"Hey, what rank do you think you'll get?"
"I don't know, but I hope it's at least an apprentice rank."
"Yeah, I'd be so embarrassed if I got human rank, I might actually kill myself."
"I know, right? Seeing all these trash players walking around just makes me want to vomit."
"Well, let's not blame them too much, it's not their fault they were born with bad luck."
"Hahaha, you're right, let's head in, we're gonna ace this test."
Vell watched the two teenagers, all swagger and cheap confidence, as they strutted into the massive building ahead. The Association, the heart of the player world in this section, where dreams were made and crushed in equal measure. He looked up at the towering structure of polished white stone and gleaming blue glass that seemed to pierce the clouds, then followed them inside.
---
'Okay, little history lesson, just so we're on the same page.'
In this world, being a normal human sucked. Players ran everything—politics, medicine, banking, you name it—and if you wanted a good life, a life where you weren't just struggling to get by, you had to be awakened. You had to become a player, but awakening wasn't something you could work for, it was a random gift from the universe, a cosmic lottery ticket that most people never won. Even then, you could still end up at the bottom of the food chain.
There were fourteen ranks, and the power gap between them was insane:
Supreme Being
God Rank
Demigod Rank
Constellation Rank
Divine Rank
Transcended Rank
Supreme Rank
Heroic Rank
Titan Rank
Elite Rank
Expert Rank
Adept Rank
Apprentice Rank
Human Rank
A single apprentice-rank player could probably take on fifty martial arts masters at once and not even break a sweat. Even the lowest of the low, a human-rank player, could hold their own against a handful of normal people, which is why everyone was so desperate for power. It was everything: fame, money, respect, the ability to not die in a gutter. Bonds were easily broken, trust was something you bought with credits, and the world ran on strength—you either had it or you lived a miserable life until you died.
So how did things get this way?
It all started about 500 years ago when a massive planet, so big it made Earth look like a grain of sand, drifted into their solar system. It completely blocked out the sun for years, and the world went mad. Without sunlight, plants died, rain stopped, and the planet froze into a ball of ice and desperation. People turned on each other, driven by hunger and the primal need to survive.
By the time the last human had starved or frozen to death, the massive planet did something weird—it absorbed Earth, and over a few months, slowly transformed into an exact copy, just thousands of times bigger.
Then strange purple trees grew all over the new world, releasing a gas that brought most of the dead back to life. But they weren't the same, they came back with inhuman strength, with abilities that belonged in comic books and mythology. They were the first players.
Of course, their excitement didn't last long because soon they discovered the dungeons and towers.
Dungeons were straightforward: go in, kill monsters, get loot, get out, try not to die. Towers though, were a whole different game. They weren't just hunting grounds but entire worlds, each with its own people, its own rules, its own never-before-seen species. A voice would echo in the minds of the players, urging them to climb higher, promising greater power and answers to questions they hadn't even thought to ask.
Some refused, and after a while, those who declined lost their powers and became normal humans again. No one knew why, so they climbed, they fought, they sought answers.
It's been 500 years since then, and no one has found any real answers. Most people don't even care anymore because all that matters now is power and money.
---
Vell stepped into the Association building, and his jaw nearly hit the floor.
The place was massive, easily the size of a sports stadium, with ceilings so high they seemed to disappear into darkness. It was crowded as hell too, packed with players of every rank and description, from nervous teenagers in borrowed gear to veteran players whose equipment probably cost more than most people's houses.
He expected it to smell like a locker room, all sweat and desperation, but the air was surprisingly fresh, carrying a faint, sweet scent like expensive perfume. He looked up and saw the source—a massive pink flower hanging from the high ceiling, its petals gently releasing some kind of shimmery pollen that drifted down like fairy dust.
'Is that thing an air freshener?'
[Yes, it's a species of flower that specializes in fragrance. This one produces pleasant scents, but there are also varieties that emit foul odors.]
He turned his head, taking it all in. The marble floors were so polished he could see his reflection, glowing crystal displays showed real-time dungeon information, and players in their shiny expensive gear stood around comparing stats and bragging about their latest raids. It was his first time in a place this fancy, and he felt completely out of his league in his stolen clothes and cheap slippers.
The whispers started almost immediately.
"Hey, is that shabby-looking guy also here for the test?"
