The air shimmered faintly as the blue screen before my eyes pulsed with soft light.
[Activating Locator Skill…]
The floating text dissolved, replaced by a slowly rotating map. It looked like a wide sphere of light, but it flattened as it expanded, showing a landscape I had never seen before.
Rolling plains. Jagged mountains. Rivers twisting like silver veins. Strange symbols glowed across the map, marking locations I didn't recognize.
At the center of the map glowed a small blue dot. That was me or both me and Sasha.
A second mark blinked faintly in gold, far below the first. I leaned closer, trying to focus on it, but then noticed something strange between the two.
A faint shimmering ring surrounded our blue mark, curving like a translucent dome mark as BARRIER.The golden mark was outside that barrier, far beyond reach.
"What is that?" Sasha whispered beside me, her voice trembling slightly. "Why is there a barrier around us?"
"I don't know," I muttered, eyes narrowing. "System, explain what this 'barrier' is."
The voice responded immediately, calm and mechanical as always.
[Detected: Natural Force Field]
[Classification: Rank Barrier]
[Restriction: Only individuals of Rank 2 or higher can pass through.]
My breath caught for a moment. Sasha turned to me, her face pale. "Rank 2? But… we don't even know what rank we are."
"System," I said quickly, feeling a bad premonition rising inside me, "show me the distance between our current position and the golden mark."
The map shifted, and a bright line appeared, stretching from the the blue dot toward the distant golden dot. A set of glowing numbers followed.
[Distance to Target: 500 miles.]
"Five hundred miles…" Sasha whispered. Her voice was so quiet it almost vanished into the wind. "That's impossible…"
The number glowed steadily, unchanging. There was no mistake. Whoever the golden mark represented, one of my wives, was trapped behind that barrier, five hundred miles away.
A cold realization crept into my chest. "System," I said, my voice tense, "explain these ranks. What is Rank 2, and how does one reach it?"
[The world you have entered operates on a structured power hierarchy. Strength is measured through Ranks and Stages.]
[There are Nine main Ranks. Each Rank is divided into nine stages of growth.]
The map dimmed, and another window appeared before me, a panel of pure blue light listing the details clearly.
---
• Rank 1 — Apprentice (Stage 1 to 9)
• Rank 2 — Advance (Stage 1 to 9)
• Rank 3 — Master (Stage 1 to 9)
• Rank 4 — Grandmaster (Stage 1 to 9)
---
"To pass through the Rank 2 barrier," the voice continued, "you must possess at least the power of Rank 2 Stage 1."
Sasha's expression hardened with disbelief. "So until we reach Rank 2, we can't even leave this region?"
[Affirmative.]
A silence settled between us. The map floated gently, showing our small blue dot surrounded by the shimmering ring that kept us confined. Beyond that ring lay the rest of the world, vast, wild, and completely unknown.
"System," I asked, "what is this world? Where are we exactly?"
[This world is known as Eltareth, a parallel reflection of the one you came from. It shares similar geography, seasons, and structure. However, it is governed by mana and inhabited by multiple races.]
[Human, elf, beastfolk, dragonkin, and other beings coexist. Strength determines survival. Every living creature absorbs and refines mana to ascend in Rank.]
[Only those who adapt to the flow of mana can live beyond the barriers that divide each region.]
The words sank deep into me, mana, races, ranks. It all felt like the fantasy worlds I used to read about back on Earth, except this was real, painfully real.
And now, my two wives were scattered hundreds of miles away. I had no idea where they were, what condition they were in, or how they were surviving.
The thought alone filled me with worry and fear.
They were both beautiful women, gentle and strong, but in a world like this, beauty could be both a blessing and a curse. I just wanted them to be safe, nothing else mattered.
"We're ordinary humans," Sasha murmured, her gaze still fixed on the glowing map. "In a world ruled by magic."
"Exactly," I said quietly. "And if we want to survive… we need to become stronger."
