed. You should have prevented me from getting out of my suit. You would have had an edge against me." Lauren did not boast about her victory, disliking her task from the beginning. "You should not be a knight in this era. There is no honor for this corrupt world. This blasted place. Still, I admire your courage and bravery Callum Hardin. You did well." The knight heard his name, finding some peace. He dropped his blade, looking at Lauren. Already beside him, Lauren held a dark purple scythe in her hands. The blade was positioned over Callum''s neck, ready to end his life. "Thank you-" Lauren gracefully hacked his head off of his body, watching the two pieces of Callum Hardin hit the ground. Dispersing the scythe, she turned away. She fell onto her knees, breathing heavily at her loss of mana. It was not as bad as making a railgun from her imagination, but it drained her immensely to the point of exhaustion. She merged and used too many things to finish off Callum. The claw weapons, enlarging it and shrinking it, was fine. It took 11 mana to maintain those empowered claws per minute. Doing the math, she had to use 22 mana since she had two of them. What exhausted her the most was her wings. Conjuring them up, flying, it took a lot more mana than she thought. A lot more. It consumed a whopping 135 mana. And that was just for a minute. If she just conjured up her wings, it would have been 55 mana, but getting them to fly and move, it added 80 more mana to it. She lowered the actual costs since some of her skills leveled through this fight, but it was a dangerous gamble. She knew that wings might consume a lot of her mana. She should have tested it when she was not fighting. At least she got rid of them when she dived Callum. If she used those wings for another minute, it could have sealed her fate. She exceeding pass her maximum mana usage, exerting more mana from... somewhere. She was unable to figure out how or where she pulled the extra mana from, but she knew that she overdid it. She shouldn''t have created a scythe to hack off Callum''s head. Either way, she had to regenerate her lost mana. She pushed it... pushed it towards the point of exhaustion. She could have fainted during their fight. She wasted a lot of mana on him. Lauren sighed at her predicament. Meditating, she slowly regained her mana, closing her eyes as she calmed her nerves. She needed to kill the female teenager before someone else does it.
Why was this happening? How did it come to this? She was just an average teenage girl who got caught up in this hectic mess. She was on her way from school with her friends until something teleported them into an abandoned town. This creature had summoned several other random groups of people and made them play his sick game. A game where they had to fight against him with whatever they can use inside the town. Escaping meant forfeiting your life. Death. It sounded easy, it should have been easy if it wasn''t some giant, sneaky abomination that ignored the basic logic of many things. This creature was huge, but not big. It was like a snake combined with a tree, slithering in the shadows, watching their every move with many, many eyes. When someone rallied hope, gathered their spirits, encouraged them, that creature would take them out. Kill them right before their eyes and installed fear and dread throughout the rest of their game. Her friends died right in front of Cathy, making her want to commit suicide. She wanted to escape this living nightmare The other survivors stopped her though. Especially Callum and Anthony, giving her the hope and comfort to live on. Even when they were just simple words, she hung onto them. They lost their friends in the same way, vowing to protect her and figure out a way to slay the beast. They had the numbers. A hundred humans versus one monster. They had the numerical advantage, yet he killed everyone except three lucky survivors. Callum, Anthony, and herself. It was dumb luck. The other survivors made a trap where they would set off a huge explosion. Ten other people were supposed to live, but they were killed. All ten of these people were the adults that sacrificed themselves to protect them. Three young teenagers. They cried at their noble sacrifice, planning to live in earnest and press on. Then, she appeared. Pandora. She gifted them with their new powers, but all three of them did not want it. They did not like her, sensing the evil in her heart. Callum, being the knight that he was, remained silent. He could not say anything, fearing that he will endanger them. With two speakers, Anthony and Cathy asked many questions as to why they had to do this. The moment Pandora revealed her sick game, it made them sick. What''s worse, she saw everything and laughed at how they were lucky to live through it all. She did not praise the sacrifices of all the other contestants. Instead, she mocked them. Insulted them. Asking a few questions to send Pandora away, she teleported them back to Zulu City. The three teenagers could not coup with the dire news. They could not accept it. Anthony and Callum were determined to prevent such another disaster. They did not want humanity to fight against the nightmares they had to go through. By telling the world about the incoming doomsday, and seeing the timer, they decided to put a thread up on the internet. They found several articles and threads explaining the situation, agreeing with these other players. Sadly, the internet has mixed opinions about such news. Most of the replies mocked them, calling bullshit to their sob stories. The three of them took it hard, not used to such insults, but they were doing something. Anything than selfishly keeping such news to themselves. They informed the world about it, even if people didn''t believe them. They found hope when some people were concerned about it, asking what to do. Or thanking them. That made them happy, praying that some people can prepare for the inevitable. Catching the attention of several other players, they were supposed to meet up with them. Find them before the timer hits zero and band together. They happily agreed to it. If only they knew better. The military found itsuspicious, zoning in on their position, questioning them. Anthony had a dark history with bullying, disliking the hostile confrontation the soldiers were taking. The soldiers were not backing off, being forceful against him. Not only that, the military knew it was them because of the fake users they made. One of these names was a username that interacted with Callum, Cathy, and Anthony. One that they would meet up in real life. By hearing this, Callum started to show his displeasure. He hated liars. If the military lied to them, making a fake user and pretending to sympathize and even empathize with their tragic story, he did not want to talk to them. Cathy, the only one trying to calm the two sides, failed to do so. Eventually, the confrontation ended with blood. The three teenagers had to defend themselves, fighting the military ever since 0100. They knew that they were in the wrong, killing innocents along the way, but they wanted to live. But now she was the only survivor. The sudden [Alpha] player who exterminated Anthony meant that they were being hunted. And Callum... He is most likely dead. Cathy felt rain droplets hit her head. Looking up, she headed to an empty parking garage. Panting, she