Chapter 1: The Tutorial

[Welcome to the world known as Aero.]

What's happening?

Loud bursts of screams shake my eardrums and I turn my head in confusion towards the loud sounds.

[All of you have been gathered here from every corner of the earth.]

Just in the corner of my vision a giant green monster over 7 feet tall crushes a human skull between it's large hands.

My stomach churns at the horrifically brutal sight, so much so that bile starts erupting in my throat.

Oh god...

[In this journey most of you will die a gruesome death.]

"Someone help!"

A bald man tries to run away from the large crowd of people but a rat the size of a German shepherd jumps on his back and tears him in half with a single bite.

[But a few of you will awaken, surpassing the limits of humanity and becoming "heroes."]

A little schoolgirl, one no older than 12 gets buried under the fist of a giant rock monster. A few seconds later the most amazing scene occurs, the girl that had been squashed fizzles into smoke and reforms a few feet away as if nothing had happened to her at all.

What the fuck? This can't be a dream, it's way too realistic! Where the hell am I?

[In order to survive in this place you must destroy yourself, both mentally and physically, in order to "evolve" past your natural limitations.]

Destroy yourself, both mentally and physically?

[I hope that you all make it out of this as new beings. May the tutorial begin.]

The robotic voice completely disappears as several more monsters crawl out of the dense forest.

Okay. Let's try to think calmly about this. If what everything that voice has told me is true then I'm in a different world full of monsters with a couple hundred other people judging by the sheer density of the crowd.

Holy shit that's absolutely ridiculous but I have no other choice but to accept it. There is no rational explanation to explain this situation so what has been told to me is likely to be true.

If this nightmare is real than the only way to survive is to, "break myself in a way that completely abolishes the limitations of a human."

How did that girl awaken?

My eyes turn back to the place that girl had been before, she herself is no longer there but the corpse of one of those giant dog rats is.

Did that girl somehow manage to kill a monster and that's what allowed her to awaken? But can I really do that without getting killed?

More and more bodies drop and I realize I'm out of time.

Fuck it, if I die fighting at least I might awaken rather than sitting here waiting for my death.

I get up and ready myself, the closest monster to me is a strange looking raccoon, instead of the normal ones I'm used to this one has crocodile like teeth and an extremely wide mouth that can't seem to close.

I definitely need some type of weapon, is there anything here that could help?

My eyes quickly scan the area and I see a dead man with a large wooden stick in his hands.

I guess that'll be good enough.

I run as fast as I can to the fallen man, picking up the stick and a fairly large rock before anything can try and attack me.

Try me bitch.

I chuck the rock as I hard as I can directly at the weird raccoon, it hits it straight in the face and it comes charging after me with a pained cry.

Alright I can do this, I just need to aim correctly. Don't panic, just stay focused and everything will turn out fine.

I lift my stick and carefully wait for the monster to reach me with extreme caution.

Just as it's two feet away I aim my stick down to it's right eye and thrust it forward with as much force as I can possibly summon.

"Arrghh."

The monster screams in pain as the stick lodges into it's eyes, the monster wobbles a bit in confusion from the pain, temporarily ignoring my presence.

Shit, shit, shit, it didn't die.

I run to the still struggling monster and kick it over and over, my feet pounding against its small legs. After a few dozen kicks I hear a loud snap and the monster tumbles over and falls on its side.

I pull the stick out of it's eye and thrust it once again, this time into the side of it's body exposed to me.

"Whhmmm."

It lets out a short whimper before it completely stops moving.

Suddenly the robotic voice comes into my head once again, along with a blue holographic screen that floats in front of me.

[The conditions for awakening have been met.]

[Status]

[Name: Kohaku]

[Age: 17]

[Title: None]

[Class: None]

[Level 1: 0/10]

[Awakening: Mind Enhancement (Common)]

[Mind Enhancement (Common)]

[This awakening makes you able to think, respond and react to everything 10 times faster then what your stats should allow.]

[Stats]

[Strength: 10]

[Agility: 10]

[Stamina: 10]

[Endurance: 10]

[Intelligence: 10]

[Mana: 0]

A wave of euphoria washes over me as I feel myself "awakening". At once a sense of strength fills my body and my mind becomes extremely clear.

Is this what if feels like to awaken? This is absolutely incredible, it feels like space itself has slowed down around me.

It's really strange that I have a status panel, is this some sort of extremely high level simulation? If I can level up like in an rpg, can't I just continuously kill these monsters untill they can't threaten me anymore?

My awakening doesn't seem to be extremely useful though. I can't do anything insane like become smoke to evade attacks but mine still has value.

Being able to react faster will definitely help when fighting, anything that will prevent me from getting injured is good. I have a strong feeling I won't be getting any type of medical assistance anytime soon.

If I want to kill another monster than it might be best to find another teammate. But I'm not sure if exposing the secret to awakening is a good idea.

If this is a simulation then the "players" left after the monsters are wiped out might be pitted against one another. I have confidence fighting another monster but not another awakened.

I'm sorry but I'll have to keep this to myself, I apologize for risking all of your lives just for the sake of my own.

After making a somewhat awkward mental farewell I sneak away from the crowd and deeper into the woods in pursuit of more monsters to slay.