Chapter 1- The Encounter (1)

Life in unpredictable in many ways

And the World is not what we may like to think

Should I say that life is mysterious or say that the world is fucked

Honestly I would opt for the latter

It was really funny that it wasn't even hilarious

Maybe I'm the one that's fucked and not the world

People do say that ignorance is bliss

And I couldn't agree more

It would have been better for me to not know

****

'one, two, three... seven bottles that should be enough to last me for a month'

I counted the bottle of beer inside my grocery plastic bag

I usually don't drink, but this month is special

Drinking a beer every 4 days shouldn't be too much

If I could I would have drunk wine but unfortunately due to my circumstances I can only chose to purchase the cheaper variety of alcohol

But....

I sighed while taking out my phone and looked at the date

'Death Anniversary'

This month would be my parents death anniversary

I don't know the exact date they died

Just that they went missing in January and came back to me as corpses at the end of the month

They said my parents died in February 18 but I don't believe it

They went missing in January and by January 31 their corpses appeared in our living room and after 3 days of rotting

Their corpses disappeared

And their body was found by the lake side of Moriu

But I don't think it was my parents

The corpses found by the lake was so bloated you could barely recognize them and the clothes they were wearing was different from the clothes my parents were wearing when they appeared in our living room in the old house

Although the autopsy showed that it was my parents but I'm never gonna believe it

I know what I saw

It wasn't my parents

My parents body is still missing

But that isn't important right now no matter how much I want to, I'm currently going through one of the toughest times of my life and I can't look for their corpses

And also

They told me to not look for them

When they appeared, their corpses came carrying a note saying to 'lay low'

So even if I know the identified bodies were not them, I kept my mouth shut

Me not calling the police or our neighbors when my parents appeared in our house was a different matter but let's just say it's also because of the letter

Back then I just sat in the corner and looked at them blanky completely ignoring the rotting stench from their decaying bodies

I shook my head and chose to erase that memory out of my mind

With a heavy heart I turned the knob to my apartment and what welcomed me was a neat room with a minimalistic style

It looked cozy but it also felt dead

Like no actual person lived here

I became confused

I checked the room number again and confirmed that this was my apartment

'What the hell?'

The room number on the door says 313

Which is my room number but the layout of my apartment doesn't belong to me

Is this a prank?

But who would take their time and money to do such an elaborate prank? I have no friends

Suddenly I felt a force push me from behind and slammed the door shut

I rushed to the door and tried to open the knob

It was locked

Suddenly everything went quiet

My heart started beating furiously

-drip drip-

I could hear the faucet in the kitchen dripping which shouldn't be weird but I remembered that I haven't paid the water bill yet and there should be no water that's currently readily available in this house that belongs to a poor pauper

-slither slither-

And I could hear something slithering inside the walls.... Well considering my circumstances that's actually more reasonable than water dripping from my faucet. It's been 5 years since I called pest control who knows maybe those creepy crawlies mutated eating expired food in my trash can

-creak-

The sound of floorboards creaking..... In that aspect I have a lot to say... Wood furniture these days are expensive and my financial condition doesn't really allow me to spend money on a wooden lamp much less renovate the apartment to install floorboards.

No matter how much you think about it

I'm in a very bad situation

Not just financially

I'm locked in an unfamiliar environment and creatures that doesn't seem like they just want to drink beer with me is locked in the same room

But why

I touched my face with trembling hands and I could feel it

Why

I could feel my upturned grin

Why am I smiling

_________________

LUCKY ONE YOU HAVE ENTERED THE DOMAIN OF 'MORIUSLY'

YOU HAVE MET THE REQUIREMENTS FOR ENTERING THE GAMES

AS A NEW CHALLENGER WE WILL GIVE YOU TIME TO PREPARE TO FACE YOUR ADVERSARY

THE DIFFERENCE IN LEVEL IS EXTENSIVE

WE WILL GIVE YOU 50 MINUTES AND A CHALLENGER GAMBLING CHEST THAT CAN BE USE 5 TIMES TO ENSURE WE HAVE GIVEN YOU A FAIR ADVANTAGE AGAINST AN OPONENT 50 LEVELS ABOVE YOU

QUEST BEING GENERATED

QUEST: SURVIVE

REWARDS: UNKNOWN

PENALTY: DEATH

NOTE: DEATH MAY BE A GIFT THAN THE CURSE OF LIVING

__________________

I stared at the panel of words enthusiastically

Is this what they call 'dangerous situations'? It's definitely dangerous, doesn't this panel say that if I fail I die? I haven't felt this kind of pressure in a long time that I forgot how exciting it was

Drowned in my own ecstasy of finding something interesting in a long while It was then I only realized that the sound of dripping water, slithering, and floorboards creaking has stopped

Instead I was incased in a transparent blue sphere and a chest about the size of a basketball was floating beside the panel of words

It had a label on it saying 'Challenger Gambling Chest'

I poked the label and another panel appeared

___________

ITEM: CHALLENGER GAMBLING CHEST

TYPE: CHEST

EFFECT: WHEN OPENED A RANDOM REWARD WOULD BE GIVEN TO THE CHALLEGER WITH THE CLOSEST PROXIMITY TO THE BOX

REMAINING CHEST: 5

DISCRIPTION: PAY 100 COINS TO PURCHASE ONE GAMBLING CHEST AND GET A CHANCE TO STRIKE IT BIG

___________

Wait what's up with this description.. is it an advertisement?

