The Culling Protocol

Introduction

I stare, my mind reeling at the new rank. I managed to jump from rank 120 to 36? But that made no sense, I felt like I solved the cube so slowly. However, it seemed I was wrong. Based off my ranking the speed at which I solved the cube was way above average.

[The second phase of initiation shall begin shortly. The second phase is a test of strength. You will go through facing increasingly stronger groups of enemies without a weapon. The test will continue for 20 levels where you will then face a powerful boss monster. Any participant who manages to defeat the boss monster on level 20 will receive additional rewards. Each stage of the test will last 30 minutes, after 30 minutes have elapsed if you haven't defeated all the enemies in the wave the test will end. A killing blow will lead to death so caution is advised. The second phase of the test will begin in 5 minutes]

Reading the description of the second phase of the test I begin trembling slightly. It would be my first time killing anything, except for the occasional bug or two, and this weird system expected me to do it without a weapon. I am much stronger now with mana coursing through my veins but surely even this is a death sentence. Gritting my teeth I resolve to try and make it at least to the tenth wave. I need to keep my lead on the leaderboard if I want a chance at strength. I stand there motionless trying hard to mentally prepare myself for the upcoming challenge as I watch the timer tick steadily down. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the timer hit 0. [Wave 1 starting]

Suddenly in front of me stood a small green creature. I couldn't help myself as a laugh escaped from my lips. It was a freaking Goblin, just like what you'd see in video games. It was roughly 4 and a half feet tall, had green skin, a long jagged nose, red eyes, and sharp jagged teeth. The goblin is wearing nothing more than a piece of cloth over its more private areas, in its hand a misshapen wooden club hangs down brushing against the floor. As we make eye contact it starts making a high pitched chattering noise. I see its arm flex and the club raises into the air, the goblin charges at me sprinting with killing intent obvious in its eyes. My mind freezes for a second as the reality of the situation finally kicks in. This was a damn goblin and it wanted to kill me. As it gets close and swings the club my body moves on instinct. I step to the side avoiding the downward swing. I then kick out with my leg, hitting the goblin directly in the wrist, causing the club to go flying. It looks somewhat worried as the club goes flying into the distance, landing roughly 150 feet away from where we were standing. I stared in awe, slightly surprised at how effective the kick was and how far the club had gone. Then a loud seemingly desperate noise ripped from the goblin's throat as it jumped at me. I thrust out my hand, catching the smaller goblin in his chest. A horrifying crunch can be heard as my hand connects with its chest. The goblin flies backward, being sent back about 10 feet before landing square on its back. I hear a terrible wheezing sound as I walk over to the goblin. As I look down on it I see a dent in its chest where my hand had hit it. I had broken the thing's ribcage and had pierced its lung with the broken bones. It made many wet gurgling sounds as blood spilled from its lips. Its eyes look up at me with horror and hatred. My stomach churns at the sight, knowing that I with a single thrust from my hand had caused this creature such suffering. However, a small part of me encourages me forward. This is my path to strength, to survival. I need to toughen myself and be willing to do terrible things in order to survive. The voice in my head grows louder as I listen to its reasoning until finally my resolve is formed. Looking down at the goblin I close my eyes before raising my foot up. I stomp down hard on its head, hearing a loud wet crunching sound as I shatter its skull and crush its brain.

[Congratulations wave 1 completed. Wave 2 will begin in 5 seconds.]

I look down, hoping to see the body of the goblin disappear since the wave is over. However, its broken and mangled body lay there, blood pooling from its now smashed head. Bits of brain and blood coats my foot as I step back. I fall to the ground bile burning in the back of my throat. I can't help myself as I throw up at the sight of the dead goblin. After a second or two, I stand shakily as the timer counts down. My mind is numb as I try to make sense of what I've just done. However, I don't have time to fully process it before three more goblins appear in front of me. I look at them, my brain not functioning. I throw myself into the depths of insanity letting all my emotions fade to a mild dull thrumming in the back of my head. My instincts take over and I dash forward confronting the three goblins. My fists flash up slamming into the goblin's ribcage using my full mana-powered strength. There was a loud crunching sound echoing through the valley and my fist went straight through the goblin, blood, and innards blasting out of its back. I pull my hand back and spin around my left foot flying around me in an arc. My heel connects with the second goblin head before it has a chance to react. It drops to the floor instantly dead. The third goblin came up behind me without my noticing and managed to get an attack on me. The goblin's wooden club hits me square on my right shoulder blade. My entire right arm goes completely numb leaving me unable to move it. With my left hand, I reach out grabbing the goblin by the face before slamming him down to the ground. The goblin lays dead on the floor as I stand up pulling my hand away.

