The pod’s interior was surprisingly comfortable.
A padded seat supported Seojun’s back, while a series of sensors adjusted around his head and temples.
Soft lights illuminated the inside of the machine as a technician checked the connection.
“Contestant JunX, please remain still while we initialize the immersion system.”
Seojun nodded.
The transparent canopy lowered over him.
Outside, the noise of the arena became muffled.
Then the announcer spoke one final time.
“Contestants, prepare for immersion!”
A calm synthetic voice sounded through Seojun’s earpiece.
[Immersion Link Established.]
[Initializing Connection to Immersia: Kingdoms & Hellgates.]
A faint vibration traveled through the seat as the system synchronized with his neural interface.
Seojun felt a strange sensation, as if the boundaries between his body and the machine were gradually disappearing.
Then everything went dark.
For a brief moment, there was nothing.
No sound.
No movement.
No sensation of the seat beneath him.
Then light flooded his vision.
Seojun opened his eyes.
He was standing in a vast white space that stretched endlessly in every direction.
There was no visible floor beneath his feet, yet he stood perfectly still, as though gravity itself had decided to make an exception.
A translucent panel appeared in front of him.
[WELCOME TO IMMERSIA.]
[CHARACTER CREATION.]
Seojun raised an eyebrow.
“Well… that’s simple enough.”
Another notification appeared.
[Streaming Connection Established.]
[Viewer Chat Enabled.]
A familiar translucent window materialized beside his vision.
Messages immediately began pouring in.
Viewer1: JUNX WE CAN SEE YOU!
Viewer2: YO, THE CHARACTER CREATOR LOOKS INSANE.
Viewer3: MAKE THE UGLIEST CHARACTER POSSIBLE.
Viewer4: DON’T MESS UP YOUR STATS BRO.
Seojun chuckled.
“Relax. I haven’t even figured out what half these menus do yet.”
The interface expanded.
Dozens of customization options appeared around him, covering everything from facial structure and body proportions to hairstyles, scars, eye color, and minute physical details.
It was far more comprehensive than the character creators he’d seen in most games.
He reached toward one of the floating panels.
Before his fingers could touch it, the interface shifted.
[AI CUSTOMIZATION ACTIVE.]
[Your character will adapt to your brainwaves. Visualize your desired appearance to begin.]
Seojun blinked.
“Wait. My brain does all the work?”
He concentrated on his usual appearance.
The system responded immediately.
His virtual body adjusted.
His hair changed to match his preferred style, while his facial features shifted toward the appearance he had imagined.
He looked down at himself.
Then he turned his head from side to side.
“Okay. That’s actually kind of creepy.”
The chat went wild.
Viewer1: BRO IS LIVING IN THE FUTURE.
Viewer2: HIS BRAIN IS LITERALLY MAKING HIS CHARACTER.
Viewer3: JUNX THINK OF SOMETHING STUPID.
Seojun grinned.
“Imagine needing to click through a hundred menus when I can just think about what I want.”
A familiar voice entered the system’s communication channel.
“JunX, can you hear me?”
Seojun’s expression immediately soured.
“Unfortunately.”
Luma laughed.
“Good. Chat is already telling me to sabotage you.”
“Tell them to get in line.”
“Wow. You’re really going to treat your best friend like that?”
“You tripped me on a staircase twenty minutes ago.”
“And you survived. Focus on the positive.”
Seojun shook his head.
Luma’s voice carried a mocking edge.
“Anyway, how’s the character creation going? Don’t tell me you’ve already managed to mess it up.”
Seojun smirked.
“My brain is literally designing me to be stronger than you.”
“All that just to get eaten by a monster.”
“At least I’ll die looking better than you.”
“Impossible.”
Before Seojun could respond, a soft chime echoed through the white space.
The customization panels disappeared.
A new notification appeared before him.
[CHARACTER CONFIGURATION COMPLETE.]
[FACTION ASSIGNMENT: RANDOMIZING…]
Seojun blinked.
“Wait. What?”
He scanned the notification, looking for an option to change the selection process.
There wasn’t one.
[YOUR FACTION HAS BEEN ASSIGNED.]
A flash of light swept across the white space.
[WASTELAND HUNTER — MONSTER TAMER.]
Seojun stared at the words.
“…Monster Tamer?”
