SSS Ranked Awakening: All My Skills Are at Level 100 Chapter 1: I am not Gay

The rain descended as if a dam had finally broken in the heavens.

Leon stood at the edge of the rooftop, his hoodie drenched, phone utterly dead, and any remnants of hope drowned beneath layers of sarcasm and accumulated emotional distress. This was meant to be his sanctuary, his vantage point. A secluded space for introspection, perhaps contemplating dropping out, and definitely for screaming into the abyss like any other emotionally stunted teenager. However, the abyss had different intentions.

A creaking sound broke the silence as the rusted door behind him swung open.

‘Oh, no.’

‘Please, not him.’

"Yo," Devon's voice, smooth and infuriatingly cheerful, echoed. "You always come up here when you're lost in thought. Kinda hot, honestly."

Leon slowly turned his head, his expression capable of withering crops. There he was – Devon, his stepbrother of a mere three months. Clad in an unbuttoned shirt that offered a generous view of his chest, accompanied by a smirk that should have warranted a government watchlist. Leon’s very soul recoiled.

"You again?" he mumbled, the words laced with dread.

Devon leaned against the railing nearby, infringing on Leon’s personal space. "Don’t pretend you’re not glad to see me."

"I experience more joy from food poisoning," Leon retorted.

Devon chuckled, a low, knowing sound. "You’ve got that 'traumatized main character' aura today. So mysterious. I dig it."

Leon fixed him with a stare usually reserved for unexpected final bosses. "You know what I dig? Personal space. Ever heard of it, or were you raised in someone else’s shadow?"

Devon let out another low chuckle. "Such a sharp tongue, Leon. I bet it’s capable of much more interesting things."

A muscle twitched in Leon’s eye.

"You're flirting," he stated, blinking slowly. "Again."

"I flirt with everyone," Devon replied with nonchalant ease. "But you’re the only one who makes it a challenge."

"I am your stepbrother."

"We're not related by blood."

"I don't care if we were birthed in different galaxies. Your dad married my mom, making you part of this family. That makes this incredibly weird. You actively trying to make it weirder is illegal in several countries and universally abhorrent."

Devon sighed with theatrical flair. "You say that now, but in all the greatest tales—"

Leon jabbed a finger towards him. "Finish that sentence, and I will personally send you off this roof."

A low growl of thunder overhead seemed to underscore his threat. Leon turned back to face the sprawling city, rain plastering his hair to his forehead. This was fine. He could simply ignore Devon's existence. He was sure he could survive the apocalypse if necessary. All he needed to do was—

Crack.

Lightning violently split the sky. His instincts screamed, but it was too late.

The bolt struck with the force of divine retribution, aimed squarely at Leon.

Agony unlike anything he had ever known surged through every nerve ending, as if the heavens themselves had delivered a blistering slap. His feet were wrenched from the ground, the world dissolving into an unbearable white light.

Faintly, in the background, he heard Devon’s panicked cry, "LEOOONNN—!"

‘Of course *he* lives,’ Leon thought bitterly. ‘The creep gets plot armor.’

Then: nothingness.

Only static. And silence.

Darkness. Not the poetic, star-dusted, cosmic slumber kind. Just… absolute, dry, blank, uneventful blackness.

Leon existed, or a semblance of it, but his physical form was gone. No hands, no feet, no sense of time, not even the faint hum of existential dread. Only thoughts remained. Which, he realized with dawning horror, was a colossal cosmic error.

‘So, this is death?’ he mused. ‘Feels like being perpetually on hold with customer service.’

No pain. No sound. No ethereal tunnel of light. Just a strange, floating void. Oddly tranquil, if he wasn't concerned about potentially soiling himself during the lightning strike. Not that he could confirm. No body, no shame. A win-win scenario?

A long silence stretched. Then, gradually, his mind began to stir.

Wait.

‘Did I seriously just die from a lightning bolt?’

‘That’s so uninspired. Couldn’t it have been a truck? A cursed artifact? A malfunctioning ancient vending machine? Something with a bit more flair!’

He attempted to sigh, but—no lungs. Just pure thought. Yet, a more pressing realization began to surface.

‘I’m free.’

‘Free from Devon.’

