Five hundred years were enough for Earth to transform completely.
The world as people currently know it was divided into six regions. Winterfrost, the land of the cold. Euryon, the center of humanity. Western Liberty, where technology flourishes. Afrasia, where mystical monsters roamed. Oseania, the beautiful, wondrous sea… and there was Red Land.
Red Land was on the opposite side of Western Liberty, stretching from the Northeast over to the Southeast Hemisphere, covering at least thirty percent of Earth's land and sea. When looked at from above, one would see a distinct crimson sight.
Thick, red soil shaped Red Land, and the air was like the thick breath of a monster's dying howl, discomforting and itchy. Its land and sky were polluted by the blood of monsters and humans, staining the land with a dark crimson hue.
Red Land was a legacy of war. The place on Earth that was affected by the dungeons the most. In these five hundred years, over five thousand dungeons have appeared in Red Land, and 3,207 of them broke out.
Those with power migrated away from Red Land, but those without, stayed. They dealt with the air and pollution, some dying, while some adapted. Those who adapted once tried to escape, but nobody outside Red Land accepted them.
While they struggled in Red Land, the Global Earth Alliance had long marked their land as a sore on Earth's beautiful ecosystem. Hence, Red Land was treated as a prison ground, where only the most miserable men and women walked, and where the alliance threw its garbage.
For as long as many remembered, Red Land was… a den of the lowliest and evilest people.
"Haa…!"
In a flying ship, Zeke woke up in a small room, gasping for breath.
His eyes were full of fear as he clenched the bedsheet with his fingers.
After a while, his heart calmed down.
Zeke had once read that particularly traumatic moments of a person's life could manifest as nightmares, haunting them for their entire lives.
'Will that be my reality now? Haunted by nightmares…?'
He thought as he covered his eyes. Maybe he was too idealistic. It wasn't even certain yet if he could live until next year. He opened his eyes and stood up, wanting to change his clothes.
'Did I even bring a bag?'
Clearly not.
He turned around and swept his gaze, seeing a bag.
"Huh?"
Zeke was surprised. There was a small leather bag in the corner, something he didn't remember bringing. He was just about to walk towards it, but then his steps stopped, and his eyes widened in disbelief.
The nightmares had shaken his mind so much that he didn't notice the blinding information that quietly appeared in his mind.
"No… what… what is… this?!"
Zeke's lips turned dry. His eyes widened in disbelief.
[Class: Gamer — The world is nothing but a game in your eyes, everything can be leveled up through hard work.]
[Quality: Black.]
[Skills: Gamer Proficiency (Passive), Gamer Attributes (Passive), Gamer Growth (Passive), Gamer Overload (Active)...]
Besides the gray-quality [Stick Master] class, he awakened another one.
"No way…"
Zeke's heart raced, beating faster as each second passed. He slowly read through the Gamer class's entire information, afraid he would miss a single thing. After a thorough read, the only sound left in the room was his thick, palpable breaths.
His expression quietly fell into a standstill.
It was as if he were too shocked to form any proper expression.
But then, his dry lips curved upwards, showing a small smile. The smile soon turned into a wide smirk, his hands shaking like a leaf. Then, he covered his mouth. Small chuckles escaped through his hand, slowly becoming a fit of laughter.
"Hehehe… haha… HAHAAHAHAHAHA!"
Zeke felt tears slide down his cheeks. Resentment and excitement flowed through his whole existence, and he couldn't tell his mind which he should focus on.
Why did it appear only now?!
'If it appeared in the Awakening Ceremony, then…'
Zeke slapped himself, leaving a deep red mark on his cheeks.
"Stupid!"
If it had appeared, he wouldn't have known the true faces of those he called "family"!
"Stupid… I'm so stupid… we're all so stupid…"
Zeke laughed loudly, tears turning his face into an ugly mess. When his body fell on the thin, solid mattress, he choked. His eyes had turned red from all his tears, and they didn't show any sign of stopping.
"It's not over yet…"
"Not yet!"
He recalled each and every one of those who mocked him and treated him like trash.
The Starlights, The Xynths, Belmud, and…
"Alexander."
He whispered out a name.
That was the name of the Head of the Starlight.
Zeke clenched the mattress tightly. He bit his lips furiously, blood leaking out of his mouth. He vowed… he vowed that he would one day come back to Euryon, to the Magic Capital, and to the doorsteps of the Starlight.
