Blue Meteorite – January 8, Year 1000
Perfectis
Third floor of an apartment in the suburbs, in the northern part of the city.
"So…" A glimmer of understanding shone in the boy's black eyes. "I have reincarnated into the body of an 18-year-old boy, dead because of his talent…"
Silence fell in the room.
"His name was Roman Red. And now it is my name too…"
Again, silence.
"Alright, I understand everything! But let us recap…"
He took paper and pen and began to write down everything about this world.
"First of all, 1000 years ago, a meteorite crashed into the planet. Countless people died, and a foreign substance, mana, permeated the world, causing it to expand in a shocking manner."
With the steady hand of a talented artist, Roman began to draw a meteorite in the center of the paper.
Holding it up, he nodded.
"After that, humans were blessed with a system, which gave them the ability to use skills. So far, so good…" he murmured.
"Above the meteorite, an interdimensional portal formed, connecting our world to an infinite world. This is simply called the Rift."
Roman nodded, drawing a huge portal above the meteorite.
"I am really good at drawing…" he said with a smile. "Anyway, no monsters came out of this Rift, fortunately. But the world decided to… kill us? This part is not very clear…"
He scratched his chin, thoughtful.
"Every awakened human obtains a system and with it access to mana. Then comes the world. Every day that passes, it steals 1% of a person's maximum mana…"
"If a human fails to increase their level on the same day, they lose that amount of mana forever… if they manage to level up on the same day, that mana is restored."
Roman lifted the pen from the paper, sighing.
"And so far, it is all very simple. The problem comes now…"
Leaning closer to the paper to focus better, he continued.
"If you fail to level up for seven consecutive days, the maximum mana in your body vanishes. Without mana, a human dies."
Roman wrote down numbers regarding the exact percentages of mana lost each day, all public knowledge.
"But this stops happening once a human evolves and reaches the maximum level. So the solution is simple. Level up." He nodded.
"To level up, you must enter the Rift and defeat monsters. Our ancestors had a very tough time, both due to the lack of skills and the one-hour limitation."
The system did not grant any skills. The only way to earn them was to kill Rift monsters.
The time limit inside the Rift was one hour. At least initially.
He ran a hand through his hair, massaging his temples.
"Inside the Rift, there are very strong monsters that can kill you, but death in the Rift is false. You do not really die; you return to your world. However, you lose access to the Rift for seven days."
Things were getting more complicated but still manageable.
"Fortunately, losing access to the Rift does not mean stopping leveling and thus dying. Or rather, it is not certain… there is another way to level, and that is by killing mana beasts that inhabit our world."
Mana beasts were nothing more than normal animals evolved through mana into powerful beings with abilities.
They were the primary cause of human deaths, including the death of the old Roman's parents, which happened two years earlier during a beast wave in the city of Mirabel.
"Now, besides skills, there are talents, given by the world to humans. And here things get strange… does the world not want to kill you? Why does it grant talents?"
The question arose naturally but had no answer.
The seven-day death countdown was inevitable if you did not level up.
What were the reasons that prevented leveling?
One, as Roman said, you die in the Rift and lose access to a world designed for leveling. There are mana beasts, but the world's environment is not as simple as the Rift's.
Two, you fail to evolve and remain stuck at the same level.
"Speaking of levels, in this world, there are a total of nine known evolutions. Each evolution has 100 levels. At Level 100, you can enter the Rift and face a challenge that allows you to evolve."
Roman scribbled these as well.
Tier 0: 0-100
Tier 1: 100-200
Tier 2: 200-300
Tier 3: 300-400
…
Tier 9: 900-1000
"The challenges have different difficulties, and overcoming a higher difficulty challenge grants a better mana multiplier."
Mana in Blue Meteorite was everything.
And evolutions allowed you to reach insane mana levels, but only if you succeeded in the challenge.
Evolutionary Challenges were divided into four difficulties.
Common, Rare, Epic, and Legendary.
