The blinding flash of blue light slowly bled out of the air, leaving behind a shimmering trail of residual heat. Energy particles that had been swirling like a miniature gale moments ago now drifted down one by one, dissolving like soot caught in a night breeze. The massive teleportation circle etched into the earth lost its luster, leaving only the faint, pulsing lines of the system glowing against the cracked asphalt.
As the last of the light died out, the world rushed back into their senses with sharp clarity. Skyscraper silhouettes stood rigid under a sky stained a deep, bruised crimson—as if the atmosphere itself were an unhealing wound. The streets were choked with the rusted husks of frozen vehicles, while nearby buildings groaned in neglect, their shattered windows resembling sightless eyes. Yet, despite how far civilization had drifted into the uncanny, the city still stood tall.
This was Jakarta.
Behind Arlan, several players drew long, shaky breaths, like divers finally breaching the surface after being submerged for too long. "It's… it's really Jakarta…" one whispered, his voice thick with a relief he couldn't quite hide.
Many of them had been stranded in the Outlands for far too long—a lawless no-man's-land where wild dungeons sprouted like weeds and monsters prowled like starving predators. There, no city system offered order. No walls offered sanctuary. There was only one law: an eternal struggle to stay alive.
But here, things were different. The City System was still active, radiating a hollow yet comforting aura of stability.
Bara stood a few paces behind Arlan, his sharp eyes scanning the perimeter. "Feels a hell of a lot more stable than that nightmare outside," he muttered, loosening his white-knuckled grip on his weapon.
There were nearly fifty of them. Every soul standing there had just been salvaged and transported via the rare artifact Arlan still held: the Infinity Teleport. A black crystal capable of folding space and time to reach any system node. However, the artifact was selfish; it could only be invoked once a month.
Arlan closed his hand, feeling the lingering chill of the crystal before tucking it away. He gazed at the city with a profound, quiet intensity. The place was familiar, yet it tasted of bitter memories.
But as he took his first step forward, the air shivered violently. A transparent barrier snapped into existence before them like a gargantuan sheet of glass bisecting the street, as if space itself were rejecting their presence. A wave of energy rippled outward with suffocating pressure, forcing several players back.
Suddenly, a blood-red system notification flickered in the air, flashing a cold warning:
[ACCESS VIOLATION DETECTED]
Players Level 30+ detected
Jakarta City System: Outdated
Entry Restricted
The players traded pale looks. "Rejected?"
Bara exhaled a long, frustrated breath, planting a hand on his hip. "Fantastic. We're officially too powerful to walk into our own home."
Arlan stared at the screen, his expression unreadable. This felt like a cruel case of déjà vu. Not long ago, right after he had crushed the Broodmother's dominance in the Mandiri Tower, his level had spiked to 30. Immediately, the city system had reacted. Without giving him a second to breathe, it had forcibly transferred him out of the city to Neo-Bandung—a high-tier zone reserved for the elite.
That was why Arlan carried a weight in his chest even now: he hadn't been able to get Maya out of that tower in time.
Arlan's thoughts snapped back to the present as the sky above Jakarta trembled. Blue light threaded through the clouds like a vast digital web, momentarily pushing back the crimson haze. A new notification chimed with a piercing ring:
[SYSTEM NOTICE]
City Core Instability Detected
High-Level Players Present
Seconds later, another screen manifested in the center of the sky, as if the entire city were being forced to witness a death warrant.
[SPECIAL QUEST GENERATED: The Broodmother]
Target: Broodmother – Level 35
Location: Mandiri Tower – Floor 30
Bara raised an eyebrow. "The Broodmother… again? That thing really does have nine lives."
Arlan knew the nature of tower bosses. As long as the dungeon core remained active, they would respawn. But with every resurrection, they evolved, growing deadlier. Now, the creature had reached Level 35.
