There were three kinds of people in the world:
Those born with powers,
Those who awakened them during life-threatening moments…
And then there was me—Kairo Jin, professional loser, certified nobody, and a guy who once tripped during a silent prayer in gym class. Twice.
In a world where nearly everyone gained superhuman abilities by the age of eighteen, I was twenty and still waiting for my "awakening." According to the internet, it could happen during a near-death experience, intense emotion, or if the gods got bored and decided to sprinkle some divine spice on your life.
So far, the gods had ghosted me harder than my last Tinder date.
"Jin! Are you done playing with your apps, or are you still trying to download courage?" someone sneered from across the training yard.
Didn't even need to look. That voice belonged to Tobin Velgar, resident jerk, musclehead, and the human equivalent of an unskippable YouTube ad. He had awakened flame powers last year and had been insufferable ever since.
I held up my phone lazily. "Still trying to install the 'Give a Crap' update. It's stuck at 2%."
A few chuckles rippled through the class. Tobin's scowl deepened. He hated when his punchlines got out-punched.
"Hope your phone saves you when I melt your face off during sparring, Phone Boy."
Phone Boy. Huh. Not bad. Might make that my gamer tag.
---
We were at Divine Academy, the government-funded boot camp where power-blooming teens trained to become elite enforcers or full-blown heroes. Unless you were me. Then you were backup mop support and crowd control during cafeteria food fights.
But that day… that very ordinary day… something changed.
I was scrolling through my usual feed during lunch—memes, fake awakenings, and a 3-hour conspiracy podcast about the ancient gods being aliens—when a weird notification popped up:
> [App Installation Complete]
Congratulations, User. Divine Sync established.
Status: Bound. Device Registered as: Cheat Node Alpha
My screen shimmered, glowing with a soft golden light. Runes flashed briefly across the display, elegant and ancient. Then:
> "Welcome, Kairo Jin. You are now connected to the Divine Network."
Your base stats have been unlocked.
> [Strength: 2] [Intelligence: 6] [Charm: -1]
Oof. That minus one in charm? Felt personal.
Before I could process what was happening, a holographic blue window popped up—right in front of my face. Not on the phone. In the air. Like real, next-level, "this-is-not-a-drill" kind of magic.
> Skill Acquired: Passive — Sarcastic Comebacks
(Grants bonus resistance to verbal attacks. Effectiveness: 110%)
I blinked. "I'm… leveling up from being sarcastic?"
Another window appeared:
> Divine Copy System Active
Nearby Signatures Detected: 3 Warrior-God traces.
Would you like to download sample skills?
I looked around. No one else seemed to see anything.
"Okay," I whispered, "either I've finally gone insane… or my phone just turned into a god-tier cheat engine."
The golden glow faded.
And that's when my screen flickered one last time, displaying a cryptic message in sleek digital lettering:
> "Initial sync complete. Prepare for Divine Aptitude recalibration…"
And right under that, in blazing red:
> "CURRENT RANKING: ZERO"
I stared at the glowing insult.
Of course. Even after divine intervention, I was still starting from zero.
Which meant tomorrow…
I'd be walking straight into another trial.
Another ranking.
Another spotlight on my glorious, glowing failure.
---
And I already knew what I'd hear the moment I walked into class.
> "Another zero?"