No more awkward hallway encounters with his shirtless, unwelcome advances. No more hearing his platitude about “not being blood-related” over breakfast cereal. No longer the unintended recipient of the affections of a man convinced that “boundaries” were merely a social suggestion.

Leon would have wept if he possessed tear ducts.

‘Thank you, God. Or Zeus. Or whoever fired that bolt. You’re the MVP.’

Surprisingly, there was no profound regret. No wistful flashbacks of family photos. No desperate yearning to finish school or reconcile with his mother. Honestly? He had died doing what he loved most: avoiding people and eviscerating perceived enemies with biting sarcasm.

‘I lived with a pervert and died with my dignity intact. That’s more than most can claim.’

Perhaps this was his eternal fate. An endless void. A quiet, awkward afterlife, much like being stuck at a party where you know no one and the music is too loud to cry to.

Well. At least Devon wouldn’t be here.

Pause.

Unless... wait a minute. He didn’t perish as well, did he?

Suddenly, a wave of pure panic washed over him.

’Oh god. What if he also experienced isekai? What if he appears later, all chiseled abs and a heart-wrenching past, calling me "darling" in perfect Elvish?’

Leon’s nonexistent soul gave a violent shudder.

No. Absolutely not. Anything but that.

He’d sooner face down a demon lord armed with nothing but a spoon than share another existence with that absolute pest.

But the universe offered no reply. An oppressive silence descended, almost as if it were observing.

Plotting his downfall.

Or something even worse...

The void itself seemed to tremble.

Not in a way that could be seen, of course, for there was still nothing to perceive. Yet, a subtle shift occurred, as if the entire expanse of blackness had suddenly recoiled.

Leon’s frantic thoughts halted mid-sentence.

’Wait. What was that—’

A sound, less than a voice, more than a vibration, pierced the nothingness.

Something had acknowledged his presence.

And then, the inevitable pull began.

It wasn’t agonizing, nor was it gentle. It was simply... absolute. As if a cosmic celestial entity had declared, ’Yup, this one is mine.’

"HEY—!" Leon attempted to shout, but only a thought-shaped scream escaped.

The void imploded.

Blinding white light, warm and brilliant, consumed everything. It stripped away the darkness like shedding old, forgotten wallpaper. His senses, still hazy and coalescing, registered something immense. Ancient. Vaguely humanoid in form. Like a singularity had been draped in ceremonial robes, adorned with a glowing mask for good measure.

This colossal presence loomed before him in a dimension devoid of horizons. Distant stars swirled in the infinite expanse. Gravity behaved erratically. Reality itself seemed to be performing impossible contortions.

Leon felt like an insignificant insect adrift in the awe-inspiring proximity of a god-like entity, radiating power akin to a nuclear force.

"Ah," the being intoned, its voice a deep, surprisingly casual rumble. "You’re the one I struck."

Leon’s struggling mind attempted to process this, failed, and defaulted to its usual sarcastic defense mechanism.

’...Pardon me?’

"You were not intended to perish," the entity continued with unnerving matter-of-factness. "A slight miscalculation. Incorrect trajectory. Wrong rooftop."

It gestured with a hand that seemed to encompass celestial bodies. "My intended target was two buildings over. The fellow was on the verge of sacrificing his goldfish for some sort of demonic insurance policy. Quite the messy affair."

The genuine reasons were beyond mortal comprehension, but the fact remained: it was a regrettable error on its part.

Leon could only stare, dumbfounded.

’You… you hit me. With lightning. By complete accident.’

"Technically, that is accurate."

’You… you uninstalled me from existence like a corrupted software file.’

The being cocked its head, utterly unfazed. "Well, when articulated in such a manner, I do sound rather negligent."

’YOU THINK?!’

The entity raised a glowing palm, a flicker of what might have been shame—or perhaps mere indigestion. It was hard to discern with cosmic beings.

"As compensation," it declared with great flourish, "I shall grant you that which mortals most fervently desire in the aftermath of an untimely demise."

Leon braced himself for the inevitable cliché.

"Isekai?"

"Precisely."

’Of course.’

"You shall be reborn into a different world," the entity boomed with resonant authority. "A realm abounding with swords, arcane magic, fearsome monsters, and profoundly tragic backstories."

’Let me guess. An overpowered cheat ability? A rare, potent bloodline? A foretold, mysterious destiny?’