[Congratulations wave 2 completed. Wave 3 will begin in 5 seconds.]

I stand there numbly as I dive deeper and deeper into my own head, trying anything I can to escape the gruesome act I am being forced to partake in.

[Congratulations wave 5 completed]

More and more waves flash by in a blur. I keep mindlessly slaughtering increasingly larger groups of goblins.

[Congratulations wave 8 completed]

I think nothing of it and take minimal damage, managing to take out all the groups with minimal effort. Finally, a new notification pops up, one that hasn't appeared after any of the other waves.

[Great job contestant 330,459 you have completed wave 10. You have made it to the halfway mark of the available waves. The second batch of waves will commence in 10 minutes to give the contestant time to prepare]

I continue standing there, my mind a dull empty buzz as I try to escape all the killing. However, even as I stand there trying to distance myself from the terrible act a flood of emotions fill my head. Elation, triumph, and a sense of finally being free spring forth from the core of my being. Unable to stop myself I begin laughing, it's a crazy inhuman laugh that rips itself from my throat unimpeded. Even as my chest is filled with unmistakable dread the thought of fighting begins to feel more and more exciting. It's the job of the strong to showcase their strength after all so why wouldn't I want to fight, it's just natural. I look at the timer counting down, no longer afraid of the fighting, but anxious to get it started, to see just how far I can push myself. I can't tell where all these feelings are coming from but I can't help but grab ahold of them, letting them rule me in the hopes of having the strength to do what is required of me. I watch as the timer finally hits the last five seconds and I ready myself feeling newfound strength filling my entire being. However, even as I prepare myself for the upcoming fight the timer comes to a complete stop. I look up at it confused, unsure what to make of the odd occurrence before sudden;y a window appears in front of me.

[Error: unidentified power detected]

[Combat trial difficulty being recalculated]

[Combat difficulty adjusted. Resuming trial]

I stare dumbfounded at the window not sure what the hell just happened. What power did it detect, and how did it change the difficulty of the trial. This doesn't seem fair. But even as I get lost in my thoughts the timer tickets down to zero and in front of me a large being made of rock and magic towers above me. I stare in horror at what can only be described as a rock golem begins lumbering down at me. Its movements are slow but each and every step is enough to shake the entire area around me. It gets within a few dozen feet before I see it lift its hand to strike down at me. My instincts scream in my head and I start running away from it, looking back the entire time to see when the blow will come down. I see its body weight shift and knowing that the fist is about to come down I dive to the side, getting myself out of line with its arm. However, I wasn't fast enough. As its fist comes down a large boom can be heard and a line of destruction explodes out from in front of it. I scream, vision going dark, as an intense spike of pain stabs through my left foot. Looking down I see that I didn't manage to get out of the way of the blow entirely and I look down in horror at the sight of my completely smashed foot. I shake, crying, as my newfound confidence from moments before disappears in an instant. In a feverish haze I begin trying to crawl farther and farther away from the golem, unable to bring myself to do anything else. As I'm crawling away I feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I turn around looking at the golem and see, to my horror, a large amount of mana condensing in the middle of its abdomen. A large ball of pure energy begins forming in front of it and my instincts start going ballistic. However, before I could react in any way I see the energy shoot forth from the golem in a giant laser that comes speeding towards me. I sit there, my mind going blank as the world around me grows brighter and brighter. My vision goes completely white as I stare at it and I begin to think that I am going to die here. However, even as the idea passes my mind a loud tearing sound echoes through my mind and a voice shouts out so loud it's deafening.

FINALLY

It was the last thing I heard before losing consciousness.