In the year 2200, Earth had undergone a massive change.
It began with the sudden appearance of countless spatial distortions, vast swirling rifts in the fabric of reality. They tore open across deserts, oceans, cities, and forests alike, silent and untouchable. Armies from every nation were dispatched, bristling with weapons and theories—but when they approached, they struck an invisible barrier, an impenetrable wall of unseen force. No weapon, no science, no desperate human ingenuity could break through.
The rifts did nothing. They neither consumed nor destroyed. They simply existed, ominous whirlpools of light and shadow scattered across the world like the watchful eyes of some unfathomable being.
Months passed. Humanity's panic dulled into paranoia, then into weary resignation. The distortions became part of the scenery—unwelcome monuments to helplessness. Cities learned to live in their shadows, highways were rebuilt around them, and temples sprang up at their edges.
Then the air itself began to change.
The planet's atmosphere grew heavy, dense with a strange new energy. Scientists named it mana. The ancients had called it chi. Whatever the name, it seeped into everything—soil, water, even blood. Crops grew wild and unnatural, storms carried violent magic, and children born in this new era carried within them the seeds of something unearthly.
Then came the first monster outbreak. From the depths of the spatial distortions, abominations spilled forth, flooding their surroundings with death and terror. Cities fell silent, their streets painted in blood. For a time, it seemed no force on Earth could stand against them.
But when the monsters came, so too did humanity's answer.
Awakening.
By the year 2250, it was undeniable: every human carried a Seed of Power, and every child would one day awaken an ability.
And so, society remade itself.
At the age of fifteen, each youth stood before the world to face their awakening—the manifestation of their Seed of Power. Some Seed of Power bloomed into godlike gifts: flames that could devour armies, bodies that shrugged off bullets, minds that bent reality itself. Others… were cruel jokes, oddities that served little purpose beyond novelty. The Seed you received was the fate you could never escape.
Guilds, sects, and new empires rose around the gifted. Governments of the old world crumbled, unable to compete with awakened individuals who wielded the power of myths.
The rifts had changed. Once feared as untouchable distortions in space, they were now called by a simpler name—dungeons.
When awakened individuals approached the shimmering anomalies, a system prompt would appear, urging them to enter and clear what lay beyond. Over time, the dungeons had been divided into two categories.
Mundane Dungeons offered trials of monsters, granting resources and experience to those who survived. Clear one, and the system would bestow a reward upon the victor or their party.
But Realm Gate Dungeons were something else entirely. The monsters within were far deadlier, their bosses far more terrifying. Yet the rewards matched the risk—not only greater treasures, but access to another world altogether: the Gaeian Realm.
Ysaac Van Risk sat in a cramped apartment, counting down the final minutes to his fifteenth birthday. In mere moments, he would awaken. His heart pounded with hope—and fear. His father, a legend in his own right, had once awakened an S-rank Seed of Power with a rare spatial affinity. Ysaac could only dream of reaching such heights.
His mother, Lara, watched him quietly, her hands folded tightly in her lap.
He pictured her free from worry, no longer weighed down by endless shifts and meager pay. She deserved to live like a queen, and he would see it done. To achieve that, he would brave the dungeons. He would step into the Gaeian Realm.
Ysaac's fingers never left the ring strung around his neck—his father's last gift, pressed into his palm with fading strength in his final moments. Whatever happened when the clock struck midnight.
As the seconds ticked down, Ysaac's throat went dry. His thoughts raced. What if his Seed was useless? How would he persuade the great guilds to grant him access to monster zones—or worse, the dungeons? How could he uncover the truth behind his father's fall?
The man who had once been hailed as a hero, only to die branded a traitor, begging his wife to vanish into obscurity and never trust anyone tied to his name. How could the strongest of his generation end as the villain who cost a nation its World Gate?
10.
9.
8.
7.
6.
5.
4.
3.
2.
1.
Midnight.
"System," Ysaac whispered.
A luminous panel bloomed into existence before his eyes.
---
SYSTEM
Name: Ysaac Van Risk – Lv. 1
Age: 15
Seed of Power: Space Walker
Stats
Strength: 10
Agility: 10
Intelligence: 10
Durability: 10
Free Points: 0
Luck: 55
HP: 100
MP: 50
EXP: 0/100
Skills
Active: Blink
Passive: None
Inventory
Gold: 0g
Shop: Available
Ysaac's breath caught. Then he laughed, pumping his fist in triumph. A spatial affinity—just like his father! His Seed of Power, Space Walker, might not yet show its rank, but spatial affinity was rare. Rare enough that the big guilds in the cities would surely notice him and he will secure recruitment.
After a few moments had passed, he caught sight of his mother smiling at him. He smiled back and proclaimed:
"Mom! Your son has done it! I awakened! I have spatial affinity—just like Dad!" Ysaac exclaimed, his voice bubbling with excitement.
Lara pulled him into a tight embrace, tears slipping down her cheeks. "So… what's it called? What is your foundational skill?" she asked, eager for even the smallest hint of her son's potential.
"Mom, my Seed of Power is called Space Walker, and my foundational skill is Blink," Ysaac said with pride in his voice.
"That's good. Okay, sure. Let's try it outside. It's a little cramped here, and we don't want you destroying anything."
As she spoke, a flicker crossed Lara's face—a tightness in her smile, a fleeting shadow in her eyes—but it vanished as quickly as it came. Ysaac, swept up in the thrill of his awakening, didn't notice the weight pressing behind her calm expression.