The System Awakens: Rise of the Champion

There were still at least ten to fifteen minutes until the system finally descended upon Earth.

When it did, countless portals would manifest all around the world.

These portals served as pathways to unknown dungeons from countless worlds across the universe.

Monsters from these dungeons would invade Earth through these portals, which the system referred to as gates.

There were two types of gates: red gates and blue gates.

The difference between them was significant.

Blue gates allowed a grace period before a dungeon break occurred, giving time for preparation or intervention.

Red gates, however, provided no such respite.

The moment a red gate appeared, monsters would begin pouring out of the dungeon immediately.

On the day of the Awakening, the gates that appeared across the world were all red gates.

This was one of the primary reasons the monsters caused such catastrophic chaos so quickly.

Humanity was blindsided, unable to comprehend the messages the system provided or grasp the scale of the danger.

This unpreparedness led to the deaths of three billion people.

"The population of 8.2 billion will soon drop to 5 billion. It's unfortunate, but it can't be stopped. I just need to focus on my survival," Damian thought as he arrived at the exact spot he had stood before his regression.

It was here, at this precise moment, that the system had descended, unleashing untold horrors and countless opportunities.

The rain was still falling, just as it had in his previous timeline.

But it would stop soon, right about now, and people would begin to emerge.

That was when it would happen.

Damian glanced at the small burger joint beside his former office building where he had once worked.

"That couple... they should be stepping out any moment now."

As if he had foretold the future, a couple exited the burger shop just as the rain ceased.

He remembered clearly. When the metamorphosis process began, the boyfriend had been unable to withstand it.

The result? He mutated into a Corruptant.

A cold gust of wind rushed past Damian, followed closely by a warmer breeze.

"He should be having a seizure right about now," Damian murmured, a smile tugging at his lips.

Sure enough, as though his words were a prophecy, the man suddenly collapsed to the ground, writhing in the throes of an intense seizure.

His girlfriend screamed for help, tears streaming down her face.

What most people didn't understand before his regression to the past was that the metamorphosis had already begun before the system descended.

That was why the man was experiencing a seizure, as his body couldn't handle the metamorphosis.

Then, as Damian had anticipated, a system prompt appeared before his eyes, followed by a rapid series of messages.

[An unawakened solar system with a viable star and planets has been identified in the Milky Way galaxy in Sector Omega-8.]

[Locating lifeforms capable of awakening evolutionary traits...]

[Two planets housing lifeforms with evolutionary traits have been found.]

[Registering the solar system with its star, referred to as 'Sun' by the inhabitants, into the database.]

[Arousing the planets in this solar system to release otherworldly essences into the atmosphere simultaneously...]

Damian grinned, sweat rolling down his cheeks. "The system is really here… it's true. I really have regressed."

Though Damian had already accepted the possibility that he had regressed and that everything he experienced wasn't a dream, a small part of him had held onto doubt.

Now, seeing the system prompt before his eyes, that doubt vanished entirely.

As the system messages faded, he noticed the peculiar flow of various types of energies leaving the earth and merging with the atmosphere.

At the same time, a new sensation gripped him. "What is this I'm feeling? I didn't feel like this before my regression."

He chose to ignore the strange feeling for now and quickly prepared himself.

He pulled out a 10-by-10-inch cage containing a live rat and, in his other hand, gripped the axe he had purchased earlier.

His breathing quickened, a wave of nervousness stirring in his chest as he carefully moved behind the boyfriend and girlfriend duo.

The boyfriend was still convulsing from the seizure.

Then, the ground began to shake violently.

"This is it. This is when the towers will manifest," Damian thought, his eyes fixated on the boyfriend.

He could already see the transformation beginning.

The man's body was starting to turn into a Corruptant, though the process was incomplete.

Within seconds, the earthquake subsided, and the Tower of Evolution had manifested at the heart of the city.

Another wave of system messages appeared before his eyes.

[The System has arrived on your habitable planet, known as 'Earth,' and has forced its inhabitants to undergo metamorphosis. You have gained the right to evolve.]

[In five seconds, monsters from countless realms will invade Earth.]

[Remaining Time: 5 seconds.]

[Kill monsters, and you might survive.]

[Remaining Time: 4 seconds.]

[You can now view your attributes, talents, abilities, and skills by simply thinking about them.]

Damian glanced at the rat inside its cage.

Blood trickled from its mouth, and its five-inch body was expanding rapidly.

His gaze shifted to the flytrap sapling he had bought in a bottle.

The plant, too, was responding to the metamorphosis.

Its leaves began to spread, its stem thickening as sharp teeth bloomed along its edges.

[Remaining Time: 3 seconds.]

"Come on, just two more seconds," Damian muttered nervously, eyes fixed on the countdown.

He couldn't kill it just yet.

The system had to deliver the final message before the leveling and achievement functions became active.

Only after that could he act.

Timing was everything.

If he struck too soon, his efforts would fail.

[Remaining Time: 2 seconds.]

Damian's hands trembled.

He was painfully aware that he was the weakest person here.

If he let even a second slip, the man, already close to finishing his mutation into a Corruptant, would complete it in a few seconds.

Once the mutation was complete, the Corruptant would go on a killing spree.

There was no margin for error.

He had to act decisively and kill the Corruptant in a single strike.

If he failed to kill the Corruptant in one shot, he would be the one to get killed instead.

[Remaining Time: 1 second.]

"It's here," Damian whispered, swallowing hard as a red gate began to materialize just a few meters in front of him.

The rat had grown to the size of a cat, the cage struggling to contain its grotesquely enlarged body.

Two sharp fangs jutted from its mouth, its bloodshot eyes glowed with malice, and spikes had formed along its elongated tail.

The flytrap sapling had also completed its mutation.

Its roots burst through the plastic bottle, anchoring themselves into the ground and piercing the asphalt below.

Meanwhile, the man who had fully transformed into a Corruptant stood ominously still.

His former girlfriend cowered nearby, paralyzed with fear at the monstrosity before her.

[Remaining Time: 0 second.]

"Shit," Damian hissed under his breath, his heart pounding as the final moment approached.

...

[A/N: Come on, everyone! You've made it this far, so why not add my novel to your favorites? And if it's not too much trouble, please leave a review or drop some POWER STONES!]