The Smile that Broke a World

A bright pulse of golden light flared around Ethan as he felt the familiar pull of teleportation.

Then, he landed.

Yeah that will take some getting used to.

He barely had time to steady himself before a new system notification appeared in his vision.

[Welcome to Explorer Lobby]

Ethan blinked, glancing around. He was back in the silver and bare expanse, with the galaxy themed sky.

Oh I thought I would be direc-

Before he could even process any more than that, another notification popped up.

[Explorer Initiation Pack Acquired! Would you like to open it now?]

Ethan barely had time to consider before a second prompt immediately followed.

[Initiation Quest: First Steps of a Seeker]

[Link Successful]

[Preparing for Transfer…]

[3…2…1…]

"Wait—"

Blinding white light consumed his vision.

The next thing Ethan felt was the sharp impact of his feet hitting solid ground. His balance wavered, his vision blurred, and a faint ringing filled his ears. For a brief moment, he was disoriented, his brain struggling to process the sudden shift from nothingness to something.

Then, instinct kicked in.

His body tensed as he pushed himself upright, his stance shifting into an alert position. His breath was controlled but shallow, and his muscles coiled, ready to run at a moment's notice. His mind automatically accessed his Inventory, mentally preparing to draw a weapon if necessary.

Seconds stretched in tense silence.

His eyes darted around, scanning for immediate threats—hostile creatures, dangerous terrain, anything.

But there was nothing.

No ominous beasts. No alien landscapes. No bizarre physics-defying anomalies.

Instead, he was in an alleyway.

The walls on either side of him were worn concrete, streaked with years of grime and age. The air smelled of oil, damp asphalt, and the faintest hint of food from somewhere nearby.

In the distance, the low hum of a city vibrated through the air.

The unmistakable murmur of a modern civilization.

He turned toward the entrance of the alley.

Beyond the dimly lit passage, the world looked normal.

A street stretched ahead, lined with buildings that wouldn't be out of place in New York, Tokyo, or London.

Pedestrians walked along the sidewalk, dressed in ordinary clothes—business suits, casual jeans, bright summer dresses.

Some carried shopping bags, others sipped coffee as they moved through their day with a sense of quiet normalcy.

Nobody had noticed him.

At first, his body remained coiled, ready for action. His ears were finely attuned to every minor sound—the scuff of a foot against pavement, the distant honk of a car.

But as moments stretched on without any immediate threat, his instincts began to loosen their grip.

The lack of hostility allowed his mind to process what had just happened.

He had been thrown into an entirely new world.

Yet… he wasn't panicking. Not really.

Maybe it was the countless books he had read about scenarios like this.

Maybe it was the sheer underwhelming nature of his arrival.

Maybe, after everything he had already been through, his body just didn't have the energy to be terrified anymore.

Gradually, his focus drifted away from his immediate surroundings, settling instead on something he could control—the System Menu.

Right, the Map and Radar.

Ethan quickly brought up the Map.

The only striking thing about it was that it was nearly empty save the layout around him upto a 100m radius.

The Radar did not show up any hostile entities either.

Ethan exhaled, his fingers loosening from the fists he hadn't realized he'd clenched.

This place…

It was too normal.

Well that's kinda underwhelming but not gonna lie, it is a relief.

Ethan mentally called up the System menu again.

A familiar blue translucent interface flickered into existence before him, floating neatly in his vision.

His then opened up the Quest Tab.

A single ongoing quest was listed: First Steps of a Seeker. He clicked on it, and the menu expanded into a detailed window.

[Quest: First Steps of a Seeker]

World Name: ???

Type: ???

World Explored: 0% (i)

Objectives:

Survive and Explore. 

Complete at least one significant discovery report[0/1]

Ethan was surprised for a second before the reasonable explanation came to his mind automatically.

"World Name… unknown? Well I guess that's what I am here for, to get information like that."

He noticed a small (i) symbol next to World Explored.

Out of curiosity, he clicked it, and a new sub-window opened.

