01 - TUNNEL VISION


Players Ready?

Not really.

Countdown Begins In 3-

Oh Sydofh. What-

2-

Have you gotten yourself-

1-

Into this time?

Countdown Started

Fuck me.

- TIME ELAPSED - 00:00:01 -

So much for making a good first impression.

The event? Countdown. The goal? Escape with your life. Players divided into groups of twenty-five based on level and class would be dropped into the middle of a maze. They would each be given a watch that carried a timer and served as a device for the SYSTEM to speak from. The timer would start at irregular intervals and once that countdown reached zero, an enemy would be released into the maze with the players. The number of releases was not specified but it was noted that this would continue for sixty minutes. At the one-hour mark an indestructible “something” as the bulletin called it, would be unleashed. Any player that could make it out alive would be rewarded and those who could not would walk away empty handed.

The light barrier surrounding his group vanished and there they stood, in the midst of an open cave-like area. A series of tunnels connected to this starting point from nearly every direction and Sydofh hadn't a clue which one looked like a good idea. Many players reached for their weapons but the Twin Blade opted to look at his watch.

Five minutes.... They're certainly not giving us much time to think.



“So..... What should we do?” asked Ktat, planting his spear in the ground.

“Find the exit?” countered MekooMetoo sarcastically, a fragile yet energetic looking girl.

“All we need to do is stick together and we’ll all make out with the rewards. These creatures shouldn’t be a problem with all of us, right?” proposed Sonicwave, another Wavemaster.

Everyone seemed to agree with that notion and most agreed that he should lead the way. And so Sonicwave, who seemingly had been elected as commander, led them down one of the many tunnels. The entire maze seemed to be cavernous in nature, everything packed together with rocks and clay and dirt. Torches aligned many of the walls, which kept things surprisingly well lit. The ceilings hovered well above the players’ heads so it at least looked like they would not be crawling through tight spaces and playing The Descent.

Sydofh followed along in the middle of the group, his eyes wandering around at the other players and their surroundings. He was fine with Sonicwave playing captain as long as things went smoothly. Conflict of any kind could be disastrous for the group so he had no plans of speaking up unless it was called for. Another clan leader among the group, Dargaizz, was not as pleased by the unanimous decision made a few minutes earlier.

“This is foolish. We should be calling the shots.” he said with disgust.

“It’s not a big deal. As long as we work as a team this should be a piece of cake, no matter who's calling the shots.” replied Sydofh, who was already tiring of Darg’s moaning a minute in.

A fellow Twin Blade by the name of Ariuhh leaned in between the two. “Not to be Miss Pessimistic here, but in my opinion I doubt this will be any variety of cake.” She smiled at them and leaned back out of view. Sydofh turned and smiled while Dargaizz grunted something about them going the wrong way.

She’s probably right. After all, we don’t know what they’re going to be throwing at us.

Five

Well, I-

Four

Guess we’re going-

Three

To find out right-

Two

About now.

One

Sydofh drew his blades and clinched the hilts. They felt warm and familiar. He felt he was ready.

Enemy Released

What a stupid thought he would come to find that was.