Chapter 1.
The rain had stopped hours ago, yet Ji-hoon still heard it, the soft echo of drops against the window of his one-room apartment. His monitor glowed in the dark, reflecting pale light across half-empty ramen cups and unopened bills. Somewhere in the corner, the hum of the fridge battled the silence.
Two weeks since he'd been laid off. Two weeks since the world stopped asking anything of him.
He leaned back in his gaming chair, eyes fixed on the download bar that crawled across the screen.
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[Downloading — The Age of Apocalypse Online (99%)]
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"C'mon, c'mon…" he muttered. The last thing he owned that worked the way he wanted was this PC, the one he bought with his final paycheck.
The bar hit 100%.
A triumphant chime rang out.
He exhaled, rubbed his temples, and smiled faintly. "Let's see what you've got."
The launcher opened in a burst of orchestral sound and digital fire. A crimson emblem turned slowly, an eye surrounded by wings. Beneath it: A World Reborn Through Destruction.
It felt different. The trailer he'd seen online looked too realistic; the developers boasted a new AI system that "adapts to the player's soul." Ji-hoon laughed at the marketing fluff. He just needed something to drown the noise in his head.
He clicked Start.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened. Then a flicker.
A square of light appeared.
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[The Age of Apocalypse has begun.]
Do you wish to participate? Y / N
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"What the…" he murmured. "Weird pop-up." His cursor hovered over Y.
He barely thought. A single click. The monitor flashed green.
The light wasn't on the screen anymore, it spilled into the room, swallowing the walls, the floor, the air itself. Ji-hoon's chair trembled. His breath caught as the sound of static roared in his ears.
Then came the pull.
It felt like being dragged through a current of electricity and wind. His stomach lurched; his body tore apart into pixels of pain and light.
And then, silence.
When he opened his eyes, he was no longer sitting. He was standing.
The first thing he noticed was space, an impossible cavern stretching endlessly, the ground a pattern of polished obsidian tiles that reflected millions of tiny blue flames floating above. The air shimmered with data like motes, a digital aurora painting the darkness.
And the noise, people. Thousands. No, hundreds of thousands.
Men and women in pajamas, suits, uniforms, standing shoulder-to-shoulder, shouting, panicking.
"What the hell is this?!"
"Is this VR?"
"Someone, call the police!"
Their voices collided in a chaotic wave. Ji-hoon's heart slammed in his chest. He stumbled forward, brushing past a middle-aged man muttering prayers.
Then he saw the numbers. Far above, suspended in the void like constellations, glowing text shifted and rearranged:
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[Current Players Online: 699,997]
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The digits flickered as a few screamed and vanished in bursts of light.
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[Current Players Online: 699,000]
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"What's happening…" Ji-hoon whispered.
A vibration pulsed through the floor deep, like thunder from below. The blue flames trembled. People froze mid-panic. Then came the voice.
It wasn't loud, yet it filled every corner of existence, resonating inside their bones.
"Silence."
The command didn't echo, it reverberated, like a bell in the soul. Instantly, noise died. Thousands of throats went still.
"Welcome, Players." The word players rolled across the void, chilling and deliberate.
"You have been chosen to participate in the Age of Apocalypse. This world will test the limits of your species. Survive, and ascend. Fail, and perish."
Someone finally broke the spell; a man near the center, bold or foolish.
"Hey! Whoever you are, let us out! This isn't funny!"
A pause. Then a wet slice.
The man's head slid cleanly from his neck. It hit the ground with a dull sound, rolling once before dissolving into particles of red light.
Screams erupted.
"Silence."
The second command hit harder. The air itself pressed down until every sound strangled itself to nothing. People dropped to their knees, gasping, sobbing. "Freedom will not be granted by request," the voice said, calm as death.
"Only by conquest."
A ripple of light spread through the crowd. In front of every player, translucent panels blinked to life.
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[STATUS WINDOW UNLOCKED]
Lv: 1
HP: 100 / 100
Strength: 1
Agility: 1
Endurance: 1
Skill Slots: 0
Inventory: Empty
Currency: 0 Coins
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"This window will record your growth. Gain experience, collect coins, acquire skills, and survive. Death will be permanent. There are no respawns."
People began shouting again pleading, cursing. The voice ignored them.
"Your first trial begins. Defeat the Demon Lord. Only through his death can the gate be opened."
A crack formed in the air above them, like glass fracturing in slow motion. The darkness shattered.
Light engulfed the chamber.
Ji-hoon blinked against the sudden brightness.
When his vision cleared, he froze. He was outside.
A ruined skyline stretched before him, twisted steel, collapsed highways, ash-filled skies. It was Seoul, yet not. Buildings stood where they should, but they were burnt husks, draped in vines and dust.
