Aadi ran down the stairs, heart pounding. His phone had gone dead. The internet was gone. Civilization had vanished in seconds.
As he stepped outside, he saw it—a monster lunging toward a terrified man.
Without thinking, Aadi grabbed a broken metal pipe.
"Hey!" he shouted.
The creature turned. Its hollow eyes locked onto him.
Bad idea.
It charged.
Aadi swung.
CRACK.
The impact echoed through his arms, but somehow… it worked. The creature staggered.
A blue screen flashed before his eyes:
[SKILL UNLOCKED: BASIC STRIKE Lv.1]
"What?!"
The monster lunged again, faster this time. Aadi dodged instinctively and drove the pipe straight through its skull.
Silence.
Then—
[YOU HAVE KILLED A SHADOW HUSK Lv.1]
[EXP +50]
[LEVEL UP]
Aadi collapsed to his knees, breathing heavily.
"This… is a game?"
No.
This was survival.