Chapter 3 – Initiation (3)

Chapter 3 – Initiation (3)

Taking a deep breath, he made his way towards the group. As he walked, another person appeared at the edge of the cliff, looking around wildly. Rowan watched the man for a moment before turning his attention back towards the people before him.

Rowan swallowed, mustered up his courage, and called out, “Hey!”

The people paused their conversations and turned towards him. With them all facing him, Rowan was able to get a better look at the group.

There were three women and two men. One of the women was sitting on the ground in a gray hoodie, staring into the distance. The other two were dressed similarly, wearing sweatpants and sweatshirts.

As for the men, one of them was wearing a suit similar to the one Rowan was wearing, only of higher quality. The other was big. Very big. Rowan wasn’t exactly short, but next to the giant before him, he felt tiny. But other than his size, there wasn’t anything else that seemed unique about the man.

They all seemed so normal. In his head, Rowan had expected most, if not all, of the members who were in Apocalypse difficulty to be obviously different. Perhaps this group had been on the brink of death when the System came as well?

Shaking his head, he walked up to the group.

They exchanged greetings, and the man in the suit offered Rowan a handshake. He took it, but kept his guard up all the while, ready to pull away or fight.

After a few moments of awkward silence, one of the women smiled at him. She had brown hair and skin that was just a shade lighter. “So, why did you choose Apocalypse difficulty? These bitches,” She gestured at the rest of the group, “won’t tell me their reasons. I’m Hannah, by the way.”

Rowan nodded even as he felt what little hope he’d held that these people would be normal slip away. “Rowan. Nice to meet you.”

“Here, what if I tell you why I chose Apocalypse? Will you tell me your reason?”

He did his best to keep his face blank, but internally, Rowan was squirming.

It wasn’t just Hannah’s fixation on figuring out why he’d ‘chosen’ to enter Apocalypse Difficulty. No, it was all of them.

The way they were so calm was unsettling. All five of the people around him wore perfectly serene masks, almost as if they weren’t bothered by the fact that some kind of System had teleported them into a tutorial that they knew nothing about.

Rowan was doing his best to hide his unrest and anxiety, but he was on the verge of panic. He’d always been good at masking his emotions, but right now, there was just too much for him to push it down.

He was jerked out of his thoughts as Hannah started speaking once more.

“Well, I chose Apocalypse because I thought it would be fun! I mean, imagine if we get to fight monsters? The people in easy difficulty will probably be killing mice or something.” She snorted. “I really hope there are monsters. Anyway, your turn!”

Rowan took a long moment to consider his response. Maybe Hannah really was unstable, or maybe she was just putting on a mask, pretending to be a cheerful, if strange person, when she was actually cold and calculating.

If she was masking her true self, he couldn’t blame her; he was doing the same, hiding behind the stern mask he was wearing. Still, no matter what the truth was, something about her was unsettling.

The real question was whether or not he should reveal that he’d been forced into picking Apocalypse Difficulty. In the end, he chose not to. He doubted anyone could use that information against him, but he didn’t know that they couldn’t. And for that reason, he would keep it to himself.

Was he overreacting? Probably. But Rowan didn’t care. He’d nearly died. And now, he was stuck in a conversation with someone who chose to be in Apocalypse difficulty because she thought it would be fun. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he was terrified.

“I’m sorry, but I’d prefer not to share.” Rowan did his best to sound firm without being too aggressive.

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“Aww,” Hannah pouted, “You’re no fun.”

She shot him a smile, and without another word, she ran off towards another woman who had just appeared, no doubt to ask the same questions she’d asked him.

Taking a step away from the rest of the group, Rowan took a look around. Every once in a while, another person would appear.