Chapter 3 — Part 1 The Tutorial
Aria checked the time on her phone and winced.
“I completely forgot,” she muttered. “I have that gallery appointment today. The curator finally responded.”
“The one in Hoboken?” I asked.
She nodded. “Yeah. They’re reviewing local mana-infused work. I can’t miss it.”
She hesitated, studying me more carefully than usual.
“Hey,” she said softer, “don’t let the E-rank thing get to you. Rank doesn’t define everything.”
It defines a lot, I thought.
“You survived an Apex Gate,” she continued. “That alone means something. Get some rest. Clear your head. Okay?”
“I’m fine,” I said.
She gave me a look that clearly meant you are not fine, then stood and slung her bag over her shoulder.
“I’ll call you later.”
And just like that, she was gone.
I didn’t own a car. Never did.
Most of my transportation was a bike I’d had since sophomore year.
When I left the hospital earlier, I’d asked about it.
“It wasn’t there when the gate collapsed,” the nurse had said. “Probably destroyed.”
Figures.
So I walked.
New Jersey streets looked the same as they always did. Traffic. Sirens in the distance. People scrolling on their phones like reality hadn’t torn open a week ago.
By the time I reached my apartment building, the sun was dipping low.
The hallway smelled faintly of old carpet and detergent. I unlocked my door and stepped inside.
A stack of mail sat on the floor just beyond the threshold.
Bills.
Commission paperwork.
Hospital invoice.
I nudged it aside with my foot.
Later.
Now wasn’t the time.
For the first time since waking up—
I was alone.
No doctors.
No Aria.
No café noise.
Just silence.
I sat on the edge of my bed and exhaled slowly.
Time to think.
I focused inward.
The translucent panel appeared instantly.
Clean. Structured. Artificial.
Designed.
Tabs lined the top.
Profile
Abilities
Inventory
Tutorial
And then several others.
Greyed out.
Each labeled only with:
???
They were dim. Inaccessible. Like locked doors.
I moved to Profile.
Name: Draco
Rank: E Combat Power: 5
HP: 100 Mana: 100
Stats remained painfully low.
Strength: 1
Endurance: 1
Agility: 1
Intelligence: 1
Luck: 1
I closed it.
One skill was listed:
[Creation Seed — Active]
Description locked.
That left one option.
The Tutorial tab was flashing yellow.
I tapped it.
A voice filled my mind.
Calm.
“This is a pre-recorded message.”
My breath caught.
It was him.
The white silhouette.
The throne among the stars.
“I cannot hear you,” the voice continued. “Nor can I respond to questions at this time.”
“You must have many questions.”
That was an understatement.
“You might be wondering What should have happened? What happened? Why did you awaken as you did?”
Silence stretched briefly.
“In the original timeline, your awakening was delayed due to a curse placed upon you.”
My jaw tightened.
“A human aligned with a hostile Nebula enacted it.”
The word Nebula echoed strangely in my mind.
“I cannot elaborate further at this stage. My strength is limited.”
His voice was slightly weaker than I remembered.
“In the previous timeline you were meant to awaken much later. But at Apex rank.”
My heart pounded.
“The curse was designed to erase your destiny. But your powers were stronger then the hostile Nebula expected and eventually got rid of the curse”
A brief pause.
“When your enemies foresaw that future, they escalated. They combined authority. Constructed the Gate that was meant to kill you.”
My fingers curled into my palm.
“We intervened.”
We?
“My Nebula and I worked together to save your life.”
“I used Creation Authority to forcibly remove the curse placed upon you and to implant a seed of my power within your core.”
My gaze flicked instinctively to the faint Creation Seed entry in Abilities.
“However… the curse was not meant to be removed urgently.”
The voice dimmed slightly.
“Your body reacted negatively to its forced extraction.”
“Instead of awakening at Apex rank—”
Silence.
“—you awakened at E rank.”
“Your potential remains intact. But your foundation must now be rebuilt.”
My breathing slowed.
“Your growth will accelerate under stress. Combat will refine the seed. Each increase in your strength will also restore mine.”
“I have expended significant authority. I must rest.”
The voice flickered faintly.
“When you reach D rank, I will awaken properly. At that time, I will answer more.”
“The gods are always watching.”
“I created this System to humanize authority mechanics into a format your mind can process.”
My eyes drifted toward the greyed-out tabs.
“It is incomplete. Locked functions will reveal themselves as you grow.”
“Tread carefully.”
A final directive was formed.
“Clear an E rank Gate.”
The words felt less like advice and more like command.
“By growing stronger, you restore me. When you reach D rank… I will return.”
