Chapter 1 – The Golden Awakening
Everything was the same as always. But that day would mark the end of the ordinary for a newly emerging civilization called humanity—the human civilization.
Something happened that day.
Suddenly, golden light enveloped more than half of humanity—not exactly half… more than half.
Among those caught in the golden glow was an orphan boy named Sebastian, with no surname.
Before this, his life was hell—working seven to eight hours a day just to eat three meals. Orphans can sense that kind of life. Still, he didn't give up on studies. He was a genius, but genius can't always succeed if the environment isn't right. What was supposed to happen happened: reality won, and he gave up because he couldn't afford it and couldn't get a scholarship—not for lack of eligibility, but because he had nothing impressive except his study.
He was struggling in life with no one. It wasn't that he was lonely—it was that he had no one. He wanted a destined one to spend time with, but fate wasn't on his side.
So when the golden glow enveloped him, he thought it was finally something good. His glow intensified and he was pulled into the sky. Then he teleported to a world that wasn't his own. He wasn't the only one—everyone with the golden glow was teleported—but not to the same place. He was thrown from the sky toward the ground, and surprisingly didn't die, landing safely.
He was calm, not anxious—he had no one. If he died, then he died. But he was curious. At first he thought he was still on Earth. Then he looked up and saw two suns. So it couldn't be Earth.
He stood by a clear fountain beside a huge mountain. It was beautiful, but odd—he couldn't see past the mountain, and a dome-shaped white barrier enclosed the area; he was inside the barrier.
After some time, an icon appeared at the lower part of his vision, like a video game HUD. He hadn't seen it before. He tapped it, and an interface lit up.
> [Talent extraction talent.
Want to start.
Yes or No]
He never had time or money to play games, but he'd seen others play. Maybe he was inside a game.
He tapped Yes.
A wheel appeared and began spinning. Ding. Another interface popped up to congratulate him.
> [Congratulations, player.
You have extracted the talent called "A Thief for Ten Times."
Grade: EX
Note: Very useful. You can steal an opponent's talent, skill, or equipment up to ten times. After that, this talent will vanish. Use wisely.]
He hadn't imagined such fortune in his whole life. Maybe all his suffering was for this talent. It could turn his life upside down. He wasn't a fool; he understood its value. He could lead a good life using it. Stealing is bad, yes—but not that bad if he used it to help people in the future. He didn't have crooked thoughts.
Another panel appeared.
> [Hero token.
You can summon a Hero Unit for battle using this token.
If the player dies, the Hero Unit will return to its original place.
Do you want to summon or not?]
He tapped Yes..
Then:
> [Congratulations. You have drawn an S-level Hero Unit:
Glowing Valkyrie.
Do you want to summon her now?
Yes or No]
He tapped Yes.
The surroundings lit up, and a glowing woman appeared. Gentle light flowed from her, giving him a soft, clean feeling. He didn't have many good memories, but seeing her reminded him of the pleasant ones. He hadn't felt this refreshed in a long, long time. For him, it felt like love. She bowed and said, "Master." He quickly said, "No need to bow to me—and don't call me master."
He checked her panel. This panel glowed, unlike the earlier panels that were blue with no glow.
> [Hero Unit: Glowing Valkyrie
Grade: S (????)
Level: 1
Strength: 50
Mana: 100
Agility: 50
Mental Acuity: 50 (not including battle IQ)
Talent: SS (broken) – Energy Manipulation
(CAN manipulate energy and use it with proficiency; all attacks gain additional energy damage.
Effective on any energy-related skill or equipment.
Note: energy damage is not like typing damage—it affects the soul of a being, so it's very powerful.)
Skills:
1. Glowing Slash (Black)
2. Light Speed (Golden)
3. Light Heal (Golden)]
He was truly amazed. She had beauty—and the power to back it up. What puzzled him was the ??? next to grade. And did skills have a hierarchy? Black and Golden—which was superior? He'd have to ask later.
He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. She seemed curious about him and the world, like a glowing fairy.
An announcement chimed.
> [Announcement.
Regional chat Chanel will now open.]
At the rightmost corner of his eye, a chat interface appeared. He tapped it. It looked like WhatsApp or Messenger. Anyone could message anything in that group.
Messages were already pouring in. Some panicked, some happy, some depressed, some searching for lost family members. Fortunately, he had no family—no such problem for him.
People asked if they had extracted talents. Some said yes, some no. Soon the chat was full of talents: fire, water, air, and other abilities not bound by conventional rules. Everyone had their own avatar in the chat.
He saw an opportunity to choose his target. He looked for mental control or element control—or any ability with huge potential. He also looked for a talent that could upgrade talents or skills; that would be helpful later.
After some time, he found a suitable target. A relatively handsome man—but what mattered wasn't his looks. His talent was Shadow Extraction. It could extract the shadows of opponents he had slain, but there was a huge drawback: each shadow only lasted one day. To use a shadow again after one day, you needed a Shadow Warehouse talent or skill—but he didn't have one.
Sebastian hesitated. It was powerful, and its grade was high—S (broken)—so there was a probability to evolve. But without the warehouse, how useful would it be? Should he take it now? Then what about storage?
If he didn't find Shadow Warehouse, its value would drop. But could he find it?
He decided not to think about it now. Opportunity won't run away, so he wasn't in a hurry.
He decided to talk to his Hero Unit, who was looking around, fascinated. He cleared his throat; she looked at him.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Ruby Acermon," she said.
He thought to himself that she didn't have a cheerful personality—what a shame. "Do you know anything about this world? Where did you come from?" He could tell she wasn't human.
"This is the Battlefield of All Races," she said. "Races compete here for dominance. I came from the southernmost part of this battlefield. It's my first time in this region."
He asked her to tell him more. From her answers, he understood: once a civilization is deemed worthy, half of its people are teleported here to scout and develop. After one year, that civilization will begin merging with the Battlefield of All Races.
He asked about levels, skills, and more. She answered systemically. He grew gloomy—not because of the information, but because she felt like a trained soldier. How could he make her his wife if her personality never flinched?
After a while, he asked how she became a Hero Unit.
"When a civilization merges with the battlefield and produces beings above Level 100," Ruby said, "the next generation is given a choice: become an Awakener or a Hero. If they fail to awaken, they become Hero Units. There are special circumstances where even Awakeners become Hero Units."
"And you?" he asked.
She looked at him with glowing eyes. "I was born a Hero Unit.