The air in the Daesong Biochemical plant hung heavy, thick with the scent of disinfectants and a faint, ever-present whisper of death – a cocktail Kang Jin-woo had grown so accustomed to, it had become the bland wallpaper of his existence. Jin-woo worked the night shift as a cleaner, a job that demanded little more than drifting through sterile corridors, hallways, and labs, his mop painting damp, fleeting strokes on the polished floors. A perfect gig for someone like him, someone who preferred the shadows and the silence, someone who found a perverse, hidden pleasure in observing the world from behind a mask of utter indifference.
Jin-woo was anything but ordinary, though he played the part with masterful skill. Behind his calm eyes, still as the surface of a frozen lake, lurked a psyche as complex as it was dark. Psychopath, narcissist, sadist – labels he would have found rather amusing, had anyone dared utter them to his face. He hadn't chosen this nature; it had sprouted within him like a poisonous flower, nurtured in the soil of neglect and cruelty that had defined his childhood in a wretched orphanage in one of Incheon's poorer districts. He'd learned early on that empathy was a weakness, pain a tool, and the world nothing more than a grand stage filled with puppets ripe for manipulation.
Tonight, like every other night, Jin-woo performed his duties with mechanical precision. He passed by Research Lab No. 3, where dim lights cast long, eerie shadows of complex machinery. He paused for a moment, not to rest, but because something had snagged his attention. A scrawny black cat, one of those stray souls that occasionally slipped into the factory grounds seeking warmth or a scrap of food, was crouched near a biohazard waste container, its emerald eyes gleaming in the faint light.
A faint, almost invisible smile touched Jin-woo's lips. He bent down slowly, extending a hand towards the cat. It wasn't a friendly gesture, but an invitation laced with menace. The cat hesitated for a moment, then, driven by hunger or perhaps loneliness, it cautiously approached. When it was within reach, Jin-woo snatched it with surprising force by the scruff of its neck. The cat let out a muffled, pained yowl of fear. He didn't tighten his grip enough to choke it; no, that would be too quick. Instead, he began to stroke its dirty fur with his finger, his eyes watching its pupils dilate and its body tremble faintly.
"You're scared, aren't you?" he whispered, his voice as smooth as silk, a stark contrast to the chilling coldness in his eyes. "Good. Fear makes things more… interesting." He continued his "caress" for a few more minutes, reveling in the complete control he had over this small, helpless creature. There was no anger or hatred in his actions, just a cold curiosity, almost a scientific experiment. Then, with the same calmness he'd begun with, he suddenly opened his hand. The cat dropped to the floor and bolted like an arrow into the darkness, leaving behind a few scattered hairs and the memory of an icy touch.
Jin-woo sighed, not from exhaustion, but from a slight sense of boredom. The amusement had ended too quickly. He returned to his work, his mop erasing any trace of his presence. About an hour later, while cleaning a storage room for expired chemicals, he noticed something odd. In a neglected corner, under a dusty shelf, was a small box made of a matte black material, unlike anything he had seen in the factory before. It bore no label or marking.
Ordinarily, Jin-woo would have ignored it. None of his business. But something about the box's appearance, the aura of silence that enveloped it, piqued his dark curiosity. He pulled on thick rubber gloves and carefully picked up the box. It was unnaturally cold to the touch, despite the room's stuffy warmth. He tried to open it, but it was sealed tight, with no visible lock or hinges.
He frowned slightly. A challenge. That interested him. He examined the box from every angle, then, with a sudden movement, he struck it hard with the metal edge of his mop handle. It didn't open, but a strange sound, like a low-frequency hum, emanated from it for a moment before fading. His curiosity intensified. He placed the box on the floor and began to look around for any tool that might help him. He found a small metal rod, previously used for prying open heavy containers.
He inserted the tip of the rod into a thin, barely visible slit on the side of the box and pressed with all his might. A sharp cracking sound, and then the lid sprang open abruptly, revealing the box's contents. There was nothing physical inside. No devices, no chemicals, nothing but a pitch-black void, a void that seemed to suck the light from its surroundings. Jin-woo leaned in for a closer look and felt a slight dizziness, as if this emptiness was pulling him in.
And suddenly, a faint blue light flashed from the depths of the void. Then, directly in front of him, in mid-air, a transparent window appeared, resembling a video game screen, with glowing white Korean characters that read:
[Conditions Met.]
[Initiating "Dark Awakening System".]
[Welcome, Player Kang Jin-woo.]
Jin-woo's eyes widened slightly, not from fear, but from sheer, unadulterated surprise. He raised his hand to touch the window, but it passed right through as if it weren't there. He blinked. The window was still there, floating silently, its words glowing steadily in the gloom of the room.
"Dark… Awakening System?" he muttered to himself. A flicker of something akin to anticipation, or perhaps hunger, sparked in his eyes. This… this could be far more interesting than torturing cats.
A slow, genuine smile spread across his face this time. It wasn't a smile of joy, but the grin of a predator that had found new prey, or a mad scientist on the verge of a dangerous and enticing experiment. The world he knew, the dull, monotonous world, was just beginning to change. And he, Kang Jin-woo, was at the very center of that change.
[First Skill Acquired: "Cold Observer's Eye".]
[Description: You can see basic information about living beings and inanimate objects within a certain range. Details depend on your skill level and understanding of the target.]
Jin-woo looked at his mop. A small window popped up above it:
[Industrial Mop - Common Grade]
[Durability: 7/10]
[Description: A simple cleaning tool. Can be used as a very weak makeshift weapon.]
Then he looked at the metal rod he'd used to open the box.
[Metal Rod - Common Grade]
[Durability: 9/10]
[Description: A solid piece of metal. Can be used as a lever or a moderately effective makeshift weapon.]
[Hidden Note: Carries very faint traces of dark energy from contact with the "Miniature Dimensional Gate".]
"Miniature Dimensional Gate…" Jin-woo repeated the words softly. So, the box hadn't been empty. It had been a gate. A gate to what? That was what he was about to find out. And that discovery, he could feel it in the depths of his twisted being, was going to be incredibly entertaining.
The familiar scent of disinfectants and the faint whisper of death in the Daesong Biochemical plant suddenly seemed to carry a new flavor, a taste of limitless possibilities. For Kang Jin-woo, tonight was no longer just another shift. It was the beginning of everything.