Gatekeeper Of The Boundless World Chapter 1

He had no idea how long he’d been asleep.

One moment, he was working overtime at the office, so exhausted that he fell asleep. When he opened his eyes again, he was someone else.

A middle schooler named Shen Ye.

From what he could perceive, this boy had likely passed away due to a high fever.

And now, he had taken his place.

This was something he should have informed the boy’s parents about.

But—

He had already arrived in this world and become this middle schooler, Shen Ye.

If he caused a stir now and ended up in a mental hospital, his life would be ruined.

Besides—

Day and night, he could feel the meticulous care surrounding him.

Their exhausted, heartbroken expressions, their tear-reddened eyes, and their constant vigil stirred something indescribable in him.

After all, in his previous life, he was an orphan who had never experienced this kind of parental affection.

So—

Forget it.

Since I’m here, I might as well settle in.

“You look much better. The doctor said your condition is improving.”

His mother, Zhao Xiaoshang, brought in a bowl of soup, scooped a spoonful, and held it to his lips.

The soup was soon finished.

Zhao Xiaoshang got up to wash the dishes.

The room was now empty, leaving Shen Ye alone.

He lay silently in the hospital bed, reached out, and pulled his backpack from the chair beside him onto the bed.

Opening the bag, he saw four books inside:

“Strength Training,”
“Body Movement,”
“Mental Power Fundamentals,”
“Language and Science Knowledge.”

—along with a stack of practice notebooks.

This world was entirely different from Blue Planet, and the content of students’ exams here was completely unfamiliar.

{ TL : In Chinese earth is literally written as Blue Planet }

“Xiao Ye.”

His mother’s voice suddenly rang out.

Shen Ye turned his head to see her face filled with deep concern.

“We missed the first exam. If you can’t get over it, just stay home and skip the rest,” she said cautiously.

“Later, we’ll ask Grandpa to help arrange a job for you.”

Skipping the middle school entrance exams…

Shen Ye closed his eyes and thought about it.

The first exam was “Strength Training,” which tested students’ physical fitness.

It wasn’t uncommon for students to injure their muscles or tendons during this exam.

After completing it, students were given seven days to review and recover before the second exam—

“Body Movement.”

Essentially, it was a test of agility and footwork.

Having missed the Strength Training exam, Shen Ye now had only three days left until the Body Movement test.

Before his predecessor fell ill, his grades were excellent, often ranking first or second in school.

He’d dreamed of going to a top high school.

But now, after suddenly falling ill and missing one exam, even if he scored perfectly on the rest, it wouldn’t be enough for a good school.

For a fifteen-year-old, this was a heavy blow.

That was why his mother made such a suggestion.

But…

He wasn’t as fragile as she thought.

“Mom, are you worried I’ll lose hope?” Shen Ye smiled.

Zhao Xiaoshang gently held his hand, hesitating to speak.

“Don’t worry. Even if I can’t get into a top high school, I’ll still take the exams—I want to keep studying, even if it’s at the worst school,” Shen Ye said firmly.

Zhao Xiaoshang let out a long sigh of relief, hugged him, and said softly, “I’ll go talk to your dad right away. We’ll figure out how to get you a Bone Replenishing Pill to make sure you’re in the best condition for the exams.”

With that, she hurried out of the room.

Now alone again, Shen Ye lowered his head, staring at the books in his hands.

The Bone Replenishing Pill was an expensive elixir.

His parents had truly poured their hearts and souls into helping him recover.

A warmth rose in his heart.

This feeling seemed to be a mix of the original boy’s lingering emotions and his own emerging sentiments.

Enough thinking. Time to focus on studying.

Shen Ye opened the “Body Movement” book and began reading.

The subjects taught in middle school here laid the foundation while also incorporating world knowledge.

For example, the fourth book, “Language and Science Knowledge,” was comprehensive.

Passing the middle school exams would open the door to learning advanced techniques and superior martial arts in high school.

He had worked so hard to reach this world—was he really going to settle for an ordinary job and a mundane life?

No way.

He had to get into high school!

Shen Ye silently made up his mind.

Suddenly—

A voice rang in his ear:

“Found you.”

The voice was so abrupt, as if someone were standing right behind him, whispering into his ear.

Shen Ye’s hair stood on end.

“Who’s there?”

He bolted upright, scanning the room.

Everything was quiet and normal.

No one.

No sound.

Nothing.

Damn it, he almost bolted out of the room.

Where had that voice come from—

Shen Ye froze.

At some point, a door had appeared at the foot of his bed.

The door looked old and identical to the hospital’s doors.

Through its window, he could see nothing but darkness.

Shen Ye stood rooted to the spot, his initial surprise turning to fear, then quickly to calm.

“Of course, this is the same door the original Shen Ye encountered,” he muttered.

“…It killed him, and now it’s coming for me?”

Shen Ye’s anger flared.

Back on Earth, he was an orphan, but he’d been raised under a red flag, growing up as a atheist.

He’d never been afraid to cross a graveyard alone.

And now, in this world, some ghost dared to mess with the living?

Killing one boy about to take his exams wasn’t enough? Now it was trying to scare him with a door.

What was this nonsense?

He had already died once. Did they think he’d be scared?

—If you want to fight, then bring it on!

He glanced around, grabbed the lamp on his bedside table, and marched to the door, raising the lamp high.

“Quit pretending to be a ghost!”

He kicked the door open, revealing the scene inside.

—Beyond the door was a long, dark corridor.

At the end of the corridor lay a massive, four-meter-long humanoid skeleton, gnawing on a bloody, mutilated corpse.

Hearing the commotion, the skeleton slowly lifted its enormous skull. Its eye sockets glowed with eerie ghost fire as it stared at Shen Ye.

