Capítulo 1: 01 - The Light
In a beautiful apartment with huge windows that gave a view into the city of Los Angeles, only the sound of typing could be heard.
"Is it finished yet?" Trevor asked the frail young man who was typing.
Lucian, the frail young man, slowly raised his head with a deadpan expression on his face. He simply had no energy left in him. He had started writing when the sun was rising, and it was now gone. Darkness had replaced it.
For the past five years, Lucian had been ghostwriting Trevor's books. He was supposedly one of the best authors in the world, with all his books being bestsellers. However, what his fans and everyone who had once read his books ignored was that Lucian had written all of them, and one thing they also ignored was his true character.
"Hello! Answer me! Are you going to finish soon?"
Lucian sighed, ignoring him.
"Oh… ignoring me?" Trevor waited for a few seconds, but there was still no answer. "Getting cocky now? Don't forget that you're only a writer."
"Then replace me? What are you waiting for?"
A slight smile appeared on Trevor's face. "I have no reason to do that… now do I?"
Lucian was on the verge of cursing him, but he held back, knowing there was no point.
What was done… was done.
It happened years ago when Lucian signed a contract that would make him the ghostwriter of the arrogant little shit that was right in front of him. The worst part about this contract was that there was no way out. He couldn't dissolve it. Lucian would be forced to write all of Trevor's books until he had enough of him.
Ever since he had signed that contract, Lucian had become a slave, listening to every single thing that Trevor would tell him. He was worked to the bones without any breaks.
"Now tell me, will you be done writing it soon?"
"Yes… it'll be done soon."
Trevor smiled. "And what's soon exactly?"
Lucian calmed himself. He knew it was to tease him, so he took a deep breath.
"Just give me a few hours, and it should be done."
Trevor's smile only widened when he heard that answer.
"All right, make sure that you don't take too long. I want you to keep writing until you finish it. It doesn't matter if you faint. You will finish the book. Did I make myself clear?"
Lucian looked up and couldn't help but be disgusted by him. He was right there smiling, right in his face. Still, he knew that he could do nothing for him. Trevor was right... he wasn't the star. He was just a nobody… writing books.
'It's not like I have much choice either way.' He clenched his fist. 'That fucking contract.'
Lucian continued writing for hours without any breaks. Sometimes, he looked up and saw Trevor sleeping peacefully in his bed, making him grit his teeth every time.
'If only I was the one who had been in the limelight, the one everyone would look up to…'
However, Lucian knew he wasn't fit for it, or at least, that's what he had thought a few years ago.
The cameras, the interviews, the public, being the person who would go up and talk to the media. All his life, he had lived in the shadows. And as time passed, he had become used to it. But over time, Lucian realized being in front of the cameras would have been much better than slaving away for pennies.
'If only there were a way to change things. A way for everything to change.'
He looked out the window, depressed. He knew his life would look like this for eternity, which was extremely depressing. The only thing he could see was the darkness enveloping everything outside. He spent a few minutes looking at it. Then, he closed his eyes out of lack of sleep.
Minutes passed, and nothing changed. Only darkness reigned.
Until he felt sunlight go against his eyelids and his skin. However, that made no sense. It was night. The sun shouldn't be out at this time of the day.
Lucian tried opening his eyes as the light blinded him.
'There is light, but why… how?'
It made no sense. There was light at night. How was such a thing even possible?
Lucian was curious. He opened his eyes a little more, trying to see the source of all that light. The light was so strong that it was illuminating all the close buildings. Lucian noticed something weird: the light wasn't coming from the sky. It came from a small shiny ball the same height as his apartment building.
"Just who… who is that?" He stuttered, realizing that there was someone inside that ball of light.
He tried to get a better look, but he couldn't. He was too far away from it.
"Close the blinds, dumbass," Trevor muttered in a sleepy voice.
It seemed that the light had woken him up. But Lucian didn't care. He wasn't about to close anything for him. He might be witnessing history, and he wanted to see it with his own two eyes.
"What did I fucking say? Close those blinds. I want to sleep!"
Lucian simply ignored him, not bothered by his shouts. He paid even more attention to the giant ball of light in the middle of the city. After a few seconds, Lucian was almost sure of it. He could faintly see a silhouette inside it.
However, the silhouette looked special. It had the shape of a human, but not completely. There was clearly something in its back, wings?
'I wonder what it is?'
Trevor, who was still trying to sleep, had no choice but to finally open his eyes because it was impossible to sleep in those conditions.
"Why do I have to do everything around here?!"
Trevor barely managed to stand up and headed toward the giant apartment window.
