This is Not a Competition

"Damn that lunatic, who the hell is Jonathan? That kind of score is more than perfect. Did he kill all the monsters in the mansion?"

"He should be a military man; I can assure you the world he chose is not easy at all, let alone easy to survive. I chose that world myself, but even though I knew everything about the plot, I only got a C-level score for just staying around the mansion, being protected by the main characters."

"You got a good grade. I chose the Train to Busan and spent the entire time locked in the bathroom, and I got an F-level grade. Those zombies were brutal, and the worst part is, if I hadn't hidden, I might be dead."

"I can't believe it. Have you seen the scores of those first two places? Maybe they're having a good time in those hellish worlds. I thought maybe I would survive my favorite cinematic world, but I came out alive with flying colors... Those top ten might actually make it good for them, right?"

"Most gates to the underworld demand more than any other. Most are of mass destruction, but they're not the most dangerous. There were others not mentioned, like Invasion from Another World, Tomorrow's War, and Sweet Home, which theoretically would be even higher levels above the scores shown so far."

"How are you so sure?"

"Don't be foolish; gates to the underworld are divided into various stages and storylines... You can't compare a Sweet Home simulation with one that starts in stages. There are certain simulations that demand little by little, but others demand so much at the beginning that the chances of survival are slim."

"So that's why they couldn't achieve better scores than the first place. It could be said that the first two places don't have much difference from the others in the top ten."

"You're right, but it's still a great achievement to survive a world like that. I'm afraid the rewards will be even more different, as even if they are different worlds, the missions are specific, and it's complicated to determine which simulation is the most complex."

"I'm just curious, what do I have to do to get an S+ rating?"

"According to the current complete information about those who would choose the same gate as the first place, you should have first visited the Umbrella Training Center, survived a whole day there, and eliminated the enemies. This can trigger countless hidden missions."

"Some surpassed the mansion by far, which could be said is not more difficult than the Training Center. Isn't that impossible unless you're a damn warrior? We're normal people; it's not possible for us to match the top ten."

...

"This is not a damn competition, stupid useless idiots..."

Jonathan raised his eyebrows upon hearing that, looking to his left where there was a girl with a hoodie that covered both her face and most of her body. She wasn't exactly short, but she didn't measure more than Jonathan's shoulder, something that didn't bother him but rather her somewhat aggressive behavior.

With nothing to do here, he quickly went in search of Alex, who should be among the crowd if he's still alive.

The girl who had criticized people's behavior looked at Jonathan's back and frowned, then murmured, "It's you; even in this place, that adrenaline-filled expression can't be erased from you..."

Still, Jonathan didn't know that the girl next to him was Emma, the woman who got second place on the leaderboard. But all these things were not on his priority list. Obviously, that leaderboard was placed to generate competition, to forget how dangerous the gates to the underworld are, and to ignore the fact that hundreds have died.

People tend to forget historical facts or tragic events in a few weeks, days if something more interesting catches their eyes. Therefore, this place does the right thing by introducing this kind of thing without warning.

Many now want to compete, feel the need to be among the top ten because they believe that only then will they have the right to leave this place. Now is when the real competition begins, as the first simulation is just to eliminate the useless; after that, the battle for supremacy in this place would begin.

"Do you know who Jonathan is?"

"We must find him and ask him how he managed to survive the simulation."

Wherever Jonathan walked, many talked about him and the gates. Some had ignored the fact that they almost died, did not question what this place was, and everyone seemed to enter into a misty discussion about the gates and how they would reach the end.

Only now did Jonathan understand the words of that girl; this is not a damn competition but a fight for survival. They didn't need to compete against each other but to survive together, but that was still something that could not be achieved.

With still so many people around, this wouldn't get serious until the third simulation. At that point, many would realize that only the survivors left are the next to die.

Like a game, this place won't rest until it sees them die one by one.

After walking for another half hour, Jonathan could see a familiar figure hiding under some bleachers while holding his legs slightly bent and looking around with absolute terror.

"Alex..." Jonathan murmured, very shocked to see his friend in that state.

What must have happened to be in such a lamentable state?

Are titans more terrifying than zombies? Probably the answer is yes. At least with a zombie, you can face them head-on, but with a titan, unless you train for more than two years, you won't even be able to confront them.