Ding!
[Host, you have successfully assimilated attribute: ATK: 6,230.]
[Host, you have successfully assimilated attribute: DEF: 5,130.]
[Your total ATK is now equivalent to 1,754 pounds of force.]
[Your attack velocity is now 116 km/h.]
[Your maximum movement speed is now 77 km/h.]
[Your reaction speed has increased proportionally.]
[Your physical DEF is now 28,100 kPa.]
[Note: Each rank increase will increase your overall physical parameters by 1–5 times. Only on extremely rare occasions will the increase surpass this range.]
[Your Trait Mastery has increased by 0.5%.]
[Your CRIT HIT Rate and CRIT DMG have both increased by 0.7%]
[Your Mastery over Skill ’Telekinesis’ has increased by 0.3%]
As I pried my eyes open, what greeted me was the sight of several system notifications hovering around me, and the beautiful view through the floor-to-ceiling window of one of the biggest hotels in City G.
[Your HP, Stamina and MP have increased by 14.7 times.]
[Congratulations, Host, on fully consolidating your new rank. You’re officially the fastest man on the planet to reach F-rank.]
I clenched my fist tightly as I sat cross-legged on the bed, feeling strength flow through my body.
"It’s even stronger than before."
A single punch now felt like enough to send a car rolling.
When I focused, everything around me slowed to a crawl, every movement becoming almost painfully clear.
I swung my fist forward a few times. If not for my increased reaction time, I doubted I’d even be able to see my hands moving properly.
It wasn’t just the speed. The sheer force behind each punch was enough to put someone in the hospital for months.
I rose to my feet, stretching slightly, then made the fancy pen on the bedside table float into the air.
"System, is there any way I can channel the force of my attacks into my telekinesis?"
The System paused for a long moment before answering, its words appearing one after another on the interface.
[Host... are you feeling alright? I find it very disturbing that you’re acting so nonchalant about everything when you were crying a moment ago.]
As my gaze ran over the message, I couldn’t help feeling like I was talking to a human for a moment rather than a mechanical program.
However, with a slight shake of my head, I pushed the thought aside and answered the question. "To be honest, I’m not alright. But what can I do?"
I stared out the window at the bright city, its lights glimmering from hundreds of scattered windows. "If I want to pay my parents back for what they did to me, I have to get stronger."
[...]
[Then...] it said after a pause. [Why don’t you summon a hero?]
I raised a brow. "A hero?"
[Yes, Host. To be honest, you’ve shown talent that far exceeds that of a System user, which, whether you like it or not, most likely has something to do with your ties to this Michael family...]
[Meaning, if you were to buy a Summon Ticket for a hero or even a villain, you could not only get a protector, but also someone who can teach you martial techniques. I believe that if you understand how it works, you could accomplish many things with it.]
"Hmm..." I rested my chin on my hand. "I guess that would be a good idea, but I doubt I can afford it."
[Correct, Host. However, after some research, I found out that if you are crowned the top prodigy in the one-month training camp, you will receive not only weapons and Experience Shards, but also a large sum of money.]
[Additionally, if you complete this task, I, your System, have a special gift for you.]
My eyes darkened slightly.
It wasn’t that I lacked confidence facing others my age. It was that the one-month training camp held by the Hunter Association was so much more than just a simple training camp.
From rumors, and from what Felix had told me, the first two weeks usually took place in individual cities. But most cities, especially the larger ones, sent their soon-to-be hunters or specially trained agents to infiltrate rival training camps and sow chaos, since a city’s ranking meant a great deal to them.
That meant claiming the title of top prodigy didn’t just mean defeating people my own age. It meant overcoming the hidden dragons and phoenixes of great clans from other cities, as well as people who had already reached the strength required to become actual hunters.
Even if someone somehow survived all that, other cities could use the training camp, or even a minor injury inflicted on one of their own, as an opportunity to either kill that prodigy or force them to their knees.
Since I wasn’t from a large clan, I wasn’t even sure our local Hunter Association would protect me if things went south.
’Such a bother...’
No matter. For a life-changing cash prize and a gift from the System, I was willing to take the gamble. All I needed to do was either get strong enough to defeat every opponent and make the local Hunter Association see me as their most valuable asset, or seduce a princess from a great clan and use her family’s protection to survive.
I nodded to myself before pulling up the System Store.
Right now, my balance sat a little under four hundred thousand, which meant I couldn’t buy much since I still had to cover food and lodging. So I skipped the skill area and went straight to the weapon area instead.
