Max walked down a worn-out sidewalk in Milwaukee at night, a plastic bag of snacks swinging at his side. The houses around him were run down—windows cracked or boarded, yards overgrown. He kept his head down, lost in thought.
Another dead-end day... Maybe tomorrow something will change. Probably not.
Without warning, a loud buzzing noise filled the air. It hit like a shockwave. Max dropped his bag and clutched his ears, staggering. The sound lasted only a few seconds, but it felt like forever.
Then, white fire burst from beneath him.
Before he could react, his body was pulled away, and everything went white.
He found himself standing in a white room. No walls, no shadows, just endless light. A calm voice echoed around him.
"Welcome to the Tutorial Room."
Max turned in place, looking for a speaker or camera. There was nothing.
"This space will prepare you for what's ahead. Here, you will learn how to interact with the system, grow stronger, and clear gates."
He tried to speak. "Where am I? What are you talking about?"
The voice continued, ignoring him.
"To check your stats, say 'Status Window.'"
Max stood still for a moment, unsure. Then he said it out loud: "Status Window."
A glowing blue panel appeared in front of him.
-----------------------------
[STATUS WINDOW]
Name: Max Carter
Level: 1 0/50 EXP
Condition: Healthy
Strength: 5
Agility: 6
Endurance: 5
Intelligence: 7
Passives: [The First to Challenge – 167 hours – Unique]
Skills: none
-----------------------------
"To ask questions, say 'Search' followed by your question. Not all answers are available at low levels."
Max frowned. "'Search' What's going on? Why am I here?"
"You are taking the tutorial. You entered the gate."
What the hell is a gate? I didn't enter anything, I was engulfed in flames!
The voice in the Tutorial Room continued.
"To check gate objectives either inside or outside, say 'Gate Info.' The current gate is Level 1: a White Gate. These are tutorial gates. Death here means ejection, not real death. Levels 1 through 3 are safe in that way."
The information kept coming, too fast to fully absorb. Max felt overwhelmed but nodded.
"Gates will disappear once someone clears them or after some time depending on the level. There is no need to clear a gate if it appears too difficult."
"Do you understand the basics?"
The status window closed when he taped the X button. "...Yeah," he said, unsure if it was a lie.
"Confirming readiness. Transporting to White Gate."
White fire engulfed him again. "Wha-, Hay!"
He landed on his back in a strange open area. It looked like a forest, but everything was tinted red. A dim light glowed from above, with no sun in sight. Max sat up slowly, glancing around. He then saw a short sword in a sheath and a buckler sitting on the ground next to his snacks. Panic started to settle in.
It didn't help that everything was quiet. Deathly quiet. No bugs, no birds, no honking from cars… not even the slightest breeze. It was just dead silence.
He noticed that the trees were all identical and that the ground was eerily flat despite the environment.
He shook his head. "I don't think I can do anything to get out of this..."
He took a deep breath.
Stay calm. Figure things out.
"Gate Info."
-----------------------------
[GATE INFORMATION]
Gate Level: 1 – White Gate
Clear Condition: Eliminate all wild dogs (0 / 5)
Reward: 50 EXP
[Additional Info]
Hostiles will appear in 5 min
-----------------------------
Max stood up and clenched his fists. The panic turned into frustration. "What the hell going on?! Do I have to kill 5 dogs with just a sword and shield?!"
He looked down at the gear that was provided and picked it up. He then realized something, if is bag of snacks was here then maybe…
He reached down to the right side of his pants.
A bright smile came across his face.
Ha! I forgot about this. So, this won't be as hard as I thought.
He calmed down now and started to think. "I still got some time on my hands… 'Status Window'"
He accepted things unusually quickly and, for better or worse, he had to be ready.
-----------------------------
[STATUS WINDOW]
Name: Max Carter
Level: 1 0/50 EXP
Condition: Healthy
Strength: 5
Agility: 6
Endurance: 5
Intelligence: 7
Passives: [The First to Challenge – 167 hours – Unique]
Skills: none
-----------------------------
"'Search' What is the passive 'The First to Challenge'?"
