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Chapter 2
The world did not fade in gently.
One moment, Ren was standing in his classroom, the dull hum of the ceiling fan buzzing above his head. The next, the floor vanished beneath his feet.
Screams exploded around him.
Ren felt weightless—then the air slammed out of his lungs as he hit the ground hard. Pain shot through his back, sharp and real, nothing like the dull aches he was used to. Dirt filled his mouth. The smell of grass and rust flooded his senses.
He rolled onto his side, coughing violently.
The classroom was gone.
The shock didn't last long.
Screams erupted almost immediately after the glowing screens appeared.
Some students shouted in excitement, others in confusion, while a few stood frozen, staring at the floating blue panels in front of their faces like they might vanish if they blinked too hard.
Ren stood among them, his heart pounding.
Still nothing.
The air in front of him remained empty—no screen, no light, no system message.
He swallowed and glanced around.
Every single person supposedlyhim had one.
Someone laughed nervously.
"So… this is like a game, right?"
A few people agreed. Others didn't answer.
Ren clenched his fists.
He tried again—slowly this time—mimicking the exact hand motion he saw others use.
Nothing.
Before he could think further, the ground trembled.
At first, it felt like distant thunder.
Then came the sound.
A guttural roar echoed from beyond the trees—deep, wet, and wrong. It wasn't the kind of sound any animal on Earth should be able to make.
The forest ahead rustled violently.
"Did… did you hear that?" someone whispered.
The roar came again, closer this time.
Panic spread.
A boy near the front stumbled backward, his status window flickering wildly as he tried to open menus in a rush. Someone else screamed.
Then the trees parted.
A small green figure stumbled into the clearing.
It was barely taller than a child, its skin sickly green, ears pointed sharply upward. Rusted metal clung to its body like scrap armor, and in its hand was a jagged blade that looked more like broken iron than a weapon.
A goblin.
No one had time to react.
The goblin shrieked and lunged.
A boy froze.
The blade flashed.
Blood sprayed across the grass.
The body hit the ground with a dull thud, eyes wide and empty.
For a second, the world went silent.
Then all hell broke loose.
"HE'S DEAD!"
"RUN!"
"OPEN YOUR SKILLS—OPEN YOUR SKILLS!" a boy shouted warning others
The goblin screeched again, swinging wildly as students scattered. Someone managed to shove another person out of the way, only to take a slash across the arm. Another fell hard, ankle bending at a sickening angle.
Ren backed away instinctively, his mind screaming.
Five people went down in seconds.
One with a deep gash along his side.
Another clutching his leg, bone clearly broken.
A girl screamed as blood soaked through her sleeve.
The goblin leapt again—only to be intercepted.
A tall boy surged forward.
He was one of the most popular students back at school—athletic, confident, a regular at the gym. A basketball player with broad shoulders and fast reflexes.
A glowing blue screen flared before him as he moved.
[Skill Activated: Enhanced Strength]
His punch connected with a crack.
The goblin was thrown backward, skidding across the ground.
Cheers erupted—short, desperate, and shaky.
Others followed.
A boy with a dagger skill.
A girl whose hands glowed faintly green as she pressed them against an injured classmate's wound, blood slowing almost immediately.
Healing.
Ren watched, stunned.
Skills.
Classes.
Power.
And him—nothing.
The goblin tried to rise but was overwhelmed quickly this time. A final strike crushed its skull, and its body dissolved into gray particles before their eyes.
Silence fell again.
This time, it was heavier.
Someone began to sob.
The dead boy's body didn't disappear.
It stayed there—cold, broken, and unmistakably real.
That was when it truly sank in.
This wasn't a game.
This was a world where people could die.
Ren's chest tightened.
He looked at his empty hands, then at the glowing screens surrounding him.
Power separated them now.
And he was already on the wrong side of that line.
From the edge of the clearing, unseen by most, more rustling echoed through the trees.
Something else was coming.