I clicked the filter button, selected Throwable Weapons, set the Price Range, and sorted by Best First.
...
[Weapon Shop]
[Filter: Throwable Weapons]
[Price Range: 1.00 SC → 200,000.00 SC]
[Sort: Best First]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[1. Shadow Dagger Set (Cheap Replica)]
[Rank: F (high)]
[Price: 180,000 SC]
[Description:
A set of six lightweight daggers forged from Shadow Iron. Its darkened blade absorbs a small amount of ambient light, making it difficult to notice in dim environments, and also allows it to turn white for a limited time in bright lighting.]
[Effect:
• +8% throwing accuracy.
• When thrown, the dagger produces no noticeable whistle from air resistance.
• Slightly increases penetration against targets with physical DEF below 20,000 kPa.]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[2. Windpiercer Dagger]
[Rank: F (mid)]
[Price: 155,000 SC]
[Description:
Twin narrow daggers designed specifically for throwing. Its aerodynamic shape allows it to maintain stability over long distances.]
[Effect:
• +12% throwing speed.
• +10% effective throwing range.
• Reduced loss of velocity while traveling through the air.]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[3. Ironhide Throwing Balls]
[Rank: F]
[Price: 80,000 SC]
[Description:
A pack of dense metal spheres created for hunters who prefer blunt-force attacks. Though simple in appearance, its extraordinary density allows it to deliver devastating impact force when thrown.]
[Effect:
• Impact force increases by 15%.
• Extremely durable.
• Can be repeatedly thrown without deforming.]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Note: Weapon ranks indicate the quality and potential of the weapon. A weapon’s actual destructive power may vary depending on the user’s physical attributes.]
...
After studying the first three options in front of me, I ultimately decided on the Shadow Dagger Set and the Ironhide Throwing Balls.
Within a second the system finalized the purchase, and a black box appeared on my bed alongside a white one printed with the image of throwing balls.
A bright smile spread across my face as I swiftly tore the dagger from its packaging.
Just as the name suggested, the Shadow Dagger was black, with faint purple linings that seemed to glow depending on the angle at which they caught the light. Its blade was slick, and with a simple swing, I tore straight through its box, shredding it in an instant.
I took two of the daggers, one in each hand, and activated flash step, vanishing from where I stood and reappearing at the far end of the wall.
An uncontrollable laugh escaped my lips. My form was still crooked, and I lacked full control over the ability’s direction and distance, but it was still incredibly cool, and I knew I’d get the hang of it with time.
I stretched my hand forward and activated Telekinesis, sending all the daggers spinning around me in a halo behind my back.
With a single thought, each dagger shot forward, tearing through the air before snapping back to me.
"Hmm, I really need to increase their speed and force," I mused, resting my chin on my hand.
"System, there’s an inventory in the Store, right? How much is it?"
[Host, you do not need to purchase that since it is already available to you.]
I nodded, relieved that I didn’t have to burn another few thousand System Coins on storage.
"Then store all the weapons inside the inventory."
Immediately, the daggers around me and the still-boxed throwing balls vanished from the room in sparks of light.
After sitting back down, I began mapping out my next course of action.
Right now, everyone who’d awakened was probably resting and celebrating their first step toward a path of greatness and wealth. That meant by tomorrow, I wouldn’t be the only one grinding.
Those from mediocre families and those from great ones would start their own training too, all chasing the same goal: entering a top university and becoming a hunter.
That gave me one week, maybe less, to surpass geniuses from great clans and hidden families and push past every limit, even without the aid of elixirs or special dungeons.
"Yeah... who needs elixirs when I’ve got a System?"
I had to get stronger. Fast.
Ding!
[Host! Since you do not currently have a space to train, would you like to activate a simple simulation?]
[This would be an empty space of your choice populated with minimal monsters above your rank.]
[Cost for a week: 30,000 SC.]
[Balance after this purchase and all pending payments: 100 SC.]
I stared at the System message for a long moment. A warm feeling spread across my chest.
’I guess I do have someone who cares about me...’ I thought, a small smile touching my lips.
I stretched out my hand. "Then let’s do it. Let’s start our training."
⋮ ⋮ ⋮
╔═══◇═══╗
『···』
『■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■』
『ERROR: ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━』
『ERROR: ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━』
『■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■』
⋮
『To the Host and the System. Please survive this little Trial.』
『Oh, Mind Prodigy, show us your true talent and calling.』
『Simulation Difficulty: HELL』
『Time Limit: 4 Days』
『···』
『Good luck.』
╚═══◇═══╝
⋮