slid against a wall, feeling cold, hungry, and tired. Fighting against a decent chunk of trained military personnel exhausted her mana. She needed to meditate- "There you are!" An armored soldier appeared around a corner, firing at her. On instinct, Cathy raised a shield. She was a bit too late. A bullet shot her in her left side. Crying out in pain, she loosened her tight magic shield. The soldier was blasting a full clip at her, shouting for his comrades. "She''s here!" Flinging her finger, a small rock slashed across his unprotected neck, making him fall to his knees. He might bleed to death, but he was still alive. Struggling to walk, she took the ramp down to the next level. Two soldiers revealed themselves, shooting right at her. Mustering up another shield, she stopped the incoming bullets. Suddenly, the two of them stopped firing. Confused by this, Cathy was going to conjure an attack until something whacked her from behind. Screaming, she fell onto the ground, a soldier twisting her arm behind her. Pulling a bit more, he was rewarded with another scream. Crying, Cathy watched the soldiers surround her, laughing. "Got cocky? Thought so. Not so strong without your two buddies now, huh?" "She wasn''t that dangerous once we surrounded her." "She''s a kid still. What the hell do you expect?" Three of the armored soldiers glared at the one who just spoke. Scoffing, the one on top of Cathy says, "And? She killed a lot of people." "In her defense. You know our protocols. We should-" "Hey, rookie," A soldier wrapped an arm around him, "You should go and get reinforcements. You know, the specialists who can detain this girl. Don''t worry, we won''t do anything." The young man debated about it. Cathy tried to look into his eyes, pleading for help. The other soldiers were going to do something to her. The way they glared at her, their fake smiles... "Alright. I might as well. Promise me that you won''t do anything." "We promise." Hearing a couple of chuckles, "We don''t want the higher-ups on our asses. You know that. Now, get going." Nodding at that, he left them. Cathy wanted to say something, try to stop him from leaving, but the man on her back was applying a lot of pressure. Once he was gone, having a soldier tail him to make sure he was gone for good, a soldier forced Cathy''s hand away from her body. Laying it above her head, he fired his pistol. Screaming in agony, Cathy bucked against the soldier who was on top of her. "Yeah, doesn''t that hurt? We''re going to mess you up before they come here." "You killed a lot of my buddies, you know." The man, who was on top, dragged her off the ground. With her left arm behind her back, a soldier walked up and punched her in the gut. Crying in pain, another punch was delivered to her stomach before the man lets go of her arm. Falling to her knees, she feels a whack across her face, feeling a knife stab into her left thigh. Aiming her left hand, a soldier slapped it to the ground, stepping on it. Another cry escaped her lips, feeling a terrible pain course through her body. Blood flowed down her face, her eyes looking at the soldiers. Unable to see their expression, she can tell that they were relishing in her demise. Her eyes displayed her genuine fear. Terror. A weakness that these assholes will capitalize on. Applying more pressure to his foot, Cathy wiggled at the pain her left hand is enduring. "Say, we could take out time crushing her pretty little hand. Without it, she won''t be able to cast any magic." A soldier suggested. "W-Why-" "Ah shut it. Why? You know why. You can''t guilt us since you''re a fucking murderer." "And I guess I won''t feel bad about killing you assholes either." This was a female voice, not coming from Cathy. The soldiers were confused by this. Turning, they all turned to a young woman who has mana imbued in her right hand. In the shape of a demonic claw, she stabbed one of the soldiers, piercing through his armor. The other troopers tried to pull out their weapons, freezing at an unknown feeling. The moment they registered this, their bodies exploded. It was no pretty sight, making Cathy hold in her bile. She could see their guts littered on the floor. They just exploded. Her fear went beyond normal, trembling, and panicking at Lauren''s appearance. She was not in any condition to win or fight against the assassin. Unable to stop herself, Cathy wet herself. "N-No... P-Please..." Trying to get up, she fell horribly on the ground. She started to cry, wanting this nightmare to end. Feeling the hunter loomed over her, she closed her eyes, waiting for her painful death. She felt someone pick her up... But she did not feel any more pain. Opening her eyes slowly, she stared at the person who hunted them down. She moved Cathy''s hair behind her ear, saying, "You''re fine." It was hard to tell if she was mocking her, trying to get her to lower her guard, but Cathy could not take it anymore. This world is a cruel one. It tossed her into hell, making them live through it only to repeat the cycle. She did not care if she was a mess before this random stranger. She did not care about her damaged body- she was going to die anyway. This person will see to it, yet... Why did she save her? Why not kill her as well? Why not let those soldiers kill her? She cannot hate her if she was this kind. It was some sick joke. She tried to wipe her tears, but the woman stopped her. She pulled Cathy into her chest, hugging her. A kind voice whispered into her ear. "I''m sorry." "S-Sorry? What for? Hahaha, my bad state? What we had to go through? You killing my friends? W-Why-" "I''m sorry." Hearing those words again, Cathy hugged the stranger. She could not understand why. Why are bad things happening to her? Why was she selected to know about this? Why did she survive? Why was the world going to end? "Tell me... how did you acquire your powers. Tell me everything." And Cathy told this stranger everything. Told her about their struggles, her life, Callum''s and Anthony''s, what they tried to do, why they were being chased, she told them their sad tale. She listened attentively, never interrupting Cathy. Once she told her everything, she was losing her sight. Her breathing was... slow. Her body felt weak. There was a soft voice that reached Cathy''s ear. "I''m sorry." It was the same sentence she said when they met in this garage. It bothered her. "S-S-Sorry for what?" Cathy was scared. She knew it, and maybe this stranger knew it too, but she felt a bit of peace. Her voice was shaky, stuttering to get words out, but she was calm, "T-That this world is cruel? That Pandora betrayed us? That we have to die so young?" "Yes. All of it. I am sorry that Pandora is a being that cursed humanity with her twisted game. I am sorry for not giving you a quick death compared to the others. I am sorry for hunting your group down. I am sorry that you have to die young. I am sorry for accepting this quest, but it would have been better for a fellow human to hear your tale compared to a demon. I am sorry that I could not save you. If things were different, I would have liked to work with you three. Sadly, that was never an option. Please, find peace in the afterlife. At least you don''t have to run anymore. You don''t have to bloody your hands as well. Go." Kissing her forehead, Cathy closed her eyes. "T-Thank you... For listening... For everything..." And Cathy Luis died.
