One month had passed since Lucas awakened.
The final bell of the school year rang throughout the building.
Students immediately began leaving their classrooms, talking excitedly about their plans for the summer.
For most of them, graduation meant vacations, part-time jobs, or preparing for college.
For awakened students, things were different.
Their futures depended heavily on what they did next.
Some would join guilds.
Some would become independent Awakeners.
Some would enter government organizations.
And others would attempt to enter one of the world’s Awakener academies.
Lucas walked through the school gates with his hands in his pockets.
The person who had entered those gates a month ago had been an F-Rank Awakener who had only just awakened.
Now, things were different.
He had spent the past month completing missions, fighting monsters, training his body, and learning how to use Boost Breaker.
He had also achieved something that most newly awakened students couldn’t accomplish so quickly.
He had reached E-Rank.
Lucas stopped at the sidewalk.
“Status.”
A familiar window appeared in front of him.
[STATUS]
Name: Lucas
Level: 18
Rank: E
Class: None
Ability: Boost Breaker
Hidden Ability: Time Manipulation — ???
Lucas looked at the information.
Level 18.
E-Rank.
He had come a long way in only one month.
But Lucas knew better than anyone that his current strength was still nowhere near enough.
He opened the Boost Breaker window.
[BOOST BREAKER]
[Current Rank: E]
[Abilities]
[Basic Enhancement]
[Strength Enhancement]
[Speed Enhancement]
[Break Limit]
[Impact Break]
[Quest System: Active]
Lucas looked at Impact Break.
That was the ability Boost Breaker had unlocked when he advanced to E-Rank.
Unlike his basic enhancement abilities, Impact Break was designed specifically for combat.
It allowed Lucas to concentrate the force of his attack into a single point and release it upon impact.
The ability didn’t simply make his punches stronger.
It made the force behind them far more efficient.
The more precise the strike, the more effective Impact Break became.
Lucas had spent the past month learning how to use it.
He still had a lot to improve.
But he was already comfortable enough to use it during combat.
Lucas closed the window.
“Not bad.”
He started walking toward the train station.
The month had passed quickly.
After his first dungeon mission, Lucas had continued accepting missions.
Nothing as strange as the first dungeon had happened again.
Most missions were straightforward.
F-Rank monsters.
Low-level dungeons.
Simple extermination requests.
They had given Lucas exactly what he wanted.
Experience.
His level had steadily increased.
His control had improved.
And eventually, Boost Breaker had recognized that he was ready to advance.
Reaching E-Rank hadn’t been automatic.
He had needed to satisfy the advancement requirements.
His body had to reach the required threshold.
His energy capacity had to increase.
His control over Boost Breaker had to improve.
And he had to pass the official advancement assessment.
Once everything was completed, his rank changed.
E-Rank.
Lucas had no intention of stopping there.
He opened another system window.
[RANK ADVANCEMENT INFORMATION]
[Current Rank: E]
[Next Rank: D]
[Requirements for D-Rank Advancement:]
[1.
Reach Level 30]
[2.
Reach the required energy capacity]
[3.
Demonstrate advanced control over awakened power]
[4.
Complete an approved E-Rank dungeon] Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
[5.
Defeat the required number of E-Rank monsters]
[6.
Pass the official D-Rank advancement assessment]
Lucas studied the requirements.
“So level thirty is only one part of it.”
That was important.
An Awakener couldn’t simply grind experience until they reached Level 30 and automatically become D-Rank.
The advancement process was designed to prevent that.
Rank represented more than level.
It represented the amount of power an Awakener could actually control.
Someone could have a high level but poor control.
Someone could possess a powerful ability but lack the energy capacity to use it properly.
And someone could have incredible physical strength but still fail the advancement assessment.
To reach D-Rank, Lucas would need everything.
He smiled.
“That shouldn’t be a problem.”
He still had plenty of time.
The train arrived.
Lucas stepped inside and took a seat near the window.
His phone vibrated.
A notification appeared.
ACADEMY APPLICATIONS ARE NOW OPEN.
Lucas opened it.
A list of academies appeared.
There were dozens.
Some were small regional schools.
Others were prestigious institutions known throughout the world.
Lucas scrolled through them.
He wasn’t interested in the smaller academies.
He wanted somewhere that could provide him with the resources he needed.
Training facilities.
Advanced combat simulations.
Dungeon access.
