Player 0028’s death hit the channel like a wave breaking against rock.
In everyone’s mind, 0028 had been the steady one – clear-headed, a high-rank Talent, the kind of person others naturally started orbiting.
And now he was gone.
Killed by a Tier 1 Awakened from the Abyss faction.
Ethan stared at 0028’s final message and felt his brow tighten.
This world was far more complicated than he’d assumed.
The locals could awaken Talents just like the players. They could advance, choose factions, become Awakened.
Players weren’t the only “special” people here. They weren’t the chosen ones.
A marketing line from Endless Sea surfaced in his mind: a world that truly exists.
For once, the game studio hadn’t exaggerated. This place really was real.
Players could die. The locals weren’t NPCs.
And there was another problem: this wasn’t the first batch of players.
They had to watch for hostile locals – and for veterans from earlier cycles who knew exactly how this world worked.
Danger wasn’t just out in the open. It lived in the shadows.
[CHAT] “I don’t even know what to say… but I’m grateful to 0028. In his last moments, he still warned us about the world.”
[CHAT] “Yeah. I didn’t expect locals to be able to become Awakened too… or choose factions.”
[CHAT] “I thought we were the ‘fourth calamity.’ Turns out we’re nothing.”
It wasn’t just Ethan. Every player was realizing their situation was worse than they’d imagined.
A heavy grief bled through the chat.
[CHAT] “What are we supposed to do about the tasks? Using our Talents gives us away. But if we don’t use them, we can’t earn XP. It’s a trap either way!”
[CHAT] “I swear, once the Abyss Thralls started hunting people, I forgot we even had tasks. What now?”
[CHAT] “This is killing me.”
[CHAT] “I don’t even dare breathe. Everyone looks like they might be Abyss.”
The moment someone mentioned the tasks, the channel turned into a wall of panic.
On one side: deadlines and rewards. On the other: predators in the dark.
For the first time since the transfer, the word fear felt appropriate.
The System spoke again.
[SYSTEM] Announcement: Task rewards are now published.
[SYSTEM] 1st player to complete all three tasks: Dragon Satchel x1 (contains Epic-grade supernatural material).
[SYSTEM] 2nd-10th players: Windgator Pack x1 (contains Rare-grade supernatural material).
[SYSTEM] 11th-100th players: Flamewolf Pack x1 (contains Fine-grade supernatural material).
[SYSTEM] Penalty: Any player who fails to complete the tasks within 15 days will permanently lose the qualification to Awaken.
For a few seconds, the chat went dead.
There were punishments too? People seemed to short-circuit.
[CHAT] “At least it’s not instant death. The System’s got a conscience, huh?”
[CHAT] “Are you kidding? If we can’t Awaken, we’re meat on the Abyss’s chopping block. They’ll hunt us until we’re gone.”
[CHAT] “We’ve already seen it. 0952 and 0028 got killed because they’d awakened Talents.”
[CHAT] “It’s not guaranteed though. Maybe you can hide forever.”
[CHAT] “You can’t. Some Awakened can sense awakened people.”
[CHAT] “…What?”
[CHAT] “We’re done.”
[CHAT] “There are official organizations in this world. Try to find help.”
[CHAT] “But don’t trust everyone. And the Dark Gods exist here – sacrifice is a real possibility. Do whatever it takes to survive.”
After that, the channel quieted on its own.
The pressure of the countdown and the reality of being hunted squeezed all casual talk out of the air.
Ethan closed the chat panel.
He looked out over the endless water and, for the first time, felt lucky.
A shipwreck’s sole survivor.
From the moment he arrived, the sea had been empty. Just him, the raft, and the horizon.
That meant no Abyss Thrall could hide in a crowd near him.
And drifting on open water made it easy to use his Talent without anyone noticing.
It looked like a brutal start. In practice, it was… oddly safe.
He opened his task panel and planned his next moves.
Task 1 – 10,000 XP – was trivial for him.
All he had to do was drop the hook into water – or into any object at all. He didn’t even need to reel in.
At his current pace, he could AFK about nine XP a minute.
At that rate, he could clear Task 1 in about a day.
His eyes slid to Task 2.
“Obtain a Relic.”
He remembered the official explanation from the website.
Relics were special supernatural items – and the key requirement for becoming Awakened.
Compared to ordinary materials, Relics carried stronger, stranger properties.
Some held raw supernatural power. Some came with abilities of their own.
And nearly every Relic was unique. No two were exactly the same.
They could take any form – ore, plants, even organs.
Or they could be crafted from materials into products: inscriptions, alchemy, tailored clothing.
To advance each Tier, an Awakened had to fuse with a Relic and make its power part of themselves.
But Relics varied wildly in strength.
Fuse with a weak Relic, and you’d end up with weak abilities.
That meant two Tier 1 Awakened could be worlds apart.
Choosing a Relic wasn’t a side note – it was the foundation.
Not just power level, but synergy. The right ability mix could decide everything.
Ethan’s conclusion was obvious: the System wanted players to get a Relic so they could reach Tier 1.
The problem was that Relics weren’t common junk. They didn’t grow on trees.
He’d already seen the anxiety in chat – Task 2 was the real wall.
Still… people said the sea held endless treasure.
Ethan stared at the mirror-flat water. With his current situation, the ocean and his rod were all he had.
He looked at his last task – the personal one.
“Find an island and successfully land.”
From bits and pieces in chat, he’d learned everyone had a different “personal task.”
For him, it lined up with the most urgent problem anyway: he needed land.
The ocean was boundless. Islands were not exactly easy to find.
The rod dipped again.
Another Arcglow Bluefish came up on the hook.
He unhooked it and set it aside with the others. Over the last stretch, he’d kept fishing nonstop.
A dozen fish now lay on the raft.
Between the catches, his condition had climbed back to 95%.
And every one of his physical boosts had reached +3%.
He opened his status and checked his Talents.
[PANEL] Talents:
– SSS-Rank Infinite Fishing (Talent)
– F- Rank Stamina Boost +3%
– F- Rank Mental Boost +3%
– F- Rank Agility Boost +3%
– F- Rank Strength Boost +3%
Everything was tracking the way he’d hoped.
Now he just had to find an island.
The sun sank. Gold spilled across the sea.
Right as Ethan was turning the problem over in his head, a sharp cry cut through the air above him.
His heart lifted. He looked up.
A bird with snowy wings and gray-black tail feathers circled high overhead.
A seagull.