The moment his finger touched the glowing button, the world went silent.
The sound of rain vanished.
The distant laughter from the frontier disappeared.
Even the wind itself seemed to stop.
For a brief moment, Arin felt as though he had been pulled out of reality and placed somewhere else entirely.
Then the blue screen expanded.
Lines of text flooded his vision faster than he could read.
«PROJECT ELYSIUM ONLINE
FINAL RELEASE VERSION
USER: ARIN VALERIUS
PRIMARY AUTHORITY: PENDING
SOUL SYNCHRONIZATION: COMPLETE
WARNING: USER HAS ENTERED AN UNREGISTERED DIMENSION.
INITIATING ADAPTATION PROTOCOL...»
Arin stood frozen.
The interface was impossibly detailed. Multiple windows appeared around him, each displaying information he didn’t understand.
Maps.
Statistics.
Blueprints.
Entire categories locked behind symbols he couldn’t even recognize.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, fragmented memories stirred.
A game menu.
Friends discussing builds.
Thousands of hours spent grinding.
And yet, every time he tried to focus on those memories, they slipped away.
«STARTER PACKAGE CONFIRMED.
DISTRIBUTING REWARDS...»
A series of notifications appeared one after another.
«PERSONAL INVENTORY UNLOCKED.
BEGINNER SURVIVAL PACK ACQUIRED.
UNIVERSAL TRANSLATION MODULE ACTIVATED.
PLAYER’S GARAGE (LOCKED).
CONSTRUCTION AUTHORITY LEVEL 1 ACQUIRED.
FAMILY REGISTRATION SYSTEM UNLOCKED.
WELCOME BACK, PLAYER.»
"Welcome back?"
The words unsettled him.
Before he could think further, another screen appeared.
«PLEASE OPEN YOUR INVENTORY.»
Almost instinctively, Arin thought about the word.
Inventory.
A translucent window immediately materialized before him.
Inside were several objects arranged neatly in glowing slots.
- Beginner Survival Pack x1
- Emergency Medical Kit x3
- Multi-Tool x1
- Portable Shelter Beacon x1
- Founder’s Ring (Locked)
- Unknown Item (Locked)
His eyes immediately fell upon the Portable Shelter Beacon.
The icon resembled a silver cube.
"Is this... some kind of storage magic?"
No.
Even as he asked the question, he knew that wasn’t right.
Everything about this felt different.
Cleaner.
More precise.
It wasn’t magic pretending to be technology.
It was technology so advanced that it resembled magic.
«WOULD YOU LIKE TO DEPLOY PORTABLE SHELTER?»
He hesitated.
"This isn’t a dream, is it?"
The System remained silent.
Arin looked around the clearing.
No witnesses.
No Hunters.
Just endless forest.
"...Yes."
The silver cube instantly appeared in his hand.
He nearly dropped it.
It was cold to the touch and surprisingly heavy despite fitting comfortably within his palm.
"How—"
Before he could finish speaking, the cube unfolded.
Panels extended outward with mechanical precision.
Blue light erupted from its center.
Arin instinctively shielded his eyes.
The ground trembled.
Trees bent away from the expanding light.
Several birds immediately fled the surrounding forest.
Then, as suddenly as it had begun, everything stopped.
Arin slowly lowered his arm.
And forgot how to breathe.
A house stood before him.
No.
Calling it a house would have been an insult.
It resembled a small cabin crafted from dark metal and polished wood, complete with glass windows and a stone chimney. Warm light spilled from inside, illuminating the clearing around it.
For several seconds, Arin simply stared.
"This..."
He cautiously approached the structure.
The front door slid open automatically.
Arin immediately froze.
"It opens by itself?"
The System responded.
«PORTABLE SHELTER MODEL-01.
FEATURES:
- TWO BEDROOMS
- WATER PURIFICATION
- TEMPERATURE CONTROL
- BASIC SECURITY
- SELF-REPAIR
USER SATISFACTION RATE: 98.4%»
His mind struggled to process what he was seeing.
House Valerius had taken nearly two hundred years to build.
This had appeared in less than ten seconds.
Stepping inside, Arin found himself standing in what appeared to be a living room.
There was furniture.
Bookshelves.
A kitchen.
Even the floor felt warmer beneath his feet.
"This has to be a dream."
He opened a nearby cabinet.
Plates.
Cups.
Utensils.
Everything was real.
Suddenly, a loud growl echoed through the room.
Arin blinked.
"...Right."
He hadn’t eaten since dinner.
As if responding to his thoughts, another notification appeared.
«BEGINNER SURVIVAL PACK MAY NOW BE OPENED.»
"Let’s see what else you’ve got."
The moment he selected the package, several items appeared on a nearby table.
