Horns blared.
Digital confetti burst into existence, cascading down around them in shimmering fragments of light. The sudden celebration filled the empty space, completely at odds with the stunned silence between the two Players.
Adam and Mei stared at the system panel.
More specifically, at Mei’s results which appeared first.
Awakening Player Mei Mori’s hidden talents…
Max-Level hidden talents awakened!
Hidden talents:
Master of Firearms (Max-Level) – A talent for handling firearms so strong that you might as well have been born holding a gun. Maybe you were?
Effects: Increase damage dealt by firearms by 25% & grants near-perfect accuracy
Master of Martial Arts (Max-Level) – You have trained in nearly every form of martial arts and mastered them all with your genius level talent.
Effect: Physical attack damage +25%
Bold Spirit (Max-Level) – Your courage and boldness know no bounds.
Effect: Reduces effectiveness of negative mental status afflictions by 70%
Main Character