?[ 3 Months After The Black Day ]

  ?When Kai first opened his eyes after the meteor crash, he thought he had been given a gift.

  ?His creation, Endless, had overlaid itself onto reality.

  For the first time since the Black Day, Kai felt something close to joy.

  ?Adventure.

  ?Endless had become real. As the Architect, he thought he held the keys to the kingdom.

  He knew every glitch, every loot drop, every secret.

  ?He was wrong.

  ?For three months, Kai tried to use his "Admin Knowledge." He went to the hidden goblin caves.

  He tried to access the developer consoles.

  ?[ERROR: USER LEVEL TOO LOW.]

  [ACCESS DENIED.]

  ?He was Level 0. The system rejected him.

  He wasn't the King; he was a ghost haunting his own castle.

  Kai tried every method possible to level up, but his broken luck wrote a different fate.

  He remained a Zero.

  ?Desperate, Kai turned to his last resort.

  ?The Harpe - The Sharpless Sword.

  ?In the original code, he had designed a legendary weapon—a sickle sword capable of slicing through space.

  It was scheduled to spawn in the Colosseum Event exactly three months after the server launch.

  ?"If I get the Harpe," Kai muttered, wrapping his bruised hands in rags.

  "Who needs levels? The weapon itself breaks the game."

  ?[ The Colosseum - The Event ]

  ?Thousands had gathered.

  ?The ancient arena, remodeled by the Slime's influence, loomed over the city.

  Its stone pillars flickered in and out of existence, glitching against the sky.

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  The crowd was a mix of terrified civilians and arrogant VECTORS.

  "Vectors"—players who had leveled up by killing monsters (and sometimes people).

  ?Kai stood in the shadows, far away from the center.

  ?He noticed a figure standing on the opposite side of the arena.

  ?Dressed like a scholar in a black coat and white collared shirt, the man's face was hidden behind a pale mask.

  As Kai's vision sharpened, his piercing eyes became the focus, revealing a mysterious Tree Emblem stitched onto his chest.

  ?He stood perfectly still amidst the chaos.

  He felt... wrong. Like a hole in the world.

  The Masked Man wasn't looking at the crowd; he was glancing toward an unknown location.

  ?But Kai was distracted by a tug on his sleeve.

  ?"Mister?"

  ?Kai looked down. A little girl, no older than nine, was looking up at him with large, trembling eyes.

  She was wearing a dress that was too big for her, stained with dirt.

  ?"Why are you standing alone?" she asked.

  ?Kai forced a smile. "I don't have any friends, kid. So I stand alone. What about you? This isn't a place for children."

  ?"I came with those uncles," the girl said, pointing to a group of rough-looking men near the front.

  "They said they would give me a Crystal if I carried their bags."

  ?Kai frowned, his grip tightening. "A Crystal? More than that... how can they take you to such a dangerous place?"

  ?Kai took the child's hand and marched toward the men.

  He kept his voice calm but cold. "Why did you bring a child into a Raid Zone?"

  ?The leader of the group, a man with a scarred lip, looked down at him with arrogance.

  "Mind your own business, boy. We have a legal notice. Check the fine print—the girl agreed to come."

  ?He shoved a crumpled paper into Kai's chest. Kai checked the text.

  ?[GOVERNMENT DECREE: ECONOMIC EMERGENCY ACT]

  [CLAUSE 4: ALL LABOR RESTRICTIONS SUSPENDED DUE TO RESOURCE SCARCITY.]

  ?The leader snatched the paper back and laughed. "Legal and binding. Now get lost."

  ?Kai grit his teeth, whispering to the girl.

  "Kid...Let me carry your bag, what is your name? And why are you doing this? ."

  ?"My name is Anna," she whispered.

  "My mommy is sick. She has the 'Unknown Disease.' The doctors said she needs crystal energy to stabilize... or she will die."

  ?Kai's heart sank. She's risking her life as a pack mule just to save her mother.

  ?"Don't worry," Kai said, crouching down to her level.

  "I created... I mean, I know this game. It's just a logic puzzle. It tests your mind, not your body."

  ?He began to explain the rules he had written years ago.

  "It's simple counting, Anna. Just numbers from 1 to 9. Like homework."

  ?Anna beamed.

  "Really? Thank you, Mister!"

  ?Kai patted her head. He believed his own lie.

  He smirked internally, remembering the development phase. It was supposed to be a tutorial.

  ?Then, the ground began to vibrate.

  ?[EVENT STARTED: THE SQUARE OF ELIMINATION ]

  [RULE: CALCULATE THE VARIABLE. OCCUPY THE SAFE ZONE.]

  ?Kai froze.

  ?Elimination ?

  ?He didn't remember naming it that. While in development,

  it was called: "Logic Calibration."

  ?The floor of the Colosseum lit up.

  A massive glowing grid appeared beneath their feet.

  ?"It's just math," Kai whispered, trying to convince himself. "Just Sudoku."

  ?A man near the center stepped into a square. He looked around, confused. "What is this? What's the answer?"

  ?[WRONG.]

  ?The square turned crimson red.

  ?The man didn't just die. He glitched.His body elongated, stretching like taffy.

  His scream didn't echo; it buffered, distorting into digital static.

  The "Corruption" consumed him, turning him into a writhing, pixelated abomination.

  ?"H-He...lp..." the thing gurgled before dissolving into raw data.

  ?Silence fell over the arena. Then, panic exploded.

  ?"It's a trap!" someone screamed. "We're going to die!"

  ?[ ROUND 2 BEGINS.]

  ?The grid shifted. The safe zones became smaller.

  ?"How do we know which one is safe?!" a high-level Tank shouted.

  He looked at the shivering civilians near him. A cruel idea formed in his eyes.

  ?"Push them," the Tank ordered his party.

  "Use the weak ones to find the traps."

  ?"No! Please!"

  ?The slaughter began.

  The high-level players grabbed the Level 5s and the civilians, throwing them onto the grid like stones.

  If the square turned green, the strong players stepped in. If it turned red, the bait died screaming.

  ?Kai watched in horror. This wasn't his game. This was hell.

  ?I never coded death into this trial.

  ?Kai's gaze fell on the Masked Man.

  He didn't move. He didn't react. He just tilted his head slightly, observing the carnage like a scientist watching ants burn.

  ?Anna stood frozen, trembling as if she had just seen a ghost crawl from beneath her bed.

  Her small, nine-year-old frame shook with a terror too heavy for her years.

  ?Seeing her break, Kai didn't say a word; he simply opened his arms wide.

  ?With a sharp cry of horror, Anna lunged forward, burying her face in his waist.

  She clung to him with white-knuckled desperation, trying to disappear into his shadow, as if he were the only thing keeping the world from swallowing her whole.

  ?"We need another one!" the Tank shouted.

  The safe zone was narrowing. His eyes scanned the crowd.

  ?They landed on Anna.

  ?"Grab the brat!" the Tank yelled.

  "She's small! She fits in the corner square!"

  ?"No!" Anna screamed, backing away, clutching her bag.

  "Mister! Help!"

  ?Kai's blood ran cold. He stepped forward, putting himself between the girl and the mob.

  ?"Don't touch her," Kai snarled, though he had no weapon and no level.

  ?The Tank laughed, raising a massive warhammer.

  ?"Or what, Level Zero?"