He read the notification again, just to make sure he hadn’t misunderstood it.
Then he slowly exhaled.
“Well, at least I got the wasteland.”
He hadn’t chosen the class himself, but the result wasn’t entirely unwelcome.
He had wanted to explore the monster-filled territories from the beginning.
Besides, beast taming could be interesting.
Probably.
A smaller notification briefly appeared beneath the class name.
[CLASS CONFIGURATION: COMPLETE.]
[ADDITIONAL COMPATIBILITY CHECK: PENDING.]
Seojun blinked.
“Additional compatibility check?”
Before he could open the notification, it vanished.
[INITIALIZING WORLD TRANSFER.]
He stared at the empty space where the message had been.
“…Did anyone else see that?”
Luma didn’t answer immediately.
“See what?”
“Never mind. Probably a bug.”
He closed the menu and prepared for the transfer.
Luma’s voice suddenly came through the communication channel.
“Hey, JunX! Chat says you can tame dogs and rats!”
Seojun closed his eyes.
I’m going to kill him.
Before he could reply, another notification sounded.
[WASTELAND HUNTER — GRAVITY MONARCH.]
There was a brief silence.
Then Luma burst into laughter.
“GRAVITY MONARCH?!”
His voice echoed through the communication channel.
“Are you kidding me? That’s actually my class name?”
Seojun stared at the notification.
Gravity Monarch.
He had to admit, it sounded impressive.
Luma clearly thought so too.
“Did you hear that? I knew the game recognized talent when it saw it!”
Seojun rolled his eyes.
“Congratulations. You got a ridiculous, over-the-top title.”
“And you got to tame rats.”
“Keep talking. I’ll find something with enough teeth to swallow you whole.”
Luma laughed even harder.
“The great Gravity Monarch and the rat tamer. This is going to be legendary!”
Seojun shook his head, smiling despite himself.
“Just wait until I tame something bigger than you.”
“That shouldn’t be difficult. I’m pretty sure most dogs are bigger than my ego.”
For once, Seojun had no comeback.
“…You actually got that one.”
“Screenshot it. It’ll never happen again.”
Another notification appeared.
[CLASS ASSIGNMENT COMPLETE.]
[PREPARING WORLD TRANSFER.]
The white space began to dissolve.
Seojun felt a brief sensation of falling.
Then the world snapped into focus.
He was standing on cracked, reddish earth that stretched toward the horizon.
Jagged cliffs rose in the distance, while twisted forests swayed beneath a dark, unfamiliar sky.
Dust drifted across the ground, and strange plants emerged from the gaps between broken rocks.
Far ahead, an enormous structure glimmered against the horizon.
The shattered Hellgate.
Beyond it, he could just make out the distant silhouettes of fortified towers and castle walls.
The boundary between the kingdoms and the wasteland.
Seojun slowly turned, taking in his surroundings.
The wind brushed against his face.
His boots pressed into the uneven ground.
Every detail felt startlingly real.
He crouched and ran his fingers across the cracked earth.
Then he stood again, staring toward the distant cliffs.
“…Wow.”
For a moment, even the stream seemed to slip from his mind.
This wasn’t just a world that looked realistic.
It felt alive.
Seojun smiled.
“All right, Immersia. Let’s see what you’ve got.”
A translucent interface appeared in front of him.
[WORLD MAP UNLOCKED.]
A holographic map expanded, revealing the surrounding terrain.
Resource deposits glowed in different colors, while monster zones appeared as pulsing markers scattered across the wasteland.
At the far edge of the map, a massive silhouette moved slowly along the border.
The Behemoth.
Even from a distance, its icon was noticeably larger than every other marker.
Seojun zoomed in.
“…There you are.”
Before he could examine it further, ten blue lights appeared across the map.
[HUNTER DEPLOYMENT COMPLETE.]
[Wasteland Hunters are assigned in teams of two.]
[Each team has been deployed to a different region of the wasteland.]
Seojun watched as the ten markers rearranged themselves into five pairs.
Each pair pulsed with a faint blue glow, indicating a separate team.
Another notification appeared.
[GROUP MESSAGING ENABLED.]
A small window expanded beside the map.
Team 1 — JunX / Luma
Team 2 — ???
/ ???
Team 3 — ???
/ ???
Team 4 — ???
