"What the hell was that?! System notification? Players? Tutorial? What is this—some kind of prank?" one of the bullies behind Mario asked, panic evident in his voice.
The classroom had gone completely still. Everyone stared at each other. A strange tension hung in the air, like something big was about to happen—something that couldn't be ignored.
Mario scoffed, brushing the dust off his uniform like it was no big deal.
"Relax. It's probably just a stupid announcement or some kind of.... I don't know. But hey, the higher-ups will take care of it. You think we'd get dragged into something serious? Come on."
He turned back to Zane, who was still on the floor, blood dripping from the corner of his lip.
'I have a feeling everything I've planned is about to go downhill, and fast. A voice this unnervingly loud and clear couldn't possibly be a prank.'
"You," Mario snarled, pointing down at him. "Don't think this is over just because some robot voice made an announcement. After I'm done with you—"
Ding!
A glowing light flickered in front of Mario's face, cutting his words short.
Then another. And another.
One by one, holographic screens burst into the air all around the classroom. Shimmering panels floated above everyone's heads, filled with glowing text. It looked like something straight out of a futuristic video game.
A soft chime echoed again—this time right in front of Zane.
His own, however, did not show his status, but a warning.
[ERROR]
{An unknown interference detected.
Unable to activate player status.
Reporting to authorities...
Report protocol shut down by unknown interference.
External interference taking control of player status.
Defence mechanism initiated.
Futile.
External interference taking control.
Player Status information completely overwritten.}
'What the hell is going on?' Zane stared at the text on the blue screen with wonder.
'In a moment, everything had been turned upside down. For now, let's just observe. Lets see if I can decipher its contents.'
Just then, another screen appeared.
[Congratulations, Cursed One]
{You have been chosen as the twentieth heir to the dark throne.
Test for qualifications commencing.
Test details: Defeat the Dark disciple or gain his approval.
Failure: Death.
Reward: An audience with the seven.}
'Cursed One? Dark throne? The seven? What is happening all of a sudden?'
Zane blinked at the glowing screen in front of him. His fingers twitched. The air around him felt like it was charged with something unnatural. The moment felt surreal, like he had fallen into someone else's dream.
"What the... hell is this?" one of the students whispered.
"This has to be a joke?" another muttered, trying to swipe the screen away with trembling fingers. It didn't vanish.
Zane slowly stood up, ignoring the pain still throbbing through his jaw and shoulders. His eyes stayed locked on the glowing panel. Unlike the others, he wasn't panicking, he never had. Fear was something he had never felt, for reasons he would soon discover.
His eyes scanned the chaos, but his heartbeat stayed steady.
Suddenly, a loud crash shook the building. Dust rained down from the ceiling. Everyone froze.
A Gemini burst through the wall like a nightmare made real. It stood tall and grotesque—slender, faceless, its limbs stretched like shadows in the flickering light. A horrible whisper filled the room, like dozens of voices muttering at once.
'I guess my plan crumbling apart is the least of my problems. To think I was this close to screwing Blake over.'
Mario stumbled backwards, pale with fear. The system window popped up again on everyone's screen.
[System Notification]
{Congratulations, you have encountered your first Gemini.
Type: Whisperkin
Grade: Elite
Rank: F
Weakness:
Soft Heartskin: A small, exposed patch over the heart. Piercing it results in instant death—but it's protected by shifting ribs.}
'Is this the dark disciple the system talked about? No, it called this creature a Gemini, if so, then what kind of test would I have to take?'
"You've gotta be shitting me," Mario muttered. "What's there to congratulate. That thing looks like it eats people. How the fuck are we supposed to kill it?!"
Zane looked at the monster with an expressionless face, as though the terrifying creature was a domestic animal.
Before anyone could react, the Whisperkin struck.
One breath. One movement. One heartbeat. That was all it took.
Eight of their classmates dropped in a shower of blood—cut down like paper by a blur of motion none of them even saw coming.
The two friends by the side of the window lay in their own pool of blood, the tendons in their necks ripped apart.
A girl lay motionless close to the whiteboard. Her left side missing a chunk of flesh. She stared blankly at the ceiling.
A boy's face was buried deep in the concrete, another girl's head was twisted backwards. The other three were in a much terrible state as it was difficult to tell from the shattered body parts.
Screams exploded from every corner as panic took over. People ran.
In the state of panic, Mario shoved Zane hard in the stomach.
Zane stumbled back, slamming into a desk. The others bolted out the door.
"Lock the damn door and fast." Mario yelled.
"No, Zane's still in there." The red-haired girl said.
"Out of my way, you idiot."
Mario shoved her aside and locked the door.
Their cowardice was clear—they'd left him behind, hoping the monster would focus on him and buy them time to escape.
But strangely, Zane didn't feel threatened. He just stared at the monster with a blank expression.
'Idiots,' he thought, staring at the faceless monster then at the lifeless bodies. 'That thing killed eight people in a single breath. How much time do you think the class nerd can buy you?'
The Whisperkin turned its head—if you could even call that strange, twitching thing a head. Its body shifted with jerky, unnatural movements, like a puppet with its strings cut. Cold air like that of winter wrapped around the room. Zane felt it crawling across his skin—an ancient kind of wrong, like death itself had entered the room.
