Nexus: The Rise of the Administrator

Xander Voss sat in his worn-out gaming chair, surrounded by snack wrappers, empty energy drink cans, and three monitors illuminating his pale face with a bluish light. It was 2:37 PM on June 17, 2026. At 25 years old, he was what most people would call "a walking failure." Too thin, slumped shoulders, thick-rimmed glasses that constantly slipped down his nose, disheveled brown hair, and a sparse beard that he only trimmed when he remembered.

A freelance programmer, he spent most of his day fixing bugs for clients who paid poorly and late. At night, he immersed himself in light novels, system web novels, LitRPGs, and empire-building games. He daydreamed about the possibility of one day receiving a System. "If I had a System…," he often murmured while looking at his frail body in the bathroom mirror. "I wouldn't be this piece of shit anymore."

At that moment, he was watching a live stream on the country's largest news channel, broadcast simultaneously on YouTube and Twitch. The title of the broadcast was "Global Phenomenon: Lights in the Sky – What's Happening?"

"Guys, this isn't CGI," the reporter said, his voice trembling, as the camera shook in New York. "We're broadcasting live from Times Square. Look up!"

Xander leaned forward, adjusting his glasses. The sky above the American city had torn open. Literally. A huge, dark purple portal, more than five hundred meters in diameter, spun like a living vortex. Black lightning bolts cut through the clouds. And then, they began to emerge.

First came the smaller forms. Creatures that looked like a grotesque mix of armored beetles and scorpions. Their carapaces reflected sunlight like polished metal. Then came worse things. Fleshly abominations. Beings that seemed to have been taken from an H.R. Giger nightmare—elongated bodies, pulsating tentacles, mouths that opened vertically full of serrated teeth.

"Oh my God…" Xander whispered, feeling a chill run down his spine.

He turned up the volume. The screams began. Thousands of people running, being trampled, being torn apart. One of the insectoid monsters leaped onto a police car and dug its claws into the roof, ripping the door off as if it were paper. The policeman inside was pulled out and torn in half in less than two seconds.

Xander felt his stomach churn, but he couldn't look away.

The broadcast was cut off for a few seconds. When it returned, the studio anchor was visibly sweating.

We have just received confirmation that similar portals are opening in London, Tokyo, Beijing, Moscow, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and… here. In our city. Metro City.

Xander froze.

He lived on the 7th floor of a 12-story building in the Riverview neighborhood, a middle-class area that now looked like it was about to turn into a slaughterhouse. He stood up so quickly that he knocked over his chair.

This can't be real... This is like the novels I read. No. No. This is a movie. It has to be...

A distant rumble echoed outside. Then another. And another. They sounded like explosions.

He ran to the living room window, opening the curtain with trembling hands. What he saw made his legs weak.

The sky above Metro City was being torn apart in three different places. Gigantic portals slowly spun, spewing creatures down like a hellish rain. Cars crashed in the streets. People ran in desperation. A police helicopter tried to approach one of the portals and was struck by a black lightning bolt, exploding in mid-air.

Shit... shit, shit, shit!

Xander locked the apartment door, put on the chain, pushed the sofa against it, and ran to the bedroom. His heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to burst out of his chest. He crawled under the bed, trembling like a child.

"I'm too weak. I always have been. If this is real... I'm going to die. I'm really going to die."

The sounds began to get closer. Screams from downstairs. A damp noise, like flesh being torn. Then a guttural howl that didn't seem to come from any land animal.

Xander covered his ears. Tears streamed down his face.

"I don't want to die… I haven't even lived yet. I just… I just played games and read stories about people who became strong. Why me? Why now of all times?"

The entire building shook when something heavy collided with the structure. Glass shattered. Someone screamed in the hallway on the 7th floor—a scream that was abruptly cut short by a wet, nauseating sound.

Footsteps. No. Paws. Multiple paws scratching the ceramic floor of the hallway.

Xander held his breath.

The apartment door was scratched. Once. Twice. Then came a violent impact that cracked the wood.

No… please, no…

The second attack was brutal. The door was ripped from its hinges and flew into the room, slamming against the wall. Xander, still under the bed, saw black and red paws enter his field of vision.

It was a dog. Or something that used to be a dog.

The creature was nearly five feet tall at the shoulders. Its glossy black fur was mixed with pulsating red veins that seemed to pump blood out of its body. Its eyes were completely red, without pupils. Acidic saliva dripped from its mouth, corroding the ground and releasing smoke. Most disturbing were the thin, red tentacles that emerged from its back, ending in circular mouths full of teeth—like living leeches.

Above the creature's head floated a blood-red holographic text that only Xander could see:

[Blood Leech Hound – Level 8]

"Level 8?!" Xander whispered, almost hysterical. "I'm not even level 1, damn it!"

The monster sniffed the air. Its tentacles writhed as if they had a life of their own. It turned its head directly toward the bed.

Xander sensed the moment he was discovered.

The Blood Leech Hound let out a growl that seemed to come from multiple throats at once. Then it jumped.