Every artificial Awakened, once their training at the academy was complete, was required to register with the Guild of the Awakened.
The ambition that burned within each of them was always the same: to grow stronger, accumulate wealth, and live a better life.
And so, every day, many ventured forth to challenge the Gates.
Speaking of Gates, the city hosted numerous ones.
These Gates were dimensional rifts that led to new worlds, but not all of them were equal.
Only S-Rank Gates could truly be considered entire worlds of their own. The others, though vast and dangerous, did not seem to house a full ecosystem.
Unlike the rest, S-Rank Gates were not just enormous—they held within them creatures that seemed to live in full-fledged civilizations, intelligent beings comparable to humans.
And what was even more dangerous, these rifts couldn't be closed easily. To seal one required the destruction of the entire world it connected to—an impossible feat.
For that reason, every S-Rank Gate was under constant surveillance by humanity.
However, if humans could enter, kill, and plunder these unknown lands, monsters too had the ability to cross over and invade the human world.
Thus, humanity was forced to face countless invasions from incredibly powerful monsters.
Fortunately, S-Rank Gates used to be rare.
But now, the situation had changed.
Too many Gates were opening simultaneously across cities, and the only way to stop them was to send in a team to destroy everything.
But for S-Rank rifts, that solution was no longer viable. Destroying an entire world was a mission beyond even an S-Rank's capabilities.
The best option Awakened had was to exterminate the majority of monsters inside.
But even that wasn't a real solution.
Every day, new monsters continued to materialize, endlessly.
Thus, the Gate remained open, impossible to close or monitor permanently.
Luckily, lower-ranked Gates were a different matter.
Those could be sealed by destroying every monster within.
But that rarely happened.
Low-ranked Gates were considered a valuable resource for human Awakened, offering them the chance to grow stronger without risking their lives on the battlefield at the frontier.
Even though anyone could enter any Gate, leaving was another story.
To unlock the exit, the boss of the rift had to be defeated—only then would the return portal open.
In addition to the Gates that opened in cities, there were countless others scattered across the world.
Monsters attacked human cities relentlessly, and survival grew harder with each passing day.
Thus, the only way to grow stronger was to gain experience inside the Gates.
And that was the very reason the Guild of the Awakened existed:
A network of portals connected to Gates of varying Ranks, allowing Awakened to face increasingly difficult challenges.
And it was there that Jeremy went.
The Guild of the Awakened was a towering structure, divided into several sections based on the Rank of the Gates it hosted.
On the lower floor, there were rooms dedicated to low-level Awakened, with doors leading to Rank F, E, and D Gates.
Higher up, climbing the stairs, were the areas reserved for those seeking access to higher-level Gates—Ranks C and B.
To enter an A-Rank Gate, special authorization from the upper echelon was required.
Every Awakened who stepped into those portals was considered a true resource of humanity—at least of B-Rank caliber.
The guild was always bustling, filled with Awakened of every age and level, preparing to enter the dimensional rifts.
Each one had to register, obtain an ID, and follow safety protocols before being allowed entry into any Gate.
Jeremy stepped into the building, struck by the noise and the buzz of conversation.
There were Awakened of all kinds—some young, others older—all bearing expressions of determination and anticipation.
He approached the reception, where a stern-eyed woman greeted him.
"Welcome to the Guild. Do you already have an ID?" the receptionist asked, without lifting her eyes from the papers she was reviewing.
"No," Jeremy replied. "It's my first time here."
She glanced at him briefly, then handed him a form to fill out.
A few minutes later, she gave him a temporary ID with his name and registration number.
"Here. You're officially registered now. Come back tomorrow for the permanent card. If you need more information, don't hesitate to ask."
"Thanks," Jeremy said, grabbing the document and heading toward the teleportation area.
He had decided to try out a Rank C Gate.
He had never been in one before and wanted to get a sense of what awaited him.
He arrived in front of the area, where a holographic screen awaited him, filled with information about all the available Rank C Gates.Jeremy stopped in front of the screen, scrutinizing the rapidly flowing data. Every Rank C Gate had its own list of monsters, but they weren't all the same. Some were stranger, more dangerous, or simply... peculiar.
"I want to see something interesting," he thought, scrolling through the options.
In the end, the boy didn't find anything truly unique. Unlike the monsters he had faced so far, those listed in these Gates seemed oddly...
"Normal," he murmured, surprised. "Really, there's nothing special. Their Potential is just Medium... are these seriously the only Gates available?"
Frustrated, Jeremy chose one at random. It was a dimensional rift filled with only one kind of creature—Orcs.
The unique aspect, however, was that there were several races of orcs, some focused on brute strength, others on magical capabilities.
"Alright, time to go," Jeremy thought, stepping into the teleportation zone.
A moment later, the teleportation enveloped him, but the sensation was disorienting enough to make his heart race.
"Damn..." he muttered, trying to steady himself.
When he opened his eyes, he was in a completely different area.
"I'm here for the Gate," Jeremy said respectfully to the agent in charge of surveillance.
"This way," the man said without wasting any time.
He must be at least Rank C, Jeremy thought, observing the man.
After a few minutes of walking, they finally reached the rift.
Looking at the Gate, a smirk crept onto Jeremy's face. "Wow, it's so... small?"
After witnessing the portal to the other world he had previously experienced, this one felt utterly insignificant.
"No matter. Time to go in," and with a determined step, he entered the Gate.
After another wave of nauseating sensation, Jeremy opened his eyes to this strange new world.
The first thing he noticed was the rocky, damp environment.
But before he could adjust, his perception picked up on multiple monsters heading straight for him.
"So this is what orcs look like in person," the boy thought.
Imposing beings, at least three meters tall, covered in muscles. Yellow eyes and faces marked by squashed noses and two tusks protruding from their lips, ready to bite.
"Alright, no time to waste. We need to reach level 30—fast."
And with that, he immediately summoned his adorable skeletons.
They were so adorable that even the orcs—frightening beings in their own right—looked terrified.
But their fear didn't last long. They charged at the boy, weapons raised high and roaring.
"What could it be?" Jeremy wondered, seeing the group of five orcs.
They were all Rank D. Their levels ranged from 16 to 25—none of them had reached Rank C.
"Is it possible that only the boss is at that level?" he thought.
The orcs didn't even have time to realize what was happening before the undead squad fell upon them—Drae'mon, Leo'sol, SuperCannon, and even other weaker monsters.
Well, "weaker" was just a word. There were ten skeletal Flamehoof, five Razorfang, and four Ailurus, all with BEYOND Potential.
So the five orcs didn't even have time to understand how they died—before they died.
"4,300 Exp gained""3,500 Exp gained"…
"Ah, what a disappointment," Jeremy sat on the ground. He had no intention of wandering around to fight these weak monsters.
"You," he said, looking at three of his Razorfang. "Stay here and protect me."
"Everyone else, go kill the boss."
"Don't waste time," he added.
And so, the skeleton army departed in search of monsters to slay.
Not even thirty seconds later, a flood of notifications filled his view.
"5,100 Exp gained""10,600 Exp gained"…
"Ugh, such little experience... is this how others level up? Killing monsters of the same Rank is barely worth it... now I understand why the human race is dying. It has no potential."
Jeremy was lying on the rocky ground, eyes closed.
Everything around him was being monitored through his perception. No one could take him by surprise.
A few minutes later, thanks to his link with his summons, he was informed that the boss had been defeated.
Well, not that he needed to be told. He could tell from the experience gained.
"60,000 Exp gained"