Age of Asura [Progression, LitRPG, Apocalypse]

Uruvi dusted off her trousers and jacket before turning her attention to the screen. They had retreated to the street where their car stood. As they had predicted, several contestants flooded the block and began clearing it out.

“That was a nasty fall,” said Rambha.

“Why are you complaining? You came out floating on your Meka Meka,” said Ashwin.

She let out a sarcastic giggle and replied, “I meant for you guys.”

He quietly shook his head and turned his attention to his screen.

“You guys hit level 15?” asked Uruvi.

“Not me. Still more than halfway from it,” said Rambha, with an annoyed frown.

“I did.” He tapped away on his screen for a good minute, leaving the ladies in anxious silence. He pulled his hand back with an elated look on his face. “I… I can do it.”

“You can add a rule?” asked Uruvi.

“Yes. But not yet. I need to reach the number one on the local board. But otherwise, I can.”

“That is not going to be of much help, is it?” asked Uruvi.

“That is true. Just give me a second…” He continued tapping on his screen before putting his right hand up above Uruvi.

“What? Are you giving her your blessings?” asked Rambha.

He paused and replied, “kinda.” A golden glow illuminated his palm for a few seconds and slowly faded away. “I tried my new skill, Sub Hack. Try to see if you can add the rule.”

Uruvi looked at her screen. “Everything looks the same. What do I need to do?”

“Try going to help and search, Add Rule,” he said.

She did as instructed.

“Error! Condition not satisfied. Contestant is not Rank 1 on any board,” said Arya.

Her jaw dropped to the floor. “I… I think it worked. I am not able to add because I am not Rank 1, but…”

“We can do it!” said Rambha, with a wide smile on her face. “All we need to do now is get in touch with Rank 1!”

“For that, we need to head to the Old City. Shall we?” he asked.

***

They drove through the empty streets as fast as they could, reaching the intersection where one of the streets passed through an archway and dipped over the horizon. Ashwin flipped the indicator, took a sharp turn, and drove straight at the archway.

An old man, draped in soot-covered white clothes, stood beside the archway and waved at them. Ashwin slowed his vehicle and came to a stop just before the archway. The old man walked up to them and said, “if you kids are looking for easy points, look elsewhere.”

The three of them exchanged confused looks. They saw the brutal state of the man, who had several stitches on his dark, wrinkled skin. “What happened, Gramps?” asked Ashwin.

“Come to the side… actually, leave your vehicle there and come,” said the grandpa as he hobbled away to the side.

They exited the vehicle and followed him to a small shop. Two benches sat before it, where he took a seat and humbly offered his guests some space.

Rambha’s eyes were immediately drawn to the stack of bottled soda. “Cool! Refreshments!” She hopped over and picked up a few.

Ashwin and Uruvi sat on the other bench and faced grandpa, while Rambha took a seat beside him.

“What happened, Gramps? You… you don’t look so good,” asked Ashwin.

“Who did this to you?” asked Uruvi.

“I… I don’t know what to say… Everything was going fine for a while. Like you kids know how it was outside. Those creatures… everywhere. But the whole colony came together and started driving them out, clearing up the place. But then… then the announcement happened, and we just saw hell.” His gaze was fixed on the ground before him.

“People started killing each other?” asked Uruvi.

“It started last night. Many of them made it sound like they were going to die. They were running around, looking for any monster to kill. But when they ran out of those… they didn’t hesitate to start killing each other. Something awakened in them… cruel, animals… Now there are no humans down there. Just animals,” he said coldly.

They fell silent, letting the moment pass before Ashwin spoke again. “People from outside have been rushing in. Seems like there has been a shift from survival to sport.”

“You kids can do better than head down into that hell.”

“Unfortunately, we need to go down there. We have some… important work to do,” said Uruvi.

He simply shook his head. “I can only warn you. But if you want to enter, go through the Nandi Road. Someone opened a safezone right at the entry. If you regret your choice, you can always come back.”

Uruvi paused and then asked, “Gramps. Are you a contestant?”

“No. My son was… Until this morning.” His face was expressionless, but she could see the dam holding back a wave of sadness. “But… then again. We lost someone. At least the ones who got out alive.”

The three made no comment, letting the moment pass in silence.

A few minutes later, they retreated to the car. Ashwin reached for the handle but then stopped. He turned back to the others and said, “maybe we should let the car stay. It will stop people from entering.”

They saw that the car sat right in front of the stone arch, blocking any vehicle from entering. “Agreed,” said Uruvi.

They walked back to the shop, where the old man sat quietly. Uruvi stopped before him and said, “we are leaving the car behind. It should help you stop others from entering.”

He simply nodded.

“Take care,” she said.

“Hope you kids know what you are getting into,” he said.

She let out a sigh and said, “I hope so too.”

***

Nandi Road was a wide four-lane street that connected two major localities of the city. Along the way, the road is cut through by an old metal road, which flows back into the dense urban landscape known as the old city.

They walked for about fifteen minutes before reaching the said road, only to find it barricaded with metal dividers.

“Hey! What gives?” said Rambha.

“Are you people seriously trying to enter that place?” said a stranger.

