Chapter 4: History

Five hundred and seventy nine years ago (579), in the year 2096 of the 21st century, an unfathomable number of alien systems crashed on earth.

These systems were advanced, specialized and proactive – high defined tech never seen before by humans.

The world leaders of the 21st century successfully cracked the codes of these alien systems and upon harnessing them, they were revealed to hold the key to advancement in technology that could strengthen different country’s nuclear prowess.

As one would expect, the nuclear arms race was a diabolical affair. Sparking the dawn of World War III, different nations waged war on each other and these alien systems of mass destruction laid waste to the entire world.

The world was quickly thrown into an apocalyptic hellscape. The nuclear war was a definitive event in history, the aftermath was another.

Nuclear waste radiation ravaged the earth, eating through the biology and physiology of humans. This period, according to history, was called the Genetic Ascension.

Three things were bound to happen to a person during this ascension.

One: The radiation burned through cells, destroying them faster than they could be created, killing them in a matter of days.

Two: Nothing happened. Their bodies produced a resistant hormone, mitigating the effects, and over time, completely eradicating the radiation.

Three: They survived the genome editing caused by the nuclear radiation from the war, attaining special abilities and powers specific to their new genetic code. These survivors were called Runers.

The entire planet was plunged into chaos until nearly a decade after, the most powerful Runers came together and established a New World Order.

Since countries had bombed themselves into oblivion, five factions were created from the rubble—Echelon, Skylark, Tron, Voxafall, Vul.

Rayleigh was born in Skylark. Unfortunately for him, he came from a long line of people whose bodies survived the Genetic Ascension almost 600 years ago. Although he wasn’t a Runer, his sister had inherited the rune gene from one parent. The Pierce siblings were a product of a breeding between a rune gene carrier and a normal human.

Without a power or skill granted, getting discarded by society is inevitable, which is why Rayleigh worked as a mere janitor for a school for Runers while Beatrice had worked her way up to being a scientist for the faction of Skylark at a young age.

That changed after her trial. Now she was merely an outcast serving time on another planet.

The alien systems that had crashed on earth all those years ago, the same ones that aided in the near annihilation of the world, were eventually lost to time and history, and even with the knowledge of their destructive powers, the powerful Rune leaders of the five factions still searched for it to obtain more power.

The origin of these systems was unknown to history, and an unnerving question surfaced every now and then: will the owners ever come back for their toys?

Rayleigh had eventually fallen asleep, pondering these thoughts, including how his own system might be, in a way, similar to the ones that almost ended the world half a millennium ago.

If that were true, just how much power rested in his fingertips?

◇◇◇

Rayleigh had successfully gotten more than eight hours of sleep, something he had been denied throughout his seven years as a prisoner. At best, he was only permitted four to five hours of a good night’s rest before he was sent off to hunt for minerals.

To be fair, getting locked up had turned out to be the best thing that happened to him.

A prisoner, he was no longer; that meant he no longer had access to slay beasts for powerful people and getting paid.

Unless he wanted to become an independent contractor, he could go back to his usual hunting, but that would take time—too much paperwork and permits were required to become an independent contractor.

The prison made some things oddly convenient.

Rayleigh had decided to return to his old job as a janitor of an academy traversed by spoiled rich rune brats who thought the world rotated on their whims and commands.

It didn’t earn him much, but it was a decent job, at least until he could understand what the Advanced Romulus System had installed for him.

Arriving at the academy, Rayleigh was already worn out slightly. It turned out that earth’s gravity was more dense and concentrated compared to that of BZ-033.

► [ Weapons and Defensive Systems unlocks in 09:40:55 ]

The message floated before Rayleigh.

"Yeah yeah, I get it." Rayleigh sounded breathless. It looked like it would take him a little while to get used to earth’s gravity.

The second he stepped into the academy building, he sensed the difference.

The interior of the building itself had been renovated. The elevator leading to the second floor had been replaced by... a portal.

Academy students now portaled themselves to the second floor.

Rayleigh nearly scoffed. "So derivative. Can we get any lazier than this?"

"Pretty cool, right?" A voice asked from directly behind him.

Rayleigh turned around to take a look at who just spoke and she was breathtaking.

She stood just a step away, sporting a well-structured nose, cherry red lips, and a smile so bright it would have made Rayleigh’s core short-circuit.

Framing her face was a cascade of radiant red hair that descended far past her shoulders, nearly reaching her hips.

And speaking of her hips... even from where he stood, Rayleigh couldn’t help but notice she was exceptionally well-endowed – both back there and in the front.

The standard-issue academy jumpsuit was notoriously bland, yet on her, it brought out that dangerous curvy shape with ridiculous precision.

If it was any other person, it would take a great deal of willpower to keep their eyes from shamelessly roaming, but for Rayleigh, it was barely an inconvenience.

He never had time for the pleasures of the world and spending seven years imprisoned only added to that notion.

He never found romance something worth the time or the energy.

"This was my idea, you know," the woman chuckled with pride, her eyes sparked with amusement. "I mean, if we can now portal to other planets, why shouldn’t we be able to portal to other places in our own building, huh?"

"Yeah, it is a great idea. Some might even call it innovative." Rayleigh responded, contrary to his original thought.

The woman stepped forward into Rayleigh’s personal space. Her brows furrowed but the smile remained on her lips; a mixture of skepticism and amusement.

Such a beauty she was up close, Rayleigh couldn’t help but notice.

They were only two meters apart from each other when something happened.

A familiar chime followed by a holographic screen suddenly appeared.

► [ Initiating body scan and identity scan ]

► [ Identity Acquired ]

’Identity?’ Rayleigh looked visibly confused.

► [ Name: Cassandra Moon ]

► [Age: 20 ]

► [ Species: Rune Human ]

► [ Health status: Very healthy ]

► [ Rank: Ascendant ]

► [ Threat Level C ]

► [ Rune ability: Vibration manipulation ]

’So I can identify anyone by just standing close to them?’