Chapter 3:
Chapter 3: First Blood
Welcome!! To Belruna World
The panic lasted for hours.
Cole sat on the edge of the fountain in the central plaza, watching as the reality of their situation slowly sank in for everyone around him. Some players were still attempting to force-logout, desperately summoning their menus over and over despite knowing it wouldn't work. Others had simply logged out mentally curled up against buildings, staring at nothing, their minds unable to cope with the sudden shift from game to nightmare.
Min-jun paced back and forth in front of Cole, running his hands through his ridiculous red hair repeatedly. "My company. My apartment lease. My mom oh god, my mom is going to think I'm in a coma. She's going to freak out."
"Everyone's family is going to freak out," Cole said quietly. "Over a billion people just... vanished from reality."
The scope of it was almost incomprehensible. This wasn't just Korea. This was worldwide. Every country, every culture, every age group that could afford the helmet. All trapped together in Belruna World.
The system had been clever, Cole realized. Launch at midnight in different time zones, stagger the logins to prevent server crashes, and by the time everyone was in, it was too late. The Architect had probably planned this for years. The question was why.
"We need to think practically," Cole said, forcing himself to focus. "Panic gets us killed. The Architect made it clear death is permanent. So our first priority is survival."
Min-jun stopped pacing. "Survival. Right. Okay. How?"
Cole pulled up his quest log. The tutorial quest was still active First Steps: Complete any 3 beginner quests in Haven's Rest. "We follow the game's progression system. We take on beginner quests, gain experience, level up. We treat this like any other MMO, except we don't take stupid risks."
"Just one problem," Min-jun said, gesturing around the plaza. "Look at everyone. Half of them are having mental breakdowns. The other half are probably going to do something stupid. This is going to be chaos."
He wasn't wrong. Cole could already see groups forming some players banding together for comfort, others arguing about the best course of action. A few were shouting about finding the Architect and forcing them to release everyone. That seemed optimistic at best, suicidal at worst.
"Then we stay smart," Cole replied. "We party up with people we trust. We take things slow. We don't be heroes."
Even as he said it, Cole knew he didn't entirely believe the last part. His nature had always been to help others, even when it wasn't strategically sound. But in a world where death was permanent, maybe he needed to change that.
A commotion near the edge of the plaza caught his attention. A group of about twenty players had gathered around someone who was standing on a wooden crate, addressing the crowd. Cole couldn't see who it was through the mass of people, but the voice carried clearly confident, commanding, male.
"Listen to me! Panicking won't help anyone! We need to organize, form parties, and start leveling up systematically. The Architect gave us a goal the Tower of Eternity. That means this game is still beatable. We just need to approach it seriously!"
Some players were nodding, drawn to the confident voice. Others looked skeptical.
Cole exchanged a glance with Min-jun. "Want to check it out?"
"Might as well. Not like we have better options."
They pushed through the crowd. The speaker was a warrior like Cole, but he'd clearly spent more time on character creation. He was tall at least six feet with sharp features, silver hair, and an avatar that looked like it belonged on a magazine cover. His nameplate read [Kang Tae-yang - Lv.1 - Warrior].
"We need to accept quests immediately," Tae-yang continued, his voice carrying authority that suggested he was used to leadership. "Standard MMO progression level up, get better gear, explore carefully. The difference is we can't afford to die, so we form parties of five, we communicate constantly, and we don't take unnecessary risks."
"And who put you in charge?" A mage in the crowd shouted. Her nameplate identified her as [Park Ji-woo - Lv.1 - Mage]. She had long black hair and a skeptical expression. "For all we know, you're going to get people killed."
"I'm not in charge of anyone," Tae-yang replied calmly. "I'm offering to coordinate those who want to work together. If you'd rather go solo, that's your choice. But statistically, parties have better survival rates in MMOs."
Ji-woo crossed her arms but didn't argue further.
Cole studied Tae-yang carefully. The man had a point organization would definitely improve survival odds. But there was something about his confidence that felt off. Like he was enjoying this, despite the circumstances.
