Year 20X1

Thursday, July 7th, roughly one hundred million lightning bolts struck from the sky throughout every corner of the world. No matter the natural climate, or the weather moments before, skies across the globe suddenly darkened, and they roared.

It was a natural disaster of immeasurable scale. The cause was deemed as unknown, and the damage as catastrophic.

Not to property… but to people.

With every single streak of lightning that descended, one person faded with it. One hundred million people, simply gone, in the blink of an eye. The phenomena left scientists baffled, unable to even form hypotheses.

One hundred million people…dead, turned to nothing by lightning.

The deadliest event in recorded human history, even when compared to the infamous Black Death of the middle ages.

Chaos reigned for quite some time… but humanity was neither given the time to grieve, nor to rest.

Year 20X2

The first official 'Gate Break'.

Soon after the skies had taken so much from humanity, strange portals, or 'Gates' had begun appearing in various places.

Most countries kept a tight hold on all information regarding them. If they appeared in populated areas, they created a perimeter, if they appeared in secluded locations, they were kept from the public altogether.

Conspiracy theorists spoke of intervention from beyond the stars, and theologians theorized the beginning of the End.

In some way, neither were wrong.

Scientists, however, were hired to study these gates, the waves emanating from them, and what dangers they posed to their nations. They had to do so from scratch, and despite all of their efforts, even after nearly a year, they had nothing to show for their work.

In Pingyao, China, a gate had opened right in the middle of town. Because of its location, the Chinese government was more lenient in their surveillance. There was a barricade, but not many soldiers. Tourists traveled to take a look at it, and locals used it to promote their business.

One day, the Gate, which had never so much as made a sound before, began fluctuating. Its color began to change from pale white to purple, then red, and 'something' stepped out of it.

It walked on four legs, or rather, two legs and two wings. Its body was covered in dark grey scales and its eyes shone a bright sea-blue. Large teeth lined the gums of its mouth and when it stood, its head could be seen surpassing the roof of a small house.

The soldiers, in a panic, pointed their firearms toward it.

Tourists took pictures, and so did the locals.

"Shoot!" The captain said.

Lead rained on the creature.

It seemed to wince, its natural shell cracking, but then it opened its mouth, and it roared.

[Lesser Wyvern Intimidation]

All dragon-related species possessed a variation of this skill.

The soldiers, as well as the civilians, froze. Fear had overtaken them, and their bodies now refused to listen.

Then, the wyvern puffed its chest, and something began to accumulate in its mouth. After a few seconds, it released it all.

[Fire breath]

A massacre.

The town was razed to the ground, not a single survivor.

Ultimately, it took two weeks, heavy artillery, and several tanks to take the creature down.

The Chinese government shushed the event as best as they could, but the various powers across the world had eyes and ears everywhere.

The consensus was simple.

The Gates could not be left alone.

Year 20X3

The first 'Conqueror' revealed himself to the public.

Peter Popov, a Russian military officer. He had been sent in with a team of six others, as it seemed that Gates only allowed a certain number of people inside. Of that, he was the only one who had returned.

This would have been considered a failure in any other case, but Peter returned as a… higher being.

He never spoke of what happened within the Gate to the public, but what they did know was that whatever happened inside, it had changed him.

In a single expedition, Peter had gained something called a 'System', and he had reached level five within that system, granting him the class of 'Berserker'.

Perhaps level five did not seem all that impressive to most, but once put into perspective, it was.

An adult human's stats, besides the strange Intelligence and Arcane stats, ranged from one to five. One being below mediocre, and five being peak human performance.

For reference, Usain Bolt, the fastest man alive, would have had a 'speed' stat of five at his prime.

Now think of Peter. As a well-trained military agent, his physical stats all hovered around three or four, above average to exceptional.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

At level five, he was given four point in every stat, and he was allowed to allocate eight additional stat points however he wished. He poured four points into speed, three points into strength and a single point into stamina.

