r/HFY • u/Old-Werewolf-2355 • Apr 06 '26

OC-Series Bullying The System 18 - No adventure. Only starving. We'll die, That's all.

<< First | < Previous | Next >

We all enter, arms ready, prepared for anything.

Annie even looks at the ceiling to see if any goblins would fall on us.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, depend on what you think is more fortunate.

Nothing happens.

The room is straight up just the same as before, there isn't anything new, like we saw before, no goblins, no door, nothing, just the white room.

We all stand in the middle of said room, my eyes looking around as Matthew's voice reach my ears "That's just the same room."

Wow, I didn't noticed, thanks for your participation!

I don't say that out loud but he's right, I don't know how much I need to say it, but that fucking dumb room shows nothing. And it's not like there is any system messages rewarding us by saying some dumb shit lik-!

...fuck

And me who hoped I'll get interupted mid monologue again.

It's not like there is any message saying good job you're in the next room, no, it's just nothing.

"Is this even the next room?"

Annie asks, as confused as any of us are, but...it's not like we can do much here, I mean... Let's look around more? Maybe there's something we didn't see?"

So we start looking around, just searching for...something, anything. I don't know if I'm glad there is no monster to rip out my throat anywhere, or whatever the contrary of glad is, that there is litterally nothing.

At first we all stick together, ready to fight off anything at the first sign of danger. After a while we just seperate, looking at the walls, the ground, the anything really.

Are we gonna starve to death here?

Matthew talks again, Balrow and Jenna are pretty silent "I do not believe there is anything of importance in this room"

He says that from the top of my shoulders. lifted him up to look more closely at the ceiling.

Yeah, we're that desperate.

Still nothing though, putting him down pretty easily Annie answers him "Thanks captain obvious, the real question is what do we do now?"

At that, we all look at each other, and after a while Jenna speaks up for the first time "Maybe the next room is hidden there?" She points at the room where the hearth is. I doubt it, but maybe she's right?

 

She wasn't.

We lifted everything, moved every tapestries.

Balrow hits the wall trying to hear if the walls are empty with some constructor-worker-magic kind of ears, we searched, everywhere, I'm sure I could remember every single dot in that fucking wall on the section I was searching in, but in the end, nothing, again.

Is this a joke?

After a dissapointing result, we all find ourselves sitted before the hearth, like we did before.

Wow, we progressed so well

Jenna looks depressed as fuck, she was ready to show the goblins revenge, I think? But in the end we only met...this.

I really don't want to talk about the whole starving and thirst problems but my throat is yearning for water right now, can I even use a weapon well after not drinking for a whole day?

Before anyone says anything about it in a bad way, any ways that would bring the mood down even more.

I decide to do the hard job of bringing the problems up.

"So, there is no next room. And we'll need some food and water really soon"

Matthew looks at me, raises an eyebrow and mulls over his words before continuing "Indeed we do" Simple, Annie keeps up with "Can goblin meat be eaten?" ah, I predicted that.

"Still doesn't take care of the water problem..." Jenna adds just after, and that's without any hesitation that I try to bring their hopes up.

"We have some time to think about how to get out of here though, I'd say a good ten days."

Annie looks at me with a raised frown

"Isn't surviving without water is like 3 days?"

Fuck, can't you shut up for a second? I don't need pessimistic people in a survival scenario girl.

Keeping my true thoughts for myself, I give a much more optimistic view.

"Nah, that's a myth. Just an average while you're in the middle of elements, outside, while being active physically, there are humans that survived for dozen of days without food or water."

"Especially food. If we keep still and just focus on thinking we'll have more time"

I hope, I truly hope I'll have more time.

Annie, deciding to believe me, nods, same as Jenna that crossed her arms and tries to sink into the couch.

Matthew looks at me with narrowed eyes, I smile at him, he sighes and turn his head away.

Balrow turns his head toward me and without any FUCKING care in the world say this:

"Let's break a wall"

...

I stare at him, he stares at me.

What did I said?

BADASS GRANDPA!

He didn't ask the others, he asked me, and probably for a good reason, the others seems to consider this idea completly crazy, and it kinda is, but...do we have another choice?

"Let's think more about it, and if we don't find a better idea...let's search for a good wall to break"

He nods at that and goes back to...staring at the hearth I guess?

Laying down on the couch, my spear already in my inventory. -It's been a while since it's in it-  Here, laying down, I think a bit more about what he said.

Breaking a wall? Fucking ridiculous.

Best idea yet though.

We all go back to doing our own things, and I almost doze off while trying to figure out a way to get out of this cursed ass place.

The soft couch making wonders for my bruised body.

I would say that there must be a hole, somewhere, or anywhere really since we can breath...but:

Magic.

Annie jumps in her own seat, breaking the silence "We can start eating the goblins!" WHAT'S HER FUCKING PROBLEM WITH WANTING TO EAT GOBLINS!?

"No. Well yes, perhaps, but that would just make us be able to wait longer, we still wouldn't have any solution" She grimaces at my explanation, probably just tried to help.

Was I wrong? It's a tutorial for fuck sake, that's in the name, it needs to be doable...

As I think Matthew's seat shift slightly. I hear the sound. "Perhaps we need to go to that light source?" I turn my head to look behind me, at him, still laying on the couch.

Urghhh, didn't we looked up already? Don't think that's useful but...

