From above, hundreds of tiny figures plummeted, darkening the sky like storm clouds.
But this was no storm of rain or thunder. It was a storm of people, falling from thirty thousand feet above the ground.
And among them was Rei.
He toppled backward, the wind roaring in his ears, tugging at his clothes and whipping his hair across his face. His stomach flipped violently as the world spun upside down, adrenaline surging through every vein.
The sky stretched endlessly above him, while the ground below blurred into a featureless haze. Terror gripped him with every heartbeat, yet his body hurtled downward.
And yet, he gritted his teeth and forced his body to stop spinning wildly in the air.
Then he saw them, the other players, using their talents in whatever way they could, trying to slow their descent.
Some sprouted wings from their backs, like birds ruling the sky.
Some enveloped their bodies in gusts of wind, moving through the air like fish in water.
Some ignited flames around themselves, trying to hover like living rockets.
Others, whose talents couldn't slow their descent at all, fought desperately, trying to use others as meat shields.
The brutality of those people sent a shiver down Rei's spine, forcing him to remember his years of training he hadn't taken seriously.
He dove headfirst, arms close to his sides and legs straight behind him.
Twenty-nine thousand feet… twenty-eight thousand… twenty-seven thousand… down to twenty thousand.
The descent continued, and a minute passed.
The ground grew clearer with every second.
Rei continued his descent like a spear aimed at the ground, but even he knew the danger.
He wasn't made of iron, and with nothing to slow or cushion his fall, he would eventually become just a mass of meat.
Closing his eyes, he concentrated, and the familiar player panel appeared once more. He ignored the stats and focused solely on his talent. The panel shifted, revealing detailed information about it.
"Passive and Active?" Rei's mind roared. Every player was supposed to awaken with only one type of talent, but his panel showed two.
Catastrophe Stacker (Passive/Active): Talent that lets its user accumulate and control catastrophes, extremely destructive forces capable of causing massive destruction, stacking them endlessly to make each one stronger.
Catastrophes can be awakened under specific conditions.
This was truly a broken talent.
By the time he finished checking, nearly a minute had passed, and he had plummeted another five thousand meters.
Countless thoughts tore through his mind, but before he could process any of them, he felt a sense of danger. The players around him, those who had been falling nearby since the start, weren't attacking. They weren't even fighting among themselves.
They were staring at him. All of them.
One in particular caught Rei's attention. The player gripped the basic dagger given to everyone, but his was slick with blood. Even his hands were stained crimson.
It clearly showed that this guy had killed a lot of players.
When Rei's eyes landed on him, his status panel appeared right before his eyes.
Name: Elric
Status: Active
Location: Novice Area One
Level: One
XP: 10/100
Talent: Space Talent — Teleportation (Active)
Grade: {B-Tier}
Attributes:
Strength: 1
Agility: 1
Constitution: 1
Perception: 1
Willpower: 1
Luck (Drop rate/Critical hits): 8%
Skills: None
Inventory: [Basic Dagger ×2]
Quests / Directives: {Survive the Descent}
Kill Count: {10}
Survivors Remaining: {Will be updated after the first objective}
VP: {0}
"Ten kills? He's already killed that many?" Rei's eyes widened in shock. While he was racking his brain just to survive the fall, this guy had gone on a killing spree. His face was bloodshot; he was a killer, through and through.
Elric's eyes lingered on Rei just like the others, as though weighing whether to strike. Yet for some reason, his hand didn't move.
They all stared at him like he was another point to be harvested.
And that was it, the trigger!
He brandished his dagger tightly and his figure disappeared.
"Huh…"
"Teleportation… he's going to attack me?!" Rei tensed, on full alert.
Suddenly, Elric appeared behind him, dagger ready, trying to kill him and get more XP.
But it wasn't that easy. They were all falling, spinning and twisting at terrifying speeds with no ground to steady anyone.
The dagger missed, grazing Rei's neck, but Elric's hand still struck him, knocking his spear-like dive off course.
Rei spun wildly through the air, his world twisting and turning like a roller coaster gone out of control.
The other four saw an opening and dove straight toward Rei, eager to claim his life as their kill.
Rei panicked. They hadn't attacked before, only stared at him warily. But once one moved, the others followed like wolves following the first strike.
But the others weren't as fast as Elric, who blinked forward again with his teleportation talent.
