Chapter 11: End of Tutorial
There was nothing more unsettling than the sound of grass rustling in the thick of the night.
A girl with apple-red hair sat shivering at the campfire. She wasn't alone. Many like her had gathered here in this hell, none of them had the faintest clue as to what might be going on.
She doesn't remember how she got there, only recalled the sound of snarling, screams and footsteps... and then suddenly everything was dark and there was... silence.
She found herself at the campfire so easily...
She lost track of how much time had passed. One by one new players appeared. They'd ask the same questions. Be met with the same answers and resolve themselves to sitting or standing in silence. Waiting.
Doon~
The sound of the ominous jingle made everyone look up at the sky.
[Everyone has finished the tutorial! Time to reward you with a few gifts! Those who have managed to kill a denizen of hellville will be given bravery points to upgrade their current stats.]
"Someone...someone actually killed one of those things?!" Vacant despair receded from the eyes of the campers, who scanned the room now, bewildered.
A soothing bell rang throughout the air. A couple of people glowed with light.
*A boy with black hair and sharp dark grey eyes.
*A bespectacled boy in a school uniform*
*A girl with messy black hair so long her bangs covered half her eyes.
"Kimiko?!" The girl with apple-red hair could hardly believe her eyes at the latter person.
The girl with messy hair flinched at the sound of her name and after making eye contact looked so surprised she squeaked. "Ki...yoko?...S-s-so...you're... h-h-here too…?" The girl awkwardly shuffled towards her.
"Kiyoko-chan?!" A girl with silver hair tackle hugged the red head. In that moment, the silver haired girl was also glowing.
"Neomi-chan?"
To think she had also been summoned here…
"Maki-san, Higa-san, Kiyoko-san, Kaede-san, Nakamura-san and Tachibana-san. That's six people I know." The bespectacled boy from earlier, stepped forward, Kiyoko recognized him, he was her childhood friend, and class president, Tadashi Abe.
"Prez? I never thought I'd see you here." The boy with the grey eyes approached him.
"Yes, neither did I." Tadashi adjusted his glasses.
A question sign hung over Neomi's head.
"Who's this Tachibana-san?"
"The person glowing behind you. He's one of the new transfer students that will be coming to our school…"
The person he mentioned was a slender American-looking boy with blonde hair and a resting bitch face. He had the body of a man but his facial features were feminine, his eyelashes thick.
Meanwhile more people continued to glow.
*A tanned boy with hair tied back into a ponytail.
*A dark skinned boy with curly white hair.
[Next reward, for the people who managed to survive the longest without dying!]
Once again, Tadashi was one of the people selected. Once again, Nakamura and Kimiko as well.
"There are others who get extra pts isn't that unfair?" A girl with braided hair tied into loops shouted out.
[This is a survival game. Naturally, people will be rewarded for surviving. Don't worry we've prepared something for those who have died as well as everyone.]
Everyone except the earlier three glowed, items appeared in front of their hands.
[And for those who died the most times.]
Less people glowed but it was still a great amount, Kiyoko being one of them.
[As well as the first person to escape the forest]
Somewhere out there in the world, a girl with a bandage around her neck, thigh and knee lied passed out cold in a bed, her body glowed with light.
[Call out status to review your profile. Everyone has been assigned a class, in the following sixty seconds everyone must form a group. You'll stick together for the rest of the game. Penalties will be appointed to your group if a member dies or if a member has committed murder against another member. None will be for leaving the group and joining a new one. Now then. Once you've formed your teams shout ready, the game will start soon.]
"Status?" Kiyoko muttered after watching the others go first. A screen appeared before her.
"What are you Tadashi-kun?"
"It's Samurai."
"Seriously? That's unexpected!"
"You?"
" I'm a witch."
Tadashi smirked. "How fitting."
"Wait what's that supposed to mean?"
Kiyoko knitted her brows. How odd, was she the only one freaked about their situation? Is it because they killed a denizen that they're able to remain so calm? She died so many times. . .forced to wake up to the same reoccurring nightmare...
Neomi leaned towards her friend. "What about you Kiyo-chan?"
Kiyo stared at her screen vacantly.
"It's… locked."
"Eh?" Neomi craned her neck to look at her friend's screen.
"How is that possible?!"
[For some of you that have entered uninvited, your ability unlocks only after the ability of the person you followed in unlocks.]
"What are you talking about? I didn't follow anyone in here!" Kiyoko yelled back.
There was no response to her claim.
"Great, I don't know why I'm here and now I'm even defenseless?"
"That's not true you can still kill zombies so long as you have weapons. Look your weapon is an um… what is that?" Neomi stared at the object in Kiyoko's palm and wrinkled her nose.
Nakamura interjected. "It's a rosary, a necklace you pray with. I'm guessing she's something like a cleric or a priest."
"Cleric, what's that?" Neomi, Tadashi and Kiyoko both stared at him cluelessly.
"You're joking right? It's a character in rpgs that heals other characters."
"Does that mean I could prevent others from dying?"
"Well, yeah."
Overhearing this many began to talk.
"Did I hear him correctly?" People nearby began to mutter.
Eventually, some began to protest. A boy wearing a newsboy cap."Wait a minute! Just wait a minute. This is unfair, why is she the only one with a healing ability?!"
Another person said. "Hold on a second let's talk this over, shouldn't the healer go to people that need it?"
"Right! That group already has a ton of benefit-
"And?" Tadashi eyed the group. "Do you think it wise to leave a defenseless cleric with those who can't even defend themselves? Why drag her down with you?"
"We died to those things over and over again, how can you say that?" Someone spoke up. It was a frightened boy who was quite short in stature. "Are you saying we're idiots?"
Tadashi Abe shrugged. "Beats me, anyway it would be a waste to hand her over to you cowards."
They didn't take too kindly this response. The newscap boy seethed.
Neomi folded her arms. "Hmph. It's a given we stick together since we're all acquainted right?"
"Um. . ." Kimiko who had only ever been watching inched closer.
"Hey! There are too many characters that received bonuses on one team!" Someone else began to complain.
No one seemed to notice Kimiko. Every time she drew closer Neomi would block her with her back, or was she imagining it? Eventually, Kimiko backed off and retreated to go find another group.
A question sign hovered above Nakamura's head as he eyed Neomi.
"Do you know her Maki-san?"
"Know who?" Neomi blinked at him with raised brows.
Nakamura's gaze looked to Kiyoko who was oddly silent.
He saw her call out to that person first, yet now she was feigning ignorance. What's with that?
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone