Chapter 3, I'll Keep Her Safe, No Matter What.

[System Initialized]

[Current Participants estimated in this region is 114,250]

[Commencing Trial Quest]

[System Complete]

[Tutorial Quest will start in a moment]

[Greetings, Player]

[Welcome to Alden.]

The translucent interface hovered before me, shimmering faintly like a mirage. I reached out instinctively, but my hand passed through it as if it were nothing more than air. 

'It's greeting us?' 

I thought, my mind racing. The intricacy of the system was overwhelming. It felt like something out of a high-tech virtual reality game that I read from a novel, yet the weight of the situation was all too real. The term "Player" stuck in my mind. Were we pawns in some twisted game? Or was this a world governed by game-like rules?

I hold tight my mother hands.

I tightened my grip, her gloved hands were trembling. Her face was full of worry, her eyes wide with fear because of the unknown, but she didn't let go. 

'I cannot lose my mother in a world I didn't know anything about. Not here.. not in this hell..' I thought fiercely.

Before I could process anything further, a blinding light engulfed us. It was the same light that had swallowed us back on Earth, the same light that had dragged us into this unknown world. My stomach churned as the sensation of being pulled through space and time overwhelmed me. 

I shut my eyes tightly, the light burning even through my eyelids. The world around me dissolved into darkness, and for a moment, I felt weightless, as if I were floating in an endless void. A strange, primal instinct warned me not to open my eyes—not yet. As if doing so would shatter whatever fragile thread of reality still held me together. 

When I finally dared to look, the scenery had changed entirely. 

The vast meadows were gone, replaced by a colossal underground sanctuary. The air was cool and damp, carrying the faint scent of moss and ancient stone. Towering pillars of white marble stretched toward the ceiling, their surfaces etched with intricate carvings of winged figures and celestial symbols. The ceiling itself was a mosaic of glowing runes, casting an eerie, otherworldly light over the chamber. 

But what caught my attention most was the statue. 

It loomed at the far end of the sanctuary, a towering figure of a woman with eight wings spread majestically behind her. A halo of light hovered above her head, and her stone eyes seemed to pierce through the very fabric of my soul. The statue radiated an aura of divinity, yet there was something unsettling about it—something that made my skin crawl.

[The Tutorial Will Begin Shortly]

The message flashed before my eyes, pulling me back to the present. I glanced around, taking in the sheer scale of the sanctuary. It felt less like a place of worship and more like a tomb—a monument to something long forgotten. 

Before I could dwell on it further, the air around us shimmered, and more people began to materialize. They appeared in bursts of light, their faces twisted in confusion and terror. 

"Aah! Where are we?" 

"Mom!!" 

"Huaaaaa!" 

"This can't be happening… this can't be happening!" 

"Anyone, help!!" 

The sanctuary, once silent and serene, was now filled with the cacophony of panicked voices. People stumbled over each other, their cries echoing off the stone walls. An elderly man clutched his chest, gasping for air. A child wailed, separated from their parents. A young man sat slumped against a pillar, his face blank with despair. 

I gripped my mother's hand even tighter, the leather of her gloves creaking under the pressure. Her trembling fingers squeezed back, a silent reassurance that she was still here, still with me. 

'I need to protect her,' I thought, my resolve hardening. 

Then, the air shifted. 

A soft, melodic hum filled the chamber, growing louder with each passing second. A beam of golden light descended from above, illuminating the center of the sanctuary. From within the light emerged a figure—a woman draped in flowing white robes, her face obscured by a delicate veil. Four wings extended from her back, their feathers shimmering with an ethereal glow. A halo of light hovered above her head, casting a soft radiance over the room. 

[Greetings, Heroes from Faraway Lands]

[I am Ariadne, Assistant Angel of the God Who Summoned You Here.]

[The Reason I Did Not Send You Directly to the Tutorial Stage Is So You Could First Accustom Yourselves to This World. Isn't It a Beautiful World?]

Her voice was calm, almost soothing, but it carried an edge of finality that made my skin crawl. The crowd, already on edge, erupted into chaos. 

"What's beautiful about this? Just send us back home!" a man shouted, his voice cracking with desperation. He was middle-aged, his face red with anger, his fists clenched at his sides. 

"I want to go home… Hiks…" a woman sobbed, clutching a child to her chest. 

"Mama… Mama…" a little girl whimpered, her tiny hands trembling as she clung to her mother's leg. 

The angel's serene expression didn't change, but her next words were like a death sentence. 

[Please Listen Carefully to What I Am About to Say. Your Survival Depends on It.]

The man who had shouted stepped forward, his face twisted in rage. "Stop messing with us, damn it! Send us back right now!" 

The angel's head tilted slightly, her veil shifting to reveal the faintest glimpse of a smile. It wasn't kind. It was cold, calculating, and utterly devoid of mercy. 

[I Do Not Recommend Being in Denial.] 

Snap 

She flicked a single finger. 

The sound was like a wet melon being crushed under a boot.

Splurt

The man's head exploded in a burst of blood, bone, and brain matter. The force of it sent chunks flying, splattering across the faces and clothes of those nearby. A woman screamed as a piece of skull fragment lodged itself in her hair. A man stumbled back, wiping blood from his eyes, his screams joining the cacophony. 