Watching Cathy die before her, Lauren felt nothing. Once again, her stupid perk prevented any true remorse. Even if she learned about someone, even if she understood them, her perk will make her show indifference. She could not shed a tear for the three kids she murdered. She was glad to hear their tale, glad to be their murderer instead of Karen. The assassin would have wiped them out in an instant. But it did not improve Lauren''s overall mood. There was no way that she can save everyone. She was no hero. She never wanted to be one. Many weaknesses came with being a hero, but many strengths as well. There will be more deaths. People who had lived normal lives will have their tale. For good or bad, this game will change the morality of people''s actions. But in the end, this is Pandora''s fault. She made this happen. If she wasn''t real... "Congrats." Karen appeared out of nowhere, "You completed the quest." Lauren shoved the notifications aside, wanting an answer. "Explain why Pandora is doing this? Why is she unleashing chaos onto this world? Was she damned? Is this revenge?" Karen frowned, shaking her head. "Oh? Seeing some kids made you made mad? Sad? You want a tissue- Grow up. Our mistress wants to make the world as her game because she can. And we will gladly make it so. She will get what she wants. You don''t like it, try to kill her. You aren''t the first who tried. Hell, some of our elites had the same thoughts until we opened their eyes. You saw what happened before you saved her? Those soldiers were abusing her, treating her like shit. Those with strength will always bully the weak. It doesn''t matter if Pandora caused it, it''s in human nature to let emotions get the better of you. If you want to be surprised at every immoral thing that happens, then you should just hide like a pathetic coward. Or play the hero like Anthony and Callum. Look at what happened to them. Pandora wanted them dead because of that knightly attitude. She knew that he''ll be a nuisance, sprouting justice and honor. As you said, such noble intentions, such honorable deeds are dead in this century. Suck it up and head back to your place. Those military reinforcements will arrive here in a bit." Walking away, Lauren looked back at Cathy''s body. Shaking her head, Lauren followed the assassin back to the ground floor. Getting back into her XIC suit, Lauren eyed at the boxes of food, clothes, water, and other supplies. She was glad that she convinced Karen to get her supplies. It would be troublesome to get them due to the chaos those three teenagers created. "I will teleport you back to your place." Karen stated, "I am not coming with you. I will be helping Pandora prepare for the end. You have anything else to ask? You will not see me for a long time." "No. Thank you for everything Karen." The assassin nodded, snapping her finger. Lauren was back in her garage. Getting out of her suit, she decided to move her new supplies into her house. Carrying items to and fro, she decided to have a look at her stats.
Name: Lauren Hooks Age: 21 DOB: 12/24/1994 Level: 6 Species: Human Sex: Female
General Information Attributes Job Information
Guild STR 54 (+) Name Level Progress
Lover DEX 50 (+) Alpha (+) 6 22%
HP 320/320 (+0.4/sec) AGI 52 (+) Destroyer 8 12%
MP 290/290 (+0.7/sec) END 56 (+)
EXP 22% INT 57 (+)
Title [Alpha Tester], [Pandora''s Love], [Lone Wolf], [Alpha Killer]* WIS 46 (+)
Monster LCK 12 (+)
Dungeon Unused Points +6
Skill List
Name Level Proficiency
[Destruction] 6 20%
[Mana Armor] 4 80%
[Mana Manipulation] 6 44%
[Mana Weapon] 6 5%
[Mana Slash] 2 43%
[Meditation] 3 12%
[Suppression] 2 76%
[Assassination]* 1 4%
[Stealth]* 1 16%
[Tracking]* 2 90%
Perk List
[Pandora''s Grace], [Lone Wolf], [Alpha Tester], [Apathetic], [Dead Rose], [Heartless]*
It seemed like she obtained new skills, a perk, a title, and a couple of other things. By the + signs, she could use her points on whatever attribute she wanted to increase. For now, she''ll save them. There might be one stat that she may want to focus on down the road. Lauren knew that she forgot to ask what each attribute does, so she''ll have to ask again some other time- or she can pull up display-senpai. Later though. Her three new skills are pretty straightforward. Tracking allows her to get a sense of where her opponent is moving or find a way to find them. Assassination is killing them secretly. And stealth is a fancy word for staying hidden. What caught Lauren''s attention was the [Heartless] perk and [Alpha Killer] title. She''s not happy about it, but she got them from her actions.
Title
[Alpha Killer] - By killing one or more [Alpha] players, you have earned this notorious title. This gives you a unique point for the death of a [Alpha] player. You have [3] points. Points can be used by consulting with an Agent of Pandora. When fighting against [Alpha] players, you will gain a slight buff while the enemy [Alpha] will receive a slight debuff.
Perk
[Heartless] - For mercilessly executing your opponents, you have shown no reaction to their deaths. This perk will prevent any mind control or any emotional influence (in the form of an attack or skill) to affect you. This will also null any emotions or feelings against any grotesque or gruesome sights before you. Must have [Apathetic] and [Alpha Killer].
