The world shattered like glass.
Then—darkness.
Lee Haneul felt himself falling, weightless, as if he had been swallowed by the void. A suffocating chill wrapped around his body. He clenched his fists, trying to steady himself—
And then—
Thud!
He hit solid ground.
His body ached, but the pain was real. Too real. He pushed himself up, heart pounding as his vision adjusted.
He was inside a dungeon.
The walls were jagged stone, illuminated by an eerie green glow from cracks in the earth. A damp, rotting scent filled the air, and the sound of something skittering echoed through the cavern.
Then, a system message appeared—this time, in gold.
[Dungeon: The Forgotten Cavern]
[Rank: F]
[Objective: Defeat all enemies to proceed.]
Haneul exhaled sharply. Okay. An F-rank dungeon. That means this is still the tutorial, right?
Then—movement.
From the shadows, goblins emerged.
They were small, barely reaching his waist, with wiry limbs, dull yellow eyes, and crude wooden clubs. The typical beginner enemies—nothing special.
[Enemies Detected – 3x Goblin Fighters]
Haneul's eyes darted around. No weapons. No skills.
How am I supposed to fight?
The goblins snarled, baring jagged teeth.
And then—they rushed him.
Haneul barely dodged the first swing, the wooden club whistling past his ear. His heart pounded as he scrambled backward, adrenaline flooding his veins.
The second goblin lunged.
Move.
His body reacted on its own. He twisted, avoiding the attack, and threw a punch.
His fist collided with the goblin's face, sending it tumbling back. Haneul's eyes widened. I can actually fight?
Then, something caught his eye—a discarded dagger on the ground.
Without thinking, he grabbed it, spinning around just as the last goblin charged.
Slash!
The blade sliced across its chest, sending it collapsing into glowing particles.
The system chimed.
[You have defeated Goblin Fighter! +10 EXP]
The remaining goblins hesitated. Haneul's grip tightened on the dagger. This was real. The weight of the weapon, the tension in his muscles—he could die here.
No more hesitation.
With newfound resolve, he rushed forward.
The fight was clumsy, desperate, but he won.
[You have cleared the first wave.]
Haneul exhaled, gripping his knees. His heart was still racing.
Then—
The air shifted.
A deep pressure settled over the cavern, pressing against his skin.
And the system glitched.
[WARNING: Instability Detected.]
[Adjusting Dungeon Difficulty…]
Haneul's breath caught. What?
The walls cracked, the green glow deepened, and the very ground seemed to hum with unseen energy.
Then—a new system message appeared.
But this one wasn't gold.
It was purple.
[System Override Detected.]
[Activating Unique Parameters…]
Haneul's stomach twisted. This wasn't normal.
Then—the goblins returned.
But they weren't the same.
Their bodies twitched unnaturally, their eyes now a deep crimson, and their crude weapons had been replaced with black iron blades.
And this time—there were ten of them.
[You have awakened your true potential.]
[Skills Unlocked.]
Another window appeared, this time unlike any system message he had seen before. The font was jagged, shifting as if unstable.
[Phantom System – Skill Unveiled]
Skill: ??? (Unregistered)
Effect: ???
Haneul's breath was ragged. The enemies had scaled to his power level.
This wasn't a tutorial dungeon anymore.
This was something else.
He had broken the game.
And now—the game was breaking him.