1 Age of Ascension
--- Chapter 0 ---
Age of Ascension.
That was an event that happened to my world fifty years ago.
Earth, or what I should call Sector 77 now, was a beautiful blue planet inhabited by humans.
But the blue planet is no more.
The planet's size has expanded ten times, and a powerful magical barrier surrounds us like a cage. To make it even worse, we got trapped in this cage with aggressive alien races that invaded us.
Although we have so many conflicts and hate among ourselves, we didn't expect a higher power to befall us one day. A power that made humans united against a common enemy, the Syluman.
The Syluman is a term used for aliens who invaded us.
They are also the victim of the planet's ascension and come here to plunder Earth's resources.
However, they have adapted to the Age of Ascension and evolved past it enough to cause horror to others.
They killed, enslaved, and played us like a piece of amusement.
Thankfully, Mother Earth also awakened her consciousness when the Age of Ascension happened.
Mother Earth, Raia, granted humans with the Age of Ascension's leveling system, allowing us to grow stronger by killing the Syluman.
And just like that, our lives turned into a game of life and death.
A funny joke runs throughout the generations.
Humans didn't magically become powerful.
We weren't able to kill the Syluman right away. They are too strong for normal humans to handle.
Even our modern weapons and proud nuclear bombs were rendered useless by them.
So, we starved.
We struggled.
We tricked.
We trapped.
We used every possible way to kill the Syluman one by one.
They called us despicable, and we laughed.
Humans don't care. We are willing to do anything. Yes, anything to kick these invaders off.
However, our victory is short-lived.
The Sylumans are Tyrants!
And they responded to our provocation with such dominance. All they needed was to send one of their elite warriors, Ascended Sylumans, and wipe our base to the ground.
Millions died in one night.
It was the second reality check for us humans.
So, humans decided to stay low and gathered enough strength to fight back.
One year.
We lived in underground.
Two years.
We laid down an assassination method field.
Five years.
We returned to the surface.
Ten years.
We hid in plain sight and waited.
Twenty years.
We learned everything about the Sylumans.
From how many they are to what's the most efficient to kill them.
Forty years.
At last, humans finally have elite fighters of our own and assassinated our way to continental dominance. Yes, we successfully took over merged land that used to be Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
We built the first home of humanity, Ground Zero, before expanding to other lands.
Fifty years, and we have conquered over twenty-seven more lands.
This event is remembered as the Humanity's First Order.
We thrived and started occupying those lands, having a family with each other. Of course, we also reproduce underground, but those dark days are over, and we could raise the new generations under the sky again.
But we also learned not to lower our guard. Humans have learned from their misery and always sleep with one eye open every night.
It is far from over.
Yes, we know.
The Age of Ascension has just started!
...
Sixteen years after Humanity's First Order.
Ground Zero, United Hospital District.
A couple is holding each other's hand as a brown-haired woman pushes with all her might and cries out in pain.
"Honey, push! Our baby is almost out!" A handsome man in a blue military outfit said.
"ARGH!" The brown-haired woman bit her lips.
After a lengthy three hours, a baby was born.
The baby's cries echoed in the room.
The nurse carefully examined the newborn with an observation ability and sighed in relief, "No sign of mutation."
"Congratulations, Mr and Mrs. Gates. You have given birth to a healthy son."
"Do you want to name him now?" The nurse couldn't help but smile. Every time a baby is born, humanity also grows bigger and stronger.
Felix Gates looked at the newborn with love and asked his wife, "Honey, do you want to add your late father's name as we planned?"
"Mm." Despite her tiredness, Valery Gates also looked at the newborn with endless mother's love. "His middle name would be Adam."
"Good, good." Felix Gates laughed.
"My son's name will be Theomars Adam Gates!"
No one in the room celebrated besides three adults and realized this was the birth of Humanity's Great Scion, a man who leads humanity into outer space.
But that's for the future, and Theomars is just a baby right now.
"Okay. Do you want to use the injection now?" The nurse asked Valerie Gates on the bed.
Valerie Gates smiled, "Please do."
"I want to return home right away."
"Thank you for the hard work, honey." Felix Gates couldn't help but peck her wife's forehead.
After getting her health injection, the couple happily exited the hospital and registered their newborn at Humanity Administrative.
In the past, this would never happen.
A newborn and mother are too vulnerable to leave the hospital. The latter can barely walk.
Yet, since the Age of Ascension, humans have become strong enough to bypass such limitations. It is part of human evolution.
...
The Gates Family is a middle-class hunter family.
Yup, you heard that right. A household that revolved around killing the Sylumans and thrived by leveling up throughout generations.
Unfortunately, most of their high-level members perished in Humanity's First Order and had their names etched onto the war's monument.
That's just how the current world works.
Only five members, including the newborn, are left in the Gates Family.
They are Felix Gates, Valerie Gates, April Gates, Ethan Gates, and Theomars Adam Gates.
In the residential district, Gates Household.
Felix and Valerie finally returned home with the baby and several baby care products. As they knocked on the front door, a middle-aged woman greeted them with a smile.
"You're back, where is my grandson?" Said April Gates happily while rubbing her palms together.
She snatched the baby like a swift snake and stared at the sleeping baby with tender love. "Aww, he's so adorable. He looks like Felix years ago."
Felix Gates shook his head bitterly, "Mom, I'm twenty-five already."
"Once my baby, always my baby." April Gates stubbornly said.
"She's right, Felix." Valerie Gates giggled on the side.
"Yes, yes, whatever you said." Felix Gates smiled and brought his dear wife into the house.
Today is a joyful day for the Gates Family.
...
Meanwhile, a sleeping soul is slowly awake.
"Where am I?" The soul said in confusion.
"I remembered watching Interstellar War, and that shitty movie looks nothing like the game."
"Grr, those greedy directors only wanted to grab quick cash from the fans, fuck THOSE GUYS!"
As the soul grumbled, a scene flashed in his head.
The scene of a speeding truck rammed into an innocent black-haired young man and turned him into a pulp.
"Poor guy." The soul is amused.
"Truck-kun Isekai Service sent him off in the most brutal way."
But then horror struck the soul to the very core.
"Wait... THAT WAS ME!"
"Oh my god, I DIED! I GOT FUCKING RAMMED BY TRUCK-KUN!"
*HUFF* *HUFF!*
"Take a deep breath, me."
The soul looked around the abyss and cleared his non-existent throat.
"H-Hello!"
"Is there any Omnipotent God that could grant me cheat?"
"I don't ask much. A system would do." The soul shamelessly requested, but no one answered him.
He kept mumbling nonsense in the abyss until a vortex appeared before, sucking him in.
"Huh?"
"Wait. I don't have my cheat yet, ARGH!"
"MOTHERFUCKER, DID SOMEONE JUST SQUEEZE ME OUT FROM A TUBE OR SOMETHING?!"
"Pain, it's so painful..." I felt pain all over my body. Wait, I don't have a body.
"Why do I feel sleepy all of a sudden?"
"I..."
"I need to sleep."
