The sky above the city didn't just crack; it bled. A dark, viscous energy started seeping out of the swirling purple vortex, dripping down onto the skyscrapers like black rain. People in the streets below stopped their cars, looking up with a mixture of awe and terror. They didn't have a System to tell them what was happening. To them, it looked like the end of the world.
To me, it looked like a challenge.
[System Notification: The First Gate – Rank E Dungeon.]
[Status: Opening in 3... 2... 1...]
A deafening roar echoed across the city, a sound so primal and loud that it shattered the glass windows of nearby buildings. From the center of the vortex, a massive, winged creature emerged. It looked like a gargoyle, but its skin was made of jagged obsidian and its eyes were burning embers.
[New Main Quest: The First Defender]
[Objective: Kill the Lead Gargoyle before it reaches the residential area.]
[Reward: Rank D Weapon Chest & 1,000 Gold Coins.]
[Warning: If the Gargoyle is not stopped, casualties will exceed 10,000.]
My heart hammered against my ribs. Ten thousand lives. I was just a 'Zero' a few days ago, and now the lives of thousands were resting on my shoulders. I looked at the black ring on my finger—the 'Ring of the Silent Zero'. It was glowing faintly, as if urging me forward.
"Gravity Grip!" I roared, pointing my hand toward the descending beast.
The air around the Gargoyle shrieked as the invisible pressure took hold. The creature was caught off guard, its wings buckling under the sudden weight. It spiraled downward, crashing into the rooftop of an empty warehouse just a block away.
I didn't wait. I leaped from my rooftop, my 'Level 2 Agility' allowing me to move with a grace I never knew I possessed. I felt the 'Heart of the Abyss' pendant thumping against my chest, pumping mana into my veins.
"This is it," I whispered, reaching for the Iron-Grade Dagger I had just purchased from the Shop. "The world is about to find out who the Zero Master really is."
As I landed on the warehouse roof, the Gargoyle stood up, shaking off the debris. It was twice my size, its breath smelling of sulfur and death. It let out another roar and lunged at me, its obsidian claws glistening in the morning sun.