"Maybe he's lost?"
"Security should probably check him out."
He ignored them and walked toward the registration desk, a massive semicircle of polished wood and glowing screens. He placed his hands on the smooth counter, looking directly at the two women working there without a hint of the nervousness churning in his stomach. One of them, a woman with perfectly styled hair and too much makeup, looked at him with an expression that was equal parts annoyance and curiosity.
She wanted to press the security button, he could tell from the way her hand twitched toward something under the desk, but he hadn't actually done anything wrong. Yet.
"Hello, I am new here and would like to register to participate in the test."
The woman's internal monologue was practically written on her face: 'Why is he registering on the day of the exam? Whatever, he gives me the creeps, let's just get this over with.'
She started typing quickly on her keyboard, her manicured nails clicking against the keys, then placed a small glowing orb connected to a tangle of wires on the desk. The orb pulsed with a soft blue light that made his skin tingle.
"Can you please grab this orb?"
'Is he even awakened?' she wondered, her eyes flicking to his hand as he reached for it.
The moment his fingers touched the smooth surface, the orb glowed brighter, almost blindingly so. A strange energy, like a faint sting mixed with ice, flowed from the orb into his hand, trying to enter his body through his pores. But something inside him, his own pure mana from those three cores, pushed back violently.
The two energies clashed like opposing magnets, and with a sharp crack that echoed through the lobby, the orb shattered into a hundred tiny pieces that scattered across the desk like diamonds.
The woman stared in shock, her mouth hanging open. Even Vell didn't know what the hell had just happened.
'Hey, what was that?'
[Hmm, that energy that entered your body was going in the opposite direction of your mana, so it got repelled. Strange. Why are they using such energy on humans? It's more pure, but that's definitely corrupted mana.]
'Corrupted mana? So it's basically bad? Strange indeed. Now what?'
[I suggest you leave. Immediately. I don't trust these people.]
'But how can I enter dungeons and towers or even join a guild without a player license?'
[There are other ways. But first, we should get out of here.]
The woman was staring at him now, her initial shock turning to suspicion and something that might have been fear. No one had ever broken a registration orb before, they were supposed to be unbreakable. His silent, calm reaction only made it worse because a normal person would be panicking or apologizing.
She didn't waste another second, her finger jabbed the red report button hidden under her desk with practiced speed. Now she just had to keep him here until the higher-ups arrived.
"Sorry about that, sir, it seems our equipment is malfunctioning—"
He cut her off because he didn't need to be a genius to know what that button-press meant. Without a word, he turned and bolted for the exit, his enhanced muscles propelling him forward faster than any normal human could move.
"Hey! Stop!" she shouted after him, but he was already halfway across the lobby.
Security guards rushed in from outside, their own mana flaring as they moved to block his path. They were apprentice-rank at least, trained professionals who dealt with troublemakers every day. But he was faster, more agile, his body moving on pure instinct. He leaped clean over them in a move that defied physics, his body twisting in mid-air, and disappeared into the crowded streets before they could even process what had happened.
"Hah hah hah, what the hell?" one of the guards panted, leaning against a nearby building and trying to catch his breath. "He's like a cat, where did someone like him come from?"
The other guard was already on his comms, alerting patrols around the city about a suspicious individual fleeing the Association.
Back inside, the head secretary arrived at the registration desk within minutes. She was a woman with sharp eyes and an even sharper suit, the kind of person who radiated authority and made people stand up straighter just by existing.
"What's the situation?" she asked, her voice cold and professional.
"He broke the orb, ma'am," the nervous receptionist reported, her hands shaking slightly. "I'm not sure how, but the energy refused to fuse with his body, like it was being rejected."
The secretary didn't blame her, she just observed the security feed on a tablet, pausing it right on the fleeing man's face. Her professional mask cracked, just for a moment, revealing a flash of something else—shock, anger, maybe even fear.
"Vell?" she whispered, her voice barely audible, then louder with disbelief. "That's impossible."
Her expression hardened, and the temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees as her own power leaked out slightly.
"Find him," she commanded, her voice like ice. "I don't care what it takes, do you hear me? No matter what."
"Y-yes, ma'am."
The secretary walked away, her fists clenched so tightly her knuckles were white and her perfectly manicured nails dug into her palms. The hunt was on.