The grenade was a black dot against the empty blue sky. It was falling fast. Straight down. At me.
There was no time to think. There was only time to act. My gamer brain, my survival instinct, it screamed one word.
Run!
My legs were already moving. I did not know where I was going. I just ran. I sprinted away from the spot where the grenade would land. My lungs burned. My heavy boots pounded against the hard-packed dirt.
I saw a thick concrete wall to my right. It was part of a half-destroyed building. It was my only chance.
I dove.
My body hit the ground hard. I tucked my head and slid behind the wall just as the world exploded.
BOOM.
The sound was a physical force. It hit me like a giant wave. The ground shook violently beneath me. I felt the shockwave slam into the wall, and then into my back. It lifted me off the ground for a second. Debris and shrapnel ripped through the air, smacking against the concrete above my head with loud cracks and pings.
My ears were ringing. A high-pitched tone that blocked out all other sound. I could feel my heart trying to beat its way out of my chest. I was alive. I was alive.
I pushed myself up. My body ached all over. I checked my HUD. The health bar had dropped again.
[HP: 75/100]
The blast had hit me, even behind the wall. Twenty-five points of damage. A quarter of my life, gone in an instant. I was learning a hard lesson. In this world, death was easy. It was everywhere. One mistake, one second too slow, and I would be terminated.
I could not stay here. Whoever threw that grenade knew I was here. I had to move.
I scrambled away from the wall, keeping low. I used my knowledge of the map. I knew these buildings. I knew the alleys between them. I ran through a narrow passage, then ducked into a small, dark room on the ground floor of another building.
The room was empty except for a broken table and some trash. It had only one door. It was defensible.
I shoved the heavy wooden table against the door. It would not stop a bullet, but it would make noise if someone tried to open it. It would give me a warning.
Finally, I was safe. For now.
I slid down the wall and sat on the dusty floor. My back was against the cool stone. I let the P-19 pistol rest on my lap. The silence of the small room was a relief. The ringing in my ears slowly faded.
The adrenaline started to wear off. The horror came back.
I killed someone. I watched him die. I almost died myself. Twice.
I squeezed my eyes shut. I saw his face. The shock. The confusion.
"My objective is to survive," I whispered to myself. The words felt hollow. But they were all I had. "If I die here, I die for real." I repeated it like a prayer. It was the only truth in this insane world. Survive. That was the only rule that mattered.
As I sat there, trying to control my shaking, a new blue box appeared in my vision.
[SURVIVAL BONUS: 1x MED-SYRINGE]
I looked at the notification. A bonus? For what? For surviving the grenade?
In my HUD, in a small inventory grid I had not noticed before, a new icon appeared. It was a syringe with a red cross on it. A Med-Syringe. The basic healing item from the game.
I focused my thoughts on the icon. Use.
A real, physical object materialized in my hand. It was a syringe, filled with a glowing red liquid. It felt cool to the touch.
Hope. It was a small thing, but it was a powerful feeling. The system that trapped me here also gave me the tools to live. There were ways to heal.
I looked at my wounded shoulder. I looked at the syringe. I remembered how to use it from the game. You just jab it into yourself.
I hesitated. Sticking a needle in my own leg was not something I wanted to do. But my health bar was at 75/100. I needed to be at full strength.
I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and stabbed the needle into my thigh.
It hurt. A sharp sting of pain. But then, a warm, soothing energy spread from the injection site. It moved through my whole body. The ache in my back disappeared. The stinging pain in my shoulder faded away. I felt… better. Stronger.
I looked at my HUD. The green bar refilled. [HP: 75/100 -> 100/100].
It worked. It really worked.
A small bit of my fear turned into something else. Determination. This system was the key. If I could understand it, if I could use it, I could survive.
Then I remembered my other reward. The Skill Point.
First Kill of the Match! Reward: +1 Skill Point.
I focused my thoughts. "Skill Tree."
A new window opened in my vision. It was a simple diagram with three main branches. Each branch had a name.
[ASSAULT] - Skills for aggressive fighting. More damage, faster reloads.
[TACTICAL] - Skills for strategy and information. Better radar, quieter movement.
[SURVIVAL] - Skills for defense. More health, resistance to damage.
I looked at the options. The Assault tree was for heroes, for players who ran into fights. That was not me. I was not a hero. I was a survivor. My first kill was not an act of bravery. It was an act of desperation.
The choice was easy. My survival depended on not fighting. It depended on knowing where my enemies were before they knew where I was.
I focused my mind on the Tactical tree. I used my one skill point.
[SKILL UNLOCKED: ACOUSTIC SENSOR (LVL 1) - Enemy footsteps are now visible on the minimap from a greater distance.]
It was a practical choice. A smart choice. A coward's choice. It was the perfect choice for me.
My minimap in the top right corner of my vision shimmered for a second. The circle of the radar expanded, showing a larger area around me. This skill would keep me alive.
I felt a new sense of purpose. The fear was still there, a cold knot in my stomach. But now, it was mixed with a cold, hard logic. I understood the rules of this world now. Kill to get rewards. Use rewards to get stronger. Get stronger to survive.
It was a terrible, brutal loop. But it was a loop I could understand.
My objective window was still there, a constant reminder. [OBJECTIVE: ELIMINATE 4 MORE ENEMY PLAYERS]. To complete the match, I had to kill again. The thought made me sick, but I knew I had to do it. And to do it, I needed a better weapon. The P-19 was not enough. I needed a rifle. I needed better gear. I needed more rewards.
I took a deep breath and focused on my newly upgraded minimap. It was my best weapon now. I watched the map, waiting. Listening.
I saw something strange.
Two red dots appeared on the edge of my map. They were far away, but my new skill let me see them. They were moving close together. Very close. They moved like a team, flanking another lone red dot on the other side of a building.
That was wrong. This was a free-for-all deathmatch. Every player for themselves. You did not work together. It was against the rules of the game.
But this was not the game. And these players were breaking the rules.
Suddenly, a new window flashed in my vision. It was different from the blue system notifications. This one was white, like a private message. It had a name attached. "Unknown Player."
The message was short. Only five words. Five words that made the blood freeze in my veins.
[WE SAW YOU AT THE START.]