The fluorescent lights of the convenience store hummed with that familiar, headache-inducing buzz that Ren had grown to despise after years of night shifts. He stood in the beverage aisle, staring blankly at the colorful array of energy drinks, trying to decide if he needed the extra caffeine or just wanted the sugar.
His phone buzzed in his pocket. A message from his sister.
*'Did you see the news? The northern lights are visible in Seoul tonight. Weird, right?'*
Ren sighed, tucking the phone away. "Yeah. Weird."
He grabbed a can of cold coffee and a packaged sandwich, heading to the counter. The cashier, an old man who usually dozed off by this time, was strangely alert. He was watching the small TV mounted in the corner, his eyes wide behind thick glasses.
"Ren-ah," the old man said, his voice trembling slightly. "Do you feel that?"
Ren paused, digging for his wallet. "Feel what? The air conditioner? It's freezing in here."
"No... the ground."
Ren frowned. He placed his items on the counter. "I think you've been watching too many doom videos, Grandpa."
"Look at the screen," the cashier insisted.
Ren glanced at the TV. The news anchor was speaking rapidly, his face pale. Behind him, the skyline of Seoul was glowing—not with lights, but with a strange, violet haze.
*"...reports coming in from all over the globe. Seismic activity is simultaneously spiking in Tokyo, New York, London... wait, the sky is breaking. The sky is actually—"*
The signal cut to static.
Ren frowned. "Must be a solar flare or something."
He paid for his food, the electronic beep of the scanner sounding absurdly loud in the quiet store. He grabbed the plastic bag and walked out into the cool night air.
The city was bustling as usual. Cars honked in the distance. A group of college students laughed loudly as they walked past him, smelling of soju and grilled meat.
Ren took a deep breath, inhaling the mix of exhaust fumes and street food grease. It was a Tuesday. He had work tomorrow. He had bills to pay. Life was mundane, predictable, and safe.
He took a sip of his coffee.
And then, the migraine hit.
It didn't start as a headache. It started as a sound. A low-frequency thrumming that vibrated in his teeth and rattled his bones. Ren dropped the coffee can; it hit the pavement and rolled away, spilling its contents into the gutter.
He clutched his head, gasping. The pain was blinding, like a hot poker being driven into his frontal lobe.
Around him, the city fell silent.
The laughter of the students stopped abruptly. The honking of cars ceased. Ren looked up through tear-filled eyes.
The world had stopped.
A car in the middle of the intersection was frozen mid-turn. A bird hung suspended in the air, wings outstretched. The wind died, leaving the plastic bags on the street hovering motionless.
Ren tried to scream, but his voice was swallowed by the rising pressure.
The sky above Seoul began to change. The deep black of night cracked open like an eggshell, revealing a swirling vortex of violet and gold energy that expanded to swallow the stars.
A voice didn't speak in his ears; it spoke directly into his soul.
**[Initiating Universal Merge]**
**[Target: Earth (Sol System)]**
**[Total Subjects: 3,024,591,112]**
**[Transmigrating...]**
Ren felt his body dissolve. It wasn't painful, just... detached. He saw his own hands turn into particles of light. The convenience store, the frozen cars, the streets of Seoul—all of it broke apart into digital streams.
The darkness took him.
***
Ren gasped, his lungs sucking in air that was too cold, too rich in oxygen.
He curled into a fetal position, his hands clutching at a surface that wasn't the asphalt of a sidewalk. It was rough. Splintery. Wood.
He opened his eyes.
For a moment, he thought he was blind. It was pitch black. But as his vision adjusted, he realized he wasn't blind; he was in a room with no artificial light.
He sat up, his heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird. He wasn't in Seoul. He wasn't in the hospital.
He was sitting on a floor of rough-hewn timber planks. The walls were made of massive logs, stacked horizontally and sealed with mud. The air smelled of pine resin, damp earth, and something metallic—like ozone after a thunderstorm.
"Hello?" he whispered.
His voice echoed in the small space. It sounded weak in the heavy silence.
Ren scrambled to his feet. There was a door on the far wall. He stumbled toward it, his legs shaky, and grabbed the iron handle. It was cold to the touch. He pushed.
The door groaned, the hinges rusty and stiff, and swung open.
Ren staggered out onto a porch made of stone slabs. He froze, his breath catching in his throat, the plastic bag of sandwiches forgotten back in the cabin.
The view was wrong. Horribly, terrifyingly wrong.
He was high up, standing on a ridge or a cliff edge. Below him, a valley stretched out that made the Grand Canyon look like a ditch in a garden. The trees... they were colossal. Biological titans with trunks as wide as skyscrapers, stretching up hundreds of meters into a sky that was a bruised, ugly purple. There was no sun, only a suffocating twilight emanating from the thick canopy above.
There were no cars. No power lines. No distant skyscrapers. Just an endless, primordial forest that seemed to go on forever.