"It's a Unique temporary buff given to the first person to challenge a gate. It increases EXP gain by 2X. It will last 6 days, 23 hours, 57 minutes, and 25 seconds."
He looked puzzled. "Okay, that's a bonus, but... it's not like I challenged this. I was just thrusted here."
He shook his head. "Anyway, 'Search' How much EXP is a wild dog?"
"10 EXP. With buffs, it will be 20 EXP in total."
"'Search' What happens when I level up?"
"You will be given 5 points to upgrade your stats. Every 5 levels, you may choose a skill. Passives must be earned through achievements."
"'Search' How much time till the wild dogs appear?"
A window popped up instead of the voice.
"1 minute and 36 seconds."
He stared at the timer blankly.
None of this feels real. Like I'm watching someone else's life on a TV screen.
But it was real. And he didn't know how to react. He felt scared and nervous, but surprisingly calm despite the situation. something even more surprising was how quickly he just accepted what was happing to him.
Is this how anyone would react? Or have I just become numb? I've got no one really... except Mom. And she's a mess... Carlos and Maelle? no, those guys will be gone soon just like the rest...
He took another deep breath.
"29 seconds."
"21 seconds."
"12 seconds."
"5 seconds."
"4 seconds."
"3 seconds."
"2 seconds."
"1 second."
A large wave of barking came the front of him. He tightened his grip on his handgun. His heartbeat was so strong and fast that he could hear it in his head. His hands started to shake, and he was breathing heavily.
I'm gonna die. Or… I guess not. But it's still gonna hurt.
The barking kept growing louder… and louder… and louder.
"Fuck, fuck, FUCK!" He saw one in the distance, aimed, and pulled the trigger… nothing happened.
"Shit! The safety!" He frantically fiddled with his gun and managed to turn off the safety. The first dog was already just meters away, two more trailing behind.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. The first dog went down, but its body still held its momentum and slid forward, slamming into him which knocked him onto the ground. The other two closed in fast. Lying down, he fired six shots. One dog dropped. The other took a hit in the leg but kept moving. Max stood, rushed the wounded dog, and fired point-blank into its head.
"You Leveled Up!"
Silence.
"Is that it? No... there were five."
He looked around frantically. "Gate Info."
-----------------------------
[GATE INFORMATION]
Gate Level: 1 – White Gate
Clear Condition: Eliminate all wild dogs (3 / 5)
Reward: 50 EXP
[Additional Info]
Hostiles approaching!
-----------------------------
At that moment something jumped out and bit his leg. He screamed in terror as he fell to the ground. He frantically unloaded his clip into the dog that got him. A lot of blood came rushing out of his leg.
He screamed as he grabbed his leg "ah… ahhh!"
Another dog jumped out and latched onto his neck. His scream died in his throat which was now filled with blood. Darkness closed in fast.
He awoke with an aching body, still dazed form what just happened "ahhh, what the hell?"
Coming to his senses he checked his body. All the wounds were gone, only the blood-soaked pants and sweatshirt remained along with his gear from the gate. Despite what had just happened, he was calm, in fact, all the fear he just felt was gone. It was probably related to the message that was in front of him.
-----------------------------
[GATE FAILED]
Gate Level: 1 – White Gate
Clear Condition Progress: Eliminated wild dogs (4 / 5)
Time before reattempt: 23hours, 58 minutes.
[Additional Info]
As this is a level 1 Gate the challenger will be brought back to life and healed fully. Mental state will be stabilized forcefully to prevent trauma.
-----------------------------
"This... doesn't feel right," he muttered, staring at the dried blood on his clothes. "None of it does." Its like waking up in the middle of the night but you could still remember your dream clearly.
He shook his head, slowly stood up, picked up his things and started to walk home. He looked at his phone and there were multiple missed calls and a text messages from his mom stating that he needed to get home immediately. He called his mom and started to run home.
Now that he is paying attention, he hears multiple police sirens going off and car horns honking.