Ren was rereading the eviction notice for the fourth time when the world ended.
The paper was thin, cheap, and cruelly informal. Creased at the corners. Dirt was sticking to his fingers because the notice was on the floor of his door when he first saw it.
FINAL WARNING, it said in bold red letters.
Failure to vacate by 6:00 PM will result in forcible removal.
Six PM.
Ren glanced at his broken down digital watch.
5:42 PM.
His studio apartment, Room 404, was barely large enough to stretch his arms without touching something. A single bed pressed against the wall, a desk cluttered with unpaid bills, instant noodle cups stacked like a pyramid (to save space, obviously). The air smelled faintly of damp mold and burnt coffee.
He laughed softly.
"So this is it, huh." he muttered. "Four years of college, student loans, side hustles… just to get deleted like a freaking bug."
A sharp bang echoed from the hallway.
Ren flinched.
Another bang. Louder. Angrier.
"Ren!" a voice shouted. "Open the damn door!"
The landlord.
Mr. Kapoor. Balding, potbellied, and perpetually red-faced, especially when it came to rent. The man had a talent for showing up at the worst possible moments, like a curse with legs.
Ren stood slowly, knees cracked gently. He didn't bother hiding the eviction notice. There was no point anymore.
The banging turned into violent rattling.
"Do you think I'm joking?" Mr. Kapoor yelled. "You think you can just be a squatter?!"
Ren opened the door bracing himself.
The hallway lights flickered.
Mr. Kapoor stood there, chest heaving, sweat beading on his forehead. His eyes were bloodshot, more than usual. Like he'd just had been in a car crash. There was something…wrong about the way he behaved, like his bones weren't quite aligned anymore.
"Time's up, Mr. Boy." the landlord snarled. "Get out. Now."
Behind him, screams echoed from downstairs.
Ren frowned, and tried to look over Kapoor's back. "What's going on?"
Mr. Kapoor didn't answer.
Instead, his jaw cracked.
The sound was wet and unnatural. His mouth stretched wider than it should have, teeth grinding together as his neck twisted at an impossible angle.
Ren stumbled back.
"Sir…?"
The landlord lunged.
Ren barely slammed the door in time. The impact shook the hinges as something heavy threw itself against the metal.
"What the—!" Ren's breath came fast. "What the hell is happening?!"
A deafening alarm blared outside. Not a fire alarm ,but something deeper. The flickering hallway light burst, plunging the corridor into darkness.
Then—
DING.
The sound was crisp.
A translucent blue screen materialized in front of Ren's eyes.
[GLOBAL SYSTEM INITIALIZING…]
[Planetary Integration: COMPLETE]
[Dungeon Gates: UNLOCKED][Survival Mode: ACTIVE]
Ren froze.
"…I've finally lost it," he whispered.
The door buckled.
Metal screamed as something on the other side began clawing, nails scraping like knives.
Another message appeared.
[You are in imminent danger.]
[Scanning…]
[Hidden Class Compatibility Detected.]
The door dented inward.
A gray hand punched through, fingers twitching violently.
Ren screamed and grabbed the nearest thing he could, luckily in his case, a rusted iron dumbbell he hadn't touched in months.
The door burst open.
Mr. Kapoor, or what used to be him staggered inside. His skin had gone black, veins bulging black beneath the surface. His mouth hung open, saliva dripping as his eyes locked onto Ren with animal hunger.
A Zombie (Lv.1) tag floated above his head.
Ren swung without a second thought.
The dumbbell connected with a sickening crunch. The zombie collapsed, skull caved in, body twitching once… twice… then going still.
Ren dropped the dumbbell.
He stared at the corpse on his floor, chest heaving, bile rising in his throat.
Then—
DING.
[First Kill Achieved.]
[Zombie Core Obtained.]
[Congratulations! You have awakened the Hidden Class: Dimensional Landlord.]
"…What?"
Another screen unfolded, larger this time.
[Class: Dimensional Landlord]
[Description: A ruler who claims territory in the apocalypse. Your land, your rules.]
[Current Territory Claimed.]→ Room 404 (Safe Zone – Level 1)
[Property Buffs Active:]• Invincibility (Territory Only)• Basic Environmental Stability
[Warning:]Safe Zones require Upkeep. Failure to pay will result in Territory Collapse.
[Daily Cost:]→ 1 Monster Core / 24 Hours
Ren's eyes dropped to the small, glowing crystal beside the corpse.
A Zombie Core.
He picked it up with shaking fingers.
The moment it touched his skin, the system confirmed it.
[Upkeep Paid.]
[Safe Zone Stability: 100%]
[Time Remaining: 23:59:59]
Outside, screams grew louder.
Gunshots echoed in the distance. Something massive roared, shaking the building.
Ren backed away until his shoulders hit the wall. He slid down slowly, clutching the core like a lifeline.
The world was ending.
And somehow, his crappy studio apartment had become the safest place in it.
Ren looked at the door. At the body. At the glowing blue panels hovering patiently in the air.
A hysterical laugh bubbled out of his chest.
"…Guess the rent problem solved itself."