n

n

nAfter moments of silence, Dohyuk asked again, “Did you just say God?”

n“Don’t make me repeat myself.”

nJimin was different. This woman leaning her back against the wall with her arms crossed was not the same 20-year-old freshman he knew.

n“In a few hours at midnight, the bastard will invade our planet.” After saying those words, Jimin braced herself to tell the lengthy tale of a warrior who survived years of war. “And you…” She breathed before she began telling an epic of bravery.

nAt least she tried to.

nBoom! Boom! Boom! Bam—

nThe ground shook with a loud noise, interrupting their conversation.

n“An earthquake?” A dab of shock covered Dohyuk’s face.

n“This can’t be…” Compared to Dohyuk’s, however, Jimin’s expression was beyond surprised. “How can it begin so early?”

nShe opened the curtains she had closed a minute ago to oversee what was happening outside. Dohyuk could not believe his eyes. The tower, the black spire – which had stood there mysteriously for a month – was spinning with great ferocity. Maybe the phenomenon he was seeing happened to the other towers as well.

nHe wanted to react somehow or say something, but before he could do so, words flashed before his eyes, taking him aback.

n<>

n<>

n“…Ugh!” Agony covered his body by the time the flashing of the words came to a halt, causing him to drop to the ground. It felt as if an unknown force was crushing his body and the one thing Dohyuk could do was to submit to its power.

nCrack!

nAs he moaned in pain with his face planted on the ground, Dohyuk realized he was familiar with this pain – muscle ache! The pain ripped him apart as if someone was forcing his joints to stretch. Words began to appear in his front of him once again, blinding him of his surroundings.

n<>

n<>

nDohyuk felt a soothing aura running through every corner of his body. It eased his suffering, but the pain won over him nonetheless.

nCrack, crack!

nDohyuk heard it from both inside his body and his surroundings. He wondered was it the earthquake blurring his sight? Perhaps it was the worsened trembling of his body as time passed? All he knew was he could not take the pain any longer.

n“Ji-Jimin…” He groaned, scanning his surroundings for her. Dohyuk soon found out she was lying on the floor, trembling out of control as well. Then he saw black as his consciousness drifted away.

nHow much time passed before he awakened from his unconsciousness?

nWhen Dohyuk opened his eyes, it was already dark outside. The earthquake had stopped, and by the time he regained his composure, he realized something odd about himself. Not only was the pain gone, but his movements seemed lighter than ever, and his size was somewhat bigger than before.

n“Jimin? Choi Jimin?”

nJimin was still lying on the ground. Dohyuk saw her breathing. It seemed like her condition was not serious, but unlike Dohyuk, she was taking longer to regain consciousness. Jimin seemed unhurt from the outside, but to be certain, Dohyuk tried to go beside her to confirm her status. However, words flashed before his eyes once again before he could do so.

n<>

n<>

nThe sudden appearance of those words before him blocked his path.

n“What the fu…”

nThere were two types of humans when confronting anomalies in conflict with what a human would perceive as normal. There were those who possessed the ability to break their train of thought to rid themselves of stress and seek an external medium to utilize instead. There were also those who searched for a power within themselves and discovered answers to make sense of the situation. Thankfully, Dohyuk was the latter type.

nAn unknown number of people were after his life, but the only thing Dohyuk could think of was how to make sense of Jimin’s story about the resurrection or the story about gods or whatever she was trying to say. He could think about it, but if he stood around doing nothing to adapt to his circumstances, his life would be in danger.

nWith that, “…Status.” Dohyuk mumbled with a defeated tone. Words started to list down in front of his eyes showing his physical well-being.

n<>

n-Strength: 17 (E)

n-Stamina: 21 (E)

n-Agility: 15 (E)

n-Magic: 2 (F)

n-Endurance: 17 (E)

n-Charisma: 14 (E)

n<> No set ‘Religion’ at present.

n<> No set of ‘Skills’ at present

n<> Personal Survival (Lv. 2), Wolf’s Keenness (Lv. 1)

nThe word <> appeared at the end as if it were begging Dohyuk to read it. He was about to check the details when Jimin groaned behind him, regaining her consciousness. “You’ll see that more than you’ll want to from now on. That is your seed money.”

nDohyuk tried his best to give a good response, but he lost all the composure he built when he turned his head to face her, his eyes meeting with hers. Jimin had changed. She was always petite, but it was never accurate to call her skinny as she was not out of shape. A more befitting description for her was a woman who hadn’t let go of her baby fat yet.

