The Chosen of Starter Village 777
[The world of Heaven-Slaying is about to open!]
[This is Azure Planet's final chance at redemption!]
[All able-bodied individuals between the ages of 15 and 50 will be transported into the World of Heaven-Slaying at the same time.]
[A world teeming with ancient beasts, demons, and countless races vying for survival.]
[A world where death looms constantly—but so do limitless resources and power.]
[In this world, you may perish in a heartbeat... or live forever. Good luck.]
The voice came out of nowhere.
Ethereal. Cold. It didn't speak so much as ripple through the minds of every single soul across Azure Planet. All at once. Like some divine decree etched into the core of their consciousness.
People froze. All across cities, villages, shelters—wherever humans stood—they felt it. The sheer weight of that voice.
In a quiet rental flat tucked into the edge of a city in the Dragon Nation, a young man named Black sat alone. The dull glow of a cigarette trembled in his mouth as he reached for a lighter, flicking once, twice.
And then... that voice struck him.
His hand jerked. The cigarette dropped from his lips.
"The hell...?"
Before he could blink, a blinding white light exploded in front of him. His body lifted off the ground, yanked into a swirling vortex of space and light. A second later, he was gone.
When the light finally cleared, he found himself standing in a place that didn't belong to Earth at all.
A log cabin.
Simple. Crude. The ground was bare yellow dirt. The walls were blackened wood, warped and stained by time and weather. The room barely had enough space to stand in, let alone stretch or sit comfortably. No bed. No light.
Just him.
Then, more words echoed in his mind—not a voice, but direct information pouring into his head.
[Welcome to Starter Village No. 777. Each Starter Village contains 1,000 new arrivals.]
[You are currently inside your Beginner Cabin.]
[Note: This cabin is protected by the Will of Heaven. No one can enter unless you allow it.]
[Note: Resting in your cabin doubles your recovery rate for both stamina and energy.]
[Note: You can now access the Celestial System interface.]
Suddenly, Black's head ached, like something big was being downloaded straight into his skull. The moment he thought about it, a transparent panel appeared in front of him—floating in the air, glowing faintly.
Two buttons hovered at the bottom right:
[Personal Information] | [Public Chat Group]
He focused on the first. Instantly, the panel changed.
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Name: Black
Level: 1 (0/100)
Strength: 8
Agility: 9
Physique: 8
Energy: 28
Talent: Unawakened
Skills: None
Combat Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ (1 Star)
________________________________________
He stared at it, eyes narrowing. "One-star combat rating... What does that even mean?"
Curious, he tapped into the Public Chat Group.
The screen shifted again, and chaos hit him like a wave.
Hundreds of profile pictures were flashing—people posting frantically. The avatars were raw, unfiltered. No filters, no edits—each person's real face, whether young, old, scared, or calm. Names. Ages. Expressions caught in the moment.
He spotted his own: same face, same cold stare. The number "22" sat right next to his name.
But he wasn't interested in faces. His eyes jumped to the messages flowing like wildfire.
"What the hell's going on?! I just woke up in this tiny ass wooden hut!"
"We've been dumped into some killing game by the Celestial Will! We could die here!"
"Nooo—I've never even had a boyfriend yet! I don't wanna die like this!"
"Chill, girl. We don't know that we'll die. Let's check our stats first. My combat rating's one star. You guys?"
"Same! One star here too!"
"Me too—what's the deal? Are we all starting the same?"
"Wait, mine says I'm at the limit of one star. Almost hit two."
"Damn, for real? What are your stats, bro?"
"Strength 18, Agility 13, Physique 14, Energy 7."
"Holy shit. My Strength's just 9. You've got double that."
"Dude, your stats are insane! I'm sticking with you from now on!"
"Haha thanks—I'm Kael. Been into boxing for years, so I guess it paid off."
"Looks like higher four-dimensional stats = higher combat power."
"Yeah... Kael's a beast. I'm jealous."
Black scrolled silently, absorbing every line. From what he could gather, everyone in this chat was part of the same Starter Village No. 777. The world-level chat hadn't opened yet.
So far, most people seemed to hover around the average. From what folks were sharing, a normal human had around 10 points per stat.
Black frowned and glanced at his numbers again.
Strength: 8
Agility: 9
Physique: 8
Energy: ...28
That last number stood out like a flame in the dark.
Twenty-eight.
The highest anyone else had mentioned was 13—and even that was rare. His energy was more than double that.
He couldn't help but wonder—what did that mean?
Suddenly, another announcement boomed inside everyone's head:
[Attention: In one minute, your innate Talent will be awakened. This is based on your four-dimensional stats and core nature.]
[Reminder: Talents range from F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS... to SSS.]
[F is the weakest. SSS is the strongest.]
[Important: Talents rated SS or higher are unique. No duplicates will ever exist. Good luck.]
The chat exploded again—this time, like a mob losing its mind.
"Fuck—this is it! Talent awakening!!"
"I'm freaking out—what if I get stuck with an F-rank trash skill?"
"God, please don't let me get something useless!"
"Wait... talents above SS are unique? Like, one-of-a-kind?"
"Exactly. If someone gets an SSS talent, no one else in the world will ever get it."
"That's nuts. It must be something crazy strong."
"Yeah. Whoever gets SSS... they're basically a chosen one."
Black's heart was pounding now. Faster than it should've. His energy stat kept flashing in his mind.
28.
What was that worth?
And then—
A low hum filled the air.
Om—
A narrow beam of light, white and pure, descended from above and pierced straight through the roof of his cabin. It settled gently on his head. And in the next moment, gold light burst from his skin—bright, blinding.
His body lit up like fire.
Words rang out again, but this time, they echoed only in his head:
[Congratulations. You have awakened an SSS-Level Talent — Soul Leech.]
He froze.
Eyes wide. Hands trembling.
"SSS..."
He could barely say it aloud.
He'd awakened an SSS-level talent.
Black wasn't just another player in this game anymore.
He was the outlier.
The one everyone would come to fear—or worship.
A slow grin broke across his face.
He didn't know what Soul Leech did yet.
But something deep in his chest stirred.
This world... he might actually survive it.
No—he might just rule it.