The breeze stirred the grass around us, carrying the faint hum of distant energy or mana the pulse of mana that filled the air itself.
Sasha wrapped her arms around herself, her voice soft but firm. "Eliana and Mirah are out there, beyond that barrier. We can't reach them now, but we will. I'll help you, no matter how long it takes."
I looked at her, her golden hair swaying in the wind, her blue eyes shining with determination despite the fear that lingered behind them.
"We'll reach them," I said. "We'll passthrough that barrier, no matter what it takes."
The map began to fade, leaving only the faint glow of our location in the air. The blue dot pulsed once before vanishing completely.
Now there was only the open plain again, silent, endless, and full of possibilities.
I took a slow breath and tightened my grip on my sword. "System," I said firmly, "how do I reach Rank 1?"
The familiar mechanical voice echoed in my mind, calm and precise.
[To reach Rank 1, Stage 1, the host must awaken the inner core. This is done by concentrating mana at a single point within the body until a core is formed.]
[After the core's creation, the practitioner must absorb mana from the surroundings, through the air, mana stones, elixirs, potions, or the mana cores of creatures.]
[The more mana absorbed and refined, the stronger the core becomes. As the core strengthens, the practitioner will ascend through the stages and eventually advance to the next rank.]
I exhaled slowly, letting the information settle in. So, this was how power worked here, through mana, concentration, and battle.
It wasn't going to be easy, but at least now I had a path forward.
But before I could speak again, the system's voice returned, colder this time, almost as if it was warning me.
[However, that path applies only to the inhabitants of this world.]
I froze. "What do you mean?"
[As an otherworlder bound by the Binding System, your growth does not follow the natural laws of this realm. You cannot advance ranks through ordinary cultivation. Your strength and rank will increase only by completing system-assigned quests and forming successful bonds.]
The words struck me like a thunderclap. My heartbeat quickened, and I stared into the distance, stunned.
"So you're telling me… I can't cultivate like everyone else? No mana absorption, no training, just quests?" I asked, my voice sharp with disbelief.
[Affirmative.]
I felt my stomach twist with frustration and confusion. This world was already dangerous enough, and now I couldn't even grow stronger the normal way?
I clenched my fists, a mix of shock and determination burning inside me. "So be it,"
I muttered under my breath. "If quests are my only path to power, then I'll complete every single one of them, whatever it takes."
But the system was not done. Its voice returned, sterile and unyielding, and the words that followed hit me harder than I expected.
[Main Quest Assigned]
[Assist Sasha in completing all of her system quests and support her until she exits the Rank 2 barrier.]
I blinked. "All of her quests?" I repeated, the weight of it settling in like a stone.
[Affirmative. Completion of this main quest will grant the host one Pill of Limb Regeneration and advancement of two stages,] the system continued.
Those rewards felt tangible and immediate in my mind, a pill that could mend broken flesh, and two stages closer to the power I needed. Both were priceless in a world where strength meant survival.
Then the voice turned cold, the mechanical calm replaced with a warning that sent a chill through my veins.
[Penalty on Failure:If any single one of Sasha's quests fails, the Binding System will sever its support. The host's connection will be consumed as a conduit, and backlash will strike the host's soul. Consequences range from permanent crippling to death.]
The words lingered in the air like a blade against my throat. There was no escape clause, no second chance.
The realization hit me hard, it meant we had to complete every single quest Sasha received from her system, no matter how dangerous, no matter how impossible they seemed.
Whether it involved fighting beasts, exploring forbidden lands, or facing enemies beyond imagination, we would have to do it.
Failure was not an option.
The possibilities of defeat gnawed at me, but the fear in Sasha's eyes gave me strength. I reached out and held her trembling hand, feeling the same determination slowly burn inside both of us.
We shared a look that said everything words could not. I had vowed to find Eliana and Mirah, but now I understood, the only way to reach them was through Sasha's quests.
Success or ruin, life or death, our fate was bound together.