Fifty years ago, the world changed overnight when the First Great Gate Break tore through the world, flooding cities with monsters and killing millions before humanity understood what was happening. In desperation, something awakened in response - whether it was humanity's collective will, some ancient defense mechanism, or something else entirely, no one truly knew. The System emerged, selecting individuals seemingly at random and granting them powers to fight back. These chosen few became Hunters, humanity's only real defense against the creatures that continued pouring through Gates appearing across the globe.
Being selected by the System wasn't just power - it was responsibility, privilege, and survival wrapped into one. Only about eight percent of the population that reached eighteen ever awakened, making every Hunter precious. They stood between civilization and extinction, clearing Gates before they could break and spill their contents into populated areas. Without Hunters, humanity would have been extinguished within the first decade. Everyone understood this reality and respected those who served. Which made what happened next in the ceremony hall all the more shocking.
The moment Kris's fingers touched the crystal surface, everything changed around him.
Warmth flooded up his arm like liquid fire, as if something vast and ancient was reaching into his very core, reading every part of his soul and weighing him against unknown standards.
Then the stone began to glow beneath his palm.
Pure golden light erupted from the Awakening Stone, so bright that students in the front rows had to shield their eyes. The light climbed upward like a pillar reaching toward the ceiling, drowning out every other color in the chamber. The air itself seemed to vibrate with energy that made teeth rattle and ears pop.
Gasps echoed through the hall as students tried to comprehend what they were witnessing.
"What the hell is that…"
"That can't be normal…"
Director Rahl stumbled forward, staring at the Awakening Stone with visibly shaking hands. The stone's glow shifted and pulsed, patterns forming across its surface before finally stabilizing into something he clearly recognized.
Rahl's face went completely white.
He stared at the display, then at Kris, then back at the display as if desperately hoping the reading would change. His mouth opened and closed twice before any sound managed to come out.
"That's… that can't be…"
"What rank?" someone called from the back row. "What did he get?"
Rahl swallowed hard, his voice barely above a whisper at first. Then he cleared his throat and spoke louder, the words echoing through the dead-silent hall.
"SSS-Rank."
Silence hung for three heartbeats.
Then the chamber exploded into chaos.
"SSS-Rank?!"
"That's impossible!"
"There are only two SSS-Ranks in the entire world!"
"His father and High Lord Auctavius!"
"The Lane family has two SSS-Ranks now?!"
Students leapt to their feet, shouting questions, demanding to know if this was rigged, if some mistake had happened, if this was an elaborate joke. A few looked openly angry, as if Kris had somehow cheated his way to power. Most just looked stunned, unable to process what they'd just witnessed with their own eyes.
Director Rahl raised his hands, trying desperately to restore order. "Please, everyone calm down and return to your seats…"
"What's his class?" a girl shouted from the second row. "What abilities does he have?"
Rahl looked down at the Awakening Stone again, confusion crossing his features, then looked up at him again trying to ask him something.
Kris pulled his hand away from the Awakening Stone and turned to face the crowd. The golden light faded immediately, leaving the chamber feeling darker than before despite the overhead lights.
Every eye locked onto him with undisguised shock, fear, envy, and confusion all mixed together. The same students who'd been mocking him an hour ago now stared at him like he was something dangerous, something beyond their understanding.
He felt nothing looking back at them.
Director Rahl stepped forward, clearly trying to regain control of the situation before it spiraled further. "Kristopher Lane, we would like to verify your class assignment if you don't mind. Just say the word 'system' and your status window should appear."
Kris walked past him without acknowledging the request.
"Mr. Lane!" Rahl called after him, voice rising with anxiety. "Mr. Lane, please, we have procedures for this…"
Kris continued walking down the center aisle, hands in his pockets, expression blank as stone. The crowd of students parted before him like water, nobody brave enough to stand in his path. Their voices rose behind him in a wave of speculation and disbelief, but he didn't bother listening to any of it.
"He's just leaving like that?"
"After awakening SSS-Rank, he's just walking out without saying anything?"
"Who does he think he is?"
The last voice made Kris's lips curve slightly. Who did he think he was?
He pushed through the ceremony hall doors and kept walking without looking back.
*******
The car ride home passed in a blur of Tanimora architecture and his own churning thoughts. The driver had clearly heard something over his radio about what happened at the ceremony - he kept glancing in the rearview mirror like he wasn't sure if he should offer congratulations or maintain silence.
Kris stared out the window and said nothing as buildings flashed by.
The Lane estate appeared after twenty minutes of driving, sprawling and empty as always. Kris dismissed the driver with a casual wave and walked through the front entrance, his footsteps echoing through the marble-floored foyer that always seemed too large for the people who lived there.
He went straight to his room, locked the door behind him, and finally allowed himself to breathe.
