Primordial Awakening: I Breathe Skill Points!-Chapter 48: Building the Grandpa

The Game Library expanded before Zeph like a digital storefront, hundreds of titles arranged in neat categories with gleaming icons and player count statistics.

[Featured Games]

[Competitive Ranked]

[Casual Play]

[Training Modes]

But before he could dive into game selection, a new prompt materialized.

[First-time player detected]

[Character customization required before accessing multiplayer features]

[Proceed to Character Creation?]

[YES] [NO]

Zeph selected YES, and the white space transformed.

He was standing in what looked like a high-tech dressing room—mirrors on three sides, holographic interface panels floating at comfortable reading height, and a full-body avatar of himself rotating slowly in the center.

The avatar was a perfect replica. Every detail matched his real body exactly. Height, build, facial features, even the slight asymmetry in his eyebrows that he’d never noticed until seeing himself rendered in 360-degree rotation.

’Okay. Character customization. Let’s see what options we’re working with.’

The interface offered surprising depth:

[Physical Appearance]

[Combat Animations]

[Voice Settings]

[Emote Library]

[Display Name Format]

Zeph navigated to Physical Appearance first, curiosity overriding his usual efficiency-focused approach.

The customization options were extensive. He could adjust height, build, facial features, hair style and color, eye color, skin tone—essentially rebuild himself from scratch if he wanted.

’Most people probably make themselves look cooler. Taller, more muscular, conventionally attractive features.’

He looked at his default appearance. 6’9", lean and wiry, storm-gray eyes, silver-streaked black hair, gaunt features that were slowly filling out.

’I look like someone who’s survived things most people couldn’t imagine.’

’Which is accurate, but not exactly the aesthetic most gamers go for.’

His eyes drifted to the username displayed above the avatar’s head.

DIRTYGRANDPA

A slow, slightly manic grin spread across his face.

’You know what? If I’m going to be DirtyGrandpa, I might as well commit to the bit.’

He opened the age appearance slider.

Currently set to match his real age—16, which displayed as "Young Adult" in the system.

He dragged it all the way to the right.

Age Appearance: Elderly

His avatar transformed.

The lean, wiry frame gained the slight stoop of age. His face developed wrinkles—laugh lines around the eyes, creases on the forehead, the kind of weathering that suggested decades of experience. His silver-streaked black hair turned completely silver-white and grew longer, wilder, like he’d stopped caring about grooming sometime in his seventies.

But the storm-gray eyes remained sharp, calculating, dangerously intelligent.

The effect was... actually kind of terrifying.

An old man who moved like a predator. Someone who’d survived long enough to become elderly in a world where that was a genuine achievement.

’This is perfect. This is absolutely perfect.’

Zeph added a few more touches. Extended the wild hair slightly. Added a poorly-trimmed beard that looked like it had been maintained with a combat knife instead of proper grooming tools. Adjusted the posture to be just slightly hunched, like someone perpetually ready to dodge.

The final result looked like a grandpa who’d probably killed more people than most professional hunters.

’DirtyGrandpa indeed.’

He saved the appearance settings and moved to Combat Animations.

This section controlled how his character moved during fights—weapon stance, dodge patterns, strike animations, even idle posture.

[Select Combat Style]

[Styles Available: Aggressive | Defensive | Balanced | Custom]

Zeph selected Custom and spent the next twenty minutes fine-tuning every detail.

His dodge animation became a smooth, minimal-movement sidestep—the kind of efficient motion that suggested practiced survival instincts rather than flashy acrobatics.

His attack animations prioritized speed over power, quick strikes that targeted vulnerable points instead of dramatic overhead swings.

His idle stance was loose, relaxed, weight slightly forward—ready to explode into motion at any moment but appearing casual until then.

’This is how I actually fight. This is what three years in the ruins taught me. Efficiency. Lethality. No wasted movement.’

He saved the custom combat style and moved to Voice Settings.

[Voice Modulation: Adjust pitch, tone, and accent]

’Do I want to sound like an old man to match the appearance?’

He tested it, lowering the pitch slightly and adding a gravelly quality.

The result was... actually pretty intimidating. Like someone who’d smoked through several apocalypses and lived to complain about it.

’Yeah. This works. Lean into the character. Make DirtyGrandpa memorable.’