The system screen flickered, scrolling new directives:
Objective: Eliminate the Boss Entity
Reward: Jakarta City System Upgrade & Access for Players Level 30+
Time Limit: 48 Hours
A heavy silence fell over the group. The players stared at the merciless countdown. Bara scowled. "Forty-eight hours to kill an evolved queen?"
Then came the final verdict:
[Failure Condition: All Level 30+ players currently detected inside Jakarta City Zone will be forcibly transferred to a Higher Tier City].
Muttered curses broke the silence. If they failed, they would be deported to places far more perilous, ripped away from the families they had only just hoped to find.
Arlan looked toward the city. But before he could sharpen his blade or map out a strategy, a stronger pull tugged at his soul. He broke away from the group, heading down a narrow side street. A few minutes later, he came to a dead stop.
In front of a dilapidated little house, a woman stood frozen. When her eyes landed on Arlan, they widened, shimmering with an unbearable longing.
"…Arlan?"
Arlan went rigid. The hardened shell he had forged on the battlefield seemed to crumble in an instant. "Mom…"
The woman ran to him, throwing her arms around him so tightly it was as if she feared he might evaporate into smoke. "I thought you weren't coming back… I thought I'd lost you…" her voice hitched violently. Arlan closed his eyes for a moment, letting the world of monsters fade away for a few precious seconds.
After a moment, Arlan turned to the group following him. "Mom… these are my friends."
Bara stepped forward with a rare, polite grace. "The name's Bara, ma'am." Other players introduced themselves, leaving the woman slightly startled by the crowd of armed warriors. Arlan calmed her with a soft voice, "They're here to help protect the city."
Arlan then led the group to a district that remained relatively intact. He sought out an NPC building manager he had met once before and handed over a staggering amount of gold to lease a building. As the transaction cleared, the structure began to "distort," mutating under the system's influence into something hauntingly familiar to Bara and Arlan.
The building transformed into a structure pulled straight from the game Darkness Tale Online. It took on a medieval silhouette: thick walls of black stone, watchtowers perched at the corners, and a massive oak gate reinforced with heavy iron. It looked more like an ancient fortress than a Jakarta office block.
Bara grinned, running his fingers over the rough stonework. "It's like a guild hall. This is some crazy nostalgia."
Arlan nodded. These designs were becoming common as the system slowly swallowed the reality of the old world. "Use this as your base," Arlan commanded the players. It was large enough to house them all and serve as a bastion for the local survivors.
Once he was sure everyone was settled, Arlan returned to his mother to say goodbye.
"Mom… I have to go again."
The woman looked at him, the lines of worry deepening on her face. "You only just got back, son…"
Arlan offered a small smile, squeezing her trembling hand. "I have to save Maya, Mom. When I beat that floor boss before, I was warped away to Neo-Bandung instantly. I promised Maya I'd come back for her."
Bara approached, checking the twin swords strapped to his hips. "So, just the two of us?"
Arlan gave a firm nod. Their comrades would stay to fortify Jakarta. Arlan and Bara had a deadlier task. In his peripheral vision, the clock was ticking down without mercy: 47:52:14.
Arlan looked south, where the Mandiri Tower stood like a monument to death under the red sky. "It's time," he whispered.
Bara smirked, his eyes bright with adrenaline. "A two-man dungeon raid? You're out of your mind."
Arlan raised his sword, the edge reflecting the grim red light. "More than enough."
Before they disappeared into the shadows, his mother called out, her voice thick with emotion. "Come back, Arlan. Bring Maya back safe, too. Don't let this system turn you into someone who only cares about levels and power."
"I will, Mom. I'll make sure we all make it back," Arlan replied, his tone final.
Without another word of rest, Arlan and Bara set off through the silent streets toward the edge of the safe zone. In the distance, they could see others grinding against low-level monsters, but Arlan's sights were set much higher.
Broodmother. Level 35.
And this time, Arlan swore he wouldn't give her the chance to crawl back from the grave. His pace quickened, cutting through the night fog toward the tower that waited for them.