Chapter 1: The End of the World Begins with a Knock

The last thing Leon remembered was falling asleep to the glow of his computer screen, another lonely night of streaming games to an empty audience. But when a thunderous knock shook his door, his eyes snapped open—not to the familiar clutter of his apartment, but to a nightmare.

The door trembled. Something was on the other side.

A wet, gurgling voice whispered, "Let me in..."

Heart pounding, Leon crept forward, peering through the door’s peephole. A woman stood there—or what was left of one. Her jaw hung slack, her eyes hollow, her dress soaked in blood. Behind her, shadows writhed, and a voice, deeper than hell itself, commanded:

"Eat him."

Leon stumbled back, crashing into the wall. This isn’t happening.*Monsters weren’t real. Portals didn’t exist. Yet the proof was right there, scratching at the door, splintering the wood. A bloodied finger curled through the hole, scraping toward him.

He had no weapons. No skills. Just a life half-lived—wasted on takeout, bad sleep, and dreams he’d buried under apathy. Now, he’d die without ever mattering.

Then a glitch in reality.

A cold, mechanical voice echoed in his skull:

[SYSTEM ERROR.]

[HOST MORTALITY CONFIRMED.]

[REWARD PROCESSING…]

Leon’s vision darkened. The last thing he heard was the door exploding inward.

The Second Chance

Leon woke up.

Impossible. His body had been torn apart. Yet here he was, gasping on the floor of his apartment, his bloodstained clothes the only proof it wasn’t a dream.

The System’s message burned behind his eyelids:

[REWARD: “IMMORTAL’S REGRET” ACTIVATED.]

[CONDITION: DEATH TRIGGERS REBIRTH.]

[WARNING: EACH RESURRECTION DRAINS YOUR HUMANITY.]

Leon laughed hysterically. Unavailable? A cheat skill straight out of the novels he loved. But the System’s final warning lingered: What remained when humanity was gone?

Outside, the world had ended. Goblins looted corpses, mutated beasts prowled the streets, and worse things lurked in the portals bleeding darkness into the sky. Leon’s hands shook as he broke a chair into a makeshift spear.

"I won’t die pathetic.”

Blood and Resolve

Two days of hunger and terror later, Leon forced himself outside. The hallway reeked of rot. A goblin lunged, knife flashing. He ran—but not fast enough. Agony erupted as the blade plunged into his back.

As he crumpled, the goblin cackled, kicking his ribs. Pathetic. Weak. The insults mirrored his own thoughts. Darkness swallowed him…

Then, like a corrupted save file reloading, his body stitched itself back together. The System’s voice was colder this time:

[HUMANITY -5%.]

Leon awoke screaming. The goblin froze—just long enough for Leon to grab its knife and ram it through its throat.

He could fight back.