"This dress looks good..." I muttered quietly while staring at the mirror.
An average-looking young man stared back at me.
Black hair and Blue eyes.
A neatly pressed white shirt with its sleeves folded halfway up and Black pants.
"Hah..."
A nervous breath escaped my mouth.
I quickly looked away from the mirror before grabbing my room key.
Click.
The door locked behind me as I stepped outside.
Dark clouds covered the sky above.
Cold wind brushed lightly against my face.
Swooosh...
I raised my hand and stopped a taxi by the roadside.
SCREEECH.
The vehicle halted in front of me.
The driver lowered the window slightly.
"Where to?" he asked casually.
I quietly clenched my trembling hand before replying,
"...Airport."
"Alright."
Click.
The door shut behind me as the taxi slowly began moving.
The entire ride felt painfully long.
Outside the window, countless city lights blurred past one after another.
People laughed.
Cars moved.
Life continued normally.
But my mind remained restless.
Tap... Tap...
My fingers kept tapping nervously against my knee.
Soon—
The taxi finally stopped in front of the airport.
I quickly paid the fare and stepped outside.
But then suddenly—
"Ah... the flowers...!"
My eyes widened slightly.
I completely forgot them.
Hurriedly, I looked around.
Then—
A nearby flower shop entered my sight.
"Haa..."
A relieved breath escaped my mouth.
I quickly walked toward it and bought a bouquet of purple flowers.
Her favorite.
The moment I held them, old memories suddenly flashed through my mind.
Silvia laughing softly.
Silvia holding my arm.
Silvia smiling while teasing me.
A faint smile unconsciously appeared on my face.
"I just hope..."
"...she isn’t angry anymore."
I whispered quietly.
Even now, my footsteps still felt unsteady.
Maybe because I am late.
Or maybe because of what happened last week.
That misunderstanding.
That argument.
The thought alone made my chest tighten painfully.
A few minutes later—
I finally reached the terminal corner.
And the moment I turned around—
My body froze.
"Huh...?"
The bouquet slipped from my hand.
Rustle...
The flowers scattered across the floor.
For a moment—
My mind went completely blank.
My fingers trembled uncontrollably.
I... already explained everything to her.
I told her last week’s incident was just a misunderstanding.
So why...?
Why is this happening?
Because not far away—
I saw a blonde man standing beside Silvia.
No...
Not beside her.
His arms wrapped around her waist gently.
And Silvia...
...was standing in his embrace.
The man looked perfect.
Far better than me.
Something painful twisted inside my chest.
Throb... Throb...
A tear slowly rolled down my cheek as I stared silently at the scene before me.
Then my gaze slowly lowered toward the crushed bouquet lying near my feet.
Purple flowers.
Flowers she once said she loved.
Memories flooded my mind one after another.
The way she used to look at me.
CRRK.
Slowly...
I stepped onto the bouquet.
The flowers crumpled beneath my shoe.
"If you don’t trust me..."
"...then don’t."
My voice sounded hollow and empty.
Like all emotion has been drained away.
Then quietly—
I turned around and began walking away from the airport.
My eyes looked completely lifeless.
Only one question echoed endlessly inside my mind.
Why?
Then suddenly—
BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!
A deafening explosion shook the entire surroundings violently.
Windows cracked.
People screamed.
Car alarms erupted everywhere.
"AAAAAHHH!!"
"RUN!!"
Startled, I instinctively looked around.
But then—
I slowly raised my head toward the sky.
And my entire body stiffened.
The sky itself...
...has split apart.
CRRRRRAAAACKK—!!
A gigantic crack stretched endlessly across the sky.
And within that massive crack—
An enormous eyeball stared down at the world.
Its massive pupil slowly moved across the city like a god gazing upon insects.
Cold fear instantly crawled down my spine.
My breathing became unstable.
"Huff... Huff..."
Then suddenly—
"LUKE!!!"
I heard Silvia’s voice behind me.
I instinctively turned around.
She stood there while holding the blonde man’s hand tightly.
Tears filled her purple eyes.
Then—
She looked directly at me and whispered,
"We can’t be together anymore."
...Crack.
Something inside me shattered at that moment.
Maybe my heart.
Or maybe the last bit of hope I still had left.
My vision blurred slightly.
The world suddenly felt distant and empty.
Then—
WHOOOOOOOSH—!!
A terrifying pulling force suddenly dragged my body backward.
My eyes widened in horror.
That gigantic eyeball...
...was pulling me toward the crack in the sky.
"N-No...!!"
Panic exploded inside me.
I desperately tried to resist.
My fingers clawed against the ground violently.
SCRAAAAPE!!
But it was useless.
My body kept sliding closer and closer toward the sky.
People around me screamed in terror while getting dragged upward as well.
"HELP!!"
"WHAT IS THIS THING?!"
The pulling force became stronger.
Much stronger.
My entire body lifted slightly off the ground.
Fear consumed me completely.
Instinctively—
I shut my eyes tightly.
"Ahh..."
A weak groan escaped my mouth.
After a few seconds passed without anything happening, I slowly opened my eyes.
