"Stay close," King said. "we’ll wait it out for as long as this can hold."

Eli positioned himself on one side, with his rifle at the ready. Vi held the child on the other, whispering soft reassurances to keep her calm.

And then it began.

The Beginning of The End.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

—

It started small, subtle, a faint vibration that dislodged debris and sent dust drifting into the air. But within seconds, the trembling intensified into a full earthquake.

The street afar off cracked, fissures spreading outward into a web of jagged fractures. High-rises groaned, quaked violently, some collapsing entirely as their foundations gave way.

King braced himself, keeping the construct stable as the world tore itself apart around them.

The earthquake wasn’t random.

This was the final lap of the topography change, the last stage of the game’s overlay fusing with reality.

Through the translucent barrier, King watched the transformation unfold.

The earth split.

Massive rifts opened across the landscape, swallowing entire blocks of the city. The ground shifted and reshaped, tectonic plates grinding against each other as the world reconfigured itself into something new.

Mountains erupted from flat plains, rising hundreds of feet into the air in seconds. Rivers carved new paths through the land, water bursting from underground sources and flooding the lower elevations.

And on the world scale, the continents formed.

King opened his interface and pulled up the map. The screen displayed the entire planet, and he watched in real time as the landmasses split and rearranged themselves.

Seven continents.

Each one massive, distinct, shaped by the game’s design rather than natural geology.

The topography was no longer Earth as it had been.

It was something else entirely.

King zoomed in to their region on the map, noting the new formations. The lowlands were jagged and broken, filled with valleys and ravines that crawled with demi-humans and lesser Nephilim. These would be the common spawn zones, territories where weaker creatures dominated.

Higher elevations formed plateaus and mountain ranges, reserved for stronger entities. Elite zones.

And at the very top, isolated peaks surrounded by sheer cliffs, King spotted the markers for unique structures.

One of those peaks was directly above Constin City.

That explained Arandiel.

The Fallen Star had claimed the highest point in the region, marking it as its domain. The white building where they’d found Vi, while now transformed, sat at the base of that peak, just close enough to fall within the angel’s territory.

King closed the map and refocused on their immediate surroundings.

The earthquake was subsiding.

The ground stopped shaking, the rifts sealed themselves, and the dust began to settle. The world had been reborn, reshaped into a landscape designed for monsters and men to coexist in violent hierarchy.

The entire transformation had taken more than fifteen minutes. And now, it was finally over.

King dismissed the construct barrier, letting the translucent dome dissolve.

Eli lowered his rifle, staring at the changed terrain around them.

"Incredible," the older man murmured.

Vi said nothing, her eyes wide in amazement as she took in the sight of mountains that hadn’t existed minutes ago.

And then the notification appeared.

DINGGG!!!

[CONGRATULATIONS, PLAYERS. THE FIRST WOE IS COMPLETE.]

The message floated in front of King’s vision, glowing softly against the backdrop of the ruined city.

A second notification followed immediately.

[TERRITORIES ARE NOW BEING MARKED AND ASSIGNED.]

King opened the map again, watching as borders materialized across their region. Zones were labeled, some with generic names like "Lowland Rift" or "Eastern Plateau," others with more specific titles tied to the NPCs that dominated them.

He zoomed in further on the location of Arandiel’s territory. The name tag displayed

[Desolate Temple of Arandiel]

And then a cursor appeared on the map.

An arrow, pointing at a location King wasn’t currently viewing.

He swiped, following the arrowhead as it guided him across the interface. The map zoomed out, then refocused on a familiar area.

His mansion grounds.

Or rather, what used to be his mansion grounds.

The land had expanded, reshaped into a new ground, but it was completely empty. The environment around it hadn’t changed so drastically, although he couldn’t see the details, he could still see the mapping of routes that remained majorly constant.

DING!

A notification appeared.

[TERRITORY AVAILABLE FOR CLAIM.]

King stared at the prompt, recalling what it meant. Territories were useful safe havens that players could retrieve to, it was specifically effective against NPCs, as they wouldn’t randomly enter a territory claimed by a player, unless triggered.

So when inside ones territory, players only had to worry about PVP invasions. And of course Territories were important as they gave the options of purchase Base and Hideout templates from the system itself. Guilds as well, were never complete unless they had a territory.

King’s mind raced to their battle with the giant. "As expected, because we defeated the False Nephilim," he muttered.

The game awarded territory to whoever was dominant in a zone at the time of completion. If a player defeated a boss or cleared a major threat, the land they claimed defaulted to them.

King selected the option to claim it.

Another prompt appeared.

[NAME YOUR TERRITORY.]

King hesitated, then selected the [Name Later] option. He didn’t have time to think of something meaningful right now.

The map updated, marking the estate grounds as his claimed territory.

And then the First Woe rewards appeared in his vision.

DING!

PLAYER REWARDS UPDATE

[+5,000 Runes]

[+1 Class Up]

[+1 Class Up]

King smirked in satisfaction.

