A portal suddenly opened up in a desolate encampment, the shimmering edges of the wormhole illuminating the surrounding debris. Ehrek emerged, his armored form clattering onto the ground with a metallic thud. He sighed, his eyes scanning the bleak surroundings. The encampment was a stark contrast to the advanced worlds he was accustomed to—everything looked depressingly primitive, with a distinct lack of technology that puzzled him.

As Ehrek stood there, taking in the scene, a guard approached, his gun raised and eyes wary. “Stop right there!” the guard barked, his voice firm and commanding. Ehrek remained motionless, his imposing figure causing the guard to hesitate for a moment.

The guard stared at Ehrek, a flicker of recognition crossing his face. “Wait, are you the mercenary we hired? We weren’t expecting you until the morning.” He lowered his gun, his stance relaxing slightly. “Come on, follow me.”

Ehrek followed the guard through the encampment, his heavy footsteps echoing in the silence. They approached a building that looked like it had seen better days, its structure barely holding together. The doors slid open with a creak, and Ehrek stepped inside, the lights flickering to life and casting a harsh glow on his armor.

A man in a military uniform stood at a table, surrounded by papers and maps. He looked up as Ehrek entered, his expression a mix of relief and curiosity. The harsh light highlighted the creases in his weathered face, and his uniform bore the marks of countless battles.

“Ah, you must be the mercenary,” the man said, straightening up and extending a hand. “I’m General Hale. We’ve been eagerly anticipating your arrival.” Ehrek nodded, accepting the handshake.

“Good, now that we’ve got you here, there’s work that needs to be done in the morning,” the general said, glancing at the clock on the wall. “It must have taken a while to get here before we expected you. We put out a request, so can we have your name?”

“Ehrek,” he responded quickly and directly.

The general jotted down the name before looking back up. “So, what exactly are your abilities, if you have any?”

Ehrek extended his hand, and a small wormhole formed. He reached into it and pulled out a sword, holding it in his hand. “I’ve got a sword,” he said nonchalantly.

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The general nodded in approval. “That may not do much against a gun, but I won’t doubt you. Now, you may know that ever since the collapse, there have been outlaws and groups stealing, killing, and doing unspeakable things to people. The request on the paper didn’t have much information, so we will need you to take out a group of bandits in the morning. Unfortunately, these guys are known as the Greeds Guild—a fitting name, I know. Usually, this mission would come with a party of multiple people, but seeing you alone, you must be a very powerful adventurer. May I ask what rank you are to be doing this all by yourself?”

Ehrek stood there, pondering the question. “I have no idea what a rank would be here.”

The general looked puzzled. “You don’t have a rank?” He fell silent for a moment, then walked over to a machine in the corner of the room and began tinkering with it.

Ehrek observed the general's actions, the rhythmic clatter of the old machine filling the room. He sensed the general’s skepticism but remained unfazed, knowing that his true power was beyond any ranking system.

“If you don’t want to give out your rank, that’s okay,” the general said, eyeing Ehrek with a mix of curiosity and caution. “But at least let me see for myself if you’re qualified. Just use your most powerful ability when touching the orb.”

Ehrek turned to look at the orb-like device before speaking, “But wouldn’t that destroy the orb?”

The general chuckled, shaking his head. “The orb absorbs the power put into it and then grades the output. Different types of magic determine different outputs, which means anyone could be strong in one field compared to another.”

Ehrek walked over to the machine, his cosmic energy beginning to flow through his body into his armor. As it began to shift and change, the general watched in awe. The armor transformed, becoming spikier and more angular compared to its previously round and bulky appearance. The aura from Ehrek's power alone instilled fear in the general as Ehrek placed his hand onto the orb, which instantly lit up, cycling through a myriad of colors. Finally, it began to glow silver before abruptly stopping.

Ehrek removed his hand and looked at the general. “So, what does it say?”

The general fumbled with his words before managing a coherent sentence. “W-well, you see, you were shooting up the ranks so fast you hit the top… And then the measuring tool couldn’t gauge your potential anymore and it cut off. So, all I can say definitively is that your rank is Chroma level.”

Ehrek's armor began to slowly retract, returning to its normal form. “Is Chroma the highest?” he asked.

The general stuttered, “Well, y-yes it is. The thing is, no one has ever been higher than 10.0 on the scale, which is the highest Chroma can go… That would mean your potential is beyond what the scale can measure, putting you at a rank of 10.0. What exactly are you?”

Ehrek's armor fully returned to normal as he made his way toward the exit. “Just know I’ll help you out with this problem.”

The glass doors opened as he walked out into the cool night air and disappeared into the cloak of darkness.