I, Anushka Rangari, guess this is really the final day.....
It was a special day for me, after all those stressful years, school was finally coming to an end. It was the last day, our farewell party, and I was looking forward to enjoying it… at least until my dance performance with my friends was over.
But then, something unexpected happened.
A screen suddenly appeared in front of all of us, just like the ones you see in video games or system-based anime and comics.
It read:
[If you want to survive in this world, please enter your name.]
Everyone froze.
This had never happened before. The room, once filled with laughter and music, fell silent. Only a few students, those who were familiar with system-based anime, remained quiet—they might have guessed that this wasn't just a game. It could be the end of the world as we knew it.
Then, my classmate Shruti stepped forward and said calmly, "No need to panic. Just enter your name. We'll figure out the rest."
Her words surprised me. She didn't know what would happen next, yet she remained so composed.
But I knew the truth.
I knew exactly what was coming once everyone entered their names,
Because I was the one who created this world.
Somehow, the world had transformed into the story I had written as a hobby… a novel I never finished.
But I couldn't let anyone know I was the author.
I couldn't let them discover that I knew how this world was going to unfold.
Because,
.
.
.
.
.
My novel is still ongoing...
_______
Once we all entered our names, the system congratulated us, but before we could process anything, a mysterious voice echoed through the air, chilling and distant.
Then, from the shadows above, a small creature floated down—draped in flowing, ink-like robes, its face blank and unreadable, eyes swirling like galaxies trapped in void.
An other world creature who called itself a Narrant had appeared.
Then it spoke, its voice echoing in our minds:
"My dear players of the game, thank you for entering your names. Now, let me tell you this, forget the world you once knew. That life is over.
This is your new reality. Your only task: survive and entertain the sponsors of this game."
A cold silence settled over us.
"Right now, you are all at Level 1. But once you clear the first trial, you will begin to level up. Oh, how could I forget?" Narant let out a low, mocking chuckle. "Trials are events you must clear. Each one grants rewards. Fail… and you will face a penalty. That penalty could be anything. Even death."
A chill ran down my spine. I could hear people whispering. Some cried. Some just stood frozen in disbelief.
Then, breaking the tension, a voice rang out, our math teacher, Pooja Ma'am.
She stepped forward, her voice firm. "What kind of creature are you? What do you want from us? Is it money? Is that it?"
Narant tilted its head, amused.
"Money? Oh yes… that worthless paper you humans cling to. No, I don't want that."
"Then what do you want?!" she demanded.
Slash.
In a flash, before we could even blink, Narant's claw tore through the air and Pooja Ma'am was cut in half.
Blood sprayed across the floor.
Screams erupted.
Terror gripped us all.
Narant sighed, almost annoyed.
"What a bother, you humans. Let me make this clear. "
Its voice dropped to a sinister growl.
"This is your only warning. Survive this first trial… and choose your sponsor once it ends."
Then it disappeared.
And the game truly began.
------------
Students and teachers erupted into confusion. Panic filled the air.
"What is going on?"
"This is too real to be a dream…"
"How did he kill Pooja Ma'am like that?"
"Are we going to die?"
"I don't want to die…"
Fear and chaos spread like wildfire.
Then, cutting through the noise, Shruti stepped forward. She climbed onto the stage, grabbed the mic, and spoke with surprising calmness.
"Please, everyone… calm yourselves. We need to adapt to this situation, not fall apart."
Even in the middle of such panic, her steady voice began to quiet the room.
Subham Sir, one of our school administrators, looked at her with disbelief. "Shruti, do you know what's going on? This… this can't be real. But it doesn't feel like a dream either. What should we do? Do you have any idea what the first trial might be?"
Shruti took a breath and replied, "I think I might know what's coming. This situation… it's extremely similar to a few anime series and especially to a web novel I once read."
Gasps spread through the crowd.
"If I'm right," she continued, "then somewhere in this room, a portal will appear. And from it, F-rank goblins will emerge. I'm not completely sure until we receive actual trial information… but that's the highest possibility."
My heart dropped.
How does she know? I thought. How does she know my novel?
Then I remembered—I'd posted the story on a popular novel app. But after receiving little attention and no positive support, I gave up and stopped after Episode 67.
Yet somehow… she had read it.
And in a matter of moments, because she seemed to know what was happening, Shruti had become the de facto leader of our school.
Just then, Shravani tugged on my sleeve.
"Hey Anushka, come here for a second."
I followed her away from the crowd. Once we were out of earshot, she spoke quietly.
"The novel Shruti is talking about… it's yours, isn't it?"
I froze.
"I didn't read it back then," she admitted. "I thought it sounded boring. I'm sorry I didn't support you."
I shook my head and gave her a soft smile. "Don't worry about that. But please—don't let anyone, not even our friends, know I'm the author. I'm trusting you with this."