/ ???
Team 5 — ???
/ ???
The question marks gradually disappeared as the system finished synchronizing the players.
A message appeared almost immediately.
ForgeNova: Anyone else spawn near big structures?
I’m surrounded by skeletons bigger than houses.
Luma leaned closer to Seojun’s map, reading the message over his shoulder.
“Well… at least we’re not in the bone graveyard.”
Seojun chuckled.
“Give it five minutes.”
“Could you stop trying to jinx us?”
“I’m not trying. It comes naturally.”
Before Luma could respond, another message appeared.
IronVale: Should we meet up?
Strength in numbers.
Luma scratched his chin.
“Actually, that might not be a bad idea. Five teams working together could clear quests faster. We’d also have a better chance against stronger monsters.”
Seojun zoomed out the map.
The five teams were scattered across an enormous area.
Even the closest markers were separated by considerable distances, with several monster zones and patches of difficult terrain lying between them.
He shook his head.
“No way.”
“Why not?”
“Look at this map. If everyone tries to meet up right now, half the day will be spent walking.”
Luma glanced at the distances.
“…Okay, fair.”
Seojun opened the messaging window and began typing.
JunX: Don’t group up yet.
Explore your regions first.
Each quest area probably unlocks something related to the Hellgate.
He sent the message.
A moment later, another player responded.
SilentArc: That… actually makes sense.
Seojun nodded to himself.
The wasteland was too large to explore blindly.
If the game rewarded players for completing regional objectives, spreading out would let them gather information much faster than traveling as a single group.
And if their progress was somehow connected to the Hellgate, every region might hold a piece of the puzzle.
His chat window suddenly filled with messages.
Viewer1: GROUP UP!
Viewer2: NO, SPLIT UP FOR XP!
Viewer3: JUNX STRATEGY TIME.
Viewer4: BRO IS ALREADY TRYING TO SOLVE THE GAME.
Seojun ignored them and looked back at the team list.
Something bothered him.
There were ten hunters.
Yet only a handful had spoken.
He typed another message.
JunX: Aren’t there ten of us?
Why are only five people talking?
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then a new message appeared.
Gravebite: Talking wastes time.
Seojun raised an eyebrow.
“Well… there’s number six.”
Luma laughed.
“This guy sounds fun.”
“Maybe he’s busy fighting the giant skeletons.”
“Or maybe he just doesn’t like you.”
“That’s fine. The feeling is mutual.”
The remaining hunters stayed silent.
Seojun couldn’t tell whether they were ignoring the group channel, focusing on their own objectives, or simply waiting to see how the others performed.
Whatever the reason, he wasn’t going to waste time worrying about them.
He closed the messaging window.
“All right. Quiet or not, everyone’s out here doing something.”
Luma stretched his arms.
“Good. Makes the hunt more interesting.”
As the map disappeared, the Behemoth’s marker shifted slightly along the border.
Seojun noticed it just before the interface closed.
The creature was moving.
He opened the map again, checking its position.
It had traveled farther than he’d expected in the short time they’d been talking.
“…Interesting.”
“What?” Luma asked.
“The Behemoth.”
Luma glanced at the map.
“Still obsessed with that thing?”
“It’s moving.”
“So?”
“So, either it’s following a patrol route, or it’s going somewhere.”
Luma stared at him for a moment.
“You know what? I’m not even going to ask.”
Seojun closed the map again.
There would be plenty of time to investigate the Behemoth later.
For now, he wanted to understand the abilities they’d been given.
He dusted his hands off and turned toward Luma.
“So… you gonna show me what a Gravity Monarch actually does?”
Luma grinned.
“You first. I want to see what the pet guy gets.”
Seojun’s expression flattened.
“Pet guy.”
“Monster guy?”
“Worse.”
“Rat guy?”
“I’m going to leave you here.”
Luma laughed.
“Fine, fine. Show me your skills.”
Seojun flicked his wrist.
A translucent panel appeared before him.
[SKILL MENU.]
A network of glowing icons unfolded into the air, branching outward like the limbs of a luminous tree.
Each icon represented an ability, connected to several others by thin lines of light.
Luma leaned closer.
“Whoa. That’s a lot of skills.”
Seojun studied the interface.
Each ability had a symbol, a short description, and five faint markers beneath it.
