As my father drove the car, I found myself drifting into thought again, staring out the window as the futuristic skyline passed us by.
This world…
How do I even put it?
It's... basically Earth.
Same continents, same geography, even the same countries and islands.
But a few things are different. The biggest one?
This world has a unified global language—English.
I'd read about it. Apparently, sometime in the 18th century, the nations of the world came together to form a common system—shared measurements, a unified currency, and a universal language. A kind of global standardization to eliminate the chaos of difference.
If it weren't for that detail, I would've assumed I hadn't been reincarnated at all—just reborn in the future.
Ah yes. The future.
I almost forgot to mention—the current year is 2244.
That's right. I'm literally living centuries ahead of my past life.
And the world I live in… has seen hell.
Here's how the history goes:
In the 21st century, humanity faced its biggest trial—not a monster apocalypse like in fiction, not an alien invasion either—but something weirder.
Space-time broke.
No one knows why, but for a few months, reality itself started acting strange—light bending wrong, clocks skipping time, gravity hiccupping.
Then… they came.
Three massive wormholes tore open the sky.
From each emerged a celestial body.
One of them crashed into Earth.
No, it didn't destroy the entire planet—but it did annihilate three major continents: North America, South America, and Australia. What's left of them are now fragmented island chains collectively known as the Ruined Continents. Islands of wreckage, twisted metal, and shattered civilization.
The other two celestial bodies?
They didn't crash. Instead, they started orbiting Earth, like new moons.
One of them—green and lush—was found to be a habitable world.
Explorers who landed there met an ancient, magical race: Elves.
The second? A blue celestial body with a glowing anti-gravity ring around it. Still a mystery. No one knows what's on it or inside it.
My personal theory? Bigfeet.
Of course, I'm kidding. (Or... am I?)
After that cosmic disaster, something else happened—mana appeared.
Like a flood. Like a curse. Like a miracle.
Yeah. I said curse. You'll see why.
Mana didn't just make people stronger. It changed the world.
With it came portals—gateways that now link Earth to the broken continents. Those regions are now monster-infested zones, crawling with all sorts of horrors.
But it wasn't all bad.
With mana came Talents—supernatural gifts, or "blessings," that gave people a head start in controlling mana. They were innate, powerful, and… hereditary.
And of course, humanity being what it is… we built a new hierarchy around that.
Families with powerful talents formed guilds—replacing the concept of old-school noble bloodlines. Wealth, influence, and prestige now came from your Talent Lineage.
But here's the twist.
You don't need a talent to become strong.
Hard? Yes. Impossible? No.
Out of the seven recorded S-rank heroes alive today, two are completely talentless. Living proof that effort and obsession can still overcome privilege.
Now about those ranks—yeah, heroes are classified by strength:
S-Rank
A-Rank
B-Rank
C-Rank
D-Rank
E-Rank
F-Rank
But here's something weird: mages aren't part of this ranking system.
Why?
When I asked my father, he said, "Pride. Ego. The mage associations didn't want their power measured by someone else's system."
I didn't understand back then. Still don't.
Oh, and demons?
Yeah… they're real.
But not how you'd imagine.
They don't show up breathing fire or wearing horns. No. They whisper. They promise power. They offer contracts.
No one knows what they really look like, or how they operate. Just… that they exist.
Some people welcome them. Others fear them. Me?
I stay the hell away.
Now back to my father—Parveen Springs.
A B-rank hero. Works for the Indian government. He's a quiet man but highly respected.
His international hero ranking is 102,901.
Now, that might not sound like much until you realize there are over 9 million registered heroes worldwide.
So yeah. He's a big deal.
"We're here, son," Dad said, pulling the car to a smooth stop.
I blinked, pulled from my thoughts, and looked up.
END