Boom!...Crackle!...
On New Year's Eve in 2023, a massive fissure split open across the night sky. At first, people mistook it for a grand fireworks display—until countless glowing red eyes peered out from within the abyss.
"Ahhh! Agkh! Mercy! Spare me!"
Desperate screams echoed from the distance. Panic erupted as people scrambled mindlessly in every direction. Behind the fleeing crowd, a massive, green-skinned creature emerged. It bared protruding tusks and held a heavy greataxe dripping with blood. Scattered around its feet were the mangled remains of human bodies.
A wave of horror paralyzed me. Struggling to suppress the surge of nausea, my legs refused to move. Only one frantic thought consumed my mind "I have to run back to Mom and my younger sister". I must make sure they're safe.
Before I could take a single step, the world abruptly ground to a halt. Time had frozen and everything around me stop moving even I can only moving my eyes .
Crack... Crack... Crack!
A blinding light burst from the skyward rift. Out from the glow descended a sublime entity clad in brilliant white and gold. Its eyes gleamed with divine golden light, and broad, white wings unfurled behind it.
"Be at ease, humans. From this moment forth, I shall extend my salvation upon you all."
"Speak the word 'Status', and you shall behold my Blessing."
Although it defied all reason, I had no choice but to do as they say .
"Status."
The moment the word left my lips, a translucent blue window manifested right before my eyes:
==========================
STATUS WINDOW
==========================
Name : Kurogane Renji
Affiliation : None
Achievement : Punching Bag
Class : None
---------------------------------------------
STR : 11 VIT : 14
SPD : 12 INT : 9
DEF : 15 MDEF: 2
---------------------------------------------
Skills : [Basic Defense]
===========================
Staring at the screen, I couldn't help but wonder—what on earth were the 'Punching Bag' achievement and the 'Basic Defense' skill?
As if responding to my confusion, detailed description boxes materialized right before my eyes:
[Achievement: Punching Bag]
• Description : Awarded for repeatedly taking damage without dealing any back to your opponent.
• Condition : Endure continuous minor damage without retaliating.
• Effect : Increases Defense (DEF) by 5%.
[Skill: Basic Defense]
• Description : Acquired after withstanding enemy attacks multiple times.
• Condition : Block or absorb attacks more than once using a proper stance.
• Effect : Increases Defense (DEF) by 15% when active.
"What on Hell is with this description?! Was this pulled straight from my life? How could it possibly know about that?"
A barrage of questions raced through my mind. But before I could even begin to process the bizarre reality unfolding around me, the majestic entity spoke once more.
"From this moment forth, you must defend your world. But rest assured—I shall lend you my strength through these windows."
With a single snap of its fingers, the frozen world lurched back to life. The deafening screams and bloody chaos erupted instantly, yet the entity's voice resonated clearly above the bedlam, continuing its decree:
"Ah... yes. Out of my mercy, I shall bestow a gift upon you."
With another snap of the entity's fingers, the monsters writhing below gasped in sudden agony. One after another, their massive bodies detonated, instantly reducing them to a shower of blood and flesh.
Stunned by the miracle, the surrounding crowd erupted into hushed awe. Some revered the entity as a divine angel, while others fell to their knees, praising it as God Himself.
Without uttering another word, the radiant figure turned and vanished back into the skyward fissure. As soon as it departed, a sharp chime resonated inside my head.
Ding!....
[Level 0 Rift Countdown: 2 Days, 5 Hours, 29 Minutes]
The system message was crystal clear: a disaster like tonight's would repeat itself in just over two days. A sudden cold sweat broke out across my back.
Tap!...Tap!...Tap!...
I turned and sprinted toward home with everything I had. Panic gripped my chest when I finally arrived—the structure was battered, with fresh splatters of blood staining the broken outer walls. Desperate, I threw my weight against the front entry.
Creak... BAM!
The splintered wooden door burst open under my force.
"Are you two okay?!"
An overwhelming wave of relief washed over me. Neither of them had suffered serious injuries—only minor scratches on their arms and legs. Once my racing heart slowed down, I hurried to ask, "What happened here?"
My younger sister, her voice still trembling, explained that while eating dinner with Mom, they heard a sudden loud crash followed by frantic screams from the street. Terrified, they barricaded themselves inside. But shortly after, my sister heard a mysterious voice echo directly inside her head, prompting her to say the word 'Status'—which manifested a floating window before her eyes.
Curiously, Mom insisted that she had heard no such voice at all.
After securing what we could, we hurried to the nearest evacuation shelter. Once inside, my sister and I huddled in a quiet corner to exchange what little information we had, trying to make sense of the nightmare. I recounted everything about the entity divine appearance, its declaration, and the terrifying display of power that obliterated the monsters in an instant.
Before we knew it, morning broke. The emergency broadcasts on the shelter's televisions played on a continuous loop, revealing that the cataclysm was far from local—it had struck globally. Intriguingly, the news showed entirely different entities descending in other countries, accompanied by vastly different species of monsters attacking each region.
As I stood transfixed by the chaotic news report, a sharp chime resonated in my mind.
Ding!...
[System Notification: Inventory Feature Unlocked!]
• You can access your Inventory by saying the word 'Inventory'
or by tapping the bag icon at the bottom-left of your Status Window.
I summoned the inventory window. Resting inside one of the empty slots was a single, cryptic item:
[Item: Scroll of the Forgotten: @#$g%yab??'&7God#A&VT&]
[Effect: ?????]
The letters glitched and twisted before my eyes, rendered completely unreadable.
"What on earth is this description even supposed to mean?!"....
....