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[HAV0C #9324, Congratulations! You and your server have been chosen!]

The notification hovers above his head, words blurry and unfocused. He blankly stares at the box, brain still drunk with sleep.

"......?"

Mumbling to himself, he twists in his bed and stuffs his face into his pillow, trying to ignore the bright light emanating from above. He sighs in relief as the light disappears, only to lift his head and be met face to face with it. He lets out a string of curses as his eyeballs are blinded.

[You and GG Roleplay will be participating in a battle of supremacy!]

"Piss off." He swats at the screen, the light dissipating. As he collapses back unto the bed, he fails to notice the new notification that has appeared.

[Tutorial Quest beginning in 9 hours]

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He wakes up 4 hours later. Goes through his daily routine of brushing his teeth, washing his face and admiring his face in the mirror. Then he puts on some proper clothes, grabs his bag, and heads out of the house after annoying his dad for money.

On the bus he checks his phone, glancing at the various notifications once he's connected to a couple blissful minutes of WiFi. He taps on the Discord app. Nothing happens. Frowning, he taps it again, cursing his cracked screen for the phone's unresponsiveness.

For the briefest of seconds, the app glitches, stuttering in place. Then it opens, immediately going to the server he was on last. The server he's always been on for around over a year. GG Roleplay.

GG Roleplay has been a part of his life ever since he found out about it on another app. He'd entered it, sure it would just be like the others he's joined. He'd speak there for a bit, then fade away into obscurity. He was so wrong.

Now he can't imagine what he'd do without. Without the people he's met and talked to and loved. Joining GG Roleplay is a choice he's never regretted.

And now the general chat is alive.

Meghan

Did anyone else see those weird "notifications"? They said we'd (the server) be participating in a battle "of supremacy!" and that there'd be a tutorial quest.

WHERE'S THE CATNIP

It wasn't just me?

Meghan

There was a weird fucking light in my face some time ago.

WHERE'S THE CATNIP

OH SAME-

Meghan

I couldn't fall back asleep after ;-;

It's too early to be awake"

WHERE'S THE CATNIP

Sadge

Weird light? He frowns, his mind bringing up blurred memories of swatting at a strange light in his sleep. He raises his fingers and types.

HAV0C

Ya'll must be on drugs, kek-

Loreminder

I CAST FIREBALL-

The WiFi turns off and he hops off the bus, hopping unto another one. Unfortunately, no WiFi. Time to count down the hours before he can go home. College awaits.

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"Hah....kill me."

Normally he'd never hide in the toilet, waiting for class to end. But the lesson was dragging, the teacher boring....and there was still 15 minutes till freedom. So, he decided to have his break early.

He sat on the toilet seat, earphones in his ears and blue coat over his head. That's probably why he doesn't notice the notification hovering over his head.

[Tutorial is beginning in 10 seconds.]

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[Tutorial is starting. Moving user HAV0C #9324 to quest zone.]

The stall is bathed in a flash of light. If anyone was to open it, they'd find no-one there.

It's as if he never existed.

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Grass tickles his nose, filling his nostrils with the scent of soil. Sunlight kisses his face. He opens his eyes, slowly pushing himself up. He quickly realizes he's no longer sat on a toilet seat. He's sat on a bed of grass, surrounded by trees. gnarled fingers bursting out of the earth and reaching for the sky. His groggy confusion is replaced with a cold stab of fear that travels down his spine and makes his body rigid.

"W-what the fuck-?!"

[User HAV0C has landed!]

He flinches, scuttling back a bit from the hovering glowing box. He frantically looks around, taking in the drastic change in scenery.

"What the fuck, what the fuck-"

He scrambles to his feet, fully focusing on the notification window in front of him. He taps it, rewarded with another window reminiscent of a profile picture. His profile picture.

HAV0C

LV:1

Unique Abilities: ???

Unique Skills: ???

Weapons: None

Age: 16

Weight: 67kg(148 pounds)

"Huh...?"

Another notification window bursts into his face, making him step back with a curse, rubbing his bruised nose.

[New Quest: Show your will to survive!

Team up with your members to survive for a set amount of time.

Failure: TERMINATION]

The notification adds another knife of fear to his back, causing his hands to shake. Survive? Survive what? Is he being hunted?

And what do they mean by teammates-?

Someone slams into him from behind, sending him and them tumbling and rolling unto the ground. The two of them lie there dazed, before immediately coming to their senses and unfurling from each other, breathing harsh.

HAV0C spits out dirt from his mouth, face morphed into a scowl before he realizes who he's glaring at. A boy slightly shorter than him, with light skin and curly brown hair, freckles dotting his cheeks. His face is smeared with mud, and he's wearing an even bigger and angrier glare.

The two stand off. Then the boy speaks.

"Who the fuck are you?"

HAV0C blinks, momentarily forgetting to speak. His reply comes out fast and garbled. "Who the fuck am I? Who the fuck are you-?"

A notification appears between the two of them.

[You have met someone from your server :D! Revealing IDs now!]

"Hah-?"

A username appears above the two boy's heads. They stare at it for a couple of seconds, then back at each other, glares morphing into looks of shock. HAV0C removes his coat hood, eyes wide.

"C-Catnip?"

"HAV0C?"

The two just stare at each other before Catnip breaks the silent stalemate. Covering the distance between them and wrapping HAV0C in a huge hug. HAV0C stumbles back, struggling to keep himself upright. Catnip couldn't care less, too busy cutting off his oxygen supply by squeezing his torso.

"It's you, man! It's actually you!"

HAV0C stays still as a pole, unsure what to say, what to do. Should he hug back? Wouldn't that be awkward?

His hair is so curly, must resist pet-

Catnip holds the hug for a moment longer before releasing him and stepping back, face bright with joy. Then it hits him what he's just done, and backs away, hands in his pockets.

"So, um...wassup?"

The act makes HAV0C laugh. Maybe it's the ridiculousness of the situation. Maybe it's just how CATNIP is acting. Who'd have thought the normally cuddly CATNIP would be so awkward?

"Why the fuck are you so awkward!?"

CATNIP glares at him, quickly retorting. "Why the fuck are you so tall!?"

HAV0C grins. "Pristine genetics, child. The best there is."

"Pristine genetics my ass-"

The snapping of twigs and leaves makes the two whip around, scouring their surroundings. Without thinking they get closer to each other, looking into the dense foliage. CATNIP speaks up, his voice hushed.

"What was that?"

HAV0C turns to look at him.

"I don't know-"

Then grabs CATNIP by the scruff of his shirt and pulls with all his might. If he'd been any slower, CATNIP would've been beheaded.

The boys crash into each other, tumbling to the ground. Blood roars in their ears. Scrambling to their feet, they face their attacker, a figure dressed in a muddy hoodie and jeans. It staggers like a drunk, grey eyes dazed and unfocused. But what gets the two boy's utmost attention is their hands. Covered in throbbing veins, threatening to burst out of his skin. Fingertips ending in sharp claws.

Both stained in blood.

[Mission Objective: Defeat your first opponent as a team!

Reward:???

Failure: DEATH]

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