Good benefits, bad names. Even if Lauren could hide certain things on her info card, she would refuse to hide these two. The only thing she''ll hide will be [Pandora''s Love] because of what Karen stated. She will not hide her notorious titles like [Alpha Killer]. She killed them, and she will regret it. But she will not shy away from her actions. [Heartless] wasn''t too bad though. Just the name of it may sound bad, but the benefits are really good. With this, there was no way a monster could control her. The same can be said with her emotions. Any being with mind magic is a deadly opponent. They can tamper around with one''s memory and use them to their advantage. Protection against those mental assaults will give Lauren an easier time focusing on an offensive plan against them. When the time comes. For now, Lauren moved most of her supplies in her house. What she didn''t expect was a visit from Pandora. "Oh? This is your house... Rather plain. Too plain. I thought you would be in some fancy apartment-" "What the bloody hell are you doing here?" Lauren glared at her, "I DO NOT want to see you here. Not after what you made me go through." "But you gained levels. You got a very good perk, a nice title, and more skills and job levels. You should be thankful for my kind action. I gave you easy opponents as well." "Easy? They were kids! You made me... It doesn''t matter. I needed to get to the city, and I gave them a mercy killing compared to your agent. She would have wiped them in an instant." Pausing, Lauren asked, "But did you want them dead because of Callum? Because he disliked you?" "Why would I be bothered by him? Many humans hate me. Do you think I care? No! Why should I? They will have their issues soon enough! Let them be holy, for they will fall. Anyways, I came for another reason. A very important one." Getting Lauren''s attention, Pandora jumped onto Lauren''s bed, rolling around in it before she laid on her stomach, facing the blonde. "All [Alpha] and [Beta] players will have to go to a populated area before I make my announcement. For you, you''ll have to be at your university. And you have to be there around noon." This was weird... "Why do I need to be in a populated area? And why noon?" It would be safer to be AWAY from a populated area once things hit the fan. "Because I said so." She stretched out the because, acting like a kid, "If you do not comply, I can just snatch you up right here and keep you by my side-" "Fine. I get it." Rolling her eyes, Lauren sighed, "Is that all?" "Is that all?! You''re not going to ask how I am? How''s my day? What am I up to?" "You''re kidding? Do you think I would ask that? No. Now, leave. Please." Hearing her say please, Pandora groaned out her sigh, grabbing one of Lauren''s pillows. "W-Wh-" "Alright, bye!" Teleporting, Lauren gawked at the damn entity. She just took one of her pillows! "That blasted woman- I'' ma-" "Hey! I''m back!" Alayna stepped through the door with a cheery smile. "What have you- WHY IS THERE BLOOD!?" Blood? Looking down on- "Oh." "... What did you do?" "What do you mean? I did nothing." "Uh-huh." Taking the remote off of the table, she turned on Lauren''s television. Switching through the channels, it landed on the news. "There have been reports of terrorists rampaging through Zulu City. They have killed several squadrons of military combatants consisting of Systems, AMFs, and foot soldiers. Witnesses say that these terrorists can conjure magic while others say that they have psychic abilities. There have been a couple of video footage on the internet, showcasing other people with strange abilities. Sadly, the destruction of public roads, buildings, and other markets have placed the city on high alert. The military is searching for these terrorists, hoping to detain them and maintain peace within the city." "Just because I went into the city doesn''t prove anything. I did not go on a rampage." "I know that you didn''t do anything to the city," Alayna frowned at Lauren, "I bet you did something to those kids." Trying to act ignorant, Lauren was going to shrug off such an idea. Alayna took out her phone and revealed video footage that was up on the internet. "Your XIC suit was on the scene. Look." Watching the video, the person who took the video was cowering behind a wall. He zoomed in on alone XIC suit picking up a discarded rifle. A squad of AMFs ran past it, heading towards Cathy. This scene was when Lauren decided to take cover behind the wall as the squad was blown away from Cathy''s magic. Waiting, the video taker was wondering why this XIC suit did nothing. The video taker was muttering it out loud, saying stupid things. The moment the kids retreated, it showed the XIC suit following them. Alayna had a troubled expression, putting away her phone. "I know that was you. Same color, number, you can''t fool me. What did you do with those kids?" Lauren was a bit shocked at her deduction skills. Granted that if she was a bit more careful, she wouldn''t be in this confrontation. There were three ways out of this. Lie, tell the truth, or don''t answer her. The first wasn''t going to work through, earning her disfavor and distrust. Second would earn her trust but... The last one would be denying her question and closing her off. The obvious choice was the first one. There was no reason for Alayna to know the truth, let alone know her executions. She cannot let Alayna get too close to her either. "If you''re in a military suit, you have to play along sometimes. Don''t worry, this blood is from a soldier. They tried to give him first aid but failed to do so. I just... came back home-" "How did you get to the city? And no, don''t try to act dumb. You aren''t telling me the truth." Folding her arms, she glared at Lauren, "Did-" "I won''t tell you the truth. You do not need to know about it. I already gave you a bunch of information for your safety. Soon enough, you will be able to tell the rest of your buddies about the incoming doom- better yet, there should be some reports online talking about the topic. And the military should have information on this already." Alayna hid her emotions well, not showing any response to Lauren when she moved away from her question. Deciding to drop it, Alayna leaned against the wall, nodding her head. "Yes. The military has looked into it. From what I heard, the terrorists from Zulu City had vital information about that particular subject." She took a quick peek at Lauren, hoping to get some sort of reaction. Nothing. "There have been several other threads and articles that state the same thing. Pandora''s Game, end of the world, an apocalypse, the military quickly looked into this. They did question this, at first, thinking it was some sort of joke. But another nation''s military confirmed the speculations. They had one of their squads go through the tester''s ordeal. Passing it, Pandora told them the same thing about her schemes. Some of them died trying to fight her, but you can guess what happened." "And I can also guess that the military wants these players in their grasp? To have the power to combat the upcoming chaos?" Alayna remained silent, chewing on her lip. "If