Phased out

He read outloud.

"Phase 0 - Tutorial Phase.

This is Phase 0 of the game. This is a tutorial phase so the person can understand the mechanics of the game.

Important Notes: 

1) This environment is designed to exhaust you.

* No matter what you do, no matter how long you sit still—your body will decay. 

* Your strength will drain. Your stamina will fade. 

* Resting does not restore you. Sleep will not save you. 

* You will feel weaker every moment you are here. 

2) Resources exist, but they are scarce.

* Potato chips for nutrition.

* Almond milk for thirst.

* A belt waist bag to store items.

* You will not find anything else. 

* If you run out, you will deteriorate. Slowly. Painfully. 

 3) There are three entities at this level. 

* Unguibus – The hunter. The one that sees only movement. The one that stalks tirelessly. 

* Dentes – The unseen. You won't hear it. You won't see it. But you will feel it when it's too late. 

* Gravibus – The brute. The guardian of the exit. The one you must kill to proceed. 

 4) To leave Phase 0, you must kill Gravibus. 

* It carries the Key Book, the only item that reveals the direction to the next phase. Without it, you will rot here. 

 5) If the lights go out… 

* Find a safe place. 

* Do not move. 

* Do not breathe loudly. 

* Do not make a sound. 

* Wait. 

* And pray that something doesn't find you first. 

 6) Stay safe. "

Ethan's voice shook slightly as he finished reading, his hands, gripping the paper, felt clammy, and sweaty. 

The air in the cabin felt colder. 

This wasn't just some twisted survival game. 

This was designed to break them. 

Karlos sat in silence, his expression unreadable. 

Ethan looked up at him, his breath shaky.

Ethan: "This isn't a game." 

Karlos: "No."

His voice was quiet. 

Karlos: "It's a test." 

And they were the ones being hunted 

Ethan let out a slow breath, forcing himself to stay calm as he processed everything he had just read. 

The rules were… brutal. 

This place was designed to break them. 

But panicking wouldn't help. 

With a steady hand, he passed the note back to Karlos. 

Ethan: "So… the monster I was dealing with was Unguibus, huh?"

Karlos, still holding the note, narrowed his eyes slightly. 

At first, he didn't known exactly what Ethan had faced, He only suspected Ethan had faced something by his condition. 

But now, with the scripted information in hand, it all made sense. 

Karlos: "Unguibus, huh…?" He looked back at Ethan, his expression sharpening. 

Karlos: "How did you escape it?"

Ethan sighed, running a hand through his hair. 

Ethan: "It only moves when it sees movement. If you stand still, it won't attack. If you hide 

behind a non-moving object, it stops completely. That's how I got away."

Karlos' 1mind raced. 

A creature that only hunts moving targets… That wasn't just a monster—it was a test. A pattern. A rule. 

And rules meant exploitable weaknesses.

Karlos: "I see… So that's how you survived." He smirked slightly, impressed. 

Ethan had been completely alone, running on panic and instinct, yet still managed to figure out the monster's rule.

That wasn't luck. 

That was survival ability. 

But there was one problem.

Karlos: "It's still out there, isn't it?"

Ethan nodded. 

Ethan: "Yeah. I didn't kill it. Just avoided it."

They both sat in silence for a moment, processing. 

Then, Ethan glanced back at the note. 

Ethan: "Dentes and Gravibus… We need to figure them out too."

Karlos leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. 

Karlos: "Right. We know the rules—now we need a plan." 

For the next few minutes, they discussed everything. 

Unguibus. How it worked. How to avoid it. Whether it could be killed at all. 

Then, Dentes. The entity that couldn't be seen or heard. 

And finally, Gravibus. The brute guarding the exit. 

Karlos: "We have to kill Gravibus to move forward. But we still don't know how strong it is."

Ethan exhaled, shaking his head.

Ethan: "Yeah… but one thing's for sure—if we screw up, we're dead."

The weight of that truth hung in the air. This wasn't just about running anymore.

Now—they had to fight. 

Karlos leaned forward, his expression serious, calculating. 

Karlos: "Look… I think I have a plan."

His voice was firm, but there was a weight behind it. 

Karlos: "But this might be very risky… and unpleasant."

Ethan's brow raised slightly, curiosity flickering in his tired eyes. 

Then, his expression shifted—his brows furrowed, his mind already bracing for something dangerous.

Ethan: "What is it…?" 

Karlos took a slow breath, his eyes scanning the dimly lit cabin as if visualizing every step of his strategy.

Then—he began explaining. 

After he had explained the plan, It sounded insane.

Ethan's breath was uneven, his hands slick with sweat. 

His mind screamed at him—this plan is insane. 

Too risky.

Too dangerous.

One mistake, and they're dead. 

But despite everything, he looked at Karlos—calm, composed, completely in control. And he knew. 

Karlos trusts me to do this. 

And if Karlos was willing to put his life in his hands, then Ethan had no choice but to trust him back.

There was no turning back now. 

This had to work. 

Or they were both dead. 

The air inside the cabin felt thick.

Suffocating. 

Ethan sat there, still processing the insanity of what they were about to do. 

One wrong move—just one mistake—and they were dead. 

Karlos stood up, rolling his shoulders. His expression was calm, collected… but dangerously focused.

Karlos: "It's time."

Ethan felt a cold sweat trickle down his neck. 

His instincts were screaming at him—don't go out there.

Stay.

Wait.

Hide. 

But he shoved those thoughts down. 

Karlos was already moving. 

Ethan took a deep breath, clenching his fists. And then—he stood up and followed. 

The cabin door creaked open. 

The air outside was still.

Too still. 

The buzzing of the flickering yellow lights was the only sound in the endless, empty space.

Ethan and Karlos stepped out, moving in perfect silence. 

Each footstep felt heavy, deliberate. 

Ethan's breathing was shaky, uneven. 

They didn't speak. 

They didn't need to. 

They knew what they had to do. 

They walked deeper into the unknown, their silhouettes swallowed by the dim, eerie glow of the maze.

And then— The first growl echoed through the air. 

It was distant. 

But not for long. 

Something was awake. 

Something was listening. 

And it was coming.