Genesis City was a massive, circular hub designed like an ancient Roman metropolis, but built with indestructible, glowing white stone. It was a neutral zone where violence between players was severely punished by the System guards—massive statues that lined the walls.
Kael stood near the edge of the teleportation plaza. He unsummoned Arthur and the Warlord, absorbing them back into his shadow to avoid drawing immediate attention. He needed to assess the situation.
In his past life, the First Floor was a chaotic nightmare. Surviving groups from different countries immediately formed violent gangs, hoarding resources and monopolizing the hunting grounds outside the city.
"Kael!"
A voice called out from the crowd. Kael turned to see Elara pushing her way through a group of bewildered survivors. She was clutching the Azure Blade tightly, looking exhausted but unharmed. The rest of the high school students were right behind her.
"You're alive," she breathed a sigh of relief, though her eyes widened as she took in his new appearance.
Kael looked completely different. He was Level 25. His aura was terrifyingly dense. And resting on his back, folded neatly beneath his jacket, he could feel the phantom weight of the Wings of the Eclipse.
"I told you I wasn't going to die today," Kael said flatly.
Before he could give further instructions, a loud, booming voice echoed across the plaza, magnified by some sort of System magic.
"Listen up, fresh meat!"
Kael turned his attention to the center of the plaza. Standing on top of a stone fountain was a massive, scarred man wielding a massive two-handed warhammer. He wore a chestplate adorned with a silver lion emblem. Kael recognized him immediately.
Marcus Thorne. In the previous timeline, he was the Guildmaster of the 'Iron Claws', a vicious tyrant who enslaved weaker players on the First Floor. He must have cleared his own Tutorial boss to get that gear.
"I am Marcus," the man bellowed to the terrified 12,000 survivors. "I conquered the New York tutorial zone. This city is now under the protection of the Iron Claws. Anyone who wishes to leave the city to hunt must pay us a 50% tax on all monster cores. Anyone who resists will be considered an enemy of humanity."
Around the plaza, dozens of heavily armed men loyal to Marcus stepped forward, intimidating the crowd.
Elara gripped her sword, her eyes flashing with anger. "He's just like Arthur. Trying to build an empire on day one."
"Let him," Kael said, crossing his arms.
Elara looked at him in shock. "What? You're just going to let him tax everyone?"
Kael smiled, his eyes glowing with that familiar, predatory gold light. "He's making himself a massive target. Let him gather the sheep. It just makes it easier for me to butcher the shepherd."
Suddenly, a system chime rang out across the entire city, interrupting Marcus's speech.
[Global Announcement: Earth Server][The 'First Clear' of the Tutorial World Boss has been achieved by Player: ??? (Anomaly)][The 'Anomaly' has been granted the title: Sovereign of the First Floor.][All players must pay tribute to the Sovereign, or face extreme penalties.]
The entire plaza went dead silent. Marcus Thorne lowered his warhammer, his face pale as he read the floating blue text.
Elara slowly turned her head to look at Kael, her jaw practically on the floor.
Kael just chuckled, tapping the side of his head. "Oops. Looks like the System outed me."