"Ah… so that's how it is, huh?"
A frail little boy, looking as if he had been malnourished for years, sat curled up alone inside a narrow, square glass chamber. He muttered softly to himself while his tiny hands slowly tapped together, as though he had just realized something important.
Of course, this boy was none other than Cha—or, as he had once been known in his previous life, Challika—reborn into this world after receiving an offer from the Spirit of the World. The deal was simple: in exchange for fulfilling a single, easy mission, he would be allowed to live comfortably in this new world, creating whatever he desired to his heart's content.
But the reality that greeted him was crueler than anything he had imagined. From the moment of his birth, his very own mother had sold him away—no, not for money to survive, but into an illegal research facility, trading her own child's body as an experimental subject for the sake of her career advancement.
And so, for three full years now, the boy had endured endless forms of torment in this underground laboratory. The only reason he had survived this long was due to the extraordinary resilience bestowed upon him by the Spirit of the World.
Well, to be precise, he had only truly suffered for two years. By the end of the second, the unending injections of strange fluids and the bizarre devices tested on him day after day had overwhelmed his young body. He had fallen into a coma that lasted nearly eleven months, only awakening recently… just in time to resume his agony anew.
"So that means… I'm three years old now, huh…" the child whispered, half-sure, half-doubtful.
Earlier that very night, as the wall clock outside struck midnight, his head had throbbed violently, sending him collapsing into unconsciousness. When he awoke, fragments of knowledge about the very world he inhabited flooded into his mind.
Piecing things together from overheard conversations and his own observations, Cha guessed this sudden influx of information must have been a gift for his third birthday—a benefit tied to the contract he had made with the long-dissipated Spirit of the World.
It granted him insight into the fundamental structure of this new world… everything, except for the storyline of the mission's target, the one thread meant to be woven into a novel. That, the Spirit had not given him.
"Haah… So how old do I have to get before I finally get to read the plot!?" he groaned to the empty room.
With no assurance he would ever be freed from his prison to see the outside world, he lay down on the cold, bare floor—no bedding, no comfort—and curled himself into a trembling little ball.
"Mmm… so ancient ruins form when the world's spiritual energy grows dense, while dungeons form when energy from other stars is pulled in through the planet's magnetic fields… That means there are not only complete, whole worlds out there, but also smaller worlds and fragments of shattered ones!"
He pouted, muttering again: "Sigh… These theories sound kinda fun, but they're hard to understand. And stuck in here all the time—how am I supposed to enjoy any of it!?"
Yes, his birthday gift had been knowledge. To most in this world, it was basic common sense. But to a child caged like an animal since birth, it was information he never could have gained otherwise.
The new world Cha now lived in… was a planet within the galaxy known as Akrodia. Oddly enough, the planet was called Earth here too, just as it had been in his previous life. The only difference was that this Earth belonged to a completely different galaxy, with little chance of ever encountering the old one.
At first, this Earth had been much the same as the old one. About 130–140 years ago, it was a place of advanced science and technology, with no such things as magic, supernatural powers, monsters, or other dimensions. Those ideas were dismissed as nonsense.
But then… strange things began to happen.
Not through portals or otherworldly gateways like the fantasy novels of Cha's old world—but through the sudden transformation of ancient ruins scattered across the globe.
Long-forgotten sites tied to myths of gods and demons suddenly changed overnight. Creatures stirred within them. Ruins restored themselves to their original glory, shimmering as though time had reversed. Mysterious barriers formed, keeping outsiders at bay.
Fear spread. People took photos and videos from a distance, too terrified to go near. Yet tomb raiders and opportunists still snuck inside, seeking treasures… only to be hurled back out lifeless, corpses emptied of their souls.
Governments moved in, attempting to control the situation. But even trained soldiers armed with modern weaponry struggled against the beasts within—creatures of legend that shrugged off bullets and bombs alike.
So, the world's leaders cordoned off the ruins, both to keep their citizens safe and to seize whatever treasures might lie within.
For a time, the world held its breath. Fear spread, but outright disaster was avoided… until the gates appeared.
