Background

Chapter 3

In a desperate rush, a group of scientists embarked on a massive project to save humanity. They tirelessly mined and produced fuel at an alarming rate, utilizing methods stored in the aircraft carrier's database. However, the planet suffered from indiscriminate mining, resulting in severe pollution. After three hundred years, the once beautiful and thriving planet had transformed into a desolate and inhospitable wasteland. It was difficult to fathom that this broken planet had been inhabited three centuries ago.

While three hundred years may appear lengthy for humans, it is relatively short in the lifespan of a planet. All living organisms, including plants, animals, and people, had long been evacuated to the aircraft carrier, ensuring no loss of human lives. The original group of scientists had perished many years ago, and now the 40th generation of scientists carried on the mission to save humanity. As they gazed upon the lifeless planet before them, the group couldn't help but express their helplessness with a sigh.

Scientists were well aware of the planet's former beauty in ancient times. Nonetheless, they harbored no regrets for transforming it into a barren desert. They had toiled tirelessly and were now prepared to take action after careful preparations.

Following several spatial jumps, the mothership finally arrived at a colossal celestial body, dwarfing their previous planet in size. The choice of this planet was based on its distance from the impact of the explosion and the information recorded in the carrier's database. Previous civilizations had visited this place, thus ensuring a relatively smooth journey.

The green planet lacked complex animal life, providing reassurance to the scientists that it posed no immediate danger. They also brought along native animals for breeding, ensuring a sustainable food supply in their new home. Over the next two hundred years, construction and relocation efforts were in full swing. Technological advancements were accelerated, fueled by the knowledge stored in the carrier's databases.

The humans, ever grateful, regarded their displacement as a hidden blessing amidst adversity. Just as they believed their utopian life would continue, a distress signal suddenly emanated from the mothership, threatening to upend everything. Concurrently, several spatial rifts appeared on the green planet, unleashing strange creatures that wreaked havoc and unleashed bloody carnage, shattering the peace they had strived to establish.

The diaspora they had previously undergone became a hindrance, as managing the disaster became exponentially complex without proximity between groups. They never anticipated that the place they once considered safe would turn into a nightmare. Further investigations revealed that a massive space storm had indeed occurred in the past, obliterating civilizations within the radius of its devastating radiation impact.

Although the green planet had not been directly destroyed by the storm, the reverberations it generated spread chaos throughout the surrounding space. The once-unaffected civilization now faced remnants of a shattered sky that threatened to plummet onto the green planet at any moment. Technological and cultural progress, previously accelerated, now experienced stagnation and setbacks due to this calamity.

One hundred years had elapsed since the emergence of the spatial rift, and humans had grown fearful of the planet they once called home. They encountered various monstrous beings ready to crush them at the mere sight. Fortunately, the carrier's database contained information on spiritual power users, and scientists were determined to capitalize on it. After thirty years, the first individuals with abilities emerged, and from that point on, abilities became a natural phenomenon for humanity. As a result, humans could now stand tall on the green planet they had long considered their home.

"Huff, what a convoluted struggle," sighed Ray as he contemplated the history of this civilization. The young man's mind was overwhelmed, but he knew he needed to grasp the foundations of this society to avoid standing out as an anomaly. With that in mind, Ray continued to reflect on his personal history.

Ray and Haruza were the children of the Tomaka family. Tragically, both of their parents perished in an accident while traveling with their parents' friends. Apart from their deceased parents' friend, Yuvra, their aunt also suffered misfortune as her husband died tragically during that time. With only the four of them remaining, Aunt Yuvra insisted they become a family. Consequently, Ray and Haruza began referring to Aunt Yuvra as "mom," just as Esubi, a boy the same age as Haruza.

Initially, addressing someone else as "mom" felt awkward for young Ray, but with time, he grew accustomed to it and developed a deep affection for his new mother, treating her as he would his biological mother. "Huff, more twists and turns!" exclaimed Ray, accompanied by a helpless sigh. He had lost count of how many times he had sighed today, but he knew it wouldn't cease for quite some time.

Ray then turned his thoughts to the coming-of-age ceremony he had recently undergone a few days ago. During the ceremony, Ray received an ability that could be considered mediocre. His ability was rated F based on the halo that emanated from him. Each talent possessed a halo indicating its rank. A white halo represented the H rank, a red halo denoted the G rank, an orange halo signified the F rank, and so on, following the colors of the light spectrum until reaching a peak with a purple halo for the A rank. As for the special S rank talent, it emitted a white halo with red-gold runes orbiting around it. Moreover, the SS rank talent sported a white halo with two red-gold and orange-gold rune halos.

Experts had put forth theories suggesting talent values beyond S or SS, distinguishable by the luminosity of the halo and the number and color of runes they possessed. However, there was currently no concrete evidence to support this theory.

Based on the tactical analysis, the instructor believed that Ray's abilities were weaker than the average F rank. This was due to Ray's ability to mimic other individuals' passive talents. While the ability to copy talents might be considered unique, if the user did not know how to harness it effectively, they would be weaker in comparison to individuals with fire-based special talents or other commonly seen abilities.

However, from the perspective of the "new" Ray, this talent was truly fascinating. In his previous life, he had spent countless hours immersed in various games, both on mobile and PC. In games, passive abilities often played a crucial role in determining victory on both a micro and macro scale. Ray had always dreamed of possessing all the passive abilities that game characters had, and now, in his second life, his dream was on the verge of becoming a reality.

With this realization, the "new" Ray wasn't disheartened by his talent. After all, with this ability, he could accomplish anything. He could become a chef, a painter, a writer, a sculptor, a blacksmith, or anything else, as long as he could find a suitable "source" to copy passive abilities from.

Curiosity sparked within him, and Ray closed his eyes to explore the altar within his pool of knowledge. As he did so, Ray found himself in a dark and murky space. Ahead of him, he spotted a familiar altar. The altar had an ordinary appearance, with a pool of water beneath it representing his knowledge. In the center of the altar, a pure white light with an orange halo hung in the air, symbolizing his talent.

Sensing his abilities and the space within his spiritual pool, Ray began to explore every corner of the area. After some investigation, Ray grew suspicious. He sensed the presence of a peculiar cubical object lying lifeless beneath the sea of knowledge. Intrigued, Ray focused his attention on the cube object.

Upon closer inspection, Ray was left astonished. Before him stood a black cube adorned with strange clusters of light, intersecting with another cube-shaped space. Sensing no immediate danger, Ray cautiously reached out to touch the cube object with his conscious embodiment.

The moment Ray made contact with the cube, several fragmented memories flooded into his mind.