Darkness. Absolute, endless, and silent.
That was the first thing Ryan registered.
One moment, he had been pulling an all-nighter, cramming for his final exams with a cup of lukewarm instant coffee by his side. The next, he was… here. Floating.
He tried to scream, but no sound came out.
He tried to swim, but his limbs met no resistance.
Panic began to bubble in his chest, cold and sharp.
Just as the terror threatened to consume him whole, a voice echoed, not in the void, but directly inside his mind. It was serene, genderless, and impossibly vast.
[Global Announcement!]
[Welcome, chosen ones, to the Global Lord Era.]
The voice was like a bucket of ice water, shocking him out of his panic and into a state of bewildered confusion.
Global Lord Era? Chosen ones? What is this, some kind of cosmic prank?
[Before each of you is your Territory Core. You are its master, and its fate is in your hands.]
As the words settled in his mind, a faint light bloomed in the darkness before him.
It was a smooth, fist-sized stone, glowing with a soft white luminescence.
It floated silently, a single point of reality in the endless nothing.
His Territory Core. It felt… connected to him, like a phantom limb he never knew he had.
[Please check your status to see your special Lord talent!]
The moment the announcement finished, a transparent blue screen flickered to life in front of his eyes, humming with a gentle light.
It looked like the interface of a high-tech video game.
[Lord Name: Unnamed]
[Territory Name: Unnamed]
[Resources: 0]
[Population: 0]
[Talent: Infinite Territory Evolution (SSS-Rank)!!]
Ryan's breath hitched.
His eyes, wide with a mixture of fear and awe, scanned the panel again and again, but the letters remained the same.
SSS-Rank.
In any game or story, a triple-S rank was the stuff of legends, the absolute pinnacle of power that only a handful of chosen protagonists ever possessed.
A wave of giddiness washed over him, chasing away the last vestiges of fear.
He was one of them! He was a main character!
Whatever this terrifying new reality was, he had just drawn the winning lottery ticket.
His gaze greedily fell upon the talent's description, his heart pounding in his chest.
[Infinite Territory Evolution (SSS-Rank)]
[Description: You can infinitely develop any aspect of your territory (land, resources, buildings, population). Each development requires 'Evolutionary Energy'.]
[Note: The territory produces one point of Evolutionary Energy every 24 hours. The first evolution (transforming the core into a one-square-meter plot of land) requires 100 points.]
Ryan read the note once. Then twice.
The manic excitement that had seized him moments ago deflated like a punctured balloon, replaced by a cold, sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
One point per day.
One hundred points for the most basic, initial step.
His fingers trembled as he did the simple math.
That meant… one hundred days. He would have to wait for more than three months, floating in this empty void, just to get a tiny patch of dirt to stand on.
The SSS-Rank title suddenly felt like a cruel joke.
What good was "infinite evolution" if the starting line was a marathon away?
His legendary talent was, for all practical purposes, completely useless at the start.
The giddiness turned to bitter disappointment.
He reached out and touched his Territory Core.
It was solid and cool, the only thing grounding him, yet it was also his prison.
A new icon on his status panel blinked, catching his attention.
It was labeled "Global Chat." With a mental command, he opened it.
A waterfall of messages instantly flooded the screen, a chaotic symphony of panic, confusion, and despair from millions, maybe billions, of people who had been thrown into the same situation.
[David Chen]: "What's happening?! Where am I? Is anyone there?"
[Anya Petrova]: "My core is floating above a volcano! I can feel the heat from here!"
[BigBadBill]: "This is insane! My starting territory is a poison swamp! The air stinks and there are weird bubbles coming up! Am I going to die?"
[DesertFlower]: "All I can see is sand. Endless sand. There's not even a rock in sight. How am I supposed to get wood or stone?"
[FishyFrank]: "I'm underwater! I think I can breathe, but there are giant shadows swimming around me! HELP!"
Reading the frantic messages, Ryan's own despair lessened slightly. A floating rock in a safe, empty void didn't seem so bad compared to a volcano or a swamp full of poisonous gas.
