The morning light was harsh, bouncing off the white marble of the room. Haruto's eyes snapped open, his instincts still wired from years of being a solo survivor.
The first thing he saw wasn't the ceiling. It was three pairs of eyes watching him intently.
The Goddesses were already up, showered, and dressed in new, high-quality gear they must have ordered through the hotel's concierge. They were standing in a semi-circle around the sofa, staring at him with expressions ranging from curiosity to guilt.
As soon as Haruto's gaze met theirs, all three of them flinched and looked away, their cheeks flushing a deep red.
"Good morning,"
Haruto rasped, his voice thick with sleep. He sat up abruptly, a flash of genuine alarm crossing his face.
He rubbed his neck, feeling the fatigue of the sofa-sleep, but his heart was racing. It was a strange sensation—being looked after.
"We... We are so sorry about the bed!"
Lustra blurted out, bowing so low her forehead almost hit her knees.
"Indeed," Ivory added, looking at the floor.
"It was an illogical lapse in judgment. We were overwhelmed by the soft bed of the room and lost consciousness."
Haruto stood up, stretching his limbs until his joints popped.
"Forget it.."
The girls nodded hesitantly as Haruto headed into the bathroom to freshen up.
When he returned, the smell of freshly baked bread and exotic fruits filled the hall. They sat down for breakfast, the atmosphere finally relaxing. As they ate, Ivory placed her hand on the table, a small, intricate magic circle glowing under her palm.
"Haruto, look," she said.
"Now that you have officially reached Level 1, the 'Anchor' between us has strengthened. Because you are no longer a Zero, our divine seals have loosened slightly."
Lustra snapped her fingers, and a small, flickering flame appeared above her hand.
"My elemental magic is finally unlocked! I can cast basic spells now."
Bellon's eyes are sharper than yesterday.
"My combat passives are returning. I can feel the flow of the battlefield again. And i can also summon a sword"
"But," Ivory cautioned, her expression turning serious,
"There is a catch. Our Stamina and Mana pools are still tied to your current capacity. Since you are only Level 1, we can perform powerful moves, but only for a few seconds before we will collapse from exhaustion."
Haruto took a bite of the bread, looking at the glowing icons on his HUD.
"So, I'm the battery, and right now, if you guys use a 'Super Move,' I am the one who goes into a coma?"
"Precisely," Ivory nodded. "We have the skills, but no fuel. We need to raise your level if we want to survive what's coming next."
Haruto finished his meal and stood up, his eyes turning toward the door.
"Then let's go find some fuel. If Level 1 unlocked magic, I wonder what Level 2 does to this reality."
Haruto leaned against the breakfast table, swirling the last of his juice.
"Explain something to me,"
he said,pressing his chest to open his HUD and his eyes scanning the golden [LEVEL: 1] hovering near him.
"If the system finally acknowledged me, how do I push this number higher? …In my world's games, you just kill a few enemies and move on."
Ivory's expression turned grim.
"It's not that simple. The scaling in Aetheris is... cruel. To go from Level 1 to Level 2 takes twice the effort of reaching Level 1. From 2 to 3, it's twice that again. It's an exponential climb."
Bellona added, her hand tightening on her sword.
"Most humans spend their entire lives just trying to hit Level 60 to 70, but by the time someone reaches Level 60, they are usually old, grey, and at the end of their journey. Death usually claims them before they can even see the peak."
Haruto raised an eyebrow. "And yet, you three are at Level 99?"
"We are Goddesses," Lustra whispered.
"We were born blessed by the laws of this world. But you... you are different."
"That's what I don't get," Haruto muttered.
"If it's so hard, how did I spike to Level 10 last night just by getting annoyed at a thief?"
Ivory leaned in, her voice dropping to a whisper.
"Because you are the Star-Child. You weren't born of this world; you were pulled here by the 'Wish of a Star.' You carry the blessing of Arteritis, the God of Creation. To you, the 'laws' of growth are just suggestions. Your emotions are the catalyst—when you hit a peak, your level surges. But there is another way to grow, Haruto. A way that doesn't involve years of training."
Haruto looked at her, his curiosity finally piqued. "Go on."
Ivory explained.
"In this world, power flows from the soul,"
"To level up fast, you need a source. And for a Star-Child, that source is Fear and Devotion. The more another being fears you, or the more they devote themselves to you, the more your stats will swell. You don't level up by killing monsters, Haruto... you level up by leaving a mark on the hearts of the living."
Haruto went silent. He looked at his hands, then at the city outside.
"Fear, huh?"
He let out a dry chuckle.
(internal thoughts):"So, to win this game, I don't just delete files... I have to become the virus that everyone is terrified of."
"Fear and Devotion,"
he repeated, his voice trailing off.
"So, to climb this ladder, I just have to become a nightmare for everyone in this city? A villain?"
