The blue screen hovered in the air.
[Survive for 24 Hours.]
For a few long seconds, nobody moved.
The office stood frozen beneath the flickering fluorescent lights, everyone staring at the glowing words hanging in front of them.
Then, as always, people started talking.
"What the hell does that mean?"
"Survive from what?"
"Is this some kind of prank?"
"No, no way, this has to be some government experiment or something."
The woman who had discovered she could control fire was still staring at her trembling hands like they belonged to someone else. Small flames flickered at her fingertips every time her breathing grew uneven.
The man with steel skin kept touching his own arm in disbelief.
Another woman, the one who had floated a few inches off the ground, was now firmly planted back on the floor and looked like she might pass out.
Everyone was scared and confused, which was fair after all the voice didn't explain much.
Jin stood near his overturned chair, his heart still pounding.
Survive for 24 hours? That wording implied there was something they were going to need to survive and it had to bad enough that their new found powers would not save them.
Beside him, one of the younger employees let out a nervous laugh.
"Maybe it just means natural disasters or something. Like earthquakes?"
Another guy shook his head. "No way. If this is like those system novels, it means monsters are coming any second."
Someone immediately snapped back, "Would you stop talking like this is a damn game!"
The office broke into louder panic.
People pulled out dead phones that still refused to turn on.
Some tried calling family anyway.
Others rushed toward the elevators, slamming buttons that did nothing.
The lights above buzzed violently.
Jin's throat felt dry.
He looked toward the windows lining the far side of the office floor. Outside, Seoul still stood beneath the gray afternoon sky but something was wrong. Why didnt they hear any distubances from out there. If this single office was thrown into a panic why wasnt everyone outside making noise. Were they the only ones affected....
Before he could finish the thought there was a loud noise outside.
THOOM.
The entire building shook.
Desks rattled.
Monitors tipped over.
Someone screamed.
Jin grabbed the edge of a cubicle to steady himself.
"What was that?!"
Before anyone could answer...
THOOM.
There was the sound again but it was louder this time.
Like something enormous had slammed into the earth itself.
People rushed toward the windows.
Jin moved with them, pulled by the same horrible curiosity.
Far below, the streets had finally turned into chaos.
Cars had stopped in the middle of intersections. People were running in every direction, some falling, some getting trampled as panic spread like wildfire.
Then the road itself cracked open.
Jin watched, frozen, as the asphalt split open down the center of the street like the city was being ripped apart from underneath.
From the darkness below, something climbed out.
At first, his brain refused to process it.
The thing that climbed out had far too many limbs and far too many eyes.
A body that looked like it had been stitched together.
Its skin was black and wet, glistening like oil beneath the pale daylight. Long arms dragged against the broken pavement, ending in claws sharp enough to tear through steel.
Then another one emerged.
And another.
And another.
Someone near the glass whispered, voice shaking, "No… no way…"
Across the skyline, shapes moved in the clouds.
Jin looked up.
His stomach dropped.
They weren't birds.
Massive winged creatures circled above the city, their silhouettes blotting out pieces of the sky. Their wings looked torn and skeletal, their bodies twisted and wrong, and as they descended lower, he could hear the sound they made.
A screech so sharp it made his teeth hurt.
The office erupted.
"MONSTERS!"
"Oh my god!"
"RUN!"
One of the flying creatures folded its wings and swooped down.
It slammed into the side of a nearby building, shattering glass and sending people inside into chaos.
Another dove straight toward the street, snatching a screaming man from the sidewalk before vanishing back into the air.
Below them, the creatures from the ground were already tearing through the crowds.
Blood painted the roads.
Cars crashed into each other.
Smoke began rising between buildings.
Sirens screamed somewhere in the distance, only to cut off abruptly.
Civilization was breaking apart in real time.
And then one of the monsters looked up.
Straight at them.
Jin stumbled back from the window.
"No…"
The creature crouched low.
Its legs bent backwards.
Its mouth opened to wide.
Then it jumped up, shooting towards their building like a bullet.
Someone screamed, "GET BACK-"
The monster crashed through the office window in an explosion of glass and blood.
The impact sent people flying.
A man near the front didn't even get time to scream before the creature's claws tore through his chest, lifting him off the ground like paper.
Blood sprayed across the floor.
For one second, everyone just stared.
Then absolute panic began.
People ran in every direction.
Someone with fire powers panicked and threw flames wildly, setting cubicle walls and paper stacks ablaze.
The sprinkler system failed so smoke started spreading.
The steel-skinned guy roared and charged the monster like some action movie hero.
It ended badly.
The creature caught him mid-run and slammed him through three cubicles like he weighed nothing, his body disappeared beneath the wreckage.
The woman who could float shot upward in terror, lost control, and smashed into the ceiling lights before crashing down onto a desk in a shower of sparks.
