Chapter 3: Golden Hell (2)

Mission 001: Survive the Golden Hell Description: There are approximately 7 billion people currently living on Earth. This is a mass elimination process. For the next seven days, monsters from the First Floor of Hell, The Forsaken Wastes, will roam freely across the planet. On the seventh day, a Boss Monster will appear. If the boss is not defeated, the entire region will be penalized. Penalty:Instant Death ~Tips for Players~ - Hunt to Grow Stronger - Team Up for Efficiency - Synergize with Your New Class - Weaponize the Forsaken - Adapt & Evolve The golden message flashed before our eyes, exploding in shimmering fireworks. The words floated in midair, impossible to ignore. A sense of suffocating dread settled over us as realization sank in. My mother reacted first. "Ye-Jun! Lock the doors and push the sofas against them. Now." Her voice cut through the shock like a blade. Without hesitation, I rushed to barricade the apartment’s entrance. She swiftly locked the balcony’s grill doors and pulled the curtains shut, sealing us in. "Guys... We’re not actually seeing this, right?" Ye-Rin’s voice wavered as she pointed at the television. But the live broadcast on the news proved otherwise. The aerial footage from a helicopter showed Seoul in absolute chaos. The streets were overrun. Wraiths drifted between cars, their smoky bodies lunging at anything alive. Shadow Wolves pounced on civilians, their glowing red eyes flashing as they tore into flesh. Golems smashed through buildings, their stone limbs leaving craters in the pavement. Spider-Monkeys skittered across rooftops, snatching people into the shadows. Giant Mantises severed limbs with brutal efficiency. Fanged Bats swooped down, dragging people into the sky—only to drop them from lethal heights. On the ground, police and military forces fought desperately. Gunfire rattled, but it did little against the monsters. A squad of soldiers unloaded their rifles into a hulking wraith, only for it to phase through the bullets and consume them whole. The camera zoomed in on a girl trapped under a wolf’s claws, screaming. Her cries were cut short as its jaws snapped shut around her throat. Blood splattered across the pavement. The helicopter’s camera shook violently. The last image before the feed cut off was a flock of fanged bats swarming towards the aircraft. I fumbled for the remote, my hands trembling, and shut off the TV. The silence in the room was deafening. "That’s..." Ye-Rin swallowed hard. "That’s insane." "Yeah. No way this is real... but it is." Ye-Rin grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and took shaky sips, her lips trembling. My mother, in contrast, remained eerily calm—too calm. Then, the screams from outside started. I rushed to Ye-Rin’s room and peeked through the window. Below, near the beach, giant crabs crawled out of the water, their massive pincers crushing tourists. The streets were filled with shadow wolves, their howls blending with human screams. A man tried to hide in his car, but before he could lock the doors, a Giant Mantiscrushed the vehicle like paper, silencing him instantly. Thank God, we reached in our apartment at the right time. Then came the sound of shattering glass. From the dining hall. My stomach twisted with fear. No. Then, a piercing scream. "G-Get off me! Help! Get it off!" I sprinted back to the living room. Ye-Rin was pinned to the floor. A Fanged Bat had her lower torso trapped beneath its hind legs, its jaw snapping inches from her throat. She held it back with both hands, pushing against its mouth, her face contorted in sheer terror. The bat screeched, its wings flaring wide. I didn’t hesitate. I grabbed the nearest chair and slammed it down on its head. Crack. The chair shattered into pieces. The impact stunned the bat just long enough for Ye-Rin to wiggle free. I grabbed her wrist and yanked her behind me. I picked up a large shard of wood from the broken chair and took a defensive stance. The bat shook its head, then fixed its glowing red eyes on us.It let out an ear-splitting screech. "Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh! Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!" The noise became unbearable. My ears throbbed in pain. A sharp, drilling sensation pierced into my brain. And then— A scythe plunged through the bat’s heart. It slid upwards, splitting the creature clean in half. Blood exploded across the floor in a thick, chaotic spray. My mother stood in the middle of it, completely soaked in crimson. Her expression remained unshaken. The lifeless halves of the bat dropped to the floor. The scythe in her hands was massive—a dark, sinister weapon that looked like it had been pulled straight from a nightmare. She turned to us. "Are you both alright?" Ye-Rin didn’t answer. Instead, she collapsed into mother’s arms, trembling. Tears streamed down her face. "I-I was so scared..." Mother held her close, stroking her hair. "It’s alright. You’re safe now." Outside, night had taken over. I turned to mother. "Where the hell did that giant scythe come from?" She casually wiped some of the blood off her face. "Oh, this?" She twirled the weapon once before it vanished into thin air. "It’s from my class." She flicked her fingers, and a blue windowappeared in front of us. Shin Mi-Sun Race: Human | Age:56 Nature: Bloody Eyes Class:Priestess of the Dead Sub-Class: (Unlocks after Mission 5) Title: (Unlocks after Subclass) Level: 001 Strength:004 HP:009 Agility: 008 Mana:023 Stamina: 006 ~Priestess of the Dead~ • Can use False Healing, draining enemies’ **life force to heal. • Can summon oneweapon. (Selected: Dark Scythe [D-]) • More skills unlock through leveling. Dark Scythe [D-] A jagged obsidian blade glows faintly red. Its handle is wrapped in blackened leather and an eerie mist seeps from its surface. Draining Slice:Recovers stamina per hit. Requiem Strike:Instant-kill if enemy is stunned. (Cooldown: 5 min) Mother smirked. "See? This system is just like those games you always stream." "...You actually watch my streams?" "You should check your own profile window." She avoided my question.Didn’t she. Name: Shin Ye-Jun Race: Human Age: 26 Nature: Primal Guardian Class: Druid Sub-Class: (Unlocks after Mission 5) Title: (Unlocks after Sub-class) Level: 001 Strength:006 Agility: 003 Stamina: 005 HP: 018 Mana:018 Class: Druid -You can tame one animal or beast of your choice as your companion. -You can evolve your companion with different methods (Increase likability or feeding Magic Crystals). -You can Wild Shape into your tamed species. -You can summon a weapon of your choice. Notes: -(Your target animal or beast should agree to be tamed by you.) -(Tamed beasts can be summoned anywhere, anytime.) -(They will obey any command of the Player.) -(You can not Wild Shape more than once in 24 hours.) -(You will receive only 20% of statsafter Wild Shape into your tamed species.) Weapon Selection: Ye-Jun’s Choice As soon as Ye-Jun selected his weapon, the system displayed the result: You have picked your weapon: "Wooden Staff: Ashenroad [E-]" -(More durable than regular wood. Doesn’t catch on fire.) Description: Ashenroad, a long handle with a 6-inch diameter spiral tip. It is dark, slightly charred, and gives off an ashen-grey appearance with a rough texture. Looking at the staff in his hands, Ye-Jun’s face twitched. "What am I supposed to do with this? Smack giant mantises and shadow wolves?" Frustration kicked in. Unlike his mother, who had a badass Dark Scythe, and Ye-Rin, who somehow lucked out with a gold-tier weapon, he got... a basic wooden staff. His mother gave him a knowing smile. "Well, you got unlucky with the cards. All of them were bronze-colored. Mine had two bronze and one silver." Before Ye-Jun could complain more, his mother turned toward Ye-Rin. "Ye-Rin, pick the left one. It’s a gold color." "Sure, Mom. Thanks." The moment Ye-Rin tapped her card, a giant double-sided axe appeared, its wingspan equal to her torso. Ye-Jun stared in disbelief. "What the hell is her luck? First, she gets a platinum-tier class selection, and now she picks a gold-tier weapon?" Ye-Rin, still shaken, suddenly froze. I frowned. "What’s wrong?" She stared at her screen. Her face turned pale. Then— A deafening thunderclap shook the city. The night sky ripped open, revealing a lightning blue portal above Gwangbong Beach. The monsters fled in terror. The wind howled. Ye-Rin’s voice trembled. "...I fucked up."