it was that simple, then yes. But each nation''s military has a different approach." Lauren would have asked for an explanation, but then she might be inclined to reveal her incident in Zulu City. Going about it indirectly, Lauren listed a couple of possibilities. "So a country like Japan would try to gather their players and have them become a special forces group? Make them heroes? While a country like Russia might force players to work for them or die? And what about the United States? Germany? England? Spain? Mexico? In the time of a crisis, people are still greedy and power-hungry." Rubbing her forehead, Lauren shook her head. The biggest concern was how bad was this doomsday. Pandora said she will release her box, but how will that work? The woman might not reveal the information to Lauren, but it will surely annoy her. Was this going to be released in one country, then it will spread? Or will it be released all across the world? Will it be a small infestation and grow in size later? The only important lessons were that every man for themselves and survival of the fittest. Humanity is going to look uglier than before, allowing people to show their true nature in such an environment. "What do you plan to do when the time comes?" Alayna should know the answer to this question. She asked Lauren early in the morning. Giving her the same response, Lauren goes through her cabinets and shelves. "Stay here. Defend my house, survive. I do not plan to be a hero. They never get a happy ending, and I won''t join her side either. She''s crazy." Too crazy. "And what about you?" "I will most likely defend the university and aid the military stationed there. I will see if I can ask my dad for some more Systems for our school." Lauren noticed her hand squeeze her arm, thinking about something. Ignoring it, Lauren moved to a different topic again. "You got the supplies?" "Ah. Yes, it''s in the truck. Might want to change." Lauren decided to do that, changing her bloody clothes for another set of clothes. She still wore baggy pants, but she changed into a t-shirt. Heading outside, the two carried the many weapons, ammo crates, and other supplies that she brought over. Using the XIC suit to bring in a terminal into her garage and the repair station, it took them three hours to set everything up. Along with those items, there were spare armor parts for Lauren''s XIC suit and a box full of AMF weapons. Alayna told Lauren that if she needed to load bullets into the AMF''s magazines, they will need a giant reloading machine. Unable to bring this particular machine, she decided to give Lauren a box filled with loaded AMF magazines. Unlike the regular AMF repair stations, Alayna brought over an easy and custom made one. It weighs a lot less compared to most. It can be carried and placed anywhere (as long as you use an AMF to do it), and it has a very nice feature of turning into a box. The only real problem is connecting it to a terminal, but this is optional. Most AMF repair stations do not need a terminal to check the suit''s diagnostics. Alayna''s repair station needed a terminal to activate its automatic features. It will fix, tend, or replace any damaged body part on an AMF. There are a lot of drills, mechanical arms, and wielders, so there was no need to physically change the parts. Since Lauren will keep an AMF, Alayna went through the necessities and knowledge of AMF. She instructed her on how to check the AMF, what to look out for, how to repair it if possible, and how to change its parts. Well, the repair station she placed inside Lauren''s garage will automatically handle any maintenance. Still, Alayna explained it nonetheless. There might be a time when Lauren has to manually fix it herself. She also taught Lauren how to reload her guns, basic firearm safety, and how to properly aim with several weapons Lauren was not familiar with. Training with Alayna, Lauren knew that movies were not a good source of reference. She never trusted them as much, looking into certain things. Alayna also taught Lauren how to load bullets into a magazine. She laughed at Lauren for her inability to shove the bullets down properly. Since it was noon, Lauren decided to cook some launch for the two of them. Well, she cooked for Alayna. Affected by her previous mission, she didn''t feel like eating much. She made a sandwich for herself, cooking Alayna chicken cutlets and vegetables. When she said she was going to cook, Alayna wanted to see the blonde cook her meal. Discretely. The redhead was still moving various items from her truck into her house, giving Lauren a lot of ammo, weapons, and other things. Questioning the large quantities of items, Lauren dawned on her apron and placed her hair in a ponytail. Multitasking on cooking and reading, Alayna glanced at Lauren''s appearance now and then. She secretly squealed inside of her head, seeing something that no one else has seen. Lauren was too preoccupied with her tasks to notice it. Once Lauren was done with the cooking, she sat down with Alayna and ate her sandwich. It was fairly subtle, making small conversations with each other. Lauren ignored the blushing redhead as she praised her cooking. It wasn''t too grand though, following the instructions that her adoptive mom, books, and cooking videos showed her. The two talkedabout their grades, courses, and some small gossip on university rumors. They did bring up her nickname, making Lauren scoff at the stupidity of it all. After lunch, Alayna covered a few more topics on the items she brought over. Other than combat items, there are a lot of military-grade items Alayna brought over. Ropes, knives, tents, Camelbak, vest, military backpack, cot, stretcher, canteen, there were too many to list. Eventually, Alayna tested Lauren to see if she retained the information by asking a lot of questions. Answering her questions without any difficulties, Alayna was satisfied with her work. Suddenly, the redhead received a call from her higher-ups. She gave a lot of manuals and books for Lauren, hoping that they''ll aid in her endeavors. Walking Alayna to her truck, Lauren says, "Thanks. How much do I owe you?" "E-Eh? It''s free." "Huh? It can''t be. You gave me a lot of-" "It''s free." She stopped Lauren, handing her spare key back, "And if you won''t take that excuse, this is my way of saying thanks for today. I enjoyed our time together." "Please. With the end of the world coming, there are better ways to bond with one another." Lauren shook her head at such a pitiful excuse, "Talking about AMFs, guns, and military-related stuff isn''t exactly ideal. Especially for girls our age." "Yeah... if only we were back to our routine." Alayna got depressed for a bit before she finally climbed into her truck, "Well... good luck. We won''t be seeing each other again for a long time?" "Yeah. Something like that." Lauren replied, looking at her, "Good luck to you as well. Stay with your friends. You''ll survive through it. You are Alayna Whitney after all." Hearing her name, a blush took over her face. "What? Do you think I wouldn''t use your name? Get going before you''re late." After a few more idle chatter, Alayna drove off. Lauren