"I'm forming a raid group," Tae-yang announced. "Twenty players, four parties of five. We'll take on beginner quests together, share experience and loot fairly, and establish a safe leveling pattern. Anyone interested?"
Hands shot up immediately. People wanted leadership, wanted someone to tell them what to do in this insane situation. Within minutes, Tae-yang had his twenty players selected. Cole noticed he was choosing carefully prioritizing balanced party compositions, asking about previous MMO experience, turning away anyone who seemed too panicked or unstable.
Smart, Cole admitted grudgingly.
"What about us?" Min-jun asked. "Should we join them?"
Cole shook his head. "Too many people. Harder to coordinate, and we don't know any of them. Let's start smaller. Just us and a few others we can vet."
"You mean three other people we can vet. We need a full party."
Cole scanned the dispersing crowd. Most players were either joining Tae-yang's group or forming their own small parties. He needed to find people who seemed stable, competent, and preferably had real MMO experience.
His eyes landed on a healer standing alone near the fountain, studying her skill window with intense focus. She was short maybe five foot three with brown hair tied in a practical ponytail and an avatar that looked natural rather than enhanced. Her nameplate read [Lee Na-ri - Lv.1 - Healer].
"Her," Cole said, walking over before Min-jun could protest.
Na-ri looked up as Cole approached, her expression cautious. "Can I help you?"
"You're a healer," Cole said. "Every party needs one. Want to team up?"
She studied him for a long moment. "You're not panicking."
"Panicking gets you killed. I'd rather survive."
"Practical." Na-ri glanced at Min-jun, who had followed Cole over. "Both warriors?"
"For now," Cole confirmed. "We're looking for three more. Balanced party composition."
Na-ri seemed to consider this. "I've played healers in five different MMOs. I know how to keep people alive. But I'm not following anyone who's going to do something stupid and heroic."
"No stupid heroics," Cole agreed. "Smart progression, careful questing, survival first."
"Then I'm in." Na-ri sent a party invitation. Cole accepted, watching as their nameplates gained a subtle blue glow—the visual indicator of party membership.
[PARTY FORMED]Party Leader: ColeMembers: Cole (Warrior), Min-jun (Warrior), Na-ri (Healer)Party Size: 3/5
"We still need a mage and either an archer or rogue," Na-ri noted. "Ranged DPS is essential."
"I know someone," a voice said behind them.
Cole turned to find the skeptical mage from earlier Park Ji-woo standing with her arms crossed. "I'm a decent mage. Played Eternal Destiny Online for three years, was ranked in the top 100 for PvP. I'm not joining that silver-haired pretty boy's raid group, but I need a party."
"You any good?" Min-jun asked bluntly.
Ji-woo's eyes flashed with irritation. "I wouldn't be offering if I wasn't. Fire specialization, high burst damage, good at AoE crowd control. Every party needs a mage."
Cole studied her. Confident bordering on arrogant, but confidence based on actual skill was valuable. "No reckless casting. Mana management is crucial, and we don't know how potion drops work yet."
"I'm not an idiot."
"Then you're in." Cole sent the party invitation. Ji-woo accepted with a curt nod.
[Party Size: 4/5]
"One more," Na-ri said. "Preferably ranged physical DPS."
Finding the fifth member took another twenty minutes. Most archers and rogues had already joined parties. They finally found an archer a quiet guy named [Han Jae-sung - Lv.1 - Archer] who looked uncomfortable with all the chaos but competent with his bow.
"I'm not great with people," Jae-sung admitted when Cole approached him. "But I won't let the party down."
"Can you hit what you aim at?"
"Yes."
"Good enough."
[PARTY COMPLETE]Party Size: 5/5
Cole looked at his assembled party. Two warriors (himself and Min-jun) for frontline. One healer (Na-ri) for support. One mage (Ji-woo) for magical damage. One archer (Jae-sung) for physical ranged. It was a textbook balanced composition.
