The moment Kai opened his eyes, he knew something was wrong.
It wasn't just the way the world stretched endlessly before him—towers taller than skyscrapers, forests that shimmered with neon veins, and rivers that flowed with liquid light. No, it was the feeling in his chest, the weightless yet tethered sensation, like he was both inside the game and somehow outside of it.
He blinked. His vision flickered, and a familiar interface appeared before him:
SYSTEM MESSAGE:
Welcome, Player Zero. Eidolon Online: Virtual Realm Expansion Beta v4.23
Level: 1
Class: Unknown
HP: 100/100
MP: 50/50
EXP: 0/100
Status: Alive
"Beta?" Kai muttered, rubbing his eyes. He was a veteran gamer—VRMMO beta tests were nothing new—but something about this felt… different.
He reached out, instinctively, and the glowing action bar responded to his motion. He could see himself. His hands were real. Real.
Then the panic hit.
He remembered the last thing before logging off: the beta launch announcement. One last test, one last dungeon raid… then nothing. And now, here he was, standing in the tutorial zone of Eidolon Online—alone.
He ran a quick mental checklist:
Headset? Still on.
Controllers? None. Just hands.
Game mechanics? Appearing directly in his vision.
"This isn't just VR…" he whispered.
And he was right.
The Tutorial NPC Appears
A soft chime echoed in the air. Before him materialized a female figure, her hair silver-white and flowing as if caught in an invisible breeze. Her eyes glowed faintly, soft yet piercing.
Lyra: "Greetings, Player Zero. I am your guide in Eidolon Online."
Kai tilted his head. The NPC moved almost… naturally. Not the stiff, programmed motions he'd seen in other games. She smiled—not overly polite, but… curious.
SYSTEM MESSAGE:
Tutorial Quest Available: "The Lone Wolf Path"
Reward: Hidden Skill + Experience Boost
Kai's heart skipped. "Lone Wolf?" That wasn't in the patch notes.
The Solo Grind Begins
Most players relied on parties—guilds, raids, teamwork. But Kai wasn't most players. He knew the math:
Solo EXP scaling: x5
Party EXP scaling: x1.2
He smirked. "Looks like it's just you and me, then."
Lyra tilted her head. "I do not understand your amusement."
Kai ignored her and checked the quest details:
Quest: Lone Wolf Tutorial
Objectives: Survive for 3 hours, defeat 10 monsters, reach the first hidden zone.
Hidden Reward: ???
He pressed the confirm button—and the world around him shifted. Trees warped slightly. Stones pulsed with light. The monsters were already approaching.
Level 1 Goblin – HP 50, Attack 10, EXP 20
Kai struck first, swinging his fist. Numbers appeared above the goblin's head in glowing green: 20
"Yep," he muttered. "Still counts."
Breaking the System
Hours passed—or what felt like hours. Kai didn't stop. Each monster dropped experience points, skill points, and sometimes… anomalies.
A goblin dropped an item labeled Glitch Dagger: Attack +15
A floating tree glimmered, and upon inspection revealed a hidden mini-dungeon
Lyra whispered things that weren't in the tutorial script, like "The system… doesn't want you here."
Kai realized: the game wasn't fully coded. Something had broken. And in that break, there was power.
By the time the sun in the game began to rise, he had leveled to 12. More importantly, he had unlocked the first hidden skill:
Hidden Skill: System Exploit – Solo Multiplier Level 1
EXP gain +50%
Loot rarity increased +30%
Monster spawn rate adaptation: Reduced difficulty
Kai grinned. "This is going to be fun."
First Reality Leak
Then the first ripple hit.
A faint tremor under his feet. A humming in his ears. The city skyline outside his window—the real one—flickered for a fraction of a second. And then… his friend's text notification appeared, oddly distorted:
"Kai? Where are you? Are you online?"
He had been offline. He had no phone signal.
Lyra's voice broke the silence.
"You are not alone, yet you are alone."
Kai froze. Her tone… sounded worried. She wasn't supposed to feel emotion.
New Objective Appeared: Unknown Threat Detected – Reality Leak
The game world had just become deadly real.
First Choice (Cliffhanger for Chapter End)
In the distance, a glowing cave appeared—hidden, unmarked on any map. Only one path led forward:
Option A: Enter the hidden dungeon alone, risk unknown threats
Option B: Attempt to leave the tutorial zone, possibly facing system override
Kai's fingers hovered. His pulse raced. Then he smiled.
"Solo grind… let's see how deep this rabbit hole goes."
And with that, he stepped forward.