CHAPTER 1: WELCOME TO RIFT WORLD
That day, no one could have expected it. No one could have imagined, not even for a single moment, that what was supposed to be just a simple school trip would end up turning into a descent into hell, and change our lives forever.
The fire
In some beliefs, this element is a symbol of life. It illuminates, warms, protects, purifies. But in an instant, it can change and devour everything, reducing the world to ashes.
But that day, it had shown only its cruelest face.
Everywhere one laid eyes, it was there. In every corner, every compartment of that accursed train.
Devouring everything in its path, like an unstoppable plague.
Those merciless flames were the only silent witnesses to a fierce battle.
The more time passed, the more unbearable the heat became…
The air in the compartment was heavy, saturated with a dreadful stench of rot, burned flesh, and smoke.
Breathing within it had become an ordeal.
Monstrous sounds of agony, mingled with violent explosions, echoed from the other compartments.
The flames grew more intense, crackling, screaming.
That night… it was as if hell itself had descended.
---
Yet, amidst this chaos, this hell, right there, in the heart of the flames, in the furnace, one could make out the silhouette of a young man. He stood in the center of the car, motionless, imposing, dark.
At his feet lay the corpse of a gigantic, deformed, terrifying monster.
The kind of monster you only see in your worst nightmares. The creature was charred, the flames devouring its entire body. An iron bar pierced through its chest.
Its twisted limbs were frozen in a final gasp.
From its burned flesh, a black mist escaped, evaporating like a curse that refused to die.
Suddenly, a translucent blue screen appeared abruptly in front of the young man. But he paid little attention, still panting, his mind dazed from the brutal fight he had just fought.
blink
[You have just accomplished an impossible feat!!!]
blink
[A mysterious Deity is watching you, eyes wide with shock.]
blink
[Congratulations, player. You have just defeated the S-Class Corpse King.]
[Level: 1]
[You have leveled up]
[You have leveled up]
[You have leveled up]
[You have leveled up]
[You have leveled up]
[System Update!]
[The Deity wonders if you are really human!]
"Shut up, damn broken system… Can't you stop blinking in front of my eyes?" thought the young man, panting, breath short.
blink
[ The mysterious Deity smiles at you.]
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[Update complete!]
[Name: Ken Jinheon]
[Race: Human]
[Level: 10]
[Strength: 19]
[Endurance: 22]
[Agility: 27]
[Rang: Mortel]
Free Points: 30]
[Skills: ???]
[Title: Demon King]
[Description: A name given by his peers, not an official title.]
blink
[You have earned 2 new titles]
[Title Acquired: Scourge of the Dead]
You have defeated a high-rank undead creature. The curse could not reach you.
The dead now recognize you as their predator.
Effects:
— Total immunity to Black Death (100%)
— High resistance to necrotic curses (+85%)
— Increased damage against undead (+30%)
— Increased critical hit rate against undead (+40%)
— Aura of fear: undead hesitate to approach you
— Spiritual perception of dead creatures
— Subjugation of dead creatures
A rare title.
An anomaly in the balance between life and death.
----
[Title Acquired: Abyss slayer ]
You have hunted and slain a creature from the dark depths. Your name is now whispered with fear by the shadows.
Effects:
— Enhanced sensitivity in darkness (+30%)
— Affinity for shadow energies (+20%)
— Ability to sense hidden Abyssal presences
— Passive regeneration from dead energy (+2% HP/sec). The more deaths in combat, the higher temporary regeneration, vitality, and stats.
A rare title.
A predator who dares to confront what others flee from.
....
blink
[System Update…]
======
"What's happening? I don't understand anything.
Can someone explain? This was supposed to be a simple school trip to Busan, nothing more!"
He repeated these words, panting, eyes wide, breath ragged.
His gaze wandered through the chaos, unable to settle on a single thing.
All around him, the world seemed to collapse.
"All of this makes no sense."
***
This young man was called Ken Jiheon.
To others, he was what people commonly called a "genius." But for him… that word was not an honor. It was a damn curse.
Everything came easily to him. Always.
