Kapitel 5: Let the Games Begin!

Zero soon found himself wandering down a beaten dirt trail.

It was a narrow path that was lined on either side by dense forest. While the graveyard he had risen from was desolate and void of any joy, the area past the shrine turned out to be surprisingly...beautiful. The path led down a slope from the back of the shrine so it was hard to see from the graveyard.

"So has the game really started? Feels like I should've gotten more of a tutorial or something, right?" Zero mumbled to himself. He couldn't shake an uneasy feeling like he was being watched on all sides. After all, where were all the other people that had risen from the other empty graves?

"Oh, wait." Zero said as he stopped in his tracks.

He waved his hand out in front of him and brought up the menu that the guide had showed him. He glanced around all of the sections in front of him and sure enough, he saw a small button that was labeled 'Rules'. "That guy did say I should probably check these out. Seems like the kinda place where rule breaking isn't just looked over."

Zero crouched down for a moment in the path, the menu moving in alignment with his body. He pressed the 'Rules' button and a new holographic screen appeared with a numbered list of rules. Each rule was collapsed so that you can press it to read more, which Zero was in no mood to do. He was always one to respect the rules, but he also wasn't the most avid reader...

"Final System Rules and Regulations":

1. You cannot have more than 3 systems at one time. If you receive a 4th, you must choose one to get rid of to make room.

2. You are allowed to travel anywhere within the world. While there is no tracking system, there are abilities that allow players to do so.

3. There is a ranking system that updates daily. At the end of each week, the top ranked players receive special bonuses. Players can view the leader board via their HUD(heads up display).

4. Team ups are permitted, but in the end only 1 player can win.

5. When a player defeats another player, they are randomly presented with one of that player's equipped systems.

6. If a player receives a system from a boss character within the world OR they receive a system from loot hidden around the world, these systems will start at level 1 as they are generally more powerful.

"Hmmm." Zero slightly moaned as the words seemed as if they were beginning to blend together. "There's like over 10 of these. Ugh. I'll finish reading this later. For now," Zero looked around at this surroundings and wondered if he was already being hunted as he tried to figure out how to even play, "I need to find somewhere less exposed."

"AHHHHHHHHH!!"

Zero's head jerked to his right as he heard a blood curdling scream rip through what was once a tranquil atmosphere.

"Right. Life or death game." Zero reminded himself. He took a small breath and started a brisk walk further down the path. He knew that if he made too much movement it might draw attention.

"Please, no!! I-I can help you!" Another voice bellowed out from the same direction, which was followed by a sickening *crack*.

Fuck it. Zero thought, picking his pace up to a full sprint down the path. Someone was on a roll nearby and he didn't want to be a part of his kill streak. As he ran further down the path, he eventually came upon a split - there was one sign pointing to the right that said 'North' and the other simply said 'South'.

"Wait, how am I supposed to know which path to even take? My map doesn't-"

"I'm telling you, I heard some footsteps over that way." A voice carried softly throughout the area. Zero could hear the not too distant crunch of footsteps across fallen leaves.

And not just one set.

He decided to split the difference and instead threw himself in the vegetated area between the two paths and hunkered down within the dense thicket. He felt a trickle of something run down the side of his arm and instantly knew it was his own blood; the only clothes he wore was a cream tunic and some shorts that he had awoken in which didn't provide much protection against the sharp thorns of the bushes.

Guess I didn't have to wait long, Zero thought as he made sure his breathing was as quiet as possible. His white hair didn't exactly make him blend in perfectly.

Just then two boys, no older than Zero, emerged from out of the woods to the side of the main path he had just walked down. They both wore the same tunics as him, but the bigger of the two carried a decently sized hammer like weapon that already had someone's blood dripping from the blunt impact point.

The other appeared to be unarmed.

"Well, where the hell is this mysterious person you swear to have heard??" The bigger one talked down to his companion.

The other boy held his hands up in protest, "Hey man, I definitely heard something over this way! Maybe they already scurried down one of these paths. Should we just check?"

The armed boy looked towards the South path with a look of almost...hesitation. He clicked his tongue, "Nah. If they went South, chances are they'll be dead within the hour. If not already."

Zero raised an eyebrow.

The smaller of the two boys cracked his knuckles. "Then North it is."

Zero clenched his fist as his palms were beginning to sweat from his building nerves. I'm starting to wish I chose the Pyro System right about now...

"Wrong again." His friend responded. "We're going to keep doing what we're doing so that we can level up way faster than anyone else."

The unarmed boy seemed to roll his eyes, but it was hard for Zero to tell from where he hid.

"But this is getting boringgggg. I'm tired of just jumping new players - the experience is OK, but it's not fun anymore."

The other boy took the top of his hammer and pressed it up against his companion's chest as he leaned in closer. "You'll thank me when this bit of quick leveling gives us the edge over the more senior players."

His companion finally gave in and sagged his shoulders. "Fine, let's just get it over with."

A smile rippled across the larger boy's face. "That's the spirit! I'm getting use to this whole skull smashing thing." He happily announced twirling his long handled hammer. With that, the two walked back into the woods to find their next unsuspecting victim.

Zero sat still for about 10 more minutes until he could no longer hear their footsteps before slowly coming out of his hiding spot. "What a pair of sickos. But what's this about more senior players? I mean, the game just started. Right?"

A distant female scream quickly reminded him that it was suicide to linger in this area any longer with people hunting down fresh new players that can barely even defend themselves.

Zero turned his back to the main path and quickly took the Northern path. A small rustle could be heard from close by as he made his escape.