The world had changed.
Gates had opened. Monsters had poured through. Humanity had been thrown into chaos.
And then—people awakened.
At first, no one understood how or why. But slowly, patterns emerged. Those who survived, those who fought back, those who pushed themselves past their limits… they all developed power.
Some called it evolution. Others called it a miracle.
I called it inevitable.
Because I had seen it firsthand.
I watched the others grow stronger. I saw them wield their abilities, their numbers rising each day as they trained, fought, and survived.
And now, for the first time in thirty years—I wasn't alone in my struggle anymore.
But while they were only just beginning…
I had already reached the peak.
Or so I thought.
Breaking the Ceiling
999
It was a limit I had never seen before.
For years, I had trained, fought, and honed myself, but this number had never appeared to me. I had never known I was even being measured.
And now that I could see it, now that I could understand it…
I realized I was trapped.
Strength - 999.
Endurance - 999.
Agility - 999.
I had pushed myself to absolute perfection—but no matter what I did now, the numbers would not go up.
It was like hitting an invisible wall. A cap placed upon my very being.
And yet…
I knew I could go further.
The system recognized my training. It recorded every improvement, every moment I pushed myself.
So what was stopping me now?
I clenched my fists.
No.
There had to be a way.
And if there wasn't—
I would make one.
The Others Catch Up
Days passed. Then weeks.
The other Awakened grew rapidly.
They fought monsters, survived battles, trained relentlessly.
I saw their stats rising before my eyes.
A man who had barely survived his first encounter with a beast now cleaved through them like paper, his strength rising from 12 to 85 to 200 in mere weeks.
A woman who had cowered in fear now wielded flames with deadly precision, her magic soaring from 5 to 150 to 400.
They were growing at speeds I had never imagined.
The world was adapting.
And for the first time…
I was standing still.
I watched as their numbers climbed higher and higher, while mine remained frozen at 999.
I had spent a hundred years perfecting my skills, mastering combat, honing my body—
But if I couldn't break past my limits…
I would be left behind.
Challenging the System
I refused to accept that.
I had come too far. I had suffered too much.
I wouldn't let some arbitrary limit stop me.
And so, I did the only thing I could.
I pushed harder.
If training no longer worked, I would destroy myself and rebuild.
If my body had reached its peak, I would find a way to evolve it further.
I fought stronger monsters. I sought battles I knew could kill me. I forced myself into situations where death was certain, pushing my body past every breaking point.
I activated my time ability at the last second, rewinding just before death.
Again.
And again.
And again.
I tore my muscles apart, felt my bones shatter, forced myself to the absolute edge of existence—just to see if the system would recognize it.
And then, one day—
It happened.
───────[ STATUS WINDOW ]───────
WARNING: LIMIT REACHED. EVOLUTION REQUIRED.
Would you like to evolve?
[Y/N]
──────────────────────────
I stared at the words.
My heart pounded in my chest.
This was it.
The next step.
Without hesitation, I reached out—
And I pressed YES.