Somewhere in the Red Portal planet named Pioletic, faint moonlight spilled across the torn land, the only source of light in a world that seemed long abandoned by the sun.
Shadows clung to broken metal and twisted stone, and in the center of it all lay something that could no longer be called a body.
It was a horrible scattering of flesh and shattered bones, soaked into the soil with dark, glistening blood. A severed hand lay a few feet away, its fingers curled as if trying to grasp a reality that no longer existed.
Rataclaws scuttled through the mess, their sharp limbs tearing greedily at what remained, while above them, Death Bats circled in restless, hungry loops. There were four of them, beasts of an advanced tier, massive and terrifying, like oversized echoes of ancient bats that once ruled the skies on earth thousands of years ago. Their wings beat slowly, each movement cutting the silent air, and from their throats came a thin, almost unnoticeable ultrasonic sound, a deadly language only their kind could hear. The vibration of it made the ground feel uneasy, as though even the planet itself trembled in fear.
Behind the rusted shell of an upside-down transport bus, a boy crouched, his back pressed tightly against the cold metal. His name was Ray Dem. Tears streaked across his pale cheeks, his chest rose and fell in shallow, panicked gasps, though he tried desperately to remain silent. Terror tangled with every thought, wrapping around his mind until he could barely think straight. His hardening ability, the one thing that could have saved him, had been torn away, stripped from him as if it had never existed at all. He was just flesh now.
He didn't know what happened, how he had lost his ability, all that he remembered was walking info the room, fainting & then waking up here in this dark world.
He was now just an another fragile being waiting to be noticed. He knew that a single sound, a tiny movement, even the scrape of his boot against a rock, would draw the monsters straight to him.
And the worst part was not the fear for his own life, but the image burned into his mind, an image he could not make fade. He had seen his batch mate, Wilfred Green, dragged down by a swarm of Rataclaws. He had heard the screams, had watched helplessly as Howard was torn apart, limb by limb, until the voice that once joked beside him went silent. Ray had run when he saw an opening, dodging sharp claws and snapping jaws, abandoning all sense of direction in exchange for survival.
Somehow, by pure fortune or cruel chance, he had escaped their herd. But Wilfred had not been that fortunate, and the remains scattered across the ground were proof of it. Now, as fresh blood continued to draw more creatures from the shadows, Ray remained frozen in his hiding place, praying that the darkness would keep him unseen, even as he felt the thin thread of hope inside him begin to tremble and fray.
Somewhere else, Erin crouched beside one of the students, a girl named Any Yellop, who was badly injured. Around them, three Rataclaws lay dead, their twisted bodies sprawled across the ground in pools of dark, drying blood. The air stank of iron and rot, but Erin forced herself to stay focused as she scanned their surroundings, searching for any sign of movement. While trying to find a safe path forward, she had stumbled upon Amy, who only moments ago had been prey to the same vicious rats. Without hesitation, She came in and managed to kill the Stray rats, it was tough fight, but Erin had been training in combat for years now, so she was still strong even when stripped off her ability.
Erin tore a strip from her own sleeve and wrapped it tightly around Amy' s bleeding arm, her hands steady despite the chaos. The girl's blood soaked through the fabric, warm and real against Erin's skin. In her other hand, she gripped a jagged piece of scrap metal, the edge still dripping with beast blood, proof of the fight she had survived.
"What was your ability?" Erin asked quietly.
The question seemed strange in a moment like this, but Amy answered through shaky breaths. "I.... I had a healing ability."
Then her composure shattered. Tears streamed down her face as panic finally took hold. "Are we going to die? Do you know why we are here? Please… please tell me something."
"Would you shut up," Erin hissed sharply. "If you keep talking, you're going to attract more beasts. Now get up. We have to move."
----
Two more students had managed to survive in distant regions of the planet, hiding in the ruins, fighting for their lives with whatever strength they had left. They were Sarah Beeswax and Michael Brisko, separated by miles of hostile land, yet bound by the same silent struggle to stay alive. Every step they took on Pioletic was a gamble. Every breath felt borrowed.
It was often said that humans evolved according to their circumstances, that the hardest times brought out the strongest among them. But words were easy. In reality, none of them could last much longer. Even Vorden, who held the strongest ability of all — fire — was not invincible. His power was unstable, bound to reset once every twenty-four hours, leaving him vulnerable when the time came. When that happened, they would be nothing more than ordinary humans on a cursed planet filled with monsters.
On this damned world, hope did not come easily. In fact, only one person held the key to their survival now, but he was nowhere near the battlefield.
The weight of every remaining life rested on his shoulders alone. Whether he chose to act or not would decide if any of them would ever see another dawn.
----
As the status screen flickered and the words LEVEL 10 burned into the air, Quinn's heart skipped a beat. He had been waiting for this moment, watching the numbers climb, counting every near-death step that had dragged him here. Now it had finally arrived
Congratulations! You are now a level 10
User Analysis in progress.....
Analysing.... Analysing.... Analysing.....
following Rewards have been granted...
You may choose from the following-
[Free stats]
(Description: You will be rewarded +8 Stats in strength, Agility, Stamina.)
Recommended choice
[compatibility]
(Description: If you choose this reward, your body will be made compatible to hoist the remaining attributes - fire, poison, Iighting, hardening, poison. You will be maxed out on your attributes.)
[Unknown]
(Description: ?? )