Dark. Ominous. Buzzing with murmurs and uncertain whispers—such was the atmosphere blanketing a vast clearing surrounded by dense trees, in a strange place resembling an untamed forest. In the center, a large bonfire burned brightly, casting flickering light on the tired, confused faces of hundreds of people who had just been transported into this world.
Eryon stood among them, his eyes scanning the surroundings.
If this truly was the world mentioned in the earlier hologram—Oblivion Ark—then it seemed far too… ordinary. Just trees and open ground. No castles, no strange skies, no towering monsters.
But the quiet didn't last long. A series of holographic messages once again lit up the air:
[Welcome to Beginner Village No. 1143. This is your spawning point. Each village contains 1,000 individuals]
[Beginner villages are fully protected from all monster threats. They are also blessed with five times faster healing compared to other regions]
[You may now access your peronal information through the system interface]
As the message faded, silence fell once more. But only for a moment—then, chaos erupted.
"What the hell is this!? I was supposed to pick up my kid from school!"
"Did I read that right? That hologram just mentioned monsters? As in—actual monsters?!"
"This is insane… so all of humanity really got sent to this goddamn Oblivion Ark world?"
Shouts, curses, and panicked murmurs flooded the air. A thousand people—all reacting differently. Some in disbelief. Some panicking. But… some were visibly excited. The kind of people who had grown tired of Earth—its pain, its injustice.
Eryon was one of them.
The moment he thought about the system, a holographic screen appeared before his eyes.
[Name: Eryon Cain]
[Age: 25]
[Level: 1 (0/100)]
[Strength: 18]
[Agility: 13]
[Endurance: 16]
[Constitution: 17]
[Energy Point: 34]
[Talent: Unawakened]
[Note: The average human has 10 points in each attribute]
Eryon touched his chin, thoughtful. If ten was the average, then his body was in pretty good shape. Not surprising—he had been training for years. But that Energy Point value of 34 made him frown. He had no idea what it meant, but something told him it wasn't normal.
At the corner of the screen was a [Chat] icon. He tapped it.
A new window opened—flooded with messages. Still chaotic, but mostly filled with people who actually seemed excited to be here.
[Holy shit, this world is awesome. I was so done with that boring-ass Earth—no dragons, no magic. I'd give it a 3/10 just for graphics. But this world? Let's see]
[Can this system really see our stats? My strength is 30—I'm a beast! Hahaha]
[My Energy Point is 165! Anyone know what the hell that means?]
Seeing the profile pictures of each user—men, women, old, young, from all races and countries—Eryon's certainty grew: this wasn't a dream. Humanity really had been transferred.
Not long after, the system displayed a new message, this time with a more solemn tone:
[In one minute, your fate will be decided. The Talent Awakening process will begin]
[Each person may receive a unique ability—from elemental control, physical invincibility, to transforming into something entirely new]
[Talents are ranked across 9 tiers: F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, and SSS. The selection is completely random. Your past status, wealth, or influence no longer matters]
[Good luck]
And like rain falling on dry soil, excitement surged through the crowd.
"Holy crap, we're getting superpowers!"
"This is just like a fantasy world! I'm actually hyped!"
"I'm great at fencing—hope my talent's related to that."
"Really hoping I don't get stuck with a garbage-tier ability…"
"Anything but F-tier, I'll take it!"
"Same here…"
Eryon could feel his heartbeat quicken. He didn't know what kind of talent he'd receive. He wasn't particularly skilled at anything—except maybe computers. But in a world like this, what use would that be? Unless… the world beyond this village combined magic and technology. Who knew?
As his thoughts wandered, a golden light suddenly enveloped his body—warm, radiant, soothing. It felt like being bathed in sunlight after days of cold darkness.
Then the final message appeared:
[Congratulations. You have obtained an SSS-tier talent: Essence Reap]
Eryon froze. His breath caught.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
An SSS-tier talent.
In that instant, the world didn't feel so dark anymore. For the first time, perhaps… fate was on his side.