"Upon reaching Level 100, there is the first evolutionary challenge. You start with the Common challenge, facing a Common Boss. If you manage to kill the Boss, you can choose to face the next challenge, the Rare one. And so on…"
Things were simple.
Each difficulty multiplied your maximum mana by a specific value.
But not only that. Overcoming harder challenges granted the possibility of evolving better.
A Tier 0 Level 100 had a total of 10,000 maximum mana, gaining 100 mana per level.
Common: x1.5— Tier 1 Level 100: 15,000 maximum mana.
Maximum possible evolution: Tier 2 Level 300
Rare: x2— Tier 1 Level 100: 20,000 maximum mana.
Maximum possible evolution: Tier 5 Level 600
Epic: x3— Tier 1 Level 100: 30,000 maximum mana.
Maximum possible evolution: Tier 8 Level 900
Legendary: x5— Tier 1 Level 100: 50,000 maximum mana.
Maximum possible evolution: Tier 9 Level 1000
Once Tier 1 was reached, each level increase gave a mana amount equal to the base mana value reached divided by ten.
"For example…" Roman continued writing while calculating in his mind.
In his past life, he was always the best at math. Simply because he was in a class of dunces where he, with a C average, was the best…
Tier 1 Common Level 200 = 15,000 + 1,500x100 = 165,000 Max Mana
…
Tier 1 Legendary Level 200 = 50,000 + 5,000x100 = 550,000 Max Mana
"Things are really getting messy…" he said, rubbing his eyes hard. "And I have not even done the calculations for the later levels… well, I could use the calculator…"
Driven by curiosity, Roman took the phone and started calculating.
Some millennia later…
"Holy crap, what kind of number is this?!"
An expression of complete shock formed on his face.
He had lost track of time writing all those numbers, dozens of sheets stained with ink.
Roman stared at the largest number of all.
It belonged to a Tier 9 Level 1000 Legendary.
Maximum Mana: 46,053,665,839,843,750,000
Or 4.6 x 10^19
"However…" he said, slamming his head on the desk.
"I am done, none of this concerns me at all…" He crumpled the paper, took the pen, and threw everything out the window.
Roman let out the greatest sigh of dissatisfaction of all time.
The world granted talents to people, true.
And for every high-value talent, it gave one of opposite value.
The year 1000, when Roman turned 18 and awakened, gaining access to the system, was the same year the daughter of the only Tier 8 Level 900 in history, also known as the Mana Emperor, awakened.
Hailed as an unparalleled genius due to her talent and as a beauty capable of destroying kingdoms for her, well, beauty…
"Xifie Xiaver."
For friends, Xixi.
Her talent was very simple…
Mana Everywhere
Some also called her "the chosen one."
Every human was tied to an elemental affinity.
In total, there were four: fire, earth, air and water.
It was not rare for a human to gain a talent allowing a dual elemental affinity.
But Xixi… she had no elemental affinity.
Or rather, she had an affinity for mana. But it was a strange concept… everyone could use mana, so what did it mean to have an affinity for it?
"And then there is me, a stupid joke of fate…"
[World Talent: you cannot level up]
"That is why the original Roman died at the start of the eighth day of the year, at midnight. The wretched world stole the last bit of mana he had left, killing him."
A smile that was not a smile formed on Roman's face.
"I would have loved to avenge you, Roman…" His eyes closed helplessly. "Destroy this cursed world that made you die…"
"…but, just like you, I share your same talent, and what is more…"
Mana: 0/-50
"At the end of the seventh day and the start of the eighth, the world not only killed you but also gave you a mana debt? What the heck does it mean that my maximum mana is negative?"
Just as he was about to huff for the umpteenth time, a sound crept into his mind.
[Ding!]
[You have finally reincarnated! The World grants its blessing with a special talent and a unique title!]
[World Talent: doubles maximum mana every 24 hours]
[Title: The Chosen One Among the Chosen Ones]