It was an ordinary morning in Manila. The sky was grey with the threat of rain, and the streets were already bustling with people going about their daily routines. But for Mon, a 38-year-old jobless man, every day felt the same—aimless, uneventful, and marked by the monotony of his fruitless search for work. Despite finishing college, he had become another face in the crowd, drifting through life with no real direction or purpose.
He sat on a worn-out bench by the sidewalk, staring blankly at his phone, scrolling through job listings that led to nothing. Another rejection email. Another day wasted.
"Maybe I should just give up," Mon muttered to himself, tossing the phone into his bag. But as he stood up to walk home, a sudden, strange tremor shook the ground beneath his feet. He paused, looking around, but no one else seemed to notice. The air grew heavy, and for the briefest moment, everything felt… wrong.
And then, the sky exploded.
A massive tear in the sky itself appeared. It looked like a rip in the fabric of reality, swirling with a dark, menacing energy. People screamed, running in panic, as the tear widened into a massive gate, its edges crackling with strange power. It loomed above the city like a monstrous eye, its depth unfathomable.
Mon's heart raced, and instinctively, he backed away. He had no idea what was happening, but the dread in his gut told him that life as he knew it was about to change.
Suddenly, from the gate, creatures began to emerge—monsters, strange and terrifying. They stepped into the world like they had been waiting for this moment, their eyes glowing with malice. Humans scattered in all directions, but it was clear that no one was prepared for this.
A booming voice echoed in Mon's mind.
"System Activation. All humans now possess the ability to gain power. Survive, grow, and evolve."
A glowing interface appeared in front of him, and his hands trembled as the words filled his vision:
Skill Acquired: Dimensional Gate
A special skill allowing the user to store and retrieve items without limit. No cooldown, no mana required. Use tactically to outsmart enemies.
Mon blinked. He looked around, seeing people rushing past him, some of them already glowing with strange powers. He was no different—his body felt different, lighter, like there was power coursing through him for the first time. But unlike them, Mon had no idea how to fight, how to survive in this new world.
For a moment, he considered running home—hide and wait it out. But something inside him clicked. He couldn't run anymore. He wasn't just some guy in a dead-end life anymore. He had a skill. A chance.
And with the Dimensional Gate, he knew he could survive.
As the first monster came into view, its massive form crashing down from the gate, Mon's eyes narrowed.
"Time to test this out."