Joseph cleared his throat and banished the previous sleepiness in his voice.

“Hello students, I am Joseph Smith, your instructor for the first practical lesson. Time is of the essence, so let’s get to it. You can get familiar with each other on the way."

With a wave of his hand, a holographic panel phased into existence in front of our eyes. At the same time, I could feel the room moving forwards.

“You still recall your geography lessons, right? Then you should recognize this as the map of the Underground.”

Though much more detailed than in the game, it was impossible to erase this map from my memory after seeing it and adding to it for so many years.

The Underground consisted of a connection and intersection of tunnels that spanned through a large area of the globe, where 96% of the human population lived. Because monsters ran rampant, the surface was unhabitable, save for a few scattered groups and rare pockets of civilization.

“This is a danger map with focus on monster activity. The bright red dots are areas in need of immediate help, as damage would compromise the general population or important facilities. But it’s not always a big threat... The thing is we are short on hands. Get that? You have nothing to fear as long as you follow the procedures taught in class.”

I started to feel the ground rumbling, but it was strangely smooth. If I recall correctly, the unusual method of travel utilized in the Underground was very similar to warping, but it sacrificed speed for safety. One could travel from the farthest part to another in 15 minutes.

“We should reach the place in under three minutes. Let me show you a close look at what you should expect.”

The map zoomed in into a familiar area.

“This is Terminal C-5, which is connected to the surface and has an underwater passage. We cannot let monsters endanger it or we’ll have to shut it down and repair later, which is much more time consuming in this area and thus a riskier operation than eliminating beasts. The loss in resources from losing this connection would be quite a blow. It cannot happen.”

He then pointed at the entrance, which was completely hidden and showcased merely the deep jungle where footage of a beast with the body of a giant reptile with pitifully small wings, two heads of a chicken and a hummingbird, plus the tail of a dragon was seen.

“There are a few teams already deployed to clean up the underwater creatures and some beasts near us. Our job is to eliminate this one mutated Cockatrice and await further instructions. It appears to be building its nest right outside the Terminal, upsetting operations. Avoid the jungle as its fire breath is quite powerful. I will lure it into open terrain first. Amelia and Jessica will set up a trap, afterward help any side that is struggling and strike from a distance. Alexander and Edward will act as vanguards and help me hold it in place. I will distract the heads, you two take turns with the tail. Nathaniel will strike it down on the best opportunity: aim for the heart on the right side, or the injury on the belly. If anything goes wrong, Edward will protect the rear. Am I clear?”

“Clear!”

All of us felt compelled to answer. My heart was thumping wildly at the explanation; During the game, it was merely a tutorial on combat and tactics: although characters would die and it was fast paced, it was a stale part of the game that no one paid attention to anymore. It was an approach to get hands-on experience, nothing more.

The quests were simple initially just to showcase the mechanics, but... what in the hell was I experiencing? One minute I was just admitted to the academy, another I’m already on the field. This is way too fucking fast.

“We’re just about there, grab your weapons and let’s go.”

A weapon rack rose and held the weapon of choice each character was most familiarized with. The instructor didn’t seem to have any, which was just right: some people were more used to their fists, and the Battle Suit was already very powerful.

Amelia and Alexander both had long black spears. The spear was the weapon of choice of a ridiculous amount of characters, for its long reach and safety. It was also a very good choice against large monsters.

Edward held knuckles on his hands, whereas Jessica, the character I’ve never seen before, appeared to be trained with a sniper rifle. Perhaps the only type of gun that was still in use, as bullets were consumables and in Deadly Dreams it required a special material to craft weapons that did some damage to beasts.

Finally, I saw a long serrated sword as my option. Inwardly, I was glad that apparently Nathaniel had training in a long reach weapon, since I created him with a dagger in mind. I now understand the foolishness of utilizing a dagger in Deadly Dreams. It wouldn’t stab one inch into most monsters' skins, and since weight wasn’t an issue thanks to the Battle Suit, there was no advantage to agility. It was very niche for closed quarter combat.

Gulping down my anxiety, the doors opened to a large amount of natural light. The sudden clarity blinded my eyes, but I quickly got used to it.

Joseph did a quick scan and went off.

“Wait for me here, if there’s any situation send a signal through the transmitter. Stay on guard.”

With that, he literally exploded in a direction, leaving us behind in a cloud of dust.

