[Gunner]

Click. Click….Click. Click….Click. Click.

My finger pressed the button over and over again, showing and hiding the tip of my pen as my mind wandered aimlessly through the window of the classroom.

Ms. Fairfield droned on about Algebra; her back perpetually facing the class as she wrote incessantly on the whiteboard. I was pretty sure she did that because she didn't want to look at all the blank faces of the kids who were counting down the minutes to leave. It wasn't our fault, who schedules math at the end of the day?

More importantly, who thought it was a good idea to put letters in math?

On my desk was a worksheet that I filled out ages ago; anything to avoid taking homework back with me. Instead, my eyes drifted to view the perfect day outside. It wasn't too windy so we could go use the outdoor courts without worrying about the ball drifting on shots. Kevin always bitched when he missed a shot because he couldn't admit that he sucked.

In my dreamlike state, I saw that the air began shimmering directly next to the window. I startled to attention, but the strange sight already disappeared. I wiped my eyes and shook myself awake. Not paying attention was one thing, sleeping might get me detention.

Mom would definitely take my phone away if she found out I got in trouble. It was weird how strict she had gotten about that recently. I hated her constantly asking about every little thing about me. She asked about grades and rides to practice and who I was talking to on my phone and what I was watching and what I thought about Grandpa dying and if I wanted to visit grandma in the home that smelled like death and detergent.

I almost wished she stopped paying attention to me again and went back to being passed out on the couch, but, when I saw the tears in her eyes when she didn't know something about me, I struggled to be anything but happy that something changed.

My phone screen lit up, illuminating the inside of my desk. I pulled the phone out slightly and read the newest notification.

(Note: Texts translated from teenage boy to be readable.)

Kevin: Have you finished the homework yet?

I looked over my shoulder to see Kevin giving me a wave from the back corner of the room. I sighed and turned back to the phone.

Me: Been done for a while.

Kevin: Let me copy it later.

Michael: Me too.

I turned my head to see Michael sitting two rows next to me give me an eyebrow raise.

Me: When are you guys going to ever do your own work? I won't be able to bail you out forever.

Kevin: Hear this, Michael? This is how he talks to his best friends. His teammates.

Michael: We're talking to a stranger. All the great times we had together mean nothing. I'm hurt.

Kevin: C'mon, Gun. We'll pay the regular price. A combo meal.

Me: Two burgers and I'll think about it.

Kevin: Extortion.

Michael: Die.

Me: Then I guess you guys will have a great time on your own. Let's see. 2X+3Y-Z=8. Looks easy.

Michael: STOP!!!!

Kevin: Holy shit. I almost died there. Fine. Two burgers. Asshole. But, we're going to play basketball afterwards. Travis needs to learn that he's actually shit.

Michael: Like you're any better.

Kevin: Shut the fuck up.

Me: Deal.

They would grumble and call me greedy, but I wasn't the one that was going to eat the second burger. Though, Mom might start asking where I got the money for the food now.

A shadow was cast over the sun, turning the world outside a bit darker. A red tint spilled through the windows and cast a blood-colored hue in the classroom. My eyes drifted towards the window to see that the sky had turned red. A massive portal made of fire burned in the sky. Tiny black dots started to tumble out of it and descend upon the earth.

A shadow swallowed the red hue. A massive head emerged through the rift in the sky. Fires shot through its nose that evaporated the clouds. It crawled through the portal and fell towards the earth. A set of jet black wings unfurled as the dragon flew off into the horizon.

My heart felt icy.

It was the same direction as my house.

"It's the end times," Ms. Fairfield murmured in horror.

Everyone began to scream and shout. Phones were pulled out of desks and bags and pockets and cameras turned to face the ominous sky. People began filming their reactions as quickly as possible to post it on social media. Others bolted out of the door as soon as they got sight of the anomaly.

I was shocked in place, too busy staring at the sky and wondering if it was real to act quickly. The fire alarms were pulled, bringing me back to the present. My head whipped around and I made my way to the door.

I stepped out into the hallway and found more chaos. People were going in all different directions and colliding with each other. They didn't know if they wanted to grab all their things from their lockers, find their friends, or escape with what they had. I heard numerous calls as students tried to call their parents to get picked up. Everything was going to quickly turn into a log jam.

