Dark Warlock in the Apocalypse

In front of the bluish dimensional gate, Nether Magus stood hesitating for a moment. Since the gate first appeared, he had spent thirty minutes testing it in various ways. When he extended his hand toward it, his hand passed through without any resistance. Even his clothes followed smoothly, but everything else was rejected.

Electronic devices, in particular, were vehemently rejected, as if the gate insisted that only his body could pass through.

Taking a deep breath, Nether Magus realized that his options were limited. There was no room for retreat or hesitation. Although he didn't know what awaited him on the other side, staying put wasn't a reasonable choice.

He recalled the message he received from the game's management, which mentioned that "the end" would arrive in three days and that the dungeon would only be accessible for that limited time. While the meaning of this "end" was unclear, it was obvious that the dungeon was designed as a preparation for whatever catastrophe was coming.

More importantly, Nether Magus was one of the few players granted access to the dungeon. Ignoring such a rare opportunity out of fear didn't seem rational. If the true "end" began three days later, he might deeply regret not taking this chance.

After a moment of hesitation, he decided to act. He extended his hand toward the oval-shaped gate. As he passed through it, he felt a strange sensation, like moving through a light liquid. Soon, his entire body was pulled to the other side.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself standing on solid ground. He raised his gaze to survey the surroundings, realizing he was in a dark underground prison. The hallway stretched straight ahead, dimly lit by candles embedded in the walls. Rusted bars of old cells lay broken and scattered on the floor.

Nether Magus thought to himself, "Could this be an ancient, ruined prison?" The scenery around him closely resembled something he had seen before in the game.

He was standing inside a dungeon similar to those in World Breaker, specifically the tutorial dungeon that taught new players how to develop their characters.

Nether Magus had to memorize so many details that he had repeated the tutorial several times. He carefully advanced, examining his surroundings. According to his memory, the thing he was looking for should be nearby.

"There it is."

Nether Magus's eyes gleamed as he spotted a large circular platform on the ground. The platform had three symbols engraved on it: a warrior, a mage, and an artisan. It was a structure used to choose the character's initial profession. Standing on this platform would allow one to select the initial job class of the corresponding category.

He still remembered this mechanism because the effects that accompanied the selection were particularly impressive.

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"It was a bit disappointing that the game later replaced this platform with instant card selections."

As he approached the platform, holographic-like illusions appeared. For a moment, he flinched, but the illusions spoke emotionlessly:

"If you wish to walk the path of the warrior, come to me.""If you seek to peer into the abyss of magic, come to me.""If you desire the skills of an artisan, come to me."

After the illusions finished speaking, they disappeared simultaneously, and the engravings on the circular platform began to glow, as if beckoning him to step on.

"What will happen if I stand on the platform? Will I really obtain a profession?"

In the game, standing on this platform granted players both a profession and skills. Could Nether Magus also obtain a profession and gain magical abilities now? Suppressing the mix of excitement and anticipation, he pondered. In the game, he could choose a new job each time without much thought, but this wasn't a game that could be restarted after a loss.

In the worst-case scenario, he might be stuck with the profession he chose until the end of his life.

"Then, I must choose wisely."

Without hesitation, Nether Magus selected one of the platforms and stepped onto it. After a few seconds of standing, a solemn voice echoed in his ears:

"You, who wish to see the abyss of magic, may the blessing of wisdom be with you."

A blue light emanated from the mage's platform, surrounding his body. He wondered what would happen next. Would he truly become a mage?

"Confirmation complete. You have selected the basic profession of 'Mage Apprentice.'""You have been granted the authority to allocate and adjust stats, as well as receive profession-related skills.""The process of granting this authority may involve some discomfort."

"Ugh!"

Immediately, Nether Magus felt a burning pain in his chest, as if his heart had caught fire, and the flames were spreading through his veins, consuming his entire body. He nearly screamed in agony, but fortunately, the pain subsided quickly.

"The authority has been granted, and your stats have been adjusted.""You now have full access to the system.""You can check further details through the status window."

Just as Nether Magus was about to curse, another message echoed. "Status window?" He wondered if it was referring to the character stat display, like in the game. Recalling how the dimensional gate had opened earlier, he spoke:

"Show status window."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a translucent window appeared before his eyes:

Character Information

Level: 1Class: Mage ApprenticeStats: [Health: 5] [Strength: 5] [Agility: 5] [Skill: 5] [Magic: 10]

Skills

[Magic Missile]

The information was minimal and sparse, just like a freshly created character's status window in World Breaker. One of the game's thrills was filling this empty status window with various skills. While scanning through the window in wonder, his eyes landed on the skills section.

It was the basic skill every mage obtained upon selection: "Magic Missile." As he focused on that part, the skill window opened, revealing more detailed information:

[Magic Missile]

Type: Single-target attack magic.Description: Fires magical energy in the form of an arrow to attack the target.Additional Info: Current available uses (10/10).

"There it is!"

Magic. In the game, this was simply a few clicks to attack an enemy. But if this world was truly World Breaker, that meant he could now use magic in reality.

"But how do I actually cast a spell?"

Would he have to say it aloud, like he did with the dimensional gate and status window? He decided to give it a try:

"Magic Missile."

Nothing happened. Maybe that wasn't the correct method. Looking at the skill window again, he noticed it was labeled as a "single-target attack magic." He realized that he hadn't designated a target yet. Perhaps he needed to choose a target first before casting. He pointed his finger at a nearby brick and said:

"Magic Missile."

Suddenly, sparks flew from his fingertip, and a bright blue beam shot out, striking the brick and chipping off a part of it. Nether Magus stared in awe at the crumbling debris and dust. He hadn't expected that he would actually be able to cast magic.

"This is amazing!"

The faint tension and fear that had lingered were now completely washed away, replaced by excitement for what lay ahead. Although he wanted to cast more spells, he decided to hold back after noticing that the available uses had decreased:

"Current available uses (9/10)."

"I've got nine uses left."

In World Breaker, every spell had a limited number of uses. The only way to recover those uses was through meditating for a certain amount of time. The problem was that Nether Magus didn't know how to meditate in this world. In the game, it was a simple command, but here, in the real world, it seemed different. With no way to restore the uses, he felt hesitant to experiment more.

"I better save them. If my memory serves, right after getting a profession comes…"

Suddenly, another translucent window appeared, interrupting his thoughts:

Prepare for your first battle

Type: Tutorial Quest.Description: Eliminate three goblins inhabiting the ruined prison.Reward: 1 point to be allocated to your stats.

"Yes, this is it!"

Nether Magus smiled broadly at the sight of the quest, knowing that such moments were essential in any game.