stayed outside until Alayna left her sights. There was a small smile on Lauren''s face, enjoying Alayna''s company. Maybe it would have been good to have a normal life. Maybe she should have chatted with Alayna at the beginning of her sophomore year. It would have been nice to have a friend. A best friend. But she still had her internal problems. Making sure that she secured her own house, Lauren read up on several manuals on AMFs. At the same time, she loaded bullets into the magazines. After a while, she got tired of loading the blasted bullets into the small contraption. Heading off to the garage, she eyed at a bunch of spray paints on one of her shelves. Her gaze shifted to her XIC suit. It was in its emergency mode, revealing its outer appearance. The dark green XIC suit was quite wide, bulky, and blocky. The design of the armor made it hard to figure out if a male or female is inside, the interior is wide enough for both genders, with any build, to operate it. The only thing that wasn''t quite blocky is the headpiece. The top part in particular. It has a round surface with its triangular black visor with a couple of white circles at the bottom of it. Examining it, Lauren headed over to the spray paint. Taking a black and white color, she sprayed her suit. Getting rid of the number as well, it took her at least three hours to fully repaint the XIC suit. Lauren went back inside to resume her studies. With no more interruptions from anyone, she wrote in great lengths on the various things she looked into. She took extensive notes on mythical creatures, listing weaknesses or other helpful snippets. She was writing this down in her notebooks, unsure of one unknown factor. With the incoming doomsday, there was no certainty that power will still work. Pandora might block, hinder, tamper, or control their access to modern technology. With such a possibility, it will be best to write this down just in case. As another hour passes by, Lauren took breaks now and then to do some physical activities. Doing push-ups, sit-ups, ab exercises, she realized her growing stress. It was a silly one, but it was due to the shit ton of monsters that could come into the world. Vampires, werewolves, Lycans, wraiths, banshees, ghouls, zombies, minotaurs, hydras, dragons, there are so many creatures. And what''s worse, they have different variations. Some monsters may be a subspecies of the main creature... And etc. There was no way for Lauren to write down all of the details about every single creature in a day. Well, less than that. She jotted down as much as she can, shorthanded the important bits. Calling it quits, she stopped writing to look at the time. It was 1800. Cooking her dinner, Lauren watched various videos on various topics. Survival videos of someone out in the wilderness, survival video in an apocalypse or zombie scenario, martial art videos displaying different forms and techniques, and a few video games and anime. The latter of this selection will aid Lauren with her manipulation. She could try to imitate some of these attacks or get ideas from them. As the day slowly came to an end, Lauren decided to call it a day. After dinner, she continued to watch and read, do a couple more exercises before she brushed her teeth and head to bed. Staring at the ceiling, her mind was at a blank. She didn''t know how she should feel about the end of the world. Most people would be anxious, nervous, shaken by this disturbance. Alayna was worried. Reading the replies on the internet revealing doomsday, people have mixed responses. Most are just sneering and mocking the thread starters as others show general concern. Others are in the same predicament, trying to work together. Others will lie like how the military fooled the three teenagers. Thinking about it, Lauren noticed a few more articles that talked about terrorists attacking a town or city. Understanding the context of the title and the reports, other groups of [Alpha] and [Beta] players are being hunted by the military. That or they are purposely making a mess. Not everyone was good. Lauren didn''t ask Alayna why the military called her, but they are most likely preparing for tomorrow''s mess. They know that Pandora will make her move. She harassed the military to no end, mocking them with her hit and runs. Still, Lauren could not feel anything about the situation. Is she happy that her boring and normal life is coming to an end? Is she sad about it? Angry? Is she worried? Anxious? She could feel nothing. There was nothing. She blankly stared at her ceiling until she fell asleep. Chapter 0-1: Displays Hidden Guilt She needed a break from the Memory Files. This... It showed her the exact details of her life before this all happened. The few days before Pandora turned the world into a game. Lauren stared into the empty darkness in front of her, letting out a sigh. She took her peaceful days for granted. She did not have any feelings for anyone because... she couldn''t motivate herself. She didn''t have a drive like everyone else. She could not love anyone because she was... abandoned. Empty. Alone. Terrified. Angry. Sad. So many emotions, but she bottled it in so tightly, she became something else. Lauren runs her hand through her hair, frustrated at the sight of Alayna. Of course, Lauren knew her due to her nice looks and outstanding reputation. Unlike her, Alayna was known throughout the campus. When the redhead was in the same locker room the day she went to the gym, Lauren just faked her indifference. She was nervous, but she hid it so well. The day when she interacted with Lauren, made the first move, made the blonde feel... weird. Once again, she forced her emotions aside though, placing on a strong mask that deceived everyone including herself. Looking back on it, Lauren cherished those moments with Alayna. Those peaceful moments when they were just talking about the regular life of a student. They talked about normal things before the bastardly woman changed the world into a game. Seeing her again... "It hurts..." Lauren grasps her chest, getting up from the floor. There were so many things she wanted to do, to say... But she can''t. She knows what has happened and why she was here. Lauren glares at the capsule she was in, letting out a low growl as her eyes turn into a red hue. It suddenly went back to her new eye color, understanding something. Calling into the darkness, she says, "Display-senpai... Why are you doing this for me?" Lauren pieced a few things together when it came to that sudden notification. The only person who can control the notifications, the boxes, and anything related to a gaming screen was Display-senpai. Pandora, knowing the selfish woman, would not allow Lauren to walk down memory lane and stay cooped up in this abandoned laboratory. Not after what has been done. No, Pandora would make use of Lauren''s new weaknesses, but she would never show this much mercy to Lauren. As the only person who continues to defy the prideful and chaotic divine being, Pandora wanted Lauren to deal with her emotions now. Yet Display-senpai was going against Pandora. Why? As if to answer her call, a box appeared before her.
