SYSTEM UNBOUND

Humanity once believed the world belonged to it.

It had conquered oceans, reshaped landscapes, and pushed technology beyond what earlier generations had considered possible. Cities stretched across continents. Aircraft crossed oceans in hours. Satellites watched the planet from above. Weapons existed that could erase cities from the map.

For a long time, humanity believed there was nothing left to fear.

Then the sky broke.

There was no warning.

Across the world, the heavens split open as if reality itself had been torn apart. Black cracks spread through the clouds. Violet light poured through them. The air trembled.

Then the first portal appeared.

It was not a machine. It was not a natural phenomenon. It was an opening into somewhere that did not belong to Earth.

The first creatures emerged minutes later.

They were unlike anything humanity had ever recorded.

Some were covered in armor harder than steel. Others moved faster than fighter jets. Some unleashed fire, lightning, ice, or waves of destructive energy. Even ordinary animals exposed to the strange power began to mutate.

Humanity fought back with everything it had.

Missiles streaked across the sky. Tanks rolled through cities. Fighter aircraft filled the heavens.

For a brief moment, people believed technology would save them.

It didn’t.

The creatures were saturated with dimensional energy. Conventional weapons could injure some of them, but many survived attacks that should have destroyed them. The strongest ignored artillery altogether.

Cities fell one after another.

Governments declared emergencies. Borders became meaningless. Entire armies disappeared while trying to contain creatures that should never have existed.

Within the first year, half of humanity was gone.

Then, something appeared before the survivors.

[System Interface Activated.]

[Host recognized.]

[Basic information available.]

At first, no one understood it.

Then humanity discovered the truth.

Kill the creatures. Gain experience.

Gain experience. Increase your level.

Increase your level. Gain power.

And for the first time, power could be measured.

The first awakened humans became known as Hunters.

The System divided combat strength into ranks:

E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, SSS, Legendary, Mythical, Ultimate, Demigod, God, Supreme God, Dimensional God, and Domain Lord.

Hunters became the foundation of the new world. They protected cities. Guilds were formed. National Hunter Associations were established. Governments rebuilt their armies around awakened combatants.

Humanity survived.

But survival was not victory.

The highest publicly confirmed human rank became Mythical.

Above it were names found only in ancient records and broken legends.

Ultimate.

Demigod.

God.

And beyond.

Most people believed those higher ranks were fantasies.

Whether they were real or not, no one could say for certain.

The world had learned that some truths were better left buried.

And somewhere in this new world, an eighteen-year-old boy named Ethan Blackwood was approaching the moment that would change his life.

His awakening would look ordinary.

His System would look ordinary.

Even his power would appear ordinary.

But appearances were about to become very dangerous.

Because Ethan Blackwood was about to awaken.