She nodded seriously.
"You have my word."
-------
A glowing system window suddenly appeared in front of all of us:
---
#1st Trial – Slaughter the Portal Goblins
Rank: F
Time Limit: 20 minutes
Clear Condition: Eliminate all goblins within the portal area
Reward: 1500 coins, Level UP
Penalty: You can only enter the portal in teams of five. Each team member must kill at least one goblin. If even one member fails to eliminate a goblin, they will die, and the rest of the team will receive no reward.
---
One of the teachers spoke up, panicked. "What is this?! Do we all have to go in? It says we must form teams, what do we do?"
Shruti took a deep breath and replied, "I don't think we have a choice. We need to enter in teams. My suggestion is two girls and two boys per group—since there are more girls than boys—and one teacher with each team. That will maximize survival."
To everyone's surprise, people started nodding. In a few seconds, Shruti's calmness had earned her the trust of nearly the whole school.
But suddenly, someone shouted,
"Jump!"
All eyes turned toward the sound and gasped. Five girls had dashed into the portal on their own.
It was me, Anushka, and my friends.
As we crossed the boundary, the portal closed behind us.
Everything went black. We were now inside a cave, cold and dark. Thankfully, I had brought my phone, even though it wasn't allowed in school. Its flashlight helped us see.
Then another system window popped up:
---
Thank you for entering the first trial. Would you like to receive weapons for goblin slaughter?
Click [OK] to proceed.
---
We all clicked "OK," and D-rank daggers appeared before us, basic but sharp. Good enough for F-rank goblins. Or so I thought…
Then I saw them, twice as many goblins as us.
"What the hell?! There are double the number of goblins!" I yelled at the system, furious.
"Forget that for now," Anjali said. "The rules are clear. We each have to kill at least one. That's priority one!"
"Already done!" the others said in unison.
Except me.
Suddenly, Shravani screamed, "Anushka, behind you!"
A goblin rushed at me, blade ready to strike. My instincts kicked in. I spun and drove the dagger straight into its eye. It dropped instantly.
"Hah! Piece of cake," I smirked.
Then came the final message:
---
Congratulations! You have completed the First Trial.
Reward granted.
---
We made it. All of us. But something felt… off.
This wasn't exactly the trial I'd written in my novel. The goblin count, the messages, everything was slightly different.
It felt like someone else had written this.
"Could this be a world created by someone who read my novel?" I thought.
"If I ever find them, I swear, I'm going to punch them. How dare they copy my work?"
"Hey, Anushka! Look!" Shravani pointed. "The portal's back!"
"Guess it's time to return… to our hellish school," I said.
---
Meanwhile, chaos stirred back at school.
"Who just went in?!" Shruti demanded.
"I think it was Anushka, Anjali, Shravani, Anagha, and Shravasti," someone answered.
"What?! They went in without asking me?!" Shruti's pride flared.
"They won't come back unharmed… it's too dangerous," she whispered, more to herself than anyone else.
"Weapons! They don't even have weapons!" someone exclaimed.
"We wait," Shruti said, swallowing her nerves.
Just then, a student shouted, "Look! They're back!"
We stepped out of the portal, not a single scratch on us.
Shruti marched over. "How could you be so reckless?! What if something happened?! I would've taken the blame!"
(Hah. Look at her, trying to win favor,) I thought.
"I'm sorry, Shruti," I said coldly. "It was me. I made them come with me. But honestly, don't you think it's wrong to try and control everyone? In the end, if someone dies, they die alone. The rules are clear."
Some students looked shaken by my emotionless voice.
"I'm not trying to control anyone," Shruti argued. "I'm just trying to keep us safe based on the knowledge I have!"
"From some random novel you read?" I interrupted. "Really?"
Shruti stared at me, stunned. "Wait… how do you know about that? Did you read it too? We could work together—"
"Stop relying on that story. This world isn't the same. You should've realized that by now," I snapped. "You're not as clever as I thought."
Sarika Ma'am stepped in. "How could you talk to Shruti like that?! She's trying to help!"
I rolled my eyes. "Tsk. Come on, girls. Let's go. We're better off relying on ourselves than on half-baked theories."
Shruti stood frozen, her mind racing.
"She knows something. More than me. Did she… did she write that novel? Or keep reading when I stopped? Ugh—I should've read all of it before exams!"
One thing was clear to Shruti now:
We were a threat to her authority. And she needed to watch us… very carefully.
---
After some time…
"Hey Anushka, why did you leave the school? It's the safest place for us. We should've stayed," Anagha questioned Anushka's decision.
"Yeah, we all agreed to that," the others chimed in.
"Think about it. You all already know what kind of person Shruti is. And ever since the world changed, I've been getting a really bad vibe from her. We don't know what tricks she'll pull to survive in this new world. It's better if we stay away from her," Anushka replied firmly.
