Chapter 3: Okay, The Apocalypse Might Be My Fault

Leon was grateful to the world for not sending him into that dungeon again, as he slept soundly through the night without incident. But he didn’t exactly have the mood to interact with people yet, so he decided to call in sick for the day. Fortunately, the previous Leon had been a hardworking student and was also at the top of his class... at least theory-wise, so the leave was granted without much issue. ’Looks like my intelligence followed me here.’ One thing Leon had always been proud of was his insatiable curiosity for the unknown and the intelligence to back it up. Of course, that intelligence only came in handy for theory-related things. That same drive and knowledge were how he had managed to create the entire game by himself in the first place. His friends had only joined in the later stages when they realized there was actual potential in what he was building. Before that, it had been just him—one man, one project, and a dream stitched together with caffeine and despair. Leon spent the entire morning adjusting to the fact that he was now living in a world completely different from the one he’d grown up in and, surprisingly, it wasn’t that hard. After all, it wasn’t like he had strong emotional ties to his previous life. No family he was close to. No friends he still hung out with. He had already planned to travel the world alone anyway. So waking up in a new one—especially a world he had personally designed—wasn’t something that scared him too much. In fact, it felt oddly fitting. Though admittedly, the real motivation behind his current stability of mind came from the idea that he could now meet the very characters he’d created, the female leads who had once only existed in concept art and animations. Just the thought of building a harem with them was keeping his sanity from cracking. After all, his reincarnation wasn’t exactly peaceful or pleasant. The very first day had killed him and dumped more pain on his soul than he had ever experienced back on Earth. Heck, he had technically died twice already... thrice if he counted the original Leon’s death too. So yeah, he figured he deserved a break. He needed time to come to terms with everything, so he stayed holed up in his dorm, treating himself to a proper breakfast and giving his mind the time it needed to settle down. Luckily, the dorm was high-quality. Not only did it come with soundproof walls—which meant no one heard his screaming from last night—but it was also fitted with advanced monitoring equipment that tracked life signs and vital status. Since most of the pain he experienced was phantom rather than physical, the detectors hadn’t picked anything up. And that was a blessing. In this world, men were rare. The virus from two hundred years ago had wiped out a large portion of the population and for some reason, it targeted males far more than females. To make things worse, the male infection rate was still slowly increasing. That’s why the government and all major academies had implemented strict measures to protect the remaining men, especially those with high potential. The higher your rank, the better your body’s resistance to the virus became. That resistance was also passed on to your children, which made powerful male Awakened individuals incredibly valuable. Naturally, this led to a female-dominant society where women took charge of almost every major role—including the defense of cities and the frontlines of battle. Leon was currently enrolled in Starlink Academy, located in the Falcon Sector. It was one of the top ten academies on the Western Continent and known for nurturing a massive number of Awakened warriors who stood against the endless tide of Abyssal Beasts that plagued Earth. He stared at his laptop as he skimmed through page after page of information, cross-referencing everything he saw with the knowledge he remembered from the game. He wanted to make sure nothing had changed. To his surprise, even the tiniest of details remained the same. That brought him a strange sense of relief. Because while he knew the butterfly effect would eventually kick in and change the world’s trajectory, for now, he had a distinct advantage—one he could use. There were people he could save. Routes he could adjust. Enemies he could avoid. And, most importantly, strength he could obtain far earlier than anyone else. "This world is so fucked," he muttered with a tired groan, rubbing the bridge of his nose. As the developer of the game, he knew just how deep the corruption ran in this post-apocalyptic, modern-fantasy nightmare. The design he had once treated as exciting worldbuilding now sat heavy in his chest, knowing he had to actually live through it. The survival odds? Very low. And to top it all off, he had sold the game years before the planned ending. That meant he had no idea what would happen in the long run or if the world even had a future. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became with himself. If he had known he would end up here, he would’ve just made a lighthearted dating sim instead. No monsters. No death. Just romance and comedy. "Wait... I did focus a lot on the waifus, so maybe this can still count as one?" he muttered, a small grin forming on his lips. "God, they’re amazing..." His mood improved just thinking about the characters he’d crafted with care—their designs, their personalities, their struggles. It was the only thing that kept his heart light amidst the chaos. Even if the world was a dead end, he still wanted to explore it. That desire hadn’t changed. He lightly slapped his cheeks and whispered to himself, "Alright, enough whining. You’ve always wanted adventure, and now the world’s finally given it to you. Sure, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows, but nothing good ever comes for free. If I want a harem of beautiful women adventuring with me, then I gotta make sure this world survives." This wasn’t the first time he had faced something overwhelming, and it wouldn’t be the last. Fear or not, he was determined to live this life his way. "Time to make plans for the future. I need to get stronger as quickly as I can. And the best option is... that dungeon." Just thinking about it made him shiver. The pain he experienced from dying there was something he never wanted to go through again. But he also understood now. Somehow, the SSS-Rank Dungeon had become bound to him. He suspected that his soul was the core, the anchor. And the dungeon activated when he fell asleep. The mechanics seemed identical to how he had designed them in the game. Inside, he could hunt monsters, gain EXP, collect rare ingredients, and obtain powerful rewards. But there was a cost. If he died inside the dungeon, he would feel all the pain he would normally experience in that scenario. And since he wouldn’t actually die, the pain would last until it faded away naturally...meaning it would hit far harder and longer than anything in real life. Still, to Leon, that was a fair trade. Strength wasn’t supposed to come easily. And this pain was just another tax for the power he could earn. Besides, all he had to do was not die. He didn’t believe death was the only way out of the dungeon, either. There had to be other exits or conditions that allowed him to leave. ’If sleeping sends me into the dungeon, then maybe waking up normally in the morning pulls me out? Even if not, I know there’s a time limit. There always was.’ If the dungeon followed the rules he had programmed, it would definitely have a duration cap. He wasn’t trapped permanently. He had simply been unlucky on his first day, waking up next to a boss monster before he even understood where he was. The one good thing that came from that experience? He had gained something. His lips curled upward as he remembered the red orb. He whispered under his breath, "Status." A soft ding echoed in the air, and a blue hologram flickered into view. ... [SYSTEM INTERFACE] Host: Leon Walker Age: 19 Level: 04 (Tier 1 – Initiate) Rank: Beginner Race: Mutant Bloodline: — Talent: Grade 4 Affinity: — Status: Stable Skills: Passive: — Active: Sprint Boost, Iron Skin Inventory: Energy Orb (Level 7) ×1 Dungeon Access Status: Awakened (Bound) Core Name: ****** Current Zone: Floor 1 – Meadows of Salar Time Flow: 1:1 (1 day inside = 1 day outside) Sync Rate: 1% Next Evolution: Unlocks Skill Stones ...