Kael was so dumbfounded—that he slapped himself in the cheek.
'Shit...'
This wasn't a dream. What was hovering in front of him wasn't a hallucination, it felt too real to be one.
But, it's impossible. This thing can't be real. The things Kael had been reading on Webtoon before, were now hovering in front of him.
Kael chuckled.
'Hah... Did I pass out from hunger or something? Probably so. Damn, my noodles are gonna get cold.'
But, the next second proved Kael wrong.
As suddenly, his entire room engulfed in darkness and his heart suddenly skipped a beat.
All at once, his bones disintegrated into thin air, his flesh burned out of existence, and his entire being vanished without a trace.
It happened so fast that even the dust couldn't react, and so it sat still, as if Kael never stood there. As if Kael never existed.
---
In a thick lush forest with dark oaken trees, sat a clearing in the center. Its grounds were traced with layers and layers of flowers, as critters snacked on them. It was silent and serene.
But, not for long.
The air twisted, warped, then tore reality,
as black ink poured out of the tear, frightening the critters, making them scramble.
The black ink dripped to the ground and turned into a pool of swirling purple and black. First, bone materialized itself from thin air, then, flesh grew and skin followed.
In a blink of an eye, Kael appeared.
The process was nauseating and disorienting. Yet, he felt no pain, only a chilling sensation that seemed to seep from the universe itself. Dumbfounded, Kael stood frozen, struggling to comprehend the event that had unfolded.
His lips parted as he scanned the forest, trembling. The bird chimes, the gentle breeze on the flowers, and muffled noises of critters sent Kael's mind to spiral with sharp pain.
He tried to keep his composure straight. But, his knees shook, then, his legs betrayed him as he crumbled to the ground.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Kael could feel his heart beat faster and faster, his breath grow shallower and heavier by the second. He was about to choke himself to death.
Desperation reached his throat as then he screamed—a sharp, loud, inhumane sound that came from within him. The scream tore his throat and left a bitter taste of blood in it.
He held his neck as he sorted through his thoughts. There were too many things to think about and so he smacked his head to ground it to a single thought.
Though, what it accomplished was just a moment of silence in his mind.
'Kael Reed'
A gentle and soothing whisper slowly broke the silence. A voice that came from within his mind and memories.
A voice of a woman.
His mother.
Kael snapped out of it.
For a moment, his breath staggered but slowed, his heart pumped less frantically. It wasn't enough to give him peace, but at least enough to let him think.
The world he knew suddenly disappeared.
Or, he did. Nothing made sense, as only a few minutes ago he was just making noodles, then, next he was here. In this small clearing.
It was all still too much to process.
Too much that it made his stomach's acid rise through his injured throat, making him throw up.
'What the hell happened to me? What is this place? And... Why is it so familiar? Damn it.
Think, Kael. Think!'
Then, his thoughts clicked.
He remembered what happened at his apartment, or well what happened before the reality warping. He thought back to the disk and those floating notifications.
Those floating red notifications felt so familiar, so vivid. Then, he remembered.
But, no. That would be impossible.
There's no way this is possible.
'Player 001... SoulStream... Gods.'
The words with no meaning made him wince in pain. Kael wanted to dismiss everything as a dream. But, he couldn't keep himself in denial.
He looked down at his trembling hands.
'Am I... in a fantasy webtoon scenario?!'
The situation weighed down on Kael.
His eyes widened and his lips quivered, as then he whispered:
"I'm... in a fantasy webtoon."
He looked around more, then, chuckled.
'And a pretty generic looking one too.'
Ping!
A sudden floating window appeared in front of him. Showing something that Kael was very familiar with. Something that slightly lit his eyes up again.
'What the—'
Kael first thought, though when his eyes adjusted to its glowing light. He couldn't help but gasp.
"This is..."
[Player 001: Kael Reed]
[Rank: Static]
[Innate Aspect: Strengthened Human]
[Fated Aspect: None]
[Objective: Phase I - Filtration]
Task: Reach The City of Thalorim
Time Limit: 5 Days
Note: Run with purpose, or squal like the rest and be left to bleed.
'My status window!'
Kael was strangely ecstatic, seeing something he was familiar with slightly calmed his still shaking legs.
'So. I really am in one of these. But, wait... where are my stat points? Usually for things like this there would be one. Hah, there's no fucking way I'm actually in one of these.'
Kael couldn't keep his thoughts in one place as they switched from excitement and disbelief.
He never knew he'd be using his knowledge on webtoons in his real life. Especially in a situation like this.
He planned on searching for his stats, as maybe they were just below these Aspects.
And so, he pressed his finger against the window, expecting it to scroll down.
But, when his finger touched the window.
It didn't scroll, it opened one of the Aspect descriptions. Or, well...
[ Fated Aspect: None
Description: None ]
Kael's expression turned to confusion as his brow raised. 'This it? No stat points or anything like that? And... Aspects?'
Kael scratched his chin, trying to scrape every bit of information he had on these types of things. Then, not a moment passed and he realized what they were, or maybe what they might be.
"Attributes" he whispered.
Kael was sure of it. But, why did this one even open when it had no description?
Anyways, he pressed the window again and it closed off and showed the original format.
He easily understood what the other things meant, being that he had common sense.
The first being his status. Nothing about it caught his eyes, but the number 001 weirdly made him proud. Though, what caught his attention was the rank.
'Static? What...? Maybe it means I'm unawakened? That's usually what it means. Yeah, I'll go with that.'
Kael held on to anything that made sense, as at least he wasn't spiraling.
He coughed a couple of times before realizing his forehead was bleeding. At first he felt lightheaded. Seeing his own blood after all was no normal occurrence back home.
But, he held his head and closed his eyes.
He couldn't afford to be passing out right now, he had to figure things out.
'Well, I could have done worse.'
He chuckled. Then, exhaled from his nose and continued on.
Which was, his Innate Aspect.
[Innate Aspect: Strengthened Human]
He thought of what it could possibly be.
Maybe, it allowed him to lift tons of heavy weight or he'd have incredible defense. Since its name was Strengthened. It could also possibly enhance his other human capabilities.
'Well... Only one way to find out.'
Kael, with a mix of uncertainty and determination in his eyes, was about to press the Aspect's description.
But, suddenly he froze. His finger inches away from the window.
As a twig snapped—not so far from him.
He slowly turned his head towards the darkness between the trees—
inside something chuckled... maliciously.
Then—a snout emerged from the shadows, followed by tusks and yellow eyes that glowed with hunger—like a goblin made of pig flesh and nightmares.
It grinned with rot, as if Kael's arrival was the start of a feast.