Endzone: Simulated Apocalypse

"Even light itself eventually succumbs to darkness."

*****

- Nighttime, Outside Lumina -

"… This appears to be the city in the center of this world," a young man with messy black hair and brown eyes said, inspecting his map. There was a scar mark that cut through his right eye diagonally but did not blind him, and instead gave him the intimidating look of a battle-hardened war veteran. He was not physically old, perhaps in his twenties at best, and yet the look in his eyes carried the maturity and rigidness of a retired soldier.

Behind him, a girl stepped up, an innocent and worried look on her face. "Um… Ragnar, are you sure we should go there? I mean… since it's where the final battle is supposed to take place, it's bound to be dangerous, right?"

Despite being originally from a different country than the young man back on Earth, he could perfectly understand the girl's words thanks to the auto-translation system of Endzone. The five of them had gradually came to realize that in the time they had spent together thus far.

The young man—Ragnar—turned his eyes towards the massive skyscraping tower in the middle of the city, piercing through the heavens yet nothing more than a black silhouette under the dark night sky.

"… Maybe you're right," he said at last. "But we've already made the unanimous decision as a whole—there is no sense in turning back now. Besides, the Scarlet Hour isn't here yet, so most of the mutants should be easy to deal with. As long as we avoid the stronger ones, we'll be fine. Given how close some of you spawned to this city, I doubt there aren't weaker enemies in there too to help us level up. It wouldn't be fair if they set this up like a game, only to give us insanely strong enemies right off the bat."

A few others in their little group nodded in agreement.

"Judging from the broadcast message earlier, we'll need to go there eventually as the game progresses, so we might as well head in now so we'll have an advantage in terms of familiarity with the area when it comes down to fighting other survivors," a man in glasses said, pushing his spectacles up the bridge of his nose. "So long as we stick together, we'll make it to the end."

The other three nodded happily and began making small talk, filled with the laughter and fun that could only come from being in a group of allies.

'Fighting other survivors, huh…' Ragnar gave a sigh as the thought crossed his mind, and he swept his gaze across his four companions. They had been doing their best to survive until Ragnar found them, and offered to join forces. Naturally, all of them were wary at first, but after familiarizing themselves with one another, they slowly came to the agreement that they would stick together until the very end.

But even so… the 'very end' would come one day. Eventually, these four, companions now, will turn into enemies.

Ragnar closed his eyes and thought. 'Why must the world… why must everything… be so cruel?'

Clenching his fists tightly, he was once again reminded of the reason he came here. If whoever ran this sick game could even bring the dead back to life, surely his wish was not out of their reach.

Because of this, he had to win.

He must… for it was the one hope he had in this rotten, wretched world, both Earth and Endzone.

*****

Upon entering the city, the first thing the party had to do was find a suitable lodging place. It was nighttime, and the group needed rest.

Ragnar opened up his newly-refreshed map and saw that this city was labeled 'Lumina'. To their right, a massive Mutated Zone lay, which they definitely wanted to steer clear of. None of them were very high-level yet, with most of them around 10 while Ragnar himself was not much higher, at 15. Had he been solo, he may have been a lot higher by now, but since experience from a mutant kill was shared amongst those who slayed it, the majority of the experience points he gained from taking down mutants was split amongst his party members.

"Ragnar, this building seems to be suitable," the man with glasses suddenly called out with a serious expression, pointing at a tall structure across the fractured road from them. "According to the map, it used to be a hotel. There should be enough aliment there to last us transitorily, and it should be hospitable enough."

Ragnar gave a firm nod. "Good find, Spencer. Let's head in. Be careful, though—there could be mutants inside." Then, turning to a small child who looked to be in middle school at best, he continued. "Kid, you have the Radar skill, correct?"

The boy nodded energetically. "Yessir!"

Despite the situation and environment of this whole world, he was not scared whatsoever, and instead had a courageous and solemn expression on his face. That is, until…

"Idiot, quiet down!" A slightly older boy chided the younger, slapping him lightly on the neck. "What if the mutants hear us?!"

"E-Eek! S-Sorry, big bro…"

"Now, now…" The girl of the group sighed, furrowing her brows. "Shouldn't you be kinder to your little brother?"

"He could've gotten us killed!" The older brother whispered sharply. "Dammit… I never expected him to join this stupid game as well…"

"That's enough talk," Ragnar cut in, narrowing his eyes warily at their silent surroundings. "Let's head into the hotel and secure it for now. We can discuss more once that's done. Now, Michael, Radar on."

The group all nodded in agreement, and together, they began heading for the tall structure labeled 'Phoenix Inn'. The little boy named Michael activated his Radar skill, and everybody fell silent as they prepared to listen for any sign of mutant movement coming from within. So far, there weren't any pings on his radar, but… there was something strange about this entire city, not just the hotel.

Not a single mutant was to be seen on the streets, despite Ragnar predicting to have to fight right as they entered. The roads were utterly devoid of life and didn't even show any sign of battle. Did such a large city really not have any mutants wandering on the streets?

Or… was it that someone had came here before them, and cleared out everything already?

Ragnar decided not to mention his observations to the other members of his party, and instead remained silent as they closed in on the hotel.