Chapter 7 – The Council of Worlds
In a subterranean chamber shielded by both cutting-edge technology —still mysteries to most of the world—the leaders of the most influential nations on Earth gathered. The atmosphere was dim, lit only by floating orbs of light, a recent gift from one of the so-called "returnees," those who had come back from the other world.
At the center of the room, a massive holographic monitor displayed scenes of dungeons emerging in deserts, cities, forests, and even mountains. Creatures never before seen—magical beasts, corrupted spirits, elemental entities—rose from these yawning chasms.
The representative from the United States spoke with a firm voice:
— So this is it. The origin of everything was... a single man.
The delegate from Russia, his face tired and eyes half-closed, replied:
— A young man. An otaku, as the first soldiers who encountered him described. Someone who lived in this world as a failure... and returned from another as a god.
Silence fell over the room. The truth sounded like fiction. Yet the facts were undeniable: the world was changing, and denial was no longer an option.
— He didn't destroy anything — said the prime minister of Japan. — On the contrary. He created all this... as a gift.
On the screen, images showed the first humans awakening powers, their bodies rewritten by invisible systems. Humanity had been rewritten. Each person who entered a dungeon could, with luck or courage, gain a class, a skill, a path.
And then, the first "levels" began to appear.
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The return of the first soldiers who had been dragged into other worlds—through what came to be known as "soul portals"—confirmed it all: this world now followed rules similar to those of a game system. But this was no game.
This was the new reality.
Governments began researching old mangas and animations, not for names—which were irrelevant—but for ideas. They watched videos showing heroes whose fury smashed continents with a single punch. Mages bending dimensions with a wave of their hand. Assassins moving faster than light itself. The potential of human power now had no ceiling.
Among the footage were scenes from popular series where titanic beings obliterated streets, cities, and even entire planets. It dawned on the leaders: if such beings could truly exist here, what would stop someone from destroying a city? A country? An entire continent?
— We must organize this before it's too late — said a representative from China, pounding the table. — If we do nothing now, chaos will engulf everything.
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Thus, the idea of the World Guild Association was born.
All returnees would be summoned and registered. Those with leadership potential could found their own guilds, provided they obtained the Official Guild Master License, issued and regulated by allied governments.
In return, each guild would receive financial and legal incentives—on the condition that they maintained control over monsters, protected civilians, and assisted in eliminating dungeon threats. Criminals empowered by these new forces would be hunted by licensed guilds acting as a new paramilitary magical force in the modern world.
To facilitate understanding, a Power Rank system was established based on destructive capability and combat tests:
Rank E: Slightly above normal humans. Able to break concrete with effort.
Rank D: Strength enough to demolish a house with bare hands or simple magic.
Rank C: Capable of leveling streets, defeating several armed soldiers alone.
Rank B: Destruction on a neighborhood scale. Superhuman speed and abilities.
Rank A: City-level threat. Techniques causing craters, magical storms, or colossal summons.
Rank S: National-level threat. Ability to erase entire regions with a single strike. Monsters at this level had only been sighted three times—and in each, destruction was near irreversible.
Rumors also circulated online about ranks beyond S... entities capable of sweeping continents or even entire planets off the map.
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The news was released worldwide.
The reaction was immediate. Ordinary people began actively seeking out dungeons, risking their lives for a chance to gain powers. Amateur videos flooded social networks, showing children conjuring flames, youths lifting cars with bare hands, adults dueling monsters with glowing eyes in the streets.
On the internet, chaos became a craze. Theorists debated the ethics of these powers, conspiracy theorists claimed it was a government experiment, and nerds everywhere compared this new reality to the stories they secretly loved.
Some celebrated. Others feared. But everyone knew one thing:
The world had changed.
And the architect of this change... was a single young man who despised the world he came from but chose to give it a second chance.
A chance to rewrite his own destiny.
Meanwhile, deep inside a dungeon, Renji fought monsters, completely unaware of the upheavals reshaping the world outside.
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