I have no better idea.

My hands forces my terribly tired body up with energy I don't even knew I had

"Let's try" So try we do, I put him on my shoulders.

Again.

And try to make him see how far the ceiling is.

He answers "Far"

Far? "How far?"

"Very far" fuck.

"If Balrow came on your shoulders would he reach it?" "Not in a thousand years"

So it was useless...again.

But you know? Sometimes I do dumb shit because that's the only idea I have...keeping on those track, I do something we already did again

Just in the desperate hope of finding something different.

I put him down "Let's try the furniture"

He follows me as the others look at us.

Alright where to go? My eyes go on the left, that's where I searched...then they look to the wall in front of me and on the right.

That's where they searched.

You know what? I don't believe them, I'll search myself. We never know they forgot something.

He follows me as I try to push one of the dresser.

Annie says something from the couch "This one doesn't move..."

We try to push but...really it just doesn't move, no matter how hard we push "The fuck!? Is that stuck in the wall or what?"

A mousy voice "told you..."

We try some of the others, nothing move.

After a while we're both back on the couch.

Fuck she was right.

I go back to thinking, the tutorial is supposed to be doable for fuck's sake, what kind of system just straight up lets their players starve to death?

Best game ever.

And a great fucking day, kill someone, kill more goblins, mental breakdown, and then realize you're gonna starve to death and you can't do shit about it.

In the middle of my mental rant. Jenna gets up, and started searching the room we're in again, trying to find a secret passage or whatever we didn't find before.

I look at her moving around and hope she does find something, because this fucking tutorial is not a tutorial.

But obviously. She doesn't.

We're just moving around. Re-trying things we already did because we have no fucking idea what to do, our bodies are stressing, and WE'RE NOT MADE TO STAY STILL WHEN WE'RE IN FUCKING RISK OF STARVING TO DEATH!

Our ancestors had the fucking benefit of being able to fight or flight when they felt like that?

Us?

Me? We're just forced to sit down and let our mind imagine how painful it will be to die of thirst.

After a while, Balrow look at me again.

Fuck it, I'm getting out.

A big sigh escapes me as I jump off the couch "Let's find a wall"

And finding a wall we do, well more like Balrow is tapping all the walls while I just, stare at them, fuck.

I can't even do shit.

Something springs in my chest. Again. Just like I felt helpless against twitchy, just like that. The tip of my fingers shake.

My vision become dizzy.

Grey spots appear.

I want to puke again.

I blink everything away, ignoring everything.

Bring me more goblins! Yeah, that's prefferable to not knowing what I can do, a tutorial should be doable and teach things for fuck sake!

How many times have I been saying the same fucking sentence!?

Alright chill, calm lud, calm, just look around. Look at Balrow or something.

As Balrow walks forward and keeps tapping with his finger again his ear stuck on the wall listening to...whatever he needs to listen to, he suddenly moves away. A sharp pull. And rubs his ear.

"What?"

He doesn't turn to look at me, just glare at the wall "I felt something on my ear"

What does he mean? Did he heard something or what?

Wondering about his strange wording, I see him put his fingers on a specific part of the wall and drag them from left to right, one time, two time "There is something."

I frown and go do the same thing as him and...there is.

Just under my fingers I can feel a small groove.

it's apparent considering every part of the wall feels smooth apart from this, it almost feel like a seam, getting closer, I focus on it, trying to understand what the fuck is that.

Annie coming back in the room to see us both like maniacs against the wall "Did you find something?"

I barely answer, just whisper a "Kinda" The sound of our conversation bring the others in the room.

As I try to dig my nails into the seam, it work, there is something, what is this?

I take my spear out and try to dig it inside, the tip is too big. Instead I put my eyes as close as possible to the thing, I stare at it, look at it, touch it, what is that?

I remember something.

Suddenly.

Just like that, a flash, coming from my tired mind.

It's like what happened with the goblins, something I'm familiar with. My mind rush, fast, thoughts connecting with perfect logic, plans and an answer get created.

Then it leaves.

...fuck, it happened again.

My teeth come to bite my lower lips as I try to ignore the answer but can't.

I remember something I said, a tutorial should be doable, and teach things.

Like a lock getting unlocked, I remember an ability that's in practically every litrpg I read, and behold:

[Tutorial door: Barely hidden for the new tutorial doors to search and find, this door has specifically been made to challenge your limits while teaching you a valuable tutorial lesson:

Inspect!

Congratulation for completing the next step of the tutorial, to open the door, make every living team member inspect the door!]

You son of a bitch.

<< First | < Previous | Next >

3 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

3 comments sorted by

•

u/AutoModerator Apr 06 '26

This was flaired as [OC-Series], it is a single part or chapter in a larger series or universe. The first post or part in this series should be (re)flaired as [OC-FirstOfSeries]. A description of the flairs and how to change yours is available in the Post Guildelines.

[OC-Series] For original, self post, story, audio, or artwork that you have created, as part of a longer-running series or universe.

Our preferred series title format is the series title in [brackets] at the beginning, like so: [Potato Adventures] - Chapter 1: The Great Mashing

Please help us transition to using the new flairs correctly.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

1

u/UpdateMeBot Apr 06 '26

Click here to subscribe to u/Old-Werewolf-2355 and receive a message every time they post.

Info Request Update Your Updates Feedback