Sooooo... You''re doing okay?
"Never mind about me," Lauren was- is grateful to Display-senpai. Truly. Without that notification, she might have lost her cool... and maybe her mind. "What about you? Why are you doing this for me? I know that Pandora would be furious about this."
She will be... That''s for sure. But I am the only one who can control the various systems that make up her game. She can''t punish me since I am- Nevermind. Don''t worry about me... How about you? How are you feeling? I know that you may hate me-
"I don''t," Lauren answered, "If you didn''t do what you did. I got a feeling that my body... or my entire being would have gone berserk. I would have changed into a monster."
Which was what Pandora was hoping for. At the same time, knowing that woman, she doesn''t care as long as you play her game. It doesn''t matter if you are sane or insane, she knows that you''ll meet eventually. And she will be looking forward to that day. Till then, I suggest that you prepare yourself... mentally. I am letting you walk through your history for a lot of reasons. The biggest one, though, is the need to face these memories head-on... And accept them.
"Accept them?"
You must accept the facts of what has happened. Even if it is painful. You must KNOW that everything you will see again... Is the truth. I cannot explain any further than this. You have to believe me. I... After watching over you... I don''t want you to-
"I get it." Lauren frowns a bit, but she gives a weak smile, "I am not doubting you Display-senpai. Just that... You know."
Yeah... I know.
Lauren glance at her robotic hands. She was going to open up her display screen but Display-senpai stopped her.
Don''t. Not yet. You''re not ready yet.
Lauren was going to ask what she meant by that, but she didn''t go there. She trusts Display-senpai since she has helped her out in the past. And right now, she''s helping her out again. Complying with her statement, Lauren looks around at the destroyed facility. "How long has it been? How long was my... coma?" After what had happened, she was in a coma. For how long? She can''t remember. There are a few scenes where she was going in and out of her... surgery, but at the same time, she cannot recall the important things she had heard while she was in the capsule. Eventually, they just left her.
Twenty years.
Lauren stood there in complete silence. Twenty years... It has been that long? There were so many questions, but Display-senpai will not answer them. As stated, it will all come back to her as long as she goes through these Memory Files. Deciding to skip over her questions about the past, she focused on the present. "While I go through these Memory Files, should I do something in my spare time? When I need a break from these memories?" Even if she wants to spend her time going through it all, to relive the past, she cannot endure the hardships and pain that she will go through again. It will take a strain on her. So she needs to take a break once in a while. And during those times, she needs to do something productive.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
If you didn''t go on a rampage earlier, most of the computers and devices in the room could have given you valuable data on the state of the world and the groups that have formed over the twenty years. There were also written reports that could have given you a lot of data as well, but-
"Well, that''s great," Lauren muttered, cursing at her past self a few hours ago. She needs to control her emotions, letting out a sigh. Before she starts to test out the computers that could be intact still, she noticed something. "You know... The first thing you could have done after we chatted about your safety and my little emotional outburst, could be to give me some clothes. Or tell me where to find them. I know that I have a great bod, even if I was out for twenty years and had a huge makeover, but I don''t want to hurt myself- I don''t want to walk around with no clothes on." With all of these new improvements, even if Lauren stepped on a piece of glass, she wouldn''t feel it. Might annoy her though. An awkward silence looms between them. Finally, a display screen pops up.
H-Hey... I-It''s not my fault I don''t get to see naked girls as much! Let alone, see your naked body again! Twenty years!
"Oh, MY body again? So you longed for me too? You pervert." Lauren teases. A couple of giggles escape her lips, making the display screen go through different colors until it went back to normal.
S-Shut up... Or I won''t tell you how to get some!
"Okay, okay." Lauren''s gaze found a metal wall that reflected her new body. She frowns at the sight of it, understanding Display-senpai''s hidden message. She did not ask Display-senpai about her form... knowing that she''ll see it again in her Memory File. She ignores her new body, waiting for a response from Display-senpai.
You can just manifest the clothes that you want. You still have the same skills and classes before your coma. That much hasn''t changed for you.
"Are you telling me that I am manifesting my clothes from my skills or this is a new trait I picked up?" Asking this, Display-senpai did not give a response to Lauren''s inquiry. Once again, this went back to Display-senpai''s secret message. Willing some baggy pants, socks, sneakers, and a bra, Lauren covered most of her body. DIsplay-senpai, wondering why she decided to wear a bra only, quickly turned into a bright red tomato after hearing Lauren''s explanation. "I just want to give you a bit more fanservice, if you know what I mean."
A-A-AH! AH! D-Don''t tease me like that!
