Dark. Ominous. Filled with murmurs and uncertain whispers.
That was the atmosphere blanketing a vast clearing surrounded by dense trees. The place resembled an untamed forest, wild and unfamiliar. At its center, a massive bonfire burned brightly, its flames casting flickering light over the tired, confused faces of hundreds of people who had just been brought here against their will.
Eryon stood among them, quietly observing his surroundings.
No monsters lurked in sight. No immediate threats revealed themselves. There were only trees, packed earth, and the glow of firelight. It felt almost normal. Too normal. Like an ordinary forest stripped of danger.
The calm did not last.
A series of holographic messages lit up the air, their pale glow cutting through the darkness.
[Welcome to Beginner Village No. 1143. This is your spawning point. Each village contains 1,000 individuals]
[Beginner villages are fully protected from monster threats and are granted five times faster healing than other regions]
[You may now access your personal information through the system interface]
The messages vanished.
Silence followed, thick and suffocating.
But silence was fragile.
It shattered the very next second.
"What the hell is this? I was supposed to pick up my kid from school!"
"Did that just say monsters? Actual monsters?"
"This is insane. So it's true. All of humanity really got dragged into this Oblivion Ark world?"
Panic erupted. Shouts clashed with curses as disbelief spiraled into hysteria. A thousand people, each ripped away from their lives mid-moment, reacted in their own way. Some trembled. Some cried. Some screamed at the sky.
Yet not everyone was afraid.
Here and there, faces lit up with something else entirely. Excitement. Anticipation. For a small number of people, leaving behind a collapsing world was not a curse.
It was an opportunity.
Eryon was one of them.
The moment he focused on the system, a sharp chime echoed in his mind. A translucent screen unfolded before his eyes.
[Name: Eryon Cain]
[Age: 27]
[Level: 1 (0/100)]
[Strength: 18]
[Agility: 13]
[Energy Point: 34]
[Talent: Unawakened]
[Note: The average human possesses 10 points in each attribute]
Eryon studied the screen carefully.
If ten was average, then his body was more than just healthy. It was above standard. That much made sense. In the novel, Eryon had worked out regularly.
But his gaze lingered on one number.
Energy Point: 34.
Too high. Too abnormal.
Whatever Energy Point represented, he could tell instinctively that it was not something ordinary. He had never seen Eryon Cain's exact stats in the novel before. This was new. Unexpected.
At the corner of the interface, a [Chat] icon pulsed softly. He tapped it.
A flood of messages filled the screen.
Chaos still ruled, but mixed among the panic were voices filled with excitement.
[This world is insane. I was done with boring Earth anyway. No magic, no dragons. I'd give it a three out of ten]
[The system can really see our stats? My strength is thirty. I'm built different]
[My Energy Point is one hundred sixty five. Does anyone know what that even means?]
Profile pictures appeared beside the messages. Men and women. Young and old. Faces from every corner of Earth. Different languages. Different cultures.
All sharing the same reality.
Humanity had been uprooted and transplanted into another world.
Moments later, a new message appeared. This one carried a heavier tone.
[In one minute, your fate will be determined. The Talent Awakening process will begin]
[Each individual will receive a unique ability. These may include elemental control, enhanced physical traits, or complete transformation]
[Talents are ranked across nine tiers: F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, and SSS]
[Selection is entirely random. Past status, wealth, and influence hold no value here]
[Good luck]
Excitement rippled through the clearing like rain falling on dry soil.
"We're getting powers?"
"This is just like a fantasy novel. I'm actually hyped."
"I practice fencing. Please let my talent match that."
"Anything but F-tier. I'm begging."
"I'll take anything except trash."
The crackling of the bonfire was drowned out by anticipation. Hope tangled with fear and hunger, rising into the night like smoke.
Eryon's expression darkened.
He already knew what talent awaited him.
Latency.
A passive ability that sensed delayed consequences. Vague. Inconsistent. Widely considered unreliable.
He released a slow breath.
Maybe it was not as bad as people thought.
Maybe he had simply died too early in the story to understand its true value.
His gaze steadied.
This time, he would see it through.
Before he could think further, the process began.
Golden light wrapped around his body. Warm. Radiant. Alive. It flowed into him like sunlight piercing endless darkness, seeping into bone and blood, filling something that had long been hollow.
Then the message appeared.
[Congratulations. You have obtained an E-tier talent: Latency]
[Type: Passive]
[Description:
Latency allows the user to perceive delayed consequences of actions before they fully manifest.
This perception is imprecise and incomplete. Latency does not reveal outcomes, probabilities, or future events.
It only detects inconsistencies between an action and its unresolved result]
Eryon exhaled slowly.
Nothing had changed. Of course it had not.
At the very least, he knew what was coming. He knew the plot ahead, and he intended to use that knowledge. The only other choice was to remain in Leon's shadow.
That was not an option.
The hologram faded. Eryon closed his eyes, calming his breath and ordering his thoughts.
Then he opened them again.
[Congratulations. You have obtained an SSS-tier talent: Devil's Touch]