Online Game: Starting With SSS-Ranked Summons

Arthur activated his spatial manipulation talent, reality folding around him as he crossed continents in an instant. The familiar sensation of dimensional travel carried him from Detroit's recovering landscape to the other side of the world, where Australia's largest city awaited his investigation.

He materialized in one of Sydney's bustling streets, immediately noting the dramatic changes that had transformed the once-peaceful urban environment into something approaching a war zone. The apocalypse had left its mark on every aspect of the city's infrastructure and daily operations.

Before Arthur could be noticed by the scattered civilians and military personnel moving through the area, he teleported again, appearing atop one of the city's tallest skyscrapers where he could observe the situation with a comprehensive overview.

Sydney's transformation was both impressive and disturbing in equal measure.

The city had been converted into a fortress-like defensive network that bore little resemblance to the tourist destination it had once been. Massive concrete barriers and steel reinforcements created defensive perimeters around critical infrastructure, while hastily constructed watchtowers provided elevated observation points throughout the urban landscape.

Gates—dimensional rifts that served as invasion routes for demonic forces—dotted the cityscape like infected wounds in reality itself. Some were small, merely a few meters in diameter, while others yawned wide enough to allow demons passage into the physical world. Each rift pulsed with malevolent energy that made the air itself seem poisonous.

Demons of various ranks and capabilities poured through these dimensional tears with relentless persistence. Arthur's enhanced vision identified superior-rank creatures leading coordinated assaults while lesser demons swarmed through defensive lines like living waves of destruction.

But Sydney's defenders weren't helpless victims cowering before a supernatural invasion.

Awakened individuals moved through the battlefield with enhanced capabilities that allowed them to engage demonic forces on equal terms. Their supernatural abilities—ranging from elemental manipulation to enhanced physical prowess—created advantages that conventional military doctrine couldn't provide.

The chaos was extraordinary, but it was organized chaos that spoke of systematic defensive planning rather than panicked improvisation.

Military helicopters filled the air above the city, their rotors creating a constant thunderous backdrop to the ongoing battles below. Some aircraft provided aerial reconnaissance and coordination support, while others served as platforms for awakened individuals whose abilities required elevated positioning for maximum effectiveness.

Arthur watched the helicopters with interest, recognising opportunity when one helicopter's flight path brought it within convenient range of his position. The aircraft carried military markings that suggested official operations rather than civilian evacuation efforts.

Without hesitation, Arthur teleported directly into the helicopter's passenger compartment.

His sudden appearance in the confined space created immediate shock among the aircraft's occupants. The military personnel inside—three soldiers and a pilot—reacted with trained reflexes that were unfortunately inadequate for dealing with someone who could manipulate dimensional barriers at will.

"What the—!" one of the soldiers exclaimed as Arthur's materialisation caused the entire aircraft to lurch sideways.

The pilot, startled by the unexpected passenger and his subordinates' shocked vocalisations, momentarily lost control of the helicopter's stability systems. The aircraft tilted dangerously as its flight pattern devolved into erratic movements that threatened to send it spiralling toward the city below.

Arthur immediately extended his spatial manipulation abilities to encompass the helicopter's mechanical systems, using dimensional energy to restore proper flight dynamics and stabilise their trajectory. The aircraft's erratic motion smoothed into normal flight patterns as Arthur's intervention corrected the pilot's momentary loss of control.

One of the soldiers, a sergeant whose enhanced reflexes allowed him to recover from shock more quickly than his companions, drew his sidearm quickly and aimed directly at Arthur.

"Identify yourself!" the sergeant commanded despite his fear.

Arthur's response was to remain perfectly still, his expression carrying calm patience rather than concern about the weapon pointed at him.

BAM!

The gunshot echoed through the helicopter's confined space as the sergeant fired without waiting for Arthur's compliance with his identification demand. Military protocols for dealing with unknown awakened individuals emphasized immediate neutralization of potential threats.

The bullet struck Arthur's chest with perfect accuracy, but instead of penetrating flesh or even causing him to bat an eye, the projectile simply disintegrated upon contact with his enhanced defensive capabilities. The metal slug crumbled into harmless scraps that fell to the helicopter's floor with the sound of dropping pebbles.

The sergeant's eyes widened with horror as he witnessed the complete ineffectiveness of conventional weapons against their unexpected passenger. His training had prepared him for enhanced individuals whose abilities provided superior protection, but total immunity to small arms fire suggested power levels that exceeded what they could deal with.

The man in front of them was by no means a normal awakener. Most beta players, despite their advantage of levelling up months earlier, still didn't have such defensive power and ability. Only a select few were able to stop bullets, and they weren't something they could deal with.

"...Sorry..." the sergeant whispered as he immediately lowered his weapon and raised his hands in surrender.

Arthur didn't pay the apology any mind, understanding that the soldier's reaction had been both reasonable and professional given the circumstances. Military personnel couldn't be expected to welcome unidentified intruders regardless of their apparent capabilities.

Instead, Arthur focused on his primary objective with directness.

"Lead me to Leroy," Arthur stated with calm authority that carried implications of both power and purpose.

The effect of that single name on the helicopter's occupants was immediate and dramatic. Every soldier's eyes widened with shock that exceeded their reaction to Arthur's impossible appearance or immunity to gunfire.

Their expressions showed recognition mixed with growing understanding that their passenger wasn't merely some random awakened individual who had stumbled into their aircraft. Arthur knew exactly who he was looking for, and the identity of Leroy was no joke.

Leroy wasn't just any S-rank awakened—he was Australia's designated champion, whose identity and operational details were classified at the highest levels of government security.

The fact that Arthur could identify him by name meant this encounter was neither coincidental nor casual in nature.

The sergeant gulped whilst staring at his colleagues.