Chapter 3

The most excruciating pain often arises from those to whom we have entrusted our deepest sorrows.

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Once the fight to death had ended with the alien's life being robbed, the mysterious fellow victoriously surged from the ground and laughingly picked up the severed head, thus raising it in the air as a trophy he had just won in a competition. His roar of victory echoed in the silent neighborhood as his immediate sugar rush eventually wore off.

"Man, this bastard really did my lower jaw dirty, piercing a hole in it!"

It began to hurt once his adrenaline rush had no effect anymore. Strength slowly disintegrated into thin air as his dashing eyes— full of satisfaction, stared at the monster's lifeless eyes.

"But still, I didn't expect this fucker to end up here, too. I guess we will be seeing each other very often."

The man said as he flung the head away with what little strength he had left in his body after looking at the dying Wil. He didn't even bother to help him. He just sat there, beat up, and waited for something to happen. Like a miracle.

And like he knew what was gonna happen, the man happily said, "Finally," then laid on his back on the pavement as he let out a deep exasperated sigh.

"Tonight's hunt was pretty exhausting."

***

Murmurs and chatters rang in Wil's ears while the pain was slowly going away. It was warm, like being showered by the sun's gentle grace in the morning and feeling the warmth of his parents' caress when he was a kid.

Growing louder, disrupting the peaceful slumber and relaxing dream Will had, a strange voice began to sing inside the room as people focused their eyes on the wide screen while weapons came out of nowhere. However, the said weapons were locked or couldn't be touched, for a restriction was placed on it.

"Oh, dear Lord! Good heavens! Is this what they call heaven?! If so, this is so different from the scriptures!"

A pastor was holding a cross in his hand while saying his repeated prayers day and night. Skeptical about the place he was in, he asked for forgiveness, his safety, and his well-being, although he knew that he had died.

"Who knows? This might be purgatory. You know, where they throw the "less sinful" people."

Sarcastically, a girl in a uniform quoted after hearing what the pastor had said as she chewed on a piece of bubble gum.

Different types of people were inside the room, asking where they were, doing their best to escape the impregnable room they were in until all of them gave up on it eventually. With the realization of not going anywhere, they chose to listen to the dumb countryside song until it was done and, they were shown the image of the monster they would be disposing of.

[Name: Chop Poch]

[Description: A brutal mimicker that takes on the form of the person it consumes. Be wary of this alien as it's super tricky!]

[Time Remaining: 2 hours]

***

When everything was done, when the mysterious person, who turned out to be Berret, had finally killed the monster; all of the remaining survivors escaped their eternal punishment, which was death.

Although Wil has little recollection of his time inside the strange room where it was all white, even the widescreen, he didn't question any of it but just went along with what was happening.

Outside the room's window, his mind dozed off. He definitely recalls the place outside, just couldn't put his mind to it until they were congratulated by an automated voicemail.

Besides the voice speaking through the speakers, no further texts were presented in the widescreen except for the weird font of the word congratulations.

"Only two of you survived this time. This truly saddens me, but having two is better than none, no?"

Yes, now Wil recalled the confusion before inside the room as they argued and a fight broke out between all of them until he was smacked on his head, therefore losing consciousness.

"Quit yapping and just get on with our progress!"

Wil realized that it was Berret and could not hide his surprise. He was sure that Berret had avoided the perpetrator, but he guessed that he also fell on the murderer's hand.

"The hell you're looking at? Do you want me to beat you up?"

Wil scoffed at Berret, and the latter found that offending but didn't do anything. Just him remaining hotheaded as the wide screen relayed some information for them.

[Name: Wilfritz Miranda]

[Description: A gloomy-looking guy who likes to endanger himself by doing parkour, stunts, and climbing towers and buildings. He thinks he can beat Berret in a fistfight.]

The widescreen did Wil so bad that it instantly made Berret glare in his direction, cracking his knuckles as he clenched his teeth in anger.

"So, the motherfucking wimp thinks I'm someone he can beat up, huh?! Do I look like a loser to you?!"

"No, no, no, Berret! T-That was clearly lying about it! Haha!"

Roughly clutching onto Wil's collar and trying to lift him up in the air even though they were of the same height with Wil slightly taller than Berret by a few inches, Berret's strength proved real.

"Put me down, Berret," said Wil as his eyes showed no fear towards his classmate.

Chucklingly, Berret abruptly cooled down and let go of Wil, but the latter fell on the floor butt first.

"Ow!"

[Name: Wilfritz Miranda]

[Level: 1]

[Value: F-]

[Equipment: Useful Eyeglasses]

[Useful Eyeglasses: It is acquired with night vision and map features of the vicinity. The user is also able to track up to two targets.]

[Skills: None ]

[EXP: 10/100]

"Wilfritz Miranda gained only 10 EXP because of how he became the bait to lure Chop Pohc. The remaining EXP all went to Berret."

Flooded with questions that needed answers, Wil ignored the things the wide screen had said and just went on with his questions.

"Why are we here?! Did we really die?! Am I gonna be stuck— wait, no. If I was able to..."

There was recent news about a student suddenly vanishing after getting hit by a truck. Witnesses have said that they saw the student go under the truck, and he was even crushed by the truck's tires. However, when the paramedics arrived, the student's body was never found.

"Is this your first time here, Berret? You seemed pretty chill, considering all the questions you would have in mind if this was your first time."

Smirkingly, Berret was thinking of giving Wil an answer or just ignoring his classmate.

"What do you think?" Asked Berret, his hands akimbo.

"I think that you are not new here. And that you died a while ago and found yourself here. So, the killer wasn't able to kill you."

"Right on, wimp, though I got a quick look at the murderer's face."

[Name: Berret Idalgo]

[Level: 3]

[Value: F+]

[Equipment: Varnishing Mask]

[Varnishing Mask: Cover the user's whole body with a non-sticky liquid that turns the user invisible.]

[EXP: 390/600]

New players only get descriptions, for they have to be properly introduced to the old players like Berret. So, it was a real advantage to arrive earlier than the others. That means dying earlier than the other people.

Back in the suburb, Berret was not actually wearing the Varnishing Mask on his face as his equipment. It has a feature that allows him to activate even without wearing it. Just by having the Varnishing Mask with him physically, Berret will be able to turn invisible.

"What's the level for? And the value? I'm guessing this won't be my last time here. And will I be able to go back home too? Well, that's a given, considering Berret's situation."

All of the questions that can be answered by the wide monitor have been fulfilled.

"Your level determines your value, and your value determines when you'll be able to acquire equipment. So, the more your level and value increase, the stronger you become. As for your last question, yes, you'll be able to go home."

Relief washed over the worried look on Wil's face while Berret had already left with a satisfied result of tonight's hunt. He left Wil all alone in the strange room and had gone away without Wil's knowledge.

"He must have used his Varnishing Mask to hide away his presence, then sneaked out. What a total bastard!"

"Take care!"

Wil had left the strange room and found out that it was an abandoned apartment from the outside. He was allowed to take home the Useful Eyeglasses he had.

"Each piece of equipment is unique to its users. No equipment is being used by different people at once other than having two different traits is what the voice told me. That means I won't have what Berret got. And we can't even use other's equipment!"

It baffled Wil that it showed them a game-like concept where they were leveling every end of the hunt. As for its purpose, other than the fact that it helps them get more powerful weapons or equipment, is unknown to Wil.

Moving towards an unknown path, having little to no knowledge of what was about to come, Wil delved deeper into the darkness wherein no light could be seen at the end.

~