Chapter 1: The Lowest Rank (Full Version)
The sky turned red the day the System appeared.
A cold, mechanical voice echoed across the world.
[System Initialization Complete.]
[Ranking Ceremony Begins.]
Phones stopped working. Screens flickered. People screamed in confusion and fear.
Then—letters appeared above everyone's head.
S-Rank.
A-Rank.
B-Rank.
Cheers erupted across the school hall. Students stared at each other, some shocked, some thrilled. The air buzzed with excitement.
Arif stood quietly at the back, his hands trembling. He always tried to be invisible, blending in with the shadows. But today, there was no place to hide.
"Don't worry," someone snickered behind him. "Even if you get D-Rank, it's still better than nothing."
Arif clenched his fists. He didn't say anything. He knew better than to argue.
The air suddenly froze.
A bright red letter appeared above his head.
F-Rank.
Silence.
Then laughter.
"F?!"
"Bro is officially trash now!"
"He was weak before, and now even the System agrees!"
Arif's chest burned. His face flushed, but he lowered his head. He had always been underestimated. Always ignored. Always laughed at. But that fire in his heart? It was just waking up.
But then—a notification popped up. No one else could see it.
[Hidden Skill Unlocked.]
Skill: Shadow Copy (Locked)
Condition: Survive your first battle.
Arif's eyes widened. Shadow Copy? First battle? His heartbeat accelerated. Questions rushed through his mind, but one thing was clear: he couldn't stay weak. Not now. Not ever.
At that exact moment, the school gate exploded. A massive shockwave knocked students off their feet. Smoke, dust, and debris filled the hall. Screams echoed as the unknown threat stepped inside.
Arif's eyes sharpened. The air smelled of danger, and instinctively, his body tensed. He had no idea what was coming, but deep inside, he knew: this was the beginning of something big. Something that would change him forever.
A shadow moved through the smoke—a figure taller than anyone else, cloaked in black, with eyes glowing a faint crimson. Every step it took made the ground tremble slightly.
Arif swallowed. This was no ordinary fight. This was survival. His first battle.
And just like that, the quietest boy in the back row was about to take his first step into a world where only the strong survived—and where the F-Rank might just become the deadliest rank of all.