Nikke, something’s seriously wrong with this evacuation point! Chapter 1 1: Do you know how I survived these five years?

[Confirming current mode. The selected mode is: Disguise Mode. Generating a valid identity…]

[Generation complete. Confirming identity…

Na: Charon

Identity: Military Academy Freshman]

[Mission Objective: None]

[Extraction Point: Unlocks with exploration progress]

[Reward: "????"]

[Please select materials to invest.]

[Materials invested.]

[Generating a compatible physical body…]

[Generation complete. Beginning consciousness transfer…]

Charon appeared in an unfamiliar place.

It looked like a student dormitory. The room was surprisingly luxurious even a single room but that wasn't what caught his attention.

He imdiately walked to the bathroom and looked into the mirror.

"…Not bad?"

He touched his face. It looked exactly like his original self , still as handso as ever.

Good. He hadn't turned into soone else.

The mont he confird that, a delayed wave of overwhelming joy burst inside him.

I!

FINALLY!

GOT OUT!!!

It wasn't strange for him to let out such a battle cry, he had been holding it in for far too long.

Five years! Do you know how I survived those five years?!

Every single day was loot–fight–extract. Do you have any idea how "fun" that is??

If it had been PvP every day, maybe it wouldn't have been so bad.

But no, he had been trapped in that damn Zero Zone for five whole years without seeing a single real player.

Every day was the sa: looting, fighting AI enemies that could spawn behind him at any mont, and listening to aningless nonsense like "Suka blyat," "Turbo suka," or "You've triggered a trap."

After five years in that hellhole, even the system seed to get tired of his constant lonely rambling and finally matched him with a real teammate.

With her help, he triggered a milestone quest.

After completing it, he obtained a reward:

[Disguise Mode]

As the na suggests, Disguise Mode allows the user to assu a new identity and blend into a location as a local.

However, instead of just throwing him back into the Zero Zone as an NPC…

The system had sent him outside, into the real world.

His only mission:

Find the extraction point and leave safely.

The reward?

Just a string of question marks. Judging by the icon, it looked like a tablet.

No idea what it does, but a reward is a reward.

There wasn't even a ti limit.

"…Wait. She didn't co out with ?"

Only then did Charon realize.

Where was his teammate?

The empty dorm room answered silently:

No clue.

Still, that woman had always operated alone on the surface. If anything, Charon was the one who needed help.

After all, aside from those five years in Zero Zone…

His mories were completely blank.

When he first woke up there, he still had basic knowledge and language skills, but everything related to his past life was gone.

All he had beside him was a loot crate.

Inside: basic gear… and a dog tag.

Charon.

That was the only na on it.

So he took it as his own.

That was in the past.

Right now, his priority was figuring out his identity.

This was his first ti using Disguise Mode.

He had no idea how it worked.

But

With a thought, a familiar inventory interface appeared before his eyes.

Compared to his usual loadout, it was tiny.

Barely any supplies. Just so food, water…

…and a single basic knife.

Useless.

"So that's how it works…"

Knock knock knock!

A sudden series of loud knocks pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Hey! Anyone in there?! Answer or I'm kicking the door in!"

The words sounded aggressive.

But the tone carried no hostility.

"Coming! What, you in a hurry to reincarnate or sothing?" Charon shot back instinctively as he opened the door.

A young man stood outside, about the sa age as him.

Looking closer… they even shared so resemblance.

Probably just his imagination.

The man wore sunglasses and had a carefree grin.

"So you're my neighbor? The other 'Commander candidate' besides ?"

"If you didn't knock on the wrong door, then yeah."

Charon crossed his arms and sized him up.

"I didn't expect to have competition."

The man instantly made a bitter face.

"Hey, don't say it like that! 'Competition'? We're teammates, man!"

"When the ti cos, the two of us will handle those Raptures like it's nothing!"

Already calling him "Friend," huh…

"…Anyway, what do you want?" Charon said.

"And you still haven't told your na."

"Right, right, my bad. I thought I'd be the only one here, so I got a bit excited."

"Call Andrew. What about you?"

As he spoke, he sohow pulled out a cold beer and shoved it into Charon's hand with a familiar grin.

"Charon."

"Holy shit, the ferryman of the River Styx?! That na is badass!"

"…What?"

"You know! In mythology, the guy who ferries souls across the river of the dead! Charges a fee and everything!"

"…Never heard of it."

That was the truth.

Charon knew nothing about mythology.

Still… seriously?

Why would so random AI give him a na like Charon?

Why not sothing simple like Tim or Jack?

Too late to change it now.

After five years, the na had already stuck, even the system used it.

…This was going to be embarrassing.

Whatever.

According to Andrew, they were the only two Commander candidates anyway.

"Anyway, Ferryman bro, let's go drink! My treat!"

…What a straightforward guy.

Charon didn't mind that.

"Sure. But I can hold my liquor pretty well."

"Hah! I was raised in a barrel of alcohol, bring it on!"

One hour later.

Andrew was snoring loudly on the cafeteria table.

Charon? Just slightly flushed.

"Disguise buff, my friend."

No matter the fantasy setting, places like taverns always seem to be the best spots to gather information.

Turns out, that cliché wasn't a lie.

Once alcohol kicks in, n tend to loosen up, and information just slips out without them even realizing it.

By now, Charon had a fairly clear understanding of this world.

"So it really is this place…"

"The world that woman ca from… where the Raptures ravage the land."

"…In other words, the world where NIKKE exist."

Thinking back to the teammate who had helped him escape—the one who called herself a "NIKKE", it all started to make sense.

No wonder she had been matched with him back then.

That milestone quest had probably been ant to open the gateway to her world in the first place.

This [Disguise Mode] clearly had far more potential than it first appeared.