Nobody knew what they were doing and people were dying fast.
Jin was not going to be one of them so he ran, his insticts to survive took over completely.
He shoved past overturned chairs and screaming coworkers, his shoes slipping against shattered glass and blood-slick tile.
Another monster crawled through the broken window behind him.
Then another.
The office was becoming a feeding ground.
The red EXIT sign at the far hallway glowed like salvation.
Getting there was all that mattered.
Then he heard a sharp cry.
"Help!!"
Jin turned.
A woman had been trapped beneath an overturned desk near the accounting section. Her leg was pinned badly beneath twisted metal, bent at an angle that made his stomach lurch.
She clawed at the floor, dragging herself nowhere.
Blood smeared beneath her hands.
And if that wasnt bad enough, one of the creatures had noticed her.
It moved slowly toward her, its long limbs clicking softly against the tile floor, almost calm in the way it approached.
Like it knew she wasn't going anywhere.
Jin stopped.
His whole body screamed at him to keep running.
The exit was right there.
Ten more seconds and he could leave.
If he stopped now, he could die, but then there eyes met.
She looked desperate and terrified, she reached out a hand towards him and he could see what she was saying.
"Please help me..."
Jin cursed under his breath.
"Damn it…"
He could leave.
He should leave.
But if he ran now, if he left her there to be torn apart while he saved himself.
He knew he'd hear that scream for the rest of his life.
His feet moved before his mind agreed.
"Don't die yet," he muttered, sprinting toward her.
He dropped beside the desk, grabbing the metal frame.
"Can you move?"
"My leg-" she gasped, tears mixing with sweat. "It's stuck- I can't-"
"Yeah, I can see that."
The creature clicked closer.
Jin planted his feet and pulled.
Nothing.
The desk barely shifted.
It was too heavy.
His arms trembled.
The monster was closer now.
He could hear it breathing.
He pulled again, teeth gritted so hard his jaw hurt.
The desk groaned.
Moved.
Just enough.
"Move!" he shouted.
The woman dragged herself free with a cry of pain, her ankle twisted badly.
Jin grabbed her arm and hauled her upright.
She nearly collapsed against him.
"Can you walk?"
"Probably not."
"Great."
Half dragging her, half carrying her, Jin moved toward the hallway.
Behind them, the monster followed slowly, making a clicking noise.
Enjoying the chase.
They turned the corner and the wall exploded.
Concrete and drywall blasted outward as something massive smashed through from the other side.
Jin threw himself backward, shielding the woman as debris rained down.
Dust filled the air.
Then it stepped forward.
This thing was bigger.
Much bigger.
Its body was covered in dark armored plates that looked fused to its flesh. Its mouth stretched wide with rows of needle-like teeth, and each breath sounded like gravel grinding together.
Its claws were the size of kitchen knives.
There was no getting past it.
The woman behind him whispered, "We're dead…"
Jin's heart pounded so hard it hurt.
There was no backup coming to save them and there was no clear exit.
His hand brushed against his pocket, thats when he remembered he had a small pocket knife. It was a cheap little thing he used for opening packages and cutting fruit, to try and use it against the monster before him was laughable but it was all he had.
The monster stepped closer.
Jin pulled the woman behind him and gripped the knife so tightly his knuckles turned white.
His hands were shaking.
His legs felt weak.
He was terrified.
But he stood there anyway.
The monster lunged.
Its claws came down like falling steel.
Jin moved on pure instinct, yanking the woman aside as the claws slammed into the floor hard enough to crack tile.
They hit the ground hard.
Pain shot through his shoulder.
His knife nearly slipped from his hand and then a blue screen appeared.
[Weapon Acquired: Pocket Knife]
For a split second, everything changed.
The knife just felt… right.
Like his hand suddenly knew everything about it, its weight, its balance and its reach.
His breathing steadied as the monster turned again but now, when he looked at the creature, he could see tiny openings, its weak points and all.
The monster charged and Jin moved, pushing the woman backwards trying to focus its attention on him alone.
He ducked under the first swipe by inches, he could fell the claws tearing through the air above his head, and drove himself forward with everything he had.
he knife shot upward.
Straight into the creature's throat.
Hot black blood exploded across his arm.
The monster let out a horrible choking scream.
Its body slammed into him, sending both of them crashing to the floor.
Jin held on.
He stabbed again.
And again.
And again.
Until the creature finally stopped moving.
Jin rolled off it, gasping for breath, covered in blood that wasn't his.
His hands shook so badly he nearly dropped the knife.
Behind him, the woman stared in complete shock.
Jin looked down at the corpse, his chest rising and falling like he'd just outrun death itself.
Then another blue screen appeared.
[First Kill Achieved]