Chapter 3

“Should I go in?”

He hesitated, staring at the blue-hued portal before him.

For the past thirty minutes, he had tested various things, trying to understand what he was dealing with.

When he reached out, his hand passed through effortlessly—no resistance at all.

The same applied to his clothes, but everything else was rejected.

Electronics, especially, were violently repelled, as if the portal was forcing him to enter alone.

“Looks like I don’t have much of a choice.”

With a frustrated sigh, he ruffled his hair and pushed himself up from his chair.

He had no idea what lay beyond the gate. But ignoring it out of fear? That wasn’t an option.

The message from the developers had mentioned that Doomsday would arrive in three days and that the dungeon would only be available for a limited time before then.

What Doomsday actually meant was unclear.

They had provided no context, no details—just a cryptic warning.

But one thing was certain—this dungeon existed to prepare for whatever was coming.

And he was one of the few who had been granted access.

Would he really pass up this chance just because he was scared?

If the so-called Doomsday actually arrived in three days, he might regret it forever.

“Screw it.”

Steeling himself, he reached out toward the elliptical portal.

A strange sensation washed over him, like pushing through a dense liquid.

Within seconds, his body was pulled forward—and before he knew it, he was on the other side.

His feet landed on solid ground, and as he opened his eyes, he took in his surroundings.

A dimly lit underground prison.

A narrow corridor stretching into the distance.

Torches lining the walls, their flickering flames casting dancing shadows across the shattered remains of rusted prison bars.

“…Collapsed Ruins of the Old Prison?”

The name slipped from his lips instinctively.

It wasn’t surprising.

Because this place was identical to the tutorial dungeon from World Breaker.

The core mechanics of World Breaker were simple:

Players nurtured a character, turned them into a hero, and then used that hero to establish a nation.

Victory was achieved by conquering other players’ nations through war and strategy.

In short, it was a hybrid of RPG and strategy simulation.

Early gameplay focused on character growth, while later stages emphasized nation management.

Since the early and late game mechanics were so drastically different, the game even had separate tutorials for each.

And this dungeon?

This was the tutorial for hero development.

It had been years since he last set foot here, but back when he was a beginner, he had played it over and over.

The mechanics were complex, requiring players to memorize countless details, so many repeated the tutorial multiple times just to get the hang of things.

Cautiously, he advanced through the ruins, scanning his surroundings.

If his memory was correct, then somewhere nearby—

“There it is.”

His eyes gleamed as they landed on a large circular platform embedded in the floor.

Three symbols were engraved into its surface—Warrior, Mage, and Craftsman.

It was the class selection altar.

Stepping onto one of these glyphs determined a character’s starting profession.

The flashy effects that accompanied the selection were so memorable that even after years, he could still picture them perfectly.

“Shame they replaced this with a basic card draw system later on.”

As he moved closer, holographic projections suddenly appeared before him.

He flinched at first, but the projections simply raised their voices in unison.

“If you seek the path of the Warrior, step forward!”
“If you wish to peer into the Abyss of Magic, come forth!”
“If you desire the mastery of Craft, stand before me!”

After their proclamations, the figures vanished, leaving only the glowing glyphs beneath his feet.

Almost as if they were calling to him.

“If I step on one… will I actually get a class?”

In the game, stepping onto these altars granted a class and unique skills.

Would the same happen here?

Would he actually gain magic?

A wave of excitement and anticipation swelled within him.

In the game, class selection was temporary—every run allowed players to choose a new path.

But this wasn’t a game anymore.

What if his choice was permanent?

What if he was stuck with it for life?

That meant he had only one real option.

If this wasn’t a game he could restart, then the ideal class was obvious.

Without hesitation, he stepped onto one of the glyphs.

For a few seconds, nothing happened.

Then, a deep voice echoed in his ears.

“You who seek the Abyss of Magic—may the Blessing of Wisdom guide you.”

A brilliant blue light erupted from the Mage’s altar, spiraling around his body.

“Is this it?” “Am I really becoming a mage?”

Then, messages appeared before him—

《 Class Confirmed: Apprentice Mage. 》
《 Assigning base stats and class abilities. 》
《 Minor discomfort may be experienced during the adaptation process. 》

A burning pain shot through his chest.

“Ghh—!”

It was as if fire had ignited within his heart, spreading through his veins and searing every inch of his body.

The pain was sharp, intense—but just as quickly as it came, it faded.

His vision cleared, and he exhaled sharply.

“What the hell was that…?”

《 Stat allocation and class integration complete. 》
《 System interface now fully accessible. 》
《 Use ‘Status Window’ to view details. 》

The moment the message ended, he nearly cursed aloud—only to stop himself.

“Status Window…?”

Was this referring to the character stat page from the game?

Recalling how the Dimensional Gate had activated, he cautiously spoke the command.

“Status Window.”

At his words, a transparent panel materialized before him.

〈 Character Information 〉

• Level: 1
• Class: Apprentice Mage

〈 Stats 〉

• [Health: 5]
• [Strength: 5]
• [Agility: 5]
• [Dexterity: 5]
• [Mana: 10]

〈 Skills 〉

• [Magic Missile]

It was barebones—almost disappointingly simple.

But there was no mistaking it.

This was the exact same starting character sheet from World Breaker.

In World Breaker, the true joy of character progression was filling up the empty skill window with powerful abilities.

His eyes instinctively drifted toward the Skills section, stopping at the only entry available.