SSS-Rank: All My Skills Are at Level 100

The receptionist tilted her head, clearly unimpressed.

She was pretty — blonde hair tied into a loose bun, chewing gum with a bored look on her face — but her eyes held zero interest as they scanned Silas from head to toe.

"You want clearance for an E-rank gate?" she asked, skeptical.

Silas didn't blink. "Yeah. Hand over the license."

She raised a brow, fingers tapping lazily on her holo-keyboard. "Name?"

"Silas Veil."

A small chime sounded as she pulled up his records. Her eyes flicked over the screen, and then the corners of her mouth curled. "You're F-rank. Lowest of the low."

Silas's jaw clenched. Not at her words, but at the tone — like she was reading a death sentence and was mildly amused by it.

"You can't take E-rank gates with this clearance," she said, sliding the screen to face him. "Go do your little D-rank fetch quests or whatever."

Silas inhaled sharply, then smiled.

It wasn't a nice smile.

"Just give me the damn license."

"Excuse me?" she blinked.

System, Silas thought. How do I trick her into giving me clearance?

[System Response: Options Available]

[Say you're part of a party and already registered.]

[Say your rank has not been updated since awakening.]

[Say you're going in solo and don't care if you die.]

[Bribe.]

[Seduce. (Not Recommended)]

Silas considered. Option three had the right sting to it. Enough to unsettle. Enough to challenge.

"I don't care if I die," he said slowly. "I'll be going in solo. That's none of your concern."

The room fell silent for a beat too long.

She leaned back in her seat, arching a brow.

"…Are you suicidal?"

Silas let out a short breath of a laugh. "Maybe I am. Who knows?"

Her eyes lingered on him, as if trying to decide whether to call security or just be entertained.

"Guys like you," she said with a grin, "either rise to the top… or get shredded in five seconds."

Silas tilted his head, that same smirk returning. "We'll see which one I am, won't we?"

She snorted, then began typing. "Alright, suicidal newbie. You get your temporary E-rank access. You'll be flagged, though — if you screw up or die, it's not on us."

"That's fair," Silas replied. More than fair.

He watched as she printed the pass — a slim black card with a glowing blue core — and slid it across the desk.

As his fingers brushed against it, he whispered under his breath, "Let's see if I'm suicidal… or a god in the making."

He pocketed the license and turned without another word.

The lobby of the Awakened Registration Bureau was filled with chatter and movement — Hunters checking bounties, gear vendors shouting offers, adventurers arguing about dungeon splits.

All of it blurred past him.

Silas moved like a blade through the noise — sharp, narrow, and aimed forward.

Outside, rain drizzled over the cracked sidewalks and flickering street lamps. He pulled his coat tighter and hailed a taxi.

The driver, an older man with a stubble-lined jaw and quiet eyes, gave Silas a quick glance through the rearview mirror.

Then another.

Then kept looking.

Silas was grinning — not like someone happy, but like someone whose mind was teetering on a dangerous edge. His face was slick with sweat, and his eyes were too alive.

"Where to?" the driver asked, uneasily.

"Nearest E-rank gate," Silas replied.

The car rolled forward. The rain smeared the city into a blur of gray and red neon.

Silas leaned against the window, his breath fogging the glass.

I can do whatever I want now, he thought. I can climb. I can hunt. I can kill. No more being stepped on. No more groveling. I'll tear through this world if I have to.

[System Message: Host has unlocked Gate Access for Dimensional Trials.]

[Dungeon Detected:]

[Location: Sector 12 — Abandoned Metro Gate]

[Rank: E]

Recommendation: First blood must be earned.

You can do it, Host.

Silas smiled wider.

The taxi screeched to a stop outside an old subway station with its metal gates twisted open like the mouth of something that had forgotten how to speak.

The driver didn't say a word. He just stared as Silas stepped out, drenched instantly in the cold drizzle.

Before heading to the entrance, Silas paused.

There were others around — a few awakened coming out of different gates. One limping, one bleeding, one laughing hysterically with a monster's arm still clenched in his fist.

This was the world now. Blood. Power. Madness. It was a roulette wheel — and Silas had just thrown in his life as the bet.

He reached into his coat and pulled out a sleek hunting knife. His only weapon. It glinted under the streetlight like it was eager.

"Let's start small," he whispered. "Then go big enough to scare the gods."

The air around the gate shimmered. A swirling vortex of blue energy pulsed in front of him like a heartbeat.

Silas took one step forward.

His heart pounded harder.

Another step. Then another.

The moment his foot crossed the threshold, everything vanished in a flash of light.

And Silas entered the dungeon.