"Alright," Cole said, addressing his party. "Here's how we do this. We pick up three beginner quests probably something simple like gathering herbs or killing low-level monsters. We work together, we communicate, and we don't take unnecessary risks. Everyone clear?"
Four heads nodded.
"One more thing," Cole added. "We share all loot equally unless someone specifically needs something. No drama, no fighting over gear. We're going to be stuck together for a while, so we need to trust each other."
"Agreed," Na-ri said. The others murmured assent.
Cole pulled up the quest board a magical display near the Town Chief showing available quests. Several beginner options glowed with golden text:
[Herb Gathering - Rank F]Collect 20 Medical Herbs from the forest. Reward: 100 EXP, 5 Silver
[Wolf Problem - Rank F]Kill 10 Forest Wolves. Reward: 150 EXP, 8 Silver, Wolf Pelt x3
[Lost Child - Rank F]Find the Town Chief's grandson in the western field. Reward: 200 EXP, 10 Silver
"The wolf quest," Ji-woo said immediately. "Combat experience is more valuable than gathering."
"Combat also means risk," Na-ri countered. "We don't know how pain works in this game."
Cole had been wondering the same thing. The Architect had said death was permanent, but what about injury? Would they feel every cut, every broken bone? Or was there a pain dampening system like most VRMMOs?
Only one way to find out.
"We take the wolf quest," Cole decided. "But we approach it carefully. Scout the area first, engage one wolf at a time, and retreat if things go bad. Everyone agreed?"
His party nodded, though Na-ri looked worried.
They accepted the quest and headed toward the town gates. Behind them, Haven's Rest continued to buzz with activity some players questing, others still panicking, all of them trapped in a beautiful nightmare.
As they passed through the gates into the forest beyond, Cole took one last look back at the town. Somewhere out there was the Tower of Eternity. Somewhere out there was escape.
But first, they had to survive their first real fight.
And Cole had a sinking feeling that surviving in Belruna World was going to be much harder than any of them imagined.
[END OF CHAPTER 3]
Cole sat on the edge of the fountain in the central plaza, watching as the reality of their situation slowly sank in for everyone around him. Some players were still attempting to force-logout, desperately summoning their menus over and over despite knowing it wouldn't work. Others had simply logged out mentally curled up against buildings, staring at nothing, their minds unable to cope with the sudden shift from game to nightmare.
Min-jun paced back and forth in front of Cole, running his hands through his ridiculous red hair repeatedly. "My company. My apartment lease. My mom oh god, my mom is going to think I'm in a coma. She's going to freak out."
"Everyone's family is going to freak out," Cole said quietly. "Over a billion people just... vanished from reality."
The scope of it was almost incomprehensible. This wasn't just Korea. This was worldwide. Every country, every culture, every age group that could afford the helmet. All trapped together in Belruna World.
The system had been clever, Cole realized. Launch at midnight in different time zones, stagger the logins to prevent server crashes, and by the time everyone was in, it was too late. The Architect had probably planned this for years. The question was why.
"We need to think practically," Cole said, forcing himself to focus. "Panic gets us killed. The Architect made it clear death is permanent. So our first priority is survival."
Min-jun stopped pacing. "Survival. Right. Okay. How?"
Cole pulled up his quest log. The tutorial quest was still active First Steps: Complete any 3 beginner quests in Haven's Rest. "We follow the game's progression system. We take on beginner quests, gain experience, level up. We treat this like any other MMO, except we don't take stupid risks."
"Just one problem," Min-jun said, gesturing around the plaza. "Look at everyone. Half of them are having mental breakdowns. The other half are probably going to do something stupid. This is going to be chaos."
He wasn't wrong. Cole could already see groups forming some players banding together for comfort, others arguing about the best course of action. A few were shouting about finding the Architect and forcing them to release everyone. That seemed optimistic at best, suicidal at worst.
"Then we stay smart," Cole replied. "We party up with people we trust. We take things slow. We don't be heroes."
