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The last thing he remembered was the darkness. A void so deep and cold it swallowed every sense of self. One moment, he was walking down a familiar street, mind lost in mundane thoughts, and the next—nothing. It felt like a dream, like falling into an endless sleep. But it wasn't.

He gasped for air, eyes snapping open as though he had been drowning. His body jolted upward from the cold ground beneath him, heart racing with panic. Where… am I?

The sky above was not the usual soft blue he remembered. Instead, a deep, swirling red filled the horizon, as though the sun itself had bled into the clouds. The landscape around him was barren—broken ruins of what looked like a city, now shattered by time and conflict. But the most shocking part wasn't the desolation. It was the strange familiarity of it all.

"I know this place," he whispered, the realization hitting him hard.

The ruined city. The crimson sky. The cold winds blowing through the empty streets. It was a scene directly out of [The World Beyond Gates], the novel he had read only days ago. A story where humanity lived on the edge of annihilation, where mysterious gates connected their world to ruined, beast-infested dimensions.

He stood, his legs shaky but strong enough to hold him up. His clothes felt different too—light armor clung to his body, rugged and functional, as if he was prepared for battle. A strange weight pressed against his back, and when he reached over, his fingers brushed against the hilt of a sword. A weapon? He wasn't a fighter. He had never even held a blade before, but the sensation of it in his grip felt oddly natural.

"Welcome, player," a mechanical voice echoed in his head, startling him.

Before him, a translucent blue screen appeared, hovering in the air like something out of a game.

---

Status Screen Activated.

Name: Unknown

Race: Human

Class: None

Level: 1

Attributes:

Strength: 5

Agility: 5

Endurance: 5

Mana: 5

Skills: None

---

It was just like the novel's system! His pulse quickened. Was this really happening? Was he inside the novel? Reincarnated into this cruel, dangerous world? His mind raced, trying to process the situation, but the screen in front of him vanished before he could dwell on it any longer.

A sudden roar in the distance broke his thoughts, and instinct took over. He turned to see the source—a hulking beast, twice the size of a human, emerged from the shadows of the crumbling buildings. Its skin was rough like stone, eyes glowing with a feral hunger.

His heart pounded. This was one of the gate beasts he had read about. Dangerous, relentless, and deadly.

He knew what came next. The beast wouldn't stop. It would tear him apart like all the unlucky souls in the novel's prologue. He had to fight. He had to survive.

But he wasn't ready. Not yet. He didn't have any skills, any abilities. He was as good as dead if he didn't find a way out.

Suddenly, a memory flashed in his mind—a memory from the novel. This beast, while dangerous, had a weak point. Its eyes were its softest spot. He needed to blind it, or at least distract it long enough to escape.

With shaky hands, he pulled the sword from his back, its weight surprisingly manageable. His muscles tensed as he crouched, waiting for the right moment. The beast charged, its claws tearing through the dirt as it closed the distance between them in seconds. He sidestepped at the last moment, barely dodging the attack, and swung his sword in a wide arc. The blade grazed the creature's face, but not deep enough to do any real damage.

It roared in fury, but it gave him an opening.

Now! He thrust the blade forward, aiming for its eyes. The tip of the sword connected, plunging deep into one of the glowing orbs. The beast howled in agony, thrashing wildly, but the injury was enough to give him the chance to flee.

He ran, heart hammering in his chest, not daring to look back as the creature's pained roars echoed behind him. His mind raced alongside his legs, a mixture of terror and exhilaration coursing through him.

He had survived. Barely. But he had survived.

Panting, he slowed his pace once he felt he had put enough distance between him and the beast. He needed a plan. He needed to understand what was happening. He wasn't just in the novel world—he had been dropped in the middle of one of its deadliest zones.

But why? And how?

Suddenly, something caught his eye—a strange, shimmering object on the ground a few feet ahead. Cautiously, he approached and picked it up. It was a glowing stone, pulsing faintly with an inner light.

A mana stone. In the novel, these stones were valuable resources that could be used for crafting, skill enhancement, or traded for wealth. Holding one in his hand now, he felt a strange warmth seep into his body. The screen from earlier flashed in front of his eyes once more.

---

Mana Stone absorbed. +10 EXP.

Level up!

---

His body surged with energy, his mind becoming clearer and sharper. He could feel the change, the growth. This was real. All of it.

If this world was anything like the novel—and so far, it was—then he knew what was coming next. Beasts, gates, rival factions, gods... and power. The path to godhood was a long one, but it was now within his reach.

He smiled. He had a second chance. And this time, he wasn't just going to survive. He was going to conquer.

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