People screamed around him. Some clutched their heads; others collapsed, weeping. The stench of smoke and rust filled his lungs.
A woman nearby screamed, "It's my street! That's my apartment!" Her voice broke.
Ji-hoon couldn't move. His knees felt weak.
"What… what is this?" he whispered. A chime cut through the chaos.
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[PERSONAL STATUS WINDOW OPENED]
Name: Ji-hoon Kang
Level: 1
Weapon: Lv 1 Rusty Sword
Exp: 0 / 50
Strength: 1
Stamina: 1
Dexterity: 1
Skill Slots: 0
Abilities: None
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He stared at it, disbelief warring with terror. His trembling hand reached toward the floating text, and it responded, shifting slightly as if acknowledging his touch.
Then the ground rumbled.
The asphalt cracked open in front of him, a black hole widening as something massive clawed its way out.
A wolf-like creature, its body composed of jagged armor and molten light, emerged with a shriek that split the air. Six red eyes burned in its skull.
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[Field Quest Activated]
Target: Ravengar (Lv 2)
Penalty for Failure: Death
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People scattered. Some tried to fight; most ran. A man swung a metal pipe and was impaled a second later, his body dissolving into data shards.
Ji-hoon ducked behind rubble, heart hammering.
He could smell blood and smoke; could hear the crunch of bones.
The Ravengar tore through the crowd like wind through grass.
He couldn't breathe. He pressed a hand over his mouth.
I'm going to die.
Then the notification appeared again, burning in front of him:
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[Main Quest — Engage Target]
Failure to participate = Immediate Termination
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"W-what… participate?" he gasped. His rusty sword materialized in his grip cold, trembling metal.
He looked at the weapon, then at the beast. The distance between them was death itself.
He swallowed. "I don't… want to die." The Ravengar turned, sensing him. Its claws scraped the pavement.
Ji-hoon's legs moved before his mind caught up. He charged, screaming, swinging the sword with every ounce of fear inside him.
The blade struck its flank, barely a scratch, but enough to make the creature snarl and twist.
Its tail slammed into him.
He flew backward, crashed through debris, pain flaring white across his ribs.
"Guh!"
He coughed blood, vision swimming. His sword lay meters away. The Ravengar was coming, each step shaking the ground.
He crawled backward. "No… no, please…"
Then light.
Not from him, but from above.
"Magic Sequence Delta — Burst Cannon!"
Bolts of colored energy screamed down from the rooftops, crashing into the beast. Blue, violet, and gold explosions tore through its body. The Ravengar howled, reeling, before collapsing in a heap of molten shards.
Ji-hoon shielded his eyes. When the dust cleared, he saw them.
Figures five, maybe six, standing on a building's edge. Their long coats fluttered like banners in the wind, black fabric lined with glowing silver runes. One held a staff that shimmered with fading light.
Everyone stared.
The group leaped down effortlessly, landing amidst the carnage. The man in front, tall, silver haired, eyes sharp as glass spoke.
"Players," he said, voice amplified by unseen power. "Welcome to the ruins of your world. I am Commander Rane of the Aetheric Assembly."
Murmurs rippled through the survivors. NPCs? Quest givers? Ji-hoon couldn't tell. Rane continued, "You stand in the shell of your former cities. What you see is not your true world, but its reflection, an abandoned copy consumed by monsters. The Ravengar you witnessed is merely a lesser spawn."
A woman beside him stepped forward, her coat bearing the same emblem an eye with wings. "Listen well. The age of peace is gone. This is the Apocalypse Realm. Here, the weak die. The strong endure."
A player shouted, "What are you, people?! NPCs?"
Rane's gaze swept over them. "We are not your enemies. We are the Assembly keepers of balance, defenders of the last sanctum. Those who wish to live, follow us."
He turned away. Behind him, black armored soldiers appeared from the haze, collecting bodies. A van with sigils etched into its frame screeched to a halt; they loaded corpses silently.
Ji-hoon sat amid the rubble, trembling. The adrenaline ebbed, leaving only emptiness and the pounding of his heart.
He whispered to himself, "I almost died…"
Someone nearby sobbed. Others prayed. No one spoke of returning home anymore.
The soldiers began to move out, guiding survivors toward the distance where a massive citadel rose against the red horizon, a fortress of steel and crystal. Ji-hoon forced himself to his feet, pain burning along his side. He looked at the fallen players, people who, moments ago, had screamed and foughtz and clenched his fists.
His Status Window flickered, a single line added beneath his stats.
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[New Objective Unlocked — Survive the First Day]
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He stared at it until his vision steadied.
The world had become a game. But unlike every game he'd ever played, there were no retries.
He limped after the others, whispering under his breath:
"If I want to live… I have to get stronger."
The wind carried the distant roar of another monster.
Above, the blood-red sky shimmered with static, as though reality itself was still buffering.