This Is a Dangerous World

Blue Star had originally been a world extremely similar to Earth. It had people of different skin colors, countries with different cultures, and like Earth, it was a world where technology was advancing rapidly. Though there were occasional minor frictions between nations, they restrained one another and no major conflicts erupted, maintaining a surface-level peace.

However, three hundred years ago, an unprecedented event occurred. From that moment onward, Blue Star embarked on a path entirely different from before.

Three hundred years ago, on an otherwise tranquil and peaceful day on Blue Star, a blood-red rift tore across the sky without warning. Like a blood-red sword, it split Blue Star's azure heavens in two. Reflected by the rift, the entire sky turned crimson!

At the same time, satellites, space stations, and everything else orbiting Blue Star exploded under an unknown force, turning into cosmic dust. Blue Star, orderly just a second ago, descended into chaos. The once peaceful world was instantly gripped by panic.

Countries around the world sprang into action, issuing statements and maintaining order to calm their people. At the same time, they tried every possible means to investigate the blood-red rift. Yet no matter what method they used, anything that entered the rift lost contact and vanished without a trace.

Even missiles fired into it failed to stir the slightest ripple. The rift still stretched across the sky like an insurmountable chasm.

At the same time, Blue Star seemed to have been shrouded by something. Anything that left the atmosphere would explode and turn to dust.

Faced with this situation, humanity on Blue Star was helpless. After discussions, the leaders of every nation decided to deploy Blue Star's final and most powerful weapon: nuclear arms.

At the command of the world's leaders, every nation launched high-yield nuclear weapons at the rift. As expected of the most powerful weapon of the technological age, the rift no longer remained completely unresponsive. With each nuclear explosion, warped vortices appeared, and the rift was blasted into separate segments.

Seeing that nuclear weapons were effective against the rift, the leaders of every nation were preparing to destroy it in one push when the rift suddenly flashed with a dazzling red light. A red shockwave swept across all of Blue Star, and every nuclear weapon on the planet failed at the same instant, turning into piles of scrap metal.

At the same time, countless grotesque monsters surged madly from the rift, falling like raindrops into every corner of Blue Star—cities, mountains, forests, oceans...

Countless monsters raised their merciless blades against the creatures of Blue Star, who still had no idea what was happening! Blue Star was instantly plunged into a bloody storm. Wails, cries, and terrified curses mingled together, as if the world had come to an end!

Once they came to their senses, the people of Blue Star fought back desperately. Yet they quickly fell into despair! These monsters were not only immensely powerful and incredibly tough, but humanity's firearms were far less destructive against them than imagined. Moreover, nearly every monster possessed bizarre abilities—spitting fire, freezing, poisonous gas...

Under the monsters' terrifying assault, humanity retreated again and again. In just two years, ninety percent of Blue Star's humans had been completely wiped out. Less than ten percent remained, barely surviving in every corner of the planet. Just as humanity was about to be completely exterminated, a turning point arrived.

The red rift, which had previously produced only monsters, suddenly lit up with a brilliant yellow glow. Like the radiance of the sun, it was filled with hope. A wave of yellow light swept across Blue Star's battered land, and as the surviving humans felt it pass through their bodies, their exhausted bodies seemed to regain their vitality.

The numb survivors had no idea what was happening! They could only grip their weapons tightly and prepare for whatever change came next.

Yet events did not continue worsening as they had expected. As the yellow light flashed past, enormous vortices appeared one after another across Blue Star.

At the same time, all the monsters were sucked into the vortices. Blue Star, filled with all manner of monstrous roars one moment, fell completely silent the next. Other than the devastated land left behind, it was as though everything before had been a dream.

The surviving humans emerged from their shelters one after another. Seeing the ravaged land before them and the vanished monsters, they threw down their weapons and wept bitterly.

On that day, the surviving humans cast aside their so-called prejudices over skin color and their former national identities, joining forces to rebuild their shared homeland.