Several branches were already visible, but most of the icons remained dimmed.
He tapped the edge of the panel.
“Let’s see what these things actually do.”
The interface expanded.
[SKILL EVOLUTION SYSTEM.]
A block of text appeared beneath the skill tree.
Each skill can evolve through five stages during the tournament.
Every evolution stage presents multiple choices.
Your selections determine how the skill develops and which advanced abilities become available.
Five connected panels appeared.
Stage 1 — Basic Skill
The starting form of an ability.
Stage 2 — Evolution Choice
Choose one of several improvements that shape the skill’s development.
Stage 3 — Advanced Path
Further evolve the ability based on your previous selection.
Stage 4 — Dominant Ability
Develop the skill into a powerful defining trait.
Stage 5 — Final Evolution
Unlock the ultimate form of the ability.
Seojun stared at the explanation.
“…That’s it?”
Luma tilted his head.
“What do you mean?”
“This is a pretty basic explanation for a multibillion-dollar company.”
He gestured toward the skill tree.
“They could at least show us an example of how the choices affect the final result.”
Luma put on a thoughtful expression, resting a hand against his chin.
“So… there are going to be a bunch of choices for my class?”
Seojun nodded.
“Exactly. Two players could have the same class but end up with completely different abilities depending on what they choose.”
Luma’s eyes lit up.
“So I could become even more powerful than I already am?”
“You haven’t done anything yet.”
“Details.”
Seojun returned his attention to the interface.
The chat window beside his vision had already exploded.
Viewer1: COPYING HIS BUILD WHILE I’M PLAYING.
Viewer2: JUNX BUILD GUIDE WHEN?
Viewer3: BRO HASN’T EVEN FOUGHT A MONSTER YET.
Viewer4: LET HIM COOK.
Seojun chuckled.
“Can you guys wait until I actually figure something out?”
He selected the first illuminated icon in his skill tree.
[BEAST TAMER — SKILL 1: WILD BOND.]
Stage 1 — Wild Bond
Allows the player to establish a bond with small creatures.
Seojun read the description twice.
“…Small creatures?”
Luma immediately started laughing.
“THE GAME LITERALLY SAYS SMALL CREATURES!”
“Shut up.”
“What are you going to tame first? A mouse?”
“I’ll tame something that eats mice.”
“Ambitious.”
Seojun ignored him and examined the two glowing branches that appeared beneath the ability.
[STAGE 2 — EVOLUTION OPTIONS.]
Alpha Bond
Strengthens the creature under your control, increasing its combat potential and aggression.
Pack Link
Allows the player to establish control over multiple weaker creatures simultaneously.
Seojun scratched his chin.
“Oh… that’s interesting.”
Luma peered over his shoulder.
“What’s interesting? You can either have one strong pet or a bunch of weak ones.”
“That’s one way to look at it.”
“Is there another?”
Seojun pointed at the two branches.
“Think about how different the results could be. If Alpha Bond lets me strengthen a creature enough, I might end up with something capable of fighting monsters much stronger than itself.”
He moved his finger toward the other branch.
“Pack Link could let me control an entire group. Even if each creature is weak individually, they might be useful for scouting, distracting enemies, or attacking from different directions.”
Luma’s grin faded slightly.
“…Okay. That’s actually pretty good.”
“Of course it is.”
“Don’t ruin the moment.”
Seojun laughed and examined the rest of the skill tree.
Several icons remained locked, their descriptions hidden until he met the required conditions.
Others appeared to connect to branches he couldn’t access yet.
The system hadn’t given him a complete build.
It had given him a starting point.
Everything beyond that would have to be earned.
Seojun closed the interface.
“So, what does your class do?”
Luma’s grin returned immediately.
“Glad you asked.”
A new panel appeared beside him.
[WASTELAND HUNTER — GRAVITY MONARCH.]
Seojun folded his arms.
“All right. Impress me.”
Luma cleared his throat dramatically.
“Prepare to witness the power of a future legend.”
“Or a future corpse.”
“Jealousy is an ugly trait, JunX.”
“Then you’ll fit right in.”
Luma opened his skill menu.
And for the first time since entering the game, Seojun wondered whether the random class assignment had actually given his friend the better deal.
He wasn’t ready to admit that out loud, though. i’m begging you to keep on reading