Welcome To Icalaterra

"Welcome to Icalaterra. My name is Daxton. As long as I'm here, I'll make sure to kill you every time you step out of that portal."

After the man introduces his name as Daxton, the holographic text Zack sees above the man's head is changing into 'Lv. 0 The Useless No. 137 a.k.a. Daxton'.

Zack stares at the man, observing each detail of his face, like trying to plant Daxton's face in his memory. It's just his nature after becoming an assassin-type warrior in Icalaterra for years. Even if the system has reset his status to unverified class, that doesn't mean it changes him mentally.

That nature is still there. Daxton has revoked this side in him, the side of a vengeance, and a lust to kill which he has kept hidden since leaving this first trial realm 6 years ago.

"Even if you kill me here, the system will bring me back to Gurdat Town?" he grumbles by squeezing Daxton's left shoulder.

"Yeah! And I'll keep killing you again," says Daxton as he pushes his dagger deeper into Zack's belly. "You won't get any level as long as I'm here! What are you going to do then?"

Daxton pulls the dagger out and walks away. The other two men follow him. However, the one warrior with level 14, a guy 182 cm tall, having dreadlock hair with a brown bandana, glances back at Zack for a moment.

"Where do we go next, Jacques?" Daxton shouts, as he waits near the edge of the woods.

As soon as that man reacts to Daxton's call, Zack sees the holographic texts above that man's head change, displaying 'Lv14. The Useless No. 131 a.k.a. Jacques'.

The man named Jacques turns away and walks into the woods ahead of his friends. "Just follow me," says the man as he leads the way with a solemn gesture.

It seems like Daxton has deliberately not killed Zack immediately, only to make Zack suffer for longer. 

Zack covers his wound with two hands to prevent losing too much blood. There's the sound of waves crashing against a steep cliff near him, while there's a dense forest behind. He knows he can't stay there for long with a bleeding belly. It will only invite wild beasts or maybe some monsters to him if he doesn't leave.

"Fuck! Just you wait!" he mutters under his breath, limping toward the cliff. "I'll come to you and make your death painful."

Even knowing he would be re-spawned again if he dies now, Zack keeps trying to survive. Dying now is as good as wasting the next 30 days without experiencing progress.

Meanwhile, the four men earlier continue to move towards the deep of the forest. Daxton is busy slashing his dagger, killing every insect he encounters along the way. He does have that kind of barbaric nature toward things he sees as inferior, like a kid who likes to crush the ant line.

"So it's true, the guy is the first man to enter Icalaterra?" says one of his friends, the Useless No 134 a.k.a. Fred.

"How did he suddenly appear in this first trial realm?" says the other one, 'The Useless No 135' a.k.a. Rodeo.

"I'm telling you! He's just a new guy who got dumped into this shitty place recently," Daxton refutes.

"No way," the inmate named Rodeo argues. "You said he asked you how long you had been outside before dying. That's not the question a noob would ask."

"Then, where the hell has he been this whole time?" Fred expresses his curiosity.

"He must have already gone far enough to the higher stage of the trial." For the first time, the man named Jacques speaks, in response to the chatter of his friends. "It's still possible he went back here for a reason, without dying!"

All of his partners suddenly stop and look back at Jacques, seeming so curious with what he just said.

"Is that even possible?" Fred asks.

"Who knows?" answers Jacques curtly. "We're stuck here for years. Who knows what you can and you can't do at the next stage of the trial?"

"Let's say there's a way. Then, why would he go back to this place?" Daxton argues.

"The best way to know that is to ask the person himself. After all, why did you suddenly try to kill him?" Jacques questions Daxton with an icy stare, seeming so displeased at what he did to Zack.

"I'm just trying to reduce the number of people who are going to hinder us," replies Daxton, with an unsure face. "I thought keeping him at level 0 is the safest way to make sure he won't be a problem to us."

"You fool! We could have invited him to join us," Jacques replies, as he leaves Daxton in his deep thoughts. "No matter how hard you try to keep him at level 0, sooner or later, he will find a way to pay you back."

***

Zack looks so mad with a face filled with hatred. He keeps muttering the same thing, over and over, with a red face ignited by rage, stating full of affirmation that he will pay that man back in the most painful way.

He walks along the cliff to the west, limping while covering the wound in his stomach. His vision has started to blurry, and his HP is steadily decreasing.

"If only Mary were here," he mutters as he kneels lifelessly. "Oh, God! I really hate this world!"

He lets his body lie on the sandy ground of the shore, but the intention to rest leads him to be completely passed out.

A kind of rippling water emerges on the shoreline. The water keeps solidifying, turning into something and slowly crawling toward Zack.

Zack flinches, finding his entire vision filled with rippling water, as well as the entanglement of several tentacles.

He tries to scream, struggling to break free. Water fills his throat and chokes him. And then, he is suddenly able to let his scream out.

However...

"Dung!!!" Out of nowhere, he hits his head to the glass door of the sleeping pod. "Ouw, that hurts!"

He pushes the door, looking so breathless with cold sweat dripping down his body. "What just happened? How did I get back here?"

Yes, he is back in the dark room, in the Inmates Headquarters building in Gurdat Town. It is unclear what caused his death. One thing is for sure, he just died out there in the trial realm.

"Fuck!" He snaps in deep, hitting the sleeping pod with clenched hand, finding it so hard to hold his anger and frustration. "Now I'm going to waste 30 days of not doing anything here."

Well, it might be better for him to take some rest after nonstop struggling for the past few weeks since the Sixth Trial Realm. He tries to calm his mind, staying inside the pod, meditating.

In the next few days, a few people die one by one, and are re-spawned back in this dark room.

"Ah, man! We are back here, as level 0 inmates!"

"Didn't I tell you to not eat that mushroom?"

"It was already in my belly. Anyway, how did I die?"

"That fucking Daxton! He ambushed us with his friends while you got high."

"What's that man's problem?"

"Fuck! He must be looting our items out there now."

Zack follows their conversation, but still staying inside his sleeping pod.

One week later, ten other sleeping pods automatically open at the same time. Another group of new people from the real world enter Icalaterra. One by one, they get out of the pod. Soon, they become frenzied as they hear a voice inside their heads.

[Welcome, O you useless people. Welcome to Icalaterra. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Rytir, the one who created this simulated world.]

"Who is there? Who are you calling useless?"

[You! All of you are useless inmates with death penalty waiting for you in the real world.]

"Inmate? What the hell are you talking about?"

"I don't remember ever doing something bad, let alone to be sentenced to death."

[That's right! You don't even remember your name, right?!]

"Eh, my name?"

[That's how it is. You entered this world like entering a dream. You forget everything about your life in the real world. That's why, for the time being, we just label you as 'The Useless' with some kind of serial number above your head.]