The fire crackled softly, casting warm, flickering shadows across the uneven forest floor. Ren stared into the flames, their dance hypnotic, before his stomach growled, rudely reminding him of a far more pressing need—food.
Despite the exhaustion weighing heavy on his limbs, he forced himself upright, muscles protesting with every movement, and trudged back to the clearing where the three dire wolf corpses still lay. The cool night air embraced him, and faint wisps of steam curled upwards from the fresh wounds of the beasts, the raw scent of iron sharp in his nostrils.
Kneeling beside the first wolf—the one he had taken down with the cleanest strike—Ren examined the thick, coarse fur dark as the midnight sky. Grimacing at the thought of the task ahead, he retrieved his crude stone knife and began the painstaking process of skinning the leg, slicing carefully around the haunch. The work was rough and unrefined, but necessary. Each cut revealed glistening muscle beneath, deep red and slick with moisture. The cold, raw smell of fresh meat mingled with the earthiness of pine and dirt.
It felt wrong, as if crossing some invisible line, yet the reality was clear: survival demanded sacrifice.
Returning to the camp, Ren grabbed a handful of sturdy sticks and set to sharpening their tips with his stone shard. Once ready, he skewered thick chunks of the fresh meat, carefully positioning them upright near the fire's glow. Holding his hand just above the flames, he counted silently to five, flinching at the searing heat.
Too close.
He pulled the sticks back slightly and tried again. This time, the gentle warmth kissed his palm perfectly at five seconds, just like the survival video he'd watched years ago, Bear Grylls demonstrating the art of cooking over an open fire. Ren chuckled to himself, shaking his head.
"Didn't think that binge-watch would ever come in handy."
The meat began to sizzle, fat dripping into the fire and sending up little hisses of smoke. The aroma was wild and gamey, primal and oddly comforting, stirring hunger deeper in his belly.
He found a smooth rock nearby and settled down heavily, spear resting across his lap. For the first time since waking, Ren allowed himself stillness—not fighting, not fleeing—just sitting with the crackling fire and the scent of cooked meat filling the air.
His eyes drifted to the spot where the strange HUD had flickered earlier—the glowing message, the surreal reward. It felt like a dream, yet the blood on his hands and the ache in his muscles were undeniably real.
"If there's a HUD… there has to be a status screen, right?"
Slowly, he stood and mimicked a gesture he'd seen in an anime once, swiping his hand vertically. Nothing. A horizontal swipe. Still nothing.
A sigh escaped him, frustration tightening his brow. "No way… don't tell me I have to say it out loud like in those cheesy isekai anime?"
Feeling more than a little ridiculous, he raised his hand and said, "Status."
A soft chime echoed.
Before him, thin, semi-transparent blue panels blinked to life, glowing gently in the dark. Lines of information shimmered across the interface with crisp clarity.
"…You've gotta be kidding me."
He dropped back onto the rock, a wry shadow crossing his face. "It actually worked."
After a stunned pause, Ren leaned forward, scanning the text:
[STATUS SCREEN]
Name: Ren Arclight
Age: 17
Condition: Tired | Minor Injuries
Level: 1
HP: 50 / 50
MP: 20 / 20
Strength: 10
Magic: 6
Defense: 7
Agility: 6
————
[☰] Menu
Items
Equipment
Skills
Encyclopedia
His fingers hesitated, then brushed over the glowing menu, which responded like a touchscreen. The layout was clean, intuitive—everything was exactly where it should be.
Suddenly, a small red exclamation mark blinked in the corner. He tapped it.
[New User Prompt]
Would you like to begin the Tutorial?
▢ Yes
▢ No
Ren's gaze flickered to the fire, the meat sizzling softly. After a moment's thought, he tapped "Yes."
The screen flickered, then everything around him began to dissolve—pixel by pixel, the forest, the fire, even the wolves—melting into an endless, blinding white mist.
He staggered upright, the world now a luminous void. Suddenly, streaks of brilliant color—blue, gold, crimson, violet—raced past him like torrents of data, wrapping around him in shimmering arcs that made his skin tingle. A gust of wind tore through, lifting his hair and sending a ripple of electric warmth down his spine.
His grip tightened around his stone knife, eyes wide, heart pounding. Then the voice came—smooth, serene, inhuman yet beautiful, a sound that seemed to echo not just in his ears but inside his mind.
"Welcome to The World of Fractured Realms."
The voice lulled him, hypnotic, almost a lullaby sung by the cosmos. His battle stance wavered, eyelids fluttering.
"As the first player ever to access this server, you have been granted special privileges."
Lines of light accelerated, weaving intricate patterns around him.
"But this gift comes at a price."
Ren's eyes narrowed. "What price?"
"Your difficulty settings will always exceed the standard limits. No matter the challenge, your journey will be harder than anyone else's."
His stomach twisted. "Wait, what? No, no, no—can I just have normal difficulty?" Panic edged his voice.
"The privileges you receive far outweigh the disadvantage."
"I'll be the judge of that. What privileges?"
A soft chime announced a glowing new window before him, golden and ornate:
[Special Privileges Granted – Server First Bonus]
▸ Creator Authority – (Progression: 0%)
▸ Double Experience
▸ 10x Skill Points – Gain 10x more skill points from actions and level-ups.
▸ Maximum Level Cap: Raised to 999
▸ Magic Affinity: All Schools Unlocked
Note: Creator Authority is a dormant legacy protocol. Progression tied to world-state and player decisions.
Ren read it twice, then again. Creator Authority—an unknown power lurking, silent. Magic Affinity to all schools? Max level raised to nearly a thousand? Double EXP? It was absurd, like something out of a legend—or a final boss's cheat code.
"…What kind of game is this?" he whispered.
The voice softened, amused. "The kind you survive… or reshape."
The radiant white fractured, splintering like cracking glass. Darkness fell. Moments later, the forest returned, the fire crackling as if untouched, the smell of cooking meat lingering.
But now, at the edge of his vision, a faint golden glow pulsed—a permanent reminder of what he'd been given.
And everything had changed forever.