The city of Jakarta, nestled beneath the shimmering golden dome of the Safe Zone, was a visual paradox—a sight so surreal it could crush the sanity of anyone still possessing a shred of human awareness. Arlan stepped slowly along the asphalt of Sudirman, which was now littered with dry hay and horse manure. He let his eyes record the madness unfolding before him. On one side, he could still see the concrete storefronts he recognized—places where he used to buy mobile credit or simply sip coffee in the late afternoon—but their signs had undergone a grotesque mutation.
The modern neon lights that once vibrated with color had transformed into crude, Gothic-style wooden carvings, weathered and overgrown with moss. A sign reading "The Traveler's Alehouse" stood firmly where a franchised minimarket used to be, its glass windows shattered and replaced by heavy timber. Nearby, a shop labeled "Pak Haji's Armor Emporium" now occupied the space of a once-busy mobile phone repair stall. Reality was being forcibly dragged back into a dark age, yet one infused with an incomprehensible, magical technology.
On the sidewalks, the scene was even more harrowing for the human psyche. People walked to and fro with stiff, mechanical movements, their gait so identical it seemed as if they were puppets controlled by invisible, celestial strings. Arlan watched a middle-aged woman who stood by a window, continuously wiping the same pane of glass over and over with a tattered rag. Her eyes were hollow, vacant, and utterly devoid of emotion. They were no longer the neighbors or citizens of Jakarta he knew; they were merely animated scripts on a loop, trapped in the bland, repetitive logic of a Non-Player Character (NPC).
"Mom... wait here for a moment," Arlan said softly as they reached a massive stone fountain that had recently manifested in the middle of the road.
Even though he knew his mother wouldn't truly respond—she was simply staring at the water with a blank gaze—Arlan felt the need to speak, if only to preserve the last remnants of his own humanity. The fountain had once been a small decorative pond in front of a grand mall. Now, the water was no longer murky from urban pollution; instead, it glowed with a crystalline, translucent blue—Mana Water. Even the air had changed completely. The suffocating stench of exhaust fumes had vanished, replaced by the scent of damp earth and a sharp, metallic tang of magical energy, reminiscent of the smell of ozone before a massive storm.
Arlan began to scout the streets, trying to suppress the cold dread crawling up the back of his neck. His mind raced, dissecting every inch of his memories from years spent staring at computer monitors. As a hardcore player, he knew one fundamental truth: every game world has its own set of rules.
If this truly is a real-world version of Darkness Tale Online, the core logic must be the same, he thought, clenching his hand until his gauntlet creaked. Every starter town has a central information hub. The system wouldn't leave new players entirely blind. There has to be a way to restore Mom's consciousness, or at least find items to protect her.
His eyes narrowed, scanning every corner of the buildings now choked by glowing blue neon tree roots piercing through the concrete. In front of a bank whose marble pillars had cracked and weathered, he saw something unmistakable. A large, rustic wooden board stood firmly on the sidewalk. Floating above it was a spinning gold question mark icon, emitting a faint humming sound that only Arlan's ears—the ears of a "Player"—could hear.
[ Quest Board: Jakarta Sector — Central District ]
Arlan approached with cautious steps. Several sheets of ancient-looking parchment were pinned to the board, looking starkly out of place against the flickering, broken LED screen of the building behind it. As his fingers touched a piece of parchment with charred edges, a transparent system window appeared with a chime so familiar it sent a shiver down his spine.
[ Available Quest: Resident Residency Permit ]
- Objective: Secure one "Safe House" unit for non-combat citizens.
- Requirement: 10x Essence of Wood (obtained by slaying Treants outside the gates) & 500 Gold.
- Reward: Level 1 Apartment Key (Anti-Monster Zone), 100 XP, and City Reputation +5.
"So, even to have a roof over my head, I have to grind," Arlan muttered with a cynical smirk. A bitter smile tugged at his pale lips. This world had truly become a prison that forced its inhabitants to play—or die in the void.
He glanced back at his mother. She looked utterly lost, attempting to speak to a bank security guard who stood rigidly near the entrance. But the guard was no longer a normal human. He wore thick leather armor and gripped a wooden spear with a razor-sharp tip. Above his head floated green text: [ Guardian Guard — Level 10 ]. The guard answered Arlan's mother with a flat, pre-programmed sentence, devoid of any empathy.
Arlan then shifted his gaze to another section of the mission board. His eyes widened as he noticed a notice that stood out because of its sheer irregularity. This paper was not the smooth parchment provided by the system. Its edges were jagged and torn, as if ripped forcibly from a notebook, and the writing was not the rigid system font. It was the frantic, handwritten scrawl of a human—full of pressure, desperation, and raw emotion.
"To anyone who still possesses awareness (Players) and is NOT an NPC: Gather at the ground floor of Grand Indonesia at 22:00. We need to talk about how to escape this madness. — Nickname: Shadow_Slayer."
Arlan's blood seemed to stop flowing for a split second. Shadow_Slayer. He knew that name all too well. He was the leader of the Eclipse Guild, Arlan's fiercest rival in Darkness Tale Online. He was a top-tier player known for being cold, ambitious, and utterly ruthless—a man who wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice anyone to win. His presence here meant only one thing: Jakarta would not be a peaceful place for a solo player.
"He's here too..." Arlan clenched his fist until his knuckles turned white. Shadow_Slayer's presence meant that the competition for resources in Jakarta would be bloody and unforgiving.
A difficult choice now pressed down on Arlan. If he headed out of the city gates immediately to hunt Treants for the Essence of Wood, he could secure a decent place for his mother before nightfall—when the city's temperature might turn lethal for low-level NPCs. However, if he missed the gathering at Grand Indonesia, he would lose crucial information about what was actually happening to reality and what dark schemes Shadow_Slayer might be planning next.
Arlan stared at his mother, who was still wandering aimlessly around the fountain, then he touched the hilt of the steel sword at his waist. Telecommunications might be dead in this world, but his survival instinct as a top-ranked player had just flared to life under a burning surge of adrenaline.
"Hold on just a little longer, Mom," he whispered, his voice deep and full of resolve. "I won't let us become mere background extras or trash data in this insane world."
Arlan turned on his heel, staring toward the city gates that separated the protective golden light from the concrete jungle now infested with monsters. He had to become strong, and he had to do it now. The wooden board was more than just a quest-giver; to him, it was a declaration of war against the system that had stolen his world.
With a steady step, Arlan began to walk toward the outer boundary of the Safe Zone. Behind him, the static violet sky of Jakarta seemed to mock a dying humanity, but Arlan didn't care. He was AzureBound, and if this world wanted to be a game, he would play it better than anyone else.
[ STATUS WINDOW - AZUREBOUND ]
- Name: Arlan (ID: AzureBound)
- Job Class: Sword Magician (Base Class)
- Level: 2 (Exp: 5%)
- Mana: 350 / 350
- Active Quest: Resident Residency Permit (Status: In Progress)
- Key Item: Beginner's Steel Sword (Durability: 100/100)