SSEI | Chapter 1.2

That was a scary thought. Yuan nodded frantically and packed his bag more carefully. He filled it about two-thirds of the way and left some extra space… to fit Lork’s head inside.

Adjusting the bag’s straps, he positioned it so that Lork’s eyes peeked out. That way, they could keep an eye on both the front and back while moving. Lork seemed a little uncomfortable, but he didn’t complain too much.

“Alright, now let’s grab a weapon and get the hell out of here.”

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“R-Right. But, uh… about the weapon…”

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

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As Yuan rummaged through the steel box in search of a weapon, his hand brushed against something—and the moment he felt its texture, he recoiled with a pale face, stumbling backward.

Nope.

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He didn’t know exactly how things worked here, but his instincts screamed that he should not stick his hand any further into that box.

“It’s… not there.”

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“What do you mean, not there? That’s impossible. There’s always a weapon inside a supply box.”

“It might be there, but… uh. It’s just… you know. That. Something… slimy.”

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“What’s the problem?”

“There’s… something alive in there.”

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Yuan’s voice wavered, on the verge of tears, as he slowly backed away from the box. He had touched something weird inside. The head was covered in lumpy protrusions, while the rest of it was slick and slippery—like a living mollusk.

And worse, it was warm.

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If it had been dead, maybe he could’ve forced himself to pull it out. But no, this thing was definitely alive. The moment he touched it, it twitched as if waking up. Then, as if trying to crawl outside, it began writhing and shifting toward the opening of the box.

Even now, the thing inside was moving restlessly. If he hesitated any longer, it was going to come out. Yuan wanted to run away immediately.

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But instead of sharing his terror, Lork burst into laughter.

“Ahaha! Oh, I see! It’s an organic weapon! No wonder you’re freaking out.”

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“An… organic what?”

“A living weapon! I don’t really remember if they had these in the outside world, but here, they’re pretty common. In fact, the only reason I’m still alive—despite being just a head—is because I got my hands on an organic survival-type weapon!”

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“Uh… um…”

“Relax! Just reach out your hand. C’mon, go for it!”

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That just made it way scarier. Yuan swallowed his protest and hesitantly approached the box again.

By now, something had already started creeping out of the opening—a slick, purple tentacle glistening in the sunlight. Seeing it up close only made it twice as unappealing to touch.

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But he didn’t have the luxury of hesitating.

From beyond the wasteland, a boom echoed, followed by a thick plume of black smoke rising high into the sky. Even from this distance, the explosion was impossible to miss.

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No screams this time. But that only made the situation more ominous.

Adrenaline surged through Yuan’s veins, and his body moved on instinct. He reached out without thinking—his arm wasn’t quite long enough to grab it, but it didn’t matter.

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Because this time, the tentacle came to him.

“Ah?!”

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Too late.

He yanked his hand back, but it was already done.

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The tentacle latched onto his fingers and slithered up his arm in an instant. It coiled around his wrist, then wriggled higher, wrapping around his entire arm.

And it didn’t stop there.

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It kept crawling, slipping under his clothes, spreading over his ribs, his armpits, his neck.

It was warm—uncomfortably so. The slick, slimy texture sent a wave of revulsion down his spine. It didn’t just touch his skin—it rubbed against it, as if licking or sucking at his flesh.

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It felt wrong.

Like his body was being consumed by something alien.

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His muscles trembled involuntarily every time the fleshy tendrils brushed against his skin. But soon, that sensation started to dull. Whether it was because of some kind of numbing agent in the slime or because the tentacles were merging with his body, Yuan had no idea.

One thing was certain—his right arm was changing.

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His once-white sleeve was now covered in pulsating red veins and purplish flesh. Something sharp and jagged was sprouting from the back of his hand.

And then—

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“So? What’d you get? What’s it look like?”

“Uh… how do I put this…?”

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Yuan hesitated, staring at his newly transformed arm. The wriggling, fleshy growths at the end of the appendage. The way the tips of the tentacles had sprouted sharp, needle-like points. The utterly bizarre, grotesque shape they had taken.

Then, with a defeated voice, he answered:

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“It… kinda looks like a dick.”

“Hah! Didn’t expect you to have such a foul mouth. But yeah, organic weapons are kinda freaky-looking.”

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“No, I wasn’t swearing. I meant it literally.”

Yuan was simply describing what he saw.

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A mass of long, writhing, purple tendrils—each one shaped exactly like a certain body part.

Now stuck with dozens of grotesque, phallic-shaped tentacles fused to his right arm, Yuan really, really wanted to cry.

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—

“Puhaha! So that’s really what it looks like!”

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“This is no time to be laughing! What the hell is this?!”

“What’s wrong with laughing? Making your opponent crack up and drop their guard is actually a pretty solid survival strategy. Think about it. If the enemy sees that and starts laughing like crazy, just like I did, you can go zap zap—right in their heads with a laser! Not bad, huh?”

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After safely gathering weapons and supplies, the two resumed their journey. When Yuan stretched out his arm to show off the tentacles, Lork burst into laughter, unable to hold it in.

