Michael landed on his feet. As a trained soldier, he knew how to survive a fall by rolling on the floor, and with the height he fell from being nothing significant, he was relieved to know he wasn’t receiving any injuries. Of course, that relief was short-lived.

Looking up, he saw the hole he fell from disappear right before his eyes, leaving behind a solid surface. Michael realized that he had been transported to a different location from where he had been, and that led him to raise his guard. Surveying his surroundings, he saw that he was in what appeared to be the dead end of a narrow side alley. There were a few cars here and there, but just like the area he had been to before, the eeriness and liminality were ever present, telling him that he wasn’t back in the real world.

"Damn it..."

Just as he was about to stand up, something appeared beside him—a small, gray box. Michael reached out hesitantly and took hold of it. Lacking any features or marks, the box had a very simple design. It was rather light, too, making him doubt if anything was contained there. Just as he considered opening it, a screen appeared on his OAM, and a message formed one letter after the other.

[

Do you want to leave this place?

>YES. NO.

]

Michael read the words out loud, wanting to confirm that he wasn’t just seeing things. The question was a stupid one, and the answer couldn’t be more obvious. Still, he felt hesitant to make his choice, both because he was afraid of what might happen when he did, and because he was aware that the yes option wouldn’t immediately return him home.

’Fucking piece of shit...’

Though he was aware that the villain was toying with him, there weren’t that many options. In the end, he gave the "YES" a mental tap, causing a different message to appear.

[

In your hand, you hold the key to power.

It will grant you an ability beyond what humans are capable of.

Use that power to survive, and once you emerge as the victor, you will be taken back to the original world.

]

[

Opponents defeated:

0/5

]

Even though he had avoided saying, or even thinking, "things wouldn’t get any worse", that seemed to be exactly what was happening. Faces flashed in his mind as he wondered who the opponents he must defeat were, and cold sweat rolled on his back.

His gaze went down to the gray box in his hands. With the message still playing in his mind, he popped it open and saw the blue capsule inside. Though it was his first time seeing it, Michael recognized the miracle drug almost immediately. In his mind, the full picture began to form, allowing him to understand the situation and his position. That didn’t make things any easier.

Putting the box in his coat’s inner breast pocket, he took out the pistol he had on him and checked the ammo. The only time he had to use it was when some protesters got too rowdy, so he still had five shots on him. Holstering his weapon, he looked around once more, then walked up to the exit.

Five people. He has to defeat five people.

’But...’

What does "defeat" entail? Does he have to murder them? Or could they just play a game of rock-paper-scissors?

’No...’

Michael decided to assume that the others received the same message as well. With their freedom on the line, it was unlikely that they would listen to reason.

’Would he even let us out?’

The message said that they would be taken back to their original world, but that was it. There was no guarantee that they would be set free.

’Not good...’

The main problem with all of this was whether all the players in this game arrived at the same conclusion. It only takes one of them deciding that their freedom matters more than anything else for the whole thing to turn into a blood bath, and that’s exactly how things will turn out.

Keeping to the shadows, Michael searched for the most optimal hiding spot. All he had to do was stay hidden and see how things played out. And of course, the others thought of the same strategy, so the game master decided to make some changes.

An hour after he had been transported, a small map appeared in the upper left corner of his vision. Michael understood that the blue dot represented his position, and when he gave the map a mental tap, it expanded, showing a wider area with nine other dots. Waiting was no longer an option.

With only nine others, the first one to move had the advantage, and someone was already running in his direction. Michael touched the left side of his chest, wondering for a moment whether he should take the drug. Time wasn’t on his side, and so he reached for his gun and hid behind a corner, waiting for whoever came looking for him to appear.

"Hey, you there!" Someone called from the other side of the building. "Why don’t you come out here? Let’s talk."

"Tom?"

"Micky?"

Recognizing the name, Michael heaved a sigh, then quickly hardened his will. He knew Tom well. Too well, in fact. Because of that, he knew exactly what the bald bastard would do in this situation."

"You sure came running here fast." He asked. "Did you get that message, too?"

"Yeah, what about it?" Tom. "You seriously believe that crap? C’mon, let’s go find the others and look for a way out."

"Yeah, sure. Let’s do that."

Looking at the map, it was clear that only the two of them were standing still. Three others were already heading their way, and soon enough, hiding would no longer be an option.

"Great, they’re already here!" Tom shouted. "Let’s go talk to them-"

Jumping out of his hiding spot, Michael took off running toward the corner where his annoying colleague was hiding. He expected him to move right away as well, but Tom remained frozen in his place. Michael didn’t believe that the bastard was frozen with fear, but it was far too late now. He didn’t have the time to wonder what his opponent had planned, and so he rushed toward the corner, aiming his gun as soon as he arrived.

Nothing was there.

BLAM

The shot echoed in the narrow alleyway, and Michael felt the sting in his shoulder. His gaze turned upward, toward the source of the gunshot. There, Tom was looking down at him with that infuriating grin of his. He was standing on a translucent, odd-looking platform about three meters in the air. Seeing how it didn’t mesh well with the environment, Michael quickly guessed that the bastard had been the one to put it here. The map was two-dimensional, so there was no way to know whether someone was on the ground or on an elevated platform.

’Motherfu-’

A second shot was fired, but this time, it missed him by a hair’s breadth. Michael quickly rolled behind cover and immediately returned fire. The bullets bounced off a translucent surface, sending cracks through it. Seeing his barrier crumble, Tom jumped down and made a swift retreat.

’That bastard...’

His annoying colleague obviously didn’t have that power before, so it was clear that he took the miracle drug. Not only that, but he also seemed to have a pretty good grasp on the ability it granted him, meaning he took it a while back and spent some time experimenting with it.

"No hard feelings, right, Micky?" The bastard’s voice returned. "C’mon, man! I got kids waiting for me at home! Who’s gonna take care of them if I don’t go back?"

"Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to take really good care of your wife once I’m out of here!"

Tom had been crying about his dating problems for a while now, so everyone was well aware that he didn’t have a girlfriend, let alone a wife and children. That was just the kind of man he was. If it meant winning at something, he would lie, cheat, steal, and in this case, kill.

"Okay, I get it! I will apologize, so how about we team up and-RYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

The guttural scream was followed by a bright flash that painted the walls orange, and an instant later, flames flooded the alleyway like water flowing into a canal. Michael was quick to take cover, managing to avoid being burned alive. The dot representing Tom vanished a moment later, and not far from it, a different red dot approached slowly.

Tom hadn’t been the only one who decided to take the miracle drug beforehand. As it stands, Michael was fighting against Enhanced Individuals, all while being a Basic human himself. There was no way to tell if the others had done the same or not, but at this rate, he couldn’t deny the disadvantage he was putting himself in by holding back.