Ivory quickly stepped in front of him, her expression frantic.
"No, Haruto! You must be careful. If you spread fear among the innocent—among humans the world will mark you as a Corrupt Entity. The system of Arteritis doesn't just reward power; it enforces balance. If you become a villain to humanity, you will receive a Divine Punishment that could shatter your soul before you even reach Level 10."
Haruto tilted his head, his bored expression sharpening into curiosity.
"Then how does a 'Sovereign' get his fuel?"
"It is a dual path," Ivory explained, her voice steadying.
"You must harvest Fear from the Monsters and the darkness of this world. When a beast trembles before you, that fear becomes your raw strength. But from Humans, you must earn Devotion. You must be their hope, their light, or their leader. If you terrify the people you are meant to protect, you will lose the ability to gain devotion from them forever."
Haruto sat in silence for a moment, his mind processing the 'Code' behind this logic. The jagged smirk returned to his face as the pieces of the puzzle snapped into place.
"So that's how the system works," Haruto whispered, looking at his hands. "Last night, when that thief looked at me... He was terrified. He literally pissed himself in fear."
He looked up at Ivory, his eyes sharp.
"That's why I finally hit Level 1, isn't it? I harvested his fear to fuel my system."
Ivory nodded slowly, a grave expression on her face. "Yes, Haruto. That's a possibility."
Bellona crossed her arms, her eyes glowing with a faint martial light.
"Think of it as a game of reputation, Haruto. Fear is your blade against the shadows; Devotion is your shield among the living. Balance them, and you become a God. Fail, and you become a monster that the system will delete."
Ivory looked at his hand.
"You can't just take the easy way out and bully everyone,"
Haruto muttered, a small, genuine smirk appearing on his face.
"Good. Easy games are the most boring ones. I have to be a savior to the weak and a horror to the monsters. A hero with a dark shadow."
He repeated, his voice trailing off.
Haruto stood by the window of the Royal Suite, looking out at the sprawling city of Allesta. He looked at his hand, where the faint glow of Level 1 remained.
"You must understand your place in the food chain, Haruto," she said seriously.
"Aetheris." is divided into four Great Races. First, there are the Humans. They are the weakest, born at Level 0 or 5. Then there are the Elves, born with the grace of the forest between Level 50 and 80. Above them are the Spirits, ethereal beings born at Level 80 to 95."
She paused, her voice dropping to a whisper. "And then, there are the Gods. We are born at Level 99. We do not age, and we cannot be 'created' by anyone in this world. Only a Being of Level 100—a true Sovereign—has the power to manifest a God."
Haruto leaned against the obsidian table, his dark coat swaying.
"So the Gods are at the top, and Humans are just the dust at the bottom? Sounds like a poorly balanced game."
"That's where the 'Catch' is," Bellona interrupted, a competitive glint in her eyes. "Elves, Spirits, and even us Gods... we are static. We are born at a high level, but we stay there until the day we fade. An Elf born at Level 60 will likely die at Level 60. We cannot 'Level Up' like you do."
Lustra smiled, stepping closer to Haruto.
"Humans are the only race gifted with the Cycle of Growth. You start at the bottom, yes, but you are the only ones who can climb. A human, if the conditions are right and their Will is strong enough, can surpass an Elf, a Spirit, and even a God. You are the only race that has the potential to reach Level 100."
Haruto looked at his hands, a jagged, dark smirk slowly spreading across his face.
(Haruto's Inner Thoughts:)So everyone else is a 'Read-Only' file, but Humans are 'Read-Write.' The Gods are capped at 99, stuck in a golden cage of their own power. But me? I'm a Level 1. I'm the only file in this world that can keep growing until I'm big enough to overwrite the Gods themselves.
"So the 'weakest' race is actually the most dangerous one," Haruto muttered, his obsidian eyes flashing with a rare spark of ambition.
"Don't get too comfortable with it."
Ivory said, her voice turning cold and professional. She gestured to the world outside.
"Aetheris is not a simple land. It is constructed of Layers. Think of them as invisible floors of a tower that spans the entire world. Every 'pocket' or zone in this world is saturated with magic power that is alive. It is a sentient force that demands two things to grant you strength: your Will and your devotion to your goals."
Haruto turned his head slightly. "So the more I want it, the more the world gives?"
"In theory, yes," Ivory nodded.
"But the system has a physical lock. To exist in a higher Layer, you must have the corresponding Level. Right now, because you are Level 1, you only possess the strength of Layer 1. If you tried to cross into the territory of Layer 2 without leveling up, the mana pressure of that atmosphere would treat you like an intruder. It would literally crush you into the dirt until your bones snapped."
Haruto looked at Ivory, then at Bellona and Lustra. "Wait a second. If Level 1 is the limit for this Layer, and Layer 2 would crush me... how are you three standing here? You're Level 99. According to your logic, the 'Mana Pressure' of Layer 1 should be like a feather to you, but shouldn't your presence be too 'Heavy' for this floor?"
