Miles tightened his guard, fingers wrapping tighter around his M17 as he melted into the shadows of the left corridor.

  His boots slowly glided into the tiles without making any noise, with night vision goggles flipped down over his eyes.

  He could clearly see through the corridor darkness, although there's no Cursed in front.

  His guard was up and every muscle tense as he crept quietly to the end of the corridor.

  He stopped at the last door with number plating bolted firmly to the wooden door, In stylish, clear, silver letters of 206.

  He pressed his ear flat against the door, holding his breath to listen. Inside, there was only quiet.

  Which is silently indicating emptiness, no rustle of fabric, no soft breathing, nothing to suggest anyone or anything was there.

  'Another empty room?..'

  Miles reached for the doorknob, his hand steady as he tested it.

  It was loosen, free.

  With a slow and careful twist, he turned it slowly and pushed the door open just a crack, keeping his weapon raised high.

  The green tint of his night vision goggles slipped a look at the room beyond.

  What he saw was a mess.

  The furniture was overturned, broken glass shards littered the floor near the balcony door, and dark streaks of blood stained the wall in jagged splatters.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Through the green tint of his night vision goggles, Miles could see where something, or rather someone had been dragged across the tiles, leaving a trail of dried crimson that led straight to the broken glass at the balcony.

  The balcony door hung open, its frame splintered as if forced from the inside.

  His guard spiked higher, fingers tightening on his M17 as he slowly opened a crack on the door enough to step inside.

  He squeezed through the narrow gap, his boots finding clear spots between the glass shards and overturned chairs.

  Under a tipped-over desk, he spotted a small, worn sneaker; its laces tangled and covered in dark smudges.

  Miles moved carefully toward the balcony door, keeping his gun aimed outward as he peered into the outside world below.

  The night vision goggles cut through the darkness, as he saw the mess outside.

  There's an estimated 7 Cursed limping on the road, their movements jerky and uncoordinated, some dragging broken limbs as they shuffled aimlessly under the faint glow of a streetlight.

  A few were clustered around an abandoned car, clawing at its windows with gnarled hands.

  He scanned further down the alley beside the boarding house and caught sight of something that made his chest tighten, a young girl in a blue jacket, lying motionless near a stack of wooden crates.

  Not far from her, two more Cursed were circling, their heads tilted as if they could smell her even from a distance.

  Miles backed away from the balcony, his mind racing as he can't stop his hand from trembling.

  'Wha... Is the world truly ending?... What happen to my family? Could they also turn? How could I even survive this alone...?!'

  His emotion is unstable, as panic rising in his chest like a wave threatening to pull him under.

  He stumbled back against the wall, the M17 shaking in his grip as memories flooded in; his parents' faces, his little sister laughing, the last text he'd sent them before the chaos started.

  The sound of his own ragged breathing filled his ears, drowning out everything else.

  For a moment, he wanted to drop his gun, to curl up on the floor and pretend this wasn't real-that he'd wake up in his bed with the morning sun streaming through the curtains, his roommate complaining about the noise from the street.

  But then he heard it...

  The familiar buzz of his phone, it was a steady vibration against his chest that cut through the haze of his panic.

  He fumbled for it with his free hand, nearly dropping it as he pulled it out, his fingers still shaking as he unlocked the screen.

  Then, the notification of the game appeared. But, rather than the warning or anything before.

  It was a notice..

  [Notice: Completed the Tutorial Mission.]

  Miles gaze locked upon on those words, as if trying to console him.

  [Tutorial Mission 1: Secure your immediate area.]

  - Kill all the cursed within your boarding house vicinity.

  Completion: 69%

  Reward: Unknown

  [Tutorial Mission 4: Kill 20 Cursed.]

  - Kill your first 20 Cursed Encounters.

  Completion: 14/20

  Reward: Unknown

  "Could something special appear after completing this mission?.."

  He didn't know, but he had a strange feeling about it.

  Something would happen to truly help him survive the Cursed World..

  Perhaps, this isn't even the start. Like how the app usually indicate, "Tutorial".

  A mission for worthy like the other game, which also give tutorial to start the real game...

  It may also be the key, to save his parent.