After a long time, a new virus showed up on Earth—or at least that's what some people decided to call it. No one really knows how it appeared, but they named it The Absolute System. It just showed up one day, out of nowhere.
This virus displays a panel in the host's vision, showing their stats and skills. Then, exactly 15 days later, monsters start showing up. Regular guns didn't do much against their tough skin at first, so a lot of people died. But over time, people adapted. They found out that this Absolute System gave them abilities to fight back.
Some people adapted to it. Others didn't.
Me? I didn't.
This virus comes with a problem for a few people.
[Glitchy panel]
For those affected, whenever they see someone else's panel—or even their own—it's just a mess of random letters and numbers. Sometimes the panel just glitches out completely. People like that can't really fight, because they don't know what their abilities are or how to activate them. If you're lucky, you might figure it out on your own, but that's rare. And even when it happens, most people don't really notice or care.
Since then, a lot has happened. The government collapsed, and when people tried to rebuild, it just fell apart again—taken over by the same kind of people that built it. People dying every day isn't surprising. It's not even seen as a bad thing. Some say God helps those who die.
"Open panel."
After a sudden high pitch metal sound the panel appears in front of my eyes, it's exactly what I expected—just a screen full of random characters.
"Great. What now?" I mutter.
I glance around my room, looking for something to distract me. Pointless. I get up from the chair. The room is a mess—books and empty dishes all over the floor. You could trip if you're not careful. I make my way to the only window in the room. As I approach, I see people walking along the streets below.
"Open panel."
Suddenly, after thousands of metals sounds of echoing in my head one after another as my vision fills with gray and blue panels. Yeah… my so-called ability is to see other people's panels. Not that it helps. All I see are more random letters and numbers. Total garbage. But not everything is lost. Over time, I've managed to make some sense of the numbers. Even though they're glitchy, I can read a bit of it now—just the basics, but still something.
I turn around and head to the basement. As I walk down, my mind fills with thoughts.
What do I even do? What can I do?
When I finally step into the basement, a long hall comes into view.
"A cave in my house—just what I needed," I mutter sarcastically.
The cave is filled with rare materials—metals and other things I don't even have names for. I turn off to the side and enter a small room packed with old crafting equipment. An anvil sits in the corner, worn down from years of use. I come down here sometimes. Lucky for me, there's no monsters in this cave.
My eyes land on a half-finished sword lying on the floor, forged from hundreds of different metals.
"It's been three years... no, five. Five years since I started making this thing. Am I even going to finish it?"
Frustrated, I toss the sword to the ground.
I've been collecting all kinds of metals. Some took months to extract. I've found blue, white, red—every color you can think of. And today, I finally got the last one: a black-gray metal I've been mining for over a year. And today after Five hours of non-stop effort, I managed to pull it out.
I grab the metal with my bare hands. Strangely, it's not that heavy. But it's hard—strong. Strong enough that it took me a year .I pick up the sword and start melting the metal, ready to fuse it with the unfinished blade.
[$8)3$skde]
A new notification flashes in my vision, followed by a soft chime of a bell. No idea what it means—but I'm guessing it's fire resistance. Makes sense. Being down here would kill even high-level skill users from the heat.
---
After who knows how long—maybe days—I finally attach the final piece. The sword is complete. I move it around to test it.
"It's light," I say.
Surprisingly light. Honestly, it feels like a feather would weigh more.
[/3/3! #∆]
Another notification fills my vision. As usual, I have no idea what it says, but I'm guessing it's another stat boost.
"Open panel."
[c×a¥t V3=€=¢]
Another mess of symbols. But at least I've figured out that my skill is forging and assembly. Just a sub-skill, though. There's a main skill listed above it—[#7_2+#)2=^°¥]—still completely unreadable.
I've tried to understand it, tried a lot of things. I think it might be the skill that lets me see other people's panels... maybe. But I'm not sure.
I stare at the sword.
"After all those colors, it ends up orange-red."
Some of the other shades still linger underneath, barely visible—probably because of the metal. Happens naturally, I guess.
There's a crack running through the blade, too. Thin, but it spreads all the way across. Great.
"Better than a bland, cliché sword," I mutter to myself.
After staring at the sword for some minutes I lower my gaze my head filled with thousands and thousands of thoughts and before I even know it.
I was shaking—uncontrollably.
"It's done! It's done—I did it!"
I jumped around for a bit, my eyes locking onto the old anvil.
"Let's test this."
Without hesitation, I brought the sword down on the anvil. It sliced through it like it was butter.
"...Ja... jaja..."
I tried to laugh, but the sound wouldn't come out.
Guess being alone in the dark for so long had really done something on me.
I closed my eyes for a moment.