The disdain on Shen Ye’s face froze instantly.

—He hadn’t expected it to be this terrifying.

Hmph, something like this…

“Sorry to interrupt. Enjoy your meal!”

He flashed a bright smile, nodded politely, and quickly hid the lamp behind his back.

The skeleton let out a piercing screech and charged at him with lightning speed.

Shen Ye slammed the door shut.

Bang!

A soft sound. The door vanished.

It was gone!

Shen Ye collapsed onto the bed, his entire body limp.

Damn it.

This world was way too dangerous.

Suddenly, he noticed faint glimmers of light around him. They gathered in midair, forming lines of text:

“Current acquired evaluation entry:”

“Polite Person.”

“Gray Entry (Damaged).”

“Equipping this evaluation entry grants you the following benefits:”

“When you act politely, others will have a slightly better impression of you.”

“You may retain this evaluation entry and upgrade it in the future, or you can devour it to gain basic attribute points.”

Shen Ye quickly read through it and fell into thought.

This door seems to have turned into some sort of ability, and it even evaluates me.

Wait!

Could this be my own ability?

Suddenly, a voice once again appeared in Shen Ye’s ear:

“I’ve finally found you.”

“Who are you?” Shen Ye immediately asked.

“You’ve awakened a ‘world-linking’ type ability. You are extremely rare, but I’ve finally found you.”

The voice continued, “Listen carefully, I slumber in the depths of the Nightmare World. If you can come to rescue me, I will grant you generous rewards.”

Shen Ye couldn’t help but shake his head slightly.

Rescue?

I don’t even dare to step inside, let alone rescue someone.

As if sensing his thoughts, the voice spoke again:

“No need to refuse right away. As a gesture of good faith, let me tell you something.”

“Now, open your backpack and find the metal sculpture in your pencil case.”

Curious, Shen Ye picked up his backpack, opened the pencil case, and indeed found a metal sculpture of a horned demon inside.

Something felt off.

According to the original owner’s memories, he never owned such a metal sculpture.

Who placed this sculpture in the pencil case?

The voice spoke again:

“This is the ‘Cursed Sculpture of the King of Fallen Evil Spirits.’”

“Over countless years, humans believed it could open otherworldly dimensions, claiming the lives and souls of others to enhance its own power.”

“This has occurred millions of times without fail.”

Shen Ye listened intently and then asked:

“Are you saying someone placed this sculpture in my pencil case to take my life?”

“Correct, but you survived.”

The voice continued, “What humans don’t know is that, despite its immense power, if it fails to claim its target’s life even once, all the accumulated power within it will transfer to the target instead.”

“This power will create unprecedented new abilities for that person.”

“—Thus, you’ve obtained the extremely rare ‘world-linking’ ability.”

Shen Ye fell silent.

Actually…

That boy did die.

It’s just that I seamlessly took over and inherited his body.

So, this is a bug, huh?

The voice turned eager:

“Come, human. As you grow stronger, you will inevitably reach the depths of the Nightmare World and set me free.”

“I’ll reward you well. I keep my promises.”

“What kind of existence are you?” Shen Ye asked.

“I am exhausting my strength to communicate across worlds… but I will remember you… I’ll find you again in the future.”

The voice grew fainter and eventually disappeared.

The room fell silent again.

Shen Ye crouched on the bed, his expression solemn.

Me?

Awakened an ability?

He glanced again at the metal sculpture in his hand.

The sculpture had dimmed, and as he rubbed it, fine cracks appeared on its surface.

Crash!

The sculpture shattered into fragments.

A sudden wind swept through, reducing the debris to ashes.

—It had completely ceased to exist.

Who was trying to kill Shen Ye?

No matter.

I must hurry and increase my strength, at least enough to protect myself!

He turned his attention back to the glowing text in midair.

“Polite Person.”

What kind of lousy entry is this? It’s better to use it to enhance my strength.

“Devour.”

Shen Ye silently commanded.

The entry disappeared, replaced by a glowing point of light.

The glowing point hovered in midair, spinning slightly, before flying into Shen Ye’s body.

—An attribute point.

Devouring the evaluation entry had generated an attribute point, which could be used to improve his basic attributes.

But which attribute should he enhance first?

Shen Ye began recalling some knowledge about this world.

Generally, humans possess five main attributes: Strength, Agility, Spirit, Comprehension, and Resonance.

What happens if I add a point to Strength?

With a thought, the glowing point turned into Strength and augmented his body.

In an instant.

Shen Ye’s body felt slightly heavier, as if he had become more solid.

He picked up the metal tray on the table and gave it a light squeeze.

The iron tray bent slightly.

Two lines of glowing text appeared in the void:

“Current Strength Level: Ordinary Adult Male.”

“Your physical fitness barely meets the standard of an adult male. Please keep improving.”

An adult male?

This boy is only fifteen, and his body was frail, yet his strength improved this much.

Shen Ye shifted his focus.

The glowing point stopped augmenting Strength and was instead withdrawn and allocated to Agility.

His body felt lighter.

Glowing text appeared again in the void:

“Congratulations, you’ve reached the standard of a novice parkour runner.”

Shen Ye took a short run-up, leaped onto the wall, and ran two steps along it before landing back on the ground.

—Enhancing Agility is pretty impressive too!

Shen Ye took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and worked to calm his emotions.

From just two brief tests, he had already understood one crucial thing.

—Attribute points can be reassigned at any time, enabling enhancement of any area.

The truly terrifying aspect lay in this flexibility.

He could instantly switch from being a strength-based warrior to an agility-focused assassin!

Things were starting to get interesting.

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