[Would you like to self-insert?]
[Yes] [No]
The question hovered in front of him.
Jayhan hesitated for a while, trying to understand how and why this was happening to begin with.
It was way too connected to be a coincidence.
Firstly, Veronica brought the disc to him, claiming it was a private quest given to her by the world.
Then he gained a new skill, a skill that in itself focused mainly on the attribute of the game.
Just as the skill name goes, it allowed him to self-insert into anything relating to the game, *Apocalypse on Earth*.
Which begged the question—what could he possibly self-insert into?
"Yes."
He finally gave his answer to the system.
[Answer has been reviewed.]
[You will now begin your self-insertion.]
[*Apocalypse on Earth* 1.0... Map has been updated.]
[Characters have been updated.]
[Voice has been updated.]
[Skill path has been updated.]
[Self-insertion has begun.]
Jayhan soon found himself in a white world, his body being pulled into a new facet of reality, one he most definitely didn't recognize.
Another notification popped up.
[Storyline has been updated.]
In that moment, Jayhan felt his brain expand as multiple pieces of information began to sink in.
It was a weird feeling, so much so that it felt like he was about to go mad.
There were faces he had never seen, buildings he didn't recognize. Yet, it felt so familiar.
As the white light vanished, Jayhan stood at the center of an abandoned road.
Looking around, he could quickly tell it was Seoul city, only it looked slightly different.
Sure, destruction was everywhere due to the apocalypse, but the entire place felt off. Floating eyes in the skies, flags that didn't exist in any country were hung on building roofs.
In essence, it felt like he was in a different world.
Then again, he didn't know much about how the real world was since the apocalypse began. He hadn't explored yet.
"So I guess I entered the game?"
Jayhan turned his focus to the glowing screen.
[Welcome to *Apocalypse on Earth* simulation.]
[You cannot leave this simulation until the timer runs out.]
[1:00 hr.]
Jayhan was neutral as he kept reading.
[While you are in the simulation, any equipment or progress you make will be added to the real world. Losses included.]
[*Apocalypse* 1.0 only covers the first 6 quests; you are advised to play smart and be resourceful.]
Silence.
"This is good."
Jayhan couldn't hide his smile, his hand on his chin as he kept reading the words.
'Judging from the information given, it's safe to say this game is very much connected to the real world. It's weird; I know everything that will happen from now to the next quest, but it all involves characters from the game.
Could it be that these characters are in my world right now? Did Earth merge with another world, in this case, *Apocalypse on Earth*? That has to be the only logical explanation, right?
If that's the case, then this works for me—no, it's the best thing to happen to me. I can prepare beforehand, before any quest even begins. Seeing as I can save my progress, I can even overpower the bosses before I face them in the real world.'
Jayhan paused, now staring at the map on the left side of his view.
He could see different points on the map being highlighted with "Unlock story 1-5," and the numbers kept increasing.
"Right now, I only have knowledge of the next quest, but if I explore this map, I can gather more stories? Maybe even enough to cover all the quests until the sixth one?"
Jayhan grinned excitedly.
The joy of every gamer is to have that one cheat no one else has. And right now, Jayhan was embracing every single bit of it.
So he began to explore the map.
It took him quite a long time before he could find anything reasonable throughout the entire city.
Though he did stumble upon some incredible items, like a dagger that could inflict continuous damage for a duration of 3 minutes, and a glove that allowed his strength to increase by +7.
All these were hidden in certain places, some inside the walls, others literally flying in the sky.
Everything was easy, well, until he got to one of the main points illustrated on the map.
[Welcome to point 1.]
[To advance, defeat the monster and unlock 1-5 of the story.]
The notification popped up in front of Jayhan while he was standing at the entrance of the street.
And truly as the system had said, Jayhan could not go anywhere; there was a sign, an invisible wall, blocking his path if he tried to advance.
Meaning, he couldn't access other parts of the story without clearing this one first.
[Would you like to battle the boss?]
[YES.] or [NO.]
Jayhan sighed.
"Yes."
[Answer reviewed.]
[The boss has spawned.]
From within the ground, a knight, one that was born from the darkness it crawled out from, stood before Jayhan.
While its face was covered under the helmet, Jayhan could still see the monstrosity in the monster's eyes.
[Quest has arrived.]
[Quest - Defeat the Fallen Knight.
Reward - A chance to draw a mythical weapon.
Penalty: Restart battle after death.]
Jayhan instinctively wanted to run; the monster before him, even if it looked like a human, was nothing to take lightly in the slightest.
The huge blade it held—a single strike from that would undoubtedly kill him.
[Battle will start in 10 seconds.]
Jayhan stood his ground.
'Dammit, I guess we are doing this!'
Opening his hand—
[Dagger has been equipped.]
He held the blade, his body set to fight.
Then the timer ran out—
'Here it—'
Before Jayhan could even complete his thoughts, the knight had arrived before him.
With its hands raised, it launched a powerful attack with its blade.
There was nothing Jayhan could do.
Slash!
His body was ripped open like butter.
[You have died.]