Chương 2: Kaiser

The sting of coarse asphalt scraping against Gray's cheek jerked him awake. He groaned and slowly peeled his eyes open, then wiped a layer of grit from his face with the back of his hand. The air felt thick and humid, clinging to his skin. A tight ache throbbed in the center of his torso, as if someone had wedged a heavy stone right into his chest. After fighting down a wave of nausea, he pushed himself onto his knees and scanned his surroundings.

"Hyun?" he wheezed, his voice cracking across the empty street.

"Are you there?" No answer. He was alone in the middle of a desolate city road. Well, mostly alone. Standing barely a foot away was a life-sized cardboard cutout of a smiling woman holding up a green bottle of soju. Isn't that the K-pop idol Parina? Gray looked past the cutout and through the open glass doors of the restaurant behind it. The lingering savory scent of marinated pork and charcoal drifted into the street.

Menus written in Korean, with English translations printed beneath them, covered the walls alongside posters of celebrities posing with the same iconic green bottles. That's definitely the singer UI on those posters, Gray realized. Was I kidnapped and dumped in Koreatown? But why here? Manhattan's a long drive from our apartment… Welcome, participants, to the 917th Natural Selection! The obnoxiously cheerful voice didn't come from anywhere on the street, but echoed directly inside Gray's skull.

He flinched and clamped both hands over his ears, but the gesture did nothing to muffle it. A moment later, glowing blue text materialized across his field of vision. I will be your host for this event. You can call me Tim—short for The Great System! The Natural Selection is held every five years, featuring five exciting levels designed to weed out the weak and forge the elite! I have granted each of you a class derived from the strongest Awakened, known as Kaisers, to kick-start your journey!

This year's battleground will be Seoul, South Korea—a hotspot for tourism and decadent cuisine, much like the simulated city that hosted the previous Natural Selection: Rome! With a turnout of 102, 487 participants this year, surely we will cultivate some next-level talent!

"Huh. Floating blue text. The Great System. A literal battleground…" Gray muttered, counting off each ridiculous point.

"Don't tell me…" He squeezed his eyes shut, rubbed them with the back of his hand, then snapped them open again. The glowing blue text was still there. This was actually happening. The System's aggressively upbeat voice chimed inside his head once more as a fresh page of text flashed into view. We plucked you from your world without prior consent, and we completely understand your confusion! But try to think of this as a second chance at life!

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to live out the very fantasies you could only ever read about! And if you don't see it that way, you are more than welcome to wait out the race safely inside the designated safezones!

"Oh, there are safezones?" Gray muttered. Some of the tension drained from his shoulders, and a sliver of hope cut through the panic tightening his chest.

"Then does that mean I can just hide in one, run out the clock on this whole survival game, and get teleported back home when it's over?" Before he could carry the thought any further, the System chimed in again. Upon the competition's conclusion, only the participants ranked in the TOP 100 will permanently retain their class! Anyone who falls below that threshold will be auctioned off and condemned to a lifetime of indentured servitude! And no, I cannot send you back home.

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"What?" Gray's face twisted in disbelief. An indentured servant? For life? This event will consist of five levels, each featuring a unique theme and quest designed to test your qualifications as an Awakened! Level One — Slay Goblins Objective: Slay 50 Goblins Goblins: The perfect entry-level threat. Consider this level a warm-up—a chance to dip your toes into the pool of bloodshed that awaits. However, do not grow complacent. The levels that follow will be far less forgiving.

I recommend taking full advantage of this opening round to accumulate as many Contribution Points as possible. Rewards: 500 Contribution Points 30% EXP Ability Shard Ability Shards grant spells, while Ladder Placement is determined solely by Contribution Points. Points can be obtained through the following means: Slaying Riftborn Slaying Participants Obtaining Gear Completing the Level Objective When an opposing participant is slain, their Contribution Points will be transferred to the killer.

Gear will grant Contribution Points based on its rarity and quality. Equipping or carrying an item on your person will add those points to your status. However, the points will be lost the instant the gear leaves your possession. Equipment Rarity Ranking: Common → Rare → Epic → Unique → Legendary The mentor from whom you inherited your class may guide you through this endeavor by communicating directly with you through the neural transmission device implanted in your brain.

