Planet Metophia, City of Valoria.
Afternoon.
The lingering glow of dusk seeped through the gaps between buildings, casting its light upon the earth. The sunlight had lost its harsh glare, leaving behind only a warm, reddish hue.
In the park, Kasugano Haruka–a young man with slightly long hair and handsome, angular features that now bore a tired and gloomy expression–sat alone on a bench, feeling the cool breeze brush through his strands and rustle the leaves and grass around him.
His absent-minded gaze fell upon the object in his hand–a crimson stone, glowing like the evening sunset.
This was an Awakening Stone, an artifact capable of turning an ordinary person into an Awakened. Naturally, that was how it was supposed to work. But for Haruka, this was already his third stone, and the so-called "Awakening" remained nothing more than a distant dream.
Ordinary people, upon reaching the age of fifteen, could use an Awakening Stone to ignite their Genesis Skill, thus embarking on the path of cultivation. The success rate was as high as 99%. Logically, even if the first attempt failed, the second or third should have guaranteed success. Only the most unlucky individuals would fail all three times.
Unfortunately, Kasugano Haruka was exactly that kind of unlucky person. Three attempts–from age fifteen to now, nearly eighteen–had all ended in failure.
What weighed on him most was the research stating that if one failed to awaken before turning eighteen, they would never unlock a Genesis Skill in their lifetime. And tonight–was his eighteenth birthday.
In other words, if he failed this time, his life would be as good as over. In this era, lacking a Genesis Skill was no different from being a cripple.
"Maybe it's because I'm not from this world?"
Haruka muttered to himself, thinking of his true identity. He wasn't a native of this world–he was a transmigrator, someone who had crossed over from Earth to this place called Metaphia.
That fact made him wonder–perhaps, as an outsider, he simply couldn't awaken a Genesis Skill like the people of this world.
"Sigh… If I fail again, I'll just accept my fate. With this handsome face, maybe I can live off some rich lady."
Haruka sighed, deciding to give it one last try. If he truly failed, he'd have no choice but to rely on his looks to survive. After all, without a Genesis Skill, living on this planet was far too difficult.
With that thought, he didn't hesitate any longer. He pulled out a small knife from his pocket and lightly pricked his fingertip. A drop of blood welled up, which he then flicked onto the Awakening Stone.
Once the familiar ritual was complete, he watched as the blood was slowly absorbed by the stone. His heart pounded in anticipation as he waited for a reaction. Even after three failures, this moment still made him nervous–because the result would determine his entire future.
But after a long while…nothing happened.
The stone remained unchanged under the dimming twilight.
"Another failure?"
Kasugano Haruka exhaled deeply. Maybe he should've accepted this outcome sooner. A 99% success rate, yet he had failed three times in a row–this wasn't just bad luck. It was impossible.
Disappointed, he stood up, ready to leave.
But just then–
The stone in his palm suddenly grew scorching hot.
His heart jumped. His eyes widened in shock as he stared at the stone.
The crimson glow intensified, growing deeper and deeper, until—
Light erupted.
A stream of red energy surged out, piercing through his skin and flowing into his veins, spreading throughout his entire body.
Haruka felt his consciousness floating, as if submerged in warm water. His vision blurred—the reddish twilight faded, replaced by swirling strands of multicolored light.
His eyelids grew heavy.
His mind sank into darkness.
He didn't know how much time had passed—a minute? An hour?
Slowly, the chaotic lights receded, and his awareness returned.
When he opened his eyes again, the evening sky was still the same—reddish, serene, the breeze still brushing against his skin.
As if nothing had changed.
But—
Was that really the case?
Of course not.
Kasugano Haruka stared at the translucent screen hovering before his eyes, his heart screaming in triumph.
"Hahaha… So this is what they call the System, huh?"
What he had only ever heard about from others was now right in front of him.
The System–something only those who successfully awakened could possess.
