News didn't spread through words anymore.It moved through the system.Through glowing blue panels, brief messages, and the faint buzz of data whenever someone checked their evaluation.
By the morning of the tenth month, one name appeared across every interface.
〈Rank #1: Myaterous – 1,240,000 SP〉
No one knew who he was.No one even knew what continent he was on.But they all saw it.
In the city ruins once known as São Paulo, a group of survivors huddled around a cracked tablet, its screen flickering."Who the hell has over a million points?" a man muttered."Probably a cheater," another spat.A woman shook her head. "System doesn't let that happen. It records everything. He earned it."
No one spoke after that. The silence said more than disbelief — it was fear.
Because if someone could reach that far, it meant they understood the rules better than anyone else.And that meant they could bend them.
Across the ocean, in a settlement built from metal scraps and burned trucks, a different kind of talk began.A man named Rhoan — a self-proclaimed warlord — stared at the same blue screen."Find him," he ordered.His lieutenants exchanged uneasy looks.
"Sir, tracking data's wiped every cycle. He could be anywhere."
Rhoan smiled faintly. "Then start anywhere. Someone that high up leaves a trail. No one hides forever."
He didn't care about cooperation or alliance.He just wanted to see what kind of man could rule the system.
Meanwhile, in the snow-covered fields north of old Mongolia, a lone woman stood in silence, staring at her own interface.Her name: Eira. Rank 47.She whispered the name on the screen like a secret.
"Myaterous…"
Something about it felt familiar — like a pattern she'd seen before.She didn't know why, but she remembered an old post, a forgotten username, back when the world still had internet.Someone who solved impossible puzzles for fun.Someone who never revealed their real face.
And in a quiet valley, miles away from any of them, Myaterous sat under a dead tree, staring at his own faint blue panel.
He wasn't surprised by the rank.He'd already done the math days ago.
It wasn't pride that filled him — just quiet awareness.He knew what would come next.
The others would start searching for him.Some to follow.Some to kill.Some just to prove they could.
He looked over his camp.The NPCs were moving smoothly — hunting, crafting, maintaining their roles.Lira was practicing synthesis patterns.Irelia and Joren were arguing again, softly.Everything was stable. Too stable.
"The system won't let it stay this quiet," he murmured.
He opened his interface.New message.[SYSTEM NOTICE: Global Event Approaching – Category Ω]
He closed it just as calmly as he opened it.He already expected this.A world that rewards progress doesn't tolerate stagnation.
He looked up at the horizon. The clouds were moving against the wind — a bad sign.Somewhere out there, the Architects were shifting the pieces again.
He exhaled slowly.
"So it begins."