Finally, safezones will be scattered throughout the battlefield. They prevent combat but offer no other benefits. Cowardice is always an option. Becoming a servant isn't. Good luck, everyone! On the planet of Astoria lay the nation of Biri. Spanning nearly four times the landmass of Earth's Russia, Biri was the largest country on the planet and its center of power.

At its heart stood the capital city of Quantis, a sprawling metropolis whose immense population and staggering wealth dwarfed those of its neighboring cities. Naturally, that prosperity drew the powerful, giving Quantis the highest concentration of Kaisers anywhere in Biri. One such Kaiser, however, didn't live among the crowded streets below, but rather, lived above it all. High above the city, a solitary home rested atop a massive bed of dense, drifting clouds.

The modest structure appeared plucked from another era, built upon a simple wooden frame with shoji-paper sliding doors and a sloping roof capped by heavy clay tiles. Nothing disturbed the tranquil stillness of the house. Until blood seeped through the floorboards. A thick stream of dark-red liquid welled between the wooden planks of the living room and spiraled upward. It churned faster and faster, forming a crimson vortex until a silhouette stepped through its center.

The blood scattered into droplets, leaving a woman standing in its place. She appeared to be in her early thirties, with pale skin and long, jet-black hair running down her back; and a skintight, off-the-shoulder black dress hugged every curve of her lethal frame. Suspended silently behind her floated an enormous scarlet scythe, its crescent blade gleaming beneath the room's light. The weapon stood a full head taller than she did. Her gaze swept across the empty room before settling on the owner of the house.

"Have you spoken to your disciple yet, Gozen?" she asked, her voice smooth but edged with accusation.

"I hope you actually intend to help him this time, unlike the others." Gozen sat waist-deep in the steaming water of his private outdoor hot spring, completely naked. The instant Ava's voice drifted through the open paper sliding doors, he jolted upright and lunged for the towel resting on the stone edge. In his haste, his wet fingers fumbled the fabric, sending it splashing into the spring. His eyes darted down to his exposed elephant trunk, then snapped back toward the intruder.

A dense plume of white smoke instantly materialized and coiled around his waist, preserving what little modesty he had left as he jabbed an accusing finger in her direction.

"You thought this was the best time to teleport into my house, Ava?!" Gozen barked, his face blushing beneath the heavy steam. Ava covered her lips with one hand and let out a melodic chuckle.

"What's the big deal? It's not like it's anything I haven't seen before." Her gaze dipped toward his toned midriff.

"Besides, I've been meaning to see how much your body has improved after all this time." Gozen scoffed. In the next breath, his physical form dissolved entirely, leaving behind only a fading silhouette of cloud vapor. A few seconds later, the bedroom door slid open. Gozen stepped into the living room with his swept back dark-gray, shoulder-length mane hair somehow already bone-dry. A white bathrobe covered him now, its sash cinched tightly around his waist.

"Do you really have the free time to be worrying about me?" Gozen grumbled, folding his arms across his chest.

"You already have your own disciple to manage, not to mention the investigation into the Jade Lotus Guild." Ava waved him off.

"Kasia has roots all over the city. It'll take some maneuvering before I can officially begin. Until then, our disciples should be the priority." Gozen gave a bitter scoff.

"Gray is no disciple of mine, because I won't be helping him. You know as well as I do that the Mistveil class he inherited is a death sentence. It'll get him killed."

"You realize you reached the Top 100 in your Natural Selection with that exact class, right?" Ava countered, arching a brow.

"I survived because I got lucky." Gozen dismissed her with a wave and turned his gaze toward the window.

"Lucky?" Ava snapped. Her playful demeanor vanished. She marched up to him and jabbed a finger squarely against his forehead.

"I dragged your dead weight through every single level!" she seethed, eyes blazing.

"I had to cripple the Riftborn for you because you were too weak to fight them yourself! I gave you all my equipment, and you have the nerve to call that luck?!" Gozen quickly raised both hands in surrender.

"Lucky because of you, Ava! You didn't let me finish!"

"Mhm." Ava folded her arms and turned away with an irritated flick of her hair, punctuating it with a dismissive grunt.

"Regardless of our past," Gozen continued, his tone sharpening, "Gray won't be living long." Ava went rigid, and the lingering annoyance vanished from her posture.

"Because if he somehow manages to survive and retain my class…" Gozen's expression hardened as his voice dropped to a cold murmur.

"I'll kill him myself."