Cid stared blankly at his table while the low hum of the university lecture hall filled the room. People around him were doing all kinds of things, writing notes, scrolling on their phones while pretending to pay attention. At the front of the room, the professor yapped on about some random economics theory he found out yesterday.
It was just a normal day.
At least it was supposed to be.
Cid leaned back in his chair and glanced around the lecture hall. The large windows let sunlight into the room. Outside, students were walking across the campus, laughing as if nothing in the world could go wrong.
He sighed.
Suddenly-
DING.
A strange sound echoed throughout the room.
Cid was confused.
That wasn't a normal phone notification.
A moment later, the same sound rang again, louder.
"What was that?" someone whispered.
The professor stopped talking mid-sentence. "Did someone set an alarm?"
The air began to get warmer.
Right in front of Cid's eyes, a glowing blue window appeared through thin air.
It floated like a hologram.
Cid blinked.
"What the hell!" Cid said to himself.
Suddenly, words started appearing on the window.
[Welcome to the Apocalypse Survival Trial}
For a moment, the room was silent.
Then chaos erupted.
"Apocalypse!!!" someone from the other side of the room shouted.
"This has to be fake!" someone else screamed in terror.
Cid's eyes narrowed as he continued reading.
[All humans will awaken abilities]
[Survive the Trials to evolve.]
[Failure to do so will result in death]
Someone near the back of the room started laughing.
"Okay, this isn't funny!" a student close to me exclaimed in a mix of amazement and terror.
CRASH.
The window behind him exploded.
Shards of glass shattered across the lecture hall.
Students screamed.
A dark figure leaped through the broken window and landed in the middle of the room.
Cid was terrified.
The monster's skin was gray and rotting, with chunks of flesh hanging from its arms. Its eyes were lifeless, and its mouth hung open wide.
It was a goblin.
The monster let out a growl.
Grrrrrr.
Someone screamed as loud as they could.
The goblin lunged forward.
A student in the front row didn't even have time to react before the creature stabbed him with its sharp dagger, which looked like it was made from bones.
Students rushed towards the exit.
The professor collapsed against the wall, shaking in terror.
Cid remained frozen for a minute.
Then Cid told himself. "Move, or you'll be next".
He grabbed his loose backpack and jumped out of his chair as another goblin rushed in through the window.
More goblins followed.
Within seconds, the hall was filled with monsters.
Students trampled over eachother trying to reach the exit.
Cid pushed through and ran for the exit.
He didn't look back.
Suddenly.
DING.
The mysterious window appeared again.
[Awakening Skill}
Cid's eyes widened.
So this is real. Cid thought.
A new notification popped up in the system window.
[Skill gained]
[SSS Rank Skill- Necromancer]
Cid almost stopped.
SSS rank?
After playing countless video games, he knew that the SSS rank skill was something rare, even without knowing anything about the system.
A new text appeared
[Necromancer SSS]
Raise the dead and command them to your will.
Before Cid could fully process the information, a goblin stumbled directly in front of him.
The creature lunged at him with no second thought.
Cid reacted almost instantly.
He grabbed a nearby pole and slammed it into the goblin.
The goblin didn't die, but it sustained some injuries.
This time, Cid kicked it as hard as he could.
The goblin collapsed.
A message soon appeared.
[Lvl 1 goblin slain.]
[EXP +100]
The system screen went off.
Then suddenly it came up again.
[Skill activated]
[Summon lvl 1 Goblin]
[YES/NO]
Cid hesitated.
Around him, countless goblins were attacking his classmates.
If he stayed there, he would surely die.
Cid finally selected.
"YES"
Black smoke arose from the ground.
Within seconds, the smoke replicated the goblin and took on a solid form.
It was no longer a goblin.
It was his soldier.
A message appeared.
[lvl 1 goblin summoned.]
The goblin turned towards Cid.
Awaiting orders.