nHowever, that description of her was not true anymore. Her clothes that fit her tightly were short and loose on her now. She was almost a head taller than before. Also, her skin texture changed from soft to silky. It was fair to say Jimin’s body had turned into a gymnast’s.

n“Oh, this?” Jimin acknowledged Dohyuk’s visible confusion.

n“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to stare…”

n“It’s fine. My body changed. Did you see the words that appeared when you were in pain?” Dohyuk nodded his head as a reply.

n“Our bodies have been ‘developed’ by force. We have transcended into the final extent of what the human body can do. If we want to, we can run a marathon forever and our energy will never deplete.” She ran her hands from her breasts down to her stomach, signaling Dohyuk to follow her lead. Dohyuk obliged and placed his hands on his chest.

n“…!”

nWhat he felt was a firm and curved shape. He was not imagining things earlier – his body had gotten bigger. He could vividly feel his pecs, stomach, and the lines of his abdominal muscles he didn’t have before.

n“How…is this be possible?”

n“Maybe it’s God himself who’s giving us all this bullsh*t?”

nA simple answer. Instead of adding more from her statement, Jimin pointed her fingers behind Dohyuk. She was pointing at the scenery outside the window.

n“Go and see what’s happening outside for yourself, and don’t you dare make any noise.”

nDohyuk walked closer to the window.

n“Do you see it?”

nIt was dark outside, but the difference was certain even by a single glance.

n“There are…”

n“A lot, right?”

nSeoul’s night sky was filled with nothing but darkness. The most they could see was the occasional full moon hiding beneath the darkness. Tonight, the moon was not the only orb sitting on the skies. No. Was the moon he was familiar with the same as the one he was looking at? It took a few moments before he could process what he was seeing. The ‘smallest’ orb, the moon, hovering in the skies was as big as a ping-pong ball. However, the gigantic one beside it was of such great proportions, Dohyuk could only hide them from his sight if he placed his palms a few inches from his face.

nHow big and how close did it have to be to Earth to appear that large? As he marveled at the orbs in the skies, losing his grasp on reality, he was late to notice a terrifying scene.

nUnder the sky, the streets Dohyuk used to know had transformed into something sinister. Rocks. Monstrous rocks burst out of the asphalt and the concrete of the city, towering over the skyscrapers. Not to mention, the dense forest-like terrain created by the random trees and vines were spewing out of the huge rocks.

nThe crustal movements ruined or destroyed half of the buildings, or perhaps more than half of them. Dohyuk’s house was not safe from the onslaught as well, the room they were in seemed to be the singular thing left in one piece. The bottom part of his house was eaten by the green incursion.

n“Casita’s needle, that’s what they called it. Every time those towers spin, the earth overlaps with another world.” Jimin bobbed her head towards the distance, gesturing her head towards the black tower which stopped spinning. “I don’t know what the hell is happening since they were supposed to start spinning at midnight…” Jimin was about to throw a tantrum over the destruction the towers caused, but a loud noise interrupted her.

nOutside, there was a sound from a distance not too far away, a roar which resounded like a foghorn mixed with the cry of a dinosaur that Dohyuk had seen in a movie during his childhood.

nRight, it was definitely coming from a living creature. He didn’t have to be there to understand. He didn’t know what creature it was, but it must be a predator that could wreak havoc. Its roar served as a warning for their impending doom.

n“Crap…” Jimin, knowing the identity of the creature, reached her hands out and pulled the curtains shut. However, someone else’s hand moved faster than hers.

nIt was Dohyuk’s.

n“OK, I got it.” His skin was pale and his hands were quivering, but it wasn’t hardened or stiff. Two serious and focused eyes pierced their gazes through Jimin. “Tell me everything I need to know. What is happening outside?” That monstrous roar he heard a few seconds ago made him realize the gravity of his situation. “You don’t have to waste words and time trying to make me understand something.”

n-Just accept it. If not, he will die. Indefinitely.

n“Sure,” Jimin answered without hesitation. “First, you need to kill someone.”

n“Because of Nature?” Jimin responded with an affirmative answer, but instead of a verbal answer, Jimin kicked off the floor and jumped. It wasn’t too high of a jump; she even missed the ceiling by few inches or so. However, when Jimin landed on the floor after a few seconds, Dohyuk could not keep his mouth from remaining agape.

nHow many times did she spin? It wasn’t even a perpendicular spin, but a somersault in the air. Jimin was able to change direction and completed them multiple times in that short amount of time.

