Jade arrived home later that afternoon.
Normally, the walk from his mother's restaurant to their house helped clear his mind. The streets were familiar, the buildings ordinary, and the people moving about their daily routines gave the city a peaceful rhythm.
But today felt different.
Today, Jade felt restless.
It wasn't the simple tiredness he felt after training. This was something deeper, something unsettling that he couldn't properly explain. His body felt heavy, yet at the same time his mind refused to calm down.
Even his breathing felt slightly uneven.
As he approached the house, Jade slowed his steps.
He didn't expect his father to be home.
After the destruction of their family's citadel in the Spiritual Realm, his father had been extremely busy rebuilding it. The work was not simple, and repairing a citadel required enormous effort.
Citadels were not ordinary structures.
They were shelters claimed inside the Spiritual Realm.
Once established, a citadel served as a base that amplified one's abilities. The land surrounding a citadel became connected to the owner's power, expanding the range of their influence.
For example, if a person's ability naturally affected a radius of two meters, constructing a citadel above that land could increase the range of that power significantly.
In simple terms, the larger and stronger the citadel, the greater the expansion of one's power.
Jade understood this well.
His father had explained it to him many times while discussing the Spiritual Realm.
Because of that responsibility, his father rarely stayed home these days.
Still feeling restless, Jade opened the door and stepped inside.
The house was quiet.
The familiar scent of home greeted him, but the peaceful atmosphere did little to calm the strange feeling inside his chest.
He walked further inside until he reached the living room.
The television was on.
Sitting comfortably on the couch was his grandfather, Asterion.
The older man appeared completely relaxed as he watched a fantasy romance movie on the television.
Bright magical effects flashed across the screen as two characters confessed their love in dramatic fashion.
Jade stared at the screen for a moment.
He knew very well that he wasn't allowed to watch such movies.
His parents had always said he wasn't old enough yet.
Still, his grandfather seemed to have no such restrictions.
Jade cleared his throat slightly.
"Good day."
Asterion turned his head toward him.
The moment he saw Jade, his expression brightened.
"Oh, you're back," Asterion said casually.
Jade nodded.
"Yeah."
Without saying anything more, Jade walked past the living room and headed toward the hallway that led to his bedroom.
His body suddenly felt incredibly heavy.
It felt as though sleep was pulling him down like a deep ocean current.
All he wanted to do was lie down and close his eyes.
But just as he was about to disappear into the hallway, Asterion's voice stopped him.
"Jade."
Jade paused.
"Yes, Grandpa?"
Asterion studied him carefully.
"Why are you restless?"
Jade turned slowly.
Asterion was not an ordinary man.
He was a Transcendent.
Someone who had reached the seventh rank within the system hierarchy.
At that level, sensing subtle emotional and spiritual changes in others was effortless.
Jade sighed quietly.
He walked back into the living room and sat down on the couch.
"I think I'm sick," he said slowly.
"I'm feeling very sleepy."
When Asterion heard this, something unexpected happened.
The older man's eyes lit up with excitement.
"Wow," Asterion said with clear delight.
"You are finally infected by the system."
Jade blinked slowly.
"I haven't actually received any notification that I am infected by the system."
Asterion simply smiled.
"When I was the same age as you, I was exactly like you."
He leaned back comfortably.
"I had the same symptoms. Feeling restless. Feeling sleepy. Like something inside my body was changing."
Asterion chuckled softly.
"Your great-grandfather said the same thing I'm telling you right now."
He looked directly at Jade.
"But just like you, I told him I hadn't received any notification."
Jade sighed again.
His eyelids felt incredibly heavy now.
It felt as if he could fall asleep at any moment.
Asterion noticed this and raised a hand.
"Wait here," he said.
"I'll prepare something."
He stood up and walked toward the kitchen.
A few minutes later, he returned carrying a cup of hot coffee.
But this was no ordinary coffee.
While preparing it, Asterion had quietly infused a small portion of his own soul essence into the drink.
The infusion enhanced the coffee's natural stimulating effects and strengthened its ability to stabilize the mind.
When he returned to the living room, he stopped.
Jade had already fallen asleep.
He was sitting on the couch with his legs spread apart awkwardly, his head tilted slightly backward.
He looked like someone who had taken an overdose of sleeping medicine.
Asterion chuckled.
Then he gently tapped Jade's shoulder.
"Wake up."
Jade slowly opened his eyes.
His eyes were red.
Not the ordinary redness of tiredness.
It looked unnatural.
Asterion handed him the cup.
"Drink this."
Jade didn't ask questions.
He simply took the coffee and drank it.
The effect was almost immediate.
The warmth spread through his body, and the heavy pressure weighing on his mind slowly faded.
The redness in his eyes gradually disappeared, returning to their normal color.
Jade let out a breath.
"I don't feel sleepy anymore."
But the restless feeling remained.
It was still there.
A strange sensation, as if something was about to happen.
As if his life could change at any moment.
Asterion nodded calmly.
Then he spoke again.
"I… just as your great-grandfather trained me, I will introduce the ranks involved in the system."
He folded his hands together.
"At least knowing that will be common knowledge."
Jade listened quietly.
"There are eight ranks and eight classes," Asterion began.
"I am currently at the seventh rank and eighth class."
He continued calmly.
"The ranks are: Initiate, Awakened, Elite, Master, Ascendant, Sovereign, Transcendent, and Divine."
Jade listened carefully.
"The classes are: Beast, Monster, Demon, Devil, Tyrant, Overlord, Calamity, and Mythic."
Asterion continued.
"When you first become an Initiate, your power may be weak or even useless."
"But as you rise through the ranks, your abilities evolve."
He tapped his chest lightly.
"Just like me."
"When I first awakened my power, I could only seal the life force of creatures."
"It was a simple ability."
"But as I increased in rank, my power evolved."
Asterion's eyes shone faintly.
"Eventually, I gained the ability to alter the properties of objects."
"Any object of the same rank as me or lower can have its ability changed through my will."
He smiled faintly.
"And right now, I am at my peak."
Asterion's tone became calm.
"If I were to die, it would only mean one thing."
"I was killed by a Divine creature."
Jade listened quietly.
The information felt overwhelming, yet fascinating.
"Becoming Divine is extremely difficult," Asterion continued.
"Some of my friends attempted the final trial."
"But they died immediately after entering it."
He paused briefly.
"Only one of my friends survived."
Jade looked up slightly.
"But he didn't become Divine."
Asterion chuckled.
"He controlled time."
"Right when he was about to enter the trial, he reversed time and escaped."
"He saved himself that way."
Jade stared at him.
That sounded unbelievable.
"Being a Transcendent is already like being a god among humans," Asterion said calmly.
"But when you reach the Divine rank..."
He paused.
"You are not like a god."
"You are God itself."
Silence filled the room.
Jade felt strangely grateful.
It almost felt as if he had just listened to a fairy tale.
He stood up slowly.
"Thank you, Grandpa."
Asterion waved his hand casually.
Helping his grandson was nothing to him.
Without another word, Asterion returned his attention to the television and continued watching his movie.
Jade turned and walked toward his room.
Even though he no longer felt sleepy, he still wanted to lie down and rest.
Because deep inside…
That strange feeling still hadn't disappeared.
Something was coming.
And Jade could feel it.
Even if he didn't yet understand what it was.