Even as he said it, Cole knew he didn't entirely believe the last part. His nature had always been to help others, even when it wasn't strategically sound. But in a world where death was permanent, maybe he needed to change that.
A commotion near the edge of the plaza caught his attention. A group of about twenty players had gathered around someone who was standing on a wooden crate, addressing the crowd. Cole couldn't see who it was through the mass of people, but the voice carried clearly confident, commanding, male.
"Listen to me! Panicking won't help anyone! We need to organize, form parties, and start leveling up systematically. The Architect gave us a goal the Tower of Eternity. That means this game is still beatable. We just need to approach it seriously!"
Some players were nodding, drawn to the confident voice. Others looked skeptical.
Cole exchanged a glance with Min-jun. "Want to check it out?"
"Might as well. Not like we have better options."
They pushed through the crowd. The speaker was a warrior like Cole, but he'd clearly spent more time on character creation. He was tall at least six feet with sharp features, silver hair, and an avatar that looked like it belonged on a magazine cover. His nameplate read [Kang Tae-yang - Lv.1 - Warrior].
"We need to accept quests immediately," Tae-yang continued, his voice carrying authority that suggested he was used to leadership. "Standard MMO progression level up, get better gear, explore carefully. The difference is we can't afford to die, so we form parties of five, we communicate constantly, and we don't take unnecessary risks."
"And who put you in charge?" A mage in the crowd shouted. Her nameplate identified her as [Park Ji-woo - Lv.1 - Mage]. She had long black hair and a skeptical expression. "For all we know, you're going to get people killed."
"I'm not in charge of anyone," Tae-yang replied calmly. "I'm offering to coordinate those who want to work together. If you'd rather go solo, that's your choice. But statistically, parties have better survival rates in MMOs."
Ji-woo crossed her arms but didn't argue further.
Cole studied Tae-yang carefully. The man had a point organization would definitely improve survival odds. But there was something about his confidence that felt off. Like he was enjoying this, despite the circumstances.
"I'm forming a raid group," Tae-yang announced. "Twenty players, four parties of five. We'll take on beginner quests together, share experience and loot fairly, and establish a safe leveling pattern. Anyone interested?"
Hands shot up immediately. People wanted leadership, wanted someone to tell them what to do in this insane situation. Within minutes, Tae-yang had his twenty players selected. Cole noticed he was choosing carefully prioritizing balanced party compositions, asking about previous MMO experience, turning away anyone who seemed too panicked or unstable.
Smart, Cole admitted grudgingly.
"What about us?" Min-jun asked. "Should we join them?"
Cole shook his head. "Too many people. Harder to coordinate, and we don't know any of them. Let's start smaller. Just us and a few others we can vet."
"You mean three other people we can vet. We need a full party."
Cole scanned the dispersing crowd. Most players were either joining Tae-yang's group or forming their own small parties. He needed to find people who seemed stable, competent, and preferably had real MMO experience.
His eyes landed on a healer standing alone near the fountain, studying her skill window with intense focus. She was short maybe five foot three with brown hair tied in a practical ponytail and an avatar that looked natural rather than enhanced. Her nameplate read [Lee Na-ri - Lv.1 - Healer].
"Her," Cole said, walking over before Min-jun could protest.
Na-ri looked up as Cole approached, her expression cautious. "Can I help you?"
"You're a healer," Cole said. "Every party needs one. Want to team up?"
She studied him for a long moment. "You're not panicking."
"Panicking gets you killed. I'd rather survive."
"Practical." Na-ri glanced at Min-jun, who had followed Cole over. "Both warriors?"
"For now," Cole confirmed. "We're looking for three more. Balanced party composition."
Na-ri seemed to consider this. "I've played healers in five different MMOs. I know how to keep people alive. But I'm not following anyone who's going to do something stupid and heroic."
"No stupid heroics," Cole agreed. "Smart progression, careful questing, survival first."
