Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Cataclysm (2)
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"…"
After checking the government's official announcement, I hit the back button and logged into my usual community site.
To gauge people's real reactions, nothing beat the relatively freewheeling communities and SNS over official news, which inevitably went through censorship and review.
"…What a mess."
Two hours after the government's statement. Every community for Season Off Fantasy was on the verge of exploding. A single refresh unleashed hundreds, even thousands of new posts.
Comments piled up endlessly, and spam ads slipped through the cracks. The Sio-pan forums had turned into yet another battlefield.
"Hmm…"
Pondering which post to read first, I casually clicked on the so-called "recommended" one—the top dog in views and upvotes.
📰 Breaking Post [Live from Busan… Kobold Outbreak] Author: Anonymous Kobold pack showed up in Busan Seomyeon (video). National Guard's retreating—total chaos right now. 💬 Comments — Anonymous ?? They lost to kobolds? WTF — Anonymous Kobold hide's super thick. Modern guns can't pierce it, obviously. — Anonymous Does that mean we're all screwed? — Anonymous WTF where are all the Sio-pan scrubs — Anonymous And you're filming this how? — Anonymous I'm a Changeling. Assassin class. Can go invisible. — Anonymous Quit creeping and fight, asshole — Anonymous Lv100 newb here. How the hell am I supposed to fight, moron? — Anonymous Sigh. Useless punk. Sorry tree for stealing your oxygen. Go bark at a dog. — Anonymous Go easy, kid's gonna cry. "…"
A video of the kobold pack in Busan Seomyeon and the Republic of Korea's army getting utterly crushed by them. Watching the grimmer-than-expected footage, I kept a straight face.
"Kobolds…"
Kobolds were massive 2-meter wolf-like monsters with thick hides and razor-sharp fangs. Average level around 150. Low-tier C-rank in Sio-pan.
The army retreating from those? The gap between regular humans and Sio-pan monsters—Changelings aside—seemed even wider than I'd thought. Modern weapons brushed off like toys.
Not that our troops fought poorly. Far from it—I wanted to applaud them for facing unknown beasts head-on without flinching.
Just… Sio-pan's monsters were too damn strong. I'd expected as much, but modern weapons clearly had limits against them.
Only Sio-pan players—Changelings who'd transformed into their characters—could take the freaks down.
"Hmm…"
Korea's situation was graver than I'd imagined. The South looking like a post-apocalypse zone made me frown as I scrolled through more posts.
Most were bleak accounts of early chaos, but sprinkled in were glimmers of hope—photos and videos here and there.
📰 Breaking Post [Breaking] Fate Guild Wyvern Slain in Asan, Chungnam Author: Anonymous (61.345) Proof (video) 💬 Comments — Anonymous Kya — Anonymous This is it — Anonymous That's the way — Anonymous Fate? The one with Dark Ghost? Archer #1? — Anonymous Yeah, the guild with that arrow spammer. — Anonymous Arrow spammer? You pals with Kingdom God Ham now? — Anonymous This is how it's done. Other guilds, step up. — Anonymous Too early; most guilds not rallied yet? — Anonymous Yeah. Gotta solo-tough it till then… "Fate…"
Fate Guild.
The guild founded by the archer who'd held #1 spot since Sio-pan launched—nicknamed Dark Ghost.
News of them taking down a wyvern in Asan, Chungnam—a place with decent name recognition on the Korean server—had people buzzing.
Wyverns were A-rank; some topped 1000 levels. Word of one getting felled was bound to rally a shell-shocked public.
Gaming powerhouse that Korea is.
Beyond Fate and Dark Ghost, top guilds and rankers overflowed. If they could hold till those groups organized—just survive today—things would turn around fast.
📰 Breaking Post [To Everyone Visiting the Sio-pan Gallery] Author: MarchPuppy "Huh…?"
While skimming posts, a new recommended one caught my eye. Sky-high upvotes for its upload time—written by the Sio-pan community admin, no less.