Too easily. To the point that life itself had lost all flavor. He was the kind of person who could say, without trembling:
"On earth as in heaven, I alone deserve to be worshiped."
Born with a face too perfect, ruby-colored eyes due to a genetic anomaly as rare as it was inexplicable, and a body that dominated effortlessly, Ken was not merely talented. He was a phenomenon all on his own.
Studies, martial arts, sports… whatever he touched, he excelled at. And that, without ever encountering a true challenge capable of impressing him.
In the long run, life always seemed monotonous to him. Even when he dabbled in illegal things, nothing could truly spark a sense of surprise or danger.
For Ken Jiheon,
it was always the same story. The same pattern. The same cycle, repeating again and again.
Every victory, every peak reached, every obstacle overcome left only a void. Or the little satisfaction he thought he had gained was immediately swallowed by an unfathomable abyss—a sensation that only the strongest could know.
Without a worthy opponent, anyone who tried to challenge him was instantly crushed by his monstrous talent. As absurd as it was terrifying. This gift, combined with his extraordinary physical traits, earned him a nickname—a title both admired… and feared by his peers:
"The Demon King."
Deep down, for Ken, nothing had any taste anymore. Nothing was worth it. Nothing… could stimulate him. This predictable world bored him to death.
He longed for more…
A world capable of igniting his blood with adrenaline, with dangerous, desperate situations, brutal fights, trials that would finally allow him to unleash his full potential and surpass himself.
And what he did not know… was that his wish was about to come true.
***
A female voice, insistent and piercing, ripped Ken abruptly from his shock.
He turned slowly, breath short, face marked by fatigue and wounds, eyes still lost in the chaos.
"Hanna? What are you doing here?" he said, surprised.
His voice was hoarse, troubled.
"You should be with the others… evacuating. It's too dangerous here."
"And leaving you alone facing this monster… I can't… huh!" Hanna said, barely holding herself steady.
Her eyes widened in astonishment.
Her hand pressed against her bloodied arm, she approached slowly, steps trembling,
fixing her gaze on the giant monster's body.
"You really did it… you really defeated it."
She closed her eyes, shook her head casually to regain composure, and added:
"That's not the most important thing, we need to evacuate. The train doesn't stop—it's going to…"
---
Before she could finish, a massive explosion from a gas leak blew up several train compartments, derailing it like a serpent on the tracks.
The blast was unbelievably violent; the whole train seemed to soar above our bodies, weightless. In the wagon, frozen in that instant, I could see and hear Hanna screaming my name, reaching out her hand. The shock was brutal.
And just when we thought it was over, that it was the end…
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[System Update Complete!]
[Selection Trial Complete!]
[SURVIVE THE HORROR]
[Starting Participants: 300 / 300]
[Remaining Survivors: 7 / 300 passengers!]
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[Configuration…]
[blink]
[Configuration Complete!]
[RIFT WORLD]
[Automatic Teleportation Activated!!!]
***
A blinding light appeared. After a few seconds, when I opened my eyes,
We found ourselves in an immense plain, bathed in the silvery light of the moon.
Around us, thousands of people, apparently from all over the world, men, women, and children alike.
All seemed as anxious as they were confused, loudly talking in a mixture of incomprehensible languages.
Suddenly, a terrifying voice cut through the chaos:
"Welcome, everyone."
A being stood there, frozen in the sky, with enormous bat-like wings.
The moon was behind him, casting a pale glow that partially obscured his silhouette.
He was dressed in a luxurious black suit, wearing very elegant black shoes,
and a pocket watch hung along his chest.
But when you squinted, forcing yourself to look…
Through the moonlight that blurred our vision,
his face finally appeared, it was.
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
No eyes, no nose, no ears, no mouth, no hair.
Just a white, pale head, with no details at all.
"A demon!" shouted a large part of the frightened crowd.
"Silence! Listen to me carefully until the end…" declared the demon, resuming his speech without paying the slightest attention to the crowd.
With a nonchalant gesture, he glanced at his watch, as if the chaos around him held no significance.
