Meanwhile, back on Earth.
It was the fourth day of the one-week assessment period at Aetheria High School. Everyone who had awakened their Martial Innate Soul last week was gathered on the training field. Standing in front of them was their instructor, a terrifying Level 250 powerhouse.
Yet, today, Ran did not show up.
Leo and Ken looked at his empty spot, feeling deeply disappointed. They were Ran's best friends. They understood how hard it was for him to awaken a trash-tier orb, but seeing their friend just give up like this broke their hearts.
On the other side of the field, Victor Alfonso was laughing. He acted incredibly smug, feeling like he had already won his battle against Ran. Before this, Victor was planning to use his family background. He wanted to ask his father to pull some strings and ruin Ran's life. Now, it seemed useless. Still, Victor thought to himself that if Ran ever showed his face at school again, he would make him suffer.
But then, on this very day, something strange and impossible happened.
Without any warning, several people suddenly stopped moving. A look of total shock appeared on their faces—as if they were reading something invisible in the air.
Then, they vanished.
Five people disappeared from Aetheria High School alone.
The first two were Leo and Ken, Ran's best friends, who were standing right on the field when they suddenly disappeared.
The third was Ninya. She was a highly talented girl who had awakened an Epic-tier speed type Martial Innate Soul. Because of her Epic tier, a top clan had immediately recruited her right after her awakening. She was training in the clan's private wild hunt when she suddenly vanished.
The fourth was Flora. She was a silent, cold beauty who rarely talked to anyone. Because she came from a very poor background, she kept to herself. In a world that only cared about money and powerful clans, her beauty did not get much attention. She also disappeared right off the school field.
The fifth was Mark. He was a nerdy guy with a very weak body. He was a pitiful boy who had no parents and no friends. Ran had actually tried to talk to him once, but Mark always kept his distance from everyone. He was also on the field when he vanished into thin air.
Soon, the news spread out. It was not just the school. It was happening in towns, cities, and countries all over the world.
Because of the sudden chaos, the officials at Aetheria High School canceled the training day. This was the first time in the school's history that training was stopped. The teachers and higher-ups immediately rushed to hold a very important meeting.
Meanwhile, the same panic was happening everywhere else. It happened in different institutes, powerful clans, and giant companies across the globe.
There are about 9 billion people on Earth. The 17 million individuals who disappeared were just a small fraction of that total number. However, the sheer mystery of it caused absolute panic. The world leaders and higher-ups were greatly alarmed by this strange phenomenon.
But just a few hours later, the situation took another wild turn.
The people who had disappeared suddenly began to come back!
However, they reappeared at slightly different times, and something was completely different about them. The most shocking thing was their levels. Someone who disappeared at Level 5 came back at Level 10. A Level 3 returned as a Level 5. A Level 20 powerhouse suddenly reappeared at Level 23! To jump multiple levels in just a few hours was completely impossible on Earth!
What was even weirder was their clothing. Every single returnee was now wearing an identical, simple cloth tunic.
More importantly, many of them brought out wild resources, like simple wood, stone, or grass. On Earth, regular wood and stone were useless. But the materials these returnees brought back were different—they were saturated with pure Spiritual Qi!
In the real world, Spiritual Qi items could only be found through incredibly rare and lucky encounters in highly dangerous wild zones. They were extremely expensive and used to brew powerful medicines or forge high-grade weapons. Yet, these returnees had easily gathered them like they were picking up pebbles on the street!
The sensation exploded immediately, especially on the internet.
Countless videos popped up out of nowhere. Many of them started trending globally in just a few minutes.
One viral video showed a young man who had disappeared right in the middle of proposing to his girlfriend. In the video, he was kneeling with a ring, but then he suddenly stood up, got a dazed look on his face as if reading something, and vanished!
His girlfriend was caught on camera screaming in absolute panic. But she wasn't screaming out of worry—she screamed because she was actually about to say "NO!" and was terrified he would mistake her silence for a "YES!"
However, a few hours later, the video showed the boy reappearing in the exact same spot. He was now wearing a peasant's cloth tunic, but a powerful aura pushed the crowd back. He had leveled up from Level 5 to Level 10 in mere hours! Seeing his new stats and bright future, the girlfriend's eyes went wide. She immediately screamed, "YES!" and hugged him tightly, completely changing her mind.
[Top Comments on the Video]
@AlphaWolf_99: Bro leveled up his stats but forgot to level up his taste in women. 💀
@SpicyNoodles: She wasn't looking at the diamond ring, she was looking at that Level 10 aura! 😭
@LoneHunter: From "I think we should see other people" to "OMG YES HUBBY" in 5 levels flat. LMAO.
@GamerGuy23: Where do I sign up to get abducted? Asking for my single self.
Another trending video featured a strict mother scolding her son. The camera footage showed her yelling at him for being stuck at Level 2 and being a total disappointment. Right in the middle of her shouting, the son got a weird look on his face and vanished. The mother fainted out of shock. But four hours later, the boy reappeared in his living room, wearing a simple tunic and holding a massive block of glowing Spiritual Wood. Not only that, but he was now Level 8! The video ended with the strict mother crying tears of joy, massaging his shoulders, and asking him if he wanted her to cook his favorite meal.
[Top Comments on the Video]
@MamaBear01: Asian mom unlocked: "Proud Parent" achievement. Speedrun any %. 🤣
@SystemLover: Bro brought back glowing wood and suddenly he's the favorite child.
@JustWatching: The way she went from screaming to giving a deep tissue massage... I'm dead.
@WoodCutterLv1: Plot twist: She's just being nice so he doesn't hit her with that Spiritual Wood. 🪵
A third viral clip came from a famous live streamer. An arrogant, rich Level 15 streamer was in a controlled wild area, bragging to his millions of viewers about how fast he could kill weak beasts. Behind him stood his poor, Level 1 cameraman, carrying all the heavy equipment. Suddenly, the cameraman vanished on live stream. The streamer panicked, thinking a stealth beast ate him. Hours later, while the streamer was reporting the missing person to the authorities on camera, the cameraman popped back into existence. He was wearing a cloth tunic, carrying a glowing Spiritual Stone, and his aura flared at Level 12! He easily picked up the heavy camera with one hand, looked at his stunned boss, and simply said, "I quit."
[Top Comments on the Video]
@ChadEnergy: Cameraman literally went on a 4-hour training arc and came back just to quit. Sigma move. 🗿
@StreamSniper: Bro said "I am the captain now." Look at the streamer's face! 😂
@FashionPolice: Can we talk about the matching tunics? Is there a dress code wherever they went? Do they sell those at Gucci?
@GymBro: Mans was carrying heavy equipment at Lv 1, now he can bench press the streamer. Massive W.
The internet was losing its mind, but the people who were truly shaken were the ones at the very top.
Earth was divided into five huge countries, each governed by the absolute strongest individuals on the planet. These supreme rulers had long reached Level 1000—the absolute maximum for this world. For years, they had been completely stuck. No matter what they did, what beasts they killed, or what resources they consumed, they could not advance past Level 1000.
But now, this strange phenomenon had happened. A mysterious event that could force people to level up at insane speeds and bring back priceless Spiritual Qi materials from thin air.
You can only imagine the impact this news had on the five supreme rulers.