"Everyone please do not leave," the principal's voice came over the intercom. "Please return to your class and treat this like a lockdown drill until we are able to speak with the authorities. I repeat-"

Most everyone ignored the uncertain voice coming in over the loudspeakers and continued to devolve into greater panic.

"The door's locked!" A burly older student shouted as they rammed their shoulder into the exit. "You can't trap us in here!"

"What is that?" I heard a girl scream.

I looked out a window to see a large black ooze moving along the ground. It lifted part of its body up, revealing a mouth that looked like a blender. It hissed, spitting a tar-like substance on the door. The student who had been ramming the door wind-milled backwards before being caught by his friend.

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Notice

You are in a safe area. As long as you do not leave, you will not be harmed.

A colored box appeared before my eyes, causing me to stagger a step backwards. I looked around to see everyone else's eyes glowing with different colors; blues and greens and purples and reds.

"Gun!' Kevin called out to me. "You seeing this?"

"Yeah," I replied as I walked back into the classroom.

People had started to huddle together to talk about what had happened. The promise of safety seemed to calm everyone down slightly. There was death outside and an assurance that they would survive, no matter how flimsy, was the only hope that we could rely on.

"Oh shit, it's happening everywhere," Michael said.

He turned his phone towards us and started to scroll down. Video after video from Los Angeles to New York to Paris to Moscow to Beijing; portals spilling unholy creatures emerged all over the world. All of them were being held back by invisible defenses.

Scenario

The Dragon who Heralds the End has opened the gates to Hell and allowed demons to pour out. If humanity wishes to survive this calamity, they must awaken their power and defeat the wretched beast that caused all of this.

"Didn't we see a black dragon a minute ago?"

I looked out over the horizon at where that creature flew. I pulled out my phone and started dialing. If I was safe here, my mom was probably safe in the house.

No answer.

"Please just be asleep," I pleaded as I called three more times to the same result.

"Come on, I thought you were being responsible now," I cursed, tears of anxiety beading in the corners of my eyes.

Then, all service went out. Then, the lights went out, leaving the blood red sky our only source of light. Of course, someone decided to scream again.

Global Quest

The Audition

Entities from beyond have watched the fate of Earth with pity. A one-sided slaughter must be avoided at all costs. They are willing to donate a portion of their own power to save you, but you must prove yourself worthy of inheriting such powers.

You will be sent to a Dungeon with a small party of random individuals. Work together and overcome the monsters.

Reward: To be determined.

In the time it took to read the words, I had disappeared from the classroom. Instead, I found myself in a forest surrounded by massive trees. Even when I looked directly upwards, I could not see the tops.

"Kevin? Michael?" I called out as I looked around for any signs of my friends. They were gone. Everyone was gone.

I checked my phone again, but it was just as dead as it was a few moments ago. I sighed and stuffed it back in my pocket.

I heard something crack under a foot and my body tensed like a buck in the middle of hunting season.

"A kid."

My head whipped around to see a man in his mid-twenties wearing a hi-vis jacket and smoking a cigarette. A hammer was gripped tightly in his hand and a pair of carpentry nails were resting in the webbing of his fingers.

"Are you part of my party?" I asked.

"Seems so," he answered. "Whatever that means. Name's Kyle, what's yours?"

"G-"

A blood curdling scream echoed through the woods and stopped me from answering. Kyle and I snapped our heads in the direction of the noise. Kyle immediately started running; his hammer held up in preparation to strike whatever we came across.

"Tyler! Tyler! Where are you?"

A woman was clutching her head as she paced around a small clearing in the woods. She was frantically looking around for her child; constantly checking around the same trees in hopes that the outcome was different.

"Ma'am are you okay?"

"Have you seen my son?" The woman asked in a panic. "We…we were at the store, buying groceries. He was right next to me. But now…where did he go? Why didn't he come with me?"

Kyle looked over his shoulder at me, but I just shook my head. That wasn't my mother. I didn't want to imagine what Mom looked like. Was she wandering around some unfamiliar place, screaming out my name? I felt my stomach twist as I thought about it. The faster we could get out of here, the better.

