Two weeks had passed since the skies of Jakarta were torn asunder, vomiting the digital apocalypse known as the Distraction. The world that was once noisy with the honking of vehicles had turned into a haunting silence, only occasionally broken by the distant roars of monsters. The main hall of Grand Indonesia, once the pinnacle of the capital's luxury, had mutated into a majestic but cold military headquarters.
In the center of the vast lobby, beneath a glass ceiling now cracked and overgrown with glowing moss, a black banner with the emblem of crossed daggers fluttered arrogantly. It was the standard of the Eclipse Guild. Dozens of players in gleaming metal armor and high-tier weaponry stood guard at every corner, creating an atmosphere of intimidation that was suffocating for anyone who approached. They were the new caste of this world—the players who had managed to secure resources early.
Arlan stepped through the crowd of low-level players who looked desperate, pleading to join for protection and food rations. Wearing his tattered beginner's cloak but with a steady stride, he approached the main registration desk. There, a tall man in jet-black leather armor—an Eclipse Vanguard—was checking the virtual data of applicants through a hovering system window.
"Name?" the man asked without even glancing away from his hologram. His voice sounded like the scraping of metal, cold and devoid of empathy.
"Arlan. ID: AzureBound," Arlan replied curtly.
The man stopped typing. He looked up, his sharp eyes scanning Arlan from head to toe, lingering on his dusty leather boots. A transparent status window appeared above Arlan's head, emitting a blue radiance that could only be accessed by guild members with mid-tier detection skills.
"Level 5? And... Job Class: Sword Magician?" The man suddenly let out a mocking laugh, a dry chuckle that drew the attention of other players nearby. "Listen, AzureBound. We are building an elite unit to raid the red zones. We're looking for Tankers with high VIT who can withstand a Boss's strike, or pure Healers who can keep our HP bars full."
He leaned forward, glaring at Arlan with a condescending gaze. "Sword Magician is a trash job. You want to attack physically, but your damage is pathetic because your STR is divided. You want to use magic, but your Mana pool is thin because you're not a pure Mage. In this world that's gone mad, we don't need dead weight who only knows how to dance with a blunt sword. Move along!"
"I have thousands of hours of experience in Darkness Tale Online. I know every Boss attack pattern in this Jakarta sector," Arlan stated, his voice low but firm. "Strategy is far more valuable than mere stat numbers at early levels."
"Experience on a monitor screen is useless when your life is actually on the line, kid!" the man cut him off harshly, his voice rising an octave until it echoed in the hall. "Here, if you die, you don't respawn in your bedroom. Come back when your level is twenty. That's if you haven't been eaten by a Slime or a Goblin out there. Now, get lost before I call the guards to drag you out!"
Arlan took a step back. His hands clenched until his knuckles turned white and his armor creaked. The rejection wasn't just an insult to his abilities; it was a proclamation that in this new world, hierarchy was determined by raw numbers and mechanical efficiency, not by strategic brilliance.
Arlan realized a bitter truth: no matter how great a hardcore player's instincts were, he was still an ant in the eyes of giants if his level was still in the single digits. The Eclipse Guild wasn't looking for allies; they were looking for pawns to be sacrificed.
Fine, Arlan thought as he turned around, turning his back on the crowded hall. If it's big numbers you want, I'll give you numbers you can't even imagine in your worst nightmares.
Instead of wasting time on a futile argument, Arlan immediately left the hall and headed toward the city's commercial area, which was now controlled by NPC merchants. His mind raced, calculating the most optimal character build. He realized the key to his power as a Sword Magician: the synergy between elements and the blade. But to reach that potential, he needed expensive supporting items.
Arlan went to the supply shop, spending the rest of the Gold from his previous basement clearing. He bought several bottles of HP Potions, Mana Potions, and two Instant Teleportation Stones as life insurance. He also purchased a small bottle of [Mana Saturation Oil]—a specialized oil capable of increasing mana conductivity on bladed weapons.
For the next three days, Arlan became a shadow, a restless ghost within the safe zone. He took every "trash" mission avoided by other players because the rewards were considered too small and exhausting.
He worked without pause: repairing the mana circuits at City Hall that required delicate magic control, extracting spider venom in an old warehouse for chemical ingredients, and even escorting NPC grain carriages to prevent them from being looted by opportunistic players-turned-bandits.
Every night, Arlan returned to his rented apartment with a broken body and armor covered in scratches. But beneath his exhaustion, his virtual pouch grew heavy with Gold, and the experience bar in the corner of his vision kept creeping upward. He didn't sleep for more than four hours a day. Every second spent resting felt like time he was giving the Eclipse Guild to pull further away.
On the fourth night, as he stood in the middle of a deserted plaza to report his final mission, an incredibly bright golden light suddenly enveloped his body. The air around him vibrated violently as the system processed the surge in his statistics.
[ Level Up! 5 -> 8 ]
[ Level Up! 8 -> 10 ]
[ Level Up! 10 -> 12 ]
[ Skill Unlocked: Elemental Infusion - Fire (Lv. Max for 1st Class) ]
[ New Passive: Mana Circuit Efficiency - Reduces mana consumption by 10% ]
Arlan stared at his palms. The energy radiance surrounding his body was now far denser and more stable. He opened his status window and allocated additional points into Strength to increase his physical damage, and Intelligence to ensure his elemental fire could melt through enemy armor.
[ STATUS WINDOW - AZUREBOUND ]
- Level: 12
- Job Class: Sword Magician (1st Class)
- HP: 2,850 / 2,850 | MP: 1,480 / 1,480
- Stats: STR 45 | AGI 48 | INT 35 | DEX 28 | VIT 32
- Main Skill: Elemental Infusion - Fire (Blade coated in pure fire)
Arlan stared at Jakarta's north gate, which separated the protective golden dome from the concrete forest now filled with black mist. Level 12 might still be considered too early for other players to leave the protection of the Safe Zone, but for Arlan, who had honed his skills to the maximum limit of his base class, it was a green light for the true hunt.
He donned his new black cloak, concealing the copper armor that had now been neatly polished. He would never return to the Eclipse registration desk to beg. He would return as a storm that would sweep away their arrogance.
After briefly checking to ensure his mother was safe in the apartment, Arlan stepped toward the north gate. The NPC guards made way for him, their vacant eyes seemingly acknowledging the new authority radiating from Arlan's silhouette. As he crossed the boundary of the golden dome's light, the bone-chilling cold and the roars of wild monsters welcomed him.
Arlan unsheathed his sword, applied the mana oil to the steel blade, and triggered the fire element. His blade instantly flared to life, banishing the surrounding darkness.
"Time for the real grinding to begin," Arlan whispered coldly, his eyes fixed on the legendary Old City Station (Stasiun Kota). "My world might be gone, but I will build a new kingdom upon its ruins."