Episode 1 – The Beginning After the Collapse
Part 1
The last thing Aren remembered was the sound of a gunshot.
A burning pain shot through his head, and everything went black.
The last image into his memory was Ethan's cold smirk as he pulled the trigger.
And then silence.
But when Aren opened his eyes again, the world was no longer the same.
The sky itself looked broken, as if it had been cracked open. Strange lines stretched across the sky, From those cracks, giant winged creatures flew, their cries shaking the air. On the ground, monsters crawled over ruined buildings, their shapes twisted and unnatural.
The air was heavy and smelled of smoke.
Cars were flipped over, trees were dead, and in the distance, Aren could hear inhuman roars.
He slowly got up, his hand going to the place where the bullet had hit.
No blood.
No wound.
It was as if he had never been shot at all.
Confused and shaking, Aren muttered, "What… what is this place and where i am , how do i survived the shot?"
And then it happened.
[Initializing Task Manager...]
[User recognized: Aren.]
[First Task: Survive the First Hour.]
Reward: System Access.
Failure: Death.
The glowing words floated in front of his eyes, as clear as reality. A calm, robotic voice followed in his head:
Task Manager activated.
Aren froze.
"What… the hell is this? A system? Like in games?"
Before he could think more, a low growl came from nearby.
From the ruins of a collapsed shopping mall, something crawled out.
It was taller than a man, its skin pale gray, Its mouth stretched unnaturally wide, with rows of jagged teeth. Blood dripped from its lips
Aren realized it had just eaten a human body.
The floating text appeared again.
[Enemy Detected: Garl Beast]
Strength: Fast
Weakness: Back of the neck
Aren's heart pounded in fear.
This was more than a nightmare for him.
His eyes darted around desperately, until he spotted a rusted metal pipe on the ground. With shaking hands, he picked it up. It was heavy, but it was the only weapon he had.
The beast roared and charged. Its claws scraped against the ground as it rushed straight for him.
At the last second, Aren remembered the message weakness: back of the neck.
He threw himself sideways, barely dodging the monster's swipe. The beast stumbled forward, and Aren gritted his teeth, running behind it. With every ounce of strength in his body, he slammed the pipe into the back of its head.
CRACK!
The creature shrieked in pain and collapsed, on the ground before falling completely.
The Garl Beast's body slowly melted into black smoke. Aren stepped back in shock, covering his nose from the strange smell. When the smoke cleared, only one thing was left on the ground.
A sharp white fang.
It was long as his finger, slightly curved, and the tip looked so sharp it could easily cut skin. Aren picked it up carefully. The surface was rough, but strong, much stronger than any knife he had ever held before.
[Reward Obtained: Gnarl Fang]
The Task Manager's voice echoed in his head.
"This is from the beast…" Aren whispered. He ran his thumb across the edge and pulled back quickly. A small cut appeared on his skin, a drop of blood sliding down.
"It's too much sharp."
He stared at the fang. Unlike the rusted pipe, this felt like a real weapon. It was light enough to swing, but hard enough to pierce. A natural knife, from a monster.
For the first time, Aren felt a little safer.
Not strong yet but safer.
"…Did I just… kill that thing?"
Before he could recover, new messages appeared.
[World Notice: Earth has merged with the Domain.]
Species Hierarchy Established and Humans are on the Lowest Rank.
Aren's face went pale.
Humans… the lowest rank?
"…So we are the prey now," he whispered.
He noticed an icon called Guide inside the Task Manager. When he opened it, dozens of shadowy pictures appeared monsters, species, and creatures. But almost all of them were locked. Only one was available.
Garl Beast.
That was the thing he had just killed.
He clicked it to see the information of it.
[Garl Beast: A low-rank predator species. It walks on two legs like humans but is no longer human. Its skin is pale gray, rough like stone, The mouth is unnaturally wide, filled with jagged teeth made for tearing flesh. It is fast, hunting humans for food.
Weak point: the back of the neck.]
[Special Drop: Garl Fang. This is the beast's strongest tooth, harder than steel. It can be used as a weapon or kept to craft stronger items in the future.]
Clutching the pipe tightly, Aren forced himself to move. He was in the countryside, surrounded by ruined buildings. Carefully, he explored a nearby shop. Inside, he found some food, a few bottles of water, and a backpack.
"Food, water, weapon… I need these to survive," he muttered to himself.
His heart ached when he saw dead bodies crushed under rubble. Money scattered across the floor completely useless now. Aren picked up only what mattered.
He found an empty house nearby that was still standing. He checked each room, searching for useful things. Inside, he found a small kitchen knife and some tools. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.
He decided to stay there for the night.
[Video Unlocked: Last Moments of Collapse.]
The system suddenly played a recording in front of him.
Aren watched as the moment of his death replayed. Ethan pulled the trigger. But before the bullet hit him, the sky tore apart, and a massive planet appeared above Earth. It crashed into reality, merging the two worlds. From the cracks, the monsters poured out, attacking and devouring humans.
In the vision, Aren saw Ethan survive somehow, standing tall while others died around him. But the video cut off before it showed how.
Aren clenched his fists.
"Ethan…"
Later, another message appeared.
[Daily Task Assigned.]
Task: 100 Push-Ups.
Reward: Strength +1
Failure: Two creatures will be summoned.
Aren's jaw dropped.
"What kind of punishment is that?!"
Still, he had no choice. His body was weak, but he forced himself down on the ground. as he pushed his body up and down, again and again. His arms shook, his chest burned, but he gritted his teeth.
"...One… two… come on… don't stop…"
After endless struggle, he finally reached one hundred. His arms collapsed under him, but the system chimed:
[Task Completed.]
Reward Claimed: Strength +1
His body feels a little bit stronger than past.
He stand up and blocked the door with chairs and furniture, then turned off the light and tried to rest. The silence of the night was heavy, broken only by the distant cries of monsters.
But after an hour, Aren's eyes shot open.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Footsteps.
Slow. Heavy.
Getting closer.
Aren gripped his knife tightly, his heart pounding.
The footsteps grew louder and louder until
CRASH!
The door broke open.
A creature stepped inside, its shadow covering the room. Its breathing was low and beastly, as if it was sniffing for prey he can't he see because he has no eyes but he can smell so good.
Aren's whole body froze. He crawled quietly under the bed, holding his breath. The creature's footsteps echoed as it moved around the room. For a moment, it seemed like it was leaving.
Relief washed over him
CLANG!
His head accidentally hit the bedframe. The sound echoed.
The creature stopped. Slowly, its head turned. Then it bent down, he has no eyes
Aren's blood ran cold.
[Enemy Detected: The Sniffer ]
[The Sniffer is a night hunter. It has no eyes, only empty sockets where eyes should be. Instead, it uses its nose to track even the smallest scent. Its long arms almost touch the ground, and its fingers are sharp like claws. Its skin is thin and stretched, making its ribs and bones clearly visible. It moves slowly, but once it catches a human's scent, it never lets go]
[Weakness : Heart, hidden beneath its thin chest.]
To Be Continued…