"What the—what is happening?"
Lucas Reign had a half-smoked cigarette hanging from his lips. He had just tapped open Honor of Kings, and the screen was still stuck on the TiMi login when a cold, mechanical voice slammed into his mind without warning.
[Preparing to enter the Celestial Warfront!]
[All healthy individuals aged 18–55 worldwide will be transported simultaneously.]
[In this realm, demons roam freely, countless races rise, and slaughter is the only constant.]
[Crisis or opportunity? Death or ascension? Good luck.]
…Then silence.
The world seemed to freeze.
"Who said that? Is this some kind of joke?"
Lucas instinctively glanced around his cramped studio apartment—barely ten square meters. Aside from him, the only thing in the room was a cup of instant noodles growing cold on the table.
No speakers. No devices. No one else.
Before he could process it, a blinding white light tore through the ceiling and swallowed him whole.
The world spun violently. It felt like being tossed into a high-speed centrifuge, his stomach lurching as if he might throw up everything he'd eaten the night before.
When he opened his eyes again, the apartment was gone.
"Damn it… my ranked match…"
That was Lucas's first thought. His chest tightened like he'd just lost something important.
Only then did he look around.
A crude wooden hut.
The walls were blackened, as if scorched by fire. The floor was packed dirt. No furniture, no windows—just a fragile wooden door that looked ready to fall apart with a single kick.
"What is this place…? It's worse than my apartment…"
As he muttered, a stream of information suddenly poured into his mind.
[Welcome to Novice Settlement #888. Each settlement begins with 1,000 individuals.]
[You are currently inside a novice shelter.]
[Tip: The shelter is protected by Celestial Law. No one may enter without your consent.]
[Tip: Resting inside increases stamina and energy recovery by 100%.]
[Tip: You may now access the Celestial Interface.]
"Celestial Interface?"
With a thought, a translucent blue screen appeared before his eyes—sleek, futuristic, completely out of place in this primitive hut.
Only two options were displayed: [Profile] and [Global Chat].
Lucas tapped Profile.
[Name]: Lucas Reign
[Level]: 1 (0 / 100)
[Strength]: 7 (Below average)
[Agility]: 8 (Barely acceptable)
[Endurance]: 9 (Typical sedentary level)
[Energy]: 27 (???)
[Talent]: Not yet awakened
[Skills]: None
[Combat Rating]: ★ (Top tier… among the weak)
Lucas stared at the screen, his expression twitching.
Low Strength and Endurance? Fine. He spent most of his time gaming—it made sense.
But Energy 27? And what was with the question marks?
From what others were saying, anything above 10 counted as "high energy." So what did 27 mean?
Was this the result of staying up all night gaming?
He backed out and opened the Global Chat.
Messages flooded the screen faster than a losing team feeding kills in a match.
Everyone's avatar was an unedited real photo—no filters, no hiding. It felt like a mass public exposure event.
Lucas checked his own picture.
A bit tired-looking, sure—but still decent. Handsome, even. (At least in his opinion.)
He quickly refocused on the chat.
"Help! Where are we? I'm scared—I want to go home!"
"Based on that announcement, we've been transported to something called the Celestial Warfront. Stay sharp, everyone." — Atlas
"I don't want to die… I've never even dated before!"
"Check your stats first! I've got 1-star combat rating. What about you guys?"
"Same here!"
"+1!"
"Looks like everyone starts at 1 star… wait—mine says '1-Star Peak'! Almost 2 stars!" — Marcus Hale
"Seriously? What are your stats?"
Marcus Hale replied:
"Strength 20, Agility 12, Endurance 15, Energy 7."
"Strength 20?! I only have 10!"
"That's insane—carry us, man!"
"Haha, nothing special," Marcus said modestly. "I train regularly. Looks like combat rating is tied directly to our base stats."
…
Lucas observed quietly, forming a rough understanding.
Higher attributes meant higher combat rating. Simple.
Most people were stuck at 1 star. Someone like Marcus—close to 2 stars—was already considered elite.
And him?
Unbalanced. High energy, terrible everything else.
Probably near the bottom.
Just as he began thinking about how to survive, the cold voice returned.
[Announcement: In 30 seconds, all individuals will awaken a unique talent based on attributes and potential.]
[Talent ranks: F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, SSS.]
[Note: SS-rank and above talents are unique worldwide.]
The chat exploded instantly.
"It's happening! Talent awakening!"
"Please—just give me a C-rank! I'm begging!"
"SS talents are unique?! That's insane!"
"I'll trade my roommate's lifelong singleness for an S-rank!"
"Then I'll trade my boss's bad luck for ten years for an A-rank!"
Lucas couldn't help but smirk, though his nerves tightened.
SSS-rank? Not even worth dreaming about.
At this point, he'd be grateful just to get a C-rank—anything to survive.
Then the countdown hit zero.
A soft white light appeared, wrapping around him.
Suddenly—
It flared.
The glow intensified into a blazing golden pillar, illuminating the entire hut like daylight.
A warm surge flooded his body, as if every cell had come alive.
Then a voice rang out—different this time.
Almost… shocked.
[Congratulations. You have awakened the unique SSS-rank talent — Infinite Plunder.]
Lucas's eyes widened.
His mind went completely blank.
Three full seconds passed before he finally choked out, unable to contain himself—
"…You've got to be kidding me. SSS-rank?! I actually hit the jackpot!"