Chapter 4: The Calm Before the Storm
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Victor Lionheart's off-road vehicle roared across the cracked highway, its engine echoing across the empty expanse. Dust clouds curled behind the tires as he headed toward Silver Summer, a mid-sized city nearly 300 kilometers away.
Fuel levels were holding steady. There was no rush.
Along the way, whenever Victor spotted a treasure chest on his radar, he'd stop to collect. These weren't Diamond-grade, but in the early days, even Bronze loot could change your fate.
By the time he neared the city, he'd opened:
78 Bronze Chests
34 Silver Chests
13 Gold Chests
3 Dark Gold Chests
Their contents ranged from potions, equipment, and materials to the rarest prizes—skill books.
Out of them all, only one skill book dropped:[Scorching Ray] – a fire-element spell that condensed flame into a high-intensity beam. Its damage wasn't devastating yet, but it had potential. Skill books were incredibly rare, and in Victor's previous life, their value had reached sky-high levels. After all, skill books couldn't be copied or traded once used.
Victor had already made a plan: trade low-tier items that lost value over time for skill books while demand was still low. He would leverage knowledge from the future to hoard as many as possible before prices exploded.
Beside him, Leon Graves watched silently. His eyes flicked toward every treasure chest Victor opened—greedy, but polite enough not to ask. He knew what was at stake. The whole world did.
Even pigs now understood: treasure chests were the future.
Victor had learned more about Leon during the drive. Originally a southern survivalist, Leon had been hiking the wilderness for over two years, sustaining himself through live-stream donations. His only goal now? Get home. His parents still lived in Silver Summer.
They'd added each other as friends through the system's game interface. As long as you were in the same game, you could trade freely—no matter the distance.
In the previous timeline, express delivery workers were the first group to be wiped out by the new economy. But the real killer would have been teleportable trading... if only living things could be transported too.
Victor had one reason for befriending Leon: his S-rank talent for Equipment Enhancement. It doubled the base stats of any gear. With him around, Victor could enhance everything he acquired in the future without relying on a black-market crafter.
By nightfall, they reached Silver Summer.
The streets were dead silent.
Shutters were drawn. Cars were abandoned. People had locked themselves indoors. The Red Mist hadn't fully lifted, and no one wanted to take chances. Home was the safest place—for now.
Electronics still worked, but modern firearms had become laughably weak. A bullet that once killed could now only bruise. The game system had overwritten reality, turning war machines into little more than toys.
Two days from now, everything would change again.
The Red Mist would clear.Monsters would emerge.Dungeons, secret realms, and dimensional rifts would appear.And then... humanity would begin its real trial.
In the first two years alone, over 3 billion people would die. The population would drop to just 4 billion. Civilization would unravel and rebuild around one principle:
Strength decides everything.
Victor said goodbye to Leon and found an abandoned hotel. The place was empty. No staff. No guests. He broke in and set up base in a top-floor suite.
He only had one goal now: hit Level 10 and unlock his first SSS-level talent.
He spent the next few hours trading. From the loot he'd collected, he bartered for three F-rank skill books using the system interface:
[Summon Goblin] – Summons a basic Goblin Soldier to fight alongside you.
[Rock Shield] – Forms three rotating earth-element shields to block incoming damage.
[Water Healing] – Restores minor HP and boosts brain power regeneration for 30 seconds.
They weren't amazing, but they were a start. And more importantly, he could actually use them. As a mage class, Victor could absorb all elemental skills.
Tonight was the seventh and final night of the Newbie Protection Period.
He watched the clock tick closer to midnight.
His breathing slowed. His heart pounded.
This is it. The beginning of my real ascent.
And then—midnight struck.
The system's divine voice echoed across the sky:
"Congratulations! You've reached Level 10!""Talent Unlocked: [Master of the Elements] (SSS-Level)""Class Selection Available!""Newbie Protection Period has ended.""All unopened treasure chests have been reclaimed.""Red Mist Dissipating…""Mutated Flora Detected.""Dimensional Rifts, Secret Realms, and Monster Nests are now active.""Survive, or perish."
Victor stood at the window of the hotel.
The Red Mist thinned, revealing a sky that bled violet and silver. In the distance, the first flickers of abnormal growths twisted trees and cracked buildings. Something howled. Something else screamed.
The Game had begun.
And Victor Lionheart was ready.