Still, according to him, this thing was a pretty decent weapon. Apparently, when enemies showed up, it would automatically fire bullets of light from the tips. If it had been as useless as it was ugly, Yuan might have actually cried. But at least it was functional—that was something to be grateful for.

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The tentacles, for some reason, kept trying to crawl inside his clothes. It was kind of uncomfortable, but thankfully, Yuan’s outfit was strapped up with belts like a restraint suit, making it difficult for the blunt tentacles to squeeze their way in.

‘It’s not gonna… eat me or anything, right?’

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Just looking at the thing made him feel like it might devour him in more ways than one. Still, he decided to try and like the fleshy mass that had attached itself to his right hand. Because when it came down to it, this bundle of organic weaponry was the only thing he could rely on in a fight.

Of course, the best scenario would be not running into any enemies at all. Speaking of which…

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“Hey, I have a question.”

“Before you ask, no, not all the weapons in this world look like that. There are plenty of normal ones too. Swords, spears, axes, you name it.”

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“Uh-huh. And are those actually useful against, say… laser-shooting, uh… tentacles?”

“There are spears that breathe fire and axes that automatically fly around and slice off enemy heads when thrown. So yeah, they’re useful. And actually, they look pretty damn cool.”

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“A spear that breathes fire sounds more like a flamethrower… and the second one sounds like something way beyond just an axe. Anyway, thanks for the… detailed explanation, but that’s not what I wanted to ask.”

Mumbling to himself, Yuan kept scanning his surroundings. After walking for quite a while, he finally spotted a mountain covered in dense forest beyond the horizon.

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At first, it had looked so far away that he thought it’d take all day to reach, but before he knew it, the forest was right in front of them in just a few minutes. He couldn’t tell if his sense of distance was messed up, his sense of time was warped, or both.

Either way, leaving behind the vast, open wasteland—where there had been nowhere to hide—was a relief. But he couldn’t completely let his guard down. There could be enemies lurking between those trees and bushes…

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“So, what do you want to ask?”

“The enemies… they’re other teams, right? People in the same situation as us, trying to get out of here?”

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They might run into another team in that forest. Judging from Lork’s explanations and the screams they had heard in the wasteland, it was likely that those people would try to kill Yuan on sight.

“Yeah, that’s right.”

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“Are they bad people? Or… is there a chance we could talk to them?”

Yuan asked cautiously. Honestly, he didn’t want to fight. If possible, he’d rather exchange at least a little bit of information.

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He knew almost nothing about this world. Lork had explained a few things, but that had only left him more confused, raising more questions than answers. Information dumped on him without any background knowledge wasn’t forming a clear picture—it was just making everything more ambiguous.

He didn’t even know what was considered normal or strange here. Was it common for boys to walk around after getting their heads chopped off? Were grotesque, organic weapons just another everyday sight? Were supply boxes falling from the sky and a game where you had to kill people to escape just a part of daily life here? Or was all of this unique to this place?

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If he could talk to one of those “other teams,” maybe he’d get a clearer grasp of his situation. Even though he knew he was being naive, he couldn’t help but hope. He was a little scared that Lork might scold him for it, though…

“Of course, you can talk to them! They’re not some bloodthirsty monsters. They’re just people, like us. You could even get along with them.”

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“Wait, really? It’s okay to be friendly with them?”

“Yeah, sure. You’ll be seeing them a lot, after all.”

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Lork answered so casually that it caught Yuan off guard. Without being able to see his expression, it was hard to tell if he was serious or just messing with him. But judging from his tone, he didn’t seem to be joking.

“That said, the goal of the game is what it is. In the end, you’ll have to kill them. But since you’re a first-time participant, they’ll probably be pretty nice to you at first.”

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“Oh… I see. But at least that means they’re not all bad people, right?”

“Hmm, that depends on who you run into. There are good people in this game… and there are bad ones.”

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“How do I tell the difference? Do you… know the other participants?”

“Yeah. I’ve got some old grudges with them… Oh, there’s a trail over there. Let’s follow it.”

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Old grudges? For something that sounded ominous, Lork’s voice was surprisingly lighthearted. Wait… did that mean he had been playing this game for a long time?

With curiosity bubbling inside him, Yuan followed Lork into the narrow forest path.

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At the entrance of the forest, there was a wide, well-trodden road, almost as if it were inviting them in. But Lork didn’t even acknowledge its existence, and Yuan had no particular desire to take that route either.

He wasn’t sure why, but the narrow, uncertain beast trail somehow felt… safer.

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And then, the moment Yuan stepped into the forest—

“Congratulations on surviving your first hour. Leave the area touched by the sunset before night falls.”

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A whisper. A voice completely different from the one coming from Lork’s speaker. Something unfamiliar and alien.

The instant Yuan reacted to the announcement, the world around him darkened. He instinctively looked up. A moment ago, it had just been a little cloudy but still fairly bright. Now, everything was bathed in a deep, blood-red sunset.

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‘Wait… why did it suddenly turn into evening?’

Hadn’t it been broad daylight just before they entered the forest?

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Yuan, thoroughly confused, turned to the boy for answers.

“Uh, Lork? Did you hear that just now? Something about ‘the first hour’ or whatever.”

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