The neon signs of the Genesis City did not just shine light; they shone ambition.
Holographic advertisements for S-Rank dungeon raids and premium Class-advancement elixirs bathed the rain-slicked pavement in a harsh, electric blue glow. For the Awakeners who walked these streets, the city was a playground. But for Donald, it was a predator to his mental health.
Donald pulled his collar tight against the chilling drizzle, his shoulders hunched in a permanent clouched posture. At twenty-two, he possessed the hollowed-out look of a man who had already surrendered to the harsh reality of life.
He was an F-Rank, a statistical anomaly in a generation where humanity had evolved to fight back against the apocalyptic dungeons dotting the globe. Worse, he was Classless. His Awakening ceremony, a mandatory event at age eighteen, had yielded nothing but a defective innate trait: [Lesser Mana Perception].
It meant he could sense the natural magical energy around him, but he couldn’t use it. He could also feel the heavy pressure coming from the passing Guild elites. It felt like a physical weight, making his lungs hurt and his weak knees shake. But he couldn’t fight against it. He was powerless in a society ruled by strength.
He stopped under the flickering sign of a twenty-four-hour apothecary, his fingers nervously touching the plastic cred-chip in his pocket.
Three hundred and fifty units.
It had taken him two weeks of cleaning blood and guts from the armor of Vanguard Guild initiates to save that much.
It was just enough to pay a month’s rent in the Slums.
Or he could use it to buy a single Grade-F Nutritional Supplement to ease the constant pain in his underdeveloped mana channels.
He stared through the reinforced glass at the glowing vials. Just as he pulled the cred-chip out, a wet hacking cough echoed from the narrow alleyway beside the shop.
Donald flinched. His first instinct honed by years of being bullied, beaten, and overlooked, was to keep walking. The alleys of the Genesis Ward were where discarded things went to die, and a weak F-Rank getting involved in alleyway business was a quick way to end up as monster bait.
Just keep walking, he told himself, his heart hammering a frantic rhythm against his ribs. It’s not your problem.
But his [Lesser Mana Perception] suddenly activated, there was no monster in the alley. Itwas a human core, and it was breaking apart. The feeling was like hearing glass slowly crack under heavy pressure.
Donald swallowed and slowly stepped back, looking around the brick corner.
A woman was sitting against a rusty dumpster. She looked to be in her late thirties, though the exhaustion on her face made her look older. Strands of dark hair with silver streaks stuck to her cheeks. Despite the dirt and tired look on her face, she still had a strong, beautiful appearance.
She wore what was left of a once-powerful set of enchanted leather armor. It was torn apart by claws and covered in dried, dark blood.
The insignia of the Silver Griffon Guild had been scratched off her shoulder armor. She had been exiled. She coughed again, her body shaking violently. Blue sparks of corrupted mana jumped from her skin, burning her clothes.
It was Mana Poisoning, her core was collapsing.
Donald’s breath hitched. He knew who she was, or at least, who she used to be. Evelyn Vance. Five years ago, she had been a celebrated A-Rank Vanguard, a woman who held the frontline against class-four dungeon breaks.
Then, a catastrophic raid had wiped out her team. The Guild blamed her, stripped her of her assets to pay the death indemnities, and abandoned her when the corruption in her core made her unable to hold a sword.
Evelyn cracked an eye open. Her irises, once famously described in the tabloids as brilliant sapphire, were clouded and dull. She looked at Donald. There was no plea for help in her gaze, only a hardened, cynical resignation to fate.
"Move along, kid," she rasped. "Unless you want the Guild sweeps to mistake you for a corpse-looter."
Donald took a step back in fear. Even though she was dying, the power of a former A-Rank made his weak F-Rank senses scream in pain. His hands shook so badly that he almost dropped his cred-chip.
He should run. He needed to pay his rent. He needed to survive and not be involved in whatever this shit was.
But as he looked at her: discarded, broken, and waiting to die in the mud after giving everything to a world that didn’t care. He saw a terrifying reflection of his own inevitable future. The world only valued what it could use.