As I had nothing better to do, I ended up glancing at the only two busy people: Amelia and Jessica. The latter was watching with interest the terrain, but frankly, even if I was aware of the variables that affected combat, it was a different story entirely to apply it in such short notice on a real situation that required actual expertise. So I didn’t feel like I had much to contribute. Rather, I preferred to analyze the only character whose stats I was unaware of.

I tried to put away any deviant thought and focused exclusively on her lines of blue text.

[ID: Jessica Silentscar

Level: 0/42

Belief: I know more than everyone (D-) (Vampiric series)

Stats:

Conviction: 16; D

Concentration: 7 (11); E

Quick Thinking: 12 (21); D-

Agility: 1 (4); F

Spirit: 1; F

Traits:

From the Silent Garden (SS);

Narcissist (F);

Very fast learner (A);

Frail physique (F)

Abilities:

Strategies (passive) (D+) (lvl 5/15)

Firearms (passive) (E-) (lvl 3/20)

Observation (passive/active) (B+) (lvl 5/8)

Skills:

Inference from failures (B) (lvl 2/32)

Spider Head (C+) (lvl 4/5)

Status effects:

Burn scars;

Monthly period.

Available points: 0 (+1 per point of affinity with PC)]

... Damn. I’ve never seen those skills before. Unfortunately, I really did not have even a single minute to read more than that. All I knew was that at least she had trustworthy skills. Ha, what am I saying... I don't even know it I'll be able to make myself useful.

Clearing up my thoughts, the small girl’s voice was heard for the first time. She faced nowhere in particular and opened her lips.

“Amelia, imagine a circular hole 5 meters in diameter and three meters deep, right over there. A smaller one over there with..”

“Fill with mud of such consistency...”

“Imagine an elevation like this over there...”

“Now go over there and face the direction of the forest. Imagine unstable ground where you’ll be in...”

“Alexander, you go there, face that direction...”

Very quickly she organized the party and soon we all assumed our positions. No one complained about it, although Edward ventured to do a suggestion.

“Don’t you think Nathan should hide underground and surprise attack the Cockatrice?”

A good suggestion, however knowing the Cockatrice’s pattern... Jessica looked at Ed with undisguised disdain.

“Cockatrices have very keen sense for prey, despite their simple brains. Besides, my plan already puts it into a very vulnerable position to strike the heart. There is no need for further risk. With that being said...”

Jessica took a deep breath, as if expelling the rubbish she’d just heard from out of her head, and resumed her apathetic attitude.

Immediately after, a few screens appeared to me.

[Jessica Silentscar has activated a skill: Spider Head.

Effects: For 7 minutes, Jessica Silentscar will act as the brain of the group. Her thoughts will be actively transmitted to all recognized party members with little resistance.

Increases mental exertion of all allies’ actions by 33%. Applies 13% mental exertion on Jessica”.

“Get ready to receive our guest.”

A loud gurgling noise escaped the depths of the jungle, followed by an ear piercing roar. The large trees toppled one after the other, making a path through which we could clearly see the instructor’s small figure from the distance.

I gulped down my nervousness and prepared myself. But a very strong urge followed me on looking at the large sized beast. It was not exactly fear as I’ve known, more like an instinct. It simply felt natural that I should run away. Yet, I knew it wasn’t the answer.

In times like these I knew that I needed a wake-up call. I wanted to stab my palm at first, but on second thought just lightly scratched my cheek. Strangely, I couldn’t feel anything. Rather, how to say it, I could feel the pain, but it didn’t affect me in any way. It was like my body was a completely separate entity.

The Cockatrice’s bloodshot eyes on both of his heads made me freeze as it shot its chicken head down like a torpedo towards Joseph. I instinctively closed my eyes, not wishing to see the horrifying scene of his body splitting in two, but in opening them again, all that was left was a deep hole in the ground, flying dust and Joseph’s figure approaching us. A torrent of fire was immediately cast his direction, but it dispersed by the time it reached us.

“Calm down and assume your positions. Do it just like in the simulations and everything will be fine."

The guy was so chill that he quickly observed the ground preparations, pulled up a holographic ledger and assigned points to Amelia and Jessica.

I glanced at the similarly calm expressions on my teammates and began to recover my cool a little... Fuck, I’ve never gone through any simulation...

It took mere seconds for the Cockatrice to reach our positions. The vanguards jumped out of its range and it dove towards Amelia, falling perfectly in the trap setup. It was done in such a way that its left side dug deep into the ground, leaving the right side completely exposed and limiting the range of the heads.