He had his eyes half-closed because of the light. When he got closer to the window, he had to figure out where the button was to close the blinds, so he opened his eyes completely, and that's when he was also shocked by what he saw.
At this instant, sleeping became secondary for him.
"Uh…W-What's happening?" Trevor asked right away. "Wait, I think I see something in there?"
Lucian couldn't believe that Trevor had been able to see the silhouette so easily. It had taken him some time, and he still wasn't sure of himself.
"You see it too?"
Trevor had a confused expression.
"Someone is flying in the middle of Los Angeles! How could I miss it? Are you fucking stupid?"
Lucian had only been able to see a faint silhouette, and Trevor wasn't able to determine if it was a guy or a girl. Lucian was about to question Trevor.
"You can see that?! What does she look like?"
"Uh… I don't know, a strange-looking human? I only know that she has something massive on her back. No idea what it is, though."
As the two of them were trying to figure out what that silhouette was, a beautiful yet cold voice started speaking to them in their minds.
"Hello, humans," the voice first declared. "My name is Ariel, and... I'm an Angel. I come from a place that's very far away from here called the Otherworld. I'm the one who has been chosen this year to take care of you guys. Well… it's more like my family forced me… but whatever! I'm here because your world is about to get destroyed!"
'Destruction?!' Lucian shouted in his mind, not understanding where she was getting at.
"I'll explain a bit more. Mana has entered the boundaries of your world. However, because your world isn't made to endure such a powerful and mystical energy, it will be destroyed in a few days, or even worse, hours."
"Then, aren't we all going to die!" Trevor yelled into the apartment.
He probably wasn't the only one who got such a reaction since what the angel had just said was a big deal. However, from how the angel spoke, it seemed like a routine for her…
"However, don't worry too much. This situation happens often, and there is a simple solution: you guys will go to the Otherworld, the world I come from, which is… uh… quite the interesting place. It's a place where all sorts of worlds that got destroyed like yours gather, there are all sorts of species that you have never seen before like vampires, angels, demons, etc...
Lucian frowned. 'The Otherworld? An interesting place? What the hell is she talking about?'
The enchanting voice continued talking before he could think about it any further.
"However, while this might look nice… the Otherworld cannot welcome all of you... which means that only half the population will be able to go. And the rest of you, well… will have to die."
Lucian felt shivers run down his spine as he heard how emotionless her voice was. "H-Half of us…"
"But it won't be random. Instead of randomly choosing who will go, we'll play a fun little game. Oh, sorry, I almost forgot, a fun little deadly game."
REFLEXIONES DE LOS CREADORES 
JALLEN
JALLEN My entry for WSA 2024.
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/dUdNvrrn4H
Characters Illustrations are up for the main character and important side characters.
Capítulo 2: 02 - Tutorial
"Before I explain anything about the game, I'd like to see what you look like."
She snapped her fingers as if doing some strange spell.
[Teleportation of all Players in the 10th Area is starting…]
Lucian was shocked to see such a message appear before him.
'A real-life interactive screen… I really thought that I would've only seen such a thing in video games. Angels, teleportation, mana, a completely different world with all sorts of races… Incredible.'
Lucian had no choice but to compare what was happening to him to the novels he had written all his life. They were quite similar, and Lucian simply couldn't believe he might be experimenting with something straight out of a webnovel.
'Still, I wonder… how is this even possible?'
Unfortunately, the angel was the only one who could answer this question since she came from the Otherworld. Also, Lucian was pretty sure she wouldn't answer his question based on how she had acted previously. That's why he simply waited for the countdown to reach zero to get teleported.
[Teleportation in 3…2…1…]
Lucian's vision became blurred for a few seconds before becoming crystal clear right after. He looked at his surroundings, wondering where he had ended up. It didn't take long for him to understand, as he was in the middle of the Hollywood Walk of Fame street.
On the giant street, there were a lot of people panicking, acting like they were all about to die. They ran around, shouting, crying, vomiting. Even Lucian was scared. However, he was a lot less expressive than most. Trevor, on the other hand… was very expressive, maybe a little too much.
However, Lucian would have ignored him even if Trevor was about to die. He knew that his survival was riding on this. The angel had made it extremely clear that only half of them would survive and be able to reach the Otherworld.
"Silence, humans! When did I give the permission to start talking?! Do you even want to survive!"
Even while she scolded them and threatened them, no one listened to her, completely ignoring her warning.
"Seems like I have no choice, huh?"
Lucian heard many shouts around him, and he honestly couldn't blame them. It was a logical reaction. However, Lucian knew that panicking wasn't the solution. It was in those crucial times that one needed to stay attentive. He knew about it very well because of all those apocalyptic novels that he had written for Trevor in the past.
