Guide To The Nightmare Cycle!
First thing first, let me introduce you to this genre.
Q: What is Unlimited Flow?
♠ A genre featuring horror, challenge, and survival games. A character is summoned into unique spaces separate from the real world and has to complete tasks, generally stuff like puzzles, survival or horror games. The final purpose is to survive. Usually involving instances and special abilities, a system is optional. (This is taken from Google, credit to Yuu)
Q: Do you have examples of this genre?
♠ Yes! Actually, I have been a fan of unlimited flow for years and I've run out of books to read tbh, that's why I resort to writing it myself QAQ If you're interested in this genre, I have a few great recommendations for you to read, and you can access them in novelupdates for FREE
ps: they are all BLs ;)
Some examples of unlimited flow I've read and love:
▪Kaleidoscope of Death
▪Supernatural Movie Actor App
▪The Earth Is Online
▪Thriller Trainee
▪Surprise! The Supposed Talent Show Was Actually–?!
▪The Days I Clear Escape Games Pretending to be an NPC
Do tell me in the comment section if you'd like more recommendations. If you prefer watching the series, then the examples of this genre will be 'Squid Game' and 'Alice in Borderland'.
Next, let me introduce you to the world of this book.
Disclaimer: this Aux chapter serves as an insight to worldbuilding. It will gradually be revealed along the story, so warning for spoiler alert!
Story mainly takes place in fictional countries in China.
♠ Nightmare Cycle
The Nightmare Cycle descended upon the world a few decades ago and the criteria in which it chose people remains unknown to date. So far, according to the data in the Nightmare Forum, the range of age between players is 8 - 75. The chosen people will receive an invitation in the form of a bus ticket.
♠ Bus Ticket
It is a mysterious invitation to the Nightmare Cycle. On the ticket, the date, time and location you have to board the bus will be displayed. And if you fail to get into the bus when the time comes, you will suffer from a horrible and excruciating death. In the forum, players tend to call it 'death notice'.
The time interval to which they receive the tickets will vary with the rise of their ranks. For example, first-timers will receive their bus ticket three days prior to their first Cycle, and for the second Cycle, they will receive it one week prior. Hearsay Legendary players receive their ticket one or two years in advance, giving them ample time to prepare for the ordeal they have to face.
One more thing, players must bring the ticket with them when they board the bus otherwise the door won't be opened to them.
♠ The Chosen People
They will be referred to as players from here on. Players who have hopped on the bus will be transported to their first Cycle. There, they have to complete a series of tasks issued by the NPC and obtain a return ticket in order to break away from the Cycle, while trying to survive until the end. Once players managed to accomplish this feat, they would be rewarded with either skill cards, props, or experience points.
Until now, nobody knows how many Cycles players have to go through to put a stop to this nightmare.
There are five rank distinction between players:
▪Newbie
▪Intermediate
▪Veteran
▪Elite
▪Legendary
First time players will be called Newbie. Once they survive through the first Cycle, then they will become Intermediate players. On their third Cycle, Intermediate players will receive more difficult, specially tailored tasks from the NPC as a test to rise in rank. If they fail, then only death awaits them, but if they succeed, then they will start to get physical enhancement and be upgraded into Veteran players. Similarly, Veteran players will be tested during their sixth Cycle to be upgraded into Elite players.
However, in order for Elite players to advance into Legendary players, they will have to challenge the Nightmare themselves and complete a set of harrowing, inconceivable tasks that are more dangerous than anything they have gone through before. But in exchange, they will receive extraordinary rewards – rumors say that they have touched upon the realm of demigods.
So far, there are only three Legendary players in China.
♠ Skill Card
The most important reward players can get from completing tasks or breaking away from the Cycle. The rate in which skill card is dropped depends on luck, affinity and whether the Nightmare acknowledges you as its challenger. Once a player receives a skill card, it will be automatically bound to them.
But be careful, it can be robbed when the player is killed by another player, so you may not want to let others know what kind of skill cards you have in your possession.
There is no limit to the type of skills the Nightmare can bestow you, only those you haven't imagined yet. Here are a few examples:
▪Healing
▪Divination
▪Invisibility
▪Illusion
▪Manipulation
▪Shape-shifting
▪Summoning
▪Mind Control
▪Others
These types of skill can be further divided into a more specific purpose, for example for Manipulation, it can be Blood Manipulation, Gravity Manipulation etc. Typically, players will receive a skill card after they become an Intermediate player.
Skill cards are also divided into several levels that correspond to deck cards, namely Level 2 being the weakest, Level 3, Level 4, Level 5… Level Jack, Level Queen, Level King, and Level Ace being the strongest. There are rumors that Joker skill cards have started to appear in the Nightmare Cycle, but until now no one has come out to attest to it yet and it is still unknown whether it will replace Ace as the strongest card.
The higher the level of a skill card is, the more powerful they are and the cooldown time for their usage will also be shortened.
♠ Properties (props)
Object or item that players can use to progress through the Cycle, including but not limited to weapons, magical tools, food or shelter materials. Different from skill cards, props will not be automatically bound to players and hence, it could be given or traded at will.
Players can obtain props as a reward for tasks completion or after successfully breaking away from the Cycle. Props can be sold in the Nightmare Forum for experience points.
There are a few rank distinction for Props based on its quality and rarity:
▪Common
▪Valuable
▪Unique
▪Epic
▪Divine
♠ Experience points
Another reward players will obtain in the Nightmare Cycle. This will be a currency used in Nightmare Forum. Aside from purchasing props, points can also be used to upgrade skill cards. For example, once you gather enough points, you can upgrade your Level 2 skill card into Level 3. Of course, the higher the level, the more points you will need.
Points can also be exchanged into real money. 1 point = 500 RMB or around $72
♠ Nightmare App
An app that will automatically appear in the player's phone once they survive through the first Cycle and become an Intermediate player. The app can't be erased. It is used by players to navigate through the Nightmare Cycle and connect with other players.
In the Nightmare Forum, you can find your own data profile, browse the forum where players would usually discuss their Cycles, trade props, choose your next Cycle (only Veteran players and above will be able to access it), search for vacancy in organizations, and also see the rank of players in the region.
The ranking is sorted by the Nightmare itself based on the accumulated experience points, number of Cycles completed, quality of props owned and level of skill cards. Only the top 100 players are shown in the app.
♠ Organization
The higher the level of Cycles, the more players it will need. Typically, low level Cycles will only consist of 4-7 players at most, with a mix of Newbies and Intermediates, and if you're lucky then a Veteran will be pulled in to guide you (but such a case seldom happens because low level Cycles yield little experience points so Veterans will be unwilling to waste their time there).
On the other hand, high level Cycles will often have more than 50 people, none are below Veteran.
When entering a high level Cycle, players prefer to form an organization and challenge the Cycle together using a special prop. This will reduce the risk of being calculated and schemed against by others.