[System initializing…]
[Memory sync… failed.]
[Personality framework… complete.]
[Welcome to The Abyss – a world of blood, steel, and choices.]
I woke up in the dark.
The smell of dried blood. Damp earth. Rotting corpses.
Pain stabbed into my skull like someone was driving a drill into my temples. My body was heavy, sluggish. I reached out instinctively—and touched something soft, cold, and wet. A faint beam of light slipped through a crack in the stone wall.
It illuminated… an arm. A severed human arm.
I jerked back, panic rising. My back slammed against a stone wall.
"What the hell—"
[Low-Level Survival Protocol Activated.]
[Player: Unknown Identity]
[Class: Undetermined]
[Level: 1]
[HP: 30/30 | MP: 10/10 | STA: 20/20]
[Skills: None]
[Quest Started: Survive.]
A glowing blue interface hovered in the air in front of me, translucent and eerily calm. I stared at it like a lunatic, brain scrambling to keep up.
"Is this… a dream?"
I pinched my cheek.
Pain.
"VR?"
I remembered nothing. No name. No memories. No purpose.
But I knew one thing: I was alive, and this place wanted me dead.
I forced myself to stand. The room was like an ancient tomb—crumbling stone walls, moss, corpses both old and fresh. Some bodies had claw marks. Others had been gnawed to the bone. There was only one way out: a narrow hallway stretching into pitch darkness.
I grabbed the largest bone I could find—a snapped femur, thick and jagged.
[Temporary Weapon Equipped: Broken Human Bone (+1 ATK)]
Something growled.
Wet scraping sounds echoed from deeper inside the hallway. A wave of stench hit me—rotting meat and bile.
I had no choice. Wait here and die? No. I didn't know who I was, but I knew one thing:
I wasn't ready to die.
I stepped into the dark.
One minute later.
[Warning: Hostile Approaching.]
It came into view—a creature like a dog, but flayed of all its skin. Exposed muscles glistened, and its eyes glowed faint red. Drool hung from its fanged mouth. Above its head floated a label:
[Flesh Hound – Lv. 2]
[Status: Hunting Prey]
I took a step back, grip tightening on the bone.
"Too high-level. I'll die if I fight head-on."
I scanned the hallway—saw a narrow alcove to the side. A bottleneck.
I slipped into the alcove and raised the bone.
The hound sniffed the air. Growled. Charged.
"Come on… a little closer."
As its head poked in, I slammed the bone down.
Not much damage—but it flinched.
I struck again. And again.
[Emergency Skill Unlocked: Skull Cracker Lv.1]
[Effect: Increases blunt damage to head targets.]
I screamed and bashed one final time.
[You have slain Flesh Hound.]
[EXP Gained: 25]
[Level Up: You are now Level 2.]
[1 Skill Point Available.]
I collapsed to my knees, chest heaving. Blood, sweat, and adrenaline soaked through me.
I lived.
"The system… is real." I muttered. "And it gives chances… if you're willing to bleed for them."
An hour later.
I moved through the dungeon like a scavenger. Killing weaker beasts. Careful. Calculated. No heroics.
I looted scraps:
Tattered boots (+1 SPD)
Bitten leather vest (-5% physical resistance)
A murky, unidentified potion
[Level Up: You are now Level 3.]
I opened my status window. A strange line stood out:
[Hidden Class: ???]
[Evolution Requirements: Unknown]
"A locked class? Or… a broken one?"
I stepped into a dead landscape. Cracked earth. Gray skies. Scattered carcasses. Black spires jutted out of the ground like claws. Winged things circled above, screeching into the wind.
Welcome to The Abyss.
[Quest Updated:]
– Objective: Find Shelter
– Reward: 50 EXP | Unlock New Skill
– Warning: Another player is watching you.
I froze.
"Another… player?"
An arrow landed near my foot.
I looked up. On a nearby cliff, a hooded figure stood, bow in hand and mask on face. He jumped down.
"Newbie," he growled. "You'll die quicker that way."
He lunged, dagger drawn.
[Enemy Player: 'Crow' – Lv. 5]
[Status: Player Killer – Hunts Lower-Level Players for Loot]
A PvP ambusher.
He was faster. Stronger. More skilled.
But he underestimated me.
A fatal mistake.
Ten minutes later.
I sat beside his corpse, breathing hard. Blood everywhere. My hand trembled—but I smiled.
[You have slain Player: Crow.]
[Loot Gained: +3 Poison Dagger, Shadow Hood, 65 Gold, 3 Copyable Skills.]
[Would you like to copy a skill?]
I selected:
Quickstep Invisibility Lv.1
Stunning Backstab Lv.1
Combat Adaptation Lv.1
[Skill Copy System Unlocked.]
[Hidden Class Updated: Exploiter]
I froze.
Exploiter. Not Warrior. Not Mage. Not Hero.
A system-breaker. A loophole-abuser. A survivor.
"This system's broken," I muttered, rising.
"But I'll break it harder than it breaks me."
And I walked away.
Into the shadows.
Ready to climb to the top—
over a mountain of corpses.