The Start Of It All

2012.

Was prophesized as the end of the world. The rapture, the death of life.

Believed to be false and superstitious.

People continued to live their normal lives until the fated day came.

December 21st, 2012.

An earthquake of the highest magnitude shook the world, destroying many infastructures and taking many lives. Tsunamis rose every edge of every country, flooding lives on land. People drowned here and there.

Storms brew and a blinding mist covered rural areas, making it disappear.

Calamities came one by one.

And when it all stopped, survivor thought it finally stopped. Until...

Balls of fire came raining down from the skies.

Bore a crater on the face of the earth, riddled as if were shot from a gun.

But it was not rock that fell to the earth.

They were monstrous beings that seemed to have supernatural abilities and capabilities to grow stronger over time and experience!

It took three national power to take down just one. They're bodies seemed impervious to modern weaponry.

A brilliant scientist from China was able to solve to create a solution to counter these monsters. She took a sample from the monster's DNA and made a serum that copies that exact capability of growth. And made a retinal system that allows soldiers to see their prowess and progress.

They were able to fight back against the monsters but still it took numbers to take down one.

Little did she know, the serum she made evolved into a virus inside the carriers. It consumed the retinal system, absorbed its functions, and became contagious–spreading and infecting all human life.

Everyone gained its abilities.

Society fell and rose. It repeated for ten years. Until the world rebuilt itself revolving around its evolution.

Nor gods, calamities, or monstors could deprive humanity of their life.

"Humanity will always prevail." Became the most popular quote.

Soon, new cities were built. People were ranked based on their abilities. A new profession was founded.

Rankers.

Humans who hunt monsters.

Still. There was still one problem they were not able to solve. The mist.

It became the most dangerous place. Stronger monsters reside there.

And somehow, the terrain always changes to who ever dares to travel.

They called it the dungeon mist.

...

"Status open."

*Ding

Name: Sassan Higan

Title: None

Rank: E

Level: 3

Combat Status

Str: 1 Agi: 3 Dex: 1 Int: 1 Vit: 1

Magic Learned

None

Skills Learned

None

"Sigh" Sassan Higan said as he ran his fingers through his hair.

He took his eyes off from the system and stared afar into the horizon. Plains spread out as mountains pierced through the sky.

A person called to him but he was out in his thoughts.

"Sassan! God dammit! Potions! We need potions!" A guy clad in armor shouted at him.

As soon as he snapped back to himself, he began rambling through his bag and tossed three sets of healing vials to him.

"Useless E-rank! You're glad we even let you on this team! Tsk!" He said as he caught the vials.

"Physical Boost!" The guy exclaimed and a low glimmer of light expelled from his body.

He dashed towards his injured teammate and gave her the potion.

Sassan sat down on the rock, far from the battle. He rested his chin on his knuckles.

"Man. This is fucking frustrating."

He felt trapped. He was one of the weakest rankers of La Carlota City. It has been 3 years since he caught the Evolution System Virus, or other people called it–awakened.

He felt jealous of the people before him. He wanted to live better and thought that being a ranker was his chance to get out. But heavens had other plans and has given him weakest stats.

The party finished hunting lesser goblins and they beaconed him to come.

When he arrived, the guy in the armor punched him in the face.

Blam!

Sassan fell to the ground. He stared back, propped himself up, and didn't resort to return the favor.

"Rino! Stop!" The girl exclaimed.

"This fucking useless idiot almost got you killed, Yna!" He angrily exclaimed pointing at Sassan.

"Why are we even letting him in our team if all he does is laze around! He doesn't even try to make himself useful!"

Before, Sassan was energetic and will always try his best to excel. But as days went by, he noticed he wasn't improving. A year passed, not even his level rose. Everything repeated and eventually became mundane. Nobody truly relied on him.

He wandered from party to party, watched them improved, and be left behind. Again.

And again.

He felt depressed.

The only things he was found useful was being a porter. A non-combatant ranker who carries his teammates' stuff.

"Even still, you didn't have to hit him!" The girl slapped him in the arm.

"No, Yna. Rino's right." A handsome and tall guy replied. "Sassan, I know you're frustrated. I've known you for quite a while. But I did notice that you're not doing your best. You always get lost in your thoughts and that now happens most of the time. Even at crucial moments. I'd apologize for my friend's actions but I won't apologize for anything else. You needed that hit. Wake up Sassan."

Sassan didn't reply and didn't even bother listening.

In his head, he was complaining.

"That's easy for you to say. I tried to do my best countless times and to no avail was I improving. Damn the heavens. You're blessed. You don't know what I felt. Easily injured and all I've done is run away when faced with danger. I want to fight but this damn system says otherwise."

As if he knew what Sassan was thinking, he replied.

"Sure, I don't know what you felt. But I know what it is like to fail again and again. Watch people leave me behind but I persevered. Don't act like you're alone. You have me. Us."

