Newbie Town, Ashen Hollow
People all over the world were still being pulled into Gods' Fallen Sanctum as they slept in the real world. But the population in Ashen Hollow was still only about five to six hundred.
Considering Seoul's population, this number was quite low and the reason for that was that there were billions of Newbie towns throughout GFS, pulling people into them.
An hour had passed since most people woke here. Panic and disbelief had started to settle into grim acceptance.
Many players had already begun forming parties, discussing strategies, and venturing into the forest — only to die and respawn moments later. Some went alone, thinking they could handle it, but soon came crawling back, begging to join a group.
Those who thought themselves clever scoured every corner of town, searching for hidden clues or items that might help them escape. None found anything.
As everyone went about doing their things, a sudden blue screen appeared before every player in Ashen Hollow.
[Congratulations! Ashen Hollow Town Leaderboard has been unlocked.]
"Leaderboard?" someone muttered, blinking at the floating screen.
"Hey! There's a giant blue window in the plaza!" another voice shouted.
Within moments, dozens of players gathered around, eyes wide with curiosity.
[Town: Ashen Hollow – Leaderboard]
[1. Loki – Level 2]
"Whoa… someone actually managed to level up."
"Level 2? How? We've barely even killed a single mob!"
"Must be a pro gamer," said a man confidently. "You know, one of those VRMMO streamers."
A middle-aged woman crossed her arms."Nonsense. You think those gamers who sit around tapping on their keyboards all day can adapt to a real-life situation like this? He's probably a soldier. Look at the name — 'Loki.' Sounds like one of those military codenames."
The gamers around her bristled but held their tongues, seeing as she was an older woman. Every gamer knew — old ladies and gamers were mortal enemies.
"When their party comes back," the woman continued, "I'm going to ask to join them. I even have a rare class! And I'm sure they would not say no to a beauty like me.", said the woman with a smile.
"Lady, look at yourself before saying something like that."
"Which bastard said that!"
The mood lightened. People started smiling, joking, even laughing for the first time.
But soon, someone noticed something odd.
"Wait… why's there only one name?" a young man asked. "If it's a team, shouldn't his party members show up too?"
"Maybe they're lagging behind in EXP," his friend replied. "They'll show up soon. Just wait."
Minutes passed. The crowd lingered. No new names appeared.
Whispers began spreading.
"Could he be… soloing?"
"No way," someone scoffed. "Four people can't even take down one monster, and you're talking about soloing?"
"You've been reading too many manhwa, bro!" another joked, and the plaza burst into laughter.
Then — five bright flashes erupted near the resurrection point. A party of battered players reappeared, panting.
"Fck! Fck!" roared Pete, the tall man at the front. "Where the hell did that giant spider come from!? How the hell are we supposed to kill that thing when we're only Level 1!?"
"It was a level 6 Rare-tier boss!" shouted one of the warriors. "How are we supposed to survive that!?"
"Let's start hunting near the town. it will be slow but safe.", said the other warrior.
"I… I can't do this…" whimpered the priestess, trembling. "There was so much blood…"
No one paid them much attention; death and respawn had already become common sights in town. They had seen multiple people crash out, cry, and then go out again.
Then, the System spoke again.
[Congratulations to Player "Loki" for killing the first Common-tier Boss!]
The plaza erupted into chaos.
"What!?"
"The first boss kill!?"
"Already!?"
Heads snapped toward the leaderboard.
[Town: Ashen Hollow – Leaderboard]
[1. Loki – Level 3]
There was still only one name.
The murmuring stopped. Silence fell.
"Did he… do that alone?"
"That's impossible!"
"This doesn't make sense! He just got to level 2!"
Pete clenched his jaw. "That bastard. He must've stolen our kill!"
"What do you mean?" someone standing near Pete asked.
"We were fighting a common-tier boss!" Pete shouted. "We weakened the boss — then another monster showed up and wiped us! That Loki guy must've swooped in and finished it off from afar and run away before the other boss could catch him!"
"That's right, the boss was one hit away from dying.", said the warrior
Whispers spread like wildfire.
"Kill-stealing?"
"So that's how he's leveling so fast."
"Clever bastard. Why did I not think of that?"
"Coward. How can he do that?"
"Wait, he reached level 3. Is he going to leave now?"
Emotions boiled — anger, envy, confusion, fear.
The once-cheerful town now felt like a pot beginning to boil.
Then, another message appeared.
[Congratulations to Player "Loki" for killing the first Rare-tier Boss!]
Silence.
Even Pete froze.
"Yo..your telling me he killed that giant spider"
Every head turned toward the board again, and it was still the same.
"...Rare-tier?" someone whispered.
"That's… how high even is that tier?"
"He soloed it?"
This time, no one argued.
No one had an explanation or any assumptions.
Only a single question remained — one that hung in the air, heavy and cold.
'Who is Loki?'
The tension finally broke when the leaderboard flickered again, and two new names appeared on the leaderboard.
"Look! Someone got on the leaderboard other than Loki!"
Everyone quickly turned their head to check what kind of amazing person it was.
[Town: Ashen Hollow – Leaderboard]
[1. Loki – Level 4]
[2. Poop Eating Prince – Level 2]
[3. Cultivating Immortal Dragon – Level 2]
Silence again.
Now, everyone had a different question in their minds.
"...Poop Eating Prince?"
A few giggles escaped, followed by laughter — nervous, shaky, but laughter nonetheless.
Amid the chaos and noise, a group of players stood quietly apart — gathered around a young woman watching everything unfold.
Her eyes, cold and calculating, gleamed with quiet amusement.
"Loki…" she murmured, the corners of her lips curving slightly.