A translucent blue screen flickered into existence in the center of his vision, overlaying the terrifying landscape.
**[System Initialization: Complete]**
**[Welcome, Lord Ren, to the Universal Matrix.]**
"Lord?" Ren whispered, his voice trembling. "Where is everyone? What happened to the city?"
He tapped the screen instinctively, and it expanded. Data flooded his mind—information downloaded directly into his neural pathways.
**[Global Migration Report]**
**[Status: Success]**
**[Total Humans Transmigrated: 3,024,591,112]**
**[Destination: Universal Matrix - Outer Realms]**
Ren stared at the numbers. Three billion. The entire population of Earth.
**[Territory Allocation: Randomized]**
He swiped to the map, desperate to see other people. Surely his sister was nearby? His neighbors?
The mini-map unfolded. It was a grid, but most of it was covered in grey "Fog of War." His own location was a solitary blue dot.
He zoomed out. And out. And out.
There was nothing. Just blue dots scattered in the distance, so far apart they were barely pinpricks. The distance calculator read: *1,000,042 miles to nearest Human Lord.*
"No," Ren said aloud, shaking his head. "That can't be right. The System said we're all in the Outer Realms together."
He opened the Global Chat. The moment the chat window opened, a chaotic wall of text flooded his vision.
**[Global Chat - Region: General]**
**[Player_Jeff]**: OH MY GOD. I WAS DRIVING. NOW I'M IN A FIELD.
**[User_Sarah]**: I see a cabin next to mine! Is anyone else here? I'm scared.
**[TankCommander]**: Everyone calm down! Check your mini-maps. The System notification said 5 miles apart.
**[MedicDan]**: I can see smoke from a chimney about 2 miles away. I'm going to head over.
**[Lisa_99]**: Is everyone safe? My cabin is in a meadow. It looks pretty, actually.
Ren watched the scroll. A pattern emerged. Everyone was talking about seeing other cabins. Seeing smoke. Being in fields or forests. The "5 miles apart" rule mentioned in the System intro was true for them.
They were in the standard zones.
Ren looked at the top of his own map again.
**[Location: Core Dimension - Sector 7 (The Silent Expanse)]**
**[Zone Difficulty: Nightmare]**
He was in the Core Dimension. The heart of the monster world. While three billion people were settling into the relatively safe "Green Zones" of the Outer Realms, he had been dropped into the lion's den.
He typed into the chat, his fingers shaking against the holographic keyboard.
**[Lord_Ren]**: "I don't see anyone. My map is empty."
The chat continued to scroll for a moment before someone noticed.
**[TankCommander]**: Ren? You just spawned in a bad spot, man. Just keep walking, you'll find someone.
**[Lord_Ren]**: "I can't. My surroundings... the trees are massive. Bigger than buildings. And the sky is purple. It's not day or night here."
Silence stretched in the chat. The scrolling slowed down.
**[MedicDan]**: Can you screenshot your location? Use the [Share] function.
Ren didn't know how, but the System responded to his thought. His map image was posted to the chat.
**[Lisa_99]**: What is that terrain? It looks red.
**[TankCommander]**: Bro... that isn't the Outer Realms. Is that the Core? You spawned in the Core?
**[Lord_Ren]**: "I think so. It says 'Sector 7' and 'Nightmare'."
**[MedicDan]**: Stay inside your cabin. Immediately. The 30-day protection is the only thing keeping you alive. The monsters in the Core Dimension eat dragons for breakfast.
Ren looked at the notification hovering at the top of his vision.
**[Protection Barrier: ACTIVE]**
**[Time Remaining: 30 Days, 00 Hours, 00 Minutes]**
He closed the chat. The panic of others was useless to him. He needed to understand his own situation. He had thirty days before those monsters outside could cross the shimmering barrier that extended only twenty meters from his porch.
He walked back into the cabin and sat on the rough wooden bed. He took a deep breath, forcing his heart rate to slow. Panic was a waste of energy.
"Okay," he said to the empty room. "I have a roof. I have time. I need to know what I can do."
He pulled up his **[Status Screen]**. A 3D hologram of his body rotated in the air, displaying his attributes.
**[Name: Ren]**
**[Race: Human]**
**[Level: 1]**
**[Title: None]**
**[Base Attributes]**
* **Strength:** 10 (Average Adult Male)
* **Agility:** 11 (Slightly Above Average)
* **Physique:** 10 (Standard Health)
* **Spirit:** 13 (High Mental Fortitude - Resistant to Fear)
* **Intelligence:** 15 (High - Quick Learner)
* **Charisma:** 14 (Good Leadership Potential)
*Note: You have 5 Free Stat Points available to distribute.*
Ren studied the numbers. He was fit, but not a bodybuilder. The high Spirit stat explained why he wasn't screaming in terror right now; he was processing the shock better than most. The Intelligence stat meant he could learn the rules of this game faster than others.