Sitting on the edge of his bed, he took a deep breath and released it slowly before giving the mental command: "System."
A translucent blue window materialized in his vision, text glowing softly in the air only he could see.
[SYSTEM STATUS - KRISTOPHER LANE]
CLASS: Master Thief RANK: SSS
LEVEL: 1 EXP: 0/100
STATS: STR: 12 AGI: 15 END: 11 INT: 14 MANA: 20 LUK: 35
PRIMARY SKILLS:
[SYSTEM STEAL] - Rank: SSS
Steal stats, skills, or traits from any target entity. Success rate based on LUK stat and target resistance. Stolen items occupy limited slots. Cooldowns apply based on stolen item rarity.
Current Steal Slots: 0/5
Available Steal Types: Stats (Permanent), Skills (Active/Passive), Traits (Innate)
Primary Skill
[WEAPON MASTERY] - Rank: D
Grants combat forms for any weapon touched. Forms unlock progressively as rank increases.
Current Available Forms: None (no weapon equipped)
Form Progression: D-Rank (1-2 basic forms per weapon type)
Kris stared at the screen, his mind catching on one specific detail that seemed wrong compared to everything he knew about the System.
Two Primary Skills.
He read it again carefully, making sure he wasn't misinterpreting. System Steal and Weapon Mastery, both listed as PRIMARY SKILLS. Not one primary with sub-skills branching off it like every other Hunter in existence. Two separate, equal primaries.
Interesting. The weapon mastery was not that close to surprising considering he was a thief in his old life as Jake Wilson.
That was definitely unusual. Potentially very useful but he filed it away as another advantage nobody else would know about, especially since the Director hadn't been able to get and read his class details during the ceremony.
His stats looked pathetically low - barely above average for a fresh awakening. But that hardly mattered. System Steal would fix that problem quickly enough once he had targets worth stealing from.
A knock interrupted his analysis.
"Kris?" His brother's voice came through the wood. "Are you in there?"
Kris dismissed the System window with a thought. "What do you want, Alex?"
The door opened and Alex stepped inside, still wearing his tactical Hunter gear from whatever training session he'd been attending. His older brother looked different than Kris remembered—broader through the shoulders, a fresh scar crossing his left eyebrow, carrying himself with the confident posture of someone who'd earned his S-Rank through years of blood and sweat.
Alex's face broke into what appeared to be a genuine smile. "SSS-Rank. I heard about it on my way back from the training center. That's incredible, Kris. I'm honestly happy for you."
Kris stared back at him, keeping his expression deliberately flat. "Okay."
The smile faltered slightly at his lack of enthusiasm. "I know we haven't been around much lately, and I'm sorry about that. But this is huge news for the whole family. Dad's going to lose his mind when he hears about it. Mom too. The Lane family with two SSS-Ranks? That's completely unprecedented."
"Great," Kris said without inflection.
Alex shifted his weight uncomfortably, clearly unsure how to handle his brother's complete lack of excitement. "Look, I know things have been difficult between us lately. I should have been there for you more, especially after… everything that happened with Jin and his friends. But maybe this awakening is a chance to start fresh between us. We could train together, and I could help you learn to control your abilities…"
"I don't need your help," Kris cut him off.
"Everyone needs guidance when they first awaken," Alex said, his tone gentler now. "The power can be overwhelming at first. I still remember when I first manifested my flames - I nearly burned down half the training facility before I learned proper control techniques."
Kris stood up and walked toward his brother with slow, deliberate steps. Alex watched him approach, confusion and concern mixing on his face.
"Alex," Kris said, reaching out and placing his hand firmly on his brother's shoulder. "I appreciate the offer, I really do. But…"
The moment his palm made contact with Alex's body, something clicked in his mind. The System window flashed back into existence, visible only to him.
[SYSTEM STEAL ACTIVATED]
TARGET: ALEX LANE (S-RANK FLAME SOVEREIGN)
AVAILABLE FOR THEFT:
SUB-SKILLS (B-RANK):
[Flame Burst] - Create explosion of fire from palm
[Heat Sense] - Detect heat signatures within 50-meter radius
[Ember Armor] - Coat body in protective layer of flames
[Inferno Slash] - Enhance blade attacks with fire damage
SELECT TARGET FOR THEFT
Kris's eyes scanned through the options in a fraction of a second. Flame Burst and Inferno Slash were purely offensive abilities - useful but not immediately practical for someone who hadn't even registered with the WHA yet. Ember Armor was defensive, but he'd rather avoid getting hit in the first place than tank damage like a brawler.
Heat Sense, though. Detection abilities were always valuable in any situation. Fifty-meter radius offered decent coverage in most environments. Being able to sense people and creatures through walls, in darkness, hidden behind obstacles - that had immediate practical applications.
