Caelus's vision blurred and shifted as the teleportation light faded, leaving the Mark of Origin space behind. In the next heartbeat, he materialized inside a modest wooden hut. It was sparse, furnished with a simple bed against the wall and a table accompanied by a single chair. On the wooden surface lay a pen and a blank sheet of paper.
"I made it." A wide grin tugged at Caelus's lips as he took in his surroundings. "I am finally inside the Origin Ascension Domain."
Yet, beneath the relief, a massive surge of adrenaline pumped through his veins, far more intense than he had anticipated.
He had awakened an SSS-Rank Talent.
SSS-Rank.
It was a legendary classification that existed in speculative articles and wild rumors.
To his knowledge, not a single soul had ever claimed an SSS-Rank talent before.
"But how did I land something like this?" Caelus was baffled.
The circumstances of his awakening had been bizarre. He remembered seeing a glaring error message stating he had failed to receive a talent at all. There had been a strange irregularity, a massive glitch in the process, and yet here he was, holding a power that defied logic.
It was mysterious.
"Just what is this power?"
He understood the practical application of the skill, but the profound mysteries behind its origin eluded him. However, he knew that now was not the time to dwell on the how or why.
He swept his hand through the air and summoned the system interface. A translucent blue communication panel shimmered into existence.
[System: You have connected to Town Challenge #513]
[Ren: Hello everyone. I am Ren. Pleased to meet you all. I managed to awaken a B-Rank Tremor Authority.]
[Marcus: What? A B-Rank talent already?]
[Tim: Boss! Please take me in! I awakened a meager E-Rank talent. That should be enough to carry luggage, right?]
[Sarah: You guys awakened talents?]
[John: Talents? What are those?]
[Alex: Well, I suppose I am lucky. I awakened a rare C-Rank talent.]
[Marcus: Lucky...]
[Kate: How I envy the talented. You guys have it easy.]
[Alex: Not really. The C-Rank talent I awakened is just a body enhancement skill called Overclock. I can enter an overclocked state, but it has cooldowns.]
[Marcus: That is broken! With that talent, you will have a much easier time hunting higher-level monsters!]
[Ren: Everyone, gather around the town square. It looks like people are forming teams to go out and start hunting beasts.]
Caelus averted his attention from the global chat group as a sudden notification chime rang out. A brand new window popped up in his vision.
[Quest: Survival of the Fittest]
[Objective: Hunt 10 Fierce Beasts in the Newbie Plains]
[Progress: 0/10]
[Time Limit: 6 Hours]
[Penalty: Permanent revocation of access to the Origin Ascension Domain]
Nothing in the Origin Ascension Domain was free. No one was going to be spoon-fed in this ruthless place. Aspirants had to earn their right to remain in this mysterious world that offered a direct path to unimaginable heights.
Seeing the strict quest requirements, Caelus checked his personal status window.
With a casual wave of his hand, the stats appeared.
[Name: Caelus Kross]
[Race: Human]
[Class: None]
[Talent: Endless Extraction (SSS-Rank)]
[HP: 100/100]
[Mana: 100/100]
[Rank: Iron I]
[Level: 1 (0/200)]
[Affinity: E-Grade]
[Combat Score: 1.0]
The basic stats were simple. The screen displayed his name, class, talent, his vital essence, and his combat score, which was highlighted in a metallic iron color.
The base combat score was 1.0. This was the lowest level everyone started with, yet someone with a combat score of 1.0 was already stronger physically than an ordinary adult back on Earth.
"I feel so much more power coursing through my body," Caelus grinned, clenching his fist.
The physical difference was noticeable.
It could be considered that the current Caelus could defeat the previous, unawakened Caelus in a single move. A combat score of 1.0 was no joke.
"Alright, time to move." Caelus stood up from the bed and stepped out of his small wooden hut.
According to the online survival forums, this designated wooden hut was a safe point. It was the exact location where a player would respawn after death, provided they were not in a high-danger zone filled with fierce beasts or locked in the middle of combat mechanics that prohibited escape.
However, death in this domain carried a heavy price.
In the protected newbie servers, if you died once or twice, it was survivable. You would respawn inside the hut. But if you died too often, the system would penalize you. You risked dying in real life as well, or at the very least, being stripped of the powers obtained from the Origin Ascension Domain and banned from ever entering again.
When you died here, you teleported back to the real world and entered a forced cooldown period. The more deaths you accumulated, the longer that cooling period became.
But this generous safety net existed just in the newbie servers.
Once the newbie phase was over, the rules changed. You would die for real if you were bitten and killed by a beast out here. That lethal consequence extended to your physical body in the real world.
If you died after the tutorial phase, you vanished from reality.
This game-like world was merged with reality. While it was filled with countless, heaven-defying opportunities, it possessed a dark and lethal downside as well.
By the time Caelus stepped out into the town square, the area was bustling with chaotic energy. The wooden settlement was packed with hundreds of bewildered yet eager awakeners. Shouts for party members filled the air, creating a loud cacophony of desperation and ambition.
"Tank looking for a dedicated healer! We already have a DPS!"
"Need one more for a five-man squad! Must have at least a D-Rank talent!"
Caelus adjusted his collar, intending to slip through the massive crowd and head straight for the forest entrance. He had no intention of partying up. His SSS-Rank secret was far too dangerous to share this early in the game.
However, as he wove through the mass of bodies, a sharp, familiar voice cut through the noise.
"Ugh, seriously?"
Caelus froze in his tracks. He did not want to turn around, but the voice was directed right at him.
"Just my terrible luck. Out of thousands of starter towns, how did I end up in the exact same server as you, Caelus?"
Caelus sighed, letting out a long, weary exhale, and turned on his heel.
Standing a few feet away was Lara. Even wearing the coarse, basic linen tunic provided by the system, she managed to look striking. Her hair was styled, and she stood with a hand on her hip, radiating a sense of superiority that had transferred from the classroom into this new world.
She was not alone. Flanking her were three men, puffing out their chests and glaring at Caelus as if he were a mere pest disturbing a goddess. They were her brand new entourage, eager to curry favor with the recognized class beauty.
"Oh," Caelus said, his expression flattening into a mask of boredom. "It is just you."
Lara blinked, taken aback by his sudden, unexpected lack of deference. "Excuse me? 'Just you'?"
In their high school social hierarchy, Lara sat at the peak, while Caelus occupied the dusty space beneath the floorboards. She was one of the main people who had made his predecessor's life miserable. Not through direct physical violence, but through a constant, grinding social humiliation.
Unpleasant memories of the classroom surfaced in Caelus's mind. It was one of the few lingering memories that the previous host had left behind for him.
He remembered the stifling heat of the afternoon study hall and the harsh, mocking whispers that were meant to be heard.
"Okay, hypothetical scenario," one of Lara's friends had giggled. "If the world was ending and you had to repopulate the planet, who in this class would you date?"
Lara had not even bothered looking up from her phone, her voice dripping with casual, unfiltered cruelty. "I would take anyone. Anyone except Caelus."
"Why? He is just quiet."
"He is creepy," Lara had laughed, casting a disgusted side-glance at him where he sat alone in the corner. "And have you even seen him? He is so below average. Plus, he is such a sore loser. Remember gym class? It is pathetic."
The mocking laughter that followed had burned the previous Caelus's ears for days on end.
Back in the bustling town square, Lara looked him up and down, her lip curling in obvious, unfiltered distaste.