At a measly level five, this made him twice as fast as Usain Bolt and stronger than the strongest men on Earth, and this without accounting for the Berserker class stat multipliers.

After emerging from a single Gate, Peter had become a super-soldier.

What if one nation could have hundreds of Peters? An army of Peters? Surely they'd take over the world. Scavenging for gold, or oil became meaningless.

The race for Gates had begun.

No, it had begun long ago.

Peter was the first officially, but in reality, he was far it.

Side stories

—

Tokyo, Japan.

Shota, a boy who had dreamed of becoming a super-hero, had come upon a fortuitous encounter.

He was obsessed with the western world of heroes, and hoped to one day become just like them.

A beacon of light in the darkness. A defender of justice who protected the innocent.

And now, he could do just that.

–

Eleven months before Peter had come onto the scene.

Shota fell into a river during a school trip in the countryside.

At the bottom of the river, a pale white gate stood, untouched, undiscovered. Taken by the current, Shota had no choice but to enter.

Inside, he met goblins. Weak creatures, no stronger than children. A few of them, couldn't have been more than four or five, were attacking a group of haggard-looking villagers with colorful hair.

'This is it! This is it! A world of monsters and dangers! I can be a hero here!'

Unseen, Shota lifted a heavy rock and crushed the head of a goblin archer who had stayed far behind.

[You have slain an enemy.]

[You have leveled up.]

The blood splashing onto him made him somewhat nauseous… but he felt no guilt. It was a villain, after all.

Shota analyzed the scene, the goblins closed in on the fleeing villagers, no care for what was happening behind them.

He took the goblin's bow, and he aimed it before him. He was quite the archer. One of his favorite heroes wielded a bow, and he had felt that without powers, or firearms, it was the best way to become a hero.

One shot.

[You have slain an enemy.]

The goblins turned around, furious.

They rushed him.

Two shots.

[You have slain an enemy.]

There were only two more goblins.

Three shots.

The goblin did not die, but it fell to the ground, clutching its leg.

The last goblin reached Shota and lunged at him. Shota dropped the bow, and he was pushed to the ground. The goblin then raised its rusty dagger, ready to thrust it toward the boy, but it was stopped before it could.

One of the villagers, a young man with blonde hair, wrapped his arms around the goblin's neck.

And then he snapped it, huffing and puffing from the run to reach Shota.

[You have assisted in slaying an enemy.]

The head of the goblin who had been shot in the leg was crushed with a large rock.

[You have leveled up.]

[You have acquired the skill, -Wind Bullet-]

[You have cleared the dungeon]

[Significant achievement!

Solo Clear

Description - You are the first recorded entity from your world to clear a solo dungeon!]

—

Shota, now level three, possessed a 'System'.

He had tested his only skill multiple times. It could be fired four times a day before he began to feel dizzy and nauseous. It had enough power to tear through wood, and if he focused, he could destroy stone as well.

He had designed his mask, his costume, and had even practiced his lines.

In the school bathroom, Shota pointed at the mirror with his fingers, and mumbled "Bang!" as though he were firing a gun.

What he said with his mouth did not matter as long as he thought of the skill in his head.

That day, excited, Shota had brought his costume to school. He had planned to use the arts and crafts lounge for the finishing touches. Of course, he'd planned to do this after school had ended.

He was already being bullied due to his gloominess and his obsession with fictional characters, so adding fuel to the fire was out of the question.

When he returned to his locker at the end of the day, however, his costume had disappeared.

All but the mask, and for some reason, the eyes had been carved out.

A single note lay where his costume had been.

Come find me if you want it back. You know where.

Shota rushed to the roof.

His stamina now higher than the best Olympians, he reached the roof without breaking a sweat.

There stood Tanaka, and his two goons. They had tormented him for the past two years. Every 'prank' was worse than the last. They had sent him to the hospital once.

They laughed as they held his torn costume.

"When are you going to grow up, seriously?" Said Tanaka. He snickered as his eyes locked onto Shota. "It makes me annoyed just looking at you."

