Prologue

Within one of the Lost Zones, that humanity had all but given up on maintaining, sat an old stone castle. Though it was dilapidated and on the verge of falling to ruin, it still maintained a level of grandeur that influenced all who viewed it.

The lord seated upon the throne, within the depths of the building, was feared and hated as the leader of the most notorious terrorist group, and had led many to an early demise. Even to an unaware bystander, this man was the personification of the word ominous. Covered in black from head to toe, not an inch of the man’s body was visible. Furthermore, the hood pulled up over his head cloaked his face in shadow, so all you could see were his glowing red eyes.

“Where did it all go wrong?” A wistful voice echoed through the chamber, asking a question that could never be answered. “Maybe it was all pointless. Ever since World Decay began, I’ve been scrambling just to keep my head above water."

The man had spent decades fighting in order to accomplish his goals. He crushed armies, unseated despots, seeded terror into the hearts of nations. He had performed any act, no matter how cruel or ruthless. Even as the world vilified him, he had not backed down. However, the presence he could feel approaching the castle, meant that his time would soon come to an end.

“All empires crumble, all life fades. That is the will of the world, no, the will of nature. Nothing can grow without eventually rotting. I thought I knew this, but maybe I forgot along the way. Still, no matter the odds, no matter the enemy, I will not bow out so quietly.”

Grasping the handle to the greatsword leaning against the throne, he unsheathed the blade, which gleamed with a black light, and rested it on his shoulder.

“Come hell or high water, I’ll dish out as much punishment as I take. I may go out, but it'll be on my terms.”

Taking a defiant stance, he knew it was only a matter of time before his enemies arrived, and all too soon, he felt the presence of the intruders on the other side of the doors leading into the room.

“Haha….hahahaha…Mwahahahahaha! My followers scattered, my plans led to ruin, even my final bastion invaded. To think I could be pushed so hard by those I thought far below me.”

As the doors began to swing open, he once again put on the mask of a terrorist. A miasmic aura rose from his body as he declared loudly to his long time nemesis.

“Welcome, brave Heroes of Earth. I believe it's time we settled our little war."

Episode One – Trapped in a Nightmare

Part one

“What the hell?! This isn't my room.”

I was certain I had been sleeping in my own bed just the moment before, so why was I suddenly in an old stone corridor? This was going way past being a joke. If someone was capable of moving me in my sleep, then they could do just about anything, and there’d be nothing I could do.

“Damn it! Even my bed is gone. What the hell happened?” The only things on me were my pajamas, which were just thin fabric. It was pretty cold here.

Examining my surroundings closer, I discovered that though there were no light sources, I could see about fifteen feet in both directions. Secondly, given that this was a stone corridor, one would think the floor would be pretty rough. But the floor actually felt smooth, almost like marble. That's probably for the best, after all I don’t have any shoes.

Suddenly, excruciating pain flooded into my mind, along with a monotone disembodied voice and a rush of information.

::Influence of World Decay detected. Installing World System……Complete. Individual has been successfully connected to the World System. Generating status……Complete. Entry into Rank C Trial, Nightmare Labyrinth confirmed. Error in Operation Detected. Attempting to correct……Failed. Attempting Emergency measures……Failed. Balancing Atempt with difficulty and reward of trial in mind……Complete. Due to unforeseen errors, Individual has been granted Special Skill: Skanda.::

“I know I’ve said this a lot, but what the hell?!”

***

After managing to calm down, I quickly went through the situation. I’ve suddenly found myself within an unknown location, a mysterious voice went on and on about World Decay this and world system that. All I can figure out is that it means I’m screwed.

Strangely enough, I felt rather calm. It was probably due to the data that was deposited into my brain, though putting it that way was somewhat off-putting. According to my new knowledge, the World System was a mechanic put in place that made people stronger. It apparently used a letter grade scale to rank individuals, but the specifics were beyond me. I just instinctively knew what to do next. All I have to do is think about my Status? Whoa!?

I was assaulted by a sudden bout of vertigo immediately after thinking about my Status, during which a whiteboard like shape rose up in the back of my mind. What? You want me to explain it better? Sorry, there’s a limit to what I can do while panicking so hard.

Status

Race: Human

Age: 22

State: Healthy

Titles: None

Rank: F

Skills

Normal Skills: Analyze

Special Skills: Skanda Rank F

Uh? What the hell!? What does any of this mean? What do you mean I’m an F Rank? That’s a failing grade where I’m from. No wait, that would be a fail anywhere. Ugh, I'm panicking way too hard right now. I needed to calm down ASAP. Thankfully, once I calmed down I realized that I understood what this all meant.

This ‘System’ ranked people based on how powerful they were, and F rank was the lowest. Though that does make sense, come to think of it. I’m not a ninja or martial artist. I have almost no fighting ability. Well, that was depressing. Either way after looking at my Status, I could understand how to use my skills, I just didn’t know what they did. Might as well try out Analyze. Immediately, another whiteboard rose up in my mind with the results. Ugh, better stop thinking about these things.

Analyze – A skill granted to all beings connected to the World System. Displays information about the users skills and equipment, as well as displaying a monsters name and rank. Will bestow necessary information about analyzed monsters. Analyzed target must be the same rank or lower as user or skill will fail. Cannot be used on others connected to the World System.

Skanda Rank F – A Special Skill not normally obtainable. For one minute, raises the users Thinking Speed and reflexes by three times their normal value. Cooldown : 20 minutes.

Um, this feels like a video game, though I’ve never seen something like this. Imagine if a game just threw you into a random dungeon, with no explanation. Hahahaha, that would surely be crazy.