Gunfire roared through the streets, bouncing off the crumbling buildings like a war drum echoing in the night.
Kuk Ujin crouched lower behind the debris, adrenaline surging in his ears. His heart raced so fast it felt like it might burst.
He still couldn't wrap his head around it. The smells, the heat, the pain—everything was too vivid. This couldn't be just a game.
He took a shaky breath, tightening his grip on the M16. His palms were slick with sweat. He'd never held a real gun before; the closest he'd come was the feedback from his phone screen. His hands shook as he tried to recall what he'd seen a thousand times in the virtual world.
Steady grip. Shoulder in. Breathe out before firing.
He mimicked the stance he'd watched his in-game avatars use countless times. Feet apart. Barrel steady. Don't jerk the trigger.
It felt wrong—too heavy, too real—but he forced himself to aim.
Then the air shifted. A low, guttural growl rumbled through the street, vibrating in his bones. He froze.
From behind a wrecked transport vehicle, something massive stirred—a grotesque shape of flesh and armor, crawling out from the smoke. Its skin glistened with blood and fluid, eyes glowing like embers.
A Leviathan, smaller than the one that had wiped out his squad, but terrifying nonetheless. It locked onto him in an instant.
"Shit—!" Ujin's voice cracked. He barely managed to lift his rifle before the creature lunged.
The world erupted into chaos. He screamed and pulled the trigger, not aiming—just firing.
Bullets ripped through the air in a frantic, uncontrolled spray. The recoil slammed into his shoulder, pain shooting through his arm. Sparks flew as rounds tore into the monster's hide.
It didn't go down—it twitched, roared, and kept coming.
He stumbled back, emptying the magazine in a blind panic. The last burst clipped its head, sending it crashing down, just inches from crushing him under its weight.
Silence. Smoke. The faint ringing in his ears.
Ujin stood there, frozen in place, his chest heaving as the barrel of his rifle shook in his grip. His vision swam—was it from fear, disbelief, or the adrenaline coursing through him?
He had done it. Just barely.
Then—beep!
A translucent message blinked into existence before his eyes.
[KILL CONFIRMED]
Kill Points +1
He stared at it, his breath coming in shallow gasps. The glowing letters slowly faded away, almost as if they were taunting him.
"…You've got to be kidding me," he murmured.
The reality hit him like a cold wave.
He was really in Project Leviathan.
He continued to stare at the fading text, which hovered like a hologram. Before he could fully process it, a voice shouted from behind him.
"Hey! You saved my ass back there!"
Ujin whipped around to see a guy about his age rushing toward him, rifle in hand, panting heavily. Despite the chaos, he wore a wide grin.
"Thanks, man. You saved my ass."
Ujin blinked, trying to wrap his head around everything. "No problem… You good?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," the guy replied, laughing nervously. "I'm—"
BZZT
The sound interrupted him, his words glitching like a bad connection in a video game. Both of them froze.
"What the hell was that?" the guy muttered, tapping his head.
Ujin recalled the tutorial mechanics and kept his cool.
Right… in the tutorial, real names are blocked. Only cadet numbers until the sync is complete.
He forced a casual tone. "Looks like we can't use names yet, huh? Just call me Cadet 17."
The guy nodded. "Then I'm Cadet 23. Nice to meet you, 17—if we make it out of this alive."
They both reloaded their weapons, the distant sounds of gunfire and screams echoing through the smoky air.
The two cadets navigate the devastated streets, where gunfire reverberates like thunder. Smoke billows from charred cars, and the air is heavy with the scent of iron and ash. Every turn conceals another horror.
"Left side!" Cadet 23 shouts.
Ujin pivots and pulls the trigger another Leviathan falls, its form disintegrating into shimmering blue particles.
[KILL POINTS +1]
[KILL POINTS +1]
[KILL POINTS +1]
Their HUDs light up brighter with each kill. Their aim sharpens. Their breaths synchronize. The fear lingers, morphing into a rush of adrenaline.
When the street finally quiets, they slump behind a shattered concrete barrier.
"Holy hell…" 23 gasps, trying to catch his breath. "Didn't think I'd be grinding for XP in real life."
Ujin lets out a weak chuckle, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Yeah, looks like we're pros now."
"Ha! Pros? I still missed half my shots."
"Better than me. I nearly shot my own foot."
They share a laugh—short, breathless bursts of amusement. Around them, the city is ablaze. The screams persist. But for a fleeting moment, it feels… almost normal.
23 leans back against the wall. "So, Cadet 17, what do you think this is? A dream? A simulation? Hell?"
Ujin shrugs. "If it's a dream, it's way too vivid."
"Yeah. And if it's hell…" 23 glances at his rifle. "Then I guess we're the demons now."
Ujin smirks faintly, but his mind races. Why does all of this feel so familiar? The scent of gunpowder, the sound of breathing through a mask...
He shakes off the thought.
"Anyway," 23 says, prying open an energy pack he scavenged from a fallen soldier. "Here's to surviving the first twenty minutes."
Ujin taps his rifle lightly against the pack in a mock toast. "Cheers."
They take a sip. Somewhere in the distance, another explosion rattles the ground—but they just sit there, laughing like fools, while the world around them burns.
The laughter fades away, leaving behind just the soft whisper of the wind as it weaves through shattered glass and the distant sound of gunfire, echoing like a dying storm.
Then—
[SYSTEM ALERT ⚠️]
A bright red holographic warning blazes across the smoke-filled sky, illuminating the crumbling buildings in a harsh crimson glow.
CLASS D LEVIATHAN APPROACHING
ESTIMATED SIZE: 200 METERS
CADETS — PREPARE FOR PHASE II: "F* OFF AND DIE."**
The words resonate through the air like the voice of a deity.
Cadet 23 blinks in disbelief, his face going pale. "What the hell did it just say!?"
Ujin rises slowly, the light reflecting off his wide eyes. His heart races, and his mind spins.
Class D...? That can't be right. The tutorial never never goes beyond Class F.
He tightens his grip on his rifle. "No... this isn't how it's supposed to go."
"What?" 23 asks, confusion etched on his face.
Ujin doesn't respond, his eyes fixed on the horizon.
The ground starts to shake first gently, then with a violent force, cracking the pavement beneath them. Windows explode, and the very air vibrates with tension.
From the ruins, a monstrous roar erupts, shaking the city to its core. The sound is so deep it reverberates through their bones, echoing from every direction.
In the distance, a silhouette looms towering over the skyscrapers, its form twisting grotesquely in the red light. The shadow of a Leviathan, its eyes glowing like molten lava.