Chapter 1: Respawn Error

  Before the world ended, I was just Tyler Cho, a 19-year-old kid. If there was an apocalypse coming, I wanted to go out with a bang—doing something wild, not stuck following the rules like a chump.

  But when it actually happened, it wasn’t fire or brimstone or any of that biblical stuff. It started with a glitch. I was just dodging potholes in my beat-up Civic, humming along to some old-school hip-hop, when the sky flickered like a dying monitor. Then, right over the skyline, letters the color of dried blood dragged themselves across the clouds:

  [SYSTEM UPDATE: THE GAME BEGINS]

  And just like that, everything stopped. Cars. People. Even the birds hung frozen in the air, wings outstretched, like someone had hit pause on the whole city. Me? I tried to scream. I tried to move. Nothing. All I could do was stare at the message as it kept going, deadpan and cheery:

  "Welcome to the new world. You have 30 minutes to find a safe zone."

  Thirty minutes? For what? Before I could even panic properly, something the size of a minivan slammed into my hood. It was green. It had five legs. And it looked like a giant chicken straight out of a fever dream, one red eye spinning wildly as it grinned at me. Not a normal grin, either—an evil, I’m-here-to-eat-you kind of grin.

  I slammed the gear into reverse, but the car behind me crashed into my bumper. The jolt snapped me back, and in my rearview mirror, I caught a flash of blood. The green chicken was already tearing into the guy behind me, feathers flying, its beak slick and shining.

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  Before I could even unbuckle my seatbelt or catch my breath, the chicken’s claws crashed through the windshield and clamped around my waist. My vision spun—glass shards glittered in the air, airbag dust stung my nose, and for a second all I could do was feel the crushing, alien grip yanking me up out of the car. The world tilted sickeningly. My feet kicked empty air; my fingers scrabbled at scaly, hot skin. I yelled, thrashed, and punched at the creature's grasp, but my fists bounced off, useless.

  Somewhere in the chaos, more text blinked into view, hanging in the sky right over the chicken's head:

  [CLASS ASSIGNMENT: MAGICAL GIRL]

  [STATUS: FORCED TRANSFORMATION]

  [COMMENCING IN 5… 4… 3…]

  Panic tangled in my chest. Was this a joke? Was I hallucinating? My heart hammered so hard it hurt, sweat running cold down my neck. Then, a weird, prickling heat crawled up from my toes. My bones shrank and twisted; my skin fizzed like soda. I tried to scream, but my voice cracked and shot up several octaves. My jeans and hoodie pixelated, dissolving into glitter and reforming as a frilly skirt—no, please, not a skirt—and sparkly knee-high boots. My hair flashed neon red and green, my skin shimmered like a Snapchat filter, and I kept shrinking, lighter, smaller, gravity spinning out from under me.

  [Primary Weapon: Passion Heart Rod Equipped!]

  No time to process. The monster’s beak was open, getting closer. Instinct took over. I swung the rod and shrieked, “LOVE BLAST!” The words ripped out, high-pitched and involuntary. A pulse of red energy exploded from the rod, slamming the chicken into a street sign. Feathers, blood, and digital confetti rained down.

  I staggered back, heart pounding. My skirt stuck to my legs. My boots had bows.

  Somewhere above, a notification chimed:

  [+100 XP. First Blood! Achievement Unlocked: “Sparkly Slaughter.”]