The system message and that timer that suddenly appeared out of nowhere. And that giant portal that led to the exit of this tutorial.
"What's this? The tutorial is over?"
A bunch of my classmates began discussing the message and their next move, while my eyes were still looking at the giant monsters in the air. There were still a dozen questions in my mind which only increased as the portal appeared.
'Something is odd about this,' I thought but I couldn't pinpoint it. It was like an itch that I couldn't scratch. I must find out what exactly happened.
"What do you mean 'Below Mortal'? That is impossible! There is no way that is possible!" And then I heard the voice of a strange NPC at the edge of the building. He was shouting at that white goblin, who was showing his ugly smile just like always.
To hear them properly, I moved a few steps closer to them. Not too much to make them notice but enough to make out the topic of conversation.
"That is why, I decided to bet. Plus when things will be revealed to him in the Safe Area, he will understand my words completely then. And during the 4th tutorial when we meet again, he will surely come back to me," that goblin told the NPC. They seem to be talking about someone.
"Even if what you are saying is true… you are playing with fire," the NPC warned the goblin. The goblin's expression turned a bit serious as he spoke,
"It's fine. Even if he is a fire, I would rather he burn the world."
I wanted to listen more, but the ground began shaking, making it difficult to keep standing on our feet. Though my eyes were more focused on the monsters in the sky, that were now slowly descending towards the ground.
Not just them, but about a dozen more behind them, and more beyond them. The never ending horde of those flying worm monsters covered the entire sky, turning the already dim red light, darker than ever.
"What are you guys doing? Get away before you start losing your stats," that goblin scoffed as he looked at the rest of us. Half of us had already left, while the other half was terrified looking at those monsters.
'Stats?' His words made me confused but then looking at my system, I noticed something that I should have noticed a few seconds ago.
[You are in the presence of an Entity Eater: World Worm! Your stats will randomly be eaten by 1 every second!]
My eyes widened in shock as I realized the meaning of those words. That fucking goblin… I looked in his eyes, that seemed to be mocking us, before I cursed under my breath and began running towards the portal.
I wanted to hear more about the man they were talking about. But if I were to stay here any longer, I might lose more than I could bargain for.
Everyone else on the roof was also running as fast as they could, and within a few seconds, we crossed the portal that should take us to the next level of the tutorial.
[You have completed Tutorial Level 3!]
[10,000 Points will be deducted!]
[Welcome to the Safe Zone!]
[Your stay time here is: 47 hours: 59 minutes: 57 seconds!]
"Well. That's the last of them," Gideon spoke as he sighed observing the breaking world in front of him. As one of the three entities that are indestructible, it was his fate to witness the end of the world.
"How much does this one make? 11,000?" Voltaire asked as he observed the end of the world beside Gideon. Though Gideon corrected him,"11,231."
That was the number of times they had witnessed the Apocalypse. Each time a different planet, each time a different universe. It was their fate as the slave of the system to guide the planet dwellers to their respective places. For eternity.
It was a cruel fate bestowed upon them by the world. Nobody was happy with this, but nobody could do anything against the rules set by the world. Not even Gods who try to partially control what's already existing.
Many hope to break free their chains like Voltaire. To break free from this slaved life, hoping to live a life that they deserve rather than to just monitor the destruction of the world. For that, they would even take the slightest of hope possible, to even go as far as putting their life on the line.
"Do you think this one will work? It will work, right? I… am a little tired," Gideon asked with some hope in his words. He too was tired of seeing his deceased family dying over and over again just for the sake of scenarios. Just for some quest points.
He had gone numb to the point where the death of his daughter and wife no longer affected him. It was a fate that he despised for far too long. He didn't want to continue either… but he didn't know how to end this. Even if he died, he would simply come back to life in the next tutorial.
Perhaps one of the reasons why he was still friends with this hopeful goblin was because of how Voltaire never gave up trying to break free from his shackles. An impossible dream to say the least.
"It will work this time. Trust me. I am 100% sure," that goblin smiled brightly as he saw the destruction of the world almost completed.
"Didn't you say this last time as well?" Though Gideon just sighed before giving a deep look at the end of the world in front of him.
'Well. At least he is still capable of dreaming.' Was the last thought of Gideon before the world's destruction consumed him once again.