Nathan stared at it like he was witnessing the world's end. The electricity came back the moment the giant system disappeared, lights flickering on across the city, but the world was already filled with uncertainty.
As he let out a deep breath, he finally looked at his phone, which was ringing nonstop.
He sighed and answered it.
"SUNG NATHAN, YOU-ah, sir." Melissa quickly changed her tone as she realized he finally picked up.
Nathan scowled. She was cursing him just moments ago, wasn't she?
"THIS IS INSANE!!!" she yelled into his ear. Nathan pulled the phone slightly away from his ear. "The game-it-it was online. No, I mean it was real life… what the heck am I even saying? Anyway, check the goddamn news!"
She didn't need to yell.
Nathan already knew something had gone terribly wrong.
He turned on the television, just as Melissa, his secretary, said.
[BREAKING NEWS]
The screen flashed red.
It was reporting about what happened just a few minutes ago. Reports stated that people around the world were receiving some kind of systems, and some were even gaining superpowers.
It seemed the world had already plunged into chaos.
The footage showed people losing control of their abilities, harming others without meaning to. And then there were those ruthless bastards who got their hands on power and used it freely, causing damn trouble everywhere.
All of it… in just five minutes.
"What a world record," Nathan rumbled, staring at the screen as the noise of a breaking world filled the room.
"Sir," Melissa's voice rose again, trembling in a way that sent a chill down his spine.
"What?" Nathan asked, like nothing more could surprise him. No, actually, he was already surprised beyond surprise. He couldn't take any more.
"The HQ… is being-"
"Hello? Melissa?" Nathan said sharply.
He waited, gripping the phone tighter. Through the speaker, he heard heavy breathing…running footsteps, shouting, and things crashing.
Then-
"The HQ is being taken, sir!" she hissed into the phone. "I don't know how. There are some strange-looking guys. They… they are-"
Beep!
The line went dead.
"Melissa? Hello!!"
Nathan's voice rose as he stared at the dark screen.
Calm down. You have to calm down first, Sung Nathan.
He closed his eyes and exhaled deeply, forcing air into his lungs as his mind tried to understand what was going on.
So basically, Victory Online had overlapped with the real world. And now players, systems…everything was appearing in reality?
DOES THAT MAKE ANY SENSE?
Why? How?
Nathan didn't understand. Could something that never existed in the beginning suddenly become real? What kind of logic was that?
He let out another breath, slower this time.
Logic didn't matter right now.
He had to focus on the situation.
Victory Online had become real. And the HQ was being taken by some strange guys, just like Melissa said.
According to the message he received, the world had turned into a real-time Victory Online playground.
And if powers were awakened, then—
PING!
|..... [SYSTEM] ...…..|
[Welcome! User Hell Emperor.]
Before Nathan could think of anything else, a system interface appeared right in front of his face with a soft ping sound. It floated in the air like a dialogue box, translucent and glowing faintly blue.
|….. [EVENT LOG] …..|
[Level Reset Initiated (Global Launch)]
[Player IDs: All reset to Level 1]
The box disappeared, and almost immediately, another dialogue window appeared.
[System Synchronizing…]
[Synchronizing completed]
[Identifying user…]
[User identified]
Nathan just kept looking at it without any kind of interference. His eyes didn't blink. His body didn't move.
This was too real. Far more real than anything VR could ever produce.
Was this really happening? Is this serious?
|... [ADMIN MODE ACTIVE] ...|
[Welcome, Mister Sung Nathan, to Victory Online.]
[As you are the current main developer of the game, we would like to offer you Admin authority.]
A faint chill ran through him.
Then another message appeared.
[SYSTEM WARNING]
[Classless State Detected.]
[Complete the first quest to gain access to a class.]
First quest?
Well, the first quest was nothing more than a simple class choice.
So what was it telling him that most people had already awakened their systems within five minutes of the revelation?
Damn. What a fast world.
Nathan swallowed.
"Open the quest," he said aloud, not really expecting anything to happen.
The system responded instantly.
=========================================
|...[ MAIN QUEST : INITIAL AWAKENING ]...|
- Quest Name: First Choice
- Difficulty: F (Common)
- Description:
Choose and awaken a class to gain access to class-based growth, skills, and stat bonuses.
- Objectives:
Select one Class from the available list
- Rewards:
- Class Awakening
- Skill Slot x2
- Stat Growth Modifier (Normal)
- Access to Class Skill Tree
- Penalty for Delay:
- Continued Classless State
- Reduced Stat Growth
- Skill Acquisition Efficiency ↓
- Time Limit: None
- Status: Incomplete
======================================
Nathan stared at it.
There were lots of classes to choose from, combat classes, support classes, and utility ones. Those who didn't like combat could choose classes like Artisans or Trap Masters, while most players would naturally choose one of the eight combat classes.
Once you reach higher levels, there will be higher jobs to choose from as well.
Nathan's character, Hell Emperor, was originally a summoner with shadow affinity, before evolving into a Necromancer at higher levels.