"He might still be in the store," Kyle reasoned. "What's your name?"

"A-Ashley," she cried.

"Ashley, it's good to meet you. My name's Kyle and that kid over there is-"

"Gunner," I chimed in.

"And that's Gunner," he continued. "We're going to work together and get out of here. The quicker we do that, the quicker you can get back to the store and look for your son. Does that sound good?"

"…yes."

"Great. Now, let's figure out what we need to do."

Quest Notice

Choose a starting class.

Warrior. Thief. Mage

Note: These choices are only for the purposes of the quest. Your class will reset and any stats gained will be reset.

"Alright, now we're getting somewhere," Kyle said at the newest message. "I'll choose warrior and you guys choose the other two."

"I'll do mage," I volunteered. I knew that knowing magic in a situation like this could never be a bad thing.

"Uh…I'll be a thief then," Ashley offered.

Quest Notce

You have picked Mage. You have gained the abilities [Ember], [Frost], and [Spark].

You have gained the following stats:

+1 Strength

+2 Agility

+5 Magic

+2 Toughness

A wooden staff appeared in my hands and a wool robe appeared overtop my regular clothes. I looked over to see that Kyle's hammer was replaced by a much larger one and his jacket turned into metal armor. Ashley gained a leather coat, a pair of daggers, and a bow. It wasn't the best defenses, but it was better than nothing.

"Let's check our surroundings," Kyle suggested.

"A-alright," Ashley agreed as we all started to walk behind Kyle.

We walked for about five minutes before we heard rustling between the trees. Kyle raised his hand, but I had already lowered myself instinctively.

"What is it?" Ashley whispered, craning her neck to try to see through the clearing.

"A giant slug?" Kyle ventured. "I'm not sure, but I think we're going to have to kill it if we want to get out of here."

We tried to move closer to the creature. I shifted my weight to my toes and move without a sound. Ashley walked normally, her class making her movements undetectable.

The weak link in this instance, his new armor was unfamiliar to him and he took a clumsy step on some loose twigs that lied on the ground. A wince crossed his face and a curse at his mistake slipped through his lips.

The creature turned towards us. Tendrils spread out in all directions, wrapping around rocks and trees. It's beaked mouth opened an viscera dripped from its maw. A name appeared above the creature's head.

Fragment of Negative Emotions.

"Gunner!" It screeched.

I nearly fell to my knees. It was my mother's voice. Why did it know my mom's voice? Did it kill her? Had it eaten her? Was it too late?

"Tyler!" Ashley called out as she tried to scramble towards the creature.

Kyle sprinted a few steps and wrapped his arms around. I quickly moved to stand between her and the monster.

"It's not your son," Kyle said. "I didn't hear him."

"Who did you hear?" She demanded. "Tyler!"

"I heard...someone else," Kyle said evasively. "It wasn't a child."

"I heard something different too," I added, trying to calm our third member. "It's trying to make us give up so we're easier to kill."

A few ragged breaths left Ashley, but she firmed up and prepared herself.

"I'll go directly at it," Kyle said with a shaky voice. "You two figure out how to kill it from a distance. We can do this."

"O-okay," Ashley agreed, clutching her knife close to her chest.

Then, I received a message that my teammates had not; one that I could not tell if it was a good or a bad thing.

Notice

Numerous entities are watching you. You are the most watched human on Earth.

My nose crinkled at the expectations hoisted upon me. Belief was something that only my grandfather had for me. What these beings that watched from beyond saw in me, I could not say. By all accounts, I was an ordinary boy. Athletic, but not the fastest or the strongest; smart, but never the top student; funny, but not with a large friend group.

"What do you see in me?" I whispered.

Beyond my expectations, I was answered.

"To see what violence you are capable of."

"An opportunity gain a valuable tool for the future."

"A chance to laugh at the absurdity of everything."

"A desire to resolve a debt."

"To correct the mistakes of others."

"To show the world that there is hope that things can be better."

Different voices struck across my mind, each doing more damage than the last. My vision grew spotty and I shifted my weight to avoid falling over. They didn't make any sense. What did any of that have to do with me?

Then, in unison, they spoke.

"What is it that you want from life?"

"I want to save my mom."

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