A game but not a game

All eyes turned in his direction at the instant he shouted. He quickly apologized.

' Does that mean I cannot leave this game or should I say this world?'

[ No player can leave until lives are exhausted and a last man is standing].

Max suddenly had mixed emotions. He was happy and at the same time scared. This world had attracted him more than he expected and he wanted to explore it but then, he had a family back home that would be worried to see him unconscious for only God knows how long.

And if other players couldn't leave the game too, didn't that mean thousands of people on Earth were transported to this world, leaving their bodies unconscious? What was even the aim of the game? Why did it have to keep people trapped in a strange world?

After relaxing to his satisfaction, he made his way out of the restaurant. Back on the streets, he decided to take a stroll.

He had walked for a long time when he came across a building that held a bold description.

"The core of strength," He read thus.

[ The core of strength: One of the biggest training halls to strengthen one's powers in Harbingers Of Death.]

"Thief!"

The shrieking voice of a lady rang in his ears from across the streets. He turned around to see a person clothed in a black hood running and jumping from rooftops to rooftops. No one seemed to care about the woman's scream. It was obvious they were exhausted from the previous game round. On seeing this, Max became eager to test his newfound strength. He could probably get an extra kill and if possible he could rank up.

He took to his heels and got on a roof with the help of the Lunar blade's additional strength. He followed the hooded person till they ran further into a quiet part of the city. On getting to the ground, he lost sight of the hooded guy.

"What a waste of my energy," He sighed.

As he was about to head back, he felt the cold and sharp tip of a sword against his nape.

"Why would you dare chase after me?" Came the voice of a girl.

"You're a thief," Max simply replied as he slowly turned not minding if the person would kill him or not. The regeneration ability from the flame demon had raised his confidence.

"You!" The girl's tone had suddenly changed into one of surprise.

"Me?" Max raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry. Do I know you?"

The girl retracted her sword and took the covering off her face and long black hair loosely fell on her shoulders. Under the moonlight, her beauty shone as much as that of a goddess.

Max's jaw dropped. His eyes could not believe what was before them. At long last, he had found someone he knew. Hillary was his classmate from school. Though they had never spoken, he had secretly grown to become one of her numerous admirers.

"You know me now?" She asked as she walked past him to settle beside a tree. Max nodded in an almost awkward manner and moved to sit with her.

"So you play games too?" He asked as soon as her information was displayed before his eyes.

Player Name : [ Dark Hillz ]

Rank : [ Mortal Being ]

[ No. 5220 ]

Number of kills : [ 19 ]

Special skills : [ No current skill. First skill will be unlocked over 4 kills ].

She even had a ranking higher than his.

"Yeah," She replied and took out a wrapped cloth from her hood.

"You never looked like a fan of games," Max said. Strangely, he had grown short of words.

"How are gamers supposed to look like?"

He noticed a hint of mockery in her tone as she unwrapped the piece of cloth, revealing its contents as cupcakes.

"You want some?" She asked handing a cupcake to him.

"So this was what you stole?" He asked taking it from her.

"Is that how you say thank you?" She asked before stuffing her mouth.

"Thank you."

"I'm broke," She said after swallowing the chunk in her mouth. "Spent the gems on me for a new sword. My old one got chipped in several areas during my last fight. I had to steal because I was hungry."

" Why didn't you leave the game?" Max asked, curious to know if she knew there was no way to leave.

"I find this strange but there's no exit button on this thing," She stretched out her hand revealing the device on her wrist. "I just don't know why but I feel like this place is real. It's more like it's a game but not a game."

"Because this place is real," Max said with a straight face.

"What do you mean?" She asked full of curiosity.

"I killed a demon who told me so. This world is a whole different place from Earth. We have been transported here for some purpose no one knows of," Max replied.

"Perhaps that's why all my senses worked perfectly. Even my taste buds understand the flavour in my mouth," Hillary said.

"You know what, I'm going to find out what that purpose is."

Hillary looked at the boy sitting opposite her and a choking laughter followed.

"Don't try being a hero or something like that. This is not a movie, dude," She said amidst laughter.

"I'm serious," Max said.

"Of course you are," Hillary smiled and got up, wrapped the leftover cupcakes, and hid them underneath her hood before walking away.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

"Nowhere in particular. Who knows, there might be things more interesting than cupcakes to steal before the next game begins. I don't mind if you wanna come along," She said without looking back.

How daring was this girl! Not wanting to lose the opportunity of having a companion, he decided to walk with her. The duo had barely moved metres away from the tree where they had taken a rest and tons of spikes with feather bottoms travelled through the air towards them.

The Lunar blades skillfully swung by Max, slashed through the strong spikes. He considered the spikes to be strong from the metallic sound they made as soon as they came in contact with his blades. Had it been an ordinary sword, it would probably have broken into two.

"Spikes with raven feathers?" Hillary was filled with surprise. She quickly drew her sword.

"Keep your eyes and ears wide open," She whispered to Max.

"Are attacks supposed to happen even after the game round elapses?" Max whispered back.

In the blink of an eye, four pairs of huge black raven wings flapped themselves onto the ground just in front of the two.

The wings immediately separated themselves to reveal a person behind each pair. Well, the word, ' People or Humans ' would certainly be absurd if that was what the set of creatures, four in number, were referred to.

Each of them had similar features that were distinct from that of a normal human. Only their heads to their waists could be considered human. They had furry legs that matched those of werewolves. Pointy ears elegantly stood on either side of their head. Werewolf talons were seen on their fingers.

To crown their menacing appearance, huge black raven wings stood on their backs accompanied by a long tail each that reached the ground from their backside. Despite, the weird make-up of the creatures, they looked so beautiful. Even the word ' Beauty ' was an understatement.

[ Name: Winged Jackals ]

[ Rank: Grade 8 Divine beasts ]

[ Also known as the dogs of the underworld. Creatures known to be good-looking yet known to be proud. Possess inhuman speed and strength. Naturally, they possess Essence weapons from birth that grow stronger as they grow stronger ]

[ Essence weapon: A Weapon linked to the soul of its wielder making them one ]

"Who are you people and what do you want from us?" Max asked careful with his choice of words. According to the System, these creatures weren't the kind he would want to mess with.

One of them who seemed to be the leader, stepped forward.

"You wouldn't know who we are. It's a pity though," The young under-dog said running his fingers through his hair. He was very much aware of his good looks. "We have waited for so long to meet you and to finally see you here with us, it is such an honour."

"You've waited for me?" Max asked, not understanding the slightest meaning of his words.

"Tsk. Tsk," The under-dog shook his head. "Human brains. They never understand things fast."

"What is it you want?"

His wings flapped causing him to leave the ground.

"I seek your worth."

Without warning, the under-dog's wings spread out in the air and unleashed numerous spikes in Max's direction.

With the help of his blades, he was able to easily cut through the spikes but to his surprise, a next attack had swiftly followed.

Like the speed of lightning, the under-dog had appeared in front of him with a huge hammer Max had not seen earlier. Using what he deemed a little of his strength, the creature smashed the hammer into the boy's face. The strength of his attack had a massive effect on not only Max but also his surroundings. A strong wind had blown away the ground behind Max into huge rocks alongside the teenage boy.

"Max!!" Hillary could not believe the strength of the weird-looking creature.

The wings of the under-dog flapped faster than before causing his speed to increase as he headed in the direction Max had been blown away.

Fearing that Max might be killed, Hillary started making her way towards the direction in which the leader of the under-dogs had gone but was soon stopped by the only female under-dog present.

"Not on my watch," The female under-dog smiled and a kick was plunged into the girl's stomach sending her through several houses nearby.