Donald’s jaw tightened. A pathetic, foreign spark of defiance flared in his chest.
Without saying a word, he turned and rushed into the pharmacy. He placed his cred-chip on the counter, startling the bored clerk.
"One Lesser Purifying Draught," Donald said nervously, his voice shaking. "And a basic health potion. Now. Please."
The clerk raised an eyebrow, noting Donald’s ragged clothes. "That’s three hundred units, kid. You sure? No refunds."
"Take it," Donald urged, swiping the chip.
The transaction chimed. The clerk handed over two small, glowing vials. Donald grabbed them, his hands slick with cold sweat, and sprinted back out into the rain.
Evelyn hadn’t moved. Her breathing had grown shallower, the blue sparks of corrupted mana flaring more aggressively around her chest.
Donald fell to his knees beside her, the wet concrete soaking through his worn trousers. "H-here," he stuttered, fumbling with the cork of the purifying draught. "Drink this. It won’t fix your core, but it will stabilize the corruption."
Evelyn stared at the vial, then up at Donald’s face. Her expression was unreadable. "A purifying draught. That’s a week’s wages for a rat like you. Why?"
"Because," Donald whispered, feeling foolish, his innate timidity crashing back down on him. "Because leaving you here feels... it feels worse than being broke."
He held the vial to her lips. Evelyn didn’t resist. She swallowed the glowing liquid, followed by the red health potion. Almost instantly, the violent sparking around her chest subsided into a dull, manageable glow. Color returned, just slightly, to her pale cheeks.
She let out a long, ragged exhale, leaning her head back against the brick. "You’re an idiot, kid," she murmured, though the harsh edge had left her voice. "A gentle idiot. They’re going to eat you alive in this city."
Donald forced a weak, self-deprecating smile, standing up and brushing the dirt off his knees. He was completely broke. He was going to be evicted by Friday. He had no plan, no power, and no future.
"I know," Donald said softly. "But you’re not dead today at least, I’ll...I’ll take comfort in that."
He turned to walk away, to face the reality of his empty pockets and the long, cold walk back to his slum apartment.
But before his boot could hit the pavement, the... no... his world stopped.
The rain froze in mid-air, suspended like a million tiny glass beads. The distant noise of the Genesis Ward vanished, replaced by a deafening, echoing hum that vibrated directly into Donald’s skull. Deep within his chest, the stagnant, pathetic puddle of his mana core suddenly boiled.
A translucent screen, burning with a golden light he had never seen before, shattered into existence right in front of his eyes.
[Notice: Lesser Anomaly Detected.]
[Innate Trait: ’Lesser Mana Perception’ has recognized a high-value asset operating at critical deficit.]
[Voluntary transfer of total liquid assets recognized. Intent: Altruistic Support of a Mature Target.]
Donald stumbled back, gasping as a sharp, piercing pain ripped through his sternum.
[Requirement Met. Breaking F-Rank Limiter.]
[Innate Trait Evolving...]
[Evolution Complete.]
[New Class Processing...]
[Process complete.]
[System Initialization: The Dividend Investment System has awakened.]
Target: Evelyn Vance
Class: Vanguard (A-Rank)
Current Status: Crippled (Mana Core Fracture)
Initial Investment: 300 Credits (100% of User’s Net Worth).
Yield Rate: Exponential.
[First Investment Confirmed. Calculating Returns...]
[Reward: +5 to All Base Stats.]
[Reward: Skill Acquired - ’Aura of the Vanguard’ (F-Rank).]
[Reward: Skill Acquired - ’Valuation Eye’ (EX-Rank).]
Donald fell to his hands and knees, gasping for air as a rush of raw, unadulterated power flooded his previously barren mana channels. The sheer force of the influx made his muscles spasm, but as the golden screens faded, the crushing weight of the city’s pressure vanished.
He looked down at his trembling hands. They felt different. He felt... Strong. Behind him, Evelyn stirred, her clouded eyes suddenly snapping open with a clarity that hadn’t been there a moment before, staring at the boy in the alleyway with a newfound intensity in his aura.