They turned around and saw a stout man wearing a mean face peeping around a parked van.

“We were thinking about it,” said Ashwin.

“Got a death wish or are you folks also blood thirsty?” he asked again.

“Maybe, just tell us how to get inside,” said Rambha.

He pulled back and said, “depends on your answer.”

“Whoa. What’s got you spooked? We just have some business in there… don’t worry, we ain’t blood thirsty,” said Uruvi.

“Enter through the gully beside the ice-cream shop,” said the man, before vanishing behind the truck.

They followed his instructions, passing through a narrow and empty gully before landing at a wide-open space. The barren ground was covered with makeshift tents, and the isolation was replaced by a busy space filled with people running around. The space was surrounded by metal barricades in all directions, except for the path they entered through.

The change in atmosphere was a whiplash that took Uruvi a good few minutes to get adjusted to. “Whoa… what is going on here?”

“Look! More contestants!” said one of them.

Several people rushed towards them, forming a semi-circle and blocking their path. They all looked enraged, ready to beat them down.

“Contestants!” said one of them.

“Of course they are!” said another.

Their eyes locked onto Uruvi’s axe, which she immediately hid behind her back.

“Are you here to cause more trouble!” asked one of them.

“Get out! Or we will send you to the gods!” said another.

She felt their furious gaze beat down on her as she began to take a step back.

Suddenly, an elderly man, tall and brooding, pushed his way through the crowd. “Back off! Back off!” He said, pushing them aside. “You want to kill them before they do anything?”

The crowd dispersed, and only the elderly man stood before them. She got another good look at the man, who sported a neat tank top and brown trousers. His square face was adorned by a glorious mustache. His clean shave and well-kept grey hair made her think he was from the army.

“What are you kids doing here?” he asked. “Planning to get into the fray?”

“Kinda… but we have a reason for it,” she replied.

“Come on,” he began walking towards the other end, where two small doors had been cut out into the metal fencing.

Uruvi’s eyes took a tour of the tents. Most of them were makeshift hospitals treating the wounded, while a few others were occupied by people working on various tasks. She spotted a young man tinkering with a large contraption, and in another tent, a young woman was sorting through plants, which she was bottling up.

“It seems like you have set up a fully functioning safezone here,” said Ashwin.

“We did. But we would not have gone to the lengths if it was not needed,” said the man. He took a right turn and stopped before a table that sat under a large umbrella. He turned around and leaned back against the table before crossing his arms. “Now. Tell me what your reason is.”

“Allow me,” said Ashwin, as he stepped forward. “My name is Ashwin…”

“Hold on!” said the man, interrupting him. “You are the kid who was running around setting up the towers?”

“I am. But that is not why we are here.”

“I would have guessed. Cause one of your friends set one up here not too long ago,” he said, pointing at the massive tower that stood in a corner. “My name is Harshal. Sorry for being rude, but things aren’t exactly going smoothly here.”

“We understand, but we need to get to the topic at hand fast,” said Ashwin, before laying out the whole story.

Harshal looked shocked after hearing the whole story. “Are you sure? This can change the entire game, if it is true.”

“We don’t want to oversell it. Because we are not sure if it will work. None of us is Rank 1 to add the rule.”

“Which is why you want to enter the bloody arena.” He shook his head and said, “you are risking it all for a chance.”

“How bad is it out there?” asked Uruvi.

“Right now? I believe it is a stalemate. Too many losses on either side, so they are holding off on any harsh actions.”

“Either side? What is going on?” she asked.

“The old city is home to several criminal gangs. Poverty is rampant, and where there is desperation, there is crime. But the whole equation changed when the incident happened. Monsters ran rampant, and people started getting these… powers. It was chaos, but organized chaos. People came together to put down the problem. It felt like a greater enemy had put a stop to the ego clashes. But that didn’t last long. Once the place was cleared of monsters, the old gangs began to regroup. At first, nothing happened. And then came the leaderboard. People started moving up the ranks, becoming more powerful, and soon a hierarchy was formed. At first, it was just the lower-ranked people fighting for their lives, before it became a game. Gangs started going at each other, claiming territory within the old city. People started dying in mass; those who managed to escape left with deep scars.”

“Claiming territory for what? What will they do after conquering the place?” asked Uruvi.

“Frankly… I don’t know. At this point, I just think it is just a game for them.”

Uruvi shook her head, seething with anger.

“And where does the rank 1 stand in all of this?” asked Ashwin.

“I don’t know. Never heard of him before, and seeing the gap between him and second place… I can’t imagine how he got that far ahead. It is possible that he is a part of a gang, so you may end up facing not just him but his gang as well.”

“Even if he is not, we may still end up clashing with gangs,” said Ashwin.

“Hmph… Looks like you committed to it. You can enter through the door,” he said, looking at the steel door to his right. “My men will let you through, whenever you are ready.”

“Before we go, we should explore the tents once. I think we might find some useful stuff,” said Rambha.

“Agreed,” said Uruvi, her eyes were locked onto one particular tent in a corner.

Ashwin looked up the tower and said, “I think I can also send out that signal right away.”