The air was still. The silence that followed was unnatural, too complete.
Aiden stood in the ruins of the cavern, surrounded by the faint shimmer of dissolving shadows. The monsters that had slaughtered his team were gone, as if erased from existence. Only the marks of battle remained, broken stones, splattered blood, and fragments of armor scattered across the ground.
He stumbled forward, the weight of what had happened pressing down on him. The last thing he remembered was death closing in. Then that crystal, that blinding light, and the voice in his head whispering something impossible.
Level Breaker.
He glanced at the system window still floating in front of his eyes. The usual pale blue interface now glowed with a faint gold light.
> Name: Aiden Cross
Class: Level Breaker
Level: ???
Strength: ???
Agility: ???
Endurance: ???
Mana: ???
Title: None
His heart pounded. The numbers were gone. Even the system didn't seem to know what he had become.
Aiden looked around, hoping for a sign of the others, but all he saw were fragments of their weapons and the faint scorch marks where the monsters had fallen. Everyone else was gone. Ronan. The others. All wiped out.
"Why… why am I the only one left?" he whispered. His voice echoed softly through the cavern.
Something stirred deep within the tunnel. A low rumble, like the breath of something ancient. He froze, every muscle in his body tensing.
From the darkness, a creature crawled into the faint light of the crystals. It was smaller than the giants from before but somehow more terrifying. Its body was shaped like a man's but covered in scales. Its eyes burned like molten gold.
When it spoke, the words were clear, almost human.
"You broke the chain."
Aiden stepped back. "What are you?"
"The first. The last. The one who waited." Its voice was a whisper inside his skull. "You shattered the limit placed on this world. You are the crack in the system."
"I don't understand," Aiden said. His hand tightened on his sword, though he knew it wouldn't make a difference.
The creature tilted its head. "You will. Or you will die." It lunged forward with impossible speed.
Instinct took over. Aiden raised his sword, but instead of feeling fear, a strange calm washed over him. His mind focused. Time seemed to slow. The creature's movement became clear, predictable, like he could read its every motion.
He stepped aside, twisting his body just as its claw cut through the air where he had been. His sword moved without thought. It sliced across the creature's neck.
A clean hit. Too clean.
The monster's head rolled away, eyes dimming as it dissolved into light. Aiden's breath caught. He looked down at his hands. They weren't shaking anymore. His heart beat steady and strong.
"What is this?" he whispered. His voice sounded different, steady, certain. The exhaustion he had carried for years was gone. Every movement felt sharp, powerful. His senses burned with clarity.
A new notification appeared before his eyes.
> Skill acquired: Adaptive Growth
Description: You grow from every act of survival. No experience required. No limit applies.
His pulse quickened. No limit. No experience required. He didn't need to fight for system approval anymore. Every moment of survival made him stronger.
The walls around him shifted suddenly. The crystals flickered. The ground trembled beneath his feet. He looked up and saw a glowing circle forming above the cavern's ceiling, a portal, similar to a rift gate, but unstable. The exit, maybe.
He ran toward it.
The light swallowed him whole.
When he opened his eyes again, he was lying in an open field. The sky above him was clouded with violet mist. In the distance, broken towers rose from the earth, half-swallowed by forest. This wasn't Earth. It wasn't any place he knew.
He stood slowly, brushing dust from his clothes. The world here felt alive, like the air itself was watching him.
A whisper echoed faintly.
> New environment detected. Dimensional transfer complete.
Survival objective: Endure.
He sighed. "Endure? That's not much of a plan."
Then he heard it, a scream. Human. Nearby.
Without thinking, he sprinted toward the sound. The new strength in his legs surprised him. Each step carried him faster than before. He reached a clearing within seconds and froze.
A girl, no older than seventeen, was pinned beneath the claw of a beast twice her size. Its skin shimmered with metallic scales, and its mouth split open into rows of teeth. Her sword lay broken beside her.
Aiden didn't hesitate. He gripped his weapon and charged.
The creature turned, roaring. It swung a massive arm toward him. He ducked low, sliding under the blow, and thrust his sword upward into its chest. The blade pierced through with almost no resistance. The monster convulsed, light bursting from its body before it crumbled into dust.
The girl gasped for breath, staring at him in disbelief. "You… you killed it. Alone?"
He helped her to her feet. "Are you hurt?"
She shook her head, still stunned. "No… but that thing was a rank-three beast. Even a mid-tier Raider would struggle. Who are you?"
Aiden hesitated. "Just someone trying to survive."
She frowned. "You don't look like someone from the city. Are you a stray transfer?"
He blinked. "Transfer?"
She pointed toward the horizon, where faint lights shimmered like a distant skyline. "You're in the Outer Field of Ares. If you were dragged here by a rift, you're lucky to be alive."
He looked toward the lights. So this wasn't just another dungeon. He had crossed worlds.
"I'm Lira," she said. "Lira Kane. If you want to live, you should come with me before more beasts show up."
He nodded slowly. "Aiden."
As they began to walk, he glanced at his system window once more.
It flickered, revealing a new line beneath his status.
> Skill unlocked: Insight Vision
Description: Perceive the strength of all living beings relative to your own.
He turned his gaze toward Lira. A faint mark hovered above her head.
> Power Level: 43
Then he looked at himself.
> Power Level: Undefined
He exhaled quietly. The system couldn't even measure him anymore.
Lira noticed his silence. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Maybe I have," he said. He looked back toward the distant city lights. Somewhere out there were answers, about the rift, about what he had become.
For the first time in years, his fear was gone.
Only resolve remained.