It was cute. Is cute. Lauren cannot express her sincerest gratitude to have Display-senpai by her side. She wanted to see the bubbly being behind all of these screens, after everything that has happened, but she ignores that thought. Even if Display-senpai thinks that she''s untouchable, even by Pandora''s side, that woman, Pandora, will find a way to hurt Display-senpai. And then, she''ll use that against Lauren. Not going to happen. Focused on checking the damaged computers, monitors, and other devices, nothing seemed operational. Whatever Lauren did, she destroyed the majority of this place. Did she have to cut the papers into bits, too? Lauren made a huge note to herself. Don''t let her anger get the best of her. Closing her eyes, she asked Display-senpai, "Can you try to fix one of these... computers? Or something."
I can try to. What are you going to do now?
"I am getting back into those Memory Files," Lauren stated, taking a rolling chair that was still intact. "I have a lot of questions to ask- No. Not questions. I want to confirm some things."
Going back? A-Already? B-But...
"Don''t sound disappointed, you cheeky brat. I know that you can easily talk to me whenever you want. I am not going to stay in these Memory Files for too long. You know why. You will chat with me again when I get back out. In the meantime, I would appreciate it if you can fix up one of those computers... or monitors. Don''t know, anything that can give me more information about the world''s current state." Leaning into the chair, Lauren looks into the darkness once more. "And thanks." Display-senpai did not send an immediate response. Lauren waits for a message to pop up. Knowing her, Display-senpai might be typing up the right words to convey her thoughts or emotions to Lauren. The blonde understands that Display-senpai cherished their relationship because it was her first true relationship outside of Pandora''s faction. No one else could respond to Display-senpai. Lauren, being the only person with the permission to talk back to Display-senpai and have a legit conversation with the unknown being behind the boxes. A few more questions popped up in her mind, thinking about Display-senpai, but she can ask those at a later date. Finally, a box appears in front of Lauren.
I... It was eating me alive. I know Pandora gave me a new life and granted my wish, but I know that a lot of my fellow peers, workers, employees, will look down on me. Are you looking down on me? I didn''t- I couldn''t relate to these other beings even if we swore ourselves to Pandora. No one talked to me, no one tried to understand me... I was just... weird. Pandora complied with my silliness and demands, but she didn''t- You were the first person who didn''t shy away from me. Granted that several other beings tried to chat with me, but without Pandora''s permission to talk to these individuals, I could not respond. I... You became a dear friend to me once I talked to you frequently. I... I didn''t want to lose that. Yes, Pandora told me to answer your questions, but I started to do a bit more than that since... I cherished our relationship. I wanted to help you out as best as I can so you didn''t die. But I was a fool. I know Pandora would keep you alive. I... I seriously can''t express my stupidity for not helping you! I should have! This guilt will forever stay in me. This, all of this that I am doing right now, is still not enough to wash over my sin. This terrible guilt. But even if it doesn''t, I will make sure you will have your revenge. I... am truly sorry, Lauren.
Lauren can see- feel the sadness in this message. Just seeing, or thinking, about Display-senpai in this state affected Lauren greatly. Guilt. This was a new emotion for Display-senpai. From what Lauren had gathered, a lot of Pandora''s agents did not display a lot of human emotions. Oh, some creatures acted out their sins, but those were not genuine humane emotions. They hated humanity, wanted it to die. They feed on humanity''s pain and suffering. They worshipped Pandora like a goddess and damned the gods of the many realms. Not all of these beings were completely heartless or a monster, but the majority were like this. What about Display-senpai? She seems like a teenager, a kid, that just got tied up in all of this. An innocent person who didn''t care about anything until she started to talk with Lauren. Even if Display-senpai typed up boxes filled with hatred towards humanity and praising Pandora, those are just words with no real emotion behind it. Did Display-senpai truly like what she said? No, not really. She just typed it because she had to. It was only befitting for a being of Pandora to state such things. And once Display-senpai had someone to chat with, her true colors were revealed. Display-senpai was just like Lauren in a way... Just that one was being tormented by a fucking crazy cunt of a psychopath while the other worked for them and wasn''t being paid attention to said insane being. They both closed their hearts off to anyone and everyone until they met each other. Well, it took Lauren a long time for her heart to open up, but that''s not the point. "It wasn''t your fault. Don''t beat yourself up for something that you couldn''t stop or control. I know how unbearable the guilt is... But trust me. Don''t let it eat you. If I have to say it is not your fault for a million times. I will do so. So please, calm down." Lauren wished she can hold onto the real Display-senpai- Heck, that''s not her real name. It is just an alibi. There was no way she was going to leave Display-senpai in this state. Thinking that Display-senpai was going to ignore her, Lauren says. "It is not your fault." Silence. Giving a few more seconds, Lauren repeated herself. "It is not your fault." No response. No boxes. She said it again. "It is not your fault." The shit that has happened to her... She couldn''t control it. She wished it didn''t, but the blame can be placed on one single fucking outlier of this entire world. But was this Display-senpai''s fault. No. "It is not your fault." Yes, so much has happened, but will Lauren blame Display-senpai for doing nothing? Even if she could help, would Lauren risk it? No. "It is not your fault." Strangely, Lauren was able to say those same words in the same pitch, tone, and precise interval. No, she avoided her sudden realization, silencing her brain before it came to any sort of conclusion. Focused solely on saying her one-liner, Lauren kept it up. After the seventh time, a box finally appears before her.
O-Okay... I get it. J-Just stop. I don''t want you to say that for a million times. I... *Sighs* I''ll be fine. I promise. Thank you... Thank you so much, Lauren.
Lauren would doubt those words, but she shouldn''t. Display-senpai is a trusted friend. Silencing her doubts, Lauren nodded her head. "Good." Lauren slowly closes her eyes, "Just... interrupt me from my files if something bad is going to happen or if you need me. It''s good to see you again." With that, Lauren started to play the next Memory File. [1-0] When the Earth became Pandora''s Game.