Chapter 1: Arrival
A cold that wasn't temperature, but absence itself, tore Klaus from reality. It wasn't a faint — it was a disconnection. A cosmic pull that ripped his being from the fabric of the world he knew and spat him out somewhere else.
His feet stumbled onto cold, damp stone. The air carried the metallic scent of recent rain mixed with the sweet rot of garbage and burnt oil. He gasped, trembling hands braced on his knees, as his senses struggled to process the new environment.
He was in a lobby.
But what kind of lobby was this? Ruins of neo-Victorian architecture mingled with rusted steel beams and pulsating neon cables. Holographic ads for unknown corporations flickered, glitched, and dissolved into the heavy air, casting blue and red shadows on the decaying façades. It was a miniature cyberpunk city — a claustrophobic set beneath a dome of dark rock, no sky, no sun. An artificial sky of smoke and false light.
And he wasn't alone.
Dozens, maybe hundreds of people appeared in the same abrupt way — in silent flashes of light or vortices of energy that warped the air. Panic-stricken screams, curses in unfamiliar tongues, and the muffled sobs of someone nearby merged into a symphony of chaos. Men and women of all backgrounds and ages, wearing everyday clothes — suits, uniforms, jeans, dresses — were now equally lost in this nightmare.
Klaus, a man in his thirties with the scars of a hard life already etched on his face, instinctively pressed himself against a concrete wall, assessing the situation. Survival, whispered a primal voice in his mind. It was the only goal that mattered now.
Then, a holographic panel the color of coagulated blood materialized before his eyes — and everyone else's — with a sinister ping that echoed across the square.
>> SYSTEM: HOST [????] GREETS THE RECRUITS. <<
>> SCANNING... 347 BIOLOGICAL UNITS CONFIRMED. <<
>> SURVIVAL TOURNAMENT PARAMETERS (ST-001) SET. <<
MODE: Battle Royale – Tutorial
DURATION: 10 Days (Local Solar Cycles)
LOCATION: Exclusion Zone "Necropolis-7"
SPAWN LOTS: LOBBY "Square of Lost Souls"
>> PRIMARY RULES: <<
SURVIVE. Eliminate other units to acquire their resources.
The SAFE ZONE will shrink randomly every 24 hours. Exposure to the Exclusion Zone is lethal.
EXTRACTION ZONES will activate randomly and progressively over the 10 days. Reaching an extraction zone guarantees immediate evacuation and successful completion of ST-001.
SPECIAL REWARDS are hidden in key locations across Necropolis-7 — high-grade items, blueprints, and System credits.
>> INITIATION WARNING: <<
ST-001 WILL BEGIN IN: 04:59... 04:58...
>> WEAPON RESTRICTIONS (TUTORIAL PHASE): <<
>> UNLOCKED: BASIC FIREARMS (POST-1940 ERA). <<
>> EXAMPLES: Semi-Automatic Pistols, Revolvers, Pump-Action Shotguns, Bolt-Action Rifles. Ammunition is a limited resource. <<
>> SYSTEM RECOMMENDATIONS FOR INITIAL RANK [RECRUIT]: <<
PRIORITY 1: Collect all available loot. Common items (food, water, bandages) are the foundation of survival.
PRIORITY 2: Higher rarity items (identified by glow or color in the System) should be stored. They're valuable for sale or trade in the System Bazaar after the tutorial.
PRIORITY 3: Avoid unnecessary conflict. Your starting weapon is surprise — your best defense, discretion.
TIP: Units completing the tutorial with the most and highest-quality loot will receive rank bonuses.
>> GOOD LUCK, RECRUITS. LET THE GAMES BEGIN. <<
The panel vanished. For a heartbeat, there was a heavy silence — more terrifying than the screams. Then, herd instinct and panic took over.
Klaus didn't wait. The System's "recommendations" echoed in his mind like a mantra. Loot. Sell. Avoid conflict.
His eyes scanned the immediate area. A rotting wooden crate against an alley wall. A torn garbage bag near an abandoned market stall. He moved — not running like a madman, but with the silent determination of a predator… or a clever prey.
Inside the crate, he found a protein bar labeled "Undefined Flavor" and a roll of dirty bandages. In the bag, a plastic bottle filled with cloudy liquid and an object that made his pulse quicken: a wrench, heavy and solid. Not a gun — but in a dark alley, just as deadly.
The sound of the first gunshot cracked through the square, a sharp, dry report slicing the air. A scream was cut short midway. The hunt had begun.
Klaus gripped the wrench's handle, his wrist already adjusting to its weight. The five minutes were almost up. He looked toward the dark streets leading out of the lobby — toward Necropolis-7.
Survival was the goal. Extraction, the endgame. But the System's "recommendations" had planted an ambitious seed in his mind. He wouldn't just survive. He'd come out of this rich.
The countdown in his peripheral vision hit 00:01.
The world around him blurred.
Hope this helps give your novel a strong start! The next step could follow Klaus's arrival in the actual battle map — his first loot, his first threat.