Chapter 1 : Calamity Hits

Planet Erdalon

March 24, 2051

The world is burning.

Everything has descended into chaos. The sky is shrouded in dark clouds, streaked with terrifying crimson lightning. The air reeks of smoke and blood. Children cling to their parents, sobbing in terror.

Millions of bodies—both human and monster lie scattered across the battlefield. No one has the time to mourn the fallen members of their families.

The world is facing its final calamity. Through the thick smoke, a lone man drags himself forward.

His name is Aron.

Thirty-two years old, he has a handsome face, though it is now almost unrecognizable beneath the blood covering it. 

His entire body is riddled with wounds. One of his legs has been crushed, forcing him to limp with every painful step. His left arm is severed below the elbow, and blood continues to pour from the stump. 

Clutching the wound tightly, he struggles to remain conscious through the unbearable pain.

He finally stops and slowly lifts his head.

High above him, humanity's strongest warriors, the SSS-rank Sires are locked in a desperate battle against terrifying monsters. They are humanity's last hope.

But Aron can see the truth.

They are losing...

Suddenly, he coughs up a mouthful of blood and spits it onto the shattered ground. His internal injuries are severe. Without medical treatment within the next few hours, he will die where he stands.

But there are no doctors left.

Only a few thousand people are still alive in the entire country. Most of the world's nations have already been wiped out.

Leaning against the remains of a broken wall, Aron closes his eye for a brief moment.

His mind drifts back to the day this nightmare began...

Thirty years ago...

Without any warning, the sky turns pitch black.

Strange symbols begin appearing among the clouds. People call them runes. One after another, the glowing symbols link together, forming a vast net that envelops the entire planet.

At first, people believe it is a secret project created by the world's governments.

They couldn't be more wrong.

Towering pillars of light descend upon every city across Erdalon. Anyone who touches one is instantly transported to a mysterious world. There, every human meets a guide known as an Assistant.

The Assistant awakens their hidden potential and grants them their very first skill.

That is how humanity gives birth to a new generation of warriors...

SIRES.

Every awakened skill is assigned a rank, from weakest to strongest: F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, and SSS.

At first, humanity rejoices. People believe these newfound powers are a blessing from God. Then reality shatters their hopes.

Strange vortexes begin appearing all over the world.

Colorful portals open in every city and every nation. The Assistants deliver a single warning to humanity.

"Clear every vortex before the timer reaches zero... or you will lose the game."

The explanation that follows chills everyone to the bone.

"When the countdown reaches zero, the portal will collapse, and the monsters trapped inside will flood into the human world."

For the next thirty years, the Sires wage an endless war against the invading monsters.

With every battle, they grow stronger. Their attributes increase, their skills evolve, and humanity gradually gains the upper hand.

Everyone believes victory is only a matter of time.

But they are wrong once again.

Thirty years later, the sky cracked open.

An eerie aura bled out as giant SSS-rank vortexes tore through the clouds. Too big in sizes, even more impossible to clear.

Dozens of Sires had died trying to clear them.

Then the timers hit zero....

The portals shattered like glass. And from them poured the most terrifying monsters the world had ever seen. Humans called them Calamities.

Boom! Crack!

Something slammed into the earth with terrifying force. The soil beneath Aron's feet split open and he nearly lost his footing. And his conciousness returned to the battlefield instantly...

He squinted into the dust, forcing open his one good eye. The other one was swollen shut from a deep wound. On instinct, he activated his skill.

F-rank, Real Eye.

It let him see through small illusions and the cheap secrets people at or below his rank tried to hide. Heavy makeup, a hidden dagger, a fake smile. That was all his trash skill could help him with...

Even calling it trash felt like an insult to trash itself.

It was useless in a real fight. But countless normal people had touched the Pillar of Light and never awakened at all. Aron's stats were still far better than theirs. 

That tiny edge was the reason he never left the battlefield. Staying close to where the SSS-rank Sires fought was the only reason he was still alive.

He limped toward the fresh crater. At the edge, he suddenly froze looking at the thing that hit the ground heavily.

Lying in the pit was one of Dragon Country's SSS-rank Sires, The Sword Sire.

The old man's entire body was burning with black fire. His sword was gone.

Aron looked up, breathing hard.

The other two remaining SSS-rank Sires, the Ice Princess and the Martial Lord, were still fighting. Both were severely injured, yet they stood against a colossal black dragon.

Verradon, the Dark Dragon. An SSS-rank monster, the ruler of all Calamities in their country.

Verradon slashed with its sharp claw. The blow caught the Martial Lord in midair and sent him crashing down just a few feet from Aron. The ground shook Again. Aron could hear the Sire's ragged breathing. The hope of humanity was breaking right in front of him.

Verradon turned toward the Ice Princess.

She was a beautiful young girl in a light blue dress, surrounded by a cold aura. But now she was covered in blood and her skin was burned red.

She gritted her teeth looking at the martial lord below. Verradon roared, and the sound was so loud her ears started bleeding and her head rang uncontrollably. Before she could move, a torrent of black dragonflame hit her.

As the flames burned, Verradon's giant claw struck her down. She hit the ground hard. One of her arms was completely gone by the strike.

Only her icy aura kept her from burning to ash, desperately pushing back the black flame. She forced herself onto her knees and glared up at Verradon, but her whole body was trembling uncontrollably . She was at her absolute limit.

Nearby, the Martial Lord was too weak to even lift himself up gritted his teeth, pushing himself to stand up.

Iris, the Ice Princess, shook with fear. She looked across the battlefield. The Sword Sire was dead. The Martial Lord was dying. She was the only one left now...

There was no one left to save them.

The sky went completely dark as a shadow fell over her. With terrifying force, Verradon landed just a few feet away. His aura crashed down on her completely.

"Stop resisting! You fools, it is your absolute fortune to die by my hands! Hahahaha!"

Verradon's laugh shook the entire city.

"After you die, I will turn this country into a personal den for my kin!"

Iris sneered and spat on the ground.

"Ptui! I'd rather die fighting than be a coward and let you monsters roam our planet!"

Her voice was sad but resolute. She tried to stand, but her body was too weak that her knees buckled.

Suddenly a hand caught her from behind and steadied her.

Iris turned and immediately her eyes widened in shock.

The man holding her was in even worse shape than she was. One leg was completely crushed, so he balanced on the other. One arm was half gone and bleeding heavily, yet he was using all his remaining strength just to support her.

His white t-shirt was soaked in blood. His whole body was broken. One eye was swollen shut.

She swallowed hard....'How was he even standing? ' She could clearly feel it, a weak, flickering F-rank aura coming from him. The weakest of the weak.

Aron looked at her and smiled gently, "Thank you... thank you for trying to save us."

Iris didn't know what to say. She just nodded without thinking.

The Martial Lord had seen it too. He gritted his teeth and forced himself up like a madman. His hand was broken, his leg was crushed beyond repair , but he still dragged his broken body toward Iris and Aron.

When he reached them, Aron bowed his head slightly. It was a salute a true hero deserved.

"Thank you... thank you for protecting us until the very end."

Verradon roared toward the sky. At his signal, all the monsters stopped fighting. They crawled toward him and gathered behind him, waiting for his final order. The battlefield fell deathly quiet.

Seeing what Aron did, the other surviving humans felt their chests tighten. One by one, they walked over and gathered around Iris and the Martial Lord.

Together, the last survivors of humanity bowed deeply, "Thank you for everything."

Iris and the Martial Lord stood there completely dumbfounded. In their final moments, they had never expected to be thanked like this.

Verradon sneered as he looked down at the humans. His massive body remained still, just a few feet away.

"Hahaha! Have you humans gone completely mad? Don't you know only death awaits you now ?" he said coldly, while his dark eyes scanned the little humans.

The Martial Lord helped Iris stand straight. Aron looked at the monster, then left Iris in the Martial Lord's care and started walking toward Verradon.

Iris noticed aron and screamed, "What are you doing? Come back here!"

But he didn't stop , as if her words never reached his ears at all. The Martial Lord and everyone else stared in total confusion. Even Verradon frowned.

'What was this tiny ant trying to do?'

Aron limped toward Verradon, his heart pounding loudly in his chest. His mind had stopped working properly a few seconds ago. Now he was just moving, with no hope left. He knew everyone here was going to die anyway.

He stopped just centimeters from the massive paw of the black dragon. Verradon looked down and sneered.

"What? You want to surrender now? Hahahaha! Even if you did, I would never take a piece of trash like you as my servant."

Aron smiled. It was a tired, strangely calm smile, full of helplessness.

He looked up and said, "I want to tell you the secret of Erdalon... don't you want to hear it?"

Verradon's eyes lit up immediately.

Everyone else stared at Aron in shock. What secret? Even Iris and the Martial Lord frowned deeply, completely confused.

Verradon lowered his giant head, bringing his massive face right in front of Aron. For all his power as an SSS-rank dragon, there were still secrets of this planet he did not know. Only the native humans did.

"What secret do you know human?" Verradon growled. "If your answer satisfies me, I will grant you a quick death. Otherwise, I will torture you for eternity! Hahahaha!"