I knew there was no time to lose. Fighting against my urge to run away, I felt an even stronger urge to execute the setup as expected. I quickly approached the beast while the instructor and the rest occupied its time. It wouldn’t stay trapped for long, this was the best created opportunity ever.

Throwing myself towards its scaly chest, I concentrated and had a single thought in my mind: use Deadly Strike. My body seemed to adjust automatically to perform the skill, I felt my muscles being sucked out of their energy and channeling a vast amount of power  towards the blade.

[Nathaniel Bloodstone is preparing an ability: Deadly Strike

Description: Deal 400% physical damage in a single blow, +40% critical hit chance, applies on hit effects.

Physical exertion: 34%]

Suddenly, a thought sprouted in my head. “Aim a little lower”. My body immediately adjusted itself to this, without me having to think, and as the monster tortuously pulled its leg from the ground, the right side naturally bobbed down. The correction perfectly captured this variation, and I safely pierced through its heart.

Blood spurted out on high pressure, completely drenching me, followed by an terrible roar that threatened to burst my brains.

[Cockatrice has received a critical blow for 216 (800%) damage. Status effect: Extreme Bleeding applied]

[Extreme Bleeding: Target loses -4% maximum HP per second]

While I was still drunk on my sense of accomplishment from actually “defeating” such a huge monster, I was immediately slapped back into reality by the system message. The Cockatrice’s HP bar had gone down by ~15%, even though I basically crushed one of its hearts. It was still alive and a huge threat.

“Dodge”, this thought immediately surfaced on my brain.

“Dodge, Nathan!”, Alex shouted at the top of his lungs.

Without having a single idea of what was going on, I jerked my body back, leaving the sword embedded deep into the creature’s body, and rolled away. Less than one inch from me, I heard a fierce stab and the Cockatrice’s tail punctured a hole in its own body.

[Cockatrice has received 115 (100%) damage. Status effect: Poisoned applies]

[Poisoned: Target loses 32 HP per second.]

“12 seconds until death, hold out”, again such a thought appeared.

I got up as fast as I could and distanced myself from the dying beast.

I wouldn’t feel relieved until I saw the thing sprawled dead on the ground. As soon as I got away from its range, the chicken head, now dizzy and sluggish, gave way for the hummingbird which recovered from the left side. It let out a sharp cry, an odd row of yellow teeth rising from the side of its beak, and I suddenly lost control of my body.

[Cockatrice has used an ability: Shrill Cry

[Nathaniel Bloodstone is affected: Stunned (3s)]

[Edward Rocksword is affected: Stunned (0.5s)]

[Jessica Silentscar is affected: Disoriented (7s)]

Though stunned, I could think and see clearly, but my body simply wouldn’t respond to me. I could see Edward rapidly catching up, and frankly I was never worried about him. However, things started to take a strange turn.

The instructor for some reason left the hummingbird head and circled around the right side, which was already done for. Ed stood there dumbly, despite not being stunned, but thankfully Nathaniel kept doing his job well. As for me... I didn’t know what the fuck was going on anymore.

[Amelia Wintersong has activated a skill: Deny reality

Mental exertion: 45% +15%

Effects: negative statuses turn into positive statuses.]

[Jessica Silentscar: Disoriented becomes Focused]

Clarity immediately returned to me, and apparently to everyone else, too. Not long after, by stalling for a few seconds, the amount of blood drenching the ground and the black poison coursing through its body was a testament for the tenacity of the enemy. Rolling back its eyes, the Cockatrice fell down with a tremor, dead. 

Finally, I could feel the time to catch my breath. I hadn’t noticed in the heat of the moment, but 34% exertion from the skill actually took a lot out of me. Deadly Dreams did not use a mana or energy system directly, but mental and physical exertion: you could use abilities freely as long as your character could stand it. Up to 75%, consequences were negligible. Afterward, skill and ability uses came at a price. The absolute maximum exertion any character could take was 300%, anything above and he was a goner, save for some very OP skills.

“Good job everyone. However, Jessica, your mind is too weak. If you don’t want to get us all killed, you have to get yourself together.”

Jessica nodded outwardly, but I thought, based on her character page, that she wouldn't take that lesson to heart.

Joseph again started to allocate points to all of us, but I was feeling so stressed, both mentally and physically, that I couldn’t pay any attention to him or the others. Looking at that giant carcass bleeding black blood, its ugly distorted heads and the very bizarre clipped wings, I dearly wished this was nothing but a nightmare.