[How to Increase World Exploration Percentage]

Uncover the world's lore and situation (basic method, steady increase)

Discover pivotal secrets that shape the world's future (major increase)

Find and catalog important resources (consistent increase)

Analyze biodiversity and document new species (special boosts for close-up encounters)

Spend more time in the world (slight passive increase over time)

Ethan read through the list, nodding slightly. "Okay… these actually sound like explorer jobs."

He had expected something like 'conquer', 'kill creatures' or 'defeat a world boss.'

Besides, Galen had made it sound like OES was more of a mercenary guild than an exploration society.

But this?

This was different. More… structured.

More. . .doable.

Satisfied and with a newfound reassurance, he switched over to the Initiation Pack and opened it.

 [Explorer Initiation Pack Opened!]

A soft, blue light shimmered as a series of items appeared in his inventory.

Basic Recovery Potions x5 (Restores HP)

Basic Mana Potions x5 (Restores MP)

OES Standard Explorer Uniform (Durable, material for adaptable environments.)

Ethan examined the Standard Explorer Uniform.

It looked remarkably similar to cloth and leather armor from games. Sleek, functional, yet with subtle reinforcements along the arms, legs, and torso. It had a faintly futuristic style but wasn't bulky.

The kind of outfit meant for both combat and utility. A balance of flexibility and protection.

As he was admiring the uniform, a new notification appeared.

[Job Selection] (i)

[Jobs allow the Explorer to record skills by iterative training and actions, which can then be executed instantaneously at cost of MP]

Melee(Makes close combat, body strengthening and weapon skills acquisition ever so slightly easier)

Ranged(Makes medium and long range tool skills; reconnaissance and mobility skills acquisition ever so slightly easier)

Magic(Makes mental capability development, arcane arts, spell-casting, natural force manipulation skills acquisition ever so slightly easier)

Ethan hesitated.

Alright, melee is out. Not getting into close-quarters unless I absolutely have to.

That left Ranged or Magic.

Magic sounded amazing and was probably man's dream, but Galen's warning echoed in his mind—

" If you go this route, expect life to be unfair in every possible way."

And there was another issue, what actions and training could he possibly do for developing magic, coming from a world without any magic, much less magic knowledge. The only possibility of development was to raise his INT stat hoping that when it got high enough he would gain some sort of an enlightenment.

Ranged, on the other hand, made sense. Firearms existed back home, and aiming was a skill he could learn simply by trying to aim at a target.

Yeah no, I mean I cannot bank on possibilities, I need definite information. There is just so much about this system that I do not know, if only Galen could've been a bit more helpful.

Just as he was about to close and choose later, Ethan noticed another (i) symbol next to Job Selection. Clicking it opened another information window.

[Job Details]

Until reaching the Explorer Specialist Rank, jobs can be freely switched.

Stat points cannot be reset once allocated, even if jobs are changed.

Skills acquired from any job do not get reset/replaced if the job is changed.

Ethan let out a slow breath. "So there's a level and stat system, that makes things much easier than having to build up strength from the scratch. And of course you cannot reset stat points, resetting the stat points would've been a cheat on its own. You could just adapt your stats to whatever the situation demanded."

The system was clearly nudging people into picking a single job early on. Sure, you could technically swap roles, but without stat resets, early mistakes could permanently weaken you later.

There was an exploit—hoard all stat points until the Specialist level and then distribute them based on the final job choice.

But that was unrealistic.

If you survived long enough to reach Specialist Rank, chances were, you'd already had to allocate stats just to stay alive.

While there was a huge flexibility and no penalty job change feature provided for a lot of possibilities.

He still wasn't sure how he felt about locking himself into a role.

But then again, there was not much of a choice.

"Smart system," Ethan muttered, zeroing in on Ranged, which was probably the best bet until he could figure more out about the system.

Closing the system interface, Ethan looked towards the exit of the alley that opened into what seemed like a very normal street.

Well then, lets do this.

Ethan took a breath, flexed his fingers and walked out of the alley.

__________________________________________________________________________________

The world outside felt almost too normal.