"Should I go with my original path?" he muttered to himself as he stared at the screen.
He was sure most players had already chosen what their character would be familiar with.
But there was one thing the public didn't know.
In the new version, as a failsafe, Nathan had added another role.
"Classless," he muttered.
In the previous version, you were forced to choose a class no matter what, or you couldn't progress at all. But in the new version, he added Classless as a beta option.
Well, not like it proved successful.
There were far more cons than pros.
The early stages would be extremely hard to get through, since you wouldn't get the normal skills that came with a class.
Nathan smirked.
But there was one thing everyone had overlooked.
If you were Classless, that meant you could learn every skill from any kind of class. And since Hell Emperor was already registered as a combat type, he could use combat skills from every class, as long as he could learn them.
That was the only ability Classless had.
[Concept Imitation.]
Ruffling his hair, Nathan finally scrolled down the class list, his finger slowing as it stopped hovering over the final choice.
[Progress without a class]
He stared at it for a moment.
This was the version of the game he developed.
And of course, no one knew it better than him.
He touched the choice box.
The system flickered.
++=======================================++
[ERROR] Undefined Class: Manual Authority Active
[WARNING] Stat gain efficiency reduced until Level 10
Are you sure you want to continue?
[YES] [NO]
++=======================================++
Nathan clicked [YES].
Yes, he was sure.
He might not fully understand the situation yet, but one thing was clear, this would soon become a matter of life and death.
And when that happened, investigations would flare up everywhere, trying to figure out what was truly going on.
Monsters would appear. And yes, players would be turned against each other.
Right now, as one of the top players of [Victory Online], soon [Hell Emperor] would become a major target. Other players would aim for him…to steal his loot.
Well, in [Victory Online], if you defeat a character, yes, if you kill a character, every item they collected after their last safe point would be transferred to the winner.
And in this case, Nathan had already predicted that if this situation didn't end soon, there would be deaths… but no safe points.
This was for the future.
He could get strong by choosing a regular class now, but he had designed Classless to become the most powerful account at higher levels. There was no problem going with that.
++=======================================++
….…[Congratulations! You completed the first quest!]....
You have chosen the path of Classless!
[ SYSTEM TIP ]
You may freely choose your skills.
Class restrictions do not apply.
Growth will be slow, but potential is limitless.
[SYSTEM] Gifted skill 'Concept imitation.'
[ NOTIFICATIONS ]
Level Up: +0 (Starting Level)
Stat Points Awarded: 5
++=======================================++
Nathan shoved his hands deep into his pants pockets.
Today might be his unluckiest day.
First, he got defeated.
Second, his future plans had been destroyed.
And third… the world had plunged into a system apocalypse, and yes, he would be the main culprit.
What a damn way to start the new year.
Fuck you, 2026!
[Would you like to open your status bar?]
Nathan exhaled with a long, tired sigh and pushed the [YES] button.
++=======================================++
[ SYSTEM ]
Account: Hell Emperor
Admin: TRUE
Class: None (Classless)
Level: 1
EXP: 0 / 100
───────────────────────────────
[ STATS ]
STR: 5 | AGI: 5 | VIT: 5 | INT: 5 | WIS: 5 | LUK: 5
[ Hidden Stats ]
Affinity: N/A
System Authority: Developer (Full)
Hidden Triggers Detected: 0
Active Anomalies: 1
───────────────────────────────
[ STAT POINTS ]
Available: 5
───────────────────────────────
[ SKILL SUGGESTIONS ]
Observe | Requirement: INT 10 | Class: Any
Fireball | Requirement: INT 15 | Class: Mage/N/A
Slash | Requirement: STR 8 | Class: Warrior/N/A
Quick Step | Requirement: AGI 10 | Class: Rogue/N/A
[ ACTIVE SKILL SLOTS ]
- Concept Imitation
[ UTILITY SKILLS ]
[ PASSIVE SKILLS ]
- Mana Efficiency +5%
- Crit Chance +1%
───────────────────────────────
[ QUEST LOG ]
None
───────────────────────────────
[ ADMIN PANEL ACTIVE ]
[INFO] Monster Stats Visible
[INFO] Hidden NPC Tracking Enabled
[INFO] Debug Overlay Active
───────────────────────────────
[ EQUIPPED ]
None
───────────────────────────────
[ INVENTORY ] (0/20 slots used)
++=======================================++
"Admin panel, huh… so it really recognized me as a developer?" Nathan muttered to himself, staring at the system interface.
He couldn't stop himself from smirking. This wasn't bad at all. Really…not bad.
Wait… am I really going insane?
He stopped dead in his tracks.
Is this really the moment to be staring at the admin panel like a kid with a new toy?
God damn it.
He was the CEO of the company that made this game, and now… the world was in chaos because of it. Not to mention, Melissa had said the HQ was being taken by some strange men. And he… really did just…
Well… gamers would always be gamers.
No wonder all of his girlfriends had left.