Tutorial - Horizon Beach, Arcachon Bay, France, Earth.
Tutorial - Selected difficulty level:
Impossible.
Before Priam's eyes, the holographic interface, visible only to him, flickered to life.
System Initialization...
The Seven welco you to their Tutorial!
Choose a specialization.
Fighter. Non-combatant.
"... Fighter."
Better to be a warrior in a garden than a gardener in a war.
Main Quest: To Infinity and Beyond.
Cross one of the hundred portals scattered across Earth.
Rewards: Access to the Seven Concepts Universe, ???.
Difficulty: Impossible.
Ti remaining: 7 days.
Description:
In an alternate reality, the arrival of the Seven has upheaved the world order.
Earth is changing as fauna and flora adapt to the Concepts.
Humanity faced a choice.
Every human who chose a Free or Easy Tutorial disappeared.
The rest were corrupted by the [Redacted].
Only those who chose an Impossible Tutorial survived.
This reality will disappear in a week.
This Tutorial is sponsored by [Redacted].
Survive for a day to receive a reward.
Ti was freed, and the sun vanished behind the horizon. Priam read and reread the system ssage. Information was concealed within those words, and Priam didn't like what he understood. I have seven days. In this alternate reality, most of humanity is dead. Surviving a day is impressive enough to warrant a reward. Fuck.
His girlfriend squeezed his hand, pulling him back to reality.
"Do you think this is a prank?" asked Victoire.
Priam banished the HUD with a thought and surveyed the surroundings. From atop his dune, he had a panoramic view of the beach for kiloters. The first thing that struck him was the disappearance of hundreds of vacationers. Their friends had also vanished. A glance confird that footprints in the sand abruptly halted. Not a prank.
As far as his eyes could see, only about twenty individuals remained. All writhed in agony, seized by unspeakable suffering.
"I'm not sure these are actors," replied Priam, pointing to a man in his forties. Driven mad by pain, the man shoveled handfuls of sand into his mouth as he crawled toward the waves.
Further away, a teenager trembled. In a particularly violent spasm, he stumbled over a basket and fell headfirst onto a driftwood trunk. The trunk, brought by the waves, hadn't yet eroded its branch stubs. Victoire gasped in horror as she saw a piece of wood pierce the boy's neck.
Blood gushed from the mortal wound. Horrified, Priam recoiled. A hundred ters away, the black blood dripped onto the sand. With night falling, the scene beca even more terrifying due to the lack of light.
Suddenly, the trunk trembled, then lifted, propelled by the adolescent rising to his feet. Priam widened his eyes, retreating once more. The inhuman movents animating the boy sent shivers down his spine.
A form passed by them. Swearing, Priam lunged to grab Victoire's hand.
"What are you doing?!" he hissed.
"We need to help him!" she cried.
Priam's heart raced with fear.
"Don't shout!"
Victoire shot him a puzzled look.
"He's injured and terrified," she whispered. "Go alert the rescue center."
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
"What are you talking abou—"
Priam stopped and took a quick breath. It wasn't the ti to argue.
"It's too late for him, you know that."
At least, it was too late for a human.
Victoire gritted her teeth, refusing to acknowledge reality. "Let go!"
A howl made them turn around. The sand-eating man was running toward the teenager. Priam and Victoire watched him tackle the boy before violently biting his neck. "Oh my god..."
"Shit. We're in danger, Vic!"
Victoire's eyes were red from tears, but Priam held her gaze. He knew she would co to her senses. His girlfriend was as altruistic as she was intelligent.
"It's just us two now, Vic."
A tear rolled down Victoire's cheek, and Priam pulled her into an embrace.
"... I'll follow you," she murmured. Behind her, other howlers were rushing to the feast.
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