Lucas blinked several times, rubbing his eyes as the blue screen hovered in front of him.
"This... this can't be real," he muttered. But no matter how many times he blinked, the glowing text didn't disappear.
Outside, chaos erupted. Students screamed and scattered as more green creatures crawled out of the smoldering meteorite, their yellow eyes glinting with hunger and bloodlust.
"Everyone, get out of the building!" the teacher shouted, slamming open the classroom door.
Lucas, however, stood still — his heart pounding, but not out of fear.
He was excited.
"This is it," he whispered, his lips curling into a shaky grin. "The apocalypse has finally come."
He glanced at the screen again.
"Level 0, huh? Guess that means I have to fight to level up…"
A loud crash echoed through the hallway. One of the goblins had climbed through a broken window, snarling, its crude club dragging across the floor.
The other students screamed and bolted for the exit — all except Lucas.
He grabbed a fallen broom handle and stood his ground.
"Come on then, you ugly little tutorial boss," Lucas said, his grip tightening.
The goblin hissed and lunged at him. Instinctively, Lucas swung the broom with all his strength — the brittle wood cracked against the creature's face. It stumbled back, growling.
"Did that... actually work?"
Before Lucas could react, the goblin charged again. He ducked, sweeping its legs out from under it, and stomped down hard on its chest. The creature shrieked and flailed. Lucas didn't stop — he kept hitting it, over and over, until it stopped moving.
Blood spattered across the floor. His hands trembled. His breathing was heavy.
And then—
[ You have killed a Goblin (Lv.1) ]
[ Level up!]
[You have 5 undisturbed stat points ]
A rush of warmth surged through his body. His muscles felt stronger, his senses sharper.
"Hah... it's real. This is really happening," he said, panting, eyes wide with disbelief and excitement.
[ Level : 1 (0/100) ]
[ Strength : 9 ]
[ Agility : 10 ]
[ Stamina : 10 ]
[ Mana : 12 ]
[ Health : 10 ]
[ Undisturbed stat : 5 ]
[ Title: --]
"Finally…" Lucas muttered, his lips curling into a twisted smile. "I've finally found something I'm good at."
Suddenly, a new notification appeared before him.
[ Hidden Quest Unlocked: "Awakening of the Survivor" ]
> Objective: Survive the first wave of monsters (Time limit: 10 minutes)
Reward: ???
Lucas's heart pounded faster.
"Ten minutes, huh?" he said, looking out the window at the chaos below — dozens of goblins now swarming the campus.
He tightened his grip on the broom handle, eyes gleaming.
"Then let's make it count."