The Fang Wolf collapsed.
Its body dissolved into particles of light.
Lucas stood still for a moment, listening to the silence of the simulated dungeon.
Then a notification appeared.
[ELITE FANG WOLF DEFEATED]
[EXPERIENCE ACQUIRED]
[LEVEL UP]
[LEVEL: 29]
[CURRENT EXP: 0%]
Lucas looked at the notification.
Level 29.
He was getting close.
One more level.
But unlike most Awakeners, Lucas wasn’t thinking about his level alone.
He opened his advancement window.
[D-RANK ADVANCEMENT REQUIREMENTS]
[Level 30: 29/30]
[Required Energy Capacity: COMPLETE]
[Advanced Power Control: COMPLETE]
[Complete an E-Rank Dungeon: COMPLETE]
[Defeat Required E-Rank Monsters: COMPLETE]
[Official D-Rank Advancement Assessment: INCOMPLETE]
Lucas looked over the requirements.
Everything except the final level requirement and the official assessment was complete.
He had already fulfilled the energy requirement.
His control over Boost Breaker had been recognized as complete.
He had completed enough E-Rank missions and defeated enough E-Rank monsters.
The academy’s E-Rank dungeon simulation had also counted toward his dungeon requirement.
All he needed now was Level 30.
Then he would have to pass the official D-Rank advancement assessment.
Lucas closed the window.
“Almost.”
He continued walking through the simulated dungeon.
The examination wasn’t over yet.
The academy wanted to see whether applicants could complete their assigned objectives, not simply defeat monsters.
Lucas followed the path ahead.
Several more monsters appeared.
He defeated them efficiently.
He didn’t waste energy.
He didn’t activate Break Limit unless necessary.
He used Strength Enhancement and Speed Enhancement separately, switching between them depending on the situation.
When he needed to finish an enemy quickly, he used Impact Break.
His movements were precise.
His energy consumption was low.
To the academy instructors watching from outside, Lucas looked like someone who had trained for years.
That wasn’t far from the truth.
Lucas had trained for years.
Just not in this life.
He had already learned every mistake the first version of himself had made.
He knew how to fight.
He knew how to move.
He knew how much energy he could safely use.
And he knew how to make every ability work together.
Eventually, Lucas reached the end of the simulation.
A large crystal stood in the center of the room.
[OBJECTIVE COMPLETE]
[DUNGEON SIMULATION COMPLETED]
[PERFORMANCE EVALUATION IN PROGRESS]
Lucas stopped in front of the crystal.
A final notification appeared.
[EXPERIENCE REWARD]
[LEVEL: 29]
[EXP: 8%]
Lucas nodded.
He hadn’t reached Level 30.
Not yet.
That was fine.
He turned around.
The exit opened.
Lucas stepped through.
The moment he returned to the examination arena, he noticed the atmosphere had changed.
Hundreds of applicants were gathered around the large ranking screen.
Some were talking quietly.
Others were staring at the results.
Lucas looked up.
[IMPERIAL AWAKENER ACADEMY]
[CURRENT EXAMINATION LEADERS]
[1.
APPLICANT 114 — LEVEL 19]
[2.
APPLICANT 302 — LEVEL 18]
[3.
APPLICANT 671 — LEVEL 17] This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
[4.
APPLICANT 928 — LEVEL 17]
[5.
APPLICANT 415 — LEVEL 16]
Lucas wasn’t surprised.
Most applicants were nowhere near those levels.
For ordinary students, reaching Level 8 to Level 12 was already respectable.
Students from powerful Awakener families had more resources.
They had private instructors.
Better equipment.
Access to monster cores.
Training facilities.
And sometimes even controlled dungeon access.
Because of that, many of the strongest applicants from major families were around Level 15.
But even among those families, reaching Level 17, 18, or 19 at this age was considered exceptional.
There were always geniuses who broke the normal standards.
Lucas had already noticed several of them.
But then something unexpected happened.
The ranking screen changed.
[APPLICANT 736 — LUCAS]
[CURRENT LEVEL: 29]
[RANK: E]
[EXAMINATION SCORE: 94]
The arena became silent.
Then the whispers started.
“Level twenty-nine?”
“That’s an E-Rank.”
“He’s already Level 29?”
“How old is he?”
“He’s one of the academy applicants?”
Lucas remained expressionless.
He expected attention.
But he didn’t care about the ranking.
He was more interested in something else.
The difference between ranks.
Most people misunderstood the relationship between level and rank.
Lucas didn’t.
Rank was determined when a person awakened.
A person could awaken as F-Rank.
Or E-Rank.