Because of how fast I had to adapt to all those sudden changes, and perhaps because of how tired I felt, I forgot an important detail about Amelia’s starting quest: the first Cockatrice was just an appetizer.

A red light pulsed from the device attached to Joseph’s wrist, he fiddled with it for a few moments and a hologram appeared with the face of an old woman covered in blood specks. Besides her, a map of the territory with her position highlighted faintly shone.

“Contact Team 6. Team 14 is out, two adult and one young Cockatrices turned Southeast from the Terminal. They are in almost peak strength. Requesting interception in 50 seconds, I am giving chase.”

Joseph superficially looked at our state. Besides me, with my heart threatening to escape from my mouth, everyone else appeared to be fine.

“Team 6, preparing  to intercept.”

With the effects of Spider Head still active, everyone assumed their best positions naturally, except this time Jessica took a much longer distance and Amelia would directly participate in combat.

Joseph apparently felt my nervousness, as he opened his mouth again.

“Don’t worry, you guys are strong. That one over there was just a warm up, to get your blood pumping. Now it’s gonna be a bit tough, but I’ll handle the most dangerous part. I won’t be able to give you guys any lip service.  I assign Jessica as the temporary leader.”

Despite this, I was not feeling any safer. I could only try to comfort myself in that things could be different with the addition of Jessica in the party, and I had very strong characters on my side. It could be said to be luck amidst the misfortune. Just to make sure, I chose to concentrate on Joseph’s blue texts as I didn’t recall them as well as the main characters’ and followers’. Meanwhile, Ed started drinking, from a jug pulled out of God knows where.

[ID: Joseph Sebastian Smith

Level: 15/33

Belief: Only the strong survive (C-) (Vampiric series)

Stats:

Conviction: 33; B

Concentration: 28 (36); C+

Quick Thinking: 4 (13); E

Agility: 9 (15); E-

Spirit: 11; F

Traits:

Ignores limits (C+)

Brave (F)

Abilities:

Monster knowledge (passive) (C+) (lvl 6/24)

Strategies (passive) (D+) (lvl 3/15)

Martial arts (passive) (C-) (lvl 8/10)

Skills:

Trample over the Weak (D-) (lvl 11/13)

Demand offering (C) (lvl 1/3)

Status effects:

Sleep deprivation

Overexertion (150%)]

... Fuck, why didn’t you take a damn break? Is this the reason why you are one of the few instructors to actually die on the starting quest? Although his abilities and skills weren’t particularly strong, his stats were abnormal for the usual level 15. It didn't make sense for him to die if not for this.

I had little time to make extra considerations, I quickly checked to see if Foretell, my chosen skill, was still the same as before.

[Foretell (C+) (lvl 1/5)]

[Description: For 1.4*(lvl) seconds, you can see up to 3 seconds into the future. Mental and physical exertion: 6%

Reach tier D Concentration (18) to unlock another effect]

... Not as good as the original. Probably every second of the skill equated to a single turn in the game. The concept of time was exclusively tied to turns. So Foretell was not much different from knowing every intention of the opponent for a very small cost. Here, exertion effects were much more obvious and I could only see for a few moments. 

Interrupting my thoughts, the trampling trees and rumbling earth announced the arrival of the new guests. This time, the impromptu trap wouldn’t work out, so I braced myself for the worse.

Ed went forward to block their advance while Joseph turned towards the younger Cockatrice. The drink started making effect.

[Edward Rocksword activated skill: Happy Hour

Effects: Reduces damage received by 90%; Increases power by 230%. Duration: 75 seconds. Physical exertion: 150%]

[Joseph Sebastian Smith is preparing a skill: Trample over the Weak

Description: Attacks for 150% damage and applies Heavy Injury. Afterward, if the user's attack power is at least twice that of the target, the attacker deals absolute damage against it for the rest of the combat

Heavy Injury: reduces attack and defense of the target by 33%]

Edward straight out tanked the two adult monsters and diverted their attention while Joseph crushed the smaller one. The beast was still double his size, but he skillfully evaded all its attempts at attacking and decisively punched it on the head. After connecting the first hit, which apparently dealt little damage, he followed with an uppercut to its chest that ripped through the heart like tearing paper.

In all honesty, I didn’t remember things being so easy in the RPG. Was it possible that everyone was such a noob? Foretell wouldn't even be needed.

A loud shot pierced the chaotic melee and dealt the final blow on the younger monster, Joseph promptly tackled one Cockatrice alone and left us to the other. We took the same positions as prior, except that Alex took on the two heads, while Amelia and Ed distracted the tail.