Shota grit his teeth, but he quickly calmed down. He was a hero now. He couldn't get angry so easily, especially against regular people like them.

The costume could be remade. 'Yeah, I don't even know why I came all the way here.'

He turned around.

Tanaka's lips parted. "You like Riko-chan, right?"

…

"I started talking to her last month. She's not my type at all, and she's kind of creepy, but I had a fun idea when I looked at her."

Shota's eyebrow twitched. Riko hadn't been coming to school recently. They were in different classes, but since she usually ate lunch with Shota, he had noticed.

She hadn't even been online to play video games with him. He'd gone as far as to go to her house. He wanted to show her his new abilities, but her mother had sent him away, saying that Riko didn't want to see him.

"...Why are you telling me this?" Shota asked.

Riko was free to like whoever she wished. That was none of his concern.

Or so he told himself, his fists clenched.

Tanaka's goon laughed like hyenas.

"Ah, right, you're a dork. You're probably not in any of our classroom chats."

He brought his phone to Shota's face.

Ahahah!!! I can't believe she actually came!!

Do you honestly think a guy like Tanaka-kun would be into you!? Plus, you must have known he was my boyfriend! Don't you have any shame?

…N-no, I-I just thought I'd m-made a frien–

Have you seen yourself?? Who would want to be friends with you besides that creepy boy from Tanaka's class!!

D-Don't speak ill of Shota!! H-He's no–

SLAP

Ahhhh!! I'm so irritated!! Seriously, a beating isn't even enough for someone like you!

Shota's blood froze.

His vision narrowed.

His blood rushed to his head.

"W-what… is this?"

Tanaka grinned. "Can you guess why she hasn't been coming now?" Tanaka put his phone in his pocket. "Hold him down. These should come in pairs, right?"

His two friends rushed to Shota.

With two punches, Shota broke the first's jaw. The second landed a punch to his gut, which took his breath, but Shota was at an Olympians level of fitness. He endured, and he punched him in the face, sending him tumbling backward.

Tanaka clicked his tongue. "These guys… so useless… they're lucky they're funny to look at."

He then glared at Shota before he took another step. "Looks like you've been working out… but don't forget who my father is. If you touch me, both your family and Riko's will have to leave Japan altogether."

Tanaka turned around. "Ah… I wonder, should I go find her now? She'd have no choice but to listen to what I say, after all. Unless she wants me to tell everyone that she tried to seduce me."

Shota's blood boiled.

He raised his finger.

Looking over his shoulder, Tanaka raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Even now you're acting crazy? You might be even more insane I thought."

Shota's lips trembled. He was furious.

Would a hero do this?

Perhaps not.

With his free hand, he put on his mask. The one where the eyes had been carved out.

Tanaka burst out in laughter.

'I-It's fine… I'm just going to scare him a little….right, just a scare, so he stops bothering Riko. It's not like I'll kill him or anything. I practiced a lot.'

"Seriously, man? Are you fantasizing about shooting me right now? I guess that's the best you can do since you can't actually touch me…. But man, that's too funny!!"

Shota spoke the words in his mind.

[Wind Bullet]

At normal output, it'd give Tanaka a mean wound, but nothing more. He'd have to go to the hospital, but survival was highly likely.

And if he shot his leg…. Then even more so.

"Ah, let me make this better for you…!" Tanaka pulled out his phone once more, and he played a video from it. It was Riko after Tanaka's girlfriend had been done with her.

If I see that ugly mug of yours at school again, I'll get my boyfriend to do the same thing to that idiot you like so much.

…O-Okay..!! I-I won't go anywhere…just…just leave Shota alone….

…Phew, I feel a little better. Let's go babe.

*Whistle* "You're so evil!"

That's why you like me.

Seeing Riko's state, Shota lost control at a critical moment.. All of his mana was poured into a single use of the skill.

"B-Bang!!"

Tanaka's head exploded.

Shota ran.

Far, far away.

So much for being a hero.

—

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