"But if we help her, maybe she'll protect us. Maybe she'll be different this time."
"You want to go back to that school? After everything unfair that happened to us there?" Anushka asked, her voice rising.
"Yes, I think we should," Anagha said. "And I'm sure no one from our school will die."
"You sure have some confidence, Anagha. I didn't know you had it in you." Anushka smiled faintly.
"Fine. But first, let's go home. Grab bags packed with food, water, and at least two pairs of clothes. If you want to bring anything else—like your phone—do that too. Meet back here in exactly 30 minutes."
"Okay!"
We all returned to our homes. Strangely, we didn't see a single person. No neighbors. No parents. No signs of life. But instead of breaking down, we stood strong... and came back to the school.
"Is everyone here?" Anjali asked.
"Yes, we are," the rest answered.
"Anagha, do you still believe in Shruti?" Anushka asked.
"Yes. She's capable of anything. I know that."
"Then let's make a bet. If everyone from our school survives under Shruti's command, I'll give you all my reward coins. But if more than 50 people die… you'll give me all of yours."
Anagha smirked. "Ha! That's clearly in my favor. I accept."
"Yeah… I let's see that," Anushka muttered.
"The atmosphere changed," Shavasthi whispered to Anjali and Shravani.
"Yeah… but why would Anushka make a bet that clearly doesn't benefit her?" Shravani asked.
"Because she's an idiot. That's the only explanation," Anjali said.
"Who are you calling an idiot?" Anushka cut into their conversation.
"You, obviously," they replied.
"You could at least hesitate before saying it out loud," Anushka muttered.
When we reached the main hall of the school, we noticed even more students missing.
"Hey, remember the bet?" Anushka said with a smile.
"Yeah I know."
"It's obvious. The ones who didn't clear the portal trial... are dead." Anushka break through the silence in the school.
A chill ran through our bodies. Those students—they were once our classmates.
"Oh, Shruti. Glad to see you're alive. But if I had to guess, about 40% of the school's population is gone, right?"
"How can you say that so coldly?"
"I'm just being honest. So, Anagha… looks like I won the bet. Hand over your coin."
"Anyone who wants to stay with Shruti can stay. I'm not stopping you. But I'm leaving," Anushka declared.
"I'll come with you," Anagha said.
"Okay," Anushka nodded.
Just then, all remaining students and teachers were summoned to the school ground.
A glowing system window appeared:
---
#Sub-Trial - Survive the Zombie Apocalypse
Rank: B
Time Limit: 7 Days
Condition to Clear: Survive for 7 days by killing zombies
Reward: 25,000 Coins & Level Up
Penalty: Death
Rules: You can enter solo or in groups
Bonus: One hit to the back of a zombie's head is enough to kill it
---
"Ah… this sub-trial is just like the one from my novel," I thought with a dark smile. Now I'm sure that someone copied my novel. That person's going to die.
Another window opened:
Choose your weapon and buy it.
"So we can buy items now? But Anagha might not have enough coins. I should help her—"
Before I could finish her thought, she saw Anagha holding a cricket bat.
"Wait, how did you afford that?" she asked.
"Oh, didn't you know? Some sponsors noticed my performance in the first trial. They gifted me 5,000 coins," Anagha said casually.
"Sponsors?" Anushka repeated, confused. "What sponsors?"
I didn't get any messages… nothing about sponsors at all. What's going on?
Ding!
A notification popped up:
---
#Information: Sponsors
Sponsors are non-participants who watch the trials. They find entertainment in observing human struggles and reward subjects they like with coins. They can also choose one subject to follow and support until the subject's death. They may even share their skills.
---
Is this... my skill? But the name… 'Author's Right'? That must be because I wrote this novel…
"Hey, Anushka! Don't space out!" Shravani called.
"Oh—right. Sorry," she replied.
So this ability is only visible to me… and it's only level 1. That's why I can only see basic system info. Maybe if it levels up, I can learn more.
Anushka looked at Shruti.
Show me her information.
Suddenly, a surge of pain ripped through her.
Spark!!
A blast of thunder spread through her entire body, leaving her trembling.
Ding!
What was that? I tried using my ability to learn about Shruti, but instead I got zapped. Maybe I can't access someone's data until my skill get activates on its own.
Then a voice echoed through the air.
(Hello, my dear subjects!)
It was the Narrator.
(Oh my! Quite a few survivors. Congratulations on passing the first trial. You've all seen the details of this sub-trial, yes? Good. One more thing—there will be a Sponsor Selection Event at the end of the sub-trial. Your sponsor will follow your progress till your death. They may even share their power if you impress them.)
Anushka narrowed her eyes.
So this is how this world works. Coins. Sponsors. Trials. Death. Now I get it…
The real game starts now ...
_To be continue_