The morning was the same crap as always.
Wake up, curse at my alarm, skip breakfast, and sprint to school like I'm being chased by God's disappointment.
"Cassian! Late again!" my teacher yelled the moment I slid into my seat.
"Yeah, yeah, write it on the wall or something," I muttered, throwing my bag on the floor.
Everyone else was busy pretending to be excited about the day. I was just counting the hours 'til I could go home and rot in peace while reading manhwas.
Life sucked. Routine sucked. Everything felt like a damn rerun of a boring show I couldn't unsubscribe from.
Then—
"Welcome."
The voice wasn't from the speakers. It wasn't from anyone in class.
It was inside our heads.
The entire room froze. Pens stopped moving. Even the class clown shut up for once.
A golden light flashed in front of everyone.
A glowing panel appeared—like a hologram straight out of a game interface.
[Welcome, Humans.]
[This is a Gift from the Above.]
[The System shall now integrate with your world.]
My jaw dropped.
I blinked.
I even slapped myself once.
Nope. Not a dream.
The voice continued:
[Every human shall receive an Ability. The era of evolution begins now.]
And just like that, the panel in front of me changed.
It showed two buttons: [Accept] and [Decline].
Everyone started panicking, screaming, or praying.
Me? I just stared at it and started laughing.
"Hah! No way. Is this really happening?!"
Years of reading manhwa and light novels finally paid off.
"This… this is my fucking chance!" I whispered, grinning like an idiot.
Without thinking twice, I slammed YES.
The world around me blurred.
For a moment, I saw lines of code floating midair — reality itself glitching.
Then the panel returned.
But this time, it wasn't just glowing. It was shaking.
[Ability: Portal Realm (Rank: EX)]
[Description: Creates a dimensional field linked to the user's core. Accessible anytime.]
"EX?" I blinked again. "Wait… that's not even on the normal ranking list, right?"
A voice echoed faintly:
[EX Rank: Beyond System Comprehension.]
My heart skipped.
I wasn't some F-rank loser.
I wasn't background NPC number 103.
I was an EX-rank.
"Holy shit," I whispered. "Did I… did I just become the MC?"
The corner of my mouth twitched into a smile.
Every damn manhwa I read flashed through my brain — Omniscient Reader, Solo Leveling, FFF-Class Trash Hero — and now I was the one holding the golden ticket.
But I wasn't dumb. I didn't use the ability yet. Not in front of a hundred people who'd probably freak out and snitch me to the government.
Instead, I leaned back and watched the chaos unfold.
"Mine's fire control!"
"Ha! I got healing!"
"Wait… mine says F-rank? What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"
I stood up, pretending to look amazed while my curiosity went full throttle.
"Yo, bro, what rank did you get?" I asked the guy next to me with my usual ass-kissing grin.
"Uh, D-rank speed boost," he said, puffing his chest a bit.
"D? Damn bro, that's awesome!" I lied through my teeth. "I wish I got something like that, haha."
Then I moved on to the next person.
"Yo, what about you?"
"C-rank water manipulation!"
"Holy crap, you're basically Aquaman now!"
He laughed, not realizing I was just collecting intel like a nosy rat.
After a few more questions, I pieced it together — there was a clear ranking system.
F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, SSS.
But no one had EX. No one even knew what EX was.
Inside, I was grinning like a psycho.
EX rank? That's protagonist material, baby.
When class finally ended, I ran straight to the school rooftop.
The wind hit my face as I stared at the horizon — half scared, half ecstatic.
"This is insane…" I muttered. "Me. Cassian. The lazy bastard who copies homework… got an EX-rank power."
I started laughing again, clutching my stomach.
"I bet somewhere out there, the real protagonist's crying because I stole his script!"
I opened my panel again and read the details:
[Portal Realm: A spatial dimension accessible only by you.]
[Current Size: 110m radius circular field.]
[Status: Uninhabited.]
"Basically… a world that's mine," I whispered.
Then I scrolled further.
[Warning: Entering the Realm will disconnect your physical presence from Earth.]
So, like a private world I could enter anytime.
A football-field-sized world.
Just mine.
"Oh, hell yes," I grinned. "I could build a house there, train there, even hide there."
Then I caught my reflection in the glass door.
My eyes were wild — like a kid who just realized he can cheat death.
"Cassian, my boy," I told myself, smirking. "You're either gonna be humanity's savior… or the biggest pain in the ass the world's ever seen."
I chuckled, looking up at the sky.
For once, it didn't feel boring.
[End of Chapter 1 – The System's Gift]