—Everstill Affliction—
To the denizens of Prime Earth, it was the term they used to coin the strange disease that appeared after D-Day.
The disease discriminated against none.
Whether it be the young, the old, or the fair and beautiful, it would strike abruptly and drastically alter the lives of many.
The trending theory behind the Everstill Affliction was that the resurgence of Mana and strange energies affected some people especially hard. As a result, those people would be put into a deep sleep that seemed almost eternal—eventually leading to their deaths from old age.
However, Von knew that theory was completely and utterly… wrong.
The Everstill Affliction affected only a very small number of the population, yes.
It also put the affected into an Eternal Sleep, one where none on record had ever woken up from.
But it was not caused by the resurgence of Mana.
No, it had origins that rooted far deeper than any Earthling could possibly imagine…
"In my first life, I was unable to save Mom before the Great Drain occurred."
"But in this life—"
Von's expression iced over, his steps growing fainter in the ears of the spectators.
"Things will go differently."
…
{Salt Lake City, Utah}
[District Z]
—Outside F-Rank Dungeon Gate "Goblin Plains"—
"Looking for a Tank! The Rank doesn't matter!"
"Any Knights in the area?? Even if your Ability is trash, we'll still take you!"
"I don't care what your Class or Ability is. As long as you're a hot guy, this Muscle Mommy will carry you in the Dungeon!"
When Von arrived atop a desert mountain known as a hotspot for newbie Awakeners, many voices filtered through his ears. He could spot more than fifty people dressed like D&D characters—and that was just at the entrance to the Dungeon.
There was no telling just how many Hunters were currently hunting in the Dungeon itself.
"Gates and Dungeons never change," Von thought to himself as he walked through the crowd.
Some wanted to talk to him, wishing to know if he'd join their Party. However, when they saw him dressed in a black school uniform, they clicked their tongues and openly scorned him.
"Just another stupid kid!"
"I wonder how long it'll take for this one to get himself killed."
"Look at how scrawny he is. I doubt he'll even survive a single strike from the lowest-level Goblin!"
Following D-Day and the first Awakened Earthlings, mysterious fissures in space opened up all over the world.
Gates.
That was what these fissures came to be known as.
Inside them were dangerous areas infested with Monsters. These places were called Dungeons, and varied in Rank.
Together, the fissures were dubbed as Dungeon-Gates—and they were the key to Prime Earth's struggle against the Ancient Wilderlands.
No one knew of the Gates' origins or why they would break open and unleash a horde of savage Monsters if not consistently completed or cleared.
Everyone was also in the dark when it came to why the Monsters inside Gates closely resembled some of the native beasts of the Ancient Wilderlands.
However, the Gates made them stronger.
That much was fact.
And so for a chance to alter their pitiful fates in this new boundless world, Earthlings ventured into the Gates. They fought the Monsters inside, leveled up with the "Panels" granted to all Awakened, and slowly but surely improved their standing on Blue Star.
Now, centuries later, the strongest among Humanity were rumored to be so powerful that they could flick entire planets out of existence.
An astounding feat!
But to Von, who had risen up to become the Undead Overlord of the Universe in less than ten thousand years, what was such a feat worth?
In his prime, if he so willed it, whole Galaxies could be destroyed with a single thought.
And that was just his individual power.
His Undead Horde was even more horrifying.
They had once terrorized trillions of light-years worth of territory—a force so formidable that even the strongest beings in the Universe feared their continued growth.
"Hmm?"
One of the F-Rank Hunters standing outside the pulsating blue gate noticed something out of the corner of his eye. At first, he thought he was seeing things, but when he rubbed his eyes and nothing changed, he shouted in surprise.
"That kid is actually planning to go into the Gate alone!"
"Huh?" An F-Rank Knight raised a brow. "What are you talking about? The student from earlier??"
"Yes! Just look!"
That F-Rank Knight along with several others did just that.
And when they saw a young man with messy black hair take half a step into the active Gate, their eyes bulged.
They knew of stupid newbies, but could there actually be one this dumb??
No weapon. No armor. Most likely Level 1. An inexperienced high-school student.
Someone like that was actually going into an F-Rank Gate without a Party!?
Were they witnessing a suicide-attempt right now!?
"If the twerp wanted to kill himself, there were better ways to go about it!" An E-Rank Warrior lamented, shaking his head like an uncle. "Even if his life was horrible, to throw it away so casually… Sigh…"
Many others shared his sentiment.
They no longer harshly judged Von for his student identity. Instead, they pitied the lad for hating his life so much that he decided to end it all here.