The voice faded.
“…Climb.”
Silence swallowed the room.
The system interface dimmed.
The yellow flash on Tutorial vanished.
I sat there for a long time.
E rank.
5 Combat Power.
But now I understand.
This wasn’t my limit.
It was my starting point.
I looked at my hands.
They didn’t look different.
But something inside them felt coiled.
Waiting.
If I grow—
He grows.
And somewhere out there—
Something was watching.
I stood slowly.
“An E-rank Gate,” I muttered.
If combat accelerates growth—
Then that’s where I start.
I exhaled slowly and leaned back in my chair.
There was an immediate problem.
I wasn’t a Hunter.
Not officially.
No license. No registration. No clearance.
Hunters couldn’t just walk into Gates. Not legally. The Association monitored entries, tracked clear times. Every licensed Hunter had a file. Growth charts. Mana patterns. Behavioral analysis.
If I registered now, they would test me.
They would measure my mana output.
They would see E rank.
And then they would watch.
Closely.
Vice Chairman Marcus Hale was already suspicious. An Apex anomaly closes on its own. The last survivor goes into a coma. Mana fluctuations spike.
If I suddenly register and begin climbing at an abnormal rate?
It would raise eyebrows.
And attention is the last thing I need.
My fingers tightened slightly.
The deity said a human aligned with a hostile Nebula cursed me.
A human.
That means someone on Earth.
Someone powerful enough to interfere with fate.
Who’s to say the Association isn’t compromised?
Who’s to say parts of it aren’t already working with them?
Paranoia?
Maybe.
But I died once already.
I’m not taking the risk.
If I grow publicly from E rank to something significant in a short time frame, they’ll notice.
They’ll investigate.
And if someone decides I’m a threat?
At low ranks, I’m nothing.
At mid-tier?
Different story.
If they discover me at A rank… or higher… I most likely won’t be ranking up as quickly, they’ll assume that was my awakening baseline.
That I simply hadn’t registered yet.
Plenty of Hunters delay testing for personal reasons.
That’s believable.
E rank and climbing fast isn’t.
I need time.
Time to grow.
Time to become strong enough to defend myself if someone moves against me.
Because if there’s even a chance the Association is corrupted—
I can’t afford to be powerless.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
The only person I can trust right now is myself.
And Aria.
I picked up my phone.
Opened our chat.
I stared at the keyboard for a moment before typing.
“We need to talk. Breakfast tomorrow. Moonleaf.”
Three dots appeared almost instantly.
“Are you dying again?”
I exhaled a small breath through my nose.
“No. Just important.”
A pause.
“Okay. 9am. Don’t be late, E rank.”
Even through text, I could see her smirking.
I locked my phone and set it down.
The system flickered faintly in the corner of my vision.
For now.
If I’m going to clear a Gate—
I need to do it without anyone knowing.
And somewhere—
Something is watching to see what I do next.
Chapter 3 — Part 2 An Unserious World
Moonleaf Corner was quieter in the mornings.
Soft sunlight filtered through the windows, casting warm gold across wooden tables. The scent of coffee and cinnamon hung thick in the air.
Aria was already seated when I arrived.
She waved lazily. “You’re two minutes late.”
“Traffic,” I said.
“You walk.”
“Exactly.”
Jae passed by with a subtle nod. “You’re alive again. Good trend.”
“Working on making it permanent,” I replied.
We ordered.
Aria got her usual omelet—spinach, mushrooms, feta.
I ordered the combo breakfast.
Pancakes.
Sausages.
Eggs.
“With cheese,” I added firmly.
Jae didn’t even blink. “Of course.”
You don’t forget the cheese.
As we waited, Hana stepped out from behind the counter, remote in hand.
“Have you two seen the news?” she asked.
Aria frowned. “What news?”
Hana gestured toward the mounted television in the corner. The channel shifted to a professional news broadcast.
ADC News.
The anchor spoke with polished composure.
“An independent article and podcast released last night by reporter Camila Reyes has gone viral. The piece details alleged eyewitness accounts from inside the recent Crimson Gate incident.”
Aria and I froze.
The screen shifted to excerpts.
Quotes.
“Organized species.”
“Tribe-like structure.”
“Intelligent entities named the Vaelreth.”
Images of stylized recreations flashed on screen.
Then the anchor continued.
“Online reaction has been explosive. Social media platforms are flooded with memes depicting the Vaelreth allegedly ‘reconsidering invasion plans’ after observing human internet culture.”
The screen cuts to posts.
A poorly edited image of a pale elf-like creature staring at a smartphone with the caption:
‘Vaelreth seeing Earth memes: nvm I’m out.’