Skill instructors.
Rare equipment.
And most importantly, connections.
Lucas stopped scrolling.
One academy appeared at the top of the list.
IMPERIAL AWAKENER ACADEMY.
Lucas stared at it.
He remembered this academy from his first life.
It had produced some of the strongest Awakeners in the world.
Several future guild leaders had graduated from there.
So had powerful government officials and military commanders.
The academy was extremely difficult to enter.
Every year, thousands of students applied.
Only a small percentage were accepted.
Lucas smiled.
“This one.”
He selected the academy.
A new page appeared.
[IMPERIAL AWAKENER ACADEMY]
[Entrance Examination]
[Applicants will be evaluated in multiple categories.]
[Physical Assessment]
[Ability Control]
[Combat Ability]
[Dungeon Simulation]
[Final Ranking Assessment]
[Minimum score required for admission.]
Lucas read through the information.
The examination wasn’t simply about rank.
That was good.
If it had only been based on rank, Lucas’s chances would have been much lower.
There were plenty of E-Rank Awakeners.
But Lucas had something most of them didn’t.
Experience.
Real experience.
He knew how to fight.
He knew how monsters behaved.
He understood how to conserve energy.
He knew how to recognize openings.
And most importantly, he knew how to remain calm when things went wrong.
His phone vibrated again.
[ENTRANCE EXAMINATION DATE]
[30 DAYS REMAINING]
Lucas leaned back in his seat.
Thirty days.
He could work with that.
The train moved through the city.
Lucas looked outside.
The world was beginning to feel different from the one he remembered.
Guild advertisements covered buildings.
Dungeons were becoming more common.
The government was expanding its Awakener divisions.
Humanity was slowly adapting to the existence of awakened power.
Lucas remembered how chaotic things had eventually become.
He remembered guild wars.
Dungeon disasters.
Monster outbreaks.
And eventually—
The apocalypse.
But none of that had happened yet.
The world was still in its early stages.
That gave Lucas an enormous advantage.
He didn’t need to rush.
He had time to prepare.
He had time to become stronger.
And he had time to decide exactly how much of his knowledge he wanted to use.
Lucas opened his status again.
[STATUS]
Name: Lucas
Level: 18
Rank: E
Class: None
Ability: Boost Breaker
Hidden Ability: Time Manipulation — ???
Lucas stared at the question marks.
His second power remained completely sealed.
Nobody knew it existed.
Not the government.
Not his classmates.
Not the Awakener Administration.
Not even the people closest to him.
That was exactly how Lucas wanted it.
Boost Breaker was enough.
For now.
He closed the window.
The train arrived at his station.
Lucas stepped off and began walking home.
The summer had officially begun.
But Lucas knew he wouldn’t be spending it relaxing.
He had thirty days.
Thirty days to prepare for one of the most difficult academy entrance examinations in the world.
Thirty days to continue leveling.
Thirty days to improve Impact Break.
Thirty days to strengthen his body.
And thirty days to see just how far he could push Boost Breaker.
Lucas stopped outside his apartment.
He looked toward the city skyline.
“E-Rank.”
He clenched his fist.
Then he activated Impact Break.
A faint pressure gathered around his hand.
Lucas looked at it for a moment before releasing the ability.
He still had a long way to go.
D-Rank.
C-Rank.
B-Rank.
A-Rank.
S-Rank.
Those were the ranks known throughout the world.
Beyond them were ranks most people had never even heard about.
But Lucas wasn’t thinking about those yet.
He was only thinking about the next step.
The academy.
Then D-Rank.
Then whatever came after.
Lucas entered his apartment.
He placed his phone on the table and opened the academy application one final time.
[IMPERIAL AWAKENER ACADEMY]
[APPLICATION STATUS: ACCEPTED]
[ENTRANCE EXAMINATION: 30 DAYS]
Lucas smiled.
“Let’s see what this timeline has waiting for me.”
He closed the application.
His journey had started only one month ago.
He was still unknown.
Still an E-Rank.
Still far weaker than the monsters and Awakeners he would eventually face.
But Lucas didn’t need to become the strongest immediately.
He only needed to keep moving forward.
Level by level.
Rank by rank.
Quest by quest.
And this time, unlike his first life, he had something he had never possessed before.
Time.
Lucas looked toward the window.
A new chapter of his second life was about to begin.
And the first step would be getting into the academy.