The Nihilos: Trash Player Who Rewrote Reality

The city buzzed under a sky too bright for its own good — a sky lit by artificial auroras EvoCore now projected nightly. It was their way of saying, "Look how far we've come."

Raven stood at the entrance of a modest three-story building on the outskirts of Sector 3 — not flashy, but sturdy. A reward gifted automatically from the system for initiating a guild.

> [Echo Origin Base Acquired – Upgrade Level: 0]

[Rooms: 12 | Facilities: Basic Training Hall, Strategy Chamber, Kitchen, Dorms (4 Units)]

It looked like a cross between a bunker and a school club room. Sol stood beside him, arms crossed.

"Not bad," Sol muttered. "For a haunted warehouse."

"I've lived in worse," Raven replied, opening the door.

The interior was dusty, old. But the bones were solid. He felt something here — not game data, not leftover code. Potential.

---

By noon, Raven stood by the community board just outside EvoCore Plaza — the fastest way to reach unaffiliated adventurers.

He didn't put out a flashy poster. No promises of riches. No "S-rank only" requirement.

Just a simple quest listing:

---

[Recruitment Quest – Echo Origin Guild]

"Not looking for the strongest. Looking for the ones who stayed standing when everything else fell."

– Raven

Location: Sector 3 – South Grid

Time: Ongoing

Slots: Unknown

---

He stepped back and waited.

By sunset, the first person arrived.

A girl — around 18 — short hair, mechanical arm. Her player badge read: Hana//Class: Tinkerer (E-rank)

"You the guy?"

"I am."

She stared at him. "You're not what I expected."

"Good," Raven replied. "That means your expectations need work."

She grinned. "I like that."

She was the first.

By midnight, four more had come. All different classes. All low rank. None of them popular. All of them had been rejected by major guilds.

Raven sat in the base lounge as the new recruits settled in awkwardly.

Sol, watching from the upper stairs, asked, "You sure about this? Not exactly S-rank material."

Raven replied without looking up.

> "I wasn't S-rank material either. Once."

And then, his system chimed quietly.

> [System Alert – Hidden Title Unlocked: "The One Who Builds From Broken"]

[Would you like to display this title to guild members?]

He clicked Yes.

The cold air inside the Echo Origin training hall stood still.

Five recruits. Each with a different background. Each believing they had something to prove.

Raven stood in front of them, arms crossed, his face blank. The faint hum of system glyphs activating under the floor echoed as the room shimmered into a testing zone.

> [System Simulation: Combat Trial – Initiated]

[Personal Parameters Dampened – Power Equalization Active]

[Environment: Urban Ruin | Time Limit: 3 Minutes per Recruit]

The recruits barely had time to react before Raven spoke.

> "This is not a game. This isn't a class drill. You want to be part of Echo Origin? You earn it. Here and now."

---

First Up: Hana (Tinkerer-Class)

The mechanical whiz pulled out her drones, activating their basic targeting grid. Miniaturized bolts struck the first wave of dummies with impressive accuracy.

But not enough.

Raven raised his hand, and more dummies spawned—flanking, climbing walls, cornering her.

She froze. Hesitated.

By the time she triggered her detonation spheres, she'd already been marked "dead" by the system.

> [Combat Score: 52%]

> "Too slow," Raven said flatly. "You rely on your gear more than your instincts. In the field, hesitation equals death. Rebuild your deploy pattern."

Hana bit her lip and nodded.

---

Second: Kai (Scout-Class)

Kai moved with agility, disappearing between cover, striking from behind. It was smooth—until Raven changed the field's lighting and simulated fog.

Kai stumbled. His rhythm broke.

> [Combat Score: 60%]

> "You're too reliant on sight. Your footwork is sloppy in zero-visibility. Work on your tactile awareness. Also—your fifth strike left your neck open. Sloppy kill confirms."

Kai gritted his teeth, nodding silently.

---

Third: Rika (Medic-Class)

Rika set up her healing field early, trying to maintain distance.

Raven himself entered the simulation now, disguised as a mid-tier berserker-type enemy. He rushed her.

She failed to defend. Cracked under pressure.

> [Combat Score: 40%]

> "Healing won't matter if you're the first to die," he said coldly. "You forgot rule one: survival before support. You're not a medic until you outlive your team."

Rika looked shaken.

---

Fourth: Toma (Unclassified)

Toma had no class, no known system path. He stood still, held a broken stick, and did nothing fancy.

But he endured.

Every hit, every rush, every enemy—he deflected, redirected, dodged. Efficient. Silent. Controlled.

> [Combat Score: 78%]

Raven narrowed his eyes.

> "You fight like you've survived real hell. But without a class, you're a liability. No tracking. No system buffers. If you're hiding something—say it now."

Toma stayed silent.

Raven didn't press further, but made a mental note.

---

Final Phase: Team Simulation

All recruits were dropped into a squad test—random positions, limited tools, single elite enemy with rotating AI patterns.

Disorder followed. Panic. Miscommunication.

Hana shouted commands. Rika tried shielding too early. Kai split from the group. Toma stayed close to the threat but failed to draw it.

They eventually won—barely. But the score said everything.

> [Squad Evaluation: 61%]

Raven walked past them slowly.

> "This… was pathetic."

His voice was razor sharp.

> "You had tools. You had time. You had simulated death. In the real world? That would've been your funeral."

He turned to the board.

> "Kai—train under unstable conditions. Fog, night, underwater. Rely less on sight."

"Rika—run solo survival trials. No heals. Only dodges. Relearn the fear of dying."

"Hana—cut your reliance on tech. Win once with nothing but a knife."

"Toma—next time, don't hold back. If you're hiding something from me, consider this your last warning."

They were silent.

Sweating.

Nervous.

Then he said:

> "You have two weeks to improve. Or you're out."

Sol, who had watched everything from above, chuckled. "Man, you're terrifying when you're serious."

Raven didn't smile.

He simply looked up at the screen.

> [Guild Cohesion: 6%]

[System Remark: Training Strict – Progress Unlocked]

> "They won't survive what's coming by being coddled."