Portals of swirling, multicolored energy erupted across the world. Unlike the ruins, these phenomena were far more violent. They sucked in people, animals, even entire landscapes. Some collapsed into explosions, releasing hordes of monsters that rampaged unchecked.
This was humanity's first great calamity. Cities fell, nations crumbled, and vast populations were lost. The era became known as "The Day of Beginning", though some bitterly called it "The End of the World."
For weeks, months even, humanity lived in terror.
But then, hope returned. Survivors who had vanished into the ruins and dungeons reemerged—empowered with abilities capable of slaying the monsters. They were hailed as Saviors. Inspired, others dared to venture into these places as well, seeking strength.
Governments cooperated with scientists, who began studying the phenomena. They became known as Dungeon Researchers, slowly piecing together truths:
Strange energy now suffused the Earth.
Animals began mutating, evolving unnaturally.
Even ordinary humans grew hardier, some recovering from sickness or old age.
Then came the great surge: a massive burst of energy across the globe triggered "Awakenings", granting powers to all of humanity. From then on, no one was ordinary anymore—only stronger or weaker, useful or useless.
Society stratified not by wealth, but by the ranking of one's power. Crime and terrorism flourished alongside heroism. Hunters explored dungeons, while Killer Hunters preyed on others. Guilds, associations, and entire organizations rose to support each side.
The world had been remade.
"...So in the end, they called the portals Gates, and the insides Dungeons, huh," Cha whispered, smirking faintly.
It amused him. These names were borrowed straight from fantasy novels, simply because people already understood them. Centuries later, the world no longer feared dungeons. People livestreamed themselves fighting inside them.
Knowledge, treasure, food, artifacts—all waited within. Hunters became stars. Guilds grew powerful. Rivalries with Killers escalated.
"Could it be… the people here are Killers too?" Cha muttered sorrowfully, burying his face into his thin arms.
He was trapped in a black-market lab, clearly staffed not by brilliant scientists but by incompetents. He could tell because, in his previous life, he himself had been a researcher.
Their experiments were messy, unplanned, and pointless. They injected monster blood one day, herbal extracts the next—substances that didn't even work together!
"Ugh! If you're going to experiment, at least do it smartly! Making me suffer for trials that won't even succeed—it's infuriating!"
The lab's true goal was clear: to artificially enhance children under five, raising their initial Awakening rank when they turned five. Yet with their sloppy methods, even Cha knew they'd never achieve results—not in a hundred years.
Awakening itself worked like this: at five years old, every human underwent a ritual with special devices, unlocking their powers. Abilities divided into Support or Combat, and ranks ranged from G, F, E, D, C, B, A, S, EX, and perhaps even the mythical L-rank.
Items, weapons, and potions were likewise tiered from 1 to 10. This world really was like a game.
"Seriously… they could be experimenting on convicts or criminals instead. Why me…?" Cha sighed bitterly.
In this world, using prisoners as test subjects was legal. Few opposed it—too many still bore hatred for criminals after the near-apocalypse. But children…? Children offered better chances at certain results.
And so, Cha had been chosen.
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"Hey, you filthy leech!"The boy had barely begun spiraling into frustrated, hopeless thoughts when a woman's voice—one he hadn't heard in so long—suddenly pierced through the air, leaving Bai Cha frozen in place.
"Why are you here, huh!? You got a problem with me!?"
Because the woman standing before him now was none other than the one who had given birth to him—only to sell him off for her own gain. In truth, he hadn't seen her face in three whole years.
That was why the child couldn't help but blurt out a confrontational retort the very moment she appeared. After all, while he was already suffering, the root cause of his misery had the audacity to stand before him, nagging away. His temper flared instantly, not even sparing a thought for the fact that in his tiny, frail body he wasn't in any position to challenge her. What filled his heart instead was nothing but irritation and suspicion — What exactly does this vile woman want from him?
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Rogue Researcher: "So, what should we inject next? We've done ice already… how about fire?" he asked eagerly.
Cha: "Ugh!! Give it here, I'll do it myself… Ice and fire, really?? Are you idiots seriously thinking this through?!" he yelled, unable to hold back his frustration after enduring the pain from so many pointless experiments that had made no progress.
👉 (Chapter 2 End.)