The world loaded in slowly with a faint hum of vibration through Kai's headphones as the darkness broke apart and shapes began to take form.
When the blur settled, he found himself sitting on a dented metal bench inside an old subway car. The place felt abandoned and lived-in at the same time.
NPC passengers lined the car, packed together like a crowd waiting for instructions. Their faces were smooth, almost too smooth, and every one of them stared forward without blinking. Only the squad captain across from Kai had a spark of animation in him.
His jaw moved stiffly, like a puppet reciting lines... "Soldier, your first mission is—"
"Forget it..."
Kai tapped the skip button before the man could finish. He had no interest in the artificial drama.
The screen blinked once, and the entire train dissolved. When the new scene loaded, his avatar was already standing on a cracked subway platform littered with vending machines, some were glowing and others seemed like they didn't work.
A soft ding echoed near the top-right corner of his HUD.
[Main Quest: Alarm Signal]
Objective: Speak to the Sergeant.
Progress: 0/6
"Straightforward enough," Kai muttered.
He swept the camera around. At the far end of the station, a bulky man in a tactical vest stood with a bright yellow exclamation mark floating above his head. The sight brought back old memories of the past.
Kai walked over and clicked the sergeant.
NPC Dialogue – Sergeant Iannor
"We received a distress call from the nearby town. Hostile creatures are attacking civilians. Locate them. Protect them. Escort them out. We are counting on you, Enchanter."
No response options. No branching choices. The moment the sergeant finished speaking, the quest tracker updated with a soft chime.
Objective Updated: Enter the town.
Kai pressed Shift+W and broke into a sprint. His avatar's footsteps echoed sharply as he wove between overturned crates and ruined posters. Soon, the subway station vanished behind him, replaced by the open iron gate of a forgotten town.
At first, there is nothing but silence.
But then a low growl rolled across the ground.
A creature stepped out from behind a collapsed fruit stall. It walked upright like a person but carried all the ugliness of a rat: greasy fur, claws curled like hooks, and two horns jutting out from its forehead.
As Kai aimed his cursor, a red bar floated above its head.
[Vird – Level 2]
HP: 126
"Low level," he said, more in habit than need.
The Vird lunged before he could swap weapons. Kai dodged back and to the side, his fingers tapping the keys quickly on their own. When he rolled the scroll wheel, his primary loadout snapped into place, showing a staff glowing faintly.
His only early-game buff icon shimmered at the bottom of the screen.
[Enchanter's Blessing]
He clicked it.
A warm glow wrapped around his avatar, making his model stand taller for a heartbeat. The buff duration ticked down.
Buff Active: +30% ATK for 10s
"Used to be twelve seconds," Kai muttered. "I guess they nerfed a bit. Even back then, because of me, they reduced it from 15 seconds to 12 seconds... now, it's even lower..."
He closed the distance and started striking. Each swing landed with a dull thump of light energy. The monster struggled to keep up, rotating clumsily as Kai strafed around it.
When the buff faded, only a sliver of the Vird's health was left, and three more hits finished the job.
The creature gave a warped electronic squeal before exploding into shards of pixelated dust.
+72 EXP
+2 Credits
Loot: Torn Claw (Junk)
But he didn't even pause. The second Vird was already sprinting at him from behind.
This time, he dodged toward its blind side and swapped to his sniper rifle mid-stride. The barrel glowed once—
Bang.
The bullet blew clean through the monster's forehead, and it shattered instantly.
A glowing orb spiraled into his avatar's chest.
[LEVEL UP >>> Level 2]
A new prompt appeared beside his skill bar, blinking bright blue:
[New Skill Unlocked: Multiple Blessing]
Right-click to channel buffs toward an ally. Cooldown applies per target.
"Used to stack on self in the old version," Kai said. "Nerfed again. Ugh... these ba*tards..."
He headed deeper into the town.
Screams echoed between scorched buildings. Fire climbed the walls like hungry beasts. NPC civilians ran aimlessly, some dragged to the ground by Virds jumping from rooftops. The whole place felt like it had been built just to fall apart in front of new players.
Three Virds tore through the plaza, ripping apart crates and whatever unlucky NPCs got too close.
Kai crouched, scoped in, and fired three shots in a heartbeat.
Headshot.
Headshot.
Critical Headshot.
EXP rained in. Level 3… Level 4… notifications stacked at the corner of his screen.
A new icon unlocked:
[Arcane Surge – Buff Aura]
+20% ATK to self
+10% MS & AS to allies (20s)
Cooldown: 90s
"At least this one survived the update."
With the plaza quiet again, he made his way toward a barn that looked like the entrance to a low-level dungeon. Its wooden doors were cracked and stained, and deep claw marks cut across the surface.
But standing outside was something much bigger than the rest.
A massive Vird, hunched and twitching, holding a chipped axe in one thick hand.
[Vird Leader – LVL 7]
HP: 1850
Kai stopped at the exact 30-meter mark. His hands moved smoothly, activating Enchanter's Blessing, and then followed up with Arcane Surge, and finally raised the rifle.
*Click*
The first shot hit the monster square in the head.
[CRITICAL HIT — 946]
The creature whipped its head toward him and charged, shaking the ground with every step. Kai kept still. Reloaded. Waited. When the monster jumped...
Click.
Bang.
[CRITICAL HIT — 1076]
The boss collapsed mid-air and scattered into glowing fragments.
EXP +1076
Level Up >>> Level 5
New Skill: Dash
The barn doors swung open. Knights rushed out carrying dazed civilians, thanking the heavens, shouting prayers. Kai walked past them silently as his quest tracker flashed gold.
[Quest Complete: Alarm Signal]
Rewards: 1200 EXP, 250 Credits, Enchanter's Robe (Uncommon)
But before the screen could settle, a new sound drifted in. It was a wavering laugh that didn't belong to the UI.
From the alley shadows, a hunched figure crept out with a staff twitching in his hands and humming a broken lullaby. Shadows wriggled around his feet.
"You think this is the end?" the man screeched. "No, no… children, rise. Rise and feast!"
The ground cracked behind him as dozens of Virds crawled out of black mist, snarling and drooling thick red strings of blood.
Kai didn't raise his weapon. He didn't activate a skill this time.
He simply sighed.
"Scripted event."
He let the monsters jump him. Blood flashed across the screen. His HP bar drained faster than he could blink.
One Vird tore into his shoulder. Another ripped open his chest. A third pinned him down.
[SYSTEM] You have died.
The world went dark again.
A cold voice whispered from the void:
"Rise, Immortal… your journey has just begun."