If Jin had known the world would end today, he wouldn't have gone to work.
Instead, he would've slept in.
But his alarm rang, like always.
He ignored it.
The second time, he groaned, rolling over in bed. His apartment was dark, the blinds still shut. A cool draft seeped through the cracks in the window. He pulled the blanket over his head.
The third time, the blaring beep became unbearable.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Jin slapped the snooze button. Hard. Just five more minutes.
But five minutes wouldn't change anything. It never did.
Sighing, he forced himself up, rubbing his face as he sat on the edge of his bed. His apartment was small, cramped, and cold—just a single room with a tiny bathroom attached. There was a pile of laundry in the corner, an empty instant noodle cup on his desk, and his phone charger barely hanging onto life. The air smelled stale, like old coffee and cheap detergent.
He glanced at the clock. 6:47 AM.
If he didn't leave soon, he'd miss the bus.
Dragging himself to the bathroom, he stared at his reflection in the mirror. Messy black hair. Tired brown eyes. A face so unremarkable it barely felt like his own.
"Another day," he muttered.
He splashed cold water on his face, got dressed—same wrinkled office shirt, same black slacks, same worn-out shoes. His suit jacket had a coffee stain from last week that he never bothered to clean.
By the time he grabbed his bag and stepped out of his apartment, the hallway lights flickered. Noisy neighbors. The faint smell of cigarette smoke.
The city outside was already awake.
The morning air was cold. The streets were busy. People rushed past him—men in suits, women in pencil skirts, students in uniforms. Everyone had somewhere to be.
Jin stood at the bus stop, hands in his pockets, staring at the ground. A few others waited alongside him, mostly office workers like him. No one spoke.
The bus pulled up with a hiss of air brakes. Already packed. Jin squeezed inside, grabbing a handrail as the doors closed behind him.
No seats. Of course.
He stood near the middle, wedged between a man who smelled like too much aftershave and a woman watching makeup tutorials on her phone.
Another Monday. Another packed bus. Another forgettable ride.
Outside, the city passed by—gray buildings, blinking traffic lights, endless advertisements. Buy this. Watch that. Be better. Work harder.
Jin glanced at his reflection in the bus window. Blank. Empty. Just another commuter in a sea of faces.
A conversation drifted into his ears from nearby.
"Did you see the news? That MMA fighter broke another record."
"No way! He's insane. Some people are just born different."
Jin exhaled through his nose, staring at his shoes. Born different, huh?
His stop arrived. He stepped off the bus, blending into the crowd.
His office was the kind of place where dreams came to die.
Rows of identical desks. Fluorescent lights buzzed overhead. The faint hum of printers, the clacking of keyboards, the distant sound of phones ringing.
Jin sat at his desk, eyes on his monitor. Spreadsheets. Reports. Useless data.
Around him, people chatted, laughed, lived.
"Hey, drinks after work?"
"Ugh, sorry, I can't tonight."
"Same. I gotta put in some overtime."
Jin didn't join the conversation. No one expected him to.
At lunch, he sat alone, eating kimbap from a convenience store while staring at his phone. It was another day, another forgettable moment.
His life wasn't bad. It wasn't good either. It just… was.
And maybe that was the worst part.
Suddenly, he heard a noise.
It started as a low hum in the air.
At first, Jin thought it was the AC malfunctioning again. But then—his screen flickered.
So did everyone else's.
The lights dimmed. Every phone, every monitor, every digital clock—went black.
And then—everything stopped.
Not just in the office. Everywhere.
The city outside had gone silent. The distant car horns, the murmur of voices, even the wind outside the windows—gone.
Then, a voice.
Not from a speaker. Not from any device. It came from everywhere.
"You've had it easy, haven't you?"
Jin's breath caught.
"No real threats. No true hardship. Just the slow, crawling march of existence."
"But life was never meant to be so… dull."
Something in Jin's gut twisted.
"So, here's a gift."
"Something to wake you up.""Let's see what you do with it."
A screen flickered in front of Jin, hovering in the space where there was only empty air moments before. He blinked, unsure if his mind was playing tricks on him.
[ Status Window ]
Name: Jin Yeong
Class: None
Skill: [Limitless Weapon Mastery]
Jin stared at the words, trying to process what he was seeing. The glow of the screen pulsed softly, like it was alive. He didn't know what to feel.
The screen in front of him felt like a heavy presence, almost oppressive. The words remained there, flashing in his vision as if daring him to do something with them. But what could he do?
His fingers twitched, but nothing happened. No power surged through him. No strength. Just the same ordinary, tired body.
Around him, others were reacting differently. The murmurs began—whispers, gasps of disbelief. Someone nearby was staring at their screen with wide eyes.
"I… I can control fire!"
"Look at this—my skin's turning to steel!"
But Jin? He stared at the blue light, the empty space in front of him, feeling utterly small. His skill—whatever it was—seemed so… mundane. No flashy powers, no miracles. Just a simple, cold statement.
Limitless Weapon Mastery? What the hell was that supposed to mean?
Just as the shock was settling in, just as people started testing their newfound strength, the voice returned.
"Well?"
"Are you satisfied with your gifts?"
The air grew heavy. Jin's pulse quickened.
"Then let's make this interesting."
"Good luck."
A sharp chime rang in his ears and then a new blue screen appeared in front of him.
[ First Trial: Survive for 24 Hours. ]
The lights above them exploded. The windows shattered. The air around Jin vibrated, almost alive with energy. Outside, a low, unnatural growl rumbled through the streets—deep, guttural, hungry.
Then came the first scream.