It has already been Ten years since Kael arrived in this unfamiliar new world. Kael had tried calling out for a system and status in his mind multiple times, hoping he'd be one of the lucky few to receive the kind of system most reincarnators or transmigrators get in the novels he'd read. Maybe, if he were lucky enough, he would hear that familiar prompt—the one that would mark the beginning of his extraordinary journey. But luck wasn't on his side. No system. No response. Just silence.
At this point, he had already accepted reality. He had spent these years doing what any powerless child would—observing, reading, listening, learning—anything to understand this world well enough to survive. And from what Kael had learned so far… he was basically cooked.
This world is called Orbis—a planet nearly three times larger than Earth, yet eerily similar in geography. Same continents. Same oceans. Just far, far bigger. Kael was born in 2041 in the outskirts of Kathmandu city , the capital of Nepal, a small yet breathtakingly beautiful country tucked between China and India.
The year is 2051, and while Orbis is slightly more advanced than Earth, it's nothing dramatic. About twenty five years ago, monstrous creatures invaded. Before the invasion, the population was a little over 24 billion. After two decades of chaos and destruction, more than 8 billion lives were lost. Even now, over 16 billion people remain—struggling, adapting, and holding on.
Humanity fought back with everything it had, but new monsters kept appearing, and conventional weapons grew less effective by the year. North Korea even detonated hydrogen bombs on its own soil in a desperate attempt to stop a monster horde. The rest of the world wasn't doing much better.
Where did the monsters come from?
It all started at the end of 2025, when strange portals—later called Gates—began appearing around the globe. The first one opened at the Antarctica, initially just five meters wide and three meters tall. Within five years, it had expanded a hundredfold, becoming a colossal gateway to another universe. Humanity's nightmare had begun.
In response, NATO, G7, BRICS, and other world powers formed joint task forces armed with the best weapons available—firearms, tanks, artillery, drones. Their mission: explore the Gates and neutralize any threat.
What they found inside shocked the whole world. Reporters camped around the Gate broadcasted updates as soldiers marched in—some confident, others trembling. Inside, they discovered a frozen wasteland later named White Death. Nearly the entire task force was wiped out by monstrous Snow Wolves and towering Snow Yetis. The few survivors spoke of being hunted like prey.
The disaster shattered humanity's confidence. As more Gates appeared—on average, one every five years—panic spread. Governments struggled, people hoarded supplies, militias formed, and religions revived. Eventually, all nations united into a global military alliance. Scientists from everywhere were mobilized to research the Gates, the monsters, and anything that could help humanity survive.
That was when they discovered Mana—a mysterious, invisible energy that permeated everything. Monsters used it instinctively. Humans learned to wield it. Thus began the Age of Mana Cultivation.
At first, cultivation methods were tightly controlled by governments and elites. But secrets leaked, black markets thrived, and people adapted. Soon, different nations developed their own methods—enhancing the body, amplifying magic, unlocking new powers. Those capable of wielding mana became known as Transcendents.
To maintain order, governments across the globe established the World Gate Defense Authority (WGDA) to regulate and manage these powerful individuals. With their help, cities stabilized, and humanity managed to push into the Gates themselves. A fortified base was eventually built deep within the White Death Gate. From there, transcendents and elite special squads continued exploring, discovering ruins, remnants of civilizations, and long-lost knowledge.
Their greatest revelation? Mana wasn't unique to Orbis. Countless civilizations across the cosmos had used it to evolve into higher forms. Further research uncovered the existence of ten stages of Transcendence, each marking a significant evolution in power and mastery over mana. But ancient inscriptions hinted at something beyond them—a legendary 11th Stage, known as the Ascendant. Some believed it was myth. Others believed it was godhood. Either way, it became the ultimate goal for the ambitious… and the power-hungry.
Till now, the highest realm a human had publicly reached was the sixth stage. This brought hope and eased the pressure on the frontlines against the creatures from the Gates.
After decades of glory and sacrifice by the original transcendents, young children and hot-blooded youths began shifting their dreams toward becoming powerful transcendents—whether for helping humanity, seeking power, wealth, fame, women...
Not long after, the World Gate Defense Authority (WGDA) introduced a universal ranking system for transcendents:
Stage 1–2: Iron
Stage 3–4: Bronze
Stage 5–6: Silver
Stage 7–8: Gold
Stage 9: Platinum
Stage 10: Diamond
Even with the increase in number of transcendents after publicizing the advantages of being one. There was still lack of transcendents for any breakthrough against the never ending monsters and increasing gates.
So, research to optimize cultivation from a young age was conducted to produce more transcendents capable of sharing the burden. After numerous trials, the age to start cultivating mana was set at twelve, since younger children often lost control of their mana, damaging future potential—or even risking their lives.
But Kael believed he could start cultivating just fine, as he was not a normal child. If Kael wanted enough strength to protect himself, he had to start cultivating early. Kael tried to look for mana cultivating methods in the libraries around the orphanage or through the internet.
Sadly, young Children were not allowed to enter the section about mana cultivation in the library nor could he get his hands on electronic devices in the orphanage.
Still, Kael refused to give up.
And so he spent every day doing what he could—light physical training, studying recorded monster encounters, learning the histories, the failures, the victories… anything that might help him live better in this chaotic world.
Then, at the age of eight, he got his chance.
A rich kid, a few years older, had come to the playground near the orphanage and let Kael briefly use his phone. Kael seized the opportunity, searching desperately. He managed to find the most basic mana accumulation and refining technique open to the public.
Since that day, Kael started secretly cultivating mana alongside his usual light physical training.