---
"The sixth one!" Luke shouted as he wielded his purple blade, charging at the front of the group. With a single swing, he decapitated a blue scythe monster, wiping away the blood splattered on his face. "Finally, I've hit level 70!"
The journey to the nearby outpost was anything but peaceful. Along the way, the group encountered numerous monster zones, each containing hundreds of creatures. Clearing these areas took time and effort.
Players like Alex and Sarah, who possessed R-level potential or higher, had attributes far superior to the monsters, and since they gained minimal experience from blue-level creatures, they rarely stepped in to fight. Instead, they allowed the lower-level N-rank players to handle them, standing by as protection in case things went awry.
This approach meant that players like Luke, who relentlessly grinded, continued to see their levels rise, even surpassing others like John, who also had R-level potential. However, while Luke's level had climbed, when it came to raw power, both John and Sarah were still much stronger.
"But the drop rates are just awful right now!" said Zoe, the group's diligent scavenger. Known for her practical mindset, Zoe, despite being a girl, had no problem rifling through corpses in search of loot. In her words, finding an N-level awakening stone was as exciting as stumbling upon $2,000 in the street.
Many in the group found the idea of scavenging off monsters distasteful and often refused to sift through the remains. To encourage others to collect loot, the group had agreed to grant a larger share of any spoils to those willing to do the work.
In reality, "scavenging" was simply a matter of placing a hand on the monster's body to check for loot. There was no need to tear through it to find items. Otherwise, only a handful of hardcore individuals would manage to do it.
Now, Zoe was leading a few classmates as they scavenged the monsters. But after several creatures yielded nothing, her mood soured.
Sarah, who was particularly squeamish, cringed as she watched her classmates work and said with a shudder, "Thank goodness we spent the first week grinding enough monsters to build a decent stash. I don't think I could handle doing this regularly."
Alex didn't mind much, though he rarely scavenged low-level monsters unless they were purple ones that had the potential to drop valuable R-level stones. After all, an R-level awakening stone was worth 200,000 points, a significant amount.
Sarah had a point, though. Everyone in their class was now comfortably sitting on hundreds of thousands of points. After selling their share of R-level gems, most would have a couple of million. For now, they could afford not to worry about a few thousand points here or there.
As they chatted and cleared out more monsters, it took over an hour for the group to finally reach their target outpost. The collapsed buildings made it difficult to tell where they were, but they could see that the people inside the outpost were few and seemed burdened with a heavy atmosphere.
---
Megan was an accountant. Born and raised in East Sea City, she had never left. She attended school there, graduated from university there, and had recently started working as an accountant at a local factory. Her life had been simple but fulfilling. She had good coworkers and a boss who seemed particularly fond of her, often inviting her out to events. Megan liked him too and had been planning to say yes to his advances—after her birthday.
But the day before her birthday, the world changed. Monsters had invaded, turning the city into a living nightmare. Though terrified, Megan, who had been part of a university outdoor club, quickly adapted. She used a blessing stone to escape the monsters and made it to the factory outpost just in time.
Those first two days were a living hell. With few survivors and no strong leaders, they failed to collect enough crystal shards to complete the outpost's task on the first day. That night, monsters attacked the outpost, thinning their already small numbers. It wasn't until daylight that they managed to drive the creatures away, realizing too late the critical importance of securing the outpost.
The next day, they made a desperate effort and secured the remaining crystals. During that time, Megan had found her boss, Michael, hiding in a nearby apartment.
Michael had been unlucky. He'd stayed up late the night before the game started, so when it began, he was still asleep. By the time he woke up, the world had already changed, and after witnessing a few unfortunate souls being slaughtered by monsters, he had been too afraid to leave his apartment. If Megan hadn't found him, without the protection of a blessing stone, Michael likely wouldn't have survived much longer.
Despite being rescued, Michael struggled to accept the new reality. He had once been wealthy, with a house, a car, and a promising career. But now, everything he had worked for was gone, leaving him devastated.
Megan understood his pain and even went as far as to offer to become his girlfriend to comfort him. However, Michael's pride couldn't accept a relationship born out of pity—especially now that Megan, with her newly awakened R-level potential, had become one of the rising stars of the outpost. The reversal of their roles weighed heavily on him.
After the outpost was fully established, their living conditions improved. Monsters could no longer sense the outpost, and only the occasional wandering creature managed to breach the area.
Even though few had awakened as empowered individuals, it was enough to protect the outpost and eliminate any stray monsters that wandered too close.
During this time, divisions began to form among the survivors. Some believed they should stay put and wait for help from the military or the government. Others wanted to break free and find more survivors, while a third group believed that grinding monsters to level up was their only chance at survival.
Unable to resolve their differences, the outpost eventually split. The group that wanted to break out mostly perished, with only a few returning, while those who stayed to grind monsters grew stronger despite the losses.
Megan had initially been part of the "stay and wait" group. Michael had convinced her to put her faith in the military and the idea that life would soon return to normal. But while Megan never believed his naive optimism, she stayed by his side, hoping to help him recover from his emotional turmoil.
Everything changed on the fourth day of the game, three days after her birthday. More and more monsters began breaching the outpost, and the situation grew increasingly dire.