It took me a while to come to terms with the fact that I was now a System user. After waiting ten years in this godforsaken world, my golden finger had finally arrived.
Seeing no point in staying at the playground, since everyone believed I was nothing more than a low-ranked awakener and I still had my System to figure out, I decided to head out.
Normally, by this time of day, both my gambling-addicted father and my crazy mother would have already left the house, giving me some peace and quiet to sort through my thoughts.
Even so, I decided to kill some time elsewhere, just in case I ran into either of them.
I didn’t bother looking around as I made my way to the gate. Instead, I simply followed the crowd of irregulars like myself, weaving through the reporters interviewing the newly awakened high-rank students.
From what little I’d learned through the internet and my time at Pre-Hunter Middle School, the Awakening Ceremony was followed by a one-month training program for newly awakened hunters, hosted by each central academy.
Only those who passed the training camp’s final assessment would earn the right to enter dungeons and take the Hunter University entrance examination, or enlist in the military if their scores failed to meet the cutoff.
That meant I had less than a week to bring myself up to the standard of an awakened hunter and gain enough strength not only to survive the training camp... but perhaps even dominate it.
If my performance was good enough, I might even earn admission to one of the Seven Saint Universities, or perhaps even one of the Three Sorcerer Universities.
As I walked through the entrance, I felt a hand clasp my shoulder.
I turned around to find an unfamiliar man standing behind me, his unkempt hair falling over one of his crimson eyes.
Seeing me turn toward him, he smiled politely.
"You’re the one everyone is calling Atlas, right?" the man asked, angling his microphone toward my mouth while his cameraman moved in behind him.
’Why is he talking to me?’
Even if he wanted a juicy story or some niche content from an irregular, wouldn’t it have made more sense to approach someone who had at least awakened a decent class or trait?
Out of everyone here, I was the lowest of the low.
There was no reason to single me out...
Unless he was planning to mock me.
My gaze darkened at the thought.
Perhaps because of the shift in my demeanor, or maybe because of the demon mask covering my face, the man instinctively took a step back, his smile faltering into something awkward.
"Relax, Mister Atlas. I don’t have any bad intentions." He hesitated before continuing. "I just wanted to ask whether you truly believe the results of your awakening."
"As you may know, many people refuse to accept that their rank is so low. And in your case, where your numerical readings matched the digits of pi, it wouldn’t be strange if you believed the orb had made a mistake."
’That... actually makes sense.’
To be honest, I hadn’t even had time to look at the readings long enough to realize they matched pi.
’Was that why the System claimed I had surpassed the limits of a Support Class?’
A rank that even this world’s technology could barely detect.
A rank that had never existed before.
Ding!
[Congratulations, User, for figuring out the reason behind the System.]
[You have earned one lollipop.]
I ignored the System’s sassy remark and turned my attention back to the reporter.
"I don’t think there’s any reason to let my awakening bring my spirits down or to delude myself into believing the orb’s reading was wrong. Even if I hadn’t awakened, I could still have done something meaningful with my life. So I think I can do the same with the little awakening I did get."
There was no point in telling them about my true rank, which, according to the system, surpassed every known standard, or about the plans I had for the future.
Sure, it might attract the attention of guilds, hunters, and powerful organizations. It might even earn me enough money to invest in my system.
But it wasn’t worth the risk.
I was about to turn around and leave when his voice rang out again, louder than before, drawing the attention of the surrounding crowd.
"Even if you say that, Mister Atlas, the fact remains that you must be disappointed in yourself. Even if you aren’t, your parents, your friends, and society as a whole are disappointed in you."
He smirked, lifting his chin as though he’d already won some grand debate. "Are you really going to pretend none of that bothers you?"
I offered him a small smile before replying in a calm, clear, almost indifferent voice.
"If others are disappointed, then let them be disappointed. What else can they do besides that? This is my life, and I’ll live it however I choose."
With that, I turned and walked away, ignoring the questions he continued shouting after me and every attempt to provoke a reaction.
At first, I hadn’t understood why he wanted to interview me.
Now I did, and the realization left me feeling utterly disgusted.
Sometimes, when I looked at people like him, I couldn’t help but wonder whether humanity’s greatest enemy was truly the monsters pouring out of rifts and dungeons... or the humans we called our own.
