The First Day
The city buzzed with its usual rhythm—cars honking, street vendors shouting over each other, people walking past with their eyes glued to phones. Seojin stood outside the convenience store, plastic bag in one hand, lost in thought. He was in his mid-20s, sharp-featured with calm, intelligent eyes, the kind of face people tended to remember. A scholarship student with a quiet life, Seojin had always lived in his head more than the real world. Groceries were just a task. Today felt no different. Until it was.
The sky didn't split. There was no warning. Just a strange stillness—as if the air itself forgot how to move. Then the world blinked.
Colors inverted. Space folded. And everything collapsed.
When Seojin opened his eyes, he was lying on damp grass under twin moons. His plastic bag was torn, apples rolled across moss glowing faintly blue. The scent of pine, damp soil, and something sweetly unfamiliar filled the air. Towering trees with bioluminescent leaves formed an endless canopy overhead. Strange animal cries echoed in the distance—melodic and terrifying.
His heart thundered. This wasn't Earth.
[Global Dimensional Merge Complete. Welcome to the New World.]
A translucent window hovered before him, flickering.
[Name: Seojin]
[Level: 1]
[Status: Marked for Observation]
[System Initialization Pending. Survive 24 hours to complete system integration.]
"Observation...?" Seojin muttered. "By who?"
There was no answer.
As night fell, the forest transformed. The trees hissed, vines moved like serpents, and glowing insects pulsed in hypnotic patterns. Seojin moved carefully, driven by instinct and terror. Hunger bit at him. So did the cold. He had no weapon. No shelter. Just his thoughts.
He tried to reason: "Maybe others are somewhere nearby. Maybe everyone's going through the same thing."
But that hope crumbled when a massive shadow moved in the distance. A multi-eyed panther the size of a van prowled near, sniffing the air. Seojin froze.
[System Defense Activated: Divine Protection – Level 1.]
A soft light shimmered around him. The panther stopped, snarled, then turned away. Like it couldn't see—or"feel"—him.
[Effect: Repels monsters and intelligent beings within 1 meter radius. Duration: Passive. Upgradable.]
Seojin gasped, his knees giving out. "T-Thank you. Whatever this is…"
It was a miracle. But a small one.
Because when he took another step, the ground beneath him crumbled.
He fell.
The fall wasn't short. He tumbled through roots, rocks, and twisted vines that tried to grab him mid-air. Then—
Darkness.
He landed hard, pain shooting through his side. The air here was colder. The glow from above barely reached this far. He looked up at the jagged hole he fell from. No way back.
What surrounded him now didn't feel like the rest of the forest. It was ancient. Quiet. Watching.
[Warning: You have entered an Unregistered Zone. System functions may be unstable.]
"What kind of forest is this?" he whispered. But no name came to mind. Nothing appeared in the interface.
Just silence.
His breath misted. The walls pulsed slightly, as if alive. And far in the distance, a faint blue light shimmered—drawing him deeper.
He wasn't just unlucky. He had been dropped into a place even this world didn't recognize. A mystery among mysteries.
And he was utterly alone.
But he stood.
Because the only way was forward.