Claire was staring at the holographic screen, her eyes filled with curiosity and anticipation.
[What is this?
Is this some kind of game?
Is this one of those manhwa or light novel situations?]
While Claire tried to figure out what was going on, Yeonnie stood frozen beside her—panicking, unable
to believe how calm Claire looked as she examined the screen with her sharp brown eyes.
[What is happening?
What is this screen?
Everyone's whispering that it's a game interface... but I've never seen anything like this!]
As Yeonnie processed the chaos, Claire suddenly spoke.
"You okay? Something bad's going to happen," she said firmly. "Can you check your phone? See if
there's any signal?"
Yeonnie nodded quickly and pulled her phone out of her pocket. Her expression turned pale.
"Damn it—no signal, Claire!" she said, half in shock.
"I have a feeling something big is going on outside," Claire said calmly, pushing her long black hair back
over her shoulder.
Minutes passed.
A few men inside the subway tried to force open the gates, but something invisible was blocking them. A
force field. They couldn't even see outside.
People began settling down, trying to stay calm, convincing themselves that a rescue team would come
soon.
Then suddenly—ding.
A soft notification sound echoed across the station. But it didn't come from a phone. It came from the
holographic screen.
{ Synchronization complete.
The world has been fully integrated with the [Chronicles Stories System].
The world is now under the Chronicles Stories Stream.
The stream is now active.
A host will be appointed shortly. }
Gasps spread through the crowd.
"What...? The world is under what now?" a man muttered, hands trembling.
"This kind of stuff happens all the time in manhwas and web novels!" someone else shouted, half excited, half-panicked.
Mothers clutched their children tightly
[Is this really the end...? Why today...? Of all days...]
One woman clenched her fist, her face pale.
Claire and Yeonnie stood frozen in disbelief. Yeonnie instinctively tapped the ❌ button in the corner of
the screen—and something opened.
A translucent blue panel floated in front of her, showing game-like stats.
She gasped. "What... is this?!
[STATUS WINDOW — PLAYER: SEO YEON-AH]
Name: Seo Yeon-ah
Age: 27
Level: 1
Skills: Linguistics Lv.2, Communicator Lv.1
Title: None
STR: 5 INT: 5 AGI: 4 DEX: 4
Sponsor: None
Current Chronicle: In Progress
Yeonnie turned to Claire, breathless. "Claire... do you see your stats too?!"
Claire gave a small nod. A panel had appeared in front of her as well.
[STATUS WINDOW — PLAYER: CLAIRE YOO]
Name: Yoo Claire
Age: 27
Level: 1
Skills: Observer Lv.3, Hand-to-Hand Combat Lv.2
Title: None
STR: 5 INT: 7 AGI: 5 | DEX: 6
Sponsor: None
Current Chronicle: In Progress
"This is seriously messed up," Claire muttered, eyes locked onto the glowing window.
All around them, people were talking, whispering, panicking.
"What is this...?!"
"I might be the protagonist!"
"Maybe this is a game, and we're players!"
Some trembled in fear.
Others—mostly the younger ones—looked strangely excited.
Then... the lights flickered.
And something appeared.
A creature, no taller than a child, stepped out from the shadows.
Its entire body was covered in dusty crimson scales, glinting faintly under the emergency subway lights.
Its limbs were long and thin, ending in three sharp claws.
A reptilian snout jutted out from its face, nostrils flaring.
And its yellow eyes—bright, cold, and unblinking—watched the crowd like prey.
It was a kobold.
But not just any kobold.
This one... was wearing a suit.
The crowd went still.
People began backing away instinctively, their minds unable to comprehend what they were seeing.
The creature took a step forward, raising a hand—as if it were about to speak.
But it was cut off.
"Stop this prank! This isn't funny anymore—it's been 30 minutes!" someone shouted from the front.
"Yeah! We have lives! Let us go home!" another person screamed, stepping closer.
More people joined in, yelling and pushing forward—starting a riot.
The kobold paused. Its eyes narrowed.
And then, without warning—SNAP.
In a blur, it lunged—and killed the frontmost people instantly. Their bodies didn't bleed.
They disintegrated into glowing pixelated static.
[{"SHUT UP!! AND LISTEN TO ME, YOU IDIOTS!!"}]
The kobold's voice roared through the station—deep, guttural, furious.
Silence fell like a stone.
Everyone knew in that moment—this wasn't a prank.
This was something else.
Something real.
Something far beyond their understanding.
The kobold stepped forward again and bowed—with elegance and mockery.
[{"Hello, humans. I am Agathe—host of your new batch of players...
in the Chronicles Stories Stream."}]
Its thin mouth curled into a wicked smile.
[{"Let's begin your first Chronicle."}].