A silent voice then whispered: "Earth 313 has been destroyed, sending remaining survivors to the First Realm. The first trial shall begin shortly."
Waking up in an unfamiliar place, Tom looked around in confusion. What was that voice I heard? Was it real, or am I dreaming? Is the Earth truly gone?
"Augh, my head." Tom slowly got up, looking around to assess his surroundings. He was in some sort of infirmary; beds were lined up in rows, twelve on each side of the room, where others are resting, recovering from injuries. Some were just lying there.
"It looks to be a medieval infirmary. I suppose that means Earth is truly gone."
Letting out a controlled sigh, Tom stood up and left the tent. As he parted the cloth entrance, the bright light kissed his face. Using his hand to shield his eyes from the bright rays of light, he looked up at the sun, taking in the view of this new world.
Breathing in the unfamiliar air, Tom began to walk while contemplating his next steps. "First, I need to gather as much information on my location," he murmured. "Then, I must find any other survivors and determine if this world can serve as a foundation to rebuild humanity."
Suddenly, a voice whispered into his head: "The First Trial has begun. Loading Objective..."
A list of shimmering runes then appeared in front of him. After a few seconds, the runes became readable:
FIRST TRIAL OBJECTIVE: Defend the stronghold of Avalon from the Seeing Army.
Failure to complete the trial will result in the user's death.
"The fuck? Seriously? My first second in this world and it's a war?" Shaking his head, Tom continued to read the runes:
Completing this trial will advance your soul to the next Core Rank.
Depending on your contributions to the war, you will be granted extra rewards accordingly.
"Hm. So it's like a game tutorial, much like those comics I read," Tom thought to himself, his initial shock giving way to scientific curiosity.
Walking over to a shady spot under a tree, Tom began pacing in a slow circle, assessing the information he had just received. "If this operates like a system, there should be a means to check my stats," he mused. He tried a few commands: "System, Stats Window, Inventory."
He waited, but there was no response, only the sound of the wind rustling the leaves and the distant noise of the war camp. "Come on. Work," Tom said, his voice tinged with low annoyance.
The next second, more shimmering runes appeared, displaying his status:
Name Tom Smith
Title [BLANK]
Core Rank Awakened
God Link [BLANK]
Essence Ability Hunter's Eye [branch ability ]
Dimensional Echo [BLANK]
Almost everything was blank, but Tom was still astonished by the information he received. "The title is blank, which makes sense. I have a Core Rank of Awakened, no God Link, and no Dimensional Echo's. The positive here is the 'Hunter's Eye' ability," he said to himself with a slight smile.
Wondering what the new terms meant, Tom began to read the descriptions:
Name: "Your name. Well, that explains itself," Tom thought dryly.
Title: "A title given to the user when they achieve a great accomplishment. Each title adds a different buff to you, physically or to your Essence abilities."
Core Rank: "The stage in which your core is in. There are twelve Core Ranks, beginning from the first core rank..."
Rank Name Description
1 Fractured. A baseline state; the spark of potential is broken or scattered and yet to be formed. You are a weak mortal.
2 Awakened. The potential is recognized and brought into focus; the start of the journey to Godhood.
3 Ascended. The user has surpassed their mortal limits and achieved a higher state of being, as strong as one hundred men. Sensing the Essence around and within them.
4 Transcended. The user has gone beyond the understanding of the physical world. Able to control their inner Essence and the Essence of the world at a higher level. You are a lesser god, able to create your domain and extend it to the real world.
5 Holy. The user has achieved Godhood, being able to extend and manipulate the Essence of an entire country.
6 Sacred. The power has become consecrated and set apart; a rare and revered state. Being able to create and destroy several countries with your will and Essence alone.
7 Divine. The user wields power comparable to a lower deity or spirit. Being able to bend an entire continent to your will.
8 Celestial. The user's power has reached a state where they can create and destroy continents at will with relative ease.
9 Astral. The user can manipulate or manifest the Essence of the spirit world or domains, capable of creating a world and making other gods bend to their will.
10 Cosmic. The user possesses power on a universal scale; commanding fundamental forces while being able to affect an entire realm with their Essence.
11 Ethereal. The user is no longer bound by physical form or reality; existing as pure energy, able to create and affect several realms.
12 Omni-Aura. The pinnacle of existence. Nothing is above you; everything is below you. You are the one true god. Reality is what you make it, able to create domains, worlds, realms, and the universe itself. You are the absolute sovereign.
"Wow," Tom thought, his face twisting into an expression of focused concentration. "So, in short, if I ascend the ranks, I will eventually become capable of rebuilding Earth. That is a viable path."
He continued reading the remaining descriptions:
God Link: "A link between a god and their apostle, which greatly boosts the user and their apostle's strength and domain when created. Note: An apostle of a god can be another god. The user can gain more apostles depending on their Core Rank, starting at one apostle at the Transcendent Core Rank, increasing by one until the Twelfth Core Rank."
Essence Ability: "A unique power the user gains when Awakening. The user can only awaken one Essence Ability. Other Essence Abilities can only be obtained by branches of the user's unique power or through a link with a god."
While reading the description of his Essence Ability, Tom realized something was off. Hunter's Eye was a mid-level Essence ability—a branch—but the space for Tom's unique primary ability was occupied by black, unreadable runes. He decided to ignore the anomaly for the moment and continue with the remaining stat description.
Dimensional Echo: "A summonable copy of an enemy you may receive after slaying them"
With the descriptions finished, Tom had gained a tactical understanding of the world. Pondering what he had to do to survive and potentially restore Earth, he concluded
"To rebuild Earth, the data suggests I must either pursue the path of Godhood myself or secure an alliance as an apostle to one of the gods who is already powerful."