Another:
‘Imagine conquering a planet that argues about pineapple on pizza.’
Then one with a Vaelreth warrior photoshopped into Times Square, looking horrified, captioned:
‘Y’all live like this?’
Aria started laughing.
The anchor maintained a straight face.
“While officials have not confirmed the existence of an organized species within the Gate, public speculation continues to trend worldwide under #Vaelreth.”
The broadcast moved on.
Hana muted the TV.
“Earth is an unserious place,” she said quietly.
She wasn’t wrong.
Another Great Catastrophe nearly unfolded.
An SSS anomaly.
And humanity’s response?
Memes.
I stared at my coffee.
“We almost got wiped out,” I muttered.
Aria shrugged lightly. “If we don’t laugh, we panic.”
Maybe.
But something about it unsettled me.
The Vaelreth weren’t a joke.
They were deliberate.
Structured.
Hungry.
And if something worse was coming—
We wouldn’t meme our way out of it.
Jae set our plates down.
Omelet.
Combo breakfast.
Pancakes golden and fluffy. Sausages steaming. Eggs layered with melted cheese.
He looked at me briefly.
“You look like you’re planning something,” he said.
“Maybe,” I replied.
He gave the faintest smirk and walked off.
Aria stabbed her omelet with a fork.
“So,” she said casually, “what’s the emergency meeting about?”
I took a bite first.
Cheese makes everything better.
Then I leaned forward slightly.
“What are you planning to do now?” I asked.
She blinked. “With my life?”
“Yeah.”
She shrugged.
“Work on getting recognized. Submit pieces to galleries. Maybe expand into mana-reactive installations. Nothing dramatic.”
She took a sip of coffee.
“I’ll have more free time now though.”
“Good,” I said.
She narrowed her eyes slightly.
I inhaled slowly.
“I need your help.”
She tilted her head.
“With what?”
I chose my words carefully.
“I awakened something… unique.”
She didn’t interrupt.
“Let’s call it an ability that allows exponential growth.”
Her eyebrow rose.
“My power set is focused entirely on getting stronger,” I continued. “Faster than normal.”
Her fork paused mid-air.
“I need to grow,” I said. “But under the radar.”
Her expression shifted slightly.
“I’m not registered,” I went on. “And I can’t register yet. If the Association sees me start at E rank and grow rapidly, they’ll investigate.”
“Okay…” she said slowly.
“I need to reach mid-tier before anyone officially tests me. That way when they do find out, they assume that’s just my baseline awakening.”
She was listening now.
Really listening.
“I need access to Gates,” I said quietly. “E-rank ones to start.”
Her fork lowered completely.
“And?”
“And I need you to register as a Hunter.”
Silence.
“Then,” I continued, “you sneak me into Gates.”
Her eyes widened slightly.
“Using your art ability to conceal me. Mask my presence. Distort perception. We clear them quietly. No records tying me to entries.”
She blinked once.
Then she started chuckling.
I didn’t smile.
She laughed a little harder.
“Okay,” she said between breaths. “You almost had me.”
“I’m serious.”
She laughed again—then stopped.
Because I wasn’t.
The look on my face must have shifted.
Her smile faded.
“Oh,” she said slowly.
I held her gaze.
“I need you to help me clear Gates unnoticed.”
Her shoulders stiffened.
“You know I never wanted to be a Hunter,” she said quietly.
“I know.”
“You know that.”
“I do.”
She leaned back in her chair, studying me.
“You’re serious.”
“Yes.”
The café noise seemed distant now.
“You want me to register,” she said slowly, “enter Gates legally… and smuggle you in to fight monsters illegally.”
“Yes.”
She stared at me like she was recalculating our entire friendship.
“And you think this is a good idea?”
“No,” I said honestly. “I think it’s a necessary one.”
Silence hung between us.
Her eyes searched my face.
“You’re not joking,” she whispered.
“No.”
She exhaled slowly.
“Oh no,” she muttered.
Now she wasn’t laughing at all.
“I’m only asking you to become a Hunter in name,” I said.
“You don’t like fighting. I know that. I’m not asking you to fight.”
She crossed her arms, waiting.
“You’d register. Get the license. Enter Gates legally.”
“And I’d just stand there?” she asked.
“No,” I said immediately. “You’d be doing what you love.”
“You’d use the different Gate environments as inspiration. Sketch. Observe. Capture textures, light, architecture. We stay relatively close for safety, but I’d handle the combat.”
She studied me.
“You’re A-rank. Monsters in low-rank Gates can’t even hurt you,” I continued. “You wouldn’t be in danger.”