He finalized the voice settings and reviewed his creation.

An elderly man with wild silver-white hair, a poorly-trimmed beard, sharp gray eyes, and a combat-ready posture that suggested extreme danger despite the appearance of age. Moved like a trained killer. Sounded like someone who’d seen everything and was thoroughly unimpressed.

Above his head, in cheerful blue text: DIRTYGRANDPA

’I am going to absolutely terrorize the ranked ladder with this.’

Zeph confirmed his character customization and the interface shifted.

-----

[Character Appearance Saved]

[Proceeding to Build Configuration...]

A new screen materialized, and Zeph’s attention sharpened immediately.

[BUILD SYSTEM]

[Select your preferred gameplay mode:]

Two options appeared, each with detailed descriptions.

[AUTHENTIC BUILD]

Uses your real System stats, skills, and abilities. Your in-game character will have the exact same capabilities as your physical body, as verified through System integration. All progression, upgrades, and skill acquisitions must happen in the real world first.

Advantages:

- No additional cost

- Perfect skill translation

- Eligible for Master+ tier competition

- Authentic player prestige

- Real combat experience directly applicable

Disadvantages:

- Limited by your actual level and stats

- Cannot experiment with different builds

- Must physically acquire new skills to use them in-game

-----

[MODIFIED BUILD]

Purchase stat allocations and skills using credits. Build your ideal character regardless of your real-world capabilities. Experiment with different playstyles, min-max to your heart’s content, and customize your virtual identity.

Cost:

- Base stat package (100 total points): 5,000 credits

- Individual stat points: 100 credits each

- F-rank skills: 500 credits

- E-rank skills: 1,500 credits

- D-rank skills: 5,000 credits

- C-rank skills: 15,000 credits

- B-rank skills: 50,000 credits

- A-rank skills: 150,000 credits

Advantages:

- Unlimited build customization

- Test different playstyles

- Access skills you don’t physically possess

- No real-world risk required

Disadvantages:

- Expensive

- Cannot compete in Master+ tier (reserved for Authentic players)

- Skills are "borrowed" rather than truly mastered

- Zero skill translation to real combat

-----

[Please select: AUTHENTIC or MODIFIED]

Zeph didn’t even hesitate.

[AUTHENTIC]

The choice was obvious for multiple reasons.

First, he had 461 credits to his name. Building even a basic Modified character would cost minimum 10,000 credits for anything remotely competitive. He literally couldn’t afford it.

Second, his entire goal was to train with his actual skills and abilities. The VR environment offered a consequence-free space to test his A-rank skills, practice his techniques, and develop muscle memory without risking actual injury or death.

Third, and most importantly: Master tier and above was Authentic-only.

The big tournaments, the serious prize money, the professional scene—all of it required Authentic builds. Modified players were relegated to separate brackets with smaller prizes and less prestige.

If he wanted to compete at the highest level, Authentic was the only path.

The system confirmed his selection.

[AUTHENTIC BUILD selected]

[Integrating with System profile...]

[Loading character stats...]

His status window appeared again, but this time formatted for the VR gaming interface.

```

[DIRTYGRANDPA - AUTHENTIC BUILD]

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Level: 35

Class: Warrior

▼ COMBAT STATS

STR: 120 [Rank: B]

AGI: 156 [Rank: A]

VIT: 220 [Rank: A]

INT: 9 [Rank: C]

WIS: 7 [Rank: D]

▼ AVAILABLE SKILLS

• Cleaving Momentum (A-rank)

• Predator’s Advance (A-rank)

• Iron Skin (A-rank)

• Wind Blade (A-rank)

• Temporal Fracture (S-rank) [COOLDOWN: 6 days, 23 hours]

▼ TECHNIQUES

• Iron Woodsman’s Foundation [63% Mastery - Expert]

• Foundation Breath [15% Mastery - Novice]

▼ TITLE EFFECTS

• Sole Survivor: All stats doubled

▼ BUILD ANALYSIS

Estimated Tier: High Gold / Low Platinum

Specialty: High-mobility glass cannon

Strengths: Speed, burst damage, adaptation

Weaknesses: Extended fights, crowd control, mana efficiency

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

```

Zeph stared at the build analysis.