"Let's see if I can do it..."
A faint light shimmered across the blade—gentler than before. It felt like I was holding nothing in my hand
"Ja... ja... jaj... it's working... I did it."
Again, I tried to laugh. Still nothing. Not that it mattered.
[$#383@($*+(/@#]
A notification again?
I let the light fade from the sword.
They say it's called mana... but who really knows?
I stared at the unreadable symbols on the panel, trying to make sense of them. Frustrated, I slammed both hands against the wall.
The sword.
Wait—where is it?
I didn't drop it... did I?
I looked around, tossing things aside.
"No, no, no—where is it?"
I stopped and closed my eyes.
"Think... I got the notification, and then it vanished..."
I mimic holding it again. When I opened my eyes, the sword had returned to my hand.
I exhaled.
"Guess it's a new ability."
I closed my eyes again—and it vanished.
With that, I ran upstairs, faster than I'd moved in years. I even tripped on the stairs, but I didn't care.
"I can finally start again."
I grabbed an old green jacket off the floor and bolted out the door. The sunlight hit my face—harsh and hot.
"Midday, huh? I've been inside a while, but... doesn't the sun feel hotter than it should?"
On my way down the street, I spotted a newspaper lying on the ground.
[Earth and Sun Are Changing: Sun Getting Hotter, Ozone Layer Growing Stronger]
"Guess that answers my question."
After meditating for a moment I started walking down the street making my way to the guild center.
*****
I reached the Guild Center.
As I stepped inside, the room went silent for a second—people looking at me, annoyed and smug
"Another stupid kid trying to become a hunter?" an old man murmured .
I didn't say anything. I just kept walking.
Can't blame them. If I saw a ragged 20-year-old man out of nowhere, I'd probably say the same.
At the reception desk, the girl looked at me and asked,
"Name of your affiliation or guild?"
"I work alone," I replied.
in an instant the room filled with even More laughter.
"Look at him! He thinks he's better than us—JAJA!"
The receptionist stared at me, slightly surprised, then asked for my hunter license.
I shook my head.
"I don't have one. Where do I get it?"
She gave me an annoyed glance but quickly covered it up with a professional tone.
"Follow me. Getting a license is free."
She led me to a back room where three other people stood, covered in white hoods, and a large orb with a screen sat in the center.
"Put your hand on the orb. It'll scan your abilities and assign a rank."
I touched it. The screen filled with glitching characters, just like always.
"A glitchy one? Haven't seen one in a while," one of the evaluators murmured, eyeing me with a mix of pity and arrogance.
"You'll be assigned F-rank. Please state your hunter name," the receptionist said.
I was surprised she didn't say anything else. She was truly a professional.
"William," I replied.
She handed me my license.
"You can now take D-rank quests and enter E-rank dungeons. Check the board out front."
As I walked out of the room, the receptionist called my name.
"William, right? I suggest you give up on this impossible dream of becoming a hunter. As a receptionist, it's my duty to help every hunter an—"
I cut her off before she could finish, already exhausted from people mocking me for being new and having a glitchy system.
"I don't care what you have to say. Whatever I do is none of your damn business."
"It is my business. As a receptionist, I'm supposed to assist every hunter in the area. And besides... your hair—it's gray. I can always tell when someone dyes their hair or when it's natural."
I turned around, already tired of her nonsense.
"Listen. I don't care what you think or believe. So what if my hair is gray? So what if my system is glitchy? I can control mana just fine. I don't need an element to survive."
She stepped back, hesitating for a moment before speaking again.
"Without an element your most like a normal person. That gray hair? It's not power—it's proof you're empty. Stop acting like you matter"
I'd almost forgotten—hair color shows a person's elemental affinity. Some people dye it to hide theirs. Some don't care. But me? I never received an element. Over time, my hair just faded to gray. Of course, it means something else, something I'd rather no one know. All I know is that there are others with gray hair—and two out of three that I know are already dead.
"You don't know anything about me. I've lived in this world for ten years. I know more tha—"
"Stop pretending. You're not part of the first generation of hunters. I know all of them in this area—their scars, their presence. You've got nothing. Just another loser pretending to be something important."
I turned around and walked away, not even bothering to answer her anymore.
The first generation of hunters... it sounds grand, but really, they were just the first to survive.. When the creatures appeared, they were just the ones who managed to control their systems and fight back. Some people call them heroes, some others say they saved the world from destruction. Most of them already had hunter licenses, and they're the ones who came up with this outdated system of guilds, quests, and ranks—SSS+ being the highest. And there are only ten people who manage to get that rank, and of course, they're all from the first generation. They control most of the world's food, electricity, and everything else. It's because of them that people still get to enjoy luxury in a world that's basically falling apart.