She tapped her fork lightly against the plate.
“And if we get caught?” she asked.
“It’s a fine. Minimum one thousand dollars.”
She raised an eyebrow.
Aria: “Minimum?”
Me: “I’ll pay it.” I said
She smirked faintly.
Aria: “You don’t even have a car.”
Me: “Details.”
She leaned back slightly.
“You know I never wanted to become a Hunter,” she said. “I just don’t enjoy fighting. I’d rather work on art.”
Me: “I know.”
Aria: “And now you’re asking me to register anyway.”
Me: “Yes.”
“I’m not asking you to change who you are,” I said. “I just need access. You’re the only person I trust with this.”
She looked down at her plate, pretending to think.
In reality, her mind had already decided.
The thought of using dungeon environments as artistic inspiration had never crossed her before. Gates had always been framed as combat zones—clean-up operations. She’d seen them as obligations for Hunters.
Not as canvases.
She took another bite of the omelet slowly.
“…That’s actually kind of interesting,” she said casually.
“Kind of?”
“Don’t push it.”
She wiped her mouth with a napkin.
“Fine. I’m in.”
“But we do this smartly,” she added. “What’s the plan?”
I leaned forward slightly.
Me: “First, you take the Hunter exam.”
She nodded. “I already did the combat evaluation months ago. They have my results on file. I just never followed through.”
Me: “Right.”
“I just need to pass the written portion. Basic knowledge and ethics.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Ethics,” she repeated dryly. “They teach it. No one follows it.”
“That works in our favor.”
She tilted her head. “How?”
“Because if we get caught we might be able to pay off the guards!.”
Aria: “And you?”
“I will be invisible.”
Her eyes lit slightly.
“Invisible?”
“You practice a Harry-Stopper-style invisibility cloak drawing,” I said. “Something layered. Adaptive. Not just bending light—masking mana presence.”
She blinked.
“…You want me to create a wearable illusion construct.”
“Yes.”
She leaned back slowly, a smile forming.
“That’s actually insane.”
“Can you do it?”
She tapped her fingers against the table thoughtfully.
“I’ve made reactive illusions before. But something that sustains while moving… that’ll take practice and drain my mana over time to keep active.”
“We have time.”
She nodded.
“Once I can maintain it without it flickering, you can try to walk in with me. The good news is once the drawing is perfect as long as we remember to put it back in my sketchbook we can keep reusing it. Inside you clear the gate and I sketch!”
Across the café, Jae glanced at us briefly.
He could tell we were up to no good.
Aria finished her coffee.
“Alright,” she said. “I’ll schedule the written exam. Shouldn’t take long.”
“And the cloak?”
“I’ll start tonight.”
She stood.
“You better actually grow exponentially,” she added. “Because if I end up having to pay a thousand-dollar fine for you, I expect results.”
“I will.”
She studied me for a second.
“You’re serious about this.”
“Yes.”
She nodded once.
“See you later then.”
Vice Chairman Marcus Hale’s morning had only gotten worse.
Ping … Ping… Ping.
Notifications flooded his tablet.
“Sir,” an aide said cautiously, “ADC News coverage has surpassed fifthy million views. The Vaelreth tag is trending globally.”
Marcus adjusted his glasses.
Another message appeared.
‘So a random reporter tells us more in 12 hours than the Commission did in a week?’
Another.
‘USHC be like: classified.’
Then a meme.
His face, photoshopped into a loading screen.
Caption:
‘Investigation in progress.’
Below it, a spinning wheel that never completes.
Marcus stared at it.
“ Someone spoke.”
The aide nodded.
“We’re compiling a list of all Gate survivors.”
“Do that,” Marcus said. “Passive monitoring only. Social media. Public mentions. If their names spike online, I want alerts.”
“We don’t have the manpower for full surveillance.”
“I’m aware.”
He removed his glasses briefly.
“But we can watch patterns.”
He dismissed the meme and looked out the window.
Somewhere in New Jersey—
Someone knew more than they gave on.
And eventually the truth will be revealed.
Chapter 3 — Part 3 Momentum
That afternoon , after we left the café, I stared at Camila’s business card for a long moment.
Then I called.
She picked up on the second ring.
“Draco?” she answered cautiously.
“How did you know it was me?”
“You”re the only person I recently gave this number to.”
“Ah that makes sense well Congratulations,” I said.
“…You saw it?”
“Eighty million views and climbing .”
She laughed—but it broke halfway through.
When she spoke again, her voice was shaking.
“I didn’t think anyone would care,” she said. “I thought they’d bury it. Or call me crazy.”
