Roy_6239

In the year 2090, Edenfall was more than just a game—it was the world’s second reality.

Players fought, traded, and lived inside the virtual realm… until five years ago, when its creator vanished without a trace. Then, the sky cracked.

From the rift between code and reality, monsters poured into the real world—creatures that no gun, no missile, no nuclear weapon could destroy. Cities burned. Nations fell. And billions died.

But from the ashes of collapse, something awakened in humanity. Powers once locked inside the game sparked to life in the real world. Guilds formed. Gates appeared. And the war for survival began.

Edenfall: Recode

The gate pulsed like a heartbeat in the dead silence of Seoul's outer ruins. Ji-Hoon stood alone, hood pulled low, gripping the back of his neck as if he could press the fear down into his spine and make it stay there.

The gate wasn't big—an E-rank rupture, flickering like a half-rendered wound. But this wasn't a dungeon run with a party. This was a trial. His first official step into the Player world.

[Mission: Gate Trial – Solo Clearance]Rank: E-Class Gate

Objective: Survive for 10 minutes or eliminate all threats

Reward: Gate License (Probationary)

Failure: Revocation of Player Status

The automated Safe Zone officers didn't even glance at him. He wasn't a threat. He wasn't even worth betting against.

His fingers twitched, brushing the edge of his vision where the interface lingered—hovering just at the edge of his mind.

CLASS: RECODE [???]ORIGIN: Undefined

SKILLS:– False Echo (Modified)– System Trace

False Echo... he hadn't figured out what changed about it yet. Maybe nothing had. Maybe the Recode class was just another joke.

But System Trace... that one had bite.

["Skill Ready: SYSTEM TRACE. ✦ Cooldown: 30 minutes."]["Warning: Target lock must be active to initiate trace. Environmental anomalies may increase system instability. Proceed with caution."]

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered, flexing his fingers. "Let's just see what I can do."

It wasn't like VR. It wasn't even like the simulation pads they trained on in the city. The Gate bent physics — warped it into a barely stable copy-paste of digital madness and real terrain.

This one looked like a temple, half-sunken into cracked, mossy stone. Purple mist clung to the corners. A flickering skybox above looped a broken moon, half-rendered clouds, and static.

[Zone Entered: Glitched Shrine – E-Class Gate]

Environmental Hazard: Memory Fragment Interference

A low growl echoed from the ruins.

He ducked behind a column as something stalked through the mist—elongated, humanoid, but with too many joints. It moved like bad animation on a broken rig.

One target. Time to test.

He narrowed his eyes and activated his skill.

✦ System Trace Activated

Scanning target...Processing behavior pattern...Extracting combat routine...Temporary Access Granted

The world shifted. His eyes blurred—and then focused. Data bloomed around the creature in glowing code:

Attack Rhythm: Predictable → 3-step swipe / 1.5s delay

Weak Point: Left leg joint – stability compromised

Status: Fragmented Render – vulnerable to mental disruption

Ji-Hoon gasped. His heart thundered. It was like the monster had been unlocked.

He moved—not by instinct, but by reading the next line of its attack routine. He sidestepped the strike with surgical precision and triggered False Echo.

His illusion snapped out—a perfect double.

The creature twisted toward the echo instead, distracted just long enough for Ji-Hoon to dive for its leg. His blade—a dull, issued training knife—plunged in.

Enemy Eliminated✦ +3% Sync Progression✦ System Stability: Normal

Not with strength. Not with power. But with data.

Three more creatures emerged from the mist—twisted figures with warped limbs, crawling forward like corrupted NPCs.

["You are being observed."]["Recode path deviation possible. Adapting..."]

And then something massive moved in the deeper dark.

The boss had arrived.

Ji-Hoon turned toward the sound, blood pumping, nerves on fire. His timer said he only had six minutes left.

But for the first time, he didn't feel like prey.

And bugs could crash entire worlds.

The Gate Trail