Arthur lived in an old building, barely three stories tall. His day at college had been miserable, and all he wanted was to scream, to release the frustration locked inside his chest.
But in his apartment, that wasn't possible. Any noise would bring trouble with the landlord. Worse, one of the tenants was a thug who would gladly beat Arthur—or worse—if disturbed.
Trapped in this dilemma, Arthur left his home late at night and walked to an abandoned building three blocks away. Without a car or spare money for a ride, he had no choice but to go on foot.
The building wasn't unfamiliar. Arthur had visited it many times before when he needed solitude. Though it looked frightening from the outside and housed a few homeless drifters, it wasn't dangerous. Most of them were drunk or high, too lost in their haze to notice anything around them.
Arthur entered and climbed to the top floor. From there, he ascended a rusted iron staircase that led to the roof. The creak of the old steps echoed through the empty building.
"Pretty sure everyone inside heard that," Arthur thought. "Whatever."
When he reached the rooftop, the first thing he saw was the breathtaking view of Port Bridge. The city lights shimmered, cars and people moved far below, so small they looked like ants.
In that moment, Arthur realized how insignificant his existence was in the grand scheme of things. He was just another ant on the vast planet Earth.
He sat on the edge of the roof, letting his mind wander as he admired the view.
Arthur had always dreamed of living in a fantasy world, or at least in a world where he could become someone important. And when mana finally awakened across Earth, granting humanity classes and powers, he hadn't been chosen.
The frustration gnawed at him. If it had only been that, maybe he could endure it. But the bullies who tormented him had awakened, gaining classes and powers.
Why was it that those who spread cruelty always got what they wanted, while he—who tried to be good—was left with nothing?
Something inside Arthur finally broke. He was done being the kind soul who always suffered in the end.
That night, on that rooftop, he changed completely.
"I HATE ALL OF HUMANITY! YOU BASTARDS! THIS LIFE IS UNFAIR!"
His scream was loud, but like the ant he was, not everyone heard. And soon, the world forgot. That was how things worked.
Tears streamed down his face, a sharp pain pressed against his chest, and his hands trembled. For a moment, the height didn't seem so daunting anymore…
Then a sound snapped him back to reality. Arthur quickly stood and turned. Something unbelievable unfolded before his eyes—something he never thought he would witness.
A portal opened right in front of him. He knew exactly what it was: one of the many dungeon portals that had appeared when mana awakened across humanity.
For a moment, he thought his time had come. The chance of a monster emerging was low, but it existed. And with his cursed luck, Arthur expected the worst.
The portal expanded, its green light spilling across the rooftop. It was smaller than he had imagined.
Then, something emerged—not a creature, but a glowing stone. It was green, like an emerald, but Arthur knew it was something else entirely.
He stepped back twice, as far as he could without falling from the roof. The stone rolled toward him, and as it did, the portal began to close.
"The portal's closing? That's never happened on TV before!" Arthur exclaimed.
The green stone pulsed with life at Arthur's feet. He hesitated, unsure of what to do.
"Is it safe to touch this thing?" he wondered.
A magical stone emerging from a portal could only mean one of two things: it was either precious, or dangerous. Perhaps both at once.
With little hope left in his life, Arthur decided to take the risk. He reached for the stone—and something bizarre happened. It began to sink into his forearm, fusing with his body.
Arthur screamed. This pain was different. It wasn't emotional, it was raw, physical agony. He had never felt anything so intense before.
As the excruciating pain tore through him, Arthur regretted touching the stone. Sweat poured down his body as he writhed on the rooftop, clutching his arm. He nearly blacked out, but it felt as though the stone itself was forcing him to stay conscious, dragging him through the torment.
Finally, the pain subsided. Arthur lay there, breathless, his regret heavy—until something unexpected happened.
He had awakened. The system that now governed Earth, granting humans classes, attributes, and levels, had finally chosen him.
[Mana Awakened]
[SSS-Rank Class Acquired]
[Soulbound Sovereign]
Arthur blinked several times after reading the messages before his eyes. He couldn't believe something like this was happening to him.
All the pain he had felt before—both mental and physical—was gone. It was as if nothing bad had ever happened to him at all.
Because now, for the first time, he saw hope. Hope that he could become the person he had always dreamed of being.
Without hesitation, Arthur opened his system. He already had a rough idea of how it worked; news about hunters was everywhere on TV.
[Name: Arthur Roberts]
[Class: Soulbound Sovereign (SSS)]
[Level: 1]
[Attributes:]
[Strength: 1]
[Agility: 6]
[Endurance: 2]
[Intelligence: 1]
[Spirit: 8]
[Charm: 2]
Arthur frowned. His stats weren't impressive at all, which was strange considering he had just obtained an SSS-rank class. From what he knew, the strongest classes humanity had discovered so far were only rank S. By all logic, he should have been far above that.
He checked his skills. Every class started with at least two or three abilities. But he had only one.
[Soulbound: You may bind your soul to a specific dungeon. The monsters within that dungeon will recognize you as an ally.]
The system added that more information would be revealed once he connected to a dungeon.
"What kind of class is this?" Arthur muttered, frowning. "I'm… a friend to monsters? Does that mean I'm against humanity?"