Ren noticed the silence first.
It wasn't the peaceful kind. Not the kind that came after a teacher finished scolding the class or when the school generator shut down during assembly. This silence was wrong—thick, heavy, as if the world itself had paused to take a breath.
One moment, he was sitting in the classroom, half-listening to the teacher drone on about history. The next—
The floor vanished.
A sharp drop twisted his stomach. His vision blurred, lights flashing violently like a broken screen. Screams erupted around him, cut short as if someone had pressed mute.
Ren tried to shout, but no sound came out.
Then everything went black.
When Ren opened his eyes again, the smell of earth hit him first.
Damp soil. Grass. Something wild.
He sucked in a breath and pushed himself up, coughing as his palms dug into rough ground. The classroom was gone. No desks. No whiteboard. No cracked ceiling fan buzzing uselessly above.
Instead, towering trees surrounded him, their thick trunks wrapped in vines. Sunlight filtered through the leaves in broken patches, painting the forest floor in gold and shadow.
"What…?" Ren whispered.
His voice worked now—but it sounded small.
Around him, students were scattered across a wide clearing. Familiar uniforms. Familiar faces. Some crying. Some shouting. Some frozen in shock.
This wasn't a dream.
"Where are we?!" someone screamed.
"Is this a prank?!"
"My phone—my phone doesn't work!"
Ren's heart pounded as he stood fully, scanning the area. His instincts screamed danger. This place felt… alive. Too alive. The air itself seemed to hum with something unseen.
Then—
DING.
The sound echoed in the air, clear and artificial.
Everyone froze.
Blue light burst into existence before each student, forming translucent screens that hovered in midair.
Words appeared.
[Welcome, Players.]
[World Initialization Complete.]
[Tutorial Phase: Active.]
Gasps rippled through the clearing.
"A… a hologram?" someone muttered.
Ren stared at the screen in front of him. It floated inches from his face, sharp and impossibly real. The font glowed faintly, like something pulled straight out of a game.
His hands trembled.
This couldn't be real.
More text appeared.
[Each Player has been granted a Personal Interface.]
[Survive. Grow stronger. Clear objectives.]
[Failure to adapt will result in death.]
The last word hit like a hammer.
Death.
"This is fake, right?" a boy laughed nervously. "This has to be VR or something."
As if responding to his denial, another window opened.
[Player: Marcus Hale]
[Class: Warrior]
[Level: 1]
[Skills: Basic Weapon Mastery]
Marcus's laughter died instantly.
His eyes widened as he waved his hands through the screen, scrolling through menus filled with stats, skills, and numbers.
"I… I have a class," he whispered.
One by one, voices erupted.
"I'm a Mage!"
"Wait, I got Healer—why is my mana blue?!"
"I can summon a shield!"
Excitement mixed with fear. Panic turned into awe. Screens flickered everywhere, each student discovering their role in this twisted new reality.
Ren swallowed and focused on his own screen.
Nothing changed.
No class window appeared. No stats. No skills.
Just the same blank blue panel.
He frowned and tapped it.
Nothing.
"Come on…" he muttered, trying again.
Still nothing.
A cold knot formed in his chest.
He glanced around. Everyone else was reacting—testing abilities, gasping as small bursts of light or energy appeared in their hands.
Ren waited.
Seconds passed.
Then minutes.
Around him, gasps and shouts filled the clearing as glowing screens appeared before everyone else.
Ren stared at the empty space in front of him.
Nothing appeared.
He raised his hand, swiping the air like the others.
Nothing.
His throat tightened.
"Mine… hasn't shown up yet," he muttered.
No one heard him.
Around him, the clearing buzzed with excitement and confusion. No one noticed him standing there, suddenly invisible in the most terrifying way possible.
Without an interface.
Without a class.
Without anything.
A shiver crawled up his spine.
Then the ground trembled.
Low. Heavy. Rhythmic.
Boom.
Boom.
The forest beyond the clearing rustled violently. Birds scattered into the sky. Leaves shook as something large moved between the trees.
A new message appeared—this time for everyone.
[Tutorial Event Initiated.]
[Objective: Reach the Safe Zone.]
[Warning: Hostile Entities Detected.]
Screams erupted.
"What does hostile entities mean?!"
"Safe Zone where?!"
A roar answered them.
Deep. Savage. Close.
Something massive burst from the treeline—a creature resembling a wolf, but far larger. Its eyes glowed faintly red, saliva dripping from jagged teeth.
Then another.
And another.
Chaos exploded.
Students scattered in every direction. Some tried to fight, activating glowing skills. Others ran blindly, terror overtaking reason.
Ren stood frozen for half a second.
Then instinct kicked in.
Run.
He sprinted toward the trees, heart hammering. Branches whipped against his arms as he dove into the forest, barely avoiding snapping jaws behind him.
No skills.
No interface.
No second chances.
Only his body—and his will to live.
As screams echoed behind him and the forest swallowed him whole, one thought burned in Ren's mind:
If this world really is a game…
Then I'm playing on the hardest difficulty