Chapter 1: Rebirth of the Hollow Name
The scent of rusted iron filled his lungs.
He awoke not to fanfare, not to divine bells or system alerts—but to a wooden ceiling barely holding itself together and the distant sound of coughing. Not his own.
The boy—no, the man—opened his eyes fully.
His body felt wrong. Fragile. Sluggish. Small.
"…So this is rebirth," he murmured.
The voice was youthful, unbroken by age or hardship, but the mind behind it was that of a killer who had once walked in shadows.
He pushed himself up and stared at his hands—smooth, unscarred, unfamiliar. He was tall for a boy, maybe sixteen or seventeen now, with a lean, wiry build that hadn't yet filled out. His hair, once clean-cut, now hung in long, unkempt black strands that fell over sharp, observant eyes. Black irises stared back at him from a cracked shard of glass near the wall—quiet, intense, and unreadable.
Whoever this body had been before… it belonged to him now.
He had died as the strongest martial artist the world had ever seen. The man who grasped reality with bare hands. The so-called Hero of a Thousand Styles, though he never cared for titles. His own martial path, Reality Grasp, was said to tear through illusions, redirect ki, and even unravel time-based techniques. Legends called him a monster in human skin. But in the end, even he couldn't defeat the one enemy no art could conquer.
Old age.
Now, reborn.
And he felt weak.
But only for now.
🟦 [SYSTEM BOOTING…]
[Initializing Martial Interface System…]
[Status: Incomplete Sync]
[Martial Path: UNRECOGNIZED]
[Special Condition Detected: Reality Fragment Present]
[Martial Rank: Novice (500kg Punching Force Cap / 50 KI Max)]
[Current Stats — Punching Force: 90kg | KI: 6/50]
[ERROR: No foundational style found.]
He blinked slowly.
"Martial path unrecognized, huh?" he smirked, speaking aloud to the interface only he could see.
"Just you wait. I'll make you recognize my martial arts."
The orphanage was a dull gray hovel barely holding onto its funding. Located in the outskirts of North Ember Town, it sat beneath the shadow of the Emberlight Martial Academy—a second-rate school known more for mediocrity than greatness.
To the caretakers, he was just another quiet, odd orphan. They called him "Kai." A name with no surname. A blank slate. A hollow name.
He didn't mind, "A fresh start, with a name that had no ties behind it is a welcomed change" Kai thought to himself
"Oi, Kai! Academy reps are here today. You wanna embarrass yourself?" laughed a taller boy from across the room, breaking Kai out of his stupor
Kai didn't respond. He tied the frayed cords of his shoes, stood from his bunk, and walked silently past. The boy's laughter faded quickly—there was something unsettling about how Kai moved.
Today was testing day.
"Next."
A disinterested examiner gestured lazily. The old ki-testing tablet pulsed faintly on the pedestal, its glow dimmer than it should've been.
Kai stepped forward and placed his palm against the slab. He closed his eyes, focused just enough ki to register, and waited.
The slab flickered once… then dimmed completely.
"Ha! That's the lowest result so far," someone muttered. "Kid's got maybe 6 KI if I'm being generous."
One of the instructors chuckled. "Did he even try?"
Kai turned his eyes toward the speaker. Calm. Measured. Still no trace of anger.
"That machine measures potential, right?" he asked.
"Correct," the examiner replied flatly, not interested in carrying the conversation further.
"It's broken."
The room paused, caught between amusement and annoyance.But before they could laugh or scold him, Kai bowed slightly.
"I would like to apply to the academy regardless."
The examiner sighed. "Technically, you're not disqualified. You're Martial Novice level, just barely. But don't expect any favors."
"Wouldn't dream of it," Kai said, already walking away.
He didn't need favors.
He just needed time.
🟦 [System Update: Martial Rank Confirmed – Martial Novice]
[New Quest: Survive the First Week of Martial Academy]
[Bonus Objective: Hide True Intent]
[Reward: ???]
Kai's lips curled into the faintest smile as he stepped into the light outside the orphanage doors.
"Let's begin."