"Let's see… What kind of Genesis Skill did I unlock?"
Suppressing his excitement, Haruka focused on the interface. It displayed:
[Name: Kasugano Haruka (18)]
[Mana: 1]
[Potential: 100]
[Genesis Skill: (Unique) [Infinite Godspeed] (Lv.1 - 0%)]
[Sub-Skills: 0]
"What? A Potential of 100? Don't tell me… I've awakened an Omega-rank Genesis Skill?!"
Haruka's breathing became heavy as he stared at the number 100 on the system interface. He rubbed his eyes with his hand and looked again, repeating the action several times.
After confirming he hadn't misread it.
Kasugano Haruka became strangely calm, no loud laughter, no jumping in joy. He just lay flat on the bench, eyes gazing into the distant sky. Watching the crimson clouds beneath the twilight.
Haruka raised his right hand to eye level, blocking part of the sunset light. He watched the red rays shine through the gaps between his fingers, then slowly clenched his hand, as if wanting to grasp the entire sky. At this moment, all the pressure, frustration, and negative emotions accumulated over the past three years gradually vanished, his mood became light.
Perhaps from this moment on, he truly began to "Live".
For the past three years, every failed awakening made his mood grow increasingly heavy.
After watching the sky for a while, Haruka sat up, focusing on the genesis skill on the interface.
"Let's see just how powerful an Omega-rank skill is, as the legends say."
Haruka focused his thoughts on the skill on the interface. The panel didn't change at all at first, but then suddenly, a stream of information surged into his mind.
It was information related to the skill [Infinite Godspeed].
After digesting that information, Kasugano Haruka's heart started pounding again, thumping wildly, because this skill was overwhelmingly powerful.
Its effect was very simple, not complicated. But the simpler it was, the more terrifying it became.
When this skill is activated, his speed increases.
Literally, becomes fast.
Reaction speed, attack speed, movement speed – all doubled.
It might not sound like much, but one must understand, even between a hundred-meter sprint champion and an average clumsy person, their speed difference isn't necessarily double.
Not to mention someone with physical traits like Haruka.
At a certain level, even a difference of one second becomes a gap as vast as heaven and earth.
And this was just the skill at Lv.1. If it continued to level up, this "double" would only be the beginning. In the future, it might reach a hundredfold or even a thousandfold.
And movement speed was only one part — reaction speed, attack speed, and many other speed-related aspects were included too.
One could say this skill was monstrously powerful.
"No wonder it's considered one of the extremely rare Omega-rank Genesis Skills in the entire Federation. It truly is terrifying."
Kasugano Haruka couldn't help but marvel. Even across the entire planet Metophia, no one had awakened an Omega-rank Genesis Skill. In fact, even if you looked across the vast territory of the Human Federation spanning countless planets, the number of Omega-rank Genesis Skills could be counted on one hand.
Those who possessed Omega-rank skills were practically legendary beings.
"Perhaps this is what they call, the golden finger of a transmigrator."
Haruka smiled, his mood growing lighter. Everything around him now seemed full of poetic beauty.
"It really is quite a nice feeling."
Was this the mindset of a true genius?
Haruka gave a soft laugh, then browsed through the other stats on the system interface.
Those stats were also easy to understand.
One notable value was mana. At first glance, many would assume it was like the magical energy seen in fantasy works. But in the design of the [System], Mana was a representation of life level. Generally speaking, it encompassed speed, strength, spirit, and energy.
A part of it — the "energy" — did resemble traditional fantasy mana, and was used to activate skills. But in the [System], it did not exist as a standalone resource.
As for potential, it simply reflected a person's potential. The higher the potential value, the higher the level their Genesis Skill could reach.
After looking for a while and finding that all the system information matched what he already knew, Kasugano Haruka stood up and stretched.
"Phew, time to head home."
Looking at the darkening sky, Haruka spoke softly. He had been sitting here for a long time already – it was getting late, time to go home.