Chapter 7 : When the sky blinked

It has been a day since the battle with the Wraith hive.

And we've just discovered something. Something that could be lethal in serious situations.

When your mana reaches zero… you can't use any of your skills—NOT EVEN the ones tied to your nature.

Ye-Rin passed out for twelve hours straight after casting *Infernal Bite*. Her mana was completely drained, and even her Lucky Roulette Master nature got shut down like a power outage.

How did we figure that out?

Well… we got attacked again on the fifth floor. This time by cannonball rabbits.

Then a few shield Wraiths joined the fun on our way back.

Then… more rabbits.

And more rabbits.

And EVEN MORE rabbits.

And then—surprise!—rabbits again.

At some point, I stopped fighting and just stared at the ceiling.

"Mother, real question. Are we stuck in some kind of rabbit simulator? Did the devs just copy-paste them everywhere? Where the hell were these things before?"

Despite killing over thirty of them, our EXP barely moved.

"Only 38%," Mother said, checking her profile window like it was a receipt that cheated her out of change.

We finally made it back to our apartment. I carried Ye-Rin to her bed and collapsed onto mine without even bothering with dinner. We were drained—physically and mentally. Sleep came immediately.

Morning. Ye-Rin's eating breakfast, toast in mouth. I am standing by the window, scanning outside.

"We're moving out of the apartment building today" I said without turning around.

Ye-Rin blinked, a half-eaten toast in her hand. "Wait, what? Why? We just got back."

Mother glanced at me too, silently waiting for an explanation.

I nodded toward the window, then back at them. "I've been thinking… every fight happened near buildings. Apartments. Shops. Places humans live—or used to live."

Ye-Rin paused mid-bite. "So... monsters are drawn to buildings now?"

Mother gave Ye-Rin a look of disbelief before asking me, " So where should we go then?"

"To the studio house," I replied.

"Hold on, that cabin in the woods?" Ye-rin, said while choking on her bread.

"It's not a cabin. It's a fully built studio, made of reinforced brick and timber. Solar-powered, backup batteries, filtered water, and far enough from any district center that we won't draw attention. Plus, ocean view. It's better than this apartment in every way right now." I defended.

"Whyyy…?" she groaned, mouth full.

"You were unconscious yesterday, but while you were out, we killed around thirty rabbits. Still didn't get much EXP." I echoed Mother's point from earlier."Just like that dragon outside our building has levels," Mother chimed in, "these monsters must too. The stronger the monster, the more the EXP. So we need to hunt smarter if we want to survive. And level up faster."

I added, "Today might be our last breakfast in this apartment. We'll be moving to my studio house. After that, we plan the future missions."

"Sucks that our signals have been jammed since this morning," Ye-Rin muttered. "I should've checked with my friends…"

"what about Han Ji-a noona? Wasn't she in Seoul?"

I froze for a moment, then gave a half-smile.

"I'll look for her when I can. But for now, inter-district travel seems to be locked behind some kind of barrier."

Silence.

Then she squinted at me. "Wait a minute… did you try leaving the city last night?"

I blinked. "What?"

"Don't 'what' me," she said, pointing. "I know that face. You did, didn't you?"

"I didn't go anywhere," I said, my voice flat.

My mother's eyes were already locked on me. "Ye-Jun…" she said, softly.

I raised my hands defensively. "I swear. I haven't left the district."

Ye-Rin folded her arms. "You've done it before, you know. During curfew. That one time—"

"That was different," I cut in, not offering a reason.

I showed them my screen and pointed.

"Not anymore. Look—under Mission 001, it clearly says: 'You cannot travel to another marked area.'"

"I didn't sneak out," I said again. "Not this time."

Ye-Rin and Mother exchanged a look.

"You did it once," Mother said. "You didn't say why. Just came back the next morning with mud all over your shoes and that looked on your face like nothing happened."

"I know."

I looked away for a moment. "That was then."

"And now?"

"Now, I have two people who could die if I do something stupid. I'm not risking that."

The tension cracked just slightly

Mother finally let out a breath.

"It's good to have those eyes of yours. Honestly, it's great for my mental health," she said with a relieved sigh, > "Alright," Mother said after a long pause. "We'll go after breakfast. Pack light. Weapons, gear, essentials only."

"Understood."

Ye-Rin picked up her toast again and muttered, "Still feels weird running from rabbits."

I smirked. "I'd rather face a dragon with strategy than an army of wraiths with plot armor."

"Not funny."

"It was a little funny."

**Somewhere near Mugeo-dong — Jeong In-Ji's POV**

"Director, are we really safe here?"

A young woman, barely in her twenties, whispered harshly toward a man in his forties, glancing nervously out the boarded-up window of an abandoned building.

"Shhh... Are you trying to get us killed?" the driver hissed back.

Another man, around her age, gently placed a hand over her mouth—not harshly, but firmly enough to muffle her panic.

"Seo-Yeon, calm down," he said. "We can't afford to make noise."

"Jeong In-Ji oppa…" Her voice trembled as tears welled up in her eyes. "We were just here for an interview. Just an interview. I don't want to die... I'm scared." She wrapped her arms around him tightly.

In-Ji held her back, his heart thudding. He didn't have an answer. Two days ago, they were standing under the city lights, looking down at Gongdong Beach from a hilltop, carefree.

**Flashback – Two Days Earlier**

"Oppa, take another pic!"

Seo-Yeon spun with playful energy, posing by the cliffside railing. In-Ji chuckled and snapped the photo.

"You're unusually excited," he said, capturing her laughter.