nWhen her feet were about to land the floor, Dohyuk expected the wooden floor to give into the impact. Instead…

nTap.

nThe only sound she made after her feet touched the ground was a light, almost soundless, tap.

n“This is the effect of my Nature.” Jimin continued talking after finding her balance as if nothing happened at all. She didn’t even stumble a bit. “Gum bodies. My flexibility is way above what a normal human body could pull off, all thanks to my Nature. I can go beyond the ability of what humans deemed possible, or to do more diverse and sophisticated movements. I can also perform bodily movements that can burden the joints or muscles of a normal human body without giving me harm. It has its limits… but it’s a pretty good Nature. There’s a lot of use for it in the beginning.”

n“The description sounds like…”

n“A passive skill?”

nDohyuk opened his eyes in surprise when she predicted what he was just about to say. Jimin smiled faintly when she saw his obvious astonishment. It was the first time Dohyuk saw her smile after the world suddenly changed.

n“It was a comparison to what you told me before, a long time ago, when I was an idiot who stood in your way.” The smile faded quickly, and Jimin continued her explanation. “You’re right. Passive. It’s like the basic skills a character has when you play the AOS games. As I said, everyone carries one of each from birth, and you can carry up to two by acquiring your first murder victim’s Nature.”

n“…I guess my Nature is pretty good.” Dohyuk mumbled as he thought of the people who tried to kill him.

n“Calling it ‘good’ will be offensive to your Nature. It would be an understatement to say your Nature is above all else. It’s number one.” Her words didn’t make it realistic.

n“…Status,” Dohyuk mumbled once again to check the list of his stats and continued reading from where he stopped earlier, the description of his <>.

nThe beginning part goes as follows:

n<>

nFlavor of Iron Unique Nature of Individual ‘Yoo Dohyuk’.

n“Does it say Flavor of Iron?”

n“Yeah, but…” While squinting his eyes, Dohyuk attempted to ask Jimin a question when a strong burst of light, as intense as the high-beam of a car, gleamed towards the room. Simultaneously, a figure appeared from a distance, basking from the glory of its luminance.

n“Rejoice the glory that has been bestowed upon you.” A beautiful and soft voice, so incredible they could feel its tenderness in their hearts, rang on top of Dohyuk’s head.

nAs the light lost its intensity, Dohyuk could now see who the source of the glowing light was. It was located on the black tower in the distance. There was a gigantic figure of a man hovering over the top of it. The unknown character had two massive wings around from side-to-side, each bigger than the tower itself.

nYes, the figure was undoubtedly an angel.

n“By the name of the Great Deity, Casita, I give you your first suffering.”

n“Talking out of your ass, stupid b*tch,” Jimin mumbled behind her breath, her voice filled with nothing but hatred. “I want to rip her head off… but we have no choice since we’re in the ‘beginning’ state. Listen, you must pass the test that b*tch is talking about. You’re lucky you have me, I memorized the strategy!”

n“First, you must…No, what is happening?” The soft-spoken angel shifted its tone and spoke, baffled. “The test hasn’t even begun, but so many became blinded after obtaining a Nature and began slaughtering each other.”

nA moment of silence followed.

nWhen the angel spoke again, the voice was sterner. “Fine. For those villains who have forsaken the word of the Lord by acting according to their instincts, you must prepare for the appropriate chapter of your demise. For those who already obtained two Natures, I will smite you with an excruciating pain heaven alone could only give!”

n“N-no way. Another unpredicted situation?” Jimin’s voice quivered, but she regained her composure right away and turned to Dohyuk. “It’s alright. You and I haven’t killed anyone yet, so that won’t apply to us…”

n“I think it applies to me.”

n“What?”

nJimin’s eyes opened wide. Dohyuk’s expression was no different. If it wasn’t for the angel, he was about to ask Jimin how to understand what was happening.

n“I mean, my status implied so.” The letters in front of his eyes gleamed the same as before. On the space invisible to Jimin, the following words appeared:

n<>

nFlavor of Steel Unique Nature of individual ‘Yoo Dohyuk’.

nAnd underneath it…

nOver the Horizon Obtained by killing individual ‘Casita’.

n“I will first isolate the evil beings!”

nAs the angel’s voice echoed across the horizon, Dohyuk’s body began to gleam brightly, and it flickered as if it was about to disappear along with him.

n“I will gift the first suffering.”

n