The city buzzed with low energy, streets fading into the evening shadows. Leo didn't care. He had only one goal -- get that new game. Not just any game --"Mad Battle: Forgotten System". Limited release. Rumors said it was next- level immersive. No trailers. No teasers. Just whispers .The city air was stale, tingled with rain and neon. Leo adjusted the strap of his bag, weaving between bikes and busy commuters. He didn't care how late it was. All that mattered was the shop at the corner of Rue Black -- a place rumoured to sell games that weren't supposed to exist yet. Inside, the dusty place barely had shelves. The old man behind the counter didn't speak. He only stared then slid a small box across the counter.
"Mad Battle: Forgotten System ". No logo. No company. Just a black disk and a symbol etched in read. Leo didn't ask questions. He paid nodded, and walked out into the rain.
At home, the lights were off. His mother was probably asleep, and his father... hadn't come home in weeks. He crept into his room and slammed the door.
"Initializing..."
The screen went dark. Then deep. Like falling into it.
Suddenly he was in the tutorial -- but there was no menu. No character selection. It just said:
"Do you accept?"
He clicked yes.
-----
When Leo woke up, he wasn't in his room. The sky was dusky red. The air was cold, full of wind and insects. Trees rose like towers around him. He was lying on a stone wrapped in strange fabric barefoot.
"What...?"
He stood heart pounding. This wasn't VR. This wasn't a dream. The wind chilled his skin. The scent of moss,the sound of birds -- it was real.
He stumbled forward, calling out. No response.
Then, rustling.
He crouched behind a log. Shadows danced. Shapes moved .
Gumballers,
Short,pale creatures with warped mouths and bloated eyes. Their weapons were sharp bones tied to sticks. They laughed in animal grunts and twitched constantly.
Leo breath hitched. He backed away.
Too late.
One of them hissed and pointed. The rest chased.
He ran.
Twigs snapped underfoot. Branches whipped his face. He didn't look back. He didn't need to -- the screeches followed him. Then--
WHAM
He slipped on mud and rolled down a slope.
He landed hard. Pain bloomed in his ribs. A goblin was already there. It grinned and smashed a club into his stomach.
Two more pinned him. One bit his arm. Blood poured
One raised it's club again -- "this time for the kill"
Then--
System initializing...
User accepted:
"LEONARDIOUS CHIVELT..."
A
low hum. A pulse through the earth.
Time slowed.
Leo's body arched--
Something inside cracked open.
His vision blurred. The mud in his eyes distorted the seen--
a twisted, smeared lens of gore and rain. The Mudhead Lens
CRACK
The club never hit it chattered in mid air
The goblin flinched, confused,
Leo's hand twitched. The earth beneath the goblin imploded, dragging it downward with a horrible crunch.
Another screamed and lunged. Leo turned toward it.
No thought. Just power.
BOOM
The creature flew back,
spine snapped, green blood splattering trees.
He stood, breathing hard. The others were watching him now. Hesitating.
"You're scared," Leo whispered.
"Good."
They attacked anyway.
Leo didn't retreat
He stepped forward, fists clenched.
Gravity answered.
One goblin was yanked from mid-air and slammed down so hard the ground cracked.
Another tried to flee-- Leo reached toward it -- and tripled it's mass.
It collapsed, limbs crushed under its own weight.
O
nly one remained. It stared at him, trembling.
Leo looked into its eyes. And smiled.
"Now you know how it feels "
He raised his hand, and with a final, brutal pulse, crushed like a tin can.
Blood rained across the stones.
Silence returned.
Leo stood alone, chest heaving, vision blurry. But inside, something had changed.
The system had awakened. So had he