Ivory smiled, a calm but sharp expression.
"It's a one-way street, Haruto. Think of it like a deep-sea diver. A creature from the surface will be crushed by the pressure of the deep ocean. But a creature from the deep? They can swim to the surface—they just feel lighter but do not affect atmosphere themselves and also this is not first layer, this is the Allesta village here all races can live also, this is the safe place where no monster spawn"
Haruto leaned against the window, watching the sunrise over Allesta.
(Haruto's Inner Thoughts:)So, I'm the only one in this room who can actually 'Grow,' but I'm also the only one who can be 'Deleted' by the atmosphere itself. The Goddesses are invincible here, but they're stuck in a loop. I'm fragile, but I'm the only one who can climb.
Bellona stepped up, crossing her arms. "In the first layer, you will find monsters born from this specific mana. By defeating them, you don't just kill them—you harvest their fear. That fear is the fuel required to push your soul toward Level 2. It's a ladder of terror, Haruto."
"And it's a long one," Ivory continued.
"The legends say that at Layer 100, the final layer, you must face the God of nothingness themselves. No mortal has ever reached it. Even the Pure Gods are capped at Level 99 by the ancient laws. If you want to go further, you are looking at a path that has never been walked."
Lustra leaned in, adding a spark of hope to the grim explanation.
"Also there are a few shortcuts! The system isn't entirely heartless. Every twenty levels, a Guardian Boss appears. If you can beat a Boss, the system recognizes your dominance and grants you an immediate Level Boost. It's the only way to bypass the grind and jump ahead."
Haruto looked back at the door of the suite. The world felt different now—not just a place to live, but a massive machine designed to test his boredom.
"Fear from monsters to climb the floors, and a Boss every 20 steps to skip the queue,"
Haruto muttered, a dark smirk playing on his lips.
(Inner thoughts) "It sounds like a game designed by someone who hates players. But then again. I guess those Bosses are just bigger files waiting to be erased."
Inside the quiet luxury of the Royal Suite, the gravity of Ivory's words hung in the air. Haruto adjusted his collar, looking at his hands as if seeing them for the first time.
"So, I'm stuck in this first layer,"
Haruto said, his voice echoing slightly.
"How do we actually start moving? How do we get to the next floor of this world?"
Ivory looked at him with a piercing gaze.
"You can't. Not yet. To even step onto the transition path between layers, you must be Level 5 at the very least. If we go now, it won't be a journey; it will be a short trip. And you will also not be able to progress fast .Being level five can help you level up quickly and directly reach to layer 5. "
"Level 5," Haruto repeated, his eyes narrowing. "That's the first hurdle."
"But you are capable of so much more."
Ivory continued, her voice trembling with a mix of fear and awe.
"You carry the blessing of Arteritis, so you can level up much faster than anyone ever lived. Think of it like 1000 times faster so you can reach level 100 in almost 5 to 6 years and defeat the final one , but we have actually no knowledge of what entity dwells at Layer 100 as the world has forgotten his true name. They call him the God of Nothingness because he leaves no trace, no history. He is the void from which everything was destroyed."
She stepped closer, her silver eyes locked onto his.
"A Star-Child never shares their blessing. It is yours and yours alone. You weren't brought here to follow the rules of the 99 levels. You were brought here to surpass them and face the Nothingness that even the Gods are afraid to mention."
Bellona stood tall and said.
"To reach Level 100, you have to face him. And in this entire reality, you are the only one who can. You are a Star-Child. Such a being only appears once in a billion-billion years. You are a 'one-of-a-kind' that the universe only creates when it needs to reset itself."
Haruto stood silent for a long moment. The boredom in his heart was finally being replaced by something else—a cold, sharp focus. He wasn't just a bored guy in a game anymore. He was the Sovereign of the star child.
"Once in a billion-billion years," Haruto whispered, a dark, genuine smirk spreading across his face.
(Haruto's Inner Thoughts:)'Nothingness'... it's just another word for the absolute silence of the Void. It's the ultimate Boredom. And Boredom is my oldest enemy—my predator. I've lived my whole life fighting to delete that feeling, to find a spark in a recycled script.
He looked up at the enchanted sky of Aetheris, his obsidian eyes flashing with a violet spark that seemed to swallow the light around him.
"God of Nothingness, huh?" Haruto muttered, his voice echoing like a glitch in the atmosphere. "You've been waiting for a billion years for someone to challenge you. Well, I've been bored for eighteen years, but I'm much more desperate than you are."
He adjusted his dark coat, the air around him vibrating with the weight of his Level 1 Soul-Density.
"I'm coming for you, Nothingness. Let's see whose 'Zero' is more absolute."