A thousand years ago, the sky didn't just break; it shattered. What historians now call the "Great Rupture" saw the atmosphere peel back like wet paper, revealing a void teeming with the Infinite Races. They didn't come to negotiate. They came to harvest.
In those first desperate months, the Earth underwent a violent transformation. The crust groaned and stretched, tectonic plates multiplying and expanding until the planet's surface area was a thousand times its original size. Continents became the size of worlds, and oceans became endless abysses. Humanity, outmatched by biological horrors and cosmic deities, was driven to the brink of extinction.
Then, the Infinite Tower descended.
It was a silent, black monolith that pierced the clouds, visible from every corner of the new, massive Earth. It gave humanity a system—a way to fight back. It established the laws of reality: at eighteen, every human undergoes awakening. They receive a profession, two initial talents, and an exclusive personal space within the tower's dimension.
But for Han Chen, this isn't his first time seeing the tower's descent.
In his past life, Han Chen was a mid-tier combatant who died during the "Calame of the Tenth Floor," crushed by a Supreme-grade beast while his so-called allies used him as a meat shield. He remembered the coldness of the blood on the snow and the bitter realization that in this world, kindness was a mental illness. He died with nothing but regret.
Now, he is eighteen again. Standing in the crowded Awakening Square of the Azure Dragon City—one of the few remaining bastions of humanity—he looks at the towering monolith with eyes as cold as a dead star.
"Next, Han Chen," a voice droned over the loudspeaker.
He stepped forward. The air around him seemed to chill. He was strikingly handsome, with sharp, angular features and eyes that seemed to look through people rather than at them. He ignored the whispers of the girls in the crowd and the envious glares of the boys. To him, they were already ghosts.
He placed his hand on the Awakening Stone. A blinding pillar of light shot into the sky, far more intense than any that had come before.
[System Notification: Awakening Complete]
[Profession: Mage]
[Talents Detected: 10 (SSS-Rank)]
[Current Status: 2/10 Talents Unlocked]
Han Chen's expression didn't flicker. He looked at the translucent panel only he could see.
[Talent 1: Infinite Skill Points (SSS)]
Description: You possess an inexhaustible supply of skill points. Cost for any skill upgrade is reduced to 0.
[Talent 2: Infinite Skill Upgrade (SSS)]
Description: Skills have no level cap. Upon reaching certain milestones, skills have a 100% chance to mutate and evolve into higher-order forms.
In his previous life, the strongest human had reached Level 9,000, barely a speck compared to the Dragon Race's Level 1 Billion. The gap was a despair-inducing chasm. But as Han Chen looked at his panel, he knew that chasm had just been bridged.
He didn't wait for the officials to record his results. He turned and walked toward the teleportation array of the Infinite Tower.
"Hey! You haven't reported your talent rank!" an official shouted.
Han Chen didn't stop. He didn't care about the rewards the government gave to "A-rank" geniuses. Fame was a magnet for trouble, and trouble was a distraction from power.
Inside the tower's first floor, he appeared in a vast, emerald prairie. This was the "New Earth" within the tower, a place where the air tasted of mana and danger. A few hundred yards away, a Normal-grade Gray Wolf, Level 1, prowled through the tall grass.
Han Chen opened his starter skill book provided by the system.
[Skill Learned: Fireball (Rank: Normal, Level 1)]
With a thought, he focused on the skill.
Upgrade Fireball.
Level 1... Level 10... Level 100... Level 1,000...
In a fraction of a second, the skill points poured in like a dam breaking.
[System Notification: Skill 'Fireball' has reached Level 1,000!]
[Mutation Triggered!]
[Fireball has evolved into: Abyssal Star-Fall (Rank: God)]
Han Chen looked at the tiny, flickering flame in his palm. It had turned from orange to a terrifying, soul-chilling black. It pulsed like a dying sun.
The Gray Wolf noticed him and let out a snarl, lunging forward. Han Chen didn't even look at it. He flicked his finger, sending the black spark toward the beast.
There was no explosion. There was only a silent erasure. The wolf, the grass, and a three-mile radius of the prairie simply ceased to exist, replaced by a perfectly circular crater of vitrified glass.
[You have slain Gray Wolf (Normal). Level 1.]
[Experience Gained.]
[Item Dropped: Cracked Bone (Normal), 1 Copper Coin.]
Han Chen walked toward the center of the crater, his footsteps echoing in the absolute silence. He was still Level 1, but he possessed a spell that could slay a King-grade monster.
"The Dragon Race," he whispered, his voice devoid of emotion. "Wait for me."
He opened his status once more and set all public notifications to 'Hidden.' In a world of a billion levels, the quietest predator was the one who survived the longest.