Sebastian woke up screaming.
His body convulsed on the cheap mattress. Every muscle fiber seizing up at once. It wasn't pain. It was an overload of energy.
He gasped. Tearing the VR helmet off his head. Throwing it onto the desk. He rolled off the bed. Hit the floor on his hands and knees. Retching.
"Haa... Haa..."
He looked at his arms.
The veins were bulging. Black and blue. Pulsing rhythmically. Under his skin, faint, glowing runic lines were flickering into existence before fading away.
[Real World Synchronization: 2.5%]
[Physical Stats Updating...]
The killing of the World Boss—a feat that shouldn't have been possible for months—had forced a massive packet of data into his biological neural network.
Sebastian forced himself to stand. Grabbed the side of his desk. The wood groaned. Splintered under his grip.
"Too much strength," he whispered. "No control."
He stumbled to the window.
Outside, the dystopian city of 2077 was in chaos. Sirens were wailing in the distance—more than usual. The neon signs flickered erratically.
The sky though. That made Sebastian's blood run cold.
It was night. The clouds weren't black. They were tinged with a faint, sickly crimson hue.
"The Red Moon," Sebastian said. Staring at the sky. "It's bleeding through the screens."
In his past life, the Red Moon event marked the beginning of the end. When the "hallucinations" became physical.
His wrist-phone buzzed on the floor.
Not a debt collector. An encrypted number.
Sebastian picked it up.
"Speak."
"The sky," Valerie's voice came through. Trembling but controlled. "It looks just like the game. Zero... Sebastian. What is happening?"
Sebastian paused. She'd tracked his real-world identity. He wasn't surprised. The Blue Rose guild was a front for the Sterling Corporation. One of the biggest tech conglomerates. They had the resources to trace an IP.
"You found me," Sebastian said. "Good work."
"Don't change the subject!" Valerie snapped. "I'm looking out my penthouse window. The moon is red. My bodyguards... two of them just collapsed foaming at the mouth. The news is saying it's a new viral strain. But I know better. It's the mana, isn't it?"
"It's the Synchronization," Sebastian corrected. "Those with low spiritual resistance—low stats—can't handle the atmospheric shift. They go mad. They become the Infected."
"Infected?"
"Zombies, Valerie. Fast ones. With mana-enhanced strength."
Silence on the other end of the line. Then the sound of glass breaking in the background.
"Listen to me," Sebastian said. His voice turning into a command. "Do not go outside. Do not trust anyone who hasn't played the game. The players have higher resistance. Gather your family. Barricade the doors."
"Where are you?" Valerie asked. "I can send an extraction team. A chopper."
"No choppers," Sebastian warned. "The sky isn't safe anymore. The gargoyles spawn first."
"Sebastian, please. I have resources. Food. Weapons. You have the knowledge. We need to work together."
Sebastian looked at his apartment. He had MREs. Had water. He was in a civilian sector though. A high-density population zone. In an hour, this building would be a slaughterhouse.
"I'll send you coordinates," Sebastian said. "An industrial district. Warehouse 4. It's defensible. If you can make it there alive, we'll talk."
"Warehouse 4. Got it. Sebastian... are we going to die?"
Sebastian looked at his hand. He summoned his will.
FZZT.
A tiny, flickering spark of fire appeared on his fingertip. It was real. Real magic. In the real world.
"Most people will," Sebastian replied. Extinguishing the flame. "But we are not most people."
He hung up.
THUMP.
A heavy sound came from the hallway outside his apartment door. Then a scratch. Then a low, guttural growl that sounded like a human throat trying to bark.
"Neighbors are turning," Sebastian noted.
He walked to the kitchen. Didn't grab a knife. He grabbed the heavy iron crowbar he'd bought with his supply run.
He closed his eyes. Focusing on the game interface that was now permanently burned into his vision.
[Inventory Access: Limited]
[Item Retrieval: Earth Sword (Starter Weapon)]
"Come out," Sebastian ordered.
The air in the room warped. It cost him a massive headache. Half his stamina. A heavy, two-handed iron sword materialized in his living room though. Clattering onto the floor.
He picked it up. Heavy. Cold. Real.
The scratching at the door turned into pounding. The wood splintered.
"First Wave," Sebastian whispered. His eyes glowing with a faint golden light. "Welcome to the apocalypse."
He kicked the dresser away from the door.
The lock snapped. The door burst open.
A figure lunged in—his neighbor, Mr. Henderson. Henderson's skin was grey though. His eyes were white voids. His jaw was unhinged. Revealing rows of jagged, mana-mutated teeth.
[Monster: Infected (Tier 0)]
[Level: 1]
Henderson shrieked. Leaped.
Sebastian swung the Earth Sword.
SPLAT.
The head separated from the body. Black blood sprayed across the peeling wallpaper.
[Ding! Real World Kill Confirmed.]
[EXP Gained.]
Sebastian stepped over the corpse. Walked into the dark hallway.
"Time to level up."