"Haa..."
Cold air brushed against my sweaty skin.
Right...
I had fallen asleep after hunting goblins.
For a moment, I simply stared blankly at the dark ceiling above me.
Then—
"Hahh..."
I took a long deep breath and rubbed my face tiredly.
My entire body is drenched in sweat.
Drops slowly rolled down my neck.
Drip...
"Why..."
A bitter smile appeared briefly on my face.
"Why am I dreaming about her...?" I whispered absentmindedly.
The memory of Silvia’s face still lingered inside my mind.
Her voice, Her eyes and that final expression.
My chest tightened painfully again.
"...Tch."
Clicking my tongue softly, I forced myself to look around instead.
Nearby, my undead summons still stood guard silently in the darkness.
Ten undeads.
Goblins holding rusty weapons.
Wolves with glowing hollow eyes.
Completely motionless.
Watching everything.
That sight alone calmed me slightly.
At least here...
I am not completely alone anymore.
Then—
DING.
The system’s voice suddenly echoed inside my mind.
[Host, you are currently in the Origin Land.]
The mechanical voice sounded calm and emotionless.
[In this world, beings rank up primarily by consuming cores or absorbing their energy.]
I listened carefully while leaning back against the cold wall.
The system continued explaining.
[Different classes require different quantities of cores for advancement.]
[Higher-ranked classes require significantly more energy but receive stronger physical foundations and greater mana capacity in return.]
A thoughtful expression appeared on my face.
"...Ahh. I understand now."
So ranking up isn’t simply leveling blindly.
It required resources, that is monster cores.
I slowly nodded.
"Then how many cores do I need?"
After a brief pause, I added:
"And show me their prices too."
DING.
A blue screen instantly appeared before my eyes.
[Normal Classes]
F- → F Rank Requirement:
10 F- Rank Cores
Then another line appeared beneath it.
[Host Requirement — Divine Rank Class]
F- → F Rank Requirement:
1,000 F- Rank Cores
Silence.
"...What?"
My mouth slowly opened.
For a few seconds, my brain genuinely stopped functioning.
"One thousand...?"
My expression completely stiffened.
I immediately started calculating everything in my head.
I had already hunted several monsters earlier.
And even with undead support—
It still took time and effort.
At this rate...
"How many days is this going to take...?"
A tired laugh escaped my mouth.
"Heh..."
The system continued speaking mercilessly.
[Neutral Core Shop Prices:]
F- Core — 5 Points
F Core — 10 Points
F+ Core — 15 Points
The moment I saw the prices, my eyes immediately shifted toward my remaining points.
Then my shoulders slumped.
"...Yeah. Nevermind."
Buying cores directly is impossible right now.
For a moment, the small excitement I felt earlier disappeared completely.
But eventually—
I exhaled slowly.
"Haa..."
Complaining wouldn’t change anything.
If I wanted to survive—
I needed to grow stronger no matter how ridiculous the requirements are.
Slowly, I pushed myself back onto my feet.
Then I looked toward my undead summons.
The goblins instantly straightened.
The wolves raised their heads slightly.
Waiting for orders.
A faint smile appeared on my face.
"Come on, boys..."
I grabbed the sword hanging at my waist.
"Let’s go."
"We need to hunt more."
GRRRR...
The undead wolves growled softly in response.
Soon, we began moving through the dark underground ruins once more.
Tap... Tap... Tap...
Time slowly passed.
For nearly an hour, we continued hunting goblins throughout the basement corridors.
Goblin corpses slowly piled up.
And eventually—
After almost one hour of nonstop hunting...
I finally collected ten F- Rank Cores.
Small dark crystals floated inside my inventory screen.
At the same time—
I also discovered my second class ability.
Death Realm.
The moment I focused on the skill description, a black screen appeared before me.
PASSIVE: Death Realm [F]
A personal death-space connected to the host.
Current Volume:
100 Cubic Meters
The host may store undead summons and objects inside the realm.
"...Oh?"
My eyes widened slightly.
Without hesitation, I tested it immediately.
FWOOOSH...
A black portal suddenly opened beside one of my undead goblins.
The space itself distorted slightly like dark liquid.
Then—
The goblin calmly stepped inside and vanished completely.
"...That’s useful."
Soon, another portal opened nearby—
And the goblin walked back out again.
It even carried a goblin corpse over its shoulder.
"Heh..."
A small excited laugh escaped my mouth.
Now I finally had proper storage.
That alone is incredibly valuable.
I quickly ordered the undeads to start storing monster corpses inside the Death Realm.
FWOOSH! FWOOSH!
Black portals opened repeatedly throughout the corridor.
The undeads moved silently like workers transporting supplies.
But after testing the ability further—
A disappointed expression appeared on my face.
"...Sadly, I can’t enter it myself."
I clicked my tongue softly.
Maybe the skill would evolve later.
Eventually, after storing everything properly, I sat down against the wall again.
The ten monster cores floated inside my inventory screen quietly.
A faint glow emitted from them.
"...Alright."
I took a slow deep breath.
"Let’s see what happens when I absorb these things."