In a brutal future where humanity survives inside massive fortified strongholds, power determines everything.
Beyond the walls lies a wasteland filled with mutated beasts, evolved humanoid species, deadly underground structures, and rare minerals capable of transforming ordinary people into Ascenders; superhuman elites who rule society.
Within the strongholds, the divide between rich and poor is merciless. Seventy percent of the population rots in the slums, fighting daily for scraps, while the privileged few live in luxury.
Will Ravencliff was never meant to rise above his station.
He was a poor but brilliant scavenger from the slums, who survives by using his intelligence to locate valuable resources in the dangerous wasteland. Despite his sharp mind, his greatest flaw has always trusting people too easily.
And in a world like this, trust is fatal.
After successfully leading his team to the discovery of a rare Awakening mineral, one of the three treasures required to become an Ascender, Will is betrayed by the very people he helped. Beaten, crippled, and abandoned in the wilderness to die, he finally realizes the truth about his life.
He has always been the one getting cheated.
But as death approaches, a mysterious system awakens within him...
~ The Cheating System ~
A system designed for deception, manipulation, and exploitation.
Through it, Will gains access to abilities that allow him to detect lies, manipulate outcomes, and grow stronger by doing what the world has always done to him... cheating others.
Every successful deception earns him Scum Points, a special currency that can be used to strengthen his body, unlock abilities, and acquire powerful rewards.
The greater the deception, the greater the reward...