I wake up on the ground, my head obviously throbbing.
I look to my right and see Usato with a grim look on his face.
"Yo." I say as I sit up
"I think you should see this..." He opens the curtain and reveals a massive castle floating in the sky
"H-HUHHH?!" I rub my eyes "What the hell happened while I was asleep?!"
"Well, that being came down again. He called it a 'Calamity'"
I stand up. "Damn that Amo, pulling this while I'm sleeping..."
Oh my. speak of the devil.
Right on que, or—rather uninvited, Amo shows up trying to look cool as always.
I head out with Usato towards where Amo is.
'What's his deal? He's always here at the weirdest times...'
I stop, looking up at him.
"What's this about?" I ask
"Oh, just a little briefing... And a present, I suppose."
'Present? I love gifts.'
"Oh? Awesome."
I can clearly hear murmurs from people in the crowd, understandably confused about how I'm talking to a multidimensional being with such casuality.
He clears his throat and everyone immediately shuts up.
"Listen up, you ratchety excuse for humans." He says while fwipping his hair. Man, I'd kill for those looks... Anyway.
"The castle. Beautiful, isn't it? The higher-ups requested for this calamity personally. Additionally, you all... Might die. Prove me wrong though. The monsters and obstacles you may face inside are insanely complicated with god-like abilities. So to match that power difference...now, for the gift." He snaps.
Oh, the system.
[Gift temporarily locked]
Wait what?
I hear cheers and claps as everyone receives their unique attributes.
"Am I just not gonna get one, or...?"
Amo answers my question honestly
"I dunno." he shrugs.
"What the hell kind of-?!"
He cuts me off.
"Now then, you lot are all late bloomers, one of your kind happens to already be up in the castle, though she's only about thirty percent finished with everything needed to fulfill the winning conditions."
"I'm gonna TP you all now, no use in waiting. This castle is one of the biggest mana pools in the entirety of existence, but I don't know what you'd do with that information. Also, it happens to be a perfect spot for for training and growing strength. So without further adue..."
He snaps.
***
Ptting!
[Title: 'First Calamity']
[Objective: ???]
[Personal growth potential: 0.1% to infinite.]
[Failure: Immediate death upon exit of the castle.]
[Time limit: 365 days]
[Reward: 10,000-100,000,000 coins.]
[Good luck, I have a feeling you'll need it]
***
'Why the hell is my panel so personally attached like we're best friends or something?'
We're inside the castle, and naturally me and Usato decided to split up from the rest due to our total 'supuriority over the situation'.
We're walking and arguing about some anime when an arrow whizzes towards me, scraping my cheek.
"Was that you, Usato? I know you think that the anime's good, but come on–"
Another arrow aimed at my head, just barely missing my neck.
I look at Usato, and he's just as confused as I am.
I suddenly feel a strong urge to dodge left, which I obviously take, and...
ZIPP!
"HOLY SHIT THOSE ARROWS ARE FAST!"
I grab Usato and create his weapon and toss it to him.
"Intuition will be our best friend here. I can barely even see the arrows..."
He nods.
A surprisingly soft but unfamiliar voice suddenly speaks up, sounding like it's coming from one place—but everywhere all at once.
"Filthy intruders."
I look over my shoulder. "An elf girl...?"
Me and Usato say at the same time, butw we're clearly not out of the woods yet because...
She suddenly disappears and appears behind us with an arrow pulled.
"Idiots. I'll make you pay."