Alleyway
The alley swallowed the city's noise like a tomb. Jin-ho's breath fogged in the chill air as he pressed himself against the damp brick wall, the flickering streetlight above casting jagged shadows. Footsteps echoed—slow, deliberate. A figure emerged from the gloom, hooded and unnervingly silent. When the fabric slipped, Jin-ho's throat tightened. Pale as moonlight, he thought, but it was the eyes that froze him: liquid gold, burning with an intelligence that felt ancient, hungry.
"Who are you?!" Jin-ho's voice cracked, bouncing off the narrow walls. No answer. Only the distant drip of a broken pipe.
He ran.
Sneakers slapped wet concrete as he careened blindly, neon signs bleeding into streaks of color. Then the fog came—thick and sudden, leaching warmth from his bones. It coiled around his ankles, his wrists, choking his scream. Laughter rippled through the mist, low and velvet. Not human. Not human.
Community Library
The tome sat heavy in his bag, its leather binding cold even through the fabric. Jin-ho's fingers trembled as he flipped through blank pages. Hallucination. Exhaustion. The words rang hollow. Across the room, the janitor's mop squeaked against linoleum.
"You okay, kid?"
"Fine," Jin-ho lied, slamming the book shut. Its edges dug into his palms like a secret.
Next Morning – Hanwool High Hallways
Min-jae's shoulder hit him like a battering ram. Jin-ho crashed to the floor, his skull ringing as his bag vomited its contents. The tome skidded into the light—and glowed. A thread of silver pulsed beneath its cover.
"See what?" Min-jae sneered, snatching it up. His thumbs smudged the pages, leaving nothing but emptiness. "Freak."
But Jin-ho's vision flooded crimson:
[THREAT DETECTED: HUMAN (TIER-F)]
[RECOMMENDED RESPONSE: PRESSURE POINT STRIKE (NECK)]
[ACCEPT? Y/N]
Do it.
His body moved before his mind could protest. Two fingers lashed out, precise as a scalpel. Min-jae's choked gasp echoed as he crumpled, eyes rolling back.
[SKILL MASTERED: BASIC COMBAT – 82%]
Whispers erupted. Dae-won stumbled backward, face bloodless. "W-What are you?!"
Jin-ho clutched the tome, its weight humming against his chest. "Stay. Away."
Rooftop
The book throbbed in his hands, ink blooming across the pages like poison flowers:
[CONGRATULATIONS, USER.]
[CURRENT LEVEL: 1]
[NEXT TARGET: ???]
Wind clawed at his uniform as his phone buzzed—a news alert about fog choking subway lines, commuters babbling of glowing eyes in the mist.
Across Seoul, a man with molten gaze watched the chaos unfold, lips curving.
Power demands payment.
And the System always collects.