“They’re making memes,” I said.
“I know,” she sniffed. “It’s insane. Another Great Catastrophe almost happens and the internet turns it into comedy.”
“But they’re talking about it,” I added. “And they’re talking about you.”
That did it.
She started crying.
Full, overwhelmed tears of relief.
“I didn’t know what I was going to do,” she admitted. “I’ve been freelancing for years. Small pieces. Background stories. No one took me seriously. This—this changes everything.”
“I’m glad,” I said.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “From the bottom of my heart. Without your account… I wouldn’t have had anything.”
She cleared her throat and said, “I have to take you out to dinner. My treat.”
“You don’t have to—”
“I insist.”
“Camila—”
“I insist,” she repeated, stronger this time.
We settled on a place a couple days from now.
After we hung up, I stared at the ceiling.
The system reacted it opened and showed me my luck stat went up and so did my Combat power!?!?!
My stats showed:
Name: Draco
Rank: E CP: 6
HP: 100 Mana: 100
Strength: 1
Endurance: 1
Agility: 1
Intelligence: 1
Luck: 2
How did my luck go up? How does luck impact Combat power? What even is luck? Is intelligence my actual intelligence? I don’t even feel different. What was the change?
So many questions. The deity said he tried his best to make the system human readable but I am just confused! Looks like I'm going to have to try and hurry up and get to D rank so he can wake up. Wait a minute did he mean D rank or D- rank? Guess I will have to wait and find out
…
Everything was moving forward .
Aria applied for the Hunter licensing course the next morning.
As I dealt with everyday life and adult responsibilities.
On my free time, I trained quietly.
Push-ups.
Sprints.
Shadow movements.
I wasn’t strong.
But my body adapted faster than I expected it to.
After just a few days of basic training. My stats changed again!
HP: 110 Mana: 100
Rank: E+ CP: 8
Strength: 2
Endurance: 2
Agility: 1
Intelligence: 1
Luck: 2
It looks like each point in one of my stats increases my combat power. That makes sense but this growth is insane! I have only been awakened for a couple days and I am already almost D- rank just 1 point away. Many E ranks train for years just to increase their CP by a couple points but it only took me days!
This time I clearly felt the difference. I felt stronger. I was able to lift my mattress up without breaking a sweat. It almost felt fake to me. How did doing basic everyday workouts lead to such an increase in strength?
But now isn’t the time to worry about that. I need to get ready for my dinner with Camila.
Two days later, I met Camila for dinner.
We chose a small restaurant in downtown Jersey City called La Terraza Azul.
Warm lighting. String lights overhead. Blue tile walls. The smell of garlic and citrus drifting through the air. It wasn’t flashy.
Camila arrived early.
When she saw me, she stood immediately.
“You came,” she said, almost like she expected me not to.
“I said I would.”
She smiled nervously and sat back down.
Dinner started light.
Work.
The article.
The podcast numbers.
Her social media had exploded. Interviews requested. Other outlets asking for collaboration.
Over tapas and grilled fish, she opened up more.
“I grew up in North Philly after the war,” she said. “State care wasn’t exactly nurturing.”
She gave a small, distant smile.
“People looked down on me a lot.”
“For what?” I asked.
“For everything.”
She ticked it off on her fingers.
“I’m a woman. I’m Hispanic. I’m unawakened.”
She laughed softly.
“One editor once told me I should quit while I’m ahead. Said investigative journalism wasn’t for people like me.”
My jaw tightened slightly.
“He told me I’d never break into serious reporting. That I’d always be background.”
She took a sip of water.
“But I didn’t want to be background.”
Her eyes softened.
“I wanted to make my parents proud. Show them I could survive on my own. That I could be okay.”
The restaurant noise hummed gently around us.
“You are,” I said.
She blinked once.
“Thank you.”
Dinner went well.
Comfortable.
Honest.
Before we left, I leaned slightly forward.
“Be careful,” I said.
Her smile faded a little.
“The Association is going to be watching you.”
She didn’t look surprised.
“I figured.”
“They don’t like losing control of information.”
“I’m not planning to push them,” she said. “Not right now. I’ll stay away from stories that put me directly in their crosshairs.”
Smart.
“Just… stay alert,” I added.
She nodded.
“I will.”
We parted outside the restaurant.
We agreed to hangout again and potentially invite Aria.
That night, I slept deeply.
No nightmares.
When I woke up the next morning, sunlight cut across my apartment wall.
My phone buzzed.
Aria.
I opened the message.
“It’s ready.”
I sat up slowly.
The next phase was beginning.