Ethan had half expected to stumble into some dystopian nightmare or an environment entirely alien, but this city was just… a city.

The streets were clean, the air crisp, and the people well-dressed and orderly.

If anything, they were too orderly.

As he walked, he casually observed the pedestrians, his radar and map still open in the corner of his vision.

Nothing triggered an alert, and everyone scanned as human when he used Appraisal.

Their names were normal—David, Lisa, Eric, Sarah. All of it felt almost too perfect.

And speaking of perfect—

Why was everyone so damn attractive?

No blemishes, no wrinkles, no imperfections.

Symmetrical faces, straight teeth, flawless skin—it was like looking at a world run by top-tier genetics.

"Maybe I've landed in an evolved supermodel civilization," Ethan mused internally.

He dismissed the thought with a mental chuckle and kept walking.

Maybe this world just had better nutrition, superior genetics, or less stress.

He wasn't about to start spiraling over good-looking people.

Not yet, anyway.

After walking for a while and finding nothing overtly unusual, he settled into a small coffee shop that seemed popular.

A soft chime greeted him as he stepped inside, and the scent of fresh coffee and pastries filled the air.

The establishment had a sleek yet cozy design, filled with people casually sipping their drinks and eating their meals.

Ethan picked a corner seat, facing the crowd, and looked at what to order through a digital menu on the table.

The currency was not listed, it was a just a number.

And I do not have any money, oh well, we shall cross that bridge when we come across it.

Placing his order, he had barely just settled in for the wait when a steaming cup of coffee materialized before him, placed down by attractive barista who smiled and walked away with mechanical efficiency.

Wow, that was fast.

The efficiency was quite surprising but Ethan didn't pay it much mind.

Now, for the first time since arriving, Ethan allowed himself to really watch.

People often underestimated how much they gave away with their body language, habits, and expressions. Back in his old life, it was this skill that helped him build his company. He had always been a watcher—someone who could decode a person's intentions within minutes of meeting them.

He had closed deals by reading micro-expressions. He had caught liars because they blinked too much or too little.

He had predicted competitor moves just by noticing what they weren't saying.

Now, that skill was coming in handy in a much stranger way.

At first, nothing seemed abnormal. People came and went, ordered food, chatted, checked their phones. But then…

Ethan started noticing a pattern.

A man walked up, placed an order. He received a specific meal with a specific drink.

Then, the next customer stepped up.

A different meal, a different drink.

Then, the third. Another unique combination.

But then the fourth customer ordered the exact same thing as the first.

The fifth? Same as the second.

The sixth? Same as the third.

It looped.

Three different meals. Three different drinks.

Repeating, exactly.

Ethan felt a slow chill creep up his spine.

"That's… weird."

His rational mind tried to dismiss it. Maybe they just had a limited breakfast menu? Maybe those were the popular choices?

Still, just to confirm, he shifted his gaze to another table and timed how long it took each person to finish eating.

12 minutes and 39 seconds.

Then the next table. 12 minutes and 39 seconds.

Then the next.

Identical.

Ethan let out a dry chuckle in his mind and swallowed. This wasn't normal.

His fingers lightly tapped against the table as his brain processed what he was seeing. Either this was one hell of a coincidence… or something was deeply wrong with this place.

Then his eyes met another customer's across the room.

Caught off guard, Ethan instinctively offered a small, awkward smile.

The customer returned the smile—only, something about it was off.

The moment their gaze locked, the person slowly stood up from their seat, maintaining eye contact with Ethan.

A faint flicker in his vision pulled Ethan's attention to his Radar.

The small white dot that represented the customer turned red.

His stomach dropped.

Okay… that person did not like my smile.

Before he could process it further, the customer started walking toward him.

And then—more dots on his Radar turned red.

Not just one. Not two. But all of them.

The entire café.

Ethan's pulse spiked as he watched the once-indifferent patrons stand up in eerie synchronization.

His thoughts blanked for a second before a single, panicked realization hit him and he exclaimed, "Oh, come on—was my smile that bad?!"