It all began with a homeless man named Domi.
No one knew where he came from, nor why his eyes always glimmered with madness whenever he spoke. He would wander the streets, recording shaky videos on old devices, uploading them online for the world to see. His words were always the same:
"Monsters are real. Demons walk among us. The end is near."
People laughed. Some ignored him. But Domi didn't stop. He repeated it again and again, swearing on his life. His voice cracked with desperation, as if he had seen something no one else could.
One day, he was invited to a live television show. Under the studio lights, facing the mocking laughter of the audience, he spoke with trembling conviction.
> "The world is crumbling. The monsters will reveal themselves. Humanity will regret ignoring me!"
The crowd burst into laughter. Some even booed. Before the show ended, a few violent men cornered him outside the studio and silenced him forever. His body was discarded like trash, as though his words had been meaningless.
But that was the moment the world changed.
The night after his death, across every corner of the globe, monsters appeared. Gates—black, ominous rifts—tore open in cities. Demons crawled out of shadows. Humanity's nightmare had begun.
And then… a voice echoed across the skies.
A colossal beast descended, wings stretching over the horizon, its voice thunderous:
> "Humans… we have returned. This land is ours. We shall build our homes here once again. You will come to us, face us, and try to kill us… or we will slaughter you all."
This monster was no ordinary creature. It was the embodiment of the planet itself. The Spirit of Earth—Arys.
From that day onward, dungeons known as Black Dens spread everywhere, nests where the creatures of Earth lived. Humanity's hope wavered. Civilization was on the brink of collapse.
And then—like a miracle—one man rose.
Leon, the strongest hunter in history. He trained countless people, guiding them to fight back. For a while, it seemed hope had returned.
But a year later… Leon vanished.
Rumors spread—some said he was killed, others whispered he had run away, and some believed he had taken his own life. His wife Celia, left alone, gave birth to a boy. A boy destined to inherit the weight of a broken world.
His name was Kayn.
---
Years passed. Kayn grew up under the shadow of his father's legend. But unlike Leon, Kayn was powerless. On his sixteenth birthday, the results were undeniable: no abilities, no awakened powers. He was the weakest of the weak.
The world looked down on him. Even his childhood friends surpassed him, awakening supernatural gifts. Kayn could only watch from the sidelines as others became hunters and dove into dungeons.
And tragedy struck again. When Kayn was only nine, his mother Celia was struck by a deadly disease. Their old home crumbled into ruin, the walls cold and unforgiving. Every day, Kayn worked small jobs just to buy medicine that barely kept her alive. He had nothing—no future, no power, no hope.
Yet… Arys, the Spirit of Earth, watched him from afar.
Arys had no intention of letting Kayn live an ordinary life. Inside the boy's soul was a hidden force—something even Kayn himself didn't know. All that was needed to awaken it… was a key.
---
That night, after a meager dinner, Kayn knelt beside his sick mother's bed. His voice cracked as he whispered a desperate prayer.
"Please… just let her live…"
Then he went outside, his eyes drawn to the pale moon. Rage bubbled inside him, and he shouted:
"Why?! Why me?! Why must I suffer like this?!"
His voice echoed, unanswered. But fate had already chosen him.
By the lakeside near his home, Kayn stumbled. His hand brushed against something cold in the shallow water. Pulling it out, he found a strange key—ancient, glowing faintly, unlike any object he had ever seen.
"What… is this?"
He stared at it for hours in his room. Nothing happened. Frustration burned inside him. A useless piece of metal…
But then—
The key floated. Slowly, it pierced into his chest, sinking directly into his heart.
"—What?!"
Light exploded through his body. The entire house trembled as the glow engulfed him. Kayn screamed, his entire being consumed by fire and brilliance.
And then—silence.
---
When he opened his eyes the next morning, Kayn stumbled to a mirror.
"…What the hell?"
Gone was the frail, pudgy boy he had always been. A tall, sharp-faced young man with piercing blue eyes stared back at him. His black hair shimmered under the sunlight, his features handsome beyond recognition.
And then, in front of him, something even more shocking appeared—
> [Congratulations! You have reached Level 10.]
Kayn's breath caught.
"A… system? Like a game?"
Memories of a dream returned—himself battling enormous monsters in endless darkness. Could it have been real?
His lips curved into a grin. For the first time in his life, his heart raced with excitement.
He clenched his fist.
"Finally… my life begins now."
And so, the boy abandoned by fate finally stepped onto the path of destiny. The weak would become the strongest. The son of Leon… the heir of destiny.
Kayn.
---
End of Chapter 1