Kael Draven's cramped New York apartment smelled of instant ramen and old paper. Stacks of dog-eared webnovels, xianxia translations, and light novels towered like paper skyscrapers around his desk. At twenty-six, the reclusive translator spent his days turning Chinese cultivation epics and Korean litrpgs into polished English for hungry indie publishers. His life was quiet, predictable, and utterly forgettable—until the world decided to rewrite itself.
His phone buzzed on the desk.
Breaking: Strange auroras visible across Tokyo at noon.
Massive 7.8 quake strikes Lagos, Nigeria—ancient landmarks reportedly glowing.
Moscow enveloped in unnatural fog; citizens report "shadow creatures."
Beijing issues national alert: "Unidentified rifts forming over Forbidden City."
Sydney Harbour: Giant sea beasts sighted.
Kael scrolled, half-smiling. "Another viral hoax day." He lived for these stories in fiction. In reality, they were just clickbait.
Then every light in the building died.
A bone-deep rumble rolled through the concrete. Kael's coffee mug shattered on the floor. Outside the window, the midday sky tore open like wet paper. Massive violet rifts split the clouds above Manhattan, above the Hudson, above every skyline he could see on the emergency news broadcast still flickering on his laptop.
The same scenes played everywhere at once.
Tokyo's Shibuya Crossing—rifts.
Lagos streets swallowed by writhing vines.
Accra's coastal roads flooded with glowing runes.
Moscow's Red Square—undead rising.
Paris, Mumbai, Rio, Johannesburg—every nation, every continent, at the exact same second.
A voice—not from speakers, not from the sky, but inside every human mind—spoke with calm, merciless authority. It spoke in perfect English for Kael, in Yoruba for his online friends in Lagos, in Mandarin for the authors he translated, in every tongue simultaneously.
"Planetary Integration complete. The Eternal Grimoire System has bound itself to Earth. Rifts to the Infinite Realms have opened across all continents. Grimoires—vessels of power—will spawn alongside beasts and dungeons. Absorb their Essence. Cultivate. Ascend. The weak shall feed the strong. Welcome to the new age."
Kael's vision exploded with blue light.
[Eternal Grimoire System Activated!]
[Host: Kael Draven – Age 26 – Occupation: Translator]
[Affinity with Knowledge Essence detected: EXCELLENT]
[Base Status]
Level: 0
Class: Unassigned
Cultivation Realm: Mortal (Unawakened)
Qi Reserves: 0 / 100
Strength: 9
Agility: 11
Vitality: 10
Intelligence: 15
Spirit: 14
Luck: 8
[Unique System Feature: Grimoire Absorption]
Collect and devour Grimoires (physical or ethereal books spawned by rifts) to gain skills, spells, cultivation techniques, and permanent stat boosts.
Warning: High-tier Grimoires may demand a Blood Price or emotional Essence sacrifice.
[Main Quest: Survive the First Rift Wave]
Reward: First Grimoire + Class Selection + 500 Essence
Failure: Death
Kael's mouth went dry. "I've translated this exact plot a hundred times… but it's real now."
A jagged rift ripped open inside his living room. A scaly, red-eyed Rift Goblin (Level 1) dropped onto his coffee table, claws shredding the wood.
Kael snatched the thickest book within reach—an English-Japanese fantasy dictionary—and swung it like a warhammer. The corner smashed into the goblin's skull with a wet crack.
[Critical Strike! 28 damage!]
[Rift Goblin (Lv.1) health: 12/40]
The creature shrieked and raked his forearm. Blood welled. Pain flared, but so did something else—a hungry warmth in his chest.
Kael roared and brought the dictionary down again and again until the goblin stopped moving.
[You have slain Rift Goblin (Lv.1)!]
+40 Essence
First Kill Bonus: +10 Essence
Total Essence: 50 / 100 to Level 1
The goblin corpse dissolved into black mist. In its place floated a small, glowing leather-bound book no bigger than his palm.
[Low-Tier Grimoire: Basic Combat Arts – Uncommon]
Absorb? Yes / No
"Yes!"
The Grimoire burst into golden particles that rushed into Kael's chest. Knowledge flooded his mind—muscle memory, breathing patterns, qi pathways he never knew existed.
[Absorption successful!]
Skill acquired: Iron Fist (Lv.1) – 20% increased physical damage for 30 seconds. Cost: 10 Qi.
Qi Reserves: 45 / 100
Passive: Minor Meridian Opening – Cultivation speed +5%
Power surged through Kael's body. His bleeding arm stopped hurting. His muscles felt denser. He flexed his fist; faint silver qi flickered around his knuckles.