"Potentially. It will hinge upon your demeanor. And the narrative karma you accrue."

Leon let out a groan.

Even in death, the world seemed to be governed by tired tropes.

The entity’s voice softened fractionally. "You were the sole fatality on your planet today. This bestows upon you... preferential treatment. A pristine slate. An exceptionally strong commencement. The fate you were acquainted with now extends an offer for a reroll."

Leon’s internal monologue faltered.

No more school.

No more mounting bills.

No more Devon.

’...Alright. You have my undivided attention.’

The god-like being’s eyes—or the closest approximation thereof—gleamed with a hint of amusement.

"Then prepare yourself, Leon. Your new existence awaits."

Leon remained suspended in the profound silence.

The grand cosmic declaration still resonated in the ether: ’"Your new existence awaits."’

Then, without any forewarning—

"Hang on, hang on, just a moment," Leon interjected. Or thought, at least. Whatever passed for vocalization when one was a disembodied soul suspended in the void.

The being paused, its annoyance palpable. "Yes?"

"Are you just going to toss me into some chaotic deathmatch of swords and sorcery without any gear? No introductory guide? No bonus perks? Not even a basic starter pack?"

The being raised an eyebrow—’or simulated the emotion of raising an eyebrow using divine particles, or whatever.’ "You are being granted rebirth. Is that not sufficient?"

Leon crossed his nonexistent arms. ’"I didn’t even volunteer for this. You vaporized me like a stale leftover dumpling. At the very least, grant me some compensatory hazard pay."’

A brief interval of silence ensued.

Then, the being emitted a sigh. "Humans."

"Reincarnated humans," Leon corrected. "We have certain expectations now. Online communities. Tiered rankings."

Another sigh followed, more celestial than the last.

Leon pressed his advantage. "Look, I’m not demanding some mythical ’One-Punch God Slayer Physique’ or an ’Artifact of the Heaven-Defying Ancestral Matriarch.’ I’m simply suggesting… throw me a small favor. Perhaps a nascent bloodline. Or, you know, a moderately world-altering treasure."

The figure regarded him for a sustained moment.

Then, to Leon’s utter astonishment, it let out a laugh. A low, amused sound, rumbling like a solar flare attempting a chuckle.

"You possess considerable audacity," it stated. "I find that respectable."

"Excellent. Now, translate that respect into tangible loot."

The entity slowly shook its head, yet amusement remained in its eyes. "I cannot bestow power upon you directly. The laws forbid it. I am no god, young one. Merely a traveler from the @%!@##$ Realm who happened to be—"

It made a vague motion towards the existing universe.

"—wandering. Across galaxies."

Leon blinked.

'Wandering. Across galaxies.'

Leon couldn't quite grasp the origin of the realm that being mentioned, but he didn't linger on the thought.

"So, you're telling me I was obliterated by some cosmic tourist in celestial pajamas?"

"Precisely speaking, yes."

For five seconds, Leon mentally roared into the void before composing himself.

"Very well. If you're unable to grant me a cheat, then grant me an opportunity."

The being's mask tilted slightly. "An opportunity?"

"Indeed. Seven. 'Seven' is my lucky number. Seven draws. Seven chances to obtain something rare, potent, game-breaking—whatever your realm calls its equivalent of a gacha."

A significant silence followed.

Then, with measured slowness, the being extended a finger that pulsed with light.

"Agreed."

A luminous circle materialized, whirling with intricate patterns. Seven vacant spaces awaited their fill. It resembled a divine lottery wheel, crafted by bored immortals burdened with excessive time and an abundance of refined aesthetics.

Leon let out a low whistle. "Now we're getting somewhere."

"You are permitted to spin this wheel seven times," the entity stated. "Each draw will grant one reward—a trait, an artifact, a divine boon, or... nothing. All sourced from my personal collection."

Leon flinched slightly. "Hold on, 'nothing' is a possible outcome?"

"Naturally. It is governed by luck. What did you anticipate—guaranteed SSR results?"

He mumbled under his breath, "'The gacha hell follows me even in the afterlife.'"

The being emitted another chuckle. "Shall we commence?"

Leon gazed at the spinning wheel, his eyes alight like those of a compulsive gambler facing a celestial slot machine.

"Spin it."