The flickering [Pending Video Message] pulsed again.

He exhaled. “Alright… let’s see what all this is about.”

[PLAYING VIDEO…]

The screen in front of his eyes crackled with static. The image shifted—fuzzy at first, then sharpened slowly.

A dimly lit room came into focus.

A man sat at a desk, holding a cube identical to the one Jace had touched. His face was weathered, scarred. Eyes tired, but burning with purpose.

He began to speak.

---

"If you’re seeing this, it means the bloodline accepted you."

"My name doesn’t matter—only what I’ve left behind."

The man held the cube higher. Its surface glowed with intricate markings.

"This… was the culmination of our life’s work. A collaboration between human and Akolvian scientists."

"We called it the Catalyst Core."

Jace’s eyes narrowed. “Akolvians…?”

The man continued.

"This cube holds data linked to the Rampage Monarch—the creature that decimated entire nations during the early Gate Wars. We believe his power came from something beyond this world. Something that still lingers."

The screen flickered, showing ancient ruins… monstrous shadows…

"The Gates? They’re not just openings to other realms. Some are… anchored to Monarchs. Not dead. Not gone. Just waiting."

Jace’s blood ran cold.

"There are whispers of a presence. A gate stirring somewhere beneath the city. One tied to the Rampage Monarch himself."

The man leaned forward.

"You, Jace… if the cube responded to you, then you're different. You can do what other Hunters—and even Closers—can’t."

"You can level up."

The words hit Jace like a hammer.

"But with that comes a price. Choices. And consequences."

"Choose wisely."

[VIDEO ENDED.]

---

Jace stood frozen in the silence. The cellar felt colder now.

“I can… level up?”

A thousand thoughts clashed in his mind.

Was this some elaborate trick? Or… something his grandmother had hidden from the world?

He rubbed his temples. “I need air.”

---

Nightfall Walk

The city buzzed faintly in the distance as Jace walked beneath the glowing streetlights.

Neon signs flickered. Cars honked lazily. Couples laughed as they passed.

But Jace’s world felt like it had cracked wide open.

“I can level up… Monarchs, gates linked to them… what the hell is going on?”

Then—he felt it.

A shift.

A pulse of pressure, like gravity suddenly doubling.

The stench of aura hit him like a slap to the face—rotten, metallic, wrong.

He turned.

Down an alley, in an empty lot near an abandoned train station… something was forming.

A swirling vortex of black and violet light. A Gate.

And not just any Gate.

---

[Gate Detected: B-Rank]

His jaw tightened. “This is bad…”

Then—DING.

Another notification bloomed in front of his eyes.

---

[QUESTS UNLOCKED]

> Quest I: First Blood

Defeat any monster from a ranked Gate.

Reward: +5 stat points

Penalty: None

> Quest II: Awakening

Reach Level 2

Reward: Skill unlock

Penalty: None

> Quest III: Hidden Legacy

Uncover the location of the next Catalyst Cube

Reward: ???

Penalty: ???

> Quest IV: Monarch’s Stirring

Investigate the Gate linked to the Monarch

Reward: ???

Penalty: ???

---

Before he could react—

[SPECIAL QUEST: SURVIVE THE RAID]

> A spontaneous Gate Raid is unfolding.

Threat Level: B-Rank

Reward: Unknown

Penalty: Death

---

Jace’s heart skipped a beat.

“…You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

All around him, the world kept moving. People walked. Talked. Laughed.

Unaware that something monstrous was cracking into reality just blocks away.

Jace clenched his fists.

He could walk away. Pretend none of this ever happened.

But that cube had chosen him.

And now… so had the Gate.

---