The late afternoon sun bled through the dusty windows of Room 3-B, washing the classroom in a tired orange glow. Jundrei sat near the back, tall frame leaning against the cool wall, sharp eyes
half-hidden behind his fringe as the teacher's voice droned on. Outside, the usual campus chatter
hummed—until it didn't.
A sudden SHOUT sliced through the lesson. "HEY—LOOK AT THE SKY!"
The class froze. More voices followed, high and panicked. Students outside were screaming.
The teacher frowned and moved toward the door. "Stay here," she ordered, though her voice
trembled. But Jundrei was already on his feet. Something about the air felt wrong—heavy, vibrating
with a low, metallic hum.
He stepped into the hallway, and the sight froze him.
Above the schoolyard, the SKY WAS CRACKING. Jagged lines of blinding white light split the blue,
spider-webbing wider and wider like shattered glass across an invisible dome. The sound was
deafening—a grinding roar that rattled the windows.
"Is this… the end of the world?" someone whispered behind him.
Before anyone could answer, the cracks BURST OPEN. From the wounds in the sky poured
SHADOWS—twisted shapes with claws and eyes that burned like coals.
"Monsters!" a girl screamed. Panic exploded. Students scattered, shoving past each other as the
first creature dropped to the courtyard and tore through a fleeing boy with impossible speed.
Jundrei's heart hammered. He turned and ran. The hallway became a blur of screams, blood, and
shattering glass.
He sprinted past locked doors, lungs burning, the air sharp with the scent of ozone. A wet, skittering
noise crawled through the corridor. From the stairwell ahead, a shadow spilled across the wall
before the creature emerged—taller than a man, its limbs jointed like a spider's, its mouth a spiral of
glistening teeth.
No time.
Jundrei yanked open a storage room door and slipped inside, slamming it shut as softly as he
could. He pressed his back against the wall, heart battering his ribs. Through the thin gap beneath
the door, a strip of light trembled. The creature's claws scraped against the tiles outside. Scratch.
Scratch.
It was sniffing for him.
The scratching stopped. Silence. Then a slow, deliberate creak of the doorknob.
It knows I'm here.
A sudden PULSE—like an electric shock—raced through his chest. His vision blurred white, and a
cold, mechanical voice echoed in his skull.
[System Booting…] [Welcome, Candidate #0001.] [Initialization: Survival Protocol.]
Jundrei staggered, clutching his head. A translucent BLUE INTERFACE flared before his eyes,
floating in midair like a holographic screen ripped from a video game.
[Danger Level: Critical] [Objective: Survive.] [Reward: Adaptive Combat Ability.] [Confirm? YES /
NO]
The creature screeched outside, claws raking metal. Jundrei didn't hesitate. "YES!"
[Confirmed.] [Skill Acquisition: PHANTOM EDGE – Lv.1] [Generating Weapon…]
The air before him SPLIT WITH LIGHT. Particles swirled together, coalescing into a LONG, BLACK
BLADE, humming with faint blue lines. The weight of it settled into his hand as naturally as
breathing.
The door exploded inward. The creature lunged.
[Combat Tutorial: Begin.]
Instinct took over. Jundrei raised the blade. It felt RIGHT, like his body already knew the motions.
As the monster struck, he swung.
A slash of BLUE LIGHT cut through the hallway. The creature shrieked, its body severed cleanly
before it could even reach him. Black ichor splattered the floor, steaming where it touched the tiles.
[Enemy Eliminated.] [Experience Gained: +50] [Level Up Pending…]
The panel expanded.
■■■■■■■■■ LEVEL UP ■■■■■■■■■ Candidate: Jundrei Level: 2 Stat Points Available: +2
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ [STR] 10 [AGI] 12 [VIT] 10 [INT] 8 [LCK] 5
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ Distribute points?
Speed keeps me alive, he thought. He boosted AGI and STR.
[New Skill Unlocked: BLINK STEP Lv.1] Short-range dash. Cooldown: 10 sec.
Before he could breathe, the System chimed again.
[New Threat Detected] [Classification: VOID STALKER – Danger Level B] [Recommendation:
Engage with Mobility Skills.]
From the far end of the hallway came a faint metallic clack-clack-clack, like knives tapping glass. A
ripple of distortion peeled across the shadows, and a towering figure emerged—sleek black
exoskeleton, six purple eyes glowing like dying stars. Bladed arms unfolded with a metallic snap.
Phase Dash incoming, the System warned.
Jundrei tightened his grip on the Phantom Edge. Blink Step's energy coiled in his veins. He
exhaled, eyes narrowing.
"Let's dance."