’High Gold to Low Platinum estimation? That’s... actually pretty good for a Level 35.’

Most players his level would be sitting in Silver tier, maybe low Gold if they were particularly skilled. The fact that his combination of stats and A-rank skills pushed him into Platinum estimation meant he had a legitimate competitive build.

’And that’s before factoring in actual player skill. The system is analyzing raw stats and abilities, not tactical thinking or game knowledge.’

’If I can translate my gaming experience from my previous life, I should be able to punch above that estimation.’

A new prompt appeared.

[Training Mode available]

[Would you like to complete the tutorial and practice with your abilities before entering ranked play?]

[YES] [NO]

Zeph selected YES immediately.

’I’ve skills upgraded to A-rank and haven’t tested any of them in actual combat. Training mode first. Learn what I’m working with. Then ranked.’

The white space transformed into a training ground—a vast arena with target dummies, obstacle courses, combat simulation zones, and practice equipment arranged in organized sections.

[Welcome to Training Mode]

[This is a consequence-free environment for testing abilities and developing skills]

[Features available:]

- Target Practice

- Combat Simulations

- Skill Rotation Testing

- Movement Drills

- Cooldown Management Training

[Time in Training Mode does not affect real-world cooldowns]

That last line was important. Zeph’s Temporal Fracture was on cooldown for almost 7 more days in reality. But here in training mode, he could test it freely without limitation. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

’Perfect. Let’s see what I’m actually capable of now.’

He started with the basics—movement drills to get used to how his stats translated into VR performance.

The moment he activated Predator’s Advance, his perception shifted.

The world didn’t slow down—that would be inaccurate. Instead, he sped up dramatically, his effective AGI jumping from 156 to 312 for the skill’s duration.

He crossed the hundred-meter training ground in under two seconds, his movements so fast they left afterimages.

’Holy shit. I knew the math said doubling my speed would be significant, but experiencing it is something else entirely.’

He tested Cleaving Momentum next, attacking a practice dummy with his equipped axe.

First strike: Normal damage.

Second strike: 20% bonus.

Third strike: 40% bonus.

Fourth strike: 60% bonus.

Fifth strike: 80% bonus.

Sixth strike: 100% bonus.

The final hit cleaved completely through the reinforced dummy, splitting it in half.

’The damage scaling is exponential. If I can maintain aggression and keep stacking, I become progressively more lethal. But if I get interrupted or have to disengage, the stacks drop and I start over.’

’High risk, high reward. Fits my playstyle perfectly.’

Iron Skin was harder to test without actual incoming damage, but the training mode provided combat simulations.

He fought a virtual opponent calibrated to C-rank strength. Without Iron Skin active, the hits staggered him, dealing noticeable damage. With Iron Skin active, the same strikes felt like minor impacts, their damage reduced by half.

’50% damage reduction is massive. Combined with my 220 VIT, I’m way more durable than my "glass cannon" reputation suggests.’

’Though "glass cannon" was always more about my combat philosophy than actual fragility.’

He spent two hours in training mode, testing combinations, practicing skill rotations, learning the feel of his upgraded abilities.

Cleaving Momentum into Predator’s Advance created a terrifying assassination combo—stack damage on weaker targets, then activate hyperspeed to close on priority enemies and delete them with maximum stacks.

Wind Blade at A-rank was useful for harassment and poking at range, and strong enough to be a primary damage source.

Adaptive Resilience was harder to test in controlled environment, but he noticed it activating against repeated damage types, gradually reducing their effectiveness.

Temporal Fracture... he saved for last.

When he activated it, the world fractured.

Not metaphorically. The arena literally split into overlapping realities, multiple versions of the same moment existing simultaneously. He could see the paths not taken, the attacks that hadn’t happened yet, the openings that would exist in the future.

For three seconds, he had perfect information and could rewrite his actions.

’This is still the most broken skill I’ve ever seen. No wonder it has a 7-day cooldown.’

After extensive testing, Zeph felt confident he understood his capabilities.

He was fast. Dangerously fast with Predator’s Advance active.

He hit hard and got harder to kill the longer fights went.

He could adapt to repeated threats.

And once per week, he could cheat time itself.

’This build is viable for competitive play. The question is: how does it translate to actual ranked matches against real players?’

He exited training mode and returned to the main hub.