Nevermind that doesn't matter I had more important things to pay attention to

Like completing this quest alive, who knows if I complete this one and another one pop up, wouldn't that be great?

I stared intensely at the wooden chest

Since it was given to the system as an 'advantage' then it should be valuable no?

But when I saw the word 'gambling' the first thing that came to mind was the word 'rigged'

So this gambling chest shouldn't be too trustworthy but currently in my situation it's the only thing that can save me

How thrilling

But seriously 50 minutes and 5 gambling chests are considered an advantage? Towards an opponent that's 50 level above mine? Is the system retarted? How the fuck is that an advantage?

It's basically saying 'Your life and death is now in the hands of a gambling chest that's most likely rigged'

What's the use of 50 minutes? To prepare myself to face death with it's scythe?

Haha what an exciting situation

If I draw a terrible item or an item that can't help my situation then it's basically a death sentence

I'm just an ordinary person with nothing but my beauty

What am I supposed to do? Seduce my soon-to-be murderer?

Looking around the only thing I can see is the transparent barrier and a hazy view of my surroundings

Suddenly an impulsive thought came to mind and I kicked the barrier and surprisingly it.....broke

I stared dumbfounded at the place where I kicked the now non-existent barrier

The fuck is a barrier that fragile? Was it just for show? If I had known that it would break that easily I wouldn't have trusted that I was currently safe for 50 minutes

I knew it the system is a bastard

Now I'm kinda mad, it wouldn't be too fun if I died so easily won't it? How would I enjoy the situation if I'm dead? Just like how you need to be alive to enjoy money you need to be alive to experience thrilling things

But I shook my head, what am I? A kid? Who gets angry at getting cheated these days? I'm a mature human being

Actually everyone gets angry at being cheated no matter how mature they are but Elise has always been a little eccentric since she was a child so it's best to just ignore her mumblings at times like these

I looked around the well furnished apartment and suddenly felt a light bulb lighting up in my head

How much money did it take to make this place so homely?

She's probably blinded by the money spent on the apartment that she's subconsciously ignoring the dead and creepy atmosphere of the apartment. That's a talent in itself

Can I take this place for myself if I finish this task?

I sighed and shook my head, I was currently in a dangerous situation so thinking of stealing this apartment should be the last thing I should be doing.

Currently my only hope in escaping this situation alive is the shady gambling chest so I pressed the label above the chest and selected the '1' option. As for why? I just hope that it would be a good item on the first try so I wouldn't waste the 4 tries and can save it for later

____________

RANDOMIZING REWARD...

REWARD SELECTED

CONGRATULATIONS YOU HAVE WON A SKILL CARD X2

ACCEPT REWARD?

Y/N

_____________

Without much hesitation I pressed yes to accept my reward

_____________

YOU HAVE RECEIVED SKILL CARD X2

RANDOMIZING THE SKILL CARD CHOICES

PLEASE SELECT 2 SKILL CARDS

FIRE BALL X5

DASH X4

POISON BREATH X2

HEALING X5

CLONE X2

_____________

I stared meaningfully at the displayed choices and spoke to the panel

"Can you provide me with my adversary's strength and weakness?"

______________

UNLOCKED HIDDEN PRIVILEGE OF AN OVERWHELMED CHALLENGER

SEARCHING 'MORIUSLY' ON THE LIST OF CHALLENGERS WITHIN 50 METERS

MORIUSLY DETECTED

–––

MORIUSLY

LEVEL 57

POISONED

WEAKENED

STRENGTH: CURSES

WEAKNESS: ABILITIES RELATED TO 'PURGE OF CURSES'

–––

_______________

I was quite surprised that it actually showed me something, I was just testing my luck since the advantages given to me was just pure bullshit and including a gambling chest is just downright evil but I can understand a bit of it's reasoning, skill, control and quick wit isn't the only thing you need when you face a life and death situation but also luck

When I saw the information given to me I honestly felt disappointed it's so.... Lacking

But now I have information to reference the type of skil card I'll choose but the information that I was provided is meagre

It said that he was weakened but to what extent? It said that he was poisoned but how severe? It said his strength is curses but what type of curse? also his weakness.... What the hell is 'Purge of Curses'?

But I had no choice, beggars can't be choosers, And also taking a step in a dimly lit room is better than taking a step in the dark

It's already fortunate that I was given some sort of information. In time like these every little bit of information matters

After staring at the cards for a whole minute I resolutely chose Clone and Healing

It was a gamble

I planned to approach him without any hostility but if he still attacks me then I would escape if I don't succeed then I pray to my parents that's in hell to take care of me in case I end up joining them

A difference in 50 levels isn't something that I can overcome just by being beautiful

People do say 'If you can't kill them befriend them'

Though I don't know which psycho said that but I'm now following your advice