"Well, two reasons," she said coyly. "One—this is your first drama project. Two—"

"—Because we're together?" he cut in.

Seo-Yeon smiled—a soft, heart-aching smile that hit him like a train. "Can I kiss you?"

"What if I say no?"

But before she could finish teasing, she leaned in and kissed the back of his neck. A shiver ran down his spine.

"Ah… young love," groaned Sang-Woo, seated at the driver's seat of the nearby van. "You kids realize I'm still here, right?"

*Jun-Live TV*, they had come to Buk-gu, Ulsan with the team for an exclusive interview promoting the upcoming drama *The Hopeless Witch*. Seo-Yeon, a rising actress with a growing fanbase, was the guest. In-Ji was making his acting debut. They were to appear on Shin Ye-jun's channel as a marketing stunt.

Suddenly, The night sky cracked open with a sudden burst of crimson light. The sky turned red.

It wasn't a sunset. It wasn't fireworks.

It was wrong.

A massive eye — vast enough to cover the entire sky like a dome — blinked into existence. Pupil dilated. Staring. Not down, but through.

Then it blinked.

Its pupil narrowed, unblinking, and every instinct in their bodies screamed: Run.

Seo-yeon's scream ripped through the silence.

"Aaaaaaaaaah!!"

She clutched at her ears, eyes wide with horror, then turned to In-Ji and threw herself against his chest. Her body was shaking.

"Don't look!" In-Ji instinctively cupped her head and pulled her closer, shielding her from the cosmic nightmare above.

They sprinted for the van.

"Get in!" Sang-Woo barked, firing up the engine. The dashboard screen flickered.

A blue screen blinked into existence in front of them:

~ You have been chosen as a player.

Panic broke out.

~ Congratulations! You have been selected! Welcome to the \*\*\*\*\* world!

You, foolish mortals, have been chosen for a greater purpose...

The message echoed in their minds like a god whispering through the bones of the earth.

~ Only the strong shall rise. Only the worthy will ascend. Fail, and be discarded.

This is the Eye of Judgment. It watches all.

The voice grew louder. Clearer. The sky flashed with strings of glowing runes none of them could read.

"...Climb the Great Ladder to Divinity! But first... a test."

They barely had time to close the doors before a translucent blue screen materialized in front of each of them.

A floating deck of cards hovered mid-air — holographic, glowing, and pulsing like it was alive. A system message scrolled across the top.

~SELECT YOUR CARD

~Your soul is being evaluated...

~You have 20 seconds remaining.

What the hell is this?!" In-Ji yelled.

"I don't know!" Sang-Woo slammed a hand against his screen trying to swat it away from his face—his palm accidentally brushed a card.

~CARD SELECTED

"What? No! I didn't—!"

In-Ji... I've got one too!" Seo-yeon cried, panicking as her own deck hovered in front of her, fanned out like a magician's trick. "I don't... what do I pick? What even is this?!"

In-Ji was frozen too. A countdown had started above the deck.

**10… 9… 8…**

"Maybe just don't touch it?" he muttered, squinting. "Could be AR tech or something... maybe if we wait—"

**3… 2… 1...**

Their cards suddenly flickered—and **one each was automatically selected** with a flash of blue.

CARD ASSIGNED

Seo-yeon flinched. "What—? I didn't even pick—"

The sky's voice returned, almost bored.

Tips:

~ Players can access their Status Window with the ~command "Status Window."

~ Rewards will be given based on contribution.

~ Your Natures are tied to the truth of your soul.

Before they could read further—boom.

Something massive slammed into the passenger side of the car.

The vehicle spun—screeching down the hill road, smashing into a guardrail, then crashing through it.

They were falling.

Not far — just a steep drop into the edge of the city's hillside road.

The car slammed into the asphalt with a bone-jarring crunch.

Airbags didn't deploy.

The windshield spiderwebbed. The right side was caved in. Smoke began to hiss from under the hood.

"Everyone—out!" Sang-Woo kicked his door open, coughing.

In-Ji helped Seo-yeon, her head bleeding slightly. She was in shock, barely registering anything.

Then they heard it.

**The screaming.**

Dozens — no, hundreds — of people were running on the main street ahead.

Monsters were everywhere.

A three-headed boar tackled a man into a streetlamp. A wolf-like creature with snakes for a spine tore through a barricade of abandoned cars. In the distance, a flock of razor-winged crows dive-bombed through traffic like living bullets.

Then came the thing that had hit them: a beast like a horse, but its body was covered in hundreds of tails. Its face was a single vertical slit.

It had a mane of tangled, twitching tails and a face split vertically down the middle. Inside its mouth were rows and rows of dagger-like teeth, twisting and folding like machinery.

It let out a shriek that shattered a nearby shop window.

"Oh my God—" Seo-yeon choked out.

"Run!" Sang-Woo didn't think—he grabbed their hands and dragged them into the street, weaving through the chaos.

Fire. Blood. Car alarms. People screaming prayers.

They ducked into a narrow alley, In-Ji half-carrying Seo-yeon, their shoes slipping on blood-soaked concrete.

"Construction site—there!" Sang-Woo pointed.

A half-built three-story building loomed nearby. Exposed beams, scaffolding, raw concrete. But it had height. Maybe safety.

The trio sprinted across the road, dodging a mutant deer as it crashed into a nearby sedan.

They climbed the scaffolding.

Luckily, found a room to hide from.

In-Ji was shaking. Seo-yeon was unconscious. Sang-Woo stared at the blinking light on the far horizon — the giant eye still open above it all.

They didn't speak.

Not because they were calm.

But because words couldn't describe the beginning of the end.