Two class upgrades.

Class upgrades were rare, typically locked behind major milestones or High-tier boss kills. Receiving two at once was a major step in preparing for the next task.

And then the familiar prompt materialized.

[ACTIVATE GOD’S HAND: 100x REWARD SKILL. Y/N]

[ACTIVATE GOD’S HAND: 100x REWARD SKILL. Y/N]

[ACTIVATE GOD’S HAND: 100x REWARD SKILL. Y/N]

The option appeared next to all three rewards.

King paused, weighing his options.

He could only use God’s Hand twice. The skill was on cooldown after that, and only reset after 24Hours.

He needed to choose carefully.

Before he could decide, a new notification appeared.

[THE ALMIGHTY: 1 New Message]

King opened the message.

[The Almighty: Congratulations, my King. I always knew you’d make it through. Thanks for giving me so much entertainment. And oh, make sure one of those class upgrades goes to quality. Trust me on this.]

King read through the message, raising an eyebrow at the last sentence.

He then closed the chat, and turned his attention back to the rewards.

He selected the first Class Up reward and activated God’s Hand.

[GOD’S HAND: 100X REWARD SKILL ACTIVATED]

[SELECT METHOD: QUALITY / QUANTITY]

He selected QUALITY

DING!

[ACTIVATION SUCCESSFUL]

[YOU HAVE NOW RECEIVED A NEW CLASS SLOT]

[SELECT CLASS]

The notification flashed, and classes displayed before him.

COMBATANT CLASS

MAGE CLASS

SUPPORT CLASS

TANK CLASS

RANGE CLASS

ASSASSIN CLASS

King scanned the list, his eyes settling on one option.

[COMBATANT CLASS]

A hybrid class that specialized in close-quarters combat with weapon and magic integration. It was perfect step, and it would allow him use the gauntlet of ruin more proficiently.

He selected it.

[COMBATANT CLASS UNLOCKED.]

Then, another ding came.

DING

[BASE SKILL SELECTION]

As he expected, getting a class automatically comes with one base skill, base skills were more of resourceful and building skills, rather than flashy skills with status effects and fixed actions. Those ones were acquired as players progressed. And the only reason he didn’t get a basic mage skill was because The Almighty interfered with his selection, granting him the 100x Reward Skill, now he was going through the process in it’s default setting.

[SKILL RANDOMIZATION SUCCESSFUL]

A grid of Five Skills displayed before him.

[QUICK STEP]

USAGE: user executes a lightning-fast dash over a short distance to instantly reposition. This sudden burst of speed allows the user to slip past enemy lines, close the gap on ranged targets, or effortlessly evade incoming heavy strikes. +20 speed.

[FRENZIED WARMONGER]

USAGE: User enters a state of uncontrollable bloodlust, sacrificing all self-preservation to maximize offensive devastation. While active, the user ignores pain and gains massive bonuses to attack speed and physical damage, but suffers a severe penalty to armor and cannot retreat from the fray. Every successful strike extends the duration of the frenzy, fueling a relentless cycle of slaughter until no enemies remain standing.

[ZONING RAPID-STRIKE]

USAGE: Activates when enemy enters your defensive perimeter. Any strike is multiplied as a continuous burst to destroy targets. +10 strength, +10 speed.

[ULTIMATE WAR-CHIEF]

USAGE: When used, skill inspires subordinates, raising their levels by 1 temporarily. Buff is active for 120seconds.

[IRON HIDE]

USAGE: User enters a state of absolute physical hardening, turning their skin and muscles as dense as solid metal. +20 Strength.

He stared at all the description. He was specifically interested in the quick step skill as it would easily complement his gauntlet of ruin and was a very resourceful skill.

But the option of the Ultimate War-chief also intrigued him. He settled for the Ultimate War-chief skill. It was a rarer skill, as they were alternate speed buffs in the game. But with this, he could also help his friends.

King tapped on the skill.

______________________________________________________________________

DING

[SKILL SELECTED]

The interface closed, and King felt the change immediately. The new skill appeared in his profile.

He turned his attention to the second Class Up reward.

This time, he activated God’s Hand for quantity.

[ACTIVATE GOD’S HAND: QUANTITY. Y/N] 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

[YES]

The reward multiplied.

[CLASS UP x100]

King’s Mage class, currently ranked F, began to climb.

F

F+

F++

E

E+

E++

D.

The progression stopped at D rank, absorbing the upgrades into condensed advancement.

[MAGE CLASS: RANK D ACHIEVED.]

King exhaled slowly.

Two classes now. One F rank Combatant, and one standard Mage at D rank.

He added the 5,000 runes to his total without activating God’s Hand. The skill entered its cooldown, the notification graying out.

[GOD’S HAND: COOLDOWN ACTIVE.]

And then the final notification appeared.

DING.

[GLOBAL ANNOUNCEMENT: POWER AND POPULAR RANKINGS WILL NOW UPDATE.]