Victor Lionheart slowly opened his eyes.
The ceiling above was cracked and familiar. The whir of the old fan, the warm afternoon sunlight filtering through dusty curtains, the distant sound of children playing in the street—it was all exactly as he remembered. A cold shiver ran down his spine.
He sat up abruptly.
Everything was... just like it used to be.
He turned his eyes toward the old digital perpetual calendar on his desk.
15:03:10 — August 16, 2041
His heart skipped a beat."No way..."He touched his chest. The steady thump of his heart told him it was real.
He had gone back in time.
Twenty years into the past.
This was the day. The day everything changed.
That night, the sky would bleed crimson. The Red Mist would descend from the heavens and transform the entire world. The era of peace would come to an abrupt end. Civilization, governments, economies—all would crumble under the weight of a new order.
Humanity would awaken. And the Game System would begin.
Each person on Earth would be granted ten talent draws—a gacha-style lottery that determined their potential. These talents were the foundation of survival, growth, and power in the new world.
But not all talents were created equal.
They were ranked by tiers: F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, and SSS.Each tier had its own power ceiling, but the SSS-level talents stood in a league of their own. Unique. Unmatchable. Game-breaking.
The odds of drawing one?
1 in a billion.
With 9 billion people and 10 draws each, there would be 90 billion draws worldwide—enough for about 90 SSS talents to exist, in theory.But reality was far harsher.
In Victor's past life, fewer than 40 people had obtained an SSS-level talent. Many of them didn't even survive long enough to unlock or use them. Why? Because you only start with one talent activated, and often, it wasn't the strongest one.
A person might pull an SSS-level talent in their draws, but their first unlocked ability might be a weak D-tier talent. With poor early growth or bad luck, they could easily die before ever realizing their full potential.
Victor knew this better than anyone.
In his previous life, he hadn't drawn an SSS-level talent. But he had unlocked a B-tier talent as his first—"Hand of Restoration." It increased the effectiveness of all healing by 150%.
He had chosen the path of a Priest and eventually earned his place within a top-tier faction. Protected, respected, and well-resourced, his life had been comfortable—even privileged.
But he had never reached the top.
He had always been someone else's support. A valuable piece, yes—but not the king.
Now, with two decades of future knowledge in his grasp, he had a second chance. And this time, he would stand at the summit.
Victor's memory was crystal clear.
Once the Red Mist appeared, humanity would enter a seven-day Newbie Protection Period. Monsters would not appear. No enemies. No invasions. Just time to adapt and grow.
During these seven days, every human would be automatically leveled up to Level 10, undergoing a massive physical transformation. Strength, agility, endurance—it would all skyrocket. A person with a base physical score of 1 would now feel like they had the strength of ten.
At the end of the first day, the system would automatically unlock the first drawn talent. The other nine would remain dormant until higher levels were reached.
But the world wouldn't just be changing people—it would change the landscape itself.
The Red Mist would also spawn Treasure Chests across the globe.
These chests contained random, valuable resources: skill books, equipment, profession scrolls, rare items, alchemical potions, and more. They were categorized into five tiers:
Bronze
Silver
Gold
Dark Gold
Diamond
Of these, Diamond Chests were the rarest—and the most powerful.
Victor recalled that during his previous life, only one Diamond Chest had appeared in Ravenfall, where he now lived. A person had found it and posted about it online.
Then vanished.
Many believed the treasure had either granted too much power, or drawn too much attention. Either way, no one ever saw him again.
One thing was certain:Items from Diamond Chests were unique. Once acquired, they would never appear again. Not from dungeons, boss drops, crafting, or any other chest. Miss it, and it was gone forever.
That chest had haunted Victor's memory ever since.
But now… he could claim it.
He knew exactly where it would appear.
His breath quickened as a strange voice echoed inside his head, mechanical and divine:
"Game Data Loading…""Treasure Chest Projection Initialized…""Newbie Bonus Activated: Talent Draw x10!""The old world has ended. The new world begins.""Survive at all costs. The winner shall become a god."
In the sky, pillars of light burst forth from the heavens, piercing the clouds and touching the earth with radiant energy. The planet itself trembled.
Then, without warning, it appeared—The Red Mist.
It flowed like a wave, silently and omnipresent. Cities, oceans, forests—every inch of the planet was swallowed in crimson fog. The transformation had begun.
Victor stood by the window, eyes reflecting the red horizon.
"This time… I won't play support.""This time, I'm going to rule the board."
And with a final, quiet breath, he whispered:
"Let the game begin."