Chapter 1:

CHAPTER 1 : Cracks in the sky

DUMB KUDS

Erthia.
A world that was no longer what it used to be.

Twenty years ago, the sky split open — and reality itself twisted beyond repair.
Four different worlds, which were never meant to touch, collided and fused together, forming one vast, chaotic continent.
Scientists called it the “World Merge Catastrophe.”

No one knew who or what caused it.
But one thing became certain — humanity would never be the same again.

Some were born with power.
Some lost everything.
And to preserve the fragile balance, a global organization called Union was formed.
From there, emerged the Xentra — gifted humans tasked with protecting Erthia from interdimensional threats.

Each Xentra was ranked by their strength — from F, the worthless, to SSS, the godlike.

But, as always…
Luck was never distributed evenly.

Twenty Years Ago

The sky was far too blue that day — too perfect to remember it as anything but a dream.

Kudo Ren, a messy-haired kid holding a half-melted ice cream, stood in the city park beside his friends.
Toma Hinagi — the hyper one who never stopped eating;
Kurogane — the loudmouth liar with too much confidence;
Mira — the cheerful girl with her worn-out stuffed cat;
and Kazuma — sitting on the swing, silent, his expression distant.

They had just finished school, bags still slung over their shoulders.
Their plan was simple: play until sunset, then go home to be scolded by their parents.

“Ren! Race you to the slide!” shouted Toma, grinning wide.

Ren smirked, setting down his ice cream.
“You sure you wanna lose again?”

“In your dreams!”

Mira giggled, clutching her stuffed cat.
“Don’t you two ever get tired of fighting every day?”

“This isn’t fighting,” Kurogane declared proudly. “It’s called competitive art!”

The laughter echoed through the small park.
Warm. Familiar.
Like the world could never possibly change.

But then—

Someone pointed upward.
“Hey… what’s that?”

Above them, the clouds cracked — a thin black line slicing across the sky like shattered glass.
A strange hum filled the air, low and deep, shaking the ground beneath their feet.

The children stared, frozen between awe and fear.

The crack widened.
A blinding white light spilled through.
Something was coming through it.

And then—

BOOM!
The ground shook. Dust exploded outward.
A small crater formed near the playground — and from it crawled a green-skinned creature, its red eyes glowing, clutching a rusted sword.

“…It looks like something from a game,” Toma whispered, half terrified, half amazed.

The creature snarled, baring jagged teeth.
Ren stepped back, his heart hammering.

“R-Ren…” Mira’s voice trembled. “…that thing’s alive, right?”

The creature lunged.
Straight at Kazuma.

“HELP!!” Kazuma screamed, trying to hold back the sword with both hands.

Ren didn’t think. His body moved on its own.
He dashed forward, tackling the monster away from Kazuma.
But he wasn’t strong enough — it shoved him aside easily.

Before he could stand—

CRASH!
The sword pierced through Kazuma’s stomach.

“KAZUMA!!” Ren’s voice cracked.
The world went silent. Blood dripped onto the dirt.

The sky above fractured further, opening hundreds of glowing rifts.
Dozens of creatures fell through — then hundreds.

Kurogane grabbed Ren’s arm, shouting over the chaos.
“REN! RUN!”

They ran through the screaming streets as the sky rained monsters.
That day, the world ended — and began anew.

Present Day

BEEP—BEEP—BEEP.

The alarm’s shrill tone ripped Ren from another restless sleep.
He blinked at the cracked ceiling of his dingy apartment.
Peeling paint. Flickering light. A mountain of dirty laundry in the corner.

He sat up slowly, staring at his right hand.
His “power.”
Instant Teleport (Rank F) (cant predict where the teleport goes).

No marks. No glow. No hint of strength.
Just pale, ordinary skin.

He sighed deeply.
Twenty years had passed since the “Sky Fracture,” yet the memories still clawed at him.

From the TV, a cheerful reporter’s voice filled the room.

“City X is recovering after last night’s Rank A monster attack. We’re here with Xentra Kenta Kisaki, who successfully neutralized the threat—”

“Just doing my duty,” said the man on screen, smiling confidently.

Ren clicked off the TV.
“Yeah, easy to say when you’re not a damn Rank F,” he muttered, pulling on his worn-out jacket.

Outside, the city of Erthia stretched in layers of concrete and holograms.
Neon billboards flickered above half-collapsed buildings.
People walked fast, heads down, too tired to look up at the artificial sun.

To Ren, the world kept moving — but he felt stuck in place.

Later that day, he sat in the back of a dusty repair shop, chewing on stale bread during his lunch break.
His phone buzzed.

Mom.

“Ren? Are you still living in that district?”
Her voice was soft — and far away.

“Yeah, Mom. It’s fine here.”

“If you can, move to the Union territories. Your father’s got a permit in Cyberion now.”

Cyberion — one of the continents born from the Merge.
A world of machines and light, where even the human body could be replaced by tech.

Ren chuckled weakly.
“If I move there, what am I supposed to do? Sell holographic sandwiches?”

“You still have your friends, don’t you?”

