The sky was already turning orange when Morel checked his phone.
5:00 PM.
Another night, another shift.
He let out a tired breath. His back still ached from yesterday's shift, and his eyes felt heavy even before work began. But there was no choice—night shift had become his life. Wake up, eat cheap food, prepare for work, commute, grind until morning, go home half-alive, sleep. Repeat.
A rat race. That's what he always called it.
Morel boarded the bus and sat beside the window—his favorite spot. Through the dusty glass, the view of the seashore stretched out. Waves rolled gently, reflecting the dying sun. Morel stared blankly, thinking, Another long night. Another cycle that never ends.
Life had never been easy. Not when he was a kid.
His father, once hardworking, became a drunkard long ago. Morel still remembered the nights when he and his mother would run into the bushes behind their house whenever his father came home shouting, stumbling, breaking anything he could grab. Morel would hold his mother's hand, trembling, hoping the darkness would hide them.
School wasn't kinder. Because he was quiet, a loner, the other kids bullied him—pushing, mocking, treating him like he didn't belong. After school, while kids played, Morel walked far to fetch water. Their home had no supply, so every day he carried heavy containers back, arms shaking but refusing to stop.
Hardship shaped him long before adulthood arrived.
By the time he reached the city, Morel pushed the memories aside.
He arrived at his workplace four hours early, as usual. Missing the first bus meant losing the whole shift—so waiting alone for hours in the office lobby was the only choice.
Time crawled.
9:54 PM.
Morel checked his phone and stood. Time to go in.
Inside, a few friends waved at him.
"Bro! You weren't online yesterday. We needed your strategy. The squad lost without you."
Morel forced a small smile. "Sorry. Passed out after shift."
They laughed, tapping his shoulder as he walked toward the biometric scanner.
10:00 PM. Work began.
The endless calls. Angry customers. Scripts to follow. The pressure to never mess up. Morel leaned back in his chair between calls, whispering in his mind:
When will I get rich? When will I give my parents a better life? When can I escape this rat race…?
His eyes blurred.
His head swayed.
Exhaustion crushed him.
Then—darkness.
He found himself standing in an alien world.
Cities burning.
Monsters roaring.
Planets exploding into dust.
People screaming.
Shadows creeping across the sky.
He heard them:
Monsters begging for mercy. Humans crying. Worlds ending.
A voice echoed inside the chaos—one he didn't understand, yet felt painfully familiar.
"MOREL!"
His eyes shot open.
His manager stood in front of him, furious.
"You're sleeping on the job again?! Wake up! If you want to stay here, work. Not dream!"
Morel straightened up, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
The dream felt too real… too familiar.
But the night ended.
Somehow.
After Work
The shift finally ended, and Morel walked out of the building with tired steps.
He boarded the early-morning bus and went straight to his usual seat by the window.
The sea was calm again, waves faintly glowing under the rising sun.
Morel exhaled in relief.
Thanks… another work finished.
His eyes grew heavy.
The rhythm of the bus, the cool air, the exhaustion—everything pulled him into sleep.
His head leaned against the window.
His body relaxed.
And he drifted off.
But the world wasn't done with him.
As the bus drove farther along the shoreline, the sky suddenly shifted.
A green light shimmered across the horizon.
The clouds twisted unnaturally.
The bright morning sky turned jet black, swallowing the sun.
Thunder crackled—deep, violent, rumbling like the growl of a giant beast.
Passengers on the bus sat up in confusion.
BOOOOOM!
A massive tear opened in the sky—a swirling portal glowing with green fire.
Morel snapped awake, eyes widening as the air shook with power.
From the portal stepped a towering figure—skin rough and green, armor covered in scars, eyes glowing a murderous red.
A Warrior Orc King.
His voice thundered across the shore:
"So this is the human world… Weak. Fragile. Pathetic.
We shall devour them… and claim this world as ours."
One by one, massive orcs marched out of the portal, weapons dripping with bloodlust. Their footsteps shook the earth, their eyes fixed on the bus… and on the humans inside it.
Slow. Heavy. Intent on killing.
Morel's heart raced.
The nightmare he saw earlier
It was happening.
End of Chapter 1