Then, he would make Alexander suffer like how the man made him suffer.
He would turn the Starlights into dim echoes of Earth!
"One day…"
Zeke murmured, covering his eyes.
After a while, his heart calmed down, and he could finally think properly. He reorganized the thoughts in his mind.
The Gamer class was a Black-quality class, one that he didn't recognize. But considering the Gamer's capabilities, Black-quality surely didn't imply it was anything lower than Purple. He felt it was higher than Gold-quality as well, and Crimson…
"Higher than Crimson-quality."
For some reason, Zeke was certain this was the case. Blood rose in his heart, excitement surging inside him. He possessed a class higher than Crimson-quality! It far surpassed the Purple or Gold expectation he had set for himself!
"Heaven has not abandoned me!"
Zeke murmured. But this time, he'll never let go of Heaven's hold. Heaven was so fickle and unfair. It could choose someone in a moment of thought, and abandon them the next second.
He wouldn't allow that to happen again!
[Skill: Gamer Proficiency (Passive) — Anything can be leveled up as long as you grind enough.]
[Skill: Gamer Attributes (Passive) — A gamer knows his attributes like a machine.]
[Skill: Gamer Growth (Passive) — A gamer's growth knows no limits.]
[Skill: Gamer Overload (Active) — Increase thought speed and all physical stats by double in thirty seconds, entering flow state.]
All the skills of the Gamer class were powerful, but Zeke knew that the most useful among them was the Gamer Proficiency skill, letting him level up his skills and classes if he worked hard enough.
'Leveling up classes… is it possible?!'
Zeke covered his mouth. When a person awakened to their class, they would be stuck in that class until the end of their lives. It was unchangeable. There were no records of anyone changing or improving their original class.
He quickly looked at Gamer Proficiency more deeply, and what he saw stunned him.
[Class: Stick Master (0/100) —> ???]
"Classes can really be leveled up…!"
Zeke muttered in a disbelieving tone. If he could reach 100 points, then would that mean his class would transform and evolve? If so, then the Gamer class wasn't just terrifying… it was overpowered!
It wasn't just his Stick Master class either.
He could also see a proficiency panel in all of his skills, the Gamer skills included.
The Gamer class also had a proficiency panel.
In short, everything could really be leveled up!
Zeke moved to the next one, Gamers Attribute.
This one was as simple as the last one, but it helped him in a different way. Zeke activated it, and he saw a customizable panel appear in front of him, hovering quietly.
—-
Name: Zeke Starlight
Age: 16
Classes: Stick Master (Gray 0/100), Gamer (Black 0/100,000)
Rank: Initiate 1.1
Strike Force: 500 KG
Speed: 15m/s
Spirit Force: 0
Echoforce: 10.0
Skills: Stick Skill (Passive 0/100), Gamer Proficiency (Passive 0/10,000), Gamer Attributes (Passive 0/10,000), Gamer Growth (Passive 0/10,000), Gamer Overload (Active 0/10,000)
—
Zeke scanned the panel, sighing at his pathetic stats.
'But it'll improve soon…'
He thought as he formed a plan in his mind.
Bam!
At that moment, the flying ship came to a sudden halt, causing Zeke to stumble forward.
[ATTENTION: THE RED PILATE HAS ARRIVED IN RED LAND, ASH CITY. PLEASE GET YOUR BAGS…]
Zeke exhaled softly. He was finally here… his supposed to be grave, the Red Land. He recalled the small bag in the corner and finally walked towards it, looking to see what could be inside.
But the moment he did so, he was utterly confused.
Inside the bag, there was a letter and a blue shining orb.
'Someone still uses letters in this day and age…?'
Zeke frowned, seeing a small paper hidden underneath the orb. He took it out and spread it open. He read it under his breath.
"If you wake up and see this, then my job is done. I have repaid my favor. Yet your survival is not yet guaranteed. In the bag, I left behind a blue-quality Class Orb — Wind Mage that could help you survive. But you cannot absorb it before you become an Advanced Ranker, otherwise you will explode…"
"But with your talent, your hope is low! So I left behind another thing. If you cherish it well, you'll have a chance to survive in that cruel, pitiful place. I enrolled you in an academy under the name Zeke Crimson. That academy is safe, don't worry. It was founded by an old colleague of mine…"
Zeke read the final line, his breath stopping.
"... The Herta Academy of Rankers."