The headless body stood for a moment, swaying grotesquely, before collapsing to the ground with a sickening thud. Blood pooled beneath it, spreading across the pristine white floor like a picasso painting.

The sanctuary erupted into pandemonium. 

"Oh God, oh God, oh God!" a woman shrieked, clutching her head as she backed away. 

"He's dead! He's dead!" a teenager screamed, his voice breaking. 

"Mama! Mama!" the little girl wailed, her tiny hands covering her ears as she buried her face in her mother's leg. 

The angel remained unmoved, her wings glowing faintly as she hovered above the chaos. Her voice cut through the screams like a blade. 

[This Is Not a Dream. This Is Your Reality Now. My Duty Is to Guide You Through the Tutorial, And Eventually Reaching The Main Continent.]

No one dared to speak now. The crowd was frozen, their faces pale, their breaths shallow. The only sounds were the muffled sobs of children and the occasional whimper of terror. 

I felt my mother's hand tighten around mine, her gloved fingers digging into my skin. I didn't dare look away from the angel. Her presence was suffocating, her power absolute. One wrong move, one wrong word, and we could be next.

Sweat.

The angel's gaze swept over the crowd, her eyes—visible through the veil—gleaming with an otherworldly light. 

[This Place Is Your Starting Point, Not the Tutorial Itself. Here, You Can Find Essential Supplies Like Food, Water, and Weapons. These Weapons Are Ranked as Common, Epic, Rare, and Legendary.] 

Her words were calm, almost conversational, as if she hadn't just murdered a man in cold blood. The contrast was horrifying. 

[If You Are Lucky, You Might Find a High-Ranking Weapon, Which Will Greatly Aid You in the Tutorial.]

I glanced at the walls of the sanctuary, where rows of weapons were displayed behind glass cases. Swords, bows, staves, and other implements of destruction gleamed under the runic light. But before I could act, the angel's voice rang out again. 

[Oh, Heroes from Another World, Please Save This Land from the Demon Invasion.]

Darkness filled out vision. The sanctuary dissolved around us, replaced by a vivid vision of chaos. Akin to a cutscenes found in games. A kingdom burned, its streets littered with corpses. Demons—twisted, grotesque creatures with glowing red eyes—swarmed the land, their roars shaking the earth. The scene was horrifying, yet it felt like a glimpse into the future. 

[As You Just Witnessed, a Kingdom on This Continent Has Been Destroyed by the Demons. Oh, Heroes from Another World, Please Save This Land from Ruin.]

*Ding!* 

[A Quest Has Appeared!]

[Complete the Tutorial.]

[Requirement: Defeat 10 Reconstructed Demon in the Tutorial. [0/10].]

[Reward: Class Change.]

The quest window hovered before me, its text glowing ominously. 

'This is all real,' I thought, my heart pounding. 

I glanced at my mother, her face pale but determined. My family was my anchor in this madness. 

'I will keep them safe,' I vowed silently, my fists clenched. 'No matter what it takes.' 

The tutorial was about to begin, and with it, a fight for survival unlike anything I had ever known. 

[Gather a party of 7]

The system's message glowed before me, its words clear and unyielding. A party of seven. In this sea of panicked, desperate faces, who could I trust? Who would be strong enough, smart enough, or brave enough to stand by my side in this nightmare?

'Mother is also included.' I thought, my mind racing. 'That leaves five others. Five people who will be enough to survives us through the tutorial.'

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to focus. Chaos surrounded me—people shouting, crying, or simply staring into the void, paralyzed by the fear. But i couldn't afford to be overwhelmed.

Think.

Observe.

Analize.

It was my greatest strength, the trait that had defined me since I was a child. It was what had propelled my guild, BrightFall, into the top 10 of the unified rankings in the game I once played. Now, it wasn't just about rankings or virtual glory. It was about our survival.

My eyes scanned the crowd, picking out individuals who stood out amidst the chaos.

A Brute man with huge muscles, a woman with horn rimmed glass that looks shy, a confident woman that looks like in her 30s, and a man in a pope clothes.. Among all these people here, there are those that stand the most among these hundreds of people. 

"Mother," I said, turning to her. "Do you see the notification before us?"

"Yes, Gray," she replied without hesitation. Her voice was steady, her tone firm. "A party of seven people. Excluding us, we need to gather the other five."

I nodded, pride swelling in my chest. This was the very Mother who had built Greyhart Industries from the ground up, the CEO who had turned it into the best company in the country. Even here, in this unimaginable situation, she was unshakable.

"Although I don't want to part with you," I said, "we need to move quickly. Splitting up will make the search faster."

"Agreed," she said, her voice resolute. She adjusted her tie with a practiced motion, her eyes narrowing with determination. "I'll scout the east. You take the west."

I hesitated for a moment, the instinct to protect her warring with the need to act. But I knew she was right. Time was against us, and every second wasted could mean the difference between life and death.

"Be careful," I said, my voice low but firm.

"You too, Gray," she replied, her eyes locking with mine. For a moment, the chaos around us faded, and it was just the two of us—a mother and son, bound by love and an unbreakable will to survive.

"I will keep her safe, no matter what."