Jiwon woke with a start, the sharp sound of his alarm echoing in the otherwise silent room. His body felt heavier than usual, as though the weight of the world itself had settled on his chest during the night. His eyes flickered open, and for a moment, he lay there, disoriented. The quiet of his small apartment felt... off. Something wasn't right.
*Was it the dream? Or something else?*
He slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes, the remnants of his previous nightmares still lingering. The strange feeling didn't fade. In fact, it only grew stronger the more he tried to shake it off.
A light flickered in front of him, bright and sudden, like a star shooting into the quiet room. His heart skipped a beat as the strange, digital voice spoke from nowhere, filling the empty space.
**"Welcome to the System. Task: Survive the Collapse."**
Jiwon froze. The room spun around him, the walls closing in. His heart raced as he blinked at the glowing interface before him, the words flashing in and out of focus.
*"System? What is this? A dream?!"*
The voice responded before he could even process the thought.
**"You are in the new world now. Your objective is clear: Come to Eternal Valley City. It is your only chance for survival."**
Jiwon stood up, staggering slightly. He turned to the window, looking out at the cityscape. The familiar buildings, the streets, the people—it all seemed so normal, yet, something was undeniably wrong. The sunlight felt harsher. The sounds from outside were distorted, distant.
*"Eternal Valley City?"*
He had never heard of such a place. His mind immediately raced to *Rewritten Reality*, the manhwa he had poured his soul into. The city from his story… but this wasn't his world. It couldn't be.
*"Wait, what's going on here?"* he muttered to himself, gripping the edge of the bed as the voice continued.
**"Travel to the location marked on your map. Survive the journey. If you fail to comply, your existence will be terminated."**
He stumbled to the desk and saw a map projected in front of him. The route to *Eternal Valley City* was clear, but it was far, distant—an entirely different place compared to the well-known city of *Seoul*, the capital of Korea. The system had marked it with bright, glowing letters, but there was nothing familiar about it. His mind tried to process it, but the connection to his own reality—the life he had known—began to unravel. *Something was wrong. This world was breaking.*
Suddenly, his vision blurred. The system's words cut through the disorienting fog:
**"You are required to survive. Collect elements from the creatures known as 'Monsters'—sell them for food. The more you gather, the stronger you will become. If you wish to live, follow the tasks."**
Before he could even process it, another message appeared, a new location pinned on the map. His heart sank.
**"A building has been identified. Survivors have gathered there. The news has just come in. Seventy percent of the global population has been wiped out due to a massive natural disaster. Thirty percent are the only survivors."**
Jiwon's breath hitched. His mind raced as he tried to comprehend what he had just read. Was this real? Had the world really... changed? He looked around, everything feeling out of place. The world outside seemed to distort, flickering in and out of view, like an old manhwa page flipping too fast. *This felt like his story—but it wasn't. This was real life.*
The voice returned, an ominous undertone seeping through its calm words.
**"Make your way to the building. You must comply with the rules in order to survive."**
---
**The Building**
Jiwon walked through the unfamiliar streets, feeling every step heavier than the last. The people he passed seemed oblivious to the changes happening in the world, but he noticed the faint, eerie glow of strange symbols above their heads. He felt an uncanny sense of dread as he neared the building marked on his map.
The building stood tall, its structure worn down by time, yet its presence was unmistakable. As Jiwon approached the entrance, a man in golden, god-like armor stepped forward, towering over him. His face was hidden behind a metallic mask, but his voice rang clear and strong.
"Welcome to the Ruined World," the armored figure said, his tone neither warm nor welcoming. "There is no future for people who try to survive without embracing the system. You will live... or you will die."
Jiwon's heart raced, his fists clenching. *Survive? What was going on?*
The man stepped closer, his voice growing more commanding. "We've promised survival to those who follow the rules. The system offers you power, and in return, you must collect the elements from monsters that roam the land. Sell them. Trade them. And gain food, resources, and the power you need to keep going."
Jiwon blinked, his mind still struggling to keep up. The world around him had morphed, bent to something far more brutal than he ever imagined. His heart raced with the realization that the monsters were real now, and the stakes were higher than any *manhwa* plot he had written. But the system—this system that had taken control—was not his creation. It was something else, something far more dangerous.
"You think you can survive without taking part in the system?" the armored man continued. "The world you once knew is gone. This is the new reality. Follow the system, and you will survive. Fail, and you will die."
Jiwon swallowed hard, his chest tightening. This was a different world—his *manhwa*, but twisted, reshaped into something far darker than the world he had imagined.
---
**A Different World**
Jiwon looked around, the world before him now resembling the scenes he had once drawn, but now it was real—too real. The *Eternal Valley City* looked familiar, but this world had diverged from his manhwa's story. This wasn't the power fantasy he had created. No. This was something far more brutal, something that tested humanity in ways he hadn't anticipated.
He wasn't sure if he could survive. He didn't know the rules.
But the voice of the system—the one that controlled it all—would not let him go.
**"Survive. Adapt. Collect. Evolve."**
Jiwon's eyes narrowed, and as the armored figure disappeared into the shadows of the building, he knew this world was no longer just a story. The people here had skills, abilities—the kind of stats he'd written for his characters, now appearing in real life. But for him? He didn't get the same powers. No flashy abilities, no enhancements. He received one, *only one* ability:
**Creator Authority.**
He didn't understand it fully, but he could feel it. It was power—yet different from the others. He was not a player in this world; he was its creator. And in this strange, twisted reality, he would need to learn how to survive the collapse, how to wield his authority, and how to navigate this game that he had inadvertently become part of.
And with that, Jiwon stood there, surrounded by the shattered pieces of the world he once knew. The world of *Rewritten Reality*—but not the one he had imagined.
--- - To be continue
**End of Chapter 3**