When Alan opened his eyes again, he found himself in a 4 by 4 all-white room, which was the Virtual Waiting room of the Apocalypse Game. He slowly gathered his consciousness and a rush of memory surged into his mind as the familiar nuance of the room seemed to evoke all of the memories he ever had here.

Not long after, a mechanical voice popped into his mind.

[Game will be started in 10 minutes]

Since he had been here before, Alan was well aware of what needed to be done and what would happen next. He still had at least ten minutes before the game finally started, therefore he used the time he had to check on his status.

He began by accessing the [Game Link], which was identically attached in real life, and immediately after that, a game-like window appeared in front of him. Rows of notification then began to appear within it.

[Authenticating User ID...]

[User ID Confirmed: Alan D Angello, Male, 25 years old]

[Level 1: 0%]

[HP: 130]

[Stamina: 100%]

[Survival points: 0]

[Strength : E+]

[Agility : E+]

[Endurance : D-]

[Perception : E]

[Intelligence : D-]

[Spirit : F-]

Alan scanned through the first page, which was basically the status and attributes the player had, shown in alphabetical value. The Apocalypse Game would scan the player's actual physical condition, and then it would give out the attributes and its value based on the information it garnered.

Alan was certainly satisfied with his starting attributes this time around. In fact, a smile instantly made its way on his face the moment he saw it.

In his previous life, Alan actually started the Apocalypse Game with rank E- in Strength, Agility, and Endurance. In other words, the hard work he had done over the last 4 months had given him an extra 7 points to his starting point.

The D- Endurance, giving Alan an extra 30 Health Points, an extremely important attribute to survive the game. With this, his first step towards making himself stronger than his previous self was successful.

Following that, Alan went through the second page which showed his equipment as well as his inventory.

[Equipment]

[Name : Beginner Suites]

[Type: Clothes]

[Rarity: Common]

[Equipment Rating: 0]

[Attributes: None]

[Effect: None]

[Able To Bring outside of Game: No]

[Remarks: This is everyone's starting clothes. Better than being naked]

####

[Inventory]

[Name: Water Bottle]

[Type: Consumable]

[Rarity: Common]

[Attributes: Recover 20 HP and 10% Stamina regeneration within 5 minute]

[Effect: None]

[Able To Bring outside of Game: Yes]

[Remark: Keep yourself hydrated, taste better when served cold!]

The beginner suit given by the game was a red-colored tracksuit that covered the player's entire body, from neck to ankle. Apart from being the player's uniform, the suit also served as an attribute that differentiated between the players and NPC (Non Player Character) within the game.

However, for Alan, it was best to change the outfit as soon as possible because thanks to his experiences he knew that sometimes being not easily recognized as a player would have its own benefits.

As for the Inventory, it came with a standard backpack that could store limited number of items. The first essential thing he had in his inventory was the water bottle, which would come in handy, especially in the early stages where having healing items could easily determine one's life and death.

What Alan was waiting for the most, however, was the third page. The page that would show a list of skills he possessed. He felt kind of anxious, yet on the other hand he was also excited to see what skills he would have.

He sighed with hope as he waited for the page to refresh, and when the page finally showed what he had been waiting for, Alan couldn't help but throw his fists into the air. He was truly overjoyed by what he saw at this moment.

[Skills]

[Scanning appropriate skill]

[5 skills found]

"Yes, 5 skills! This is great!" Alan exclaimed with satisfaction.

####

[Firearm - Small (Basic)]

[Rarity: Common]

[10% extra damage in using pistol]

[Related Attributes: Agility]

[Prerequisites: Perception F, Agility F]

####

[Unarmed Combat (Novice)]

[Rarity: Common]

[25% extra damage in hand to hand fighting]

[Related Attributes: Agility, Strength]

[Prerequisites: Agility E, Strength E]

####

[Sword Weapon (Novice)]

[Rarity: Common]

[25% extra damage in using sword]

[Related Attributes: Agility]

[Prerequisites: Agility E]

####

[Sneak (Basic)]

[Rarity: Uncommon]

[Bonus in sneak]

[Related Attributes: Agility]

[Prerequisites: Agility E]

####

[Science (Basic)]

[Rarity: Uncommon]

[More effective in science-related task]

[Related Attributes: Intelligence, Perception]

[Prerequisites: Intelligence E, Perception E]

Seeing the list of skills he had, Alan was very satisfied. In his past life, he only had the [Science] skill with him. This time, however, he received another Uncommon skill [Sneak] and three others, all of them would allow him to have such an amazing start.

All of the combat-related skills that were his specialty in his previous life, he had already mastered before. However, this time, it appeared that he only needed to have knowledge of them in order to be rewarded with the skills.

The game even gave him two Novice level skills, the second rank in skill proficiency which was certainly a starting advantage for him.

Soon enough, another notification came to him.

[10 minutes are up]

[Authenticating Element...]

[Apocalypse Game welcomes you. The game will begin shortly...]

[Server location: New York, America]

[100,000 players detected]

[Entering Game, Round one...]

[Human versus force of nature]

[Background: A massive tropical depression brought a gigantic hurricane superstorm. It is confirmed that the force of the storm will be extremely strong, that the entire Northern Hemisphere would be in a new ice age once it ends.]

[Main Quest: Survive for 8 hours]

[Secondary Quest (Optional): Aid civilians until the disaster ends. Each civilian helped can provide you with a higher rating.]

[Bonus Quest (Optional): Escape the city for extra rewards]

[Fail mission penalty: 1000 survival points]

With the final notification popping up, the first round of Apocalypse Game, Year 5 has finally begun.

----------------

Author Note

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Attributes Details

Strength: A measure of raw physical power. It affects the damage of all melee attacks plus how much you can carry, and the ability to carry heavy items.

Agility: A measure of overall finesse and reflexes. It affects reaction speed, and also dexterity in handling an item

Endurance: A measure of overall physical fitness. It affects how much health and stamina are affected in all activities.

Perception: A measurement of environmental and situational awareness, the ability to hear, feel and see further. Influence attack precisions.

Intelligence: A measurement of brain capacity, ability to solve complex solutions faster

Spirit: A measurement of mental acuity, it affects all magic-related activity

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Attributes level: F-, F, F+, E-, E, E+, up until S, a total of 21 level

General example of how levels are categorized using [Strength] as an example

F-: Impaired, having a disability

F: Less than a grown man's strength; a woman's or teenager's strength

F+: An average fully-grown man's strength.

E-" A strong prime, like a sportsman

E: Buff, like a collie working at a station or a trained soldier

E+: A professional weightlifter, Specially trained soldier.

D-: Weightlifting champion

For one's rank to reach D or higher, one had to have superhuman strength.

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Item and Skill Rarity

Common - Uncommon - Superior - Unique - Legendary - Divine

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Skill proficiency level

Basic - Novice - Expert - Master - Grandmaster - Transendence