Chapter 2: First Step

  The world around Jin was darkness at first—deep, endless, and cold. Then light bloomed, threads of gold and violet weaving themselves into a sky not bound by clouds or atmosphere, but shifting digital consteltions. He stood in the middle of it all, weightless, his body feeling distant and foreign.

  [Initializing Default Avatar…]

  [Warning: Legacy Firmware Detected. Custom Mapping Required.]

  The interface blinked and stuttered, before recalibrating. A ripple passed over him, and Jin’s body solidified—an imperfect digital reflection of his real self. Then, as if acknowledging something far deeper, the crude window opened again.

  CHEAT MODULE ACTIVE

  Skill Insight Enabled.

  Behavior Prediction: Standby.

  Environment Scan: Limited Access Zone – Training Lobby.

  Jin blinked, his breath shallow as the hum of the system resonated deep within him. He could feel it—a strange presence, something alive and watching, adapting to his very being.

  “This is… insane,” he whispered, his voice echoing in the strange space like a prayer in an empty cathedral.

  A chime echoed, almost as if in response.

  [Welcome to ECHELON. This is your personalized entry space. Please select a zone to begin.]

  A circur menu appeared before him, options floating like unspoken promises—Game, Work, Commerce, Education, and Others. But most of them were greyed out, inaccessible.

  He reached for Game but paused when the Cheat Module pulsed again.

  Behavior Prediction: Recommend Alternative Entry – Observation Zone.

  “Huh?” he muttered. The module’s suggestion felt almost… urgent. He tapped where the module had suggested, and—

  The environment melted away.

  The ground beneath him disappeared, and he stood on the balcony of a floating city, a breathtaking skyline sprawling beneath a binary sun. Towering skyscrapers stretched toward the heavens, some pristine and others crumbling, as people—avatars—floated and moved like ants on the busy ptforms below.

  But Jin saw the distinctions immediately. There were those with simple, default avatars. And then there were others—shining, glowing with premium skins, cosmetic mods, and expensive accessories. Status was more than just a choice here. It was currency.

  “This is the real VR world…” Jin muttered, more to himself than anyone. “Not just games. It’s a system of status.”

  Skill Insight: Observation – Potential +12%

  The message startled him. The Cheat Module wasn’t just collecting data—it was learning from him.

  Far away, in a server room bathed in cool blue light, the silver-haired man leaned forward, his fingers poised over a console.

  “He’s adapting,” he murmured. “Faster than expected.”