As soon as their bloodshot eyes glared at Alex, they grew enraged and started bombarding him with fire and spitting poison. Thankfully, I knew that Alex was safe from that.

[Alexander Bloodstone’s passive skill is in effect: Perceive evil

Effects: character can notice evil intentions very clearly and predict their immediate results within 8 seconds]

Alex had simply no trouble stalling, even more so with a spear, he could keep it at bay forever as long as he didn’t need to deal with the tail, to boot.

“Prepare to kill in 3...2...1...”

As this thought surfaced in my mind, I focused the strength on my legs and blasted towards the Cockatrice. A moment prior to contact, it contracted its muscles unnaturally due to its bad positioning and being led around the nose, so that I landed another one in very deep.

[Cockatrice has received a critical blow for 258 (800%) damage. Status effects: Extreme Bleeding, Weakness applied]

[Weakness: +33% physical exertion]

The monster slowed down noticeably, but I also felt my muscles positively on edge, as if I had worked out non-stop for two hours. I was never a gym rat.

[Spider Head has been cancelled]

[Current exertion: 75% (first limit)]

Perhaps because of that, I was feeling sluggish not only physically, but also mentally. So I didn’t notice when the others also became a bit less coordinated. But that was a natural thing to expect, Jessica let go of her ability. I found it a bit strange since 7 minutes weren’t up yet, but she certainly knew better. Maybe she was tired too.

The other one was dealt with succinctly, and seeing as I was not needed in any conventional sense anymore, I kind of chose to collapse. Ed followed after me soon enough, almost paralyzed. His level was still too low to support overexertion.

Joseph scanned us again and let out a chuckle.

“That’s enough for you guys. Power is not everything, if you collapse from just this little stretch, you might as well leave your life on the field”

I simply closed my eyes and faced the evening sun, his words entering one ear and leaving from another. Meanwhile, I faintly heard the sound of the transmitter being activated again.

“Contact Team 14, elimination completed with no issues. Where are you now?”

...

...

“Contact Central, Requesting coordinates of Team 14, please do it fast”

It took only a few seconds to get an answer.

“This is Central, Team 14 is completely out. We’re sending you the last coordinates. Investigation is ongoing, be careful out there”

“Roger that”

I had a few seconds to catch a break, so I sat there to get a better view of the field. I shouldn’t let my guard down too much.

At that moment Jessica, who was quite far away, caught up with the team, limping.

“How did you get hurt?” Joseph asked.

She shook her head and denied it.

“Not hurt, just very tired”

Alex eyed her suspiciously and suddenly made a serious face.

“You back the fuck off! What the hell are you planning?”

“Alexander?” Joseph had some awareness of Alexander’s skills, though it wasn’t as clear cut as a game panel.

Without waiting for Joseph’s response, Alex threw his spear with all his strength towards Jessica. A dangerous red energy could be seen permeating the metallic luster.

[Alexander Bloodstone used a skill: Devour evil

Effects: target receives absolute damage equal to 50% of its evil value (up to 10) multiplied by its attack value. User gains a permanent attack bonus equal to 1.5% of the damage dealt if target is killed by this attack.

Mental exertion: +80% if the attack lands]

[Target's current evil value: 9]

Joseph pulled Jessica in and avoided the attack as soon as he noticed Alex’s intent. But unlike him, I knew that something really fishy was up. Alex wasn’t the type of guy to lash out for no good reason.

I was still too weak to do anything, but I mustered the strength to shout.

“Spread out! She’s dangerous!”

But those words barely got out before Jessica, held on his arms, pierced his chest with her hand stretched like a knife, a smile adorning her face.

"Kuh... Kuhoh!" he vomited blood. "Si... Since when?"

I felt shivers at the sight of the instructor being killed like cattle raised for slaughter. It was like I could feel his end being repeated on me. Jessica should be two heads shorter than him, yet she was effortlessly holding the corpse in mid-air, nothing special for her it seemed. It would be much easier to deal with a small and scrawny guy like me.

I focused on her information for a moment, trying to figure what the hell was going on that I missed. I knew that my curiosity would do nothing to save me, but I simply couldn't contain myself from the thought of responsibility for the situation.

But what I saw made me lose all hope.

Weakly, I muttered in my desperation.

"No fucking way..."

[Traits:

(...)

Worn by a Doppelganger: This character is a monster in disguise]