章 2: The First Steps Into Magic

"Should I go in?"

Justin hesitated, standing before the shimmering blue portal. For the past thirty minutes, he had been testing its properties, cautiously probing its mysterious boundaries.

Whenever he reached out with his hand, the portal swallowed it without resistance. The same happened with his clothes, but anything else—particularly electronics like his smartphone—was immediately rejected. The portal's hostility toward electronic devices was especially aggressive, as if to say, "Don't overthink it—just bring yourself."

With a heavy sigh, Justin scratched his head and rose from his chair. There was no turning back now. Whatever lay beyond the portal, fear couldn't keep him from stepping through.

"The message said the world would end in three days, and the dungeon could only be accessed until then," he recalled. What "end of the world" meant was unclear—the message hadn't given much detail. What he did know was that the dungeon had been prepared to help players survive the looming catastrophe, and he was one of the select few granted access.

"Missing out on this would haunt me if things really go south in three days," he reasoned, clenching his fists. Without allowing himself to overthink it, he stepped toward the oval portal, extending his hand.

A sensation like moving through a dense liquid enveloped him, and soon his entire body was pulled forward. Within moments, he felt solid ground beneath his feet. Opening his eyes, he looked around, taking in the dimly lit surroundings.

The space beyond the portal was dark, damp, and eerily familiar—a long corridor lined with broken cells and flickering torches mounted on the walls.

"An old, crumbling prison?" Justin muttered, the words slipping out without thought. The scene was all too similar to something he had seen before.

Of course—it was identical to the tutorial dungeon from World Breaker.

The mechanics of World Breaker were deceptively simple: players raised characters into heroes, established nations around them, and led those nations to conquer others. A hybrid of RPG and strategy simulation, the game demanded skill in both combat and governance. Early gameplay focused on character development, while later stages emphasized nation-building.

This stark divide between the early and late game was why World Breaker had separate tutorials for each phase. And this place—Justin realized with a thrill—was the tutorial dungeon where players learned how to train their heroes in the beginning.

He hadn't seen it in years, but memories of his early gaming days rushed back. As a novice, Justin had replayed this tutorial countless times to commit its mechanics to memory.

"If I remember right, there should be something around here..."

Justin moved forward cautiously, scanning the area. His heart leapt when his eyes landed on a familiar sight: a large, circular platform embedded in the ground.

Etched into the platform were three distinct symbols, each representing a different starting class: Warrior, Mage, and Artisan. In the game, stepping onto one of these platforms determined a character's starting profession and granted their first abilities.

"I remember thinking how cool the effects looked every time I picked a class," he mused, a nostalgic smile crossing his face.

As he approached the platform, a trio of shimmering holographic figures appeared, startling him momentarily. Their voices boomed, emotionless and commanding:

"If you wish to walk the path of the Warrior, step forward.""If you seek to delve into the depths of magic, step forward.""If you desire the skills of the Artisan, step forward."

The apparitions vanished, leaving the platform glowing faintly, as if beckoning him.

"Does stepping onto it really grant me a class?" Justin wondered. In the tutorial, choosing a class provided access to basic skills and abilities. Did that mean he would gain powers—perhaps even magic—here as well?

The thought thrilled him, but a sobering realization tempered his excitement. This wasn't a game where he could simply reset his character if he chose wrong. If his decision was permanent, he had to pick carefully.

"In that case, there's only one choice," he decided. For someone like Justin, who thrived on strategy and adaptability, magic was the most versatile path. Without hesitation, he stepped onto the Mage's platform.

As he stood there, a deep, solemn voice echoed in his ears:

"To the one who seeks to gaze into the abyss of magic, may the blessing of wisdom be upon you."

Blue light surged from the platform, enveloping his body in a radiant glow. For a moment, he felt weightless, his mind racing with possibilities.

Then came the pain.

A searing heat erupted in his chest, as though his heart had ignited and fire coursed through his veins. Justin gritted his teeth, barely stifling a scream. Thankfully, the agony subsided quickly, leaving him gasping for air.

"What the hell was that?" he groaned, clutching his chest.

Before he could fully recover, the voice returned:

"Verification complete. You have chosen the basic class, 'Magic Trainee.'

"Allocating stats and granting class-related skills."

"Note: The granting process may involve slight discomfort."

"Slight discomfort, my ass," Justin muttered, shaking off the lingering pain.