Sassan didn't like his remark. "You'd still leave me behind when you no longer need me. I'm an option." He thought.

"Save the inspirational quotes, Jay. Let's continue forw-"

Suddenly, Jay's eyes widened in fear. He felt a strong gust of wind. His body moved on his own and pushed Sassan.

In a blink of an eye, Jay's arm that pushed Sassan away...

Disappeared!

Blood splattered on Sassan's face and on the ground as a huge gust of wind blew them away.

"Hurwahhhhhh!" Jay screamed in pain.

"It's a dragon!" Yna terrifyingly exclaimed.

The party was composed of twenty people including Sassan. They were all blown back from the wind.

The other's who were collecting parts and items from the goblin that were blown away, immediately stood their ground fought back with arrows and fireballs.

It struck the dragon aloft the ground but it dealt no damage.

Red scales, red eyes, sharp claws. In a beat of it's wings, it disappeared.

"Huwaaaaaaaaaaah!" A girl screamed as a guy beside him lost his torso in an instant!

"This is no ordinary dragon! This is a Lesser Scarlet Dragon!" Jay exclaimed while clutching his arm.

Yna ran towards Jay and casted.

"H-healing!" Her voice shook.

A green glimmer covered Jay's dismembered arm.

"We're no match! Retreat!" Rino mustered all his strength and shouted at the top of his lungs.

The dragon looked at everyone, one by one. And stared at fear-stricken Sassan. It smiled.

Sassan's widened eyes saw. The dragon was laughing at him.

The dragon flew past him and approached Jay.

As if saying, you're not worth the trouble. I'll save you the last.

"Providence!" A mage casted a shield over Jay which immediately broke. It swang is arms, slashing Jay's armor and striking him further away from them.

Luckily, the mist was moving back towards Jay's direction. It engulfed him and returned him outside the Ever-changing Mist Dungeon. The mist was believed to be a portal to these differing worlds.

Jay found himself bloodied outside the mist's entrance and a couple of Rankers who were about to enter saw him.

"Le-blurgh!-Lesser Scarlet Dragon!" He coughed blood as he warned them.

"Quick! Contact the association!" A guy immediately shouted towards his team.

Inside the mist, they were still fighting.

"Everyone! Go back to the mist! Quick!" Rino said as he carried Yna on his shoulders.

"Wait! We can't leave Sassan!" Yna tried to release herself from Rino's grasp.

Rino looked back at Sassan. Their eyes met. A dark cold gaze towards him. Without a second passed, Rino didn't hesitate and ran inside the mist!

Others made tried to make their way out but the dragon mauled them one by one. Screams of pain and puddles of blood spread.

Till Sassan was the only one left.

The dragon beat it's wings, flew aloft Sassan and landed atop of him. The ground shook. Its saliva fell on his face.

"N-no! Nooooo!" Sassan tried crawling away but the dragon stepped on his legs, crushing it on the process. Ear-deafening scream left Sassan's mouth.

"Is this how am I going to die? Is this really the end?" His thoughts ran a countless times.

The dragon lifted up its leg that crushed Sassan's leg.

Sassan desperately crawled away. The dragon smiled once more.

The dragon took slow steps at Sassan. As if toying with his prey.

But suddenly, it's overwhelming weight cracked the ground when it took its third step!

Crack. Crack. Crush!

The ground Sassan was crawling into caved and he fell!

The dragon who was enjoying its time saw that Sassan was going to fall. It didn't want him to slip away from his grasp and so it bit on his arm trying to hold him. But it only chopped his Arm away.

"Huwaaaaaaaaaah!" Sassan fell screaming. His scream becoming distant as he fell into the darkness.

The dragon clicked its tongue and began to chew the arm it bit off.

Soon, it began feasting on the corpses lying on the ground.

When Sassan woke up, he miraculously survived. He found himself floating on an underwater lake. That glew a dimmed light.

"I'm alive. Fuck, I'm still alive..." But soon he passed out again.

When he woke up again, he was on the lakeshore. He was resting upon a grass bed. He felt hungry.

"How many days has it been?"

His stomach grumbled.

Without a second thought, he grabbed a patch of grass and consumed it. It was not appetizing but he remembered his mother's words when he was sick.

"Sick people need to eat. If you can't, just do it."

He grabbed another patch and another. Like a sheep grazing, he gluttonously feasted the grass.

When he grabbed another patch, something crumpled. He looked the grass and there was a paper there. He grabbed it but he couldn't read the contents.

Still recovering, he fell unconscious once more.

In his dream, the contents of the paper flew inside his head. Embedding the very essence of his life.

"Cultivation? Cultivate levels to ascend..."

In his dream, he smiled while tears fell on his cheeks.

"What the fuck is this shit?"

He didn't understand one thing.