That one hit him.
Yeah… he still did.
But lately, even that felt like something slipping away.

Before hanging up, his mother whispered,
“Ren… stay alive, okay? No matter what happens. Don’t give up again.”

“Yeah… you too, Mom. Take care.”

Click.
The call ended.
Ren stared at the blank screen for a long time before leaning back against the cold wall.

Meanwhile, in a grimy alleyway, Kurogane sat cross-legged among trash cans, staring at a glowing blue hologram spinning before him.

His ability — Gamble (Rank F) — let him bet anything for a random result.
Money, items, even luck itself.

“Come on, baby… big money today…” he muttered.
The hologram spun like a slot machine.
DING!

‘Reward: Brick ×1’

“Goddammit! Even the system’s mocking me.”
He sighed, tossing the brick aside. “Hard and useless — just like my life.”

He dumped his last handful of coins into the interface.
“Alright, last try. Come on, God of Gambling — show me some love!”

The reel spun faster. Lights flickered.
Then —
DING! DING! DING!

‘Reward: x10 Money Multiplier!’

Kurogane jumped up, laughing like a maniac.
“YES! I’M EATING REAL FOOD TONIGHT!”
People stared as he danced down the alley. He didn’t care.

Across the city, Mira worked at a pet care center.
Her power — Pet Comfort (Rank F) — made animals calm around her.
It sounded useless… but it paid the bills.

“Welcome! How can I help?” she greeted brightly.

A man entered, carrying a small winged lion cub.
“Hi. I’ll be traveling to Murim for a week — can you take care of Pyon-Pyon?”

Mira’s eyes sparkled.
“He’s adorable! Of course, I’ll take good care of him!”

As the man filled out the form, he leaned close.
“Just a warning — he’s… temperamental when hungry.”

“Ahaha… noted.”

A few minutes later, Mira brought the cub into the playroom.
“Okay, Pyon-Pyon. You’ll stay here with your new friends, okay?”

She sighed in relief, mumbling to herself,
“Hehe, after this, I can finally read that comic I saved up for two months to buy—”

BOOM!

Something exploded behind her.
Mira spun around — a smoking crater where the cub had stood.

“PYON-PYON!? WHAT DID YOU DO!?”

The creature growled, tail flickering with fire.
Mira froze. “W-wait, let’s talk about this—”

The cub hurled a fireball. She barely dodged.
Her new comic went up in flames.

“MY COMIC!! YOU LITTLE—!”

Another blast came flying.
Panicked, she activated her skill.

“PET COMFORT—GO!”

A warm aura glowed from her hands. The cub paused.

“…Did it work?” she whispered.

FWOOOM! Another fireball.

“Of course not!!” She rolled aside, grabbing a meat stick from the floor and shoving it in the cub’s mouth mid-attack.

Instantly, the little lion calmed down, munching happily.
Mira collapsed backward, exhausted.
“Damn it… my poor comic…”

Meanwhile, Toma Hinagi was live-streaming from his tiny room.
Hundreds of viewers flooded the chat.

“Yo guys! Today, I’m gonna eat 500 nuggets without stopping!”

His ability — Eating Frenzy (Rank F) — allowed him to eat anything without ever getting full.

Chat exploded.

“Bro’s stomach is a black hole!”
“This is peak Rank F energy!”

Toma grinned and stuffed four nuggets at once.
“See? Easy—” COUGH COUGH—
He choked, chair flipping backward as the camera fell.

The chat went wild.

“INSTANT KARMA 😂”
“LMAOOO HE’S DEAD LIVE ON STREAM!”

That evening, Ren’s phone buzzed with a notification from an old group chat:
“Dumb Kuds.”

Kurogane: “Yo, let’s hang at the usual spot. Ramen’s on me.”
Mira: “Good. I need to scream about life.”
Toma: “Coming if there’s food.”

Ren stared at the screen for a moment — then smiled faintly.
“Yeah… why not.”

The old garage on the edge of town was just as they left it — cracked paint, flickering light, and a fading graffiti tag on the back wall: DUMB KUDS.

Kurogane sat on a broken chair, puffing a vape.
“You’re late, Ren.”

“Boss made me work overtime. My life’s a tragedy.”

“Ha! You think yours sucks? My last spin gave me a brick.”

Mira groaned, head on the table.
“A flying lion cub tried to murder me today.”

Toma raised his hand lazily. “I nearly died from a nugget.”

Ren blinked. “...A what?”

“Nugget.”

He grinned proudly. “But hey — two thousand new followers.”

“Damn it,” Kurogane muttered, slamming his cup on the table. “If I’d gotten an S-rank skill, I wouldn’t be stuck in this shithole.”

Mira snorted, her cheeks already red from the alcohol. “Please, like a degenerate gambler like you could ever get that far. Hahaha!”

“That’s the joke, dumbass,” Kurogane grinned bitterly. “Of all things, my ‘gift’ had to be Gamble. My mom used to beat me if I so much as looked at a deck of cards. Now my entire damn life depends on it.”

“Guess that’s just our fate,” Toma said, raising his glass lazily. “The four Rank-F losers of Erthia.”

