Hell Difficulty Tutorial Chapter 2

Choosing to remain near the bus, I carefully observe the people around me. We total 24 in number. 23 excluding myself. Fifteen men and nine women, ranging across various ages. The smallest is a young girl beside the one who appears constantly irritated.

"Does it look like Earth to you!?" I catch from the group as a man about 50 years old gestures at the second, highly suspicious sun. Spit sprays from his mouth while veins bulge on his forehead. "We can't just bloody sit here and wait for the police." As he begins bellowing, nobody attempts to soothe him, and it seems some actually side with him. "We should look around first, maybe climb on some trees or something."

I roll my eyes involuntarily and tune him out.

Trees encircle us in every direction. They appear normal. Just like those on Earth…

I halt my musings.

Earth.

I reflect on it.

Have I already concluded we're no longer on Earth?

Indeed.

After thinking a while more, I devise several possibilities, each more absurd than the previous:

, someone abducted us. Drugged us into slumber, maybe using gas that filled the bus. Then they waited till dawn before allowing us to awaken deep in the woods, somehow simulating that extra sun.

This scenario strikes me as extremely unlikely since I don't recall dozing off. Yes, I felt drowsy, but sleep never came. All I remember is a blinding flash, the bus plummeting with us, and suddenly arriving here. No gaps in my recollection, no sense of lost time.

, I've died. That flash was perhaps a crash into something, or an explosion. Maybe a bullet through the window. This would make it some bizarre afterlife.

I deem this unlikely too, and downright gloomy.

, I dozed off, and this is merely a dream.

I dig my nails into my forearm as fiercely as possible until blood trickles from the gash. The agony feels far too authentic, leaving me somewhat irritated with myself.

, an elaborate prank of sorts.

I mull it over briefly, unable to figure how they'd execute it or why bother, nearly discarding it. Yet it persists faintly—who knows what folks can devise nowadays? I scan the passengers again. They're still "debating." I methodically eye each one, but none seem prominent, vital, or wealthy enough to justify such extravagance.

I don't fully eliminate it, though it remains quite improbable.

, we truly ended up on a different planet.

The chief clue is that damn orange orb overhead.

The likely-sun.

I detect nothing artificial about it. Absolutely zilch.

Naturally, you'd anticipate greater heat, but the primary sun seems a tad smaller and the secondary dimmer, possibly offsetting it. Truthfully, I'm not sure. My grasp of such matters is basic at best.

I let out a sigh.

Then a schoolgirl shrieks, jabbing a finger toward the woods.

I trace her gesture and spot a wolf at the forest's fringe.

Well…

The creature's brown coat is clotted with crusted blood. One ear gone, a hideous scar across its muzzle.

Its unsettling stare locks onto the frightened girl, eyes shimmering with ghostly radiance.

This enormous beast stands so tall its gaze matches mine in height.

It snarls and advances threateningly. A colossal wolf the size of a car, strange text floating above its head.

[Wolf - lvl 2]

Yeah, no way. I'm gone.

Thanks a lot and screw you, whoever unleashed this horror.

I'm bolting back into the bus before the wolf even moves first.

The wolf approaches and emits a profound, prolonged rumble. It vibrates through my chest. That ominous thrum sets all my survival instincts ablaze, urging flight.

Definitely run time.

Folks scramble back into the bus amid chaos of yells. Some tumble and claw their way inside frantically. I witness men shoving children aside to claim entry first.

The level two wolf advances deliberately and warily. It acts as if anticipating an ambush, with uncanny intellect gleaming in its gaze.

Without turning away, I reach the bus and climb aboard. All others are in already.

Sobs and frightened murmurs fill the air.

"What the hell is that..."

"...at least two meters tall."

"...level..."

As they gawk at the wolf, I scan about for any potential weapon against...I peek out at...that abomination.

No weapons in sight, alas. Hell, I'd take an RPG now.

Luckily, I spy a somewhat warped iron bar for handholds on the straps, and after yanking with full might, I wrench it loose. Sadly, it's merely about a meter in length and dull-ended. Moments later, I snatch a larger glass shard from the floor, gripping it left-handed while clutching the bar right.

Likely from nerves or a trembling grip, blood from my sliced palm already stains the glass, though I brush it off swiftly.

The wolf lurks some 10 meters from the bus, appearing fiercer still. It sniffs and growls, baring enormous fangs. Body hunkered low to the earth, poised to charge or sprint. Its pace slows further as it circles the bus, unleashing terrifying snarls.

"Hey Google, what's the opposite of 'pspspsp' but for wolves instead of cats?"

The boy with the grating chuckle utters, voice quivering, face ashen as frost.

He draws stunned glances but zero chuckles.

Terror grips everyone utterly; surely some can't even glimpse the wolf through their tears.

"Mommy..."

"Oh my god, please let me..."

"G-get away from the windows..."

The wolf's orbits tighten gradually, growing bolder. It's like we're ceasing to register as danger.

My gaze fixates on the inscription above the wolf's head.

[Wolf - lvl 2]

I check others, finding no such labels hovering over them.

Concentrating, I block out the wails, whimpers, and beastly rumbles.

A wild notion strikes me.

No way, surely?

"Profile," I murmur. Zilch.

"Character window," I utter.

Nothing.

"Window," I declare.

Nothing.

"Level," I state.

Nothing.

"Inspect," I command.

Nothing.

"Appraise," I try.

Nothing.

"Shut the fuck up with your mumbling!" a man snaps at me.

"Shut the..." I begin, then notice several staring as if I've lost it.

I glance about briefly. Certain passengers clutch "weapons" now—glass bottles, window shards, purses, shoulder bags, or bus iron scraps.

The wolf nears two meters off. We hear its sniffing; drool drips from its vast jaws.

I resume my efforts, disregarding the rest.

"Skill window," I attempt.

Nothing.

"Skill," I say.

Nothing.

"Skills," I pronounce.

Nothing.

"Status window," I voice.

Nothing.

Screams erupt as the wolf's enormous head looms at an intact window. All flee deeper inside, trembling, shrieking, weeping, brandishing crude arms in desperate bids to seem fierce.

"Status," I utter.

Ere another syllable escapes, a translucent golden panel materializes before me.

[Name: Nathaniel Gwyn]

Difficulty:Hell

Floor: 1

Time left until forced return: 4y 364d 23h 36m 12s

Lvl 0

Strength: 6

Dexterity: 7

Constitution: 3

Mana: 1

[Primary Class: Unavailable]

[Sub-class: Unavailable]

Skills:

Focus - lvl 1

Mana manipulation - lvl 1

[Skill Points: 0]

[Stat Points: 0]

Fascinating, yet pointless right now.

The panel vanishes on its own, then glass shatters as the wolf thrusts its head in, heedless of shards, snapping at a nearby elderly lady. Luckily, it merely rends her sweater's edge; cloth rips as it yanks, sending the screaming woman sprawling.