He hadn't even finished speaking when several members of the crowd interrupted him:
"What do you want from us?" shouted another.
"Take us home!" retorted a woman in the crowd.
"This isn't real, it's a hidden camera, right?" added a terrified, trembling man.
"You want money? I can give you money!"
A chaotic uproar responded immediately, mixing screams, pleas, and panic.
But in the midst of all this noise, a figure stood out.
A corpulent man in a white suit, wearing a cowboy hat,
his wrists sparkling with rings and luxury watches.
He advanced slowly, making his way through the crowd.
He was immediately recognized: a millionaire, an influential politician, famous worldwide.
His mere presence was enough to calm the agitation, just for a moment.
He stopped at the front of the crowd, straightened his chest, and shouted in a loud, confident voice:
"Do you know who I am?!"
The demon did not respond, visibly irritated by his foolish interlocutors. Suddenly, a shrill scream rang out: the man in the white suit exploded like a bomb, his flesh and entrails scattering into the crowd that screamed in horror.
The air grew hotter, more oppressive. And the demon exclaimed:
"This is why I hate humans.
Have you never been taught that interrupting someone during a speech is impolite? Well."
"I think if I kill a few disruptive elements, I won't be held accountable."
No one dared interrupt him anymore; even breathing too loudly had become taboo. Fear had paralyzed them.
"Good…"
Clarp… clarp
The demon clapped his gloved hands together.
The moon, previously white, behind him, slowly began to turn red.
The sky darkened into a scarlet red, as if a veil of blood had enveloped the world.
The moonbeams, now blood-red, bathed the plain in an unhealthy light.
The demon's voice also seemed to change, growing stronger and more chilling.
It seemed to pierce our very souls.
"I believe you still do not understand the situation you are in…
Nor the honor it represents to have been chosen."
The demon, whose face had seemed smooth and featureless until now, suddenly displayed a wide, terrifying smile, a grin that would have chilled a corpse's blood.
Then, two red eyes slowly opened on his face, pupils in the shape of inverted stars, staring at the crowd with absolute disdain.
"My dear little humans with uncertain futures…"
"You must understand one thing:
The world in which you lived… no longer exists."
He spread his arms wide, adopting a crucifixion posture, as if to welcome us into his hell.
Behind him, the blood-red moon seemed to pulse like a heart, casting a suffocating reddish light.
The scene was hypnotic, mesmerizing.
"No more carefree life."
"No more comfort."
"For too long, you have lived in peace, lulled by the illusion of progress, forgetting what true terror is.
But this… is about to change."
***
"What is happening…?"
"What kind of hell is this?" thought Ken, his eyes wide as he stared at the unreal spectacle before him.
Every cell in his body tensed instantly, his breath caught in his throat, and his heart pounded wildly.
His blood boiled through his veins like molten lava, while a cold shiver ran down his spine, accompanied by a strange pressure tightening his chest.
At that exact moment, Ken had just realized that the world he had always known until now… had just ended.
It had transformed into hell.
Around him, everyone was terrified, scared, horrified.
Some were crying, finally realizing the gravity of the situation.
A baby was screaming nearby because its mother could not calm it. A young girl was pulling her hair, sobbing.
But for Ken, it was different; he kept asking himself the same question:
"But why…?"
"Why…?"
But why me?
"Why is my heart beating so fast?"
"Why am I so excited?"
"Why can't I be scared?"
"Whether on the train, or now… why am I so happy?"
"And above all, why can't I stop myself from smiling…?"
A tense but equally insane smile distorted the young man's face…
"I have to admit, it's been a long time since I felt this alive."
***
"My dear pathetic little humans, with your now broken daily lives…"
"Cling to your miserable, insignificant lives."
The demon's smile widened, twisted by a joyous madness.
His eyes blazed like two black suns.
And suddenly, he screamed, in an uncontrollable, insane, exultant laughter:
"Here comes the first stage…
OF THE RIFT WORLD!"
Then, in a deathly silence, his voice cracked like thunder:
"Let the Survival Game… BEGIN!!!"