Several weeks had passed since the birth of Sora and the historic awakening event. Now, the chaos on planet Solendel had transformed into a "new normal," filled with effort and discovery. The grand conference hall had become a training ground where the 185 members of the "first awakened" (not counting the core team and affiliates) were undertaking their "first mission"—to understand and "name" their own power.
Today, the entire Solendel team had gathered once more in the main research lab to discuss the most critical agenda: creating "order" for the new world they had built.
"Everyone has powers now... but we still don't have a 'system' to support them," Zen began the meeting. "We need a clear structure to evaluate and manage these abilities, for the safety and peace of us all."
"If it's about ranking... it has to be like this," Karess immediately interjected. He snapped his fingers, projecting a hologram into the air—a ranking table familiar to anyone who grew up with video games. "We should use a Rank system from G to SSS, and maybe an EX-tier for the god-level freaks... It's easy to understand and clearly measures strength."
"But raw power alone doesn't measure everything," Dr. Ira countered. "I've seen many with high potential who can't even control 1% of their power. We should have a control percentage (%) to go along with it, to show their true 'development'."
"Exactly," Dr. Aris added. "The more you train, the better your control. That percentage is the real measure of growth."
"And the Sora System we've installed for everyone can already evaluate that percentage change in real-time," Sora added with her gentle voice. "But for an official Rank-up, everyone should return to the central hub for testing to confirm their abilities and receive a new ID."
"Excellent," Zen nodded in agreement. "But Rank only measures combat power... I feel like something is still missing." He paused for a moment. "We should have a system that rewards 'actions' as well... a system that will make ordinary people accept us, not fear us."
He looked around the room. "We will create a 'Tier System,' a reputation level. Anyone can climb the Tiers by completing missions to help society, no matter how small... and as they reach higher Tiers, they will gain access to special information, equipment, and technology that we will create... This will also be the main source of income for our company in the future." He glanced at Zaria. "We already have a manufacturing partner ready to help us."
Zaria smiled in understanding.
"Speaking of equipment..." Karess grinned slyly. "Since we're on the topic..."
He immediately replaced the Rank table with a new set of holograms... blueprints for a vast array of beautifully designed, futuristic weapons and armor! There were swords inscribed with glowing runes, guns that could fire energy bullets, and light armor that looked agile yet sturdy.
"What... is all this!?" Lina exclaimed in shock.
"Just some toys Zen and I designed in our spare time," Karess answered nonchalantly. "Based on ideas from games we used to play... We have the technology now, so why can't we build them for real?"
Everyone in the room was stunned yet again by the leap of imagination from the two friends, but Zen wasn't done.
"Sora... show them that project."
"Right away," she complied.
The weapon blueprints vanished, replaced by the image of a massive "ring gate," filled with complex, glowing runic characters.
"This is a project I've been secretly working on with Sora," Zen said with pride. "I call it the 'Runic Gate'... I took the short-range warp system and spacecraft warp technology and developed it further, using Sora as the energy core... If it succeeds... it will allow Karess to travel back home to Virelya... as easily as walking through a door."
Silence fell over the research lab once more... but this time, it was a silence born of utter, mind-blowing shock... Weapons... armor... and now... a stargate!
Zaria, Dr. Aris, Lina, Dr. Enzo, and Dr. Ira could only look at each other, then back and forth between Zen and Karess... with the exact same thought running through all their minds...
These two... no... these two and that one living entity... what kind of crazy things have they been cooking up behind our backs!?