The classroom was silent except for the scratching of pens against paper.
Ethan Cole leaned back slightly in his chair, staring down at the exam sheet in front of him. Rows of questions filled the page, each one more annoying than the last.
Calculus.
Of all the subjects, this had to be the one he disliked the most.
The wall clock ticked steadily above the whiteboard.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
The professor paced slowly between the rows of desks, occasionally glancing at students to make sure no one was cheating.
Outside the large windows, the afternoon sun cast warm golden light across the room. A few students near the back looked ready to collapse from stress.
Ethan twirled his pen once before writing another answer.
His expression was calm.
He wasn't the smartest student in the class, but he knew how to stay composed under pressure.
Halfway through the test, Ethan paused.
Something felt… strange.
He glanced up at the clock.
The second hand moved.
Tick.
Then—
It stopped.
Ethan frowned.
The second hand didn't move again.
He blinked.
Maybe the clock battery died.
But then something even stranger happened.
The professor, who had been walking near the front row, suddenly froze mid-step.
Completely still.
Like a statue.
A student near the window had been flipping a page.
That page was now frozen halfway through the air.
Another student had been adjusting their glasses.
Their hand remained suspended near their face.
The entire classroom had stopped moving.
Ethan slowly straightened in his seat.
"…What?"
He waved a hand in front of his eyes.
Everything else was frozen.
The air felt unnaturally quiet.
Even the faint sound of wind outside had disappeared.
Ethan stood up slowly.
His chair scraped the floor loudly in the silent room.
No one reacted.
He walked toward the professor and waved a hand in front of the man's face.
Nothing.
No blinking.
No breathing.
No movement at all.
It was like the entire world had paused.
A chill ran down Ethan's spine.
"Is this some kind of… prank?"
Suddenly—
A soft mechanical sound echoed inside his head.
DING.
Ethan froze.
A faint blue glow appeared in the air in front of him.
Lines of light began forming words.
Like a holographic screen.
His eyes widened.
---
[SYSTEM INTERFACE ACTIVATED]
[Reconnecting to Beta Server…]
[Connection Established.]
---
Ethan stared at the floating blue screen.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
The text continued appearing.
---
[World Simulation: Earth-Beta]
[Status: Suspended]
[Error Detected]
[Reinitializing System Functions…]
---
Ethan rubbed his eyes.
The screen stayed there.
Floating.
Glowing faintly.
"This has to be a hallucination."
Another message appeared.
---
[Scanning Active Players…]
---
A loading bar appeared.
Ethan watched silently as the percentage slowly increased.
10%
27%
46%
73%
98%
Then it stopped.
The screen flickered.
---
[Active Players Found: 1]
---
Ethan blinked.
"Wait… one?"
Another message appeared instantly.
---
[Player Identified]
Name: Ethan Cole
Status: Active
Level: 0
Rank: Unassigned
---
Ethan stared at the screen.
"…Player?"
Before he could process the situation, the system continued.
---
[Warning]
Beta Phase Previously Terminated Due To Mass Player Logout.
Rebooting System For Remaining Active Player.
---
Ethan's heart skipped a beat.
"Mass player… logout?"
More lines appeared.
---
[Global Player Count During Beta Launch: 7,921,334]
[Players Remaining: 1]
---
Ethan slowly looked around the frozen classroom.
"Don't tell me…"
The system responded immediately.
---
[Confirmation]
All other players have exited the simulation.
---
A cold feeling spread through Ethan's chest.
Exited?
Did that mean… dead?
Before he could ask anything else, the screen changed again.
---
[System Authority Transferring.]
[Initializing Survival Protocol.]
---
The blue light brightened.
New panels appeared.
---
[Welcome, Last Player.]
---
Ethan felt his throat go dry.
"Last… player?"
The system continued speaking in emotionless text.
---
[The world simulation will resume shortly.]
[Hidden entities previously restricted will now be released.]
[Survival is recommended.]
---
Ethan felt a sudden wave of unease.
"Hidden… entities?"
Another notification appeared.
---
[Tutorial Quest Generated]
Objective: Survive the First Night
Reward: System Unlock
Failure: Termination
---
Ethan stared at the word Termination.
"Okay… that's not funny anymore."
Suddenly—
The screen flashed red.
---
[WARNING]
Time Suspension Ending In 10 Seconds.
---
A countdown appeared.
10
9
8
Ethan's heartbeat quickened.
"What happens when time restarts?"
The system answered immediately.
---
[Monsters Released.]
---
Ethan's eyes widened.
"…Monsters?"
7
6
5
The classroom suddenly felt much smaller.
4
3
Ethan quickly looked around.
Everyone was still frozen.
But something outside the window moved.
A shadow.
2
Ethan stepped closer to the glass.
Across the street, something crawled along the side of a building.
Something large.
Something with far too many limbs.
1
The system displayed its final message.
---
[Good Luck, Player Ethan Cole.]
---
Time resumed.
The classroom exploded into sound.
Students gasped.
Pens dropped.
The professor stumbled forward.
And outside the window—
Something screamed.
A terrifying, inhuman scream that echoed through the entire city.
Ethan slowly turned toward the window.
His system screen flickered again.
---
[First Monster Detected.]
Level: ???
---
Ethan swallowed.
"…This is going to be a long night."