Ryan's eyes snapped open.
For a brief moment the world spun around him.
His vision slowly focused, revealing the bathroom ceiling above him.
He groaned.
"Argh…"
Ryan pushed himself up.
His muscles felt strange.
Loose.
Light.
Then he noticed the floor.
"What the hell…?"
He was sitting in a shallow puddle of dark, foul-smelling liquid.
The stench was terrible.
Ryan grimaced and carefully stood up.
The moment he straightened his back, something felt different.
His body moved effortlessly.
He clenched his fists.
Rolled his shoulders.
Twisted slightly from side to side.
Everything felt…
Smooth.
Lighter.
Stronger.
"What happened to my body?"
[Good morning.]
Iris' voice echoed through his mind again.
Strangely enough, she sounded almost cheerful.
Ryan stepped out of the disgusting puddle and walked across the bathroom floor.
His movements felt incredibly natural.
Every step was precise.
Balanced.
"My body feels… different."
He flexed his fingers.
"My movements are smoother."
Iris sounded delighted.
[If you want to know why, you should check your status.]
Ryan nodded.
"Status."
A translucent crimson screen appeared in front of him.
[Host: Ryan Hale]
Age: 25Race: Human
Rank: Lower-EarthLevel: 2
Strength: 22Agility: 12Vitality: 12Intelligence: 20
Mana Capacity: 100 / 200
Skills: Absorption (Mid-Earth)
Ryan stared at the screen.
His eyebrows slowly rose.
"Everything… doubled."
He leaned closer to the interface.
"And I leveled up?"
That shouldn't have been possible.
In the previous timeline Clearleaf had been useful…
But not this powerful.
Iris answered proudly.
[Yes!]
[Compared to the average human on Earth, you're already quite strong.]
Ryan crossed his arms and began pacing around the bathroom.
"That's great and all…"
He glanced back at the screen.
"But I still don't know what any of these numbers actually mean."
Iris sounded confused.
[What do you mean you don't know what they mean?]
Her tone quickly shifted toward mild irritation.
[I designed this system to be extremely easy to understand!]
Ryan couldn't stop the slight smile forming on his lips.
Iris sounding annoyed was strangely amusing.
"I don't mean I don't understand the stats."
He gestured toward the floating screen.
"I mean I don't have any reference for how strong those numbers actually are."
There was a brief pause.
Then Iris suddenly understood.
[Ooooh.]
Ryan chuckled softly.
The moment of realization in her voice was adorable.
[Well…]
[To give you a basic reference, the average human stat is around 10.]
Ryan stopped pacing immediately.
His eyes widened.
"So you're saying…"
He looked back at the screen.
"My strength is more than double that of an average person?"
[Correct.]
[And all your other stats are now above average as well.]
Ryan nodded slowly.
"Okay."
That helped.
"What about levels?"
Ryan leaned against the sink while listening.
Iris explained patiently.
[Your level increases as your mana capacity and control improve.]
[Each rank contains ten levels.]
Ryan sat down on the edge of the bathtub.
[Right now you are in the Earth Rank.]
[To reach Level 2, your mana capacity needed to reach 200.]
Ryan nodded.
That matched the screen.
[Level 3 requires 400.]
[Then 800.]
[The requirement doubles each time until Level 10.]
Ryan froze.
His eyes widened.
"Wait."
He did the math quickly in his head.
"Are you telling me that by Level 10…"
His voice rose slightly.
"I would have over one hundred thousand mana capacity?"
Iris sounded pleased.
[Yes.]
[At that point you would be standing on the threshold of the Sky Rank.]
Ryan leaned back slightly.
That was an absurd amount of power.
"How are the levels divided within a rank?"
[Three levels in Lower-Earth.]
[Three in Mid-Earth.]
[Four in High-Earth.]
Ryan nodded slowly.
Then curiosity crept into his expression.
"Where was I ranked in my previous life?"
He looked up slightly.
"I know I was the strongest human alive."
"But I never had that much mana."
Iris answered calmly.
[Level 7.]
Ryan blinked.
"That's it?"
[That placed you firmly within the High-Earth tier.]
Ryan frowned slightly.
"You're telling me the strongest human on Earth only reached High-Earth?"
[Yes.]
[Reaching that level on a newly awakened world without guidance is extraordinary.]
Ryan snorted softly.
"It still took me a hundred years."
[Even so…]
Her voice softened slightly.
[That achievement is remarkable.]
Ryan rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"I still don't fully understand how mana capacity increases."
"No one in the previous timeline figured it out."
Iris explained patiently.
[At the Earth Rank, increasing mana capacity is relatively simple.]
[You must repeatedly drain your mana… and then refill it.]
Ryan blinked.
"That's it?"
[Yes.]
[Each cycle forces mana to circulate throughout your body.]
[This gradually expands your mana pathways.]
Ryan's eyes widened slightly.
"So every time I exhausted my mana during a battle…"
[You were strengthening your mana channels.]
Ryan chuckled.
"So I was training without realizing it."
[Exactly.]
She paused briefly.
[However… your meditation habit improved the process significantly.]
Ryan remembered.
Every morning.
Before the wars.
Before the monsters.
He had always meditated.
He stood up slowly and walked toward the bedroom.
Then—
He froze.
The mirror.
Ryan stepped closer.
Then stopped completely.
"...What?"
The reflection staring back at him looked different.
Very different.
His hair had grown longer, falling slightly past his ears.
His shoulders were broader.
His chest more defined.
The soft layer of fat that had covered his stomach yesterday was gone.
In its place—
The faint outline of abdominal muscles.
Ryan turned sideways.
Flexed slightly.
Even his posture had changed.
Everything about his body looked sharper.
Stronger.
More refined.
Ryan blinked.
"Everything is bigger…"
He paused.
Then quickly shook his head.
"Okay. We're not finishing that sentence."
A crooked grin spread across his face.
"Not bad."
Iris giggled.
[Impressive, right?]
Her voice carried obvious amusement.
[I think you look fantastic.]
Ryan suddenly froze.
Wait.
"Did you just say—"
His eyes widened.
"Can you see me?"
He looked down.
Very aware of the fact he was still completely naked.
Ryan grabbed the nearest blanket and wrapped it around himself.
Iris burst into laughter.
[Of course I can see you.]
Ryan stared at the ceiling in disbelief.
"Seriously?!"
He groaned.
"So I just lost all privacy forever."
Iris giggled again.
[Well…]
[I do sometimes look away.]
Ryan sighed deeply.
"I'm going to have to get used to that."
He turned back toward the mirror.
This time he studied his reflection carefully.
A confident smile slowly appeared on his face.
His preparations were almost complete.
And now—
He was stronger than anyone else on the planet.
Ryan grabbed his clothes and started getting dressed.
Because today—
Everything would change.
The Awakening was coming.
And this time…
Ryan would be ready for it.