1 Chapter 1: Welcome to HHL

Inside a small old apartment room lives a person.

"What's up, guys! Welcome to this Livestream." Zaine opens his stream to only ten people

"As always, today we will be starting Hardcore Leveling once again. This time I will complete the game."

"LOL, that's what you said yesterday." One of the viewers commented.

"Just give up and stop playing! It's a dead game." Other commented.

Zaine read the chat. And as usual, the comments are just repeating themself and telling Zaine to stop.

"Come on, guys! I can feel that this is going to be the day! Believe me." Zaine cheered. Though sounds cheerful, the face he has on says otherwise.

As he declared his plans for the stream, people started leaving the live stream, and the number got less until it hit 0...

Zaine, who had accepted the reality, continued streaming while starting the playthrough from the beginning.

Turn out, Zaine is extremely good at the game. He memorized most of the monster's movements and could progress at a crazy fast speed. Every day he spends his time playing and playing and playing, hoping he will one day complete the game.

'Okay, time to log on.' Whispered Zaine while clicking on the game icon on his desktop.

[Welcome to Hellmode Hardcore Leveling (HHL)]

[Zaine112 has logged on]

[Player Online: 1]

"Haha. I'm the only one left." Said Zaine with a sad look on his face.

"I guess it's almost time for me to quit the game... It has been a fun three years."

As he played the game, weird things started happening, the monster's graphics spiked up, and it all became very realistic. The map changed into a lifesize map, with indicators on the whereabouts of the stronghold and treasures.

[Player Requirements Reached]

[Activating World Optimization]

Suddenly he woke up!

"Damn, I am dreaming about the game... I must be crazy... hahaha.." Zaine thought that he had become crazy.

Zaine looked around the place... He realizes it is not his house but rather an empty space, a white room with what looks like an endless space, with only his mattress.

Suddenly a creature pops out, just like at the beginning of the game of Hellmode Hardcore Leveling.

[Welcome! Congratulations on Being The Last Remaining Player, you will be given the chance to select your class]

"Huh? What's that noise?"

[Select Your Class] Various cards with drawing on them started revealing themselves.

The creature, seemingly inserted it sounds to Zaine's head. Zaine felt a bizarre sensation inside his head, a bit shocked and shaken. After a brief moment of panic, he somehow managed to calm himself down and picked the job he had the most experience playing.

{SUMMONER class has been selected}

[We would also give you a gift]

{+1 Divine Egg}

A small pure white egg appeared out of thin air. Zaine reached out to grab the egg and put it in his pocket.

"What the heck is going on." He mumbled to himself as he couldn't believe the situation he was in.

[Please wait a moment]

[Starting Tutorial]

The white space suddenly turns into another place, a plains biome surrounded by trees. Zaine was not alone this time. He saw other people. The old and the young. They all got teleported there with him.

"Where is this? was I not just in school a while ago?" A confused kid looked around and ran toward the other kids he saw.

"Do you know where this is?" Asked him to the other kids.

The other kid shrugged as they were as confused as he was.

"Is this some kind of joke?!" A middle age man looked annoyed and angry at the situation. "God damn it, I'm almost late for work!"

All the people there seemed very confused, some thought it was a joke, and some didn't even care.

And once again, a creature popped out of thin air, the same looking creature that greeted him in the white space.

[Welcome people... Welcome to the tutorial] The creature inserts its sound inside the people's heads. Telling them about the situation they were in.

"Fuck off... take me back!" Said the same middle-aged man as he punched the creature multiple times.

Suddenly the creature's mouth opened very wide, containing a portal inside it, and swallowed the man whole.

"Ahh, save m-" The middle age guy disappeared as he went inside the mouth of the creature.

The people watching through the horror of the situation started panicking... People ran around, and as they ran, they ran into an invisible barrier, blocking them from going further.

Some people got run over and got injured. Zaine saw all this happening in front of his eyes. He is weirdly calm as he sits close to the creature, contrary to what others did.

[Calm Down... If you are going to ramble and shout everywhere, you will die...]

The people heard the warning, and most decided to stop running and start gathering around the creature.

Bang!

One of the people there had a gun. A loud bang could be heard. As a last-ditch effort, someone decided to shoot the creature. But it had no effect... and he immediately gave up.

There were still some people running around, trying to escape the place. Suddenly a loud crack noise occurs. And it suddenly went silent.

Zaine looked around. The number of people decreased by half. Those who didn't give up and still panicking suddenly disappeared, leaving those who followed the creature's words there.

The kids and elderly had also been taken away, and no one knows where they're taking them, hopefully not the afterlife. But no one will know...

[Finally peace]

[Let's begin the tutorial]

[In this tutorial, you will learn about the rules of the game and what it takes for you to survive]

[Good luck!]