"Fucking hell."
My voice echoed through the quiet museum, instantly garnering the attention of everyone, and by everyone I meant a lot.
The museum was absurdly grand, but this crowd was something else entirely.
Sure they didn't want to die but I was willing to bet, half of the freeloaders here weren't even players.
And what's with those stares of theirs, they were looking at me like I was some sort of monster or freak.
Well I guess from their perspective it was understandable.
I was covered in blood, grotesque wounds and whatever black sludge those bloodlings had as blood.
Ryu was slung across my back, still unconscious from the fight with the bloodlings.
As much as I hated to admit, I would've been buried beneath a pile of hungry gods forsaken monsters if it wasn't for him.
I tilted my head a bit to get a better view of him.
He was still unconscious but his breathing had stabilized a bit.
'That pattern though…'
The way Ryu fought, I'd seen it somewhere before.
But I couldn't remember where or who exactly.
'He fights like a summoner, his patterns were mostly defensive and evasive like something or someone had always been the one to attack in his place.'
Although there were some anomalies in the game.
Unlike other games, in Echoes you could have a class and still fight differently.
Like an assassin who could brawl like a fighter or a mage who could throw hands when it came down to it.
I was of the latter.
A caster class who trained under some tyrannical NPC's while climbing the tower.
Thanks to them I learnt how to use my abilities in both long ranged and close combat.
Carefully lowering Ryu to the ground, I took a moment to observe my surroundings then I slumped to the ground.
I was too weak to think of anything, but with the chibi weretiger floating above our heads I doubted anyone would think of pulling anything stupid.
The wounds and exhaustion I had sustained while fighting the bloodlings were catching up to me.
My gaze fell on an ugly cut causing me to click my tongue.
'This… is going to get infected if I don't treat it soon.'
The silence lingered but I could feel the gaze of the weretiger focused on me.
I subconsciously returned the gaze and the instant I did, I shuddered.
The weretiger wasn't staring at me with malice or anything of that sort instead it looked at me the same way a businessman would stare at the worker he was about to milk down to the last bit of profit he could gain from them.
'W-What is that look.'
After a brief unsettling moment it averted its gaze then spoke with a contemptuous huff.
"I guess Yao Yao shall wait for time to run out."
And just like that… twelve nerve-racking minutes passed by.
SNAP!
The silence was broken by the sound of the weretiger snapping its fingers sending a jolt through the crowd gathered.
Outside the bloodlings roaming the streets of Seoul began popping like pressured watermelons, one by one they exploded causing screams to erupt even within the museum.
When the last of them exploded, the weretiger above stared with a satisfied smile, then it spoke.
"Now it's time for the humans."
'Wait what?'
SNAP!
My eyes widened as soon as the creature uttered those words while my mind raced as I thought back to all my actions.
For all I knew, just like the tutorial of the original game, we reached the safe zone designated to us, the scenario was supposed to end there.
But that was the game, this is real life.
What if the patterns didn't add up, what if it was different?
But was that really the case?
In the game everyone had been players but here not all of us were.
It was just my suspicion but what if the Echoes Of Ruin which had become a reality was meant for the people who had been players of the original game?
And what would happen if ordinary people, completely normal citizens who had nothing to do with the game were to take the place of a player?
The answer was simple, and it wasn't one I was certain anyone would enjoy.
Quiet murmurs started going around, at first it was small and barely noticeable but the more seconds passed, the more it grew.
Realization settled in and I could see how quick it took for their faces to go pale.
I wasn't any different. My hands were shaking too.
The weretiger simply ignored the crowd then sneered, losing that innocent appeal it had.
"What's the matter heh, if a bunch of incompetent participants can't make it then they simply have to die, although only the players who participated in the virtual world will die… for now, those ordinary humans who took their spot will replace them."
While it spoke, a blue screen materialized in front of me.
[Ding! You're currently ranked first in Seoul.]
[Number of monsters slain: 16/10]
[Scenario reward: 10 stat points, character synchronisation.]
[Calculating additional rewards.]
[You have exceeded the tutorial's kill count.]
[You have obtained an epic grade title, blood slayer]
[You have obtained a weapon ticket.]
[Leaderboard will be updated after character synchronization.]
[Time remaining until floor one opens: 47:32:16]
The weretiger continued.
"Here's what you need to know, players are required to synchronize with their characters from the virtual world although your stats have been reverted, the body at least would be something you humans are familiar with. For the new players, you will be given the opportunity to create a character."
A slow grin tugged at its lips.
"Before the first floor, players are to complete certain hidden requirements, to get a sponsor… if you want to survive that is."
From the crowd, a girl asked in a shaken voice.
"Constellations… what are those?"
"Constellations are gods who watch your advent as you climb the tower, if they find you amusing enough, they'll sponsor you and give you their abilities, if they don't… well they get their avatars to end you." The weretiger replied lazily.
Its gaze fell on me once again then it giggled.
"At least some of you humans are certainly interesting, so let me give you a piece of advice."
It paused.
'Why does it feel like its talking directly to me?'
No it really did, at this point it felt like the creature was interested in me.
As if the entire situation wasn't unsettling enough, the little monster was giving me the creeps.
"You guys should consider streaming your progress, streaming gives you Exp based on your constellation subscriptions, and with Exp you can raise your level. A higher level equals stronger abilities and battle prowess, you can decide not to but you'll definitely need it, don't expect the difficulty to be the same as the prototype..."
After saying that, it vanished.
I stared blankly at the spot it had just been floating a few seconds ago.
A stupid thought crossed my mind briefly but before I could ponder on it, the system message popped again.
[Ding! Tutorial stage cleared.]