CH 1: Crossing into the Unknown

Kai sat hunched over his desk, tapping away at his laptop. The soft glow from his monitor was the only light in his dimly lit room. He frowned at the screen, eyes scanning through a list of freelance jobs that had filled up his inbox. It was the same thing every day—design projects, quick programming gigs, and editing requests. While it paid the bills, there was something unsettlingly repetitive about the work. His life had become a routine of waking up, working, eating, and falling back asleep.

But today, something different was on his mind. Kai leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms, and smiled as he glanced at his gaming headset sitting on the shelf. He had been waiting for this day—the day when Mythos Beyond, the highly anticipated game, was finally coming back online. The server had been down for four days due to a massive update. That downtime had made him more anxious than ever, yet he had spent those days reading up on every little detail about the new features, races, classes, and systems on the game's official website. It was almost as if he was studying for an exam.

"Well, better make sure I'm ready," he muttered to himself. As much as he hated how monotonous freelancing could be, gaming was his true escape. His excitement for Mythos Beyond had reached a peak, and he couldn't wait to dive into this new world.

With a few taps, he refreshed the page to check the server status. Still down. His anticipation grew with every passing minute. He grinned, imagining the game world filled with powerful mythical weapons, legendary spells, and uncharted territories. The fact that he was starting fresh in this massive world felt thrilling. "I bet I'm going to be the first to find something cool," he whispered to himself.

As Kai scrolled through more of the website, he couldn't help but study the races and classes in detail again. Humans. The most versatile, he had learned. While other races like elves and orcs had their unique abilities, humans were well-rounded. They could wield a variety of powerful magical and mythical weapons, learn any type of spell, and level up in ways that other races couldn't. The grind was harder for them, but the rewards were always worth it.

He had already decided. "Human it is," he confirmed aloud, clicking on the class description again. Choosing the human class would allow him to learn different types of magic and craft magical items more easily. The versatility was too good to pass up, even if humans were considered weak at first. Their potential was unmatched when fully developed.

The sound of his phone buzzing broke his concentration. He picked it up and saw a notification from one of his clients asking for updates on a project. Kai stared at it, the excitement of Mythos Beyond still fresh in his mind. "Yeah, yeah," he said, tossing the phone back onto his bed. The work could wait. Right now, his mind was entirely focused on the game.

"Just a little longer," Kai sighed. His hand instinctively reached for the gaming headset, twirling it between his fingers. The weight of it felt reassuring. All that was left was the game to come back online.

Elsewhere, the antagonist was also preparing. Not that Kai knew him personally, but the two of them shared a similar love for the game. The antagonist—let's call him Zoren for now—had a different view of the world. While Kai felt a sense of joy and excitement, Zoren saw Mythos Beyond as a realm where he could dominate. Cruel in his methods, Zoren loved bullying weaker players. He studied the game's mechanics intensely, finding loopholes and ways to exploit the system. But his love for the game wasn't tied to destruction. It was about power. In the real world, Zoren was cold and distant. But in Mythos Beyond, he could be a tyrant.

Neither of them knew what was about to happen.

Suddenly, Kai's screen flickered, and a notification popped up. The servers were live again. "Finally!" Kai exclaimed, adrenaline surging through him. He slipped on the headset and took a deep breath. He'd been waiting for this moment for days, and now, it was here.

The loading screen of Mythos Beyond filled his view. His heart raced as he clicked through the character creation menu. He selected human, the default race, but with an eager sense of purpose. His mind raced through all the possibilities of the game world. The feeling of stepping into something new was almost overwhelming.

"Okay, magic or weapons?" he mused. Two initial abilities popped up: a powerful fire-based magic or an arcane defense spell. Kai hovered over them for a moment, weighing the options. Fire magic was tempting—aggressive, flashy—but arcane defense had a strong allure too. "I could always learn more offensive spells later," he reasoned. He clicked on the defense option.

As soon as he made his choice, the world around him shifted. The game began loading, and suddenly, everything felt… real. His eyes widened. The ground beneath his feet felt solid, the air was crisp, and the sky overhead seemed vast and endless. The smell of earth and trees filled his senses. This wasn't just a game anymore.

Kai blinked. "Whoa…" he muttered. His voice seemed louder than he expected. His heart pounded in his chest. Every step he took felt heavy, like his body had weight in this world. It was surreal. He touched the grass beneath him, feeling the blades against his fingertips.

"Wait a minute," he whispered. "This… this can't be real, can it?"

But it was.

The truth was, both Kai and Zoren had crossed a line between the game and reality when they logged in this time. Without knowing it, they had died in the real world—some technical malfunction had turned their last logins into something more permanent. For Kai, this world was an escape, a new place to explore and enjoy. For Zoren, it was an opportunity to rule and control.

But neither of them knew how deep this reality went yet.

Kai shook his head, standing up. "No way, this is… insane!" he said, excitement coursing through his veins. Everything felt alive—the trees swayed in the wind, the distant mountains loomed with mysterious allure. He felt a deep urge to explore. He had always loved games, but this was something else entirely.

Without wasting another moment, Kai took his first steps into the vast world of Mythos Beyond. He wasn't just playing a game anymore—he was living it.

And from a distance, Zoren watched. The game had changed for him too, but unlike Kai, he wasn't here to explore. He was here to conquer.

The story had only just begun.