Chapter 2: Introductory Quest
{Accept} Y/N
{Please note that Bonus Quests cannot be declined}
"Then why even ask me?" Kalli muttered, already at the end of her patience with this so-called System and its inane warning prompts.
{Quest Accepted} Beginner quest: Fortify the classroom to survive the first attack on the Academy. 15 minutes remaining.
The information on the walls of the classroom changed, revealing the System Quest that Kalli had just accepted.
"Wait, what? Survive? What is going on?" The boy next to her shouted as he saw the introductory quest information appear on the walls.
"I guess this is the newbie trial? I totally don’t know how they managed to get us all into a VR game, though. Is this some new technology? Like, holograms or something?" One of the other students asked, earning himself a scornful look from the girl next to him.
"Does this look like a hologram? It’s a prank the seniors are playing, and I’m done with it. I’m going to find the teacher."
The timer on the wall was counting down, warning them all about the imminent attack. However, very few of the students were taking it seriously. To the majority, it was some elaborate hoax, likely by the students in the advanced programming class.
The girl stood and moved for the door, only to find her way blocked by two of the boys.
"NO! If we don’t play along with the senior prank, it’s social suicide. We can’t be the only class that didn’t go along with it."
"You’re an idiot, and so are they. Now let me out!"
"[I can’t fail this first quest. It’s the only way that I have to find out what is going on, and if these System Points are real, I’m going to need them.]" Kalli thought.
She was absolutely certain that she had just died in a city destroying police action. So this had to be either a second chance at life for her, or a chance to prove her good character before trial, and she couldn’t mess it up before she even knew what was going on.
"It’s just fifteen minutes. Why not go along? Block the doors, do some studying, and when the timer is up, we can all go out and see what surprise they’ve prepared?" She suggested.
"Fine."
The girl’s shoulders slumped in resignation, and she turned back to her seat. But the moment that the boys let their guards down, she rushed for the door, grabbing the handle, only to find that it was locked.
"Not getting by us that easily. Just take a break, it’s still homeroom period, you’re not missing anything until the teacher comes back," the boy insisted.
Before she could answer, something ran into the door, leaving a large bloody handprint.
"Please, let me in! Oh gods, let me in!"
The pleading from outside the door sounded off to Kalli. The inflection was all wrong, as if it was a poorly done voiceover, by someone who didn’t actually speak the language.
"Oh, they’re going all out. That looks so real," the boy at the door gasped.
"Who is it? Who’s out there?"
The students surged forward, trying to get a better view. Only, there was nothing to see. The window in their classroom door was now blurred by a bloody handprint, and there was no sign of anyone in the hallway.
For almost a minute, everyone stared at the door in silence.
And then the screaming started.
From somewhere down the hall, the sounds of metal on metal rang out, followed by the sound of splintering wood, and then human screams.
"You know what? I don’t want to go out there anymore. I’m good. Let them do whatever it is that they’re doing," the girl who had tried to leave whispered.
"Not good with horror scenes?" Kalli asked softly, catching the other girl’s attention.
"Not at all. I don’t even like action movies."
A few of the boys chuckled, but the noise outside was getting worse. There was clearly some sort of conflict going on out there, whether it was staged or not. The screams continued, as did the sounds of fighting, and incoherent orders being shouted.
Then, silence.
{Classroom 1F has been breached} 0 survivors
The system message appearing on the wall made everyone freeze.
"No survivors? What is going on? Is this part of the game? We need to keep the attackers out for fifteen minutes?"
Kalli shook her head. "I’m not so sure that it’s a game. Something really strange is happening. Can anyone see outside? I’m not tall enough to see out the windows on the far wall."
"Nancy, I’ll boost you," one of the boys offered a petite blonde.
The girl smiled, and took a running start at the boy, who lifted her foot and tossed her into the air with a graceful and practiced movement.
Cheerleaders, Kalli realized.
But when the boy tried to catch the girl so she could see outside, her hands covered her mouth, and her knees buckled, forcing him to catch her to keep her from falling to the ground.
"Don’t look out there. Definitely don’t look out there," she whimpered.
Naturally, the first thing that the boys did was to run to the desks along the wall and stand on them to look outside.
It was a mistake.
Outside the classroom, heavy clouds had rolled in over the city of Marimgar. The darkness seemed somehow fitting, the boys decided. Everything else outside was a nightmare.
Giant monstrous figures prowled the streets, flipping cars and tearing apart anything that moved.
Police lights flashed in the distance, and the distinctive glow of explosions came from all over the city. Then, right at the Academy’s ancient stone wall, something moved.
It almost looked like a bear, they decided. Only, the jaws were much too long, closer to that of a crocodile, and the hide was a mixture of scales and fur that stuck out in tufts.
Even from their third floor classroom, they could see that the creature was covered in blood as it rammed the school gates, which were locked for the day, as the Academy was entirely dorm resident and rarely accepted visitors.
"Guys, I don’t think this is a joke. Go look out the windows. Everything outside is chaos. And it can’t be fake, I opened the window to check."
Like a tide, the crowd moved from the door to the desks by the window, and Kalli sighed in frustration.
If they were just going to act like a herd, what were they going to do if there really was danger?
First, she had to barricade the door.