Or D-Rank.
Or even higher.
It wasn’t something that depended on their level.
Someone could awaken at Level 1 and already be D-Rank.
Someone else could awaken at Level 1 and be F-Rank.
The rank represented the quality and power of their awakened ability.
Level represented their growth.
The two were connected.
But they weren’t the same thing.
And the difference between ranks was enormous.
An F-Rank Level 10 Awakener could be stronger than an F-Rank Level 5 Awakener.
That was normal.
But an F-Rank Level 10 could still lose to an E-Rank Level 7.
The difference between the ranks could overcome several levels of growth.
An E-Rank Level 14 could lose to a D-Rank Level 9.
A D-Rank Level 21 could lose to a C-Rank Level 13.
A C-Rank Level 25 could lose to a B-Rank Level 17.
A B-Rank Level 20 could lose to an A-Rank Level 10.
And even within the same rank, things weren’t absolute.
An A-Rank Level 15 could potentially lose to an A-Rank Level 5 if the lower-level Awakener possessed an extraordinary ability, superior combat experience, exceptional compatibility, or some other overwhelming advantage.
There were always exceptions.
But generally, rank established the foundation.
That was why advancing ranks was so difficult.
A person couldn’t simply keep gaining levels and automatically move from F-Rank to E-Rank.
Advancement required specific conditions.
And for most Awakeners, reaching the next rank could take years.
Some spent their entire lives at the rank they awakened with.
Others never even came close to advancing.
That was what made Lucas different.
He wasn’t supposed to progress this quickly.
At least, not according to the normal standards of the world.
Lucas looked at his status.
[STATUS]
Name: Lucas
Level: 29
Rank: E
Class: None
Ability: Boost Breaker
Hidden Ability: Time Manipulation — ???
Lucas closed the window.
Nobody knew how close he was to D-Rank.
Nobody knew that almost every requirement was already complete.
And Lucas wanted to keep it that way.
A nearby student looked toward the ranking board.
“Level 29…”
Another student shook his head. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
“That’s ridiculous.”
“He’s probably from one of the major families.”
“I’ve never heard of him.”
Lucas ignored the conversation.
He didn’t want people investigating him.
The less attention he attracted, the better.
A voice suddenly echoed throughout the arena.
“Applicants, remain in your assigned areas.”
The remaining examinations were coming to an end.
Lucas walked toward the waiting area.
As he sat down, he noticed another applicant several seats away.
The boy was Level 19.
One of the strongest applicants in the examination.
He looked toward Lucas several times.
But he didn’t approach.
Lucas understood why.
Rank wasn’t something people casually asked about.
Everyone could already see Lucas’s E-Rank classification.
And everyone understood what Level 29 meant.
An E-Rank Level 29 was an extremely powerful applicant.
But it didn’t mean Lucas was about to become D-Rank.
Advancing ranks was a completely different matter.
The boy eventually looked away.
Lucas smiled slightly.
Good.
That was how it should be.
Nobody needed to know.
Lucas opened his status one more time.
[D-RANK ADVANCEMENT]
[Level 30: 29/30]
[Required Energy Capacity: COMPLETE]
[Advanced Power Control: COMPLETE]
[E-Rank Dungeon: COMPLETE]
[E-Rank Monster Requirement: COMPLETE]
[D-Rank Advancement Assessment: INCOMPLETE]
Lucas stared at the first line.
One level.
That was all.
Once he reached Level 30, he would finally be eligible to take the official advancement assessment.
But he wasn’t going to force it.
He would reach Level 30 naturally.
Then he would take the assessment.
After that…
D-Rank.
Lucas looked around the academy.
This place was filled with talented people.
Some had awakened with incredible abilities.
Some came from powerful families.
Some were natural geniuses.
And some would eventually become legends.
But Lucas knew something they didn’t.
Their journey was beginning.
His had already happened once.
He knew the road ahead.
He knew the disasters.
He knew the dungeons.
He knew the people who would eventually rise.
He knew the people who would fall.
And now he had something none of them had.
A second chance.
Lucas stood as the instructors began preparing for the final stage of the examination.
His expression remained calm.
He was still an E-Rank.
Still Level 29.
Still officially far weaker than the people he would eventually face.
But that didn’t matter.
He wasn’t trying to become powerful overnight.
He wasn’t trying to reveal everything he had.
He was building his foundation.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Quietly.
Level by level.
Rank by rank.
Quest by quest.
Lucas looked toward the academy’s main building.
“D-Rank.”
He smiled.
“One more level.”
Then he walked forward.
The examination wasn’t over yet.
And Lucas still had a long way to go.