Then, as if responding to his thoughts, another message followed:

"System access granted. You may now view and manage your stats."

Stats? Does that mean…? He remembered the game's status screen, the interface that displayed a character's abilities. Tentatively, Justin spoke:

"Show status screen."

The words had barely left his mouth when a translucent window appeared before him.

〈Character Information〉

Level: 1Class: Magic TraineeStats:[Health: 5][Strength: 5][Agility: 5][Dexterity: 5][Magic: 10]Skills:[Magic Missile]

Filling up the empty status screen with new skills was one of the great joys of World Breaker. As Justin scanned his current abilities, his eyes lingered on the skill section.

There it was—Magic Missile, the first skill every Mage received. Focusing on it, Justin noticed a tooltip expand into a detailed description:

[Magic Missile]

Type: Single-target attack spellDescription: Fires a bolt of magic energy at a target.Additional Info: Current usage count (10/10)

"It's real," Justin thought, his pulse quickening. Magic—something that had been confined to the game—was now at his fingertips. The implications were staggering. If this really was the world of World Breaker, he could cast actual spells, not just click a mouse.

"But how do I cast it?"

Recalling how the portal and status screen had responded to spoken commands, Justin decided to try the same approach.

"Magic Missile," he said firmly.

Nothing happened.

He frowned and rechecked the skill description. "Single-target attack spell," it read. Of course—he hadn't selected a target. Maybe the spell required an intended target to activate.

Looking around, Justin spotted a loose brick on the ground. He pointed at it with his finger and tried again.

"Magic Missile."

Zap—Boom!

A spark shot from his fingertip, followed by a streak of blue energy that crashed into the brick, chipping away at its surface. Dust and fragments fell to the ground as Justin stared, stunned.

"It worked."

A thrill coursed through him, washing away the lingering tension and fear. Justin's earlier hesitation gave way to growing excitement. What else could he do here?

He glanced back at the skill description and noticed something new:

Current usage count (9/10)

"Nine uses left." In World Breaker, magic spells had limited uses, which could only be restored through meditation—a simple command in the game. But here in this reality, Justin had no idea how to meditate properly. Experimenting recklessly with magic wasn't an option until he figured it out.

"Better save it for now. If my memory's right, the next step is..."

Before he could finish the thought, a new translucent window appeared, interrupting him.

Prepare for Your First Battle

Type: Tutorial QuestObjective: Eliminate three goblins inhabiting the ruined prison.Reward: 1 ability point for stat allocation.

"Of course," Justin thought, a grin spreading across his face. Quests—an RPG staple. They were as much a part of the game as character progression itself. This was just like the tutorial quests he remembered.

In most RPGs, characters grew stronger through two main methods:

Defeating enemies to gain experience points.Completing quests to earn rewards.

The latter method offered faster progression, albeit at higher risk. Tutorial quests, however, were a special case. Designed for beginners, they were easy to complete yet offered disproportionately generous rewards to build confidence and momentum.

"Killing three goblins for a whole ability point? That's practically a giveaway," Justin thought, chuckling. Usually, players received one point per level up, and here it was being offered in exchange for dispatching the weakest monsters in the game.

But his amusement quickly faded as a new realization hit him.

"Wait... does this mean I have to kill those goblins myself?"

This wasn't a game where he could simply control a character through a monitor. He would have to physically fight the goblins, confront them face-to-face, and take their lives with his own hands.

The thought sent a chill through his body. "Can I really do it?"

Facing danger was one thing—he had come this far prepared to take risks. But taking a life, even that of a monster, was something else entirely. These weren't lines of code or animated polygons. In this world, goblins were living creatures with beating hearts.

"People say even slaughtering a chicken is traumatizing..."

"Kerrek, keerrk!"

"Keek, keeeh!"

The guttural, rasping noises came from up ahead. Justin froze, pressing himself against the wall of a nearby corner. Slowly, he peeked around the edge and spotted them: three goblins, just as the quest had described.

They were unmistakably alive. Their movements were erratic but purposeful, their bodies twitching as they sniffed the air and surveyed their surroundings. Seeing them like this only deepened Justin's unease.

"They're not just data... they're real."

For a brief moment, he questioned everything. Could he bring himself to fight them? To kill them?

Then, as he watched the goblins chatter and move, a new thought crossed his mind.

"Actually... killing all of them sounds like the best idea."

With that, he stepped out of hiding, determination etched across his face.