"Hi, I'm Sarsat Rai. Or, I was. Although I am the same with name now but... Yeah, I got reincarnated a few days ago. That night was a hell for me at that night. I was kidnapped and got killed in a ritual by my uncle. Unlucky, right? But it became more when I got dropped into a ghostly world, in what's probably an apocalypse.
If my memory's right, this nightmare started exactly 66 years ago.
"Kinda a devil number. Right?"
What is more, Hell literally broke loose on Earth, turning a normal world into one haunted by ghosts.
" They attack anyone in sight, but thankfully, they're not everywhere. It's more like certain 'domains'—places where, if you enter, you don't come back. Ordinary towns and cities are divided by invisible borders, places where one wrong step could be your last."
But I guess there's a silver lining.
Along with the ghosts, some sort of power descended on Earth, calling itself The Game: New World.
People don't die permanently unless they lose all their points.
Even if you die in the Game, as long as you have at least one point, you revive in the real world. Hit zero, though, and it's game over for good.
Points can be earned by defeating real-life ghosts, and everyone gets up to ten traits that help them in both the Game and reality. It's like some kind of twisted RPG system overlaying the real world.
When I got here, I was just a 16-year-old high schooler.
Back in my original life, I was a pretty average student, nothing special.
" U know it more crazy to think I am here and I need to survive here. It is a world worst than my previous world. And in my previous world i couldn't survive after 18. And at that time I had money, family. But here I am an poor orphan. WHAT THE HELL CAN I DO?"
I wasn't a prodigy or a warrior, just a regular kid with some interests and dreams. Now, I was in a world where "regular" wasn't an option anymore.
To survive, you have to either join a society of hunters known as ghosters—created by the government and royal families to deal with the ghost apocalypse—or go at it alone. Most people start as students and take an exam at age sixteen, aiming to become ghosters and gain some security in a world constantly under threat. The stronger your traits, the higher you can go in the ghoster organization.
But me? I had no wealth, no connections, no real power.
I thought maybe I'd become a "solo traveler," one of those people who try to gain strength on their own, outside the society's walls, scraping by on skill and luck.
But then, it all went to zero. My very first experience in the Game, New World…
That day, I'd just gotten back to my hostel after school. Thankfully, my roommates were out, so I had a moment of peace.
I sat on the edge of my bed, trying to process everything—the ghost-riddled world, the Game, the mandatory exams... all of it.
"What was I supposed to do here? How was I going to survive?"
Just as these questions were starting to overwhelm me, a blue panel suddenly popped up in front of me, floating in mid-air like some kind of hologram.
["Congratulations, you have been Awakened!" ]
My heart pounded. This was it, the moment I would get my traits—the traits that would make or break my fate in this twisted new world.
" HELL YEAH!! "
Before I could even wrap my mind around what was happening, a new screen appeared. Rows and rows of text began to fill the panel, each line listing what I realized were supposed to be my "skills." These were my traits—the ones that would help me survive the Game, maybe even give me an edge in this ghostly world!
But as I read the list, my hope quickly evaporated. Line after line of absurd, useless abilities appeared before me.
" WHAT THE...?? WHAT IN THE GOD DAMM HELL IS THIS?"
---
[Awakened Skills] You have been blessed with 1000 Traits. Note: Some traits are hidden or marked as unknown.
1. Gold Detection Level 1 – Detects gold within 5 meters.
2. Advanced Paper Folding – You can fold paper into advanced shapes.
3. Perfect Silence in Cold Rooms – You are unnaturally quiet in rooms below 10°C.
4. Ability to Name All Trees on Sight – Recognize any tree species at a glance.
5. Talent for Counting Blades of Grass – Provides precise blade counts in a field. ...
6. Ink Saver – Use pens more efficiently, saving a fraction of ink. [... and 910 more like this...]
[Unknown Traits Hidden]
---
I scrolled through the skills, my face twisting in disbelief.
"How am I supposed to survive with this? No ghost-fighting power, no way to defend myself. Just a mountain of strange, mostly useless skills."
" And to make things even worse, over half of my traits were marked as "Unknown," with symbols I couldn't read and descriptions I couldn't understand."
"Gold Detection? Perfect Silence in Cold Rooms? This is what I get for 'Awakening'?"
My heart sank. I'd heard stories of people receiving combat skills, of strength and agility that defied human limits. Some were able to control elements, summon weapons, even communicate with ghosts. And here I was, with skills like "Advanced Paper Folding" and "Accurate Guessing of Small Object Weight." In this world, where one wrong move could land me face-to-face with a ghost that would tear me apart, I had the power to name trees and count grass. I was completely, utterly doomed.
But then, just as I was about to give up all hope, a new, golden panel appeared in front of me. It glowed with an intense light, far brighter than the previous blue panel, almost blinding. This time, the title was different—it wasn't listing skills but instead bore a single name:
[Unknown Skill Revealed: Sacrifice for Ultimate Goal]
"What… Sacrifice for Ultimate Goal?" I whispered, feeling a chill run down my spine.
Before I could react, the panel began to pulse with a strange energy, almost as if it were alive. Suddenly, one by one, each of my hard-earned skills started to vanish, dissolving into glowing particles before my eyes. All of my revealed skills were being sacrificed, erased from existence without any chance for me to stop it.
"NOOOOO.....!"
I tried to grab at the panel, but my hands went straight through the holographic text.
The golden energy surged, building up to a blinding climax. I shielded my eyes, feeling the heat radiate from it, feeling it pull every ounce of potential I had into itself. And then it happened: the golden energy coalesced, solidifying into a single object. It wasn't another skill panel, nor was it any kind of weapon. What materialized instead was a heavy, golden deck of 45 cards, bound together by a white ribbon that seemed to hum with an ancient, otherworldly power.
---
[Ultimate Deck of 45 Cards]
Each card was plain, numbered from 1 to 45, yet each bore a name handwritten in golden names.
Curious, I took the top card in my hand, feeling an odd energy pulse through it.
[
Spades (♠)
♠♠♠♠♠ Lucian
♠♠♠♠ Damon
♠♠♠♠ Selene
♠♠♠ Alastor
♠♠♠ Theron
♠♠♠ Kaida
♠♠ Magnus
♠♠ Zephyr
♠♠ Orin
♠ Silas
♠ Nyra
♠ Draven
♠ Evander
♠ Lyra
♠ Kieran
---
Clubs (♣)
♣♣♣♣♣ Amara
♣♣♣♣ Felix
♣♣♣♣ Joyce
♣♣♣ Leo
♣♣♣ Mira
♣♣♣ Damon
♣♣ Zara
♣♣ Hugo
♣♣ Sable
♣ Iris
♣ Rowan
♣ Ella
♣ Kade
♣ Vera
♣ Renee
---
Stars (★)
★★★★★ Astra
★★★★ Orion
★★★★ Luna
★★★ Nova
★★★ Caelum
★★★ Elara
★★ Cosmo
★★ Juno
★★ Sol
★ Mira
★ Lyric
★ Nyx
★ Callum
★ Sirius
★ Calix
]
I gripped the deck, my pulse pounding in my ears. In this world, where ghosts roamed and points determined life and death, the 45 cards felt like my only lifeline. But they also felt mysterious. I don't know what would happen. Especially with the spade cards they mostly felt dengerous. I would have to be careful.
"Alright then," I murmured, gripping the deck tightly. "Let's see where this takes me."
The world may have cast me aside, but now, I had something with me—a power shrouded in mystery, yet potent beyond measure.