"What the fuck…"
I groaned the moment I regained consciousness.
As I stood up, I found myself in an unfamiliar space. The ground beneath my boots was smooth stone, glowing faintly. Around me stood four other people — all of them just as confused and panicked as I was.
Then a voice spoke.
Not from around us — inside our heads.
===
Welcome. You were summoned by gods as one of the representatives of Earth.
You will now be participating in a 5v5 shooter game.
Each of you possesses a special ability to aid you in battle.
To check your abilities, say 'status'.
My head was pounding, but the command felt instinctive.
"Status."
A glowing blue window materialized in front of me.
Name: Lucas Reinhardt
Age: 18
Ability: Copy/Paste
Race: Human
Rules: —
'Copy… Paste? What the hell kind of ability is that?'
Before I could think further, the voice returned.
===
You now see your information and the rules.
You will get 5 minutes to read your ability description and rules to prepare.
We wish you good luck.
Five minutes.
Great. Just great.
I wasn't going to waste a second.
"Ability description."
Another glowing window opened.
[Copy/Paste]
You can copy one ability from any player in this game.
You can change the copied ability between matches.
You may choose from any ability currently possessed by players inside this game.
'…That doesn't sound bad.'
Actually, it sounded broken.
Overpowered, even.
Then I remembered the rules.
But before I could think more about it, someone next to me shouted.
"Oi! What the hell is going on?! Mine just says 'Berserk Charge'—holy shit, is this real?!"
Another girl spoke, voice trembling.
"My ability is 'Healing Rain'…"
The boy beside her stammered,
"W-What is going on? Why us?!"
Someone else cursed under their breath.
Everyone was panicking.
Everyone except me.
Not because I wasn't scared —
but because I'd been in chaos before.
War zones.
Gunfire.
Adrenaline.
This… wasn't that different.
I took a slow breath, steadying my heartbeat.
I chose to ignore them.
I still needed to check the rules of this game.
"Rules," I muttered.
[Rules]
This is a classic 5v5 shooter where you will face another team using your special abilities and firearms.
The match consists of 12 rounds.
• Each round lasts 10 minutes, followed by a 3-minute break.
• You gain credits based on your performance in each round.
• Credits can be spent on weapons, gear, or saved for later rounds.
• As Attackers, your objective is to eliminate all Defenders or activate the bomb in the designated area and protect it until it explodes.
• As Defenders, your objective is to defuse the bomb or prevent the Attackers from activating it.
• Ability limits and cooldowns are listed in your ability description.
'A shooter game with special abilities. A team of five. A divine deathmatch.'
Even if it was insane, the instructions were painfully clear.
A new timer appeared in front of us, ticking down from 00:04:59.
I clenched my fists.
Five minutes until we were thrown into a battlefield with weapons, magic abilities, and God knows what else.
My ability was Copy/Paste.
I just had to rely on my military skills for a while, until I chose the right ability to copy.
The timer continued to tick down.
00:04:58…
00:04:57…
00:04:56…
And for the first time since waking up, a grin tugged at the corner of my lips.
'Let the gods watch.
I'll play their damn game.'