Chapter 2 - SSS Rank Summon

The system offered a variety of loot boxes, each containing different summons. Naturally, some were cheaper than others.

The price depended on the potential summons inside. The shop also had specific summons available for direct purchase, but those were far more expensive.

Kayn carefully analyzed the prices and compared them to the amount of Crypto he had earned from his mission. That's when he realized—getting Crypto wouldn't be easy.

The system was powerful, yes, but it wouldn't hand him everything from the very start.

Still, the 500 Crypto he had received practically for free was a lucky break. It was enough to buy the SSS-Rank Summon Loot Box.

[Do you wish to buy the SSS-Rank Summon Loot Box?]

The system didn't reveal what was inside—not for this particular loot box, at least.

That was a shame, but at the same time, it made the moment even more thrilling. A sense of mystery, uncertainty.

And Kayn was intrigued.

"Please, be a good one, please…"

Kayn prayed. He already felt lucky—getting the system and surviving the extinction event that wiped out Earth. Now, he just needed his luck to hold a little longer, enough to grant him a decent summon.

A summon was a crucial aspect of the Awakened. It allowed them to fight alongside their creatures and even fuse their power into their own bodies.

All Awakened were known as Spiritmancers. They wielded the spirits of beasts in their favor.

Kayn opened the loot box. The system presented him with a window that looked exactly like those from CS:GO cases.

He remembered opening a few of those in the past, hoping for a good knife—only to lose money every time…

Now, he watched as images of various summons flashed before him. His excitement grew.

Many of the creatures were unfamiliar, but then he spotted something he recognized: dragons.

At least ten types of dragons were in the selection pool.

The number of dragons in the selection was high, but considering that the loot box contained at least 50 different summons, the odds of actually getting a dragon weren't great.

Kayn shut his eyes for a moment, only opening them when the result appeared. His heart raced as he anticipated seeing a majestic dragon.

Instead, he saw… a black slime.

"A slime? No way a slime is SSS rank. This case trolled me," he cursed.

Disappointed, he checked the system to confirm his summon's status. To his surprise, the system displayed:

[Void Slime (SSS Rank)]

[Current level: 1]

A level 1 slime—understandable since it had just been summoned. But still, he couldn't shake the feeling of being scammed.

"I mean… Void Slime sounds interesting, and it's still SSS rank, so it should be good, right?" he thought.

The small black slime hopped onto his right shoulder and nestled there comfortably. It was light, barely weighing anything at all.

The worst part of all this was that the loot box had cost him every last Crypto coin he had. If the slime turned out to be useless, there was nothing he could do about it.

With his first summon acquired, Kayn decided to move. There was no food left in the bunker, and staying there wasn't an option.

"I can come back here to sleep if I don't find a good place," he thought.

But honestly, he didn't want to return. The rats were enough to make him avoid it unless absolutely necessary.

Looking around for a weapon, he grabbed a stone. It wasn't much, but it would work. The stone was sharp—good enough to bash a head if needed.

The thick vegetation around him showed no sign of a road or any clear path to follow. He was lost, trapped in the middle of a wilderness he didn't recognize.

The sun was still high in the sky. Judging by its position, he had a few hours before nightfall. That was good. It meant he had enough time to find shelter, fire, and food—assuming things went his way.

Luckily, Kayn had some survival knowledge. His father had made him join the scouts when he was younger, which had given him useful skills for a situation like this.

He wasn't an expert, but he was far better prepared than most people would have been. His intelligence had always set him apart. Growing up with money had allowed him to study at the best schools, and the luxury of focusing entirely on learning had made all the difference.

The forest sounds were unsettling. Every rustle of leaves, every distant cry of an animal made Kayn tense up. He was constantly on edge, fearing that a beast might suddenly emerge from the shadows to attack him. 

There were no visible dimensional gates nearby, which meant magical beasts shouldn't be in the area. That was a small relief, but it didn't mean he was safe. 

The 'normal' predators of Earth—the ones people used to fear before magic—were still out there. And now, infused with mana, they had become even more dangerous. Their strength, speed, and instincts had likely evolved far beyond what humans had ever encountered before. 

Kayn tightened his grip on the rock in his hand. It wasn't much of a weapon, and he wasn't confident in fighting any of those creatures if it came down to it. A single mistake could mean death.

As Kayn walked through the forest, thirst began to set in. The first thing he wanted to find was a river.

Despite the drastic changes in the landscape, he still remembered the area. It no longer resembled the Earth he once knew, but in the past, his mansion had been close to a water source. With that in mind, he moved toward that location.

When he arrived, he found the river.

"Thank God this is still here," he said.

Kneeling by the water, he drank without hesitation, ignoring any concerns about its safety. It looked clean enough, and right now, that was all that mattered.

As he stood up and turned around, he saw something staring at him.