The fire had long died down, but its memory remained.

The once-proud Valeria estate was now nothing more than charred ruins. The luxurious halls where nobles once gathered were reduced to smoldering embers. The scent of burnt wood and death lingered in the air.

Amid the destruction, a single boy stood.

His once-silky white tunic was now tattered and stained with ash. His dark hair clung to his forehead, and his crimson eyes—once filled with childlike innocence—were empty.

Kai Valeria was alone.

His mother was gone. His home was gone.

All that remained… was hatred.

The world had taken everything from him. The people who mocked him, the ones who whispered about his "uselessness"—none of them had come to save her.

Kai clenched his tiny fists. His nails dug into his palms, but he felt nothing.

Then, the mechanical voice in his mind echoed once more.

[Supreme Evolution Path activated.]
[Analyzing host…]
[Primary directive established: Survive, Adapt, Conquer.]

A blue screen flickered before his eyes.

[System Status]

• Name: Kai Valeria
• Age: 5
• Race: Human
• Mana Affinity: Unawakened
• Evolution Rank: Locked
• Unique Trait: [Supreme Adaptation - Sealed]
• Special Skill: [???]
• Current Status: Weak / Vulnerable

Kai’s breath came in sharp gasps.

His Mana Affinity was still unawakened.

His power was still locked.

What kind of overpowered system is this supposed to be?

A bitter laugh escaped his lips. In all the stories he had read, reincarnated protagonists always received godlike power from the start. A cheat ability. A divine blessing. A special inheritance.

But he?

He had nothing.

And yet, as the cold wind howled through the ruins, a new determination burned in his heart.

I don’t need their magic. I don’t need their approval.

I will rise on my own terms.

I will become stronger.

And when I do…

I will find the one who killed my mother. And I will make them beg for mercy.

The Path of Survival

Kai knew one thing—he had to leave.

The Valeria name meant nothing now. Without his mother, the nobles wouldn’t accept him. If anything, they would see him as a stain on their history, a failure that should have died with the rest.

The streets of the capital, Eldoria, were filled with cruelty. If he was caught, he would either be enslaved or killed outright.

But that wasn’t going to happen.

He refused to die again.

He pulled his ragged cloak tighter around himself and turned away from the ruins. His mother’s body had been taken by the flames, leaving nothing behind.

With one last glance, he whispered, “I will make them pay, Mother. I promise.”

And then, he walked into the darkness.

A World Without Mercy

The streets were nothing like the grand noble estates he had grown up in.

Eldoria was a city of power—where mages ruled, warriors thrived, and the weak were crushed beneath their feet.

Kai quickly learned this the hard way.

By the second day, hunger gnawed at his stomach. By the third, exhaustion weighed down his body.

A group of street kids noticed him first. Their leader, a boy named Rai, grinned at him with sharp, wolfish teeth.

“You’re new, huh?”

Kai didn’t answer. He simply stared.

Rai’s grin widened. “That fancy lookin’ cloak of yours? Hand it over.”

Kai narrowed his eyes. He had nothing left, and they still wanted to take more?

Rai’s smirk faded when Kai didn’t move.

“Tch. Guess we do this the hard way.”

The other kids moved, surrounding Kai like a pack of scavengers.

Instinct took over. He had never fought before, never even thrown a punch. But in that moment, something inside him shifted.

When Rai lunged, Kai sidestepped—effortlessly.

When another boy swung at him, Kai ducked and countered, his small fist smashing into the boy’s ribs.

The others hesitated.

Rai scowled. “You little—”

He barely got the words out before Kai kicked his leg, sending him sprawling.

For the first time since arriving in this world, Kai smiled.

So this is it…

He had no mana. No spells. No noble bloodline.

But he had something else.

Instinct.

The system screen flickered again.

[Condition met: Supreme Adaptation Unlocked.]
[New Trait Acquired: Instinctive Combat Lv. 1]

Kai’s breath hitched.

The system wasn’t going to give him power.

It was going to force him to earn it.

His crimson eyes gleamed in the dim alleyway.

That’s fine.

I’ll claw my way to the top.

And when the time comes… I will burn this world down.

TO BE CONTINUED…