"If you don't want to stay silent, I will have no choice but to punish you."
She pronounced those words in a very calm manner with a warm smile on her face. It looked as if she wanted people to disobey her. And that's exactly what they did. Most continued shouting and running everywhere like madmen.
"...Seems like I have no choice but to make an example out of someone here."
She pointed at a random person who was panicked and exploded his head. She wanted to make sure that they would be taking her seriously. Even if she was beautiful and looked like an angel, the truth couldn't be further away from it.
Just like she had mentioned earlier, she came from the Otherworld… a world very different from what Lucian and all humans had experienced. In that world, she belonged to one of the strongest families there is… the Celestials. This year, they were the ones who were given the responsibility by the system to look over the Tutorial, which is why Ariel was chosen.
Everyone who saw the human's head explode stopped moving instantly. The ones running around also stopped shouting. No one wanted to go through what that person did. Some vomited, and some were on the cusp of doing so. It was a horrible sight for everyone that was nearby.
"Everyone done? Can I finally explain the game?"
No one uttered a single thing, meaning they were ready for the explanation.
"Tsk! I hoped for another one, but it seems like that won't be possible. Well, whatever." She took a deep breath. "For your information, I am not part of the mysterious people who have created the Otherworld or anything like that. I was just sent here because of my family and because the system allowed me."
'So, basically, she can control what's happening here because the system is letting her do so? Is the system, the little screens that appeared in front of us?'
"However, for the time I'm here. I have all the power in the world, but once you enter the Otherworld we will sort of... be equals. Ok, enough about that. Let's start talking about this game. First of all, you guys have probably noticed, but you are in the 10th Area, which means that the game you will be going through is the tenth hardest."
'10th one? Meh, it's not too bad…'
"This deadly game is basically a Tutorial for what will happen to all of you inside the Otherworld… As you can probably guess, the Otherworld won't be the most welcoming for newcomers, so make sure to get as strong as possible during the Tutorial. It will give you a much easier time in the Otherworld."
Lucian nodded when he obtained the angel's information, gobbling everything he could get.
"Before the Tutorial starts, I will teach you about some things that could become quite useful to survive. So listen to me." She warned them about listening, but she honestly couldn't care less if someone wanted to ignore her as she continued her explanation right away.
'So, the deadly game prepares us for what will come after…'
"First, you have all received weapons to defend yourself against the monsters that will soon invade your planet. Those weapons can vary from person to person. It can be a bow, a sword… All that you need to know is that it's the weapon that fits you best."
Someone in the crowd was courageous enough to open their mouth. "How do we access our weapons?"
"I will show you how to access your weapon soon enough. Keep listening. Apart from the weapons, some of you have received a special skill to help you in the upcoming Tutorial. Those will be unique to every single one of you. The ranks of those skills will be divided into Common, Rare, Heroic, and Legendary Ranks."
'This really is just like a video game. Even the rankings are the same.'
"Your stats potential will also be divided in those ranks, so make sure that you remember them. Also, you might think surviving is the only thing you must do. However, those who hide until the end of the Tutorial won't have the greatest time in the Otherworld. I can tell you that much… Ah, I think everything has been said, right?"
Ariel didn't seem aware of what she was saying as she looked into the sky, as if questioning herself about having forgotten something. Shortly after, she looked back and seemed sure of herself.
"Yep, I think I did. Well, try to survive."
As she said those words, messages that resembled the Teleportation ones popped up in front of everyone's faces.
[The Tutorial will start in five seconds.]
[5…4…3…2…1…]
[The Tutorial has started.]
[First Tutorial Event: Defeat the 2000 Zombies attacking the tenth Area.]
Shock appeared on everyone's face when they saw what the Tutorial would be about… fucking zombies. While panic started to install itself onto a lot of people, Ariel realized she had made a small mistake.
"Ah, shit! I did forget. Each time you kill a monster, you will obtain 100 points. Those points will be extremely useful at the end of the Tutorial as you can exchange them for many different things, such as weapons, skills, and class awakenings…. Also, if you want to see your stats, skills, overall talent, and your weapon. Simply utter Status Window, and you will access everything."
As she finished that sentence, she disappeared by waving her arm upward. It was as if she had never been on Earth in the first place. While she disappeared from everyone's sight, shouts started coming from left to right.
Everyone was desperate to learn about what their Status would look like.
Lucian was also desperate as he put his hands together, praying to whatever god, who might be watching him right now.
'Please give me something good… Please!'
Lucian knew that if he could get a good Status Window, he could turn his life around completely. If he could get one of the cheats that the main characters usually had, this whole Tutorial would be a walk in the park.
"Status!"
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