"Save the points for now," he muttered. "I don't know if I need strength or agility yet."
He tapped the **[Talent]** icon. This was the most important part. Every Lord received one Talent upon awakening. It was the defining factor of their new life.
The air in the cabin shimmered. The blue light of the screen darkened, turning into a deep, abyssal black. The temperature dropped, and frost formed on the wooden table.
**[Rolling...]**
**[Calculation...]**
**[Congratulations!]**
**[You have drawn SSS-Rank Talent...]**
Ren's eyes widened. "SSS-Rank?"
He knew gaming tropes. E, D, C, B, A, S. SSS was a myth. A theoretical limit.
**[Talent Name: Universal Sovereign's Authority]**
He read the description, his breath hitching with every line.
**[Effect 1: Sovereign's Harvest]**
* *Passive:* Every kill made within your Line of Sight or by your subjects guarantees a drop. No exceptions.
* *Loot Table:* Biological Resources (Meat, Water), Basic Sustenance, Low-Quality Equipment.
* *Special Bonus:* Targets have a chance to drop **Random Attribute Stat Points** (Strength, Agility, etc.) based on their potential.
Ren paused. Random stat points? That meant he didn't just level up; he could literally farm stats from killing things. It was a feedback loop of power.
**[Effect 2: Bloodline Evolution]**
* *Active:* By consuming the essence of harvested enemies, you can forcibly mutate and evolve your subjects. This transcends racial limitations, allowing humans to evolve into Higher Races and unlock Hidden Classes.
**[Effect 3: Absolute Dominion]**
* *Passive:* Any entity that enters your territory or is summoned by you is imprinted with your soul signature.
* *Loyalty Effect:* Permanently locked at Maximum. Rebellion, treachery, and dissent are biologically impossible. Your subjects will view your survival as their only purpose.
Ren let out a long breath. Absolute Loyalty. He didn't have to worry about his soldiers stabbing him in the back while he slept. In a world where other Lords were already complaining about lazy or ungrateful summons, this was a godsend.
**[Effect 4: Emperor's Physique]**
* *Passive:* Your body is a vessel for conquest. Passive stat gain increased by 500%.
* *Level Up Bonus:* You gain **5 Free Stat Points** per Level Up, instead of the standard 1.
"Five points per level," Ren whispered. While a normal Lord would gain +1 Strength at Level 2, Ren would gain +5. The gap would widen exponentially. By Level 10, he wouldn't just be strong; he would be a monster among men.
He closed the Talent window. The frost on the table melted away.
He looked at the **[Summoning Portal]** circle carved into the stone floor.
**[Summoning Portal]**
* *Status:* Online
* *Cost:* Free
* *Daily Quota:* 10 Summons Available*
Ren walked toward the circle. He wanted to summon someone immediately. The silence of the cabin was deafening. He needed to hear a human voice.
He reached out to touch the runes, but stopped inches from the stone.
"Wait," he whispered, pulling his hand back.
He looked at his starter pack inventory: 100 Wood, 100 Stone, 50 Iron Ore, and 7 days of rations.
If he summoned ten people right now, he had to feed them. If he summoned a soldier who was a glutton or an invalid, he would starve in a week.
He looked out the window at the purple twilight forest.
"I have time," Ren reminded himself. "Thirty days."
He walked back to the table and sat down. He pulled up the **[Quest]** tab.
**[Quest: Establish a Foundation]**
* *Objective:* Summon your first Subject.
* *Objective:* Clear the Fog of War within 100 meters.
* *Reward:* Territory Expansion, 50 Units of Lumber.*
Ren looked at the "Clear Fog" objective. He needed to see what he was working with.
He walked to the door, but didn't step out. The boundary of the cabin was the edge of the safe zone. He could see the faint shimmer of the translucent barrier.
Outside that barrier, the forest waited. Massive ferns swayed in a breeze he couldn't feel. Shadows moved between the trees.
He pulled up the Global Chat one last time.
**[Player_Jeff]**: We just found a river! We're having a party. Anyone in Sector 2 want to join?
**[Lord_Ren]**: "Stay alert, everyone. Don't waste your first days partying. Build walls."
**[TankCommander]**: Ren's right. Ren, you holding up okay in the... wherever you are?
**[Lord_Ren]**: "I'm alive. Just... planning."
Ren looked at the SSS-Rank Talent description glowing in the dark room.
He was alone. He was a million miles from help. He was in a place where humans weren't supposed to exist.
But as he looked at the *Universal Sovereign's Authority* description, he didn't feel hopeless. He felt a spark of something else.
The other Lords were fighting over rabbits and wolves in the safe zones, struggling to scrape together enough XP to Level up.
Ren was sitting in the middle of a high-level dungeon.
"They have safety in numbers," Ren said to the empty room, a dangerous glint entering his eyes. "I have the power of the Apex."
He closed his eyes and began to plan. The thirty-day countdown had begun.
***