Time to learn about the ranked system.

-----

[Ranked Competitive Play]

[Placement System Overview:]

The interface displayed a comprehensive breakdown.

TIER STRUCTURE:

```

Master (Top 500 players globally)

Diamond (Top 2%)

Platinum (Top 10%)

Gold (Top 25%)

Silver (Top 50%)

Bronze (Everyone else)

Unranked (Incomplete placements)

```

PLACEMENT MATCHES:

All new players must complete 10 placement matches to receive initial tier assignment. These matches are calibrated to test your skill level across various scenarios:

- Match 1-3: Basic skill assessment (Bronze-Silver opponents)

- Match 4-6: Intermediate evaluation (Silver-Gold opponents)

- Match 7-8: Advanced testing (Gold-Platinum opponents)

- Match 9-10: Peak performance check (Platinum+ opponents if previous matches indicate potential)

*Your performance across all 10 matches determines starting tier. Possible to place anywhere from Bronze to low Diamond based on results.*

TIER REQUIREMENTS:

Bronze → Silver: Win 50+ games OR maintain 55%+ win rate for 20+ games

Silver → Gold: Win 75+ games OR maintain 60%+ win rate for 30+ games

Gold → Platinum: Win 100+ games OR maintain 65%+ win rate for 40+ games

Platinum → Diamond: Win 150+ games OR maintain 70%+ win rate for 50+ games

Diamond → Master: Must be Top 500 globally AND maintain 75%+ win rate for 100+ games

TOURNAMENT ELIGIBILITY:

Regional Qualifiers: Gold tier minimum

Continental Championships: Platinum tier minimum

Global Finals: Diamond tier minimum

Master Invitational: Master tier only

SEASON STRUCTURE:

Each competitive season lasts 90 days. At season end, ranks soft-reset (drop one full tier, maintain MMR). Current season ends in 28 days.

Zeph absorbed all the information, his strategic mind already calculating optimal paths.

’I need to place at minimum Gold tier to be eligible for the upcoming regional qualifiers. Those are in 30 days according to the forum posts I read yesterday.’

’28 days left in current season. 10 placement matches. If I win most of them, I should place Gold or possibly low Platinum.’

’Then I need to maintain that rank and potentially climb higher before the season ends and I get soft-reset down a tier.’

’Tight timeline, but doable if my skills translate as well as I think they will.’

He checked the current time in VR.

[Session Duration: 2 hours, 43 minutes]

[Real-world time elapsed: 2 hours, 43 minutes]

’No time dilation in VR. Makes sense—people would abuse that for extra practice time.’

’I’ve spent almost three hours testing my abilities. I should probably eat something in the real world, then come back and start placements tonight.’

’Or...’

He looked at the [Begin Placement Matches] button.

’I could start them tomorrow. Fresh mind, well-rested, fully prepared.’

’Give myself time to research the current meta, watch some high-level gameplay, understand common strategies.’

’Yeah. That’s the smart play. Tomorrow. First placement match tomorrow after proper preparation.’

Zeph logged out, and his consciousness snapped back to reality.

-----

He was lying on his mattress in his apartment, VR headset still on his face, late afternoon sunlight filtering through his window.

His body felt slightly stiff from lying still for nearly three hours, but his mind was racing with excitement.

’This is going to work. This is actually going to work.’

’DirtyGrandpa is going to climb the ranked ladder, qualify for tournaments, and make enough credits to never worry about rent again.’

’And I’m going to have fun doing it.’

He pulled off the headset and set it carefully on his makeshift table.

His Primordial Architect interface updated in his vision.

’Generated almost 800 PP while testing skills in VR. Not as fast as focused breathing meditation, but still accumulating passively.’

’Tomorrow I’ll start placements. Tonight, I research the meta and prepare properly.’

’Goal: Place Gold tier minimum. Platinum if possible.’

’Time until season end: 28 days.’

’Time until regional qualifiers: 30 days.’

’Time until DirtyGrandpa becomes a household name: Unknown, but inevitable.’

Zeph stood up, stretched his absurdly tall frame, and smiled.

For the first time since awakening, he had a path forward that didn’t involve constant violence and escalating danger.

Just games. Skill. Strategy.

The things he’d always been best at.

’Tomorrow, the ranked grind begins.’