More rifts tore open in the hallway outside his apartment. Screams echoed through the building. He could hear his elderly neighbor begging for mercy.
Kael grabbed his jacket and a second heavy book—The Complete Works of H.P. Lovecraft—and kicked open his door.
Two goblins were dragging the old woman toward a larger rift. Without hesitation Kael activated Iron Fist. His punch caved in the first goblin's chest with a crunch that sprayed black blood across the wallpaper.
[Iron Fist activated!]
+65 damage!
Rift Goblin (Lv.1) slain! +35 Essence
The second goblin turned on him. Kael swung the Lovecraft volume like a shield, then followed with a qi-enhanced kick that snapped its spine.
[Level Up! You are now Level 1!]
All stats +2
Qi cap increased to 150
Class Selection now available
[Classes Offered]
Knowledge Keeper (Support)
Shadow Scribe (Rare – Dark)
Essence Devourer (Epic – Very Dangerous)
Kael's lips curled into a dark smile. "Shadow Scribe."
[Class chosen! Shadow Scribe – You can inscribe temporary runes and later craft your own Grimoires. Bonus: All knowledge-based skills evolve faster. Hidden effect: Shadow Affinity awakened.]
Notifications faded. The old woman stared at him in awe and terror. "Thank you, young man…"
Kael didn't answer. His eyes had already locked onto the street below.
Chaos reigned. Cars burned. Monsters roamed. Live news drones showed the global nightmare in real time: Chinese special forces cultivating qi on the Great Wall, Nigerian hunters awakening ancestral bloodlines against giant arachnids in Lagos, Russian tanks firing on undead hordes in Moscow, American civilians forming militias in Times Square.
No country was spared. The System had judged the entire planet at once.
Kael descended the stairs, killing two more goblins on the way, reaching Level 2. Essence poured into him like a drug. He felt alive. Strong. Hungry.
In the alley beside his building, three armed looters had cornered a young woman against a dumpster. She was beautiful—short messy auburn hair, artist's smock covered in paint and now blood, fierce hazel eyes. A barista apron still hung around her waist. Liora Ashford, according to the floating tag the System helpfully provided.
The looters laughed, one raising a bat. "Hand over the food and maybe we—"
They never finished.
Kael moved like a shadow. Shadow Bind erupted from his palm—black tendrils of pure darkness whipped out and slammed the first looter into the brick wall so hard his skull cracked.
The second turned, gun raised. Kael's Iron Fist shattered the weapon and the man's jaw in the same motion.
The third tried to run. Kael grabbed him by the throat, lifted him effortlessly, and slammed him head-first into the pavement.
Blood sprayed across the alley. The System chimed.
[You have slain 3 Human Looters (Lv.1-2)! +120 Essence]
Level Up! Level 3
New skill slot unlocked
Kael stood over the corpses, chest heaving, eyes glowing faintly with shadow qi. The darkness inside him purred, satisfied.
Liora stared, breathing fast, paint-stained fingers trembling. Their eyes met.
For a heartbeat the world narrowed to just the two of them.
She was covered in someone else's blood. Beautiful. Terrified. Alive.
Kael felt something possessive uncoil in his chest—the same hunger that had driven him to absorb the Grimoire, only sharper. Mine to protect. Mine to keep. Mine to break if I have to.
He extended a hand, voice low and rough. "You're coming with me."
Liora swallowed, gaze flicking to the bodies, then back to the dark aura coiling around Kael's fingers. Instead of fear, a strange spark lit in her eyes—recognition, maybe even hunger of her own.
"You… you didn't hesitate," she whispered. "Most people are still screaming. You're already hunting."
Kael's lips curved. "The world just handed me the cheat sheet I've been translating my whole life. I intend to read every page."
A massive rift tore open at the end of the alley. A ten-foot-tall Rift Guardian (Level 8 – Elite) stepped through, armored in bone and dripping corrosive saliva. Its eyes locked on them.
Liora stepped beside Kael, raising her paint-stained hands. A faint red glow appeared around her palms—the System had already given her something too.
She glanced sideways at him, voice soft but edged with steel. "Then let's write the next chapter together… before it writes us."
Kael felt the Shadow Scribe class thrum with approval. The first Grimoire of their story had already been opened.
And the ink was blood.
[Main Quest progress: 3/10 Riftspawn slain. Larger wave incoming.]
The Guardian roared.
Kael cracked his knuckles, shadow tendrils writhing. "Let's see how many pages we can fill before sunrise."