The World’s Impending End

The goblins' appearance alone was enough to obliterate Justin's sense of respect for life. Their crooked yellow teeth, twisted faces, long hooked noses, and drooling mouths were utterly repulsive. If such creatures existed in his world, even a love forged over a thousand years would crumble in their presence.

What made it worse were their disturbingly human-like features. They didn't look fully human, but enough to make their resemblance unsettling—a grotesque parody of humanity.

"They're as nasty as their appearance suggests," Justin thought, peeking around the corner to observe the goblins once more.

Squeak, squeak!

The three goblins had gathered in a corner, tormenting a mouse. Using sharp sticks, they stabbed it just enough to keep it alive, their crooked faces split into wide grins. It reminded Justin of children poking at bugs for amusement, but with one critical difference: the goblins were ecstatic to see the mouse squirm and bleed.

"Ki-hee-hee! Kee-hee-hee!"

"Ke-ke-ke-ke!"

The high-pitched laughter was chilling, the kind of sound that could haunt dreams. As the mouse's movements slowed, one goblin delivered the fatal blow, then immediately began searching for a new "toy."

"I finally understand why monsters in novels are killed without a second thought," Justin mused. Watching their cruelty in action, he felt his sympathy evaporate. These creatures weren't acting on instinct; they were harming others purely for amusement.

His gaze shifted to the wooden clubs scattered nearby. Likely placed there as a hint for players to arm themselves before engaging the goblins.

"Not my style," Justin thought. He wasn't a warrior, after all.

"Magic Missile."

Thwack!

A bolt of blue energy shot from his finger, striking one goblin squarely in the temple. The creature let out a shriek before crumpling to the ground.

"Ke-hek!? Keh-heh!"

"Kee-hee-hee!"

The two remaining goblins turned toward Justin, their mouths curling into wide, unsettling grins. Whether it was his imagination or not, they looked like they had found a new toy to play with.

"Magic Missile!"

Thwack!

Another goblin took a hit to the chest, letting out a piercing screech before collapsing. The third, without even glancing at its fallen companion, charged straight at Justin.

The creature was fast, but Justin had created enough distance to keep it from reaching him. Calmly, he raised his hand and fired again.

Thwack!

The last goblin fell backward, its body limp.

"Fights are all about distance," Justin thought with a smirk. From a safe position, a warlock could unleash devastating attacks without putting themselves in harm's way. It was the perfect strategy.

Some might call it cowardly, but as Justin saw it, only losers complained about tactics.

"Ke... kehh..."

A faint gurgling sound caught his attention. Two of the goblins were still moving, albeit weakly. Upon closer inspection, Justin realized that only the one struck in the head had died outright. The others, hit in the chest, were still alive—barely.

Justin let out a sigh. "Guess I'll have to finish the job."

With two more precise shots, he dispatched the remaining goblins. As he did, Justin noted the spell's power.

"It's like being hit by a baseball bat swung at full force," he estimated. A direct hit to the head was fatal, but shots to the chest or stomach might only incapacitate an enemy. Against tougher monsters, Magic Missile might not even be effective.

But Justin already knew the solution to that problem.

"Tutorial Quest: Prepare for Your First Battle – Complete."

"Reward: 1 ability point granted."

"Ability points can be allocated through the status screen."

The mechanical voice delivered the good news with emotionless precision. Justin opened his status screen and saw the new option: "Unallocated Points." Without hesitation, he invested the point into his Magic stat, raising it to 11.

In World Breaker, all magic spells scaled with the user's Magic stat. A higher stat meant stronger spells.

"This will help for now, but it's not a permanent solution," Justin thought. No matter how much he increased his Magic stat, there were inherent limits to the spells themselves. The true solution was learning more advanced magic.

And if his memory served him right, there was someone nearby who could help with that.

Not long after completing the tutorial quest, Justin entered a new area. At the end of a narrow corridor, the space widened into a small clearing. There, a robed figure sat with a staff resting by his side—a warlock if Justin had ever seen one.

As Justin approached, the elderly man's eyes widened in surprise.

"Ho! Incredible! You defeated them with basic magic?"

"...Pardon?"

The old warlock stroked his beard, a gleam of approval in his eyes. "You have potential, young one. Tell me, would you like to learn magic under my guidance?"

Justin raised a hand, cutting him off mid-sentence. "Hold on a second."

The old man blinked, puzzled. "Is there an issue?"