'Is this the heir? No, that can't be it. He looks weaker than the others who came before him. Well, his competence will show sooner than later.' The monster thought.
It took one slow, deliberate step forward.
And then the whispers began.
At first, they were soft—barely there. But they grew louder, clawing into his ears like bugs made of sound. Voices—too many to count—echoed inside his head. Men. Women. Children. Some laughed, others cried. All of them whispered lies.
"You're already dead."
"They left you behind."
"Your sister is next."
"And there is nothing you can do about it."
Zane clenched his jaw and covered his ears, though that did little to help the situation. His head throbbed like it might split open. His knees wobbled—not from fear, but from the pressure building all around him. It felt like the walls were closing in, crushing him with the weight of invisible voices.
'Breathe. Stay calm. Focus.'
The Whisperkin stopped moving. Its faceless gaze locked onto him, its limbs twitching with eerie excitement. It didn't have eyes, but it could feel him. It was sensing his heartbeat… his presence…
Then—
It roared.
[Skill: Death Roar]
A sound like a thousand tortured souls screaming all at once tore through the school. The floor trembled. Desks flew like paper. Windows shattered in a blast of force. Zane blocked his face with both arms to prevent the debris from hitting him. A desk flew and collided with his crossed arms, sending him stumbling backwards.
'I'm glad I was hit by a plastic desk instead of a metal one, otherwise, it wouldn't have ended with just a throbbing pain in my arms.'
Zane's vision went white. His ears rang like church bells. His body froze for a second too long—but a second was all it needed.
The Whisperkin lunged.
Zane threw himself to the side on instinct alone. A black claw slammed into the spot he had just stood, punching through the floor like it was made of clay. The impact split one side of the building nearly in half. He rolled across the floor, breathing heavily and scrambled behind a flipped table.
'It's blind. It can't see me… but it can feel me. It senses fear… and movement.'
Zane stopped breathing.
He didn't move. Not even a single twitch.
The creature moved slowly now, each step tapping the floor like claws clicking on tile. It was listening—searching. Playing with him.
Zane's hand found a broken chair leg. The wood had splintered into a rough, sharp edge from the chaos earlier.
He gripped it tightly.
Then he looked.
Right in the middle of the creature's chest, there was something different. A pulsing patch of soft skin—small and hidden behind shifting, bony ribs. Its heart.
'One chance. That's all I get. If I screw up, well, I'll leave that to the future Zane.'
The Whisperkin drew closer, crawling now. Slow, deliberate, savoring the silence. Zane's pulse thundered in his ears, even still, he stayed calm. Waited.
He distracted the creature by throwing a notebook he found beside him across the room. The Whisperkin tilted its head toward the sound where the notebook fell.
Then—Zane moved.
He sprang forward, pushing his body beyond its limits.
'Damn it, I knew I should've exercised at least once in my life.'
The Whisperkin reacted too late. It slashed wildly, missing by inches. Mostly because Zane wasn't breathing, and that distracted its sense, even if only a little.
Zane ducked under its arm, twisted with all his strength, and drove the chair leg straight into the soft spot.
But life wasn't that easy.
The chair leg snapped.
Wood splinters scattered like dust.
Zane stared in shock.
"What the…? That was supposed to be its weak spot."
He didn't have time to react. The Whisperkin grabbed him by the throat, lifting him like he weighed nothing.
'I think, I need to see the management of the system.'
'He's the most pathetic Nay I've ever seen. The only special thing about him is...'
"A Nay who has no fear," it said, its voice echoing inside his head.
"Interesting, unbelievable even. But surely you didn't believe you could harm me with a piece of wood, did you?"
'Infiltrating the Tutorial without drawing attention is a nasty experience as always.'
'It... it can speak? And it's F-Ranked? Yeah right. There's nothing F-rank about this freak.'
Zane's body dangled helplessly. The pressure on his neck grew tighter. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't move. His vision blurred as he clawed at the monster's hand to break free.
In that moment, he didn't think of escape. He didn't think of fighting back. He didn't even think of how the plan he'd spent so much time on was crumbling to dust.
He just thought of one person.
His sister. That was just how much she meant to him, everything he'd been doing was for her anyways. The thought of his sister facing a Gemini on her own terrified him more than the Whisperkin in front of him.
But then—somewhere in the room—something buzzed.
A phone, his phone.
'It must have fallen out when I jumped to evade the attack earlier.'
The Whisperkin's head twitched. The sound of the ringtone drew its attention.
It snarled, then hurled Zane against the wall like a ragdoll. He crashed with a loud thud, the air knocked from his lungs as he coughed blood.
The creature turned and dashed toward the buzzing phone.
'The only person who could call me at this time is Ariel. As always, my sister is my Angel.'
Zane coughed violently, every breath like fire in his chest. But he moved.
Slowly and painfully.
He crawled across the floor, every inch a struggle toward the door—but when he reached for the handle…
Locked.
From the outside.
He leaned against the door, blood dripping down his forehead.
"You've got to be kidding me. I forgot they locked it. If I survive this, I'll pay them all a visit and thank them for showing such generosity."