💬 Important Notice — MarchPuppy (Admin) To all the normies flooding in for info: The freaks pouring from the rifts of light are ALL monsters from the VR game Season Off Fantasy (Sio-pan). People turning into Sio-pan characters and monsters raining from the sky—this unprecedented crap is happening worldwide, not just Korea. Cause unknown. Normies who never played Sio-pan and didn't transform: DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT engage or approach these monsters. Shove a fireball up their ass and they shrug it off. Human bodies can't win. Run or yell for nearby Changelings. Got it? Otherwise, they'll rip you in half. Stay alive, please.
>…Changelings only from here on. Busan army wipe and other cases prove it: Only players who've gone through the change can handle these idiots. Guilded players: Move as guilds, prioritize monsters holding cities. Solo players: Don't overreach. Stick to what you can handle. Status screen: Swipe left arm horizontal. Not like the game—FYI. "Oh?"
Unexpected intel.
Swipe left arm horizontally to pull up status? My eyes went wide.
"Status, huh…"
Selverion—the absolute top dog in Sio-pan. Curiosity and thrill pounded in my chest at the thought of her stats.
What insane numbers and skills awaited?
"…"
But first, I reined in my racing heart and finished the admin's post.
— MarchPuppy (Admin, cont.) …Fate took a wyvern in Asan and a rift closed. Seems one boss per rift—kill it, rift shuts. Tough, but let's try. We're all vets who've sunk years into Sio-pan. If not us, who? Scary, I know. But head out and fight. Stick to monsters your level—huge help. But remember: Overraid above your paygrade? Dead. This is reality, not a game. No revives. Be smart. Stage bosses appear? Guild or solo—RUN. Selverion especially. Korean players can't take her. Let's meet again alive. 💬 Comments ⭐ Top Comment — Anonymous Main admin post…? — Anonymous WTF why's the admin so badass — Anonymous Admin! Admin! Admin! — Anonymous No cap, smashed that upvote 550k times lol — Anonymous Great info. Thanks. — Anonymous October boss? I could solo that… — Anonymous ↳ Reply October boss? Sad Clown? Level vending machine anyone can beat lol — Anonymous ↳ Reply Idiots, don't flex. She's Lv3500. — Anonymous ↳ Reply Those two above are gone now lol — Anonymous Selverion shows? GG lol instant iron chains spam — Anonymous Fr, froze solid then head lopped off. Shivers for real. — Anonymous But she's pretty, right? Cute? — Anonymous That part checks out. — Anonymous Checks out. Say that after she lops your head off lol — Anonymous Fr, how do you even beat that psycho bitch? No one's cleared her. — Anonymous Yeah, Dec last year 3000-man raid failed too. — Anonymous WTF we supposed to do lol — Anonymous Just bolt on sight. — Anonymous She's cute. Let's grab a drink. 'Selverion…!'
The admin's post and comments mentioning 'Selverion'—me—made my body twitch.
Sadly, views on the undisputed strongest, worst, most vicious boss were mostly skeptical.
Having crushed countless players, wariness toward Selverion pierced the heavens into space—peak paranoia.
No one even considered a sane, rational player transforming into the stage boss. They only plotted fights or flights if they met me—Selverion.
Peaceful talks or alliances? Not on the table.
Her brutal skills and infamous cruelty made the fear rational, but like this? Whatever my intentions, stepping out meant instant top target.
Not fully adapted to Selverion yet, facing global Changeling hordes? Dead end guaranteed.
No matter my future actions—helping, fighting—mastering Selverion's data and skills was essential.
Just having her body meant squat. Right now, I'd be a punching bag sans skills.
In this endless crisis, to protect myself, dodge dead ends, I had to learn every skill and stat of Selverion.
"…Status."
Thoughts reaching that point, I swiped my left hand horizontally without hesitation, just like the admin said.
"…!!"
⚙ STATUS SCREEN OPENED ⚙ A blue holographic display containing everything about Selverion materialized in mid-air, filling my entire field of vision.