Light.
I lay sprawled across my desk, staring at the ceiling, half-listening to the teacher's droning voice as he mumbled about something utterly irrelevant. History? Geography? What did it matter? It was all the same — soul-crushingly dull.
"I'm so tired of this life..." I thought wearily, resting my cheek on my hand. "There's nothing left in it. No meaning, no excitement, not even a sliver of joy. Just the same mindless routine, over and over again."
The only thing that kept me from drowning completely in despair was gaming.
Yes, as cliché as it sounded.
But in games — I was king.
The best of the best.
Maybe in real life I was a nobody, but in virtual worlds, my name was etched into legends.
My name is Son Kang Min.
I'm eighteen years old.
Just another student at the painfully ordinary Ilman Ji High School, tucked away in the forgotten outskirts of Seoul.
No special talents. No parents. No money. No bright future.
Just me, and this gray, rotting reality.
Crushed beneath the weight of boredom, I turned my head mechanically toward the window, seeking even the faintest spark of distraction.
But even outside… grey buildings, grey cars, grey people.
"How unbearably dull..." the thought drifted again.
If only something would happen… anything.
And, as if the heavens themselves had heard my plea — something happened.
I was gazing at a distant skyscraper when I saw it — its top blown to pieces.
First a sound like thunder, then an explosion, then screams, clouds of dust...
I instinctively pushed myself up on my elbows.
What the hell…?
The glass windows shuddered violently throughout the building.
The teacher's voice was swallowed by the rising panic of the students.
Someone screamed right next to me, but I stayed frozen, eyes locked onto the window, unable to tear myself away from the unfolding nightmare.
Perched upon the crumbling ruins of the skyscraper... was something.
Something enormous. Something monstrous.
It was a... dragon.
Yes, a dragon — real as death itself, ripped straight from the pages of a fantasy epic.
Two colossal wings, a hide of blazing crimson scales, claws the size of buses...
It roared — and even through the sealed windows, I heard the beast's deafening cry.
A dragon?!
Here? In reality?
My mind raced, scrambling for an explanation: mass hysteria? A dream? Some new weapon of war?
No.
My instincts screamed: this is real.
I cast my gaze downward.
The streets were a writhing hellscape.
Hordes of creatures — goblins, orcs, grotesque rats the size of dogs — surged through the city, tearing through cars and humans alike, sowing chaos without mercy.
Overturned vehicles. Shattered storefronts. Blood. Smoke. Fire.
Even the school courtyard was crawling with monsters.
And in that moment, I knew:
The world I once knew — had ended.
This was it. The finish line. Game over.
The teacher was shouting something about evacuation, but I wasn't listening.
All around me, my classmates screamed, ran, broke down in tears.
And yet I sat there, staring coldly out the window.
Calm. Detached.
Deep within me, something stirred — a strange, dark satisfaction.
After all...
What had I wished for only moments ago?
If only something would happen...
And here it was.
Suddenly—
A voice.
Something not of this world, reverberating inside my skull:
"You have been chosen.
You are one of the Five Billion.
Congratulations.
You are now... a Player."
I jerked my head up.
Player?
What nonsense was this?
Before I could even react, the world around me — vanished.
With a single, soundless clap.
The school, the students, the walls — gone.
I was floating in space.
Endless darkness surrounded me, distant stars flickering like cold embers.
Beneath my feet — nothing.
I drifted in the void.
Before me — thousands, no, tens of thousands of cards.
All faced away, their backs shimmering with a cold, silvery sheen.
Each card bore one or more stars.
Then the voice spoke again:
"You have ten seconds.
Choose your destiny."
Ten seconds?!
Panic flared — but I smothered it, forcing my mind into action.
Frantically, I scanned the cards.
Some bore one star.
Others two.
There — a card with three stars.
And there — a card adorned with five golden stars!
Five stars!
By the laws of every game ever made, that had to be some kind of super-rare card, right?
The gamer within me howled: "Take it! Take it now!"
I reached out—
But then.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something.
A card.
Different from the others.
It bore only one star.
But not gold.
Red.
And in my chest — a sharp, piercing tug.
Primal instinct screamed:
"Pick that one!"
One heartbeat of hesitation — and I seized the card with the red star.
The world erupted in scarlet light.
The cards vanished. The stars went dark.
And the voice declared:
"Congratulations.
You have chosen the class: Demonologist[★] — Summoner of Demons.
Prepare for your trial."
Demonologist...? Summoner of Demons?!
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Judging by the name, it sounded like something extremely... cursed.
I had no time to think.
Because once again, everything disappeared.
I was back in the school.
But not the school I remembered — no, this was a battlefield.
Cracks split the walls, debris littered the floor, blood stained everything.
And most important of all — there were people.
My classmates, teachers — all huddled together in the main hall like frightened animals.
The voice boomed once more:
"Survivor's Quest:
You have six hours to kill the territory's Boss.
Exit is impossible until the quest is completed.
Failure means death."
Bon appétit, as they say.
A shudder of horror rippled through the crowd.
Some wept.
Some laughed, hysteria breaking their minds.
Some tried to smash their way out through the windows — all in vain.
And I... I stood there in silence.
Cold. Detached.
Kill the Boss within six hours.
Simple enough.
I had done it a hundred times in games before.
The key was simple:
Stay calm.
And use everything at your disposal.
I summoned the interface.
A translucent window floated before my eyes:
Name: Son Kang Min
Class: Demonologist[★] — Summoner of Demons
Level: 1
HP: 100/100
MP: 150/150
Skills:
Summon Lesser Imp (Level 1)
Blood Absorption (Level 1)
Heh.
Not much.
But it was a start.
I focused on the skill.
And in the next moment, a blood-red magic circle flared to life before me.
I felt a painful tug, as if my very blood was being drawn into the summoning.
From the circle, with a hiss and a puff of smoke, tumbled out...
a tiny imp.
Warning! MP -20 HP -10
"So the summoning consumes both mana and blood?"
The thought flickered in my mind.
The creature barely came up to my knees — with tiny wings, a wicked grin, and a tail that flicked excitedly.
It glared at me with mischievous eyes, sticking out its tongue with glee.
"Are you serious?" I groaned internally.
But there was no choice.
Forward, my little monster.
The hunt for goblins begins.