First Gate

Inside the Initiate Centre, Edgar followed the blue line on the floor to the end of the corridor.

There he found a room where there were already at least 10 people also waiting to take the rank test.

He looked for a seat for himself and waited.

A few minutes later the door to the next room opened and a beautiful woman wearing glasses and a suit came out.

"Hello, I'm Camille and I'll be helping you with your test. When I call your name, come with me," she explained and called out a girl's first name.

Five minutes later the girl came out, but with a sad expression on her face.

"What rank did you get?" someone asked.

"Only C-rank," she replied.

Some of the others who had been waiting became anxious and others smiled at her mockingly.

And so, one by one, people were called out, generating different reactions to each person who left the room.

"Edgar," Camille's voice sounded.

"Here," he said and followed her into the room.

Inside the room was a strange-looking machine with a white orb positioned in the centre.

"Place your hand on the orb and activate your energy," she explained "It takes a few minutes and then we'll know your rank," she concluded.

"OK," Edgar said and approached, placing his hand on the orb and activating his ability.

A red and black energy covered his body like an aura and was absorbed by the orb.

After a few minutes an alarm sounded.

"Okay, you can stop," she said.

Edgar withdrew his hand and waited

"Here," she handed him a card. "Very good B-rank," Camille praised.

It was an Initiate's identity card showing his name and his new rank.

Edgar knew that his rune was EX-ranked, but the machine at the Centre couldn't evaluate it. 

Leaving the room, Edgar walked past the others who were still waiting without saying a word.

Then he went to reception.

"Is there a portal for a B-rank beginner?" he asked the same woman who had seen him before.

"Oh! B-rank," she was a little taken aback, not expecting him to have good rune skills. "Let me look it up," the girl validated on the computer on the desk. "Here. A low-risk D-rank portal, but enough for you to get used to battles," she gave him the location.

It wasn't too far from Central, so it was good for Edgar.

"You should head to the equipment room to pick up your starter items offered by Central," the receptionist told Edgar.

The Initiate Centre offered D-rank starter items to new explorers in order to keep young Initiates safe during their first explorations of portals.

Edgar equipped himself with light leather armour, a sword and a small shield.

None of the items had rune capabilities, they were just disposable items for initial explorations, but it was already a significant help from Central. 

After a few minutes of walking, Edgar, now equipped with his items, arrived at the Central checkpoint in front of the portal.

"Identify yourself!" the guard stopped him

Edgar showed his Initiate ID.

"This way, sir," the guard led him through.

A B-rank was already someone with a lot of power and the civil guards who secured the low-level portals had a lot of respect for strong Initiates.

A large grey portal hung in the air.

Edgar had his ID validated and was allowed to enter.

The grey world got its name from the world's sky, which was a dull grey colour that gave the impression that it wasn't day or night.

D-rank portals weren't very dangerous because most of the creatures resembled land animals, although some had rune abilities or body mutations.

Edgar was on a plain next to a dense forest.

From the forest he could hear the sounds and noises of beasts.

Holding his sword tightly and his shield in his other arm, he entered the edge of the forest. Carefully following the noises until he came to a clearing where two beasts were fighting.

One appeared to be a wolf and the other a small bear.

The bear was at a disadvantage due to the speed of the wolf, which made a few quick attacks and bit the young bear's neck.

Using his speed to land another blow, the Wolf won the contest with the other creature, but before he could celebrate, Edgar came out of hiding and swung his sword in a vertical strike.

Before he was reborn, he had lived for a few years as a porter and Edgar knew how to deal with these low-ranking beasts.

The wolf's body fell dead beside the bear.

[Predation Active] the system sounded [Two Runes detected].

[Rune D-rank - Small Strength], the glow of a red rune was on the bear's body.

[Rune D-rank - Vendaval], now a green glow was on the dead body of the beast that resembled a wolf.

A rune that would increase strength and another for speed.

[Because of the host's physical condition only one rune can be integrated], the system warned.

Edgar looked at the two options and thought it would be better to go with the speed rune the wolf had and the strength rune he could sell to some guild or to Central.

[D-rank rune Vendaval acquired].

He felt his body become lighter and more agile.

Now, as well as runes, the parts of beasts were also used as materials.

However, Edgar only had a simple rucksack, so he could carry little material that he would take from the beasts.

Expansive backpacks were too expensive for him to buy now, as they were made with many special runes, which led to their high value.

After collecting the most valuable parts and storing them, he left the area, as the blood could attract the attention of many beasts at once.

Edgar circulated his energy to use the new rune's ability.

A green energy covered Edgar and he shot through the forest at great speed.

After a few hours of exploration, night was about to fall on Planet Earth.

However, in the Grey World, this perception was somewhat impaired, as only the grey sky remained in the sky.

Making it difficult to pinpoint the correct time.

Edgar had already battled a few other creatures during this time.

A green deer and a few other mutant wolves, but none of them had skill runes.

Only basic energy runes, where these runes were used in the manufacture of weapons or as batteries on Earth, so their value was considerably low on the market.

But with the amount he acquired today, Edgar could raise some funds. Also considering that he would sell the materials he managed to take from the beasts.

Returning to the entrance, he saw that there were also other Initiates leaving like him and others entering to explore during the night.

He passed through the portal and within moments he was on Earth again, heaving a sigh of relief.

At last he was changing his destiny and now he had to head for Central and sell his materials and runes.

As Edgar wasn't an Initiate in any guild, he could sell his materials at the Centre, which was considered fairer in terms of value.

On the way to the Initiate Centre in England, Edgar found himself thinking again about something that had happened inside the portal.

After collecting the energy rune, the system's voice sounded again.

[D-rank Energy Rune detected - Consume to strengthen Secondary Rune].

His predation rune really was something spectacular, he thought.

"Consume," Edgar said.

The energy from the rune in his hand was sucked into his body and he felt his speed increase slightly compared to before.

However, the Vendaval Rune still remained at the same rank, but now with a percentage identification next to it visible.

[12%]

It seemed that he would have to get more energy runes to raise his rank.

Returning to his reality, he was now once again standing in front of the large building of the Initiates' Centre.

Entering through the large door, he saw the same girl still at the reception desk.

"Hello," he said.

"Oh... hello... it's you, how was your exploration?" she asked.

"It went well and I'd like to sell my loot from the raid," he told her why he was there again.

"Oh yes, of course," she said as she noticed the full rucksack Edgar was carrying on his back.

"Follow the red line that will take you to the assessment rooms," she directed him.

"Thanks," he smiled and walked away.

Following the red line, Edgar now found himself in front of a waiting room with a few other people.

He settled down and decided to wait his turn.

After a few minutes had passed, a large man came out of the room and asked him to come in.

"Your turn, kid," the man said.

"Sure," Edgar followed him in.