In a flash, he appeared beside Rei, dagger raised for a clean beheading strike.
Rei had just steadied his spear-like descent when the blade came for his neck.
[Condition Met]
[Wind Catastrophe Acquired]
[Description: Harness the destructive force of air and wind]
[You've also gained full immunity to wind-based hazards; user can now manipulate wind catastrophes.]
A chorus of notifications sounded in his head. In that moment of crisis, he felt an uncanny, profound connection to the wind, as if he had become the wind itself.
Unknowingly, the surrounding air surged and whirled around him.
But this wind was black and filled with destructive force.
Elric's strike faltered midair, and small, deep cuts caused by wind appeared all over his body, blood dripping from them. Even the basic dagger in his hand bore deep gashes.
The currents thickened suddenly, coiling like invisible ropes, resisting every movement. His dagger wavered, as if the very air had hardened against it.
The wind itself had become a prison, holding him immobile.
Rei glanced at Elric, enveloped in black destructive wind that had almost become substance.
This was totally absurd.
The other four's expressions changed in mid-dive, their eyes wide with disbelief. The person they thought would be an easy kill had just done this.
Their faces twisted in shock, throats tight as if they had swallowed stones.
No one knew who moved first, but in the next breath, all four broke away, diving in different directions. It was as though Rei was no longer a target; he was a demon, and they were fleeing for their lives.
Rei snapped out of his shock and looked down at the earth rushing up fast. They were less than ten thousand feet from the ground.
He turned his head, eyes locking on the fleeing players who had just tried to take his life. Then it struck him, a way to survive the fall.
Rei dove in a certain direction, chasing after a player while also checking player information.
Name: Meason
Status: Active
Location: Novice Area One
Level: One
XP: 1/100
Talent: Flight — Slight Levitation
Grade: {D-Tier}
Attributes:
Strength: 1
Agility: 1
Constitution: 1
Perception: 1
-Willpower: 1
Luck (Drop rate/Critical hits): 8%
Skills: None
Inventory: [Basic Dagger]
Quests / Directives: {Survive the Descent}
Kill Count: {1}
Survivors Remaining: {Will be updated after the first objective}
VP: {0}
…
'This is the one…' Rei thought.
Although the player's talent wasn't remarkable, there was still a sliver of hope for surviving the fall.
Within seconds of diving, Rei caught up with him.
"No, let me go! Why don't you chase the others?" the player shouted, noticing Rei just an arm's length away.
"You are my only hope!" Rei said. The others were useless: two with E-tier talents and one F-tier with no reliable way to survive the fall. Their chances were slimmer than the levitation player's.
"You bloody maniac!" the player left behind stammered, his eyes red with tears. He was really afraid he would die before even surviving the fall.
"Shut up!" Rei shouted.
Rei didn't bother with him. He spread his arms, slowing his fall just a little so he and the man were side by side.
"Don't try anything. Just keep falling!" Rei said.
He carefully wrapped one arm around the man's chest, keeping a dagger at his throat while giving him space to breathe, and locked his legs around the man's waist like a backpack.
"This is awkward," Rei thought, but it was the only way he could survive the fall.
"Levitate only when I say so. Don't move without my command!" Rei warned, tightening the dagger. His voice was calm but absolute.
The man could only nod frantically, eyes filled with terror.
Rei's gaze stayed locked on the ground rushing up to meet them. The roar of the wind was deafening, each second heavier than the last.
Five thousand feet… four thousand…
One thousand…
"Get ready…" he muttered through gritted teeth, forcing himself not to shout too early. Every heartbeat was torture.
Nine hundred… five hundred… three hundred.
The other player had already lost it, his body trembling as tears streamed down his face. He looked at Rei like he was insane.
If it were me, I'd have used my talent long ago!
At this height, a single delay could turn him into nothing but a red smear.
"Now! Levitate! Levitate…!"
Rei's voice cracked through the wind like thunder.
The other player's eyes lit up with sudden hope as he activated his talent.
By the time levitation took effect, they were barely an arm's length from the ground; just enough to survive.
Five seconds. That was all it lasted. They landed hard but alive, only a few bruises marking their luck.
Rei, still clinging like a backpack, let out a shaky breath of relief. His timing had been perfect.
Then, a voice came from behind them, filled with twisted excitement:
"Hey… I didn't expect the new players to fall right to my feet."