The last thing Ethan remembered was his boring college class.
The professor's voice was so dull it could put anyone to sleep.
To stay awake, Ethan was drawing a silly picture of a flaming skull fighting a dog with three heads.
Then, the world ended.
It wasn't a loud bang. It was a strange, screeching sound.
A bright white light flashed everywhere.
The air shook with a noise like a million windows breaking all at once.
It was a feeling more than a sound, a vibration deep in his bones.
He felt like he was being pulled into a thousand tiny pieces and then smashed back together.
Then, everything went black.
He woke up smelling wet dirt and leaves.
He was in a forest clearing under a soft green light.
The trees looked strange, with bark that swirled like paint.
All around him, other people were waking up, looking just as confused as he felt.
Then, a calm, strange voice spoke directly inside his head.
A see-through blue screen, like something from a video game, appeared in front of his face.
Ethan stared at it, annoyed. "Candidate?
I didn't sign up for this. The only thing I signed up for was a student loan."
The screen didn't go away. More words appeared.
System starting up... Success.
Connecting to your mind... Success.
Welcome to Sector 666: Stormreach City.
Number of people in this Sector: 100,000.
Newcomer Protection is now on.
Time left: 71 hours, 59 minutes...
A countdown timer started ticking. Around him, people started to panic.
"What is this? Some kind of joke?" a man in a fancy suit yelled, trying to wave the blue screen away like a bug.
"Sector 666?" a girl with pink hair squeaked. "That sounds really, really bad!"
"A hundred thousand people..." someone else whispered, their face white with fear.
"My entire class is here. I hope a monster eats Chad."
Ethan sat up.
His mind was racing.
This wasn't a dream.
The air smelled too real, and he could feel the dirt under his fingernails.
This was real.
They had been taken.
The countdown, the blue screen... it was just like the stories he read online.
"We're safe for three days!" a man with a big mustache shouted.
"That means there are dangerous things out there! Everyone, stay calm and listen to me! I managed a hardware store!"
Nobody listened. People were scared, confused, and a few even looked excited.
Then, the voice spoke in their heads again, this time louder and deeper.
«The Great Awakening begins. Your future is in your hands. May your talent show you the way.»
A soft, golden light came down from the sky and surrounded every person.
It felt warm, like standing in the sun.
As the light touched Ethan, a new box appeared on his screen.
This one looked much more important, framed in shiny platinum.
Searching for a special soul...
Match found... Power level is off the charts.
Giving you the best talent possible...
Ethan blinked. "SSS-Rank? Are you kidding me?" he mumbled.
"That's like winning the lottery and getting struck by lightning on the same day. It's too lucky."
Another window opened to explain his new power.
[Maximum Evolution (Transcendent)]
What it does: You can use a special power called Primal Essence to make items and skills stronger, upgrading them to the next level.
Special Power: Critical Evolution: The very first time you upgrade any item or skill, it gets a super-powerful and special boost.
Your starting power: You have 100 Primal Essence.
Before he could even think about what this meant, the clearing filled with shouts as everyone else got their talents.
"I got one!" a skinny kid yelled happily.
"It's Common-Rank, F! [Slightly Stronger Grip]! I'm gonna be great at video games!"
"Oh, thank goodness!" a woman cried. "Uncommon-Rank, D! [Resist Mildew]! My damp apartment won't be so bad now!"
A muscular guy posed. "Rare-Rank, C-Tier! [Minor Strength Boost]! It's not much, but it's something!"
The hardware store manager looked sad. "F-Rank... [Can Tell When Wood is a Little Wet]. Well, I guess that's useful if we build a porch."
Ethan listened to all the boring, weak, and pretty much useless talents.
He slowly realized just how different his was.
He had an SSS-Rank power and 100 energy points for it.
Everyone else got weak powers and started with zero energy.
This wasn't just a head start.
He was playing a completely different game.
He needed to try it out.
Right now, while everyone was busy.
He looked around and saw a broken tree branch on the ground.
It was twisted, rotting, and completely useless. Perfect.
He crawled over and picked it up. A new message appeared on his screen.
[Useless Rotten Branch]
Rank: None
Description: Just a piece of wood. Maybe you could start a tiny fire with it.
Ethan focused on the stick and thought about his new talent. Upgrade.
"Yes," he whispered. His heart was beating fast.
As soon as he thought it, he felt a little bit of energy leave him.
His [Primal Essence: 100] counter changed to 99.
A bright green light covered the stick in his hand.
It wasn't just glowing; it was changing shape.
The rotten parts burned away into ash. The wood groaned as it grew longer and harder.
Sharp, black spikes popped out of it. The whole thing took only a few seconds.
When the light faded, he was holding a rough, mean-looking club. It was about three feet long, heavy as iron, and buzzed with a weird energy.
A new screen showed him the results.
Critical Evolution worked!
[Useless Rotten Branch] has become [Petrified Ogre's Toothpick +1]
[Petrified Ogre's Toothpick +1 (Iron-Grade)]
Attack Power: +20
Health: 150/150
Special Effect: [Bone-rattler] - When you hit something, there's a 25% chance to stun it for a very short time.
Description: A very dumb ogre once used a stone-hard stick to pick his teeth. He died. This is that stick. It's much more dangerous now.
Ethan stared at the club, then laughed at the funny description.
"A splinter to the brain... this is weird."
He lifted the weapon. It was heavy and solid.
A minute ago, it was just a stick.
Now, it was a weapon that could really hurt someone.
He could feel its power. It was nothing like the weak talents everyone else was so happy about.
He finally understood. He was in a new, dangerous world that worked like a video game.
He was stuck here with 100,000 other people.
And the "protection" meant that soon, things would try to kill him.
But he had been given a power so good, it was basically cheating.
He looked away from the noisy crowd and toward the dark forest.
The map on his screen called it the Gloomwood. That name did not sound friendly.
The protection timer ticked down. 71:52:14.
He knew he couldn't waste time panicking.
He had a three-day head start, a super-powerful talent, and 99 more uses of it ready to go.
Ethan gripped his new club. The heavy, stone-like wood felt good in his hand.
"Okay," he said to himself. "Time to get to work."