They knew that nothing could return to how it had been. The current peace was only temporary, and the danger had not been eliminated at all. The countless chasms in the sky and vortices across the land constantly reminded Blue Star's remaining humans that danger would come again.

That same year, the remaining humans established the Freedom Federation. It was the first year of the Federation's founding, designated Freedom Era Year 1, symbolizing the beginning of Blue Star's long journey in search of freedom.

About a year after the monsters disappeared, Blue Star, which had so much to rebuild, gradually recovered some of its strength. Yet the existence of the monsters continued to weigh heavily on the hearts of Blue Star's people.

The ineffectiveness of firearms against the monsters remained vivid in their minds. Countless Blue Star citizens realized that relying on guns to defeat monsters was nothing but wishful thinking!

If they did not find a new path, then the monsters' next appearance might be the moment Blue Star was completely destroyed. Thus, people began searching for new weapons capable of fighting the monsters.

One day, humans exploring a vortex accidentally discovered a black stone tablet buried in the soil at its bottom.

Researchers brought the stone tablet back for study, but no matter what instruments they used, they found it to be an ordinary stone tablet. Other than being incomparably hard and indestructible, it had no value at all.

Just as humanity was preparing to give up, a researcher accidentally touched the stone tablet with a bleeding finger. Then, a miracle happened!

That researcher awakened a strange ability, one that should have belonged to monsters: fire control!

He discovered that he could create and control flames just like the monsters! This discovery thrilled the researchers beyond measure, and they began dripping blood onto the tablet to experiment. Sure enough, some people gradually developed supernatural abilities as well.

When the Freedom Federation announced the news, Blue Star erupted in excitement. At that moment, the light of hope appeared!!

As time passed, more and more stone tablets were discovered, and more and more people awakened through them!

The stone tablets were officially named Awakening Stones by the Federation, while awakening abilities through Awakening Stones became known as the Awakening Ritual.

In the fifth year of humanity's mass awakening, just as expected, the monsters that had been sucked into the vortices began emerging from them once more. Humanity's war against the monsters began again.

But by then, humanity was no longer the helpless prey it had once been. With their newly acquired abilities, people drove back the monsters and forced them into the vortices.

In the years that followed, the monsters would emerge from the vortices every few years to battle humanity.

The life-and-death war between both sides continued for decades. People realized that if they continued passively defending themselves, their war against the magical beasts would never end. Moreover, as humanity grew stronger, calls for a counteroffensive within the Federation became increasingly intense. The Federation's upper ranks decisively chose to enter the vortices and attack the monsters.

After three hundred years of battle and the bloodshed of countless predecessors, humanity and the monsters maintained a delicate balance. Neither side could overcome the other.

Over those three hundred years, Blue Star's people gradually adapted to life with monsters. As time passed, all kinds of monsters were cataloged, and they were given a new name: magical beasts!

Based on factors such as their abilities and strength, people established a detailed ranking system for magical beasts. There were ten levels in total, with Level 1 being the weakest and Level 10 the strongest!

The vortices where the monsters lived were also called secret realms! Secret realms were likewise divided into different grades according to the strength of the magical beasts within them!

Secret realms of different grades were guarded by people of corresponding ranks. Those who guarded secret realms were known as Guardians.

Guardians were divided into ten tiers and one hundred levels. Tiers 1 through 6 were referred to by their tier, such as a Tier 6 Guardian. From Tier 7 onward, they were high-ranking Guardians: Marquis-rank Guardians, King-rank Guardians, Emperor-rank Guardians, and the most powerful, Sovereign-rank Guardians.

Levels 1 through 9 were Tier 1 Guardians, Levels 10 through 19 were Tier 2 Guardians, and so on...

"Magical beasts! Guardians! Awakening..."

After receiving so much information at once, if not for the strong nerves Lin Yu had developed from constantly surfing the internet in his previous life, he truly would not have been able to accept something this absurd so quickly!

Lin Yu rubbed his swollen head, his face full of speechlessness!

"Damn, this world seems a little dangerous!"