- Preserved Food Supply (30 Days)
- Water Filters x5
- Founder’s Journal Volume I
- 100 Universal Credits
- Beginner Construction Module
Arin picked up the journal first.
Unlike everything else, it looked old.
Its black cover showed signs of wear despite being perfectly preserved.
Across the front, written in silver letters, were the words:
«"To whoever inherits Elysium."»
A strange feeling settled over him.
Slowly, he opened the first page.
The writing was elegant.
«Congratulations on surviving long enough to reach this point.
If you’re reading this, then Project Elysium has successfully crossed dimensions once again.
Unfortunately, this means your situation is probably terrible.
Mine usually was.»
Arin frowned.
"What kind of introduction is that?"
He continued reading.
«First, let me answer the question you’re undoubtedly asking.
No, you’re not crazy.
No, this isn’t magic.
And no, I won’t explain everything immediately.
Where would the fun in that be?»
For some reason, the writing felt oddly familiar.
Almost as if...
No.
That was impossible.
«For now, focus on three things:
Survive.
Protect your family.
Build a home worth returning to.»
Arin’s expression softened.
Protect your family.
For some reason, those words felt more important than the others.
The journal continued:
«Also, if you’re currently homeless, congratulations.
Most Players tend to be.
Thankfully, Project Elysium specializes in solving that particular problem.»
He couldn’t help but laugh.
Whoever had written this had an unusual sense of humor.
A sudden sound from outside immediately put him on guard.
Crunch.
Arin’s smile vanished.
Something was moving through the forest.
Slowly setting the journal aside, he approached one of the windows.
At first, he saw nothing.
Then two massive golden eyes appeared within the darkness.
His blood ran cold.
The creature standing beyond the treeline was easily three meters tall.
Black fur covered its massive body while countless scars ran across its arms and chest. Long claws dug into the earth as it stared directly at the cabin.
Arin immediately recognized it.
A Shadow Bear.
Even children knew what they were.
B-Rank.
Territorial.
Capable of tearing apart trained Hunters.
"What is one doing this close to the frontier?"
The creature took a step forward.
Then another.
Its eyes never left the cabin.
«WARNING.
HOSTILE ENTITY DETECTED.
ACTIVATING BASIC SECURITY SYSTEM.»
A soft mechanical sound echoed from somewhere above.
Panels along the roof shifted.
Arin stared.
"Please tell me that’s not what I think it is."
The System remained silent.
The Shadow Bear let out a deafening roar.
Then charged.
The ground shook beneath its weight.
Trees splintered as it barreled toward the cabin like a living avalanche.
Arin instinctively stepped backward.
"This is bad."
The bear closed the distance in seconds.
Twenty meters.
Fifteen.
Ten.
Then—
Something emerged from the roof.
It resembled a metal cylinder.
Arin blinked.
"No way."
The cylinder rotated toward the charging monster.
«TARGET ACQUIRED.
DEPLOYING DEFENSIVE MEASURE.»
A bright blue beam shot across the clearing.
The Shadow Bear didn’t even have time to react.
One moment it was charging.
The next, it was gone.
Not dead.
Gone.
The entire upper half of its body had simply ceased to exist.
Silence.
The smell of burnt earth filled the air.
Arin slowly looked at the smoking crater where a B-Rank monster had once stood.
Then at the cabin.
Then back at the crater.
"...Excuse me?"
«THREAT ELIMINATED.
SECURITY TURRET AMMUNITION REMAINING: 99%.»
Arin stood motionless for several seconds.
"A B-Rank monster..."
Dead.
Just like that.
A creature capable of destroying small towns had been erased by what appeared to be a glorified house accessory.
His gaze slowly rose toward the night sky.
"What exactly was this game?"
The System remained silent.
Somewhere in the distance, monsters that had heard the Shadow Bear’s final roar quietly decided to hunt somewhere else tonight.
Back in the frontier, several Hunters suddenly stopped what they were doing.
"Did you feel that?"
"Feel what?"
"That mana surge."
"It came from the forest."
One of the older Hunters slowly lowered his drink.
"No."
His expression had gone pale.
"That wasn’t mana."
Miles away, within the Grand Hall of House Valerius, Duke Cedric suddenly looked toward the northern horizon.
For the briefest moment, he had felt something.
Something ancient.
Something that absolutely did not belong in their world.
And for reasons he couldn’t explain, he found himself thinking of the son he had exiled only hours earlier.
Meanwhile, Arin remained standing in the middle of the cabin, staring at the System notification that had just appeared.
«FIRST HOSTILE ELIMINATED.
BONUS REWARD AVAILABLE.
PLAYER’S GARAGE AUTHORITY HAS REACHED MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO UNLOCK YOUR FIRST VEHICLE?»