Ren smirked. “Wait, Toma—what was your skill again?”

Toma puffed his chest. “In short? Unlimited Mukbang.”

There was a short silence.

Then Mira snorted again. “That’s literally useless.”

“At least I get free food,” Toma shot back. “Unlike you—what was it again? ‘Animal Affection’? No wonder every stray cat in town follows you around. You’re basically one of them.”

“Excuse me!?” Mira threw a coaster at him. “Say that again, pig!”

“Pig? Oh, look, she’s calling her own kind!”

“YOU—!”

Ren nearly choked on his drink, laughing. “God, you guys are idiots.”

But even as he laughed, he felt something sting inside his chest.

Yeah… my life’s a mess. Everything’s falling apart. But with them here… maybe it’s still okay.

The laughter echoed softly through the bar, blending with the rain outside.
None of them knew that by tomorrow, everything would burn.

the next day in the morning
Drrr… drrr…

Ren frowned. “You guys feel that?”

Then—
BOOM!

The explosion outside rattled the garage. The ceiling groaned. Mira shrieked.
Kurogane peeked through the broken window — and froze.

“…No way.”

Outside, dozens of insectoid creatures crawled along the street.
Black shells. Glowing green eyes.
And towering above them all — a massive centipede-like beast, its metallic body pulsing with red energy.

Ren’s throat went dry. “Rank…?”

“Scanner says Rank S.”

Mira’s face paled. “Union?”

Kurogane shook his head. “They’re all deployed overseas. No one’s coming.”

Four F-Rank nobodies.
One S-Rank monster.

Kurogane chuckled bitterly. “Heh… guess we’re dying here, huh?”

“Can you not joke right now!?” Mira snapped, panic creeping in.

Ren’s gaze darted around the dim garage, searching desperately for anything—anything—that wasn’t certain death.
Then he saw it.

A pile of rusted desks and old bags shoved against the back wall. Beneath the dust and shadows, a faint glimmer of light leaked through a crack.

“…Wait,” Ren muttered, his voice trembling but steady enough to draw their attention.
“Guys… there’s a way out.”

They all turned toward him.

He pointed shakily. “See that pile in the back? Behind it—there’s an emergency door. We can still make it if we move fast!”

Without waiting, Ren sprinted toward the heap, shoving aside a chair with both hands.
“Come on! Help me move this crap!”

Mira and Kurogane hesitated for half a second before running after him.
“Ugh, this thing’s heavy as hell!” Mira grunted, trying to lift a desk with both arms.

“Shut up and keep moving!” Kurogane snapped. “You talk more than you work!”

“What’d you say, asshole!?”

“QUIET!” Ren hissed, spinning toward them with fire in his eyes. “You two wanna get us all killed!?”

That shut them up. For a moment, the only sounds were their ragged breaths and the scrape of metal on concrete.
Outside, the monsters’ footsteps grew louder.
DOOM.
DOOM.

The whole garage rattled.

Toma swallowed hard, lifting another box. “I—I see light!” he shouted, voice cracking.

And sure enough—through the gaps they’d cleared, a narrow slit of daylight spilled in.

“Hell yeah,” Kurogane gasped. “Almost there!”

Then—clang!
A metal pipe rolled off the stack and hit the floor, echoing like a gunshot.

Everyone froze.

Toma’s face turned ghost-white. “Uh… my bad?”

“…You idiot,” Mira hissed. “You absolute—”

She didn’t get to finish.

BOOM.
The front door shook violently, hinges bending under impact.
Outside, the monsters roared in unison.

Ren clenched his fists. “Shit… we’re out of time, what do we do kurogane!”

He didn’t respond. Instead, he opened his status hologram.
[Skill: GAMBLE (Rank F)]

Ren’s eyes widened. “Don’t tell me—”

Kurogane looked up, smiling faintly.
“Heh. Like we’ve got another option.”

He typed something fast. A red warning popped up:

[GAMBLE ACTIVATED]
Bet: 50% chance all participants die — 50% chance one awakens.

“ARE YOU INSANE!?” Ren shouted.

Kurogane’s tone was calm — steady.
“Listen, Ren. If we sit here, we’re dead anyway. But if I press this…”
He pointed to the pulsing SPIN button.
“…maybe one of us survives. One who can fight back.”

Silence.
The garage shuddered under the monster’s pounding.

Mira’s hands trembled. “If it fails…?”

“Then we all die. Simple.”

Ren looked at them — his friends since childhood.
Fear. Desperation.
And that tiny, stubborn spark of hope.

He took a breath.
“…Do it.”

Kurogane smiled — tired, but genuine.
“Finally. The words I wanted to hear.”

He slammed his palm onto SPIN.

The hologram spun wildly, glowing symbols flashing by.
TIK… TIK… TIK…

Outside, the garage door began to crack.
Mira gripped Toma’s hand.
Ren clenched his teeth, staring at the screen.

The monster roared.
BOOM! The door opened a crack

The spinning slowed.
TIK… TIK… TIK…

Then stopped.