System Fall

After traveling through the hospital and escaping from the Dread Maw, the Hospital Ghouls on the rooftop were barely an inconvenience, much less a problem. Lydia put her group to work quickly and I could tell that the older man Kenney was struggling a bit after his implied authority had been stripped away.

“Didn’t need your help Nick, we had it covered,” Lydia remarked as the last of the Hospital Ghouls fell.

I shrugged. I knew the type of person Lydia really was. I wasn’t going to put my guard down just because she wanted to act friendly.

Kenney coughed. “So… anyone have an idea now? I see a Helipad? Are we getting evacuated?”

I laughed.

“I don’t think that’s how this plays out.” I responded as the rest of the group grimaced. I could see they had been hopeful they were almost at the end. I felt bad for them. They had no idea this nightmare only ended with the [Admin].

Suddenly, though it was only without warning to those not paying attention there was an rumble motor sound, almost like a helicopter.

I grimaced. I knew it wasn’t that. The rest of the group minus Lydia got hopeful.

From the overcast sky, Zagren bots, swooped in, the bots though small distributed the massive weight of metal bridges suspended on cables. With the precision of well-oiled machines, they whizzed across the city, drawing a complex network of aerial bridges that interconnected the skyscrapers of Manhattan.

In front of us, they dropped a bridge, and the bridge extended from the edge of the roof we were on and continued into the distance towards a series of interconnected rooftops. The other rooftops were faintly visible through the haze, suggesting the Zagren bots had just installed a sprawling network.

I went over to the edge and peered down. The ground wasn’t visible through that haze of clouds. I doubted it would be.

The bridge leading to the next rooftop was supported by iron beams and steel wire, visible through the metal grating. In another era, it might have been celebrated as the world's most daring skyway.

It swayed worryingly in response to the wind.

The bridges stretched out towards the horizon, swallowed by the distant haze.

The business looking woman from before spoke up. “We can’t possibly cross all those bridges.”

“We won't know until we try," Kenney grumbled.”

"Are you volunteering to go first?" Lydia responded her voice as cold as her stare.

Drawing myself up to my full height, I gestured towards the first bridge that extended from our rooftop. "There's only one way forward, I’ll go first,” I responded.

Lydia responded with a curt nod.

Just as we were about to embark on the first bridge, an unexpected sound startled us. An intercom attached to the stairwell hummed to life, its static-filled voice coming in loud.

 

 

[System Fall Notification]

 

Title: Skyline Bridges

 

Well done, you've clawed your way to the end of the Advanced Tutorial. Now, it's time to really earn your keep. Welcome to the Manhattan Skyline - your first true test. Survive the labyrinth installed by Zagren of decaying metal bridges that spiderweb across the forgotten rooftops. Proceed with care. There will be no further coddling.

 

Upon reaching the end of the Advanced Tutorial, the survivors will be guided to the first Practical Exercise.

 

[Welcome to the Manhattan Skyline], Zagrid's voice echoed from an intercom near the hospital rooftop door. [Humanity has always strived for novelty, adventure, and the ultimate luxury, seeking to create a paradise on Earth. These towering rooftops, shrouded by clouds, are a testament to what could have been possible with your technology. This is your Advanced Tutorial. The ending of these rooftops.]

"So, the tutorials are still ongoing," Lydia mumbled, shaking her head. "Why am I not surprised?"

The static-laden sigh followed over the intercom and jarred us all from our thoughts, an alien sound amid our precarious situation.

[Don’t complain to me. I’m merely fulfilling my duties here,] Zagren responded through the intercom. [If I may offer a final piece of advice—whine less and act more. These rooftops won't be accessible indefinitely; they will crumble away and collapse based on a few conditions, either after a certain number of people have cleared them or once sufficient time has passed. Your group is not the only group crossing the skyline. This is a contest in a sense. Proceed with caution.]

"Could things possibly get worse?" A younger man named Colt's voice trembled as he wrung his hands against his thighs. "It’s just relentless, one challenge after another. Can’t we catch a break? This is crazy, we literally just had to run through the hospital with that wall thing trying to eat us."

In that moment, he seemed every bit a naïve teenager and following his lament, I noticed a perceptible softening among the older members of our group. But I knew better.

It was always the seemingly innocent ones you needed to be wary of. Or wary for.

"Well, there's nothing else then but to do it." Lydia took the first step onto the bridge, the soft thud of her boots echoing off the rusted steel. The bridge swayed some, but otherwise held firm.

One by one, we all moved forward. I lingered by the door, catching a glimpse of my reflection in the steel. Activating [Eyes of Legacy], I saw a slight flicker in my irises, but the blue sheen in my eyes faded almost instantly. It would go unnoticed in the daylight, but it could be a significant giveaway otherwise.

Uncertain of its potential side effects, I switched it off again. No point taking any risk with it now or putting additional strain on myself during a challenge.

With all of us on it, the bridge groaned ominously as we crossed, our steps quick and our eyes fixed ahead. I had grown wary of the rusted steel underneath our feet, and I was reminded of the Intermediate Tutorial and how the arena had been reshaped to be its own dungeon. The rusted supports and unstable structure only added to the unease.

With clouds above us, and clouds below, no sunlight shone on us. We had no guarantee the bridge wasn’t some kind of death trap. I activated [Eyes of Legacy] again and found that it helped me to watch my footing.

'What a tool this would have been for me when I went up against the Obsidian Minotaur!' I grumbled to myself.

Our first casualty occurred even before we set foot on the next structure, a rooftop with a massive greenhouse that spanned far beyond what would have been possible. The final segment of the bridge wasn’t reinforced with steel or iron like we had grown used to, creating an unsuspected pitfall.

Colt, taking his own safety for granted, didn’t watch his step and neglected his footing. As rusted iron was replaced by rotting wood, he took a step forward and fell straight through before anyone could help him.

His swift descent was a horrifying spectacle, his screams fading as gravity claimed him, pulling him towards the unforgiving concrete far below. There was no way he’d survive the fall. A loud impact followed shortly after, but what happened below, none of us could see through the clouds.

"Oh, dear Lord," Kenny gasped, his hand clutching his chest. "May his soul find peace. Everyone, please... be careful!"

The grim end of our groupmate injected an understandable sense of caution into the rest of us. Hands instinctively clung to railings, and measured strides were taken to clear the last few feet of the bridge to the relative safety of the next rooftop.

The rooftop greeted us with surprise. It wasn't empty, but instead, filled with a large, sprawling greenhouse. It wasn't empty, but instead, filled with a large, sprawling greenhouse. A bunch of plants covered the place, looking really bright and fresh compared to the city's hard metal buildings. However, it still felt weird. Glowing lights hung all over, bathing the plants in a bright white light. This made the place feel more like a lab than a garden, with metal bars all around us.

Kenney, usually a cheerful old guy, looked quite serious now. His eyes showed how shaken he was by what had happened to Colt. He cleared his throat and then spoke, his voice shaky, "What we just saw... was harsh. Colt's end... let it be a lesson to us. We're walking a dangerous path here. We can't take it lightly. We’ve got to stay alert and be strong."

After he finished, Lydia chimed in. Her tone was sharper, more to the point. "Thanks for the pep talk, Kenney," she said with a nod. "The rest of you, listen up. Don't die out there. Especially not in a dumb way."

Inwardly, I couldn't help but roll my eyes. "How considerate," I thought. "Lydia giving survival tips to the same people she plans on killing once we get to the end."