"Then I'm in." Na-ri sent a party invitation. Cole accepted, watching as their nameplates gained a subtle blue glow—the visual indicator of party membership.
[PARTY FORMED]Party Leader: ColeMembers: Cole (Warrior), Min-jun (Warrior), Na-ri (Healer)Party Size: 3/5
"We still need a mage and either an archer or rogue," Na-ri noted. "Ranged DPS is essential."
"I know someone," a voice said behind them.
Cole turned to find the skeptical mage from earlier Park Ji-woo standing with her arms crossed. "I'm a decent mage. Played Eternal Destiny Online for three years, was ranked in the top 100 for PvP. I'm not joining that silver-haired pretty boy's raid group, but I need a party."
"You any good?" Min-jun asked bluntly.
Ji-woo's eyes flashed with irritation. "I wouldn't be offering if I wasn't. Fire specialization, high burst damage, good at AoE crowd control. Every party needs a mage."
Cole studied her. Confident bordering on arrogant, but confidence based on actual skill was valuable. "No reckless casting. Mana management is crucial, and we don't know how potion drops work yet."
"I'm not an idiot."
"Then you're in." Cole sent the party invitation. Ji-woo accepted with a curt nod.
[Party Size: 4/5]
"One more," Na-ri said. "Preferably ranged physical DPS."
Finding the fifth member took another twenty minutes. Most archers and rogues had already joined parties. They finally found an archer a quiet guy named [Han Jae-sung - Lv.1 - Archer] who looked uncomfortable with all the chaos but competent with his bow.
"I'm not great with people," Jae-sung admitted when Cole approached him. "But I won't let the party down."
"Can you hit what you aim at?"
"Yes."
"Good enough."
[PARTY COMPLETE]Party Size: 5/5
Cole looked at his assembled party. Two warriors (himself and Min-jun) for frontline. One healer (Na-ri) for support. One mage (Ji-woo) for magical damage. One archer (Jae-sung) for physical ranged. It was a textbook balanced composition.
"Alright," Cole said, addressing his party. "Here's how we do this. We pick up three beginner quests probably something simple like gathering herbs or killing low-level monsters. We work together, we communicate, and we don't take unnecessary risks. Everyone clear?"
Four heads nodded.
"One more thing," Cole added. "We share all loot equally unless someone specifically needs something. No drama, no fighting over gear. We're going to be stuck together for a while, so we need to trust each other."
"Agreed," Na-ri said. The others murmured assent.
Cole pulled up the quest board a magical display near the Town Chief showing available quests. Several beginner options glowed with golden text:
[Herb Gathering - Rank F]Collect 20 Medical Herbs from the forest. Reward: 100 EXP, 5 Silver
[Wolf Problem - Rank F]Kill 10 Forest Wolves. Reward: 150 EXP, 8 Silver, Wolf Pelt x3
[Lost Child - Rank F]Find the Town Chief's grandson in the western field. Reward: 200 EXP, 10 Silver
"The wolf quest," Ji-woo said immediately. "Combat experience is more valuable than gathering."
"Combat also means risk," Na-ri countered. "We don't know how pain works in this game."
Cole had been wondering the same thing. The Architect had said death was permanent, but what about injury? Would they feel every cut, every broken bone? Or was there a pain dampening system like most VRMMOs?
Only one way to find out.
"We take the wolf quest," Cole decided. "But we approach it carefully. Scout the area first, engage one wolf at a time, and retreat if things go bad. Everyone agreed?"
His party nodded, though Na-ri looked worried.
They accepted the quest and headed toward the town gates. Behind them, Haven's Rest continued to buzz with activity some players questing, others still panicking, all of them trapped in a beautiful nightmare.
As they passed through the gates into the forest beyond, Cole took one last look back at the town. Somewhere out there was the Tower of Eternity. Somewhere out there was escape.
But first, they had to survive their first real fight.
And Cole had a sinking feeling that surviving in Belruna World was going to be much harder than any of them imagined.
[END OF CHAPTER 3]
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