He made his selection mentally.
[HEAT SENSE] STOLEN SUCCESSFULLY
STEAL SLOT OCCUPIED: 1/5
COOLDOWN: 30 MINUTES
"…I don't need your help," Kris finished, pulling his hand away from Alex's shoulder. "Don't waste your time."
Alex blinked, looking hurt but trying to hide it beneath his practiced composure. "Right. Okay. Well… if you change your mind about training together, my door's always open to you."
He turned and walked toward the exit, pausing at the doorway with his hand on the frame. "Congratulations again, little brother. You're going to do great things with your power, I'm sure of it."
Then he was gone, the door clicking shut behind him.
Kris stood motionless for a moment, then closed his eyes and focused on the new skill pulsing in his consciousness. Heat Sense. How did it work exactly…?
The world shifted around him.
Suddenly he could feel warmth everywhere. Not see it visually, but sense it like another layer of perception - a three-dimensional map of heat signatures overlaying his normal awareness. Alex's fading presence moved down the hallway outside, a bright orange silhouette against cooler blues and grays. Further away, he sensed two other heat sources moving through the estate… probably staff members working in the kitchen below.
The range extended about fifty meters in all directions, just as the description had promised. He could feel the warm spots where sunlight hit the exterior walls, the cooler areas in shadow, even the faint heat signatures from electronic devices running in other rooms.
Kris opened his eyes, and the heat sense faded to a background awareness he could pull up whenever needed until he eventually released it.
Useful. Very useful indeed.
He pulled up his System window again to examine the change to his status.
[SYSTEM STATUS - KRISTOPHER LANE]
STOLEN SKILLS: [Heat Sense] (B-Rank) - Detect heat signatures within 50m radius
STEAL SLOTS: 1/5
His gaze drifted across the interface, cataloging everything systematically, when something caught his attention in the top-right corner.
A timer counting down.
He'd noticed it briefly when the System first appeared but hadn't focused on it properly. Now, staring directly at the numbers, a chill ran through his veins.
The timer ticked down steadily as he watched.
Fifty years ago, the System had awakened to save humanity from the Gates. This timer had been counting down ever since. Kris knew that somehow, intrinsically, as if the knowledge had been waiting there all along for him to notice it.
Almost fifty years of countdown completed.
What would happen when it reached zero?
No answer came from the silent System. The timer continued its relentless descent toward something he couldn't predict or prepare for with his current knowledge.
Kris stared at those glowing numbers for a long time, mind working through implications and possibilities. A countdown meant a deadline. A deadline meant something significant approaching, something tied to the System itself, to the Gates, to whatever had started all this chaos fifty years ago.
After another moment of contemplation, he dismissed the timer with a mental command. Whatever it meant, worrying about it now wouldn't change anything. He had an SSS-Rank class and two Primary Skills nobody else knew about. That was enough to focus on for the moment.
He stood up and walked to his closet, pulling open the door. His eyes scanned the contents until they landed on something the old Kristopher had ignored for years - a training sword received as a birthday gift and never used. Wooden blade, worn grip, gathering dust in the back corner.
Kris pulled it out and held it firmly in his hand.
The moment his fingers wrapped around the grip, a familiar sensation pulsed through his consciousness. The System window flickered into existence before him.
[WEAPON MASTERY ACTIVATED]
WEAPON DETECTED: TRAINING SWORD (WOODEN)
RANK: D
AVAILABLE FORMS:
[BASIC GUARD STANCE]
[OVERHEAD STRIKE]
FORMS UNLOCKED: 2/2 (D-RANK)
Kris felt the knowledge settle into his muscles as if he had known and practiced it. His grip shifted automatically, finding the proper position without conscious thought. His feet moved into a balanced stance that felt natural. The weight of the sword, the angle of the blade, the ideal distance to an imaginary opponent - everything clicked into place with precision.
He swung the blade in a slow, experimental arc, and his body moved through the Overhead Strike form as if he'd practiced it countless times before. The motion felt somewhat clumsy - he could sense the roughness in his execution, the wasted movement, the inefficient angles - but it worked. The basic form was there, imprinted in his mind and body, waiting to be refined through practice and repetition.
Kris lowered the sword and allowed himself a small, satisfied smile.
This would definitely be useful.
He now had Heat Sense for detection, System Steal for taking whatever abilities he needed, and Weapon Mastery to handle everything else. The old Kristopher had been weak because he'd had nothing. Jake Wilson had survived with even less.
Now he had power nobody could see coming.
Kris moved to the center of his room, wooden sword held loosely in his right hand, and began running through the forms methodically. Basic Guard Stance. Overhead Strike. Again. And again. Each repetition felt slightly smoother than the last as his body learned to execute what his mind already understood.
Time to discover what this SSS-Rank could really accomplish.