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The sky in this new world was not entirely blue. Heavy gray clouds hung low, reflecting a dim sunlight over the dead forest and barren earth. Park Ki Ran walked slowly through the ruins of iron and concrete buildings—remnants of what once belonged to mankind.
Beside him, Rusdi held a long wooden stick, its end wrapped in cloth.
> "Are you sure this place used to be a human camp?" he asked while brushing debris aside.
> "Yeah. I… feel something," Ki Ran replied quietly. His eyes narrowed as [Death Sense] activated instinctively. A faint aura of death lingered in the air—like iron and ash that refused to fade.
Behind a rusted metal container, they found a torn-up tent. Inside, survival gear lay scattered, and a half-buried old chest sat beneath layers of dust.
> [Item Found: Survivor's Lockbox]
Requires Skill "Unlock" or Item "Rusty Key" to open.
"Side quest…?" Ki Ran muttered. The moment he touched the chest, a notification lit up in the air.
[Side Quest Obtained: Legacy Left Behind]
Description: "Someone who never made it out left behind their final hope here. Find the key and unlock their legacy."
Reward: EXP +150, Rare Item (Random)
"If it triggered a side quest like this… then this place matters," Rusdi said. "Maybe there are clues about other races?"
They continued searching the area. On the wall of a collapsed structure, Ki Ran discovered a strange symbol etched into stone—like mechanical patterns fused with foreign script.
> "This isn't human writing," he muttered, inspecting it.
> [Death Sense Active]
Residual energy detected… origin: Non-human civilization.
"Don't tell me this is a clue about another race..." Rusdi swallowed hard.
Not far from the symbol, they found a corpse. Old—just bones—but its clothing was unlike anything human. Light armor fused with smooth metal, a technology neither of them had seen before.
> [Item Found: Damaged Memory Chip]
Description: Data remnant from a non-human entity. Cannot be accessed without Ex Machina interface.
Ki Ran pocketed the item. His instincts whispered: this wasn't the end—this was the beginning of something far greater.
---
They stopped in their tracks as the sound of metal scraping stone echoed from within a half-collapsed building. Rusdi gripped his stick instinctively, while Ki Ran stood still, eyes narrowed toward the noise.
> "Don't tell me that's a human..." Rusdi whispered.
> "No." Ki Ran closed his eyes.
> [Death Sense Active]
Detected entity: 1 Undead – New Variant. Infected with Experimental Fragment.
From the shadows, the creature emerged.
Half-metal, half-rotting flesh. A red light blinked from the left side of its face, mouth hanging open without sound. It looked like it once had been human… or machine.
> [??? – Broken Subject #A12]
HP: 450 / 450 – Level: 4
> "The first monster with a name…?" Ki Ran murmured.
> "I can't fight that, Ki Ran!" Rusdi said in panic.
> "I can."
Ki Ran raised his hand. Black energy surged from his palm.
> [Bone Spike – Lv.1] Active
From the ground, sharpened bone spikes erupted upward, impaling the creature from below. It staggered but did not fall.
> [Raise Skeleton – Lv.1] Active
A skeleton rose from bones in the corner—the remains of a former camp victim.
> "Attack," Ki Ran commanded coldly.
The battle was short. A second Bone Spike pierced the creature's torso, followed by simultaneous blows from the skeleton. The monster collapsed, letting out a strange static sound before disintegrating into black dust and fragments of metal.
> [EXP +210]
[Level Up!] – Level 4
> "Nice!" Rusdi cheered. "Damn, you really can control the dead…"
Ki Ran said nothing, his eyes still fixed on the remnants of the explosion.
> [Item Acquired: Broken Core – Subject A12]
Description: Fragmented experimental core. Contains unique Ex Machina energy signature.
The only clue that this monster didn't come from the wild—but from experimentation.
> "Ex Machina race..." Ki Ran whispered. "They were here."
---
> [Side Quest Updated: Legacy Left Behind]
New clue discovered: Next location – Southern Energy Station.
Then, from the mist in the southern ruins, a strange sound echoed. A loud thumping, like heavy footsteps.
Something larger. Something waiting.
But that's a story for another time.
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