The sky felt heavier than usual.

  Kael stared at the folded NEET admit card in his trembling hand.

  Final attempt.

  Last chance.

  If he failed this one… there wouldn’t be another.

  He exhaled slowly and started walking toward the examination centre.

  On the roadside, he noticed a stray cat digging through garbage.

  It looked thin. Fragile.

  For a moment, he hesitated.

  Then he crouched down, pulled a biscuit from his bag, and placed it gently in front of the animal.

  The cat stared at him before cautiously eating.

  Kael gave a faint smile.

  “Survive.”

  He didn’t know if he was talking to the cat… or himself.

  Then he stood up and walked away.

  The examination centre buzzed with tension.

  Parents whispering prayers.

  Students revising formulas.

  Ambition and fear mixed in the air like humidity before a storm.

  Before entering the hall, Kael stepped into the washroom.

  Cold tiles.

  Flickering light.

  Dripping tap.

  He unzipped and began relieving himself.

  Then—

  A sharp pain twisted through his lower body.

  “Ughh—!!”

  His grip tightened against the wall.

  “Somebody— anyone?!”

  Silence.

  The pain intensified, spreading upward like fire.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  And then realization struck.

  He had masturbated that morning.

  “…You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  His thoughts spiraled.

  “A future doctor… dying like this? Not even saving lives yet and I’m taken out by my own hand? At least not like this… not with my zip open and my thing hanging out…”

  The pain peaked.

  Wind roared inside his ears.

  The world distorted.

  And everything went black.

  Murim Alliance – Main Hall

  Instead of exam desks and shaky benches…

  There was marble.

  Massive pillars.

  Ancient banners.

  All eighty-seven students now stood in a grand hall.

  “What the hell is this?!” Mavel shouted, his voice sharp and impatient. “Is this some coaching centre stunt? Trying to scare us into buying some premium course?!”

  Mavel was always like this.

  Loud.

  Quick to anger.

  Masking fear with aggression.

  Some students panicked.

  Others stared in disbelief.

  And then—

  “Finally…!”

  A boy near the back raised his hands.

  “We got isekai’d! This is it!”

  But before excitement could rise—

  “Silence.”

  The word descended like a mountain.

  Not loud.

  Not screamed.

  Yet every knee trembled.

  The air itself felt heavy.

  Breathing became difficult.

  Eighty-seven students fell quiet instantly.

  At the far end of the hall sat a man upon a dark throne.

  His presence alone distorted the atmosphere.

  Yaksha.

  The Murim Alliance Leader.

  Cleo Rurin.

  His eyes were half-lidded, yet the pressure radiating from him felt endless.

  Beside him stood a strategist in flowing robes.

  Calm. Observant.

  Calculating.

  He stepped forward.

  “You stand,” he said softly, “at the threshold between ignorance and truth.”

  No one dared interrupt.

  “You have crossed a boundary that cannot be crossed twice.”

  Confused whispers began.

  Mavel clenched his fists.

  “What is this supposed to mean?!”

  The strategist’s eyes briefly flickered toward him.

  “In this world… strength speaks.”

  A subtle pause.

  “And weakness is buried.”

  His gaze swept across all eighty-seven students.

  “You will learn soon enough why you are here.”

  He turned slightly.

  “Follow.”

  No explanations.

  No comfort.

  Only inevitability.

  Among the students stood Rieze.

  Top ranker of their town.

  Calm. Intelligent. Observant.

  While others panicked, she was analyzing.

  Marble flooring.

  Architectural symmetry.

  Clothing of the guards.

  Energy pressure in the air.

  Her eyes subtly narrowed.

  This wasn’t a prank.

  This wasn’t VR.

  This was real.

  And whatever that invisible force earlier was…

  It was not science.

  It was something else.

  Something powerful.

  Meanwhile – Somewhere in a Forest

  Kael’s eyes snapped open.

  He lay on damp soil.

  Tall trees surrounded him.

  “…Okay.”

  He sat up slowly.

  “Let’s process this calmly.”

  He looked at his hands.

  Alive.

  Breathing.

  Clothed.

  “Bathroom death. Check.”

  “Embarrassing last thoughts. Double check.”

  “And now… forest.”

  He stared upward.

  “Isekai. Definitely isekai.”

  He frowned.

  “Not even Truck-kun? Really? Because of my ba— nope. We’re not revisiting that.”

  He stood up, brushing dirt off his clothes.

  “Alright. Step one: find civilization.”

  His heart began to race.

  “But what kind of world is this? Magic? Sci-fi? Murim?”

  A grin slowly formed.

  “Please be murim.”

  Then—

  He heard it.

  Heavy breathing.

  Slow.

  Close.

  The instinct that humans evolved over thousands of years screamed inside him.

  Predator.

  He turned.

  And saw it.

  A massive beast.

  Three heads.

  Each with glowing eyes.

  Saliva dripping from razor-sharp fangs.

  Its muscles coiled like steel cables.

  “…No way.”

  His lips trembled.

  “Why is there a three-headed dog in this world?”

  The creature lowered its stance.

  Kael swallowed.

  “…I’m cooked.”

  It lunged.