At least he was safe. For now. He was in a waiting room, not an execution chamber.
Just as he was starting to feel a sliver of grim comfort, a new message appeared in the chat that caused an immediate, explosive reaction.
It was from a Lord named "Kaiser."
[Kaiser]: "Quiet down, you peasants. Panicking won't help. The system gave us talents for a reason. Has anyone gotten an S-Rank talent?"
The chat momentarily fell silent before erupting with renewed vigor.
[LuckyLucy]: "S-Rank?! Is that even possible? The best I got was C-Rank 'Tough Skin'…"
[StoneMan]: "I got B-Rank 'Rock Affinity'. I can find stone easier, I guess."
[Kaiser]: "Heh. It seems I was blessed by the god of this world."
A moment later, Kaiser shared a screenshot in the global chat.
The image was crystal clear, showing his talent panel for all to see.
[Talent Name: Resource Duplication (S-Rank)]
[Description: You can duplicate any basic resource (wood, stone, food) once per day. The amount duplicated is equal to the amount you possess, up to a maximum of 10 units per day.]
The chat exploded.
[David Chen]: "Holy crap! He can create resources out of thin air!"
[DesertFlower]: "You're so lucky! I'd kill for that talent right now!"
[BigBadBill]: "Dude, you've basically won the game already. You can build a shelter and have food on day one!"
Ryan stared at the screenshot, his heart growing heavy again.
Kaiser's S-Rank talent was immediately practical.
He could find one piece of wood, duplicate it, and have two. The next day, he could have four.
Within a week, he would have a sturdy shelter and a stockpile of resources, while Ryan would still be floating in the void, counting down the days. Ninety-nine to go...
"...."
A feeling of helplessness washed over him. His SSS-Rank talent promised infinite potential, but potential didn't fill your stomach or build you a roof.It was a check post-dated for three months from now, while everyone else was getting cash in hand.
He slumped forward, his forehead resting against the cool surface of his glowing Territory Core. He felt utterly defeated.
Maybe he wasn't the protagonist after all.
Maybe he was just the guy with the tragically ironic backstory.
"It's hopeless…" he mumbled to himself, his voice absorbed by the silence.
As his skin made contact with the core, a new sound chimed in his mind—a soft, gentle ding!
A new line of text appeared on his system panel, shining with a faint golden light that made it stand out from all the blue text.
[Direct physical contact with the Territory Core has been established.]
[A hidden function has been detected. Would you like to initiate Manual Infusion?]
Ryan's head snapped up, his eyes widening in disbelief.
A hidden function? He hadn't seen anything about this in the description.
With trembling focus, he read the details that appeared below the prompt.
[Manual Infusion: Convert your personal stamina directly into Evolutionary Energy.]
[Conversion Rate: 10 Stamina Points = 1 Evolutionary Energy Point.]
[Warning: Complete stamina depletion may result in permanent damage to the Lord's soul, or even death. Please proceed with caution.]
A spark ignited in the depths of his despair.
It wasn't a roaring flame, but it was there... a tiny, fragile flicker of hope.
He immediately pulled up his personal status, a tab he had ignored until now.
[Lord: Ryan]
[Stamina: 100/100]
[Strength: 7 (Below Average)]
[Agility: 8 (Average)]
[Spirit: 12 (Above Average)]
He had 100 stamina points. According to the conversion rate, he could exchange all of it for 10 points of Evolutionary Energy.
It was a risky trade. The warning was chilling, and he had no idea how to recover stamina out here in the void. Draining himself completely on the first day could be a death sentence if something unexpected happened.
But… ten points.
That wasn't one point. It was ten days' worth of progress, right here, right now.
If he did this every day for ten days, he could have his plot of land. He wouldn't be left in the dust. He could start fighting back.
A slow smile spread across Ryan's face, the first genuine smile since he'd arrived in this strange new world.
The game had just begun, and his SSS-Rank talent wasn't as useless as he thought. It was just waiting for him to pay the price.