Justin tilted his head. "Do you even know what I defeated?"

"What you defeated? Why, those were goblins, of course—" The warlock stopped abruptly, realization dawning on his face.

Justin hadn't mentioned goblins at all. For a moment, the warlock fidgeted, his eyes darting around before he let out a loud, exaggerated cough.

"Ahem! Ahem! Well, this area is infested with goblins, so naturally, I assumed!"

"Right. Of course," Justin replied, unconvinced.

"Yes, yes! Anyway, defeating them with basic magic is no small feat!"

"I never said I could use magic."

The warlock froze.

"..."

"..."

An uncomfortable silence filled the narrow space. Justin crossed his arms, waiting for the old warlock's next words. The warlock, clearly flustered, glanced around nervously, beads of sweat forming on his brow. After nearly a minute, he forced an awkward smile.

"Shall we... start over?"

"No."

"..."

"What's the point of repeating everything? I already know what's going on. Let's just move on."

"...Damn it," the warlock muttered under his breath, shattering the illusion of his sagely demeanor.

"Anyway! What I meant to say is that you show great promise!" the warlock continued, attempting to regain his composure.

Justin raised an eyebrow. "You're really sticking with the script, huh?"

"I don't know what you mean," the warlock replied with exaggerated innocence.

Despite the situation, Justin found the warlock's stubbornness mildly amusing. Even after completely ruining his "grand introduction," the old man refused to give up.

"Whatever the case, why don't you start learning magic from me?"

"Uh, aren't you supposed to ask me if I want to learn first?"

"Fine, do you not want to learn?"

"No, of course I do."

"That's more like it!" The warlock exhaled in relief and sank into a seated position. "Would've saved us both some trouble if you'd just said that from the start."

Justin couldn't help but smirk. "I didn't do anything, old man. If anything, you're the one who botched the entire—"

"Ahem! Ahem!" The warlock cut him off with a dramatic cough, clearly unwilling to admit fault.

For a moment, Justin considered teasing him further by feigning disinterest in learning magic. But he quickly dismissed the idea—if the old man actually refused to teach him, it would be a major setback.

"Alright, shall we begin right away?" the warlock asked. "The sooner you start, the better."

"Hold on. I have a few questions first."

"Go ahead, ask."

"Am I stuck here until I've learned all your magic?"

In Justin's memory, learning skills in World Breaker always took time. Tasks like defeating goblins, which were over in minutes in the game, seemed to drag on in this reality. If learning magic took even longer, he had to wonder—what about basic needs like food and rest?

"That's not the case at all," the warlock replied. "You've always been free to leave whenever you want."

"Free to leave? How?"

"Do you remember how you got here in the first place?"

"Well, I used the dimensional portal... Oh."

Justin realized the answer was embarrassingly simple. All he needed to do was open the portal again to leave. He chuckled at his earlier assumption that the portal had been a one-way trip.

"Why do you ask? Are you planning to leave already?" the warlock inquired.

"Not yet, but I can't stay here indefinitely either."

"That's fair. If you need to rest, feel free to return home and come back when you're ready. I'll be here for the next three days."

The explanation eased Justin's concerns. The portal must reconnect to the last locations on both sides, meaning he could come and go as he pleased. That knowledge gave him a sense of relief.

"Any other questions?"

"Just one more."

"Go ahead."

"What exactly is this 'end of the world' thing?"

Justin leaned forward, watching the warlock closely. If this were a standard game NPC, the question would have been pointless. But the warlock clearly wasn't bound to a script—he could think, reason, and react like a real person. Not asking about such a crucial detail would be foolish.

The warlock tilted his head, confusion evident on his face. "What do you mean? Don't you already know?"

"I... don't."

"Strange. You're aware of my existence, are you not? This is no different."

Justin frowned, turning the warlock's words over in his mind. Aware of his existence? Does that mean the 'end of the world' is tied to the game's lore?

He dug through his memories of World Breaker. The game's premise was clear: players raised heroes in a post-apocalyptic world. But something about the timeline suddenly clicked.

"Wait... a post-apocalyptic world means there was a pre-apocalypse, right?"

A chilling thought began to take shape in Justin's mind. In World Breaker, the world was always portrayed as having already been destroyed. But what if that destruction hadn't occurred yet in this reality?

As if to confirm his suspicion, the warlock spoke again, his voice grim.

"In three days, your world will collapse."