...
After putting some distance between myself and the playground, I removed my mask and headed to an internet café, where I paid half of my last fifty dollars for a few hours of access.
The café was small, with only a handful of gaming rigs lined up along the right wall. To my left was a quiet seating area filled with wooden chairs, green-and-white walls, and a cozy atmosphere that sharply contrasted with the colorful RGB lights humming from the computers opposite them.
It felt like two different worlds sharing the same roof: the gentle warmth of wood and soft colors on one side, and the restless glow of technology on the other.
I quickly shook the sentimental nonsense from my head and moved toward a monitor on the gaming side of the café.
Out of everything I could think of to make quick money, betting and gambling seemed like the most reasonable options.
Yeah, they might’ve been the reason my father was such a bum, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t make money.
Though, considering my luck, I doubted I’d win anything extraordinary.
"Hey, System, can you increase my Luck stat?"
Ding!
[Affirmative. Besides the option of permanently increasing your Luck stat, you may also purchase a Luck Card that grants a substantial increase in Luck for a limited time.]
I rubbed my chin thoughtfully, my gaze drifting from the monitor, where a gacha app was loading, to the system interface floating before me.
"How much is this Luck Card, exactly?"
[Hahahahahaha!]
"Why are you laughing?"
[Because you’re funny! Asking me how much it costs as if your broke ass can afford it. No offense, Host, but don’t even think about buying it right now.]
A vein bulged on my forehead, and my expression twisted in irritation. "Just tell me the price, you damned System!"
It was only after my outburst that I realized I’d actually said that out loud, and everyone around me was turning to stare.
A faint flush crept onto my face as I lowered my head and muttered under my breath, "See what you caused, you damned thing."
[Stop blaming me for your misfortune. As for the price of the Luck Card, it’s at least a thousand bucks.]
’A thousand bucks?!’ I screamed internally. ’That’s more than I make in three months! How do you expect me to cough up that kind of money?!’
[Why are you asking me? You’re the one who wanted to become strong, right? Besides, you seem to have forgotten that this is the cheaper of the two options.]
I rubbed my temples. ’So, if I want to use you to your full potential, I need a lot of money?’
[Correct. However, once you become strong enough to enter dungeons, you can earn money by selling the monsters you kill, along with the materials they drop, to me.]
’Well, I kinda know that already. Most hunters make money by selling monster cores and dungeon materials.’
[Yes, you’re correct, but that isn’t what I meant.]
’Then what did you mean?’
[Selling them to the System.]
I raised a brow in confusion.
’Wait... wouldn’t it be better to sell them in the real world instead of through the System?’
[No. It will be far more beneficial to sell them through the System, since it’s connected to users across different worlds.]
[As long as a monster’s corpse remains intact, it can be sold for a high price. The value rises even further if the monster is still alive but flinging and to life.]
I nodded.
Honestly, it made sense.
Even back on Earth, systems usually rewarded their users for completing quests. And for a system to provide materials to its users, it had to either purchase them from stores or rely on other users to hand them over through quests.
So, it stood to reason that the monsters I killed could be sold to other users as well, especially since I was benefiting from the contributions of those users in return.
But all of that hinged on one assumption: that I’d somehow become strong enough to enter a dungeon.
Even those who awakened SSS-Rank traits had to undergo training before they were permitted to enter even an F-Rank dungeon.
So, if I truly wanted to become a hunter as soon as possible, I’d need to find a way to support my spending until I reached F-Rank.
Only then could I enter dungeons alongside those "gifted bastards."
One of these things would have to be gambling. But without a sure way to get constant rewards, like a ridiculously high luck stat, I couldn’t take that risk just yet.
Another thing I could do was tutor students trying to get into pre-hunter school or work as a sparring partner for other pre-hunters my age.
But that required me to be as strong as, if not stronger than, them.
I lowered my head and shut my eyes.
’Fuck, is there really nothing I can do here?’
Just as I was about to resign myself to taking odd jobs like carrying bricks, an arm wrapped around my neck, and something soft pressed against my back.
"Kaiser~ I knew I was right." A head popped up over my shoulder, a bright smile spreading across her face. "How are you doing, my baby?"
My eyes widened at the sight of her before narrowing in suspicion. "Aunt Mary?"