They called it the World With No Cap.
There was no summit to reach. No finish line. The numbers simply climbed, stretching into infinity as adventurers hunted, fought, and bled for every increment of power. For most, that was excitement itself.
Kael Xeef, however, stared at the numbers and felt only a familiar, dull ache behind his eyes.
[Level: 27]
[EXP: 683/700 to next level]
[Gear Rating: 183]
[Cress: 2,114]
It was the same UI—unadorned by anything fancy—that he'd glanced at across a thousand empty mornings.
At nineteen, Kael was notorious in Gravas City—but only because of what he hadn't accomplished.
His parents, Seris and Draven Xeef, were legends. Their names were carved onto Guild walls, their achievements whispered about across continents—heroes with levels above 157.
Statues of them stood in Gravas Plaza, gleaming reminders of a legacy Kael had never felt eager to chase.
He lay sprawled on his bed, one ankle lazily dangling, sliver hair roughed up. The numbers hovering over his HUD seemed to mock him.
A knock snapped him away from thought.
"Kael. Your door's half-open—I can see your UI light."
Bezel called, armor clanking on the floorboards.
He considered mumbling an excuse, but Bezel was already pushing through, hair sticking up at impossible angles.
"You always say you're not ready, but today we need you. Seki's waiting too."
Seki—sharp-eyed, already in full gear—nodded from the doorway.
"Dungeon posted: Wizm's Maw. Three stars. We need your utility. Healer bailed because of the Aberrant warning."
That got Kael's attention, if only a little. Aberrants were never good news.
He dragged himself upright, clicked the HUD closed, and exhaled.
"Guess I'm in."
Bezel grinned.
"That's the spirit. We're so close to the rare drop threshold, and Seki refuses to clan with randos."
Seki, ever the tactician, offered a subtle, reassuring smile.
"Prepare for Aberrant encounter. If the warning's real, we'll need every edge."
Kael just nodded, letting them carry the conversation. There was a comfort in routine: the formation talk, the gear checks, the minor debates over mana versus health potions. If his parents could have seen him now, contributing only the bare minimum, they'd have offered some combination of disappointment and motivational speech.
The Adventurer's Guild loomed over Gravas—stone fortress, banners of the fallen fluttering above the raid boards, bustling with every kind of adventurer. Contracts and quests crowded the walls like a living beast.
"Xeef. With Bezel and Seki again?"
Ulric the registrar raised an eyebrow.
Kael just nodded.
After the paperwork—Seki's specialty—they descended into Wizms Maw, torches flickering against breathing walls. Dungeons adapted themselves based on party average and the highest milestone. Kael sometimes wondered if his own presence made things easier or harder, but never asked.
First room. Five Swarm-Spitter Drakes.
Seki's signal, Bezel's magic blazing. Kael's own core skill—Phase Shift—let him blink from shadow to shadow, corralling drakes for quick execution. Seki struck with surgical precision; Bezel vaporized the rest.
~ /Loot: Minor Scale, Crude Gem, 50 cress\ ~
"Easy,"
Bezel crowed.
"Why do they even call this a three-star?"
"Stop jinxing it bezel." Kael replied.
"Early rooms always sandbag, you know that," Seki added.
"Kael, scout?"
Without speaking, Kael ported ahead, letting his attention drift, phasing through cracked arches and half-lit corridors, collecting data for Seki's strategy. They moved like clockwork: engage, loot, repeat. The banter between his friends was easy, light. Kael preferred to listen rather than join.
Checkpoint: Seki distributed mana tonics, voice steady.
"Next is the boss chamber. Remember, Aberrant alert may not be a bluff."
Bezel gripped his staff tighter. Kael, for once, felt a twinge of wariness.
They pushed open the massive doors.
The world warped.
Instead of scripted flame and stone, darkness clawed at pillars, distortions creeping along the floor. In the center hunched something—monstrous, its eyes fractal, its bulk shifting with fevered hunger.
Aberrant-class: "The Forgotten Maw." LV ???
For the first time in months, Kael's breath stuttered.
"A maw?" Kael stuttered.
"That's the highest level for a wizm...why the fuck is one of those in here?" Bezel replied.
"And it's the boss too.." kael added.
Seki threw his spear at what should have been a weak point. Bezel unleashed a torrent of lightning, arcs echoing across scales. Kael blinked with *Phase Shift*, aiming for the soft spot, then triggered *Pierce Break.*
The beast howled—then lashed out. Kael barely registered the pain before being slammed into a pillar, his sword skittering away. Seki reeled, Bezel's shield sputtered. Everything devolved into chaos.
Warning: Bleed.
Party critical.
Kael's HUD flashed red. He staggered, seeing Bezel collapse, Seki screaming something that couldn't be understood.
*Pierce Break: Cooldown.*
*Phase Shift: Locked.*
"Wh...what's happening right now...it's too fast.." kale stuttered under his breath.
Sound blurred into a high-pitched whine. The Aberrant's jaws opened. Seki's form fell, crimson blood painting the floor. Kael was on the ground, the only one alive, tattered and desperate.
As teeth closed in, the world snapped—everything went bright.
He was nowhere.
A formless, floating space. No edges, no sound, no pain. Only a pulsing, translucent object—like a button—hovered ahead. Over it, text flickered into existence:
[gain ability: Prestige]?
Kael stared.
This didn't exist. Not in any guide, not in his father's stories. The text glitched, fracturing into unreadable fragments before stabilizing.
A warning circled in his mind—cheat codes, bugs, things the Guild strictly forbade. But this was realer than any dream.
He touched the button.
The text warped:
You will forget this experience ever happened.
An icy shudder ran through him.
He screamed.
Nothing came out.
He jerked awake, pain flooding his body—then faded under the touch of healing magic. Light coalesced above him, a familiar mage reciting soft incantations.
"He's back. Get his parents," the healer said.
Kael blinked around the Guild infirmary. His sword, broken, lay waiting. His team-tracker flickered—Bezel and Seki:*offline*.
"Offline? That's new....they must still be alive
th-"
Then he remembered everything; nothing could be done. Grief and reality pressed in. His parents burst in, Seris wild with relief and rage, Draven silent and grave. Others spoke in low tones, words like "aberrant," "lost," "no backup." Kael barely registered them.
Numb, hollow, he stared at his HUD—
[Level: 27]
[EXP: 75%]
[Gear Rating: 120]
[Cress: 1,957]
But at the edge, a new line shimmered, out of place:
[Prestige: 0 / [??]]
[Prestige Bonus: +0.0× multiplier]
He blinked, feeling that somewhere, deep inside, something important had shifted.
Outside his window, the city buzzed—the endless climb resuming, monsters spawning, and someone, somewhere, always growing. This time, for the first time in months, Kael looked at the numbers and felt—
something.