[Do you intend to start the beginner's round?]
Mirabella exhaled slowly, a ghost of a smile playing on her lips. "The Beginner's Round." She knew it intimately:
"A death-trap wilderness, three days to reach the safety of Galaxy City, or face a permanent removal from the game." Her eyes hardened. "Seventy percent casualty rate, real death, and hidden Boss Monsters waiting for the unprepared." She rattled off the facts like a seasoned operative.
[I don't know how you knew this, but correct.]
[But you have a privilege, you have 50% discounts in all things sold in Galaxy Fall, and also have 10% permanently increased in all attacks... Not only that, You also gained seven days in the Forest.]
'A seven-day head start.'
This was priceless. It wasn't just survival time; it was seven days of freedom while the rest of the world was in panic mode. Combined with the 50% discount and the 10% attack increase, which would apply to her maxed skills, she was already leagues ahead.
"Wow... Thanks," she said, nodding genuinely. She reached up and lightly scratched Cupcake, who was perched comfortably on her shoulder.
"Change my game nickname into Spectral."
[Done, Player Spectral.]
"Good. Take us out."
[Ok, Player Spectral.]
[You will be teleported in five seconds.]
[5. 4. 3. 2. 1.]
A brilliant wave of golden light enveloped Mirabella and Cupcake, tearing them away from the void and into the terrifying reality of the new world.
____
[Back On Earth.]
[Before Galaxy Fall.]
In a brightly lit classroom, the mundane routine of the real world was about to be disrupted.
"Okay class... You all know what to do... take care of yourself, and Angela, please check up on Mirabella." Grace, the teacher, gathered her books, her tone one of concern.
"Okay, Teacher Grace." Angela nodded, her eyes lingering toward the empty desk.
BAM!!!
The world instantly tilted. The entire concrete structure of the school building shuddered violently. Faces that seconds ago held boredom or worry were now masks of pale terror.
"Earthquake!!! Everyone! Under the table!!" Carl, usually the class clown, screamed with raw panic, and half the class instantly scrambled beneath their desks.
When the tremor finally subsided, they slowly emerged, their eyes drawn inexplicably to the window. The classroom's familiar colours were now bathed in a horrifying, apocalyptic light, cast by a blood-red sun and a sickly, orange sky.
"....?!!"
Confusion warred with dread. They approached the window like spectators viewing a disaster film.
WHOOSH!
The space above the school field didn't just open; it violently tore itself apart. A shimmering, chaotic Gateway materialized, its edges crackling with dark energy. Out poured things only seen in nightmares: shambling Zombies and hunched, green-skinned Goblins—creatures of myth becoming instant, terrifying reality.
"What is happening?! Is a movie happening in the school ground?" someone whispered, clinging desperately to the idea of a hoax.
"I don't think so," Grace said, her voice strained with mounting panic.
The school's security—ten guards armed only with batons—walked out, screaming uselessly into the tide of monsters.
WHOOSH!!!
"...?!!!"
Grace and the students froze, collective horror locking their muscles. A humanoid Goblin, its eyes glinting malevolently, moved with shocking speed, severing the head of a security guard. The Zombies plunged forward, tearing huge, bloody chunks from the falling bodies. The creatures were real, the danger absolute, and they were charging towards the school doors.
"Shit!!! Everyone fast... Leave the class, run to the back exit door!!!" Grace screamed, snapping out of her paralysis.
BAM!!
The classroom door burst inward. Ethan, accompanied by two of his friends, rushed in, panic etched across his features.
"Where Is Mirabella?!" he bellowed, looking frantically around the rapidly emptying room.
"I... I don't know," Angela stammered, body shaking.
"What?! I thought she was with you?!" Ethan was furious, his gaze sweeping over the chaos.
"What is happening downstairs?!" Grace cried out.
"I don't know... the whole world is being invaded by these things! The Internet is dead! They're moving toward us!" Miranda reported, waving her blank phone, her voice thick with terror.
WHOOSH!!
Everyone looked down in confusion as a golden Bracelet shimmered into existence around their wrists.
"What is this?" Alice asked, bewildered.
"I can't take it off!" Miranda shrieked, tugging desperately.
"Forget that! We need to move!" Ethan grabbed Miranda and sprinted back out, followed closely by his group, and all the students. Screams and the sickening sounds of violence echoed down the hallway.
".....?!"
Grace stumbled, falling to the ground in the emptying classroom. Her eyes were fixed on the doorway, where Goblins and Zombies were already climbing the stairs.
BAM!!!
The remaining door shattered. Two towering, 1.5-meter-tall Goblins stomped in, their green eyes locking onto the teacher. They raised their short, glittering swords.
")×\\"
[Kill.]
They uttered a guttural sound she couldn't comprehend. In a desperate, primal response, Grace instinctively raised the foreign bracelet and fumbled, tapping randomly on its surface. She vanished in a flash of light.
"#-| €×¢®§™|•|€ ×√."
[She discovered It.]
The Goblins exchanged an unreadable look, then rushed out, missing the shaking form of Carl, who was curled under a desk. He, too, raised the bracelet, tapped it blindly, and disappeared a moment later.
___
Mirabella materialized in a dense, primeval Forest, surrounded by towering, ancient trees. The air was thick and humid. She took a deep breath, the scent of earth and danger filling her lungs.
"Hey Cupcake, we have seven days while others have three," Mirabella said, her voice low and strategic. "Why don't we use this opportunity to rob all the ruins before going to Galaxy City?"
Cupcake, still adapting to her glowing, Spirit-enhanced form, tilted her head:
"Master, do you know where the ruins are located?"
"I know some." Mirabella answered, referencing the decade of failed exploration from her past life.
{DING!!!!!}
A new, massive notification exploded inside her consciousness, physically jolting her backward in shock.
'What is this?!' she thought, heart hammering.
{Congratulations Host.}
{You have awakened the Master System.}
'System...? Just like the systems I have read in webnovels?' Her mind raced, a fresh wave of delighted surprise washing over the adrenaline. This was another impossible gift.
{I am better than those, Host.}
'Wow!! I can't believe it, I just unlocked a System!! I have a system!!' She screamed inwardly, a genuine, wide smile spreading across her face.
Cupcake, seeing her master's sudden, joyful grin, looked utterly confused.
"Girl! I just got a System!" Mirabella explained excitedly to her spirit pet.
"What is system, master?" Cupcake asked innocently.
"It's like a guide, something that helps you increase your strength, find secrets, and gives you rich rewards."
"That is good... Congratulations, Master."
"Thank you so much!"
{Note: Master System don't reward GF coins, but will show and give you any information needed in this game, I only give you some special things.}
{Congratulations, Due to the Royal Bloodline; Host's account have been upgraded into the Master Player Account.}
"Master Player Account? What is that?" Spectral asked, her excitement immediately tempered by sharp curiosity. She was no longer just the first player; she was becoming something more.