"Am I dead?"
Lucien felt as if he were drifting through a dark void.
"I feel so light… Is this what death feels like?"
As he floated through the darkness, voices he couldn't make sense of began echoing in his mind. It was as if dozens of memories were being replayed all at once—each one desperately trying to remind him that he had lived.
He saw himself playing games of every genre. Sometimes alone, sometimes sitting side by side with friends on the same couch, laughing together.
"Damn it… Is this really all my life amounts to? When I look back at my entire life, are there only games?"
He smiled faintly. He knew himself well—this wasn't necessarily a bad thing for him.
"Cold… and wet. So this is what dying feels like?"
As these thoughts crossed his mind, he began to hear screams and loud noises.
"So noisy… I guess I'm going to hell for wasting my life."
Suddenly, a powerful impact slammed into his body, jolting him violently.
It had started to rain. As the raindrops struck his face, he slowly came back to his senses and opened his eyes.
"Didn't I die? But I clearly remember falling…"
The moment he opened his eyes, he froze in shock once again. Floating in the air before him was a nearly transparent screen, set against a dark purple background, filled with golden letters.
"Am I dreaming?"
"Congratulations. You have fulfilled the requirements to become a Genre Master. (Accept)"
"What am I supposed to do?"
Lucien rubbed his eyes, but the translucent screen remained. Unsure of what else to do, he said, "Accept."
The screen instantly changed.
Player: Lucien HistrioPlayer Level: Tutorial PlayerHP: 100 / 100MP: 0 / 0STR: 4VIT: 5AGI: 10INT: 8(NEXT)
Lucien stared at the screen in confusion.
"What the hell is a Tutorial Player?"
He moved on to the next page.
"Welcome to the Arena of Genre – Training Level."Quest Difficulty: CObjective: Survive for 24 hours or defeat the Gatekeeper.Rewards: Level increase, access to story quests, surprise rewards.
None of it made any sense. Just minutes ago, he had fallen from the school rooftop—and now he was seeing this.
Where is everyone? Why hasn't anyone come to help? Why isn't anyone filming this on their phones or screaming?
Even though it should have been break time, an unnatural silence filled the area.
Lucien looked back at the screen.
"Time remaining to survive: 19 hours."
"Nineteen hours? If the timer started right after I fell, does that mean I've been unconscious for five hours? Then where is everyone? Why did no one come to help me?"
He stood up to look for someone and began walking toward the school building.
After taking only a few steps inside, the school doors slammed shut behind him. Another screen appeared.
Tutorial DungeonDifficulty: CObjective: Survive until the tutorial quest ends or defeat the dungeon boss.Rewards: Dungeon key, surprise rewards.
As Lucien looked around, he realized the horrifying truth. The area was covered in blood—yet there were no bodies. It was as if everyone had vanished in an instant.
While trying to understand what was happening, he heard loud noises and running footsteps coming from the far end of the corridor.
Not knowing what else to do, he grabbed a nearby umbrella and hid behind a locker, watching silently.
Two female students came running down the hallway, fleeing from something.
Chasing them were creatures about sixty centimeters tall, with dark green skin and huge eyes. They wore clothes made of worn-out fabric and carried weapon-like objects that looked as if they had been torn from school supplies.
"Goblins? Real goblins? How is that possible?"
Before Lucien could fully process what he was seeing, one of the girls tripped and fell. She cried out to her friend for help—but her friend didn't even look back.
"I'm sorry… please forgive me. I'm sorry! I'm just a Forced Player—I can't beat them. I'm sorry!"
The second girl ran away without stopping.
Lucien couldn't believe what he had just seen or heard.
"Forced Player…"
He didn't know what it meant yet—but he knew one thing for certain.
The answers he was looking for were with that girl.
And a few trash-tier goblins wouldn't be a problem for an experienced gamer like him.
Lucien tightened his grip on the umbrella. It wasn't very sturdy, but it would do for now.
Another screen appeared.
Side Quest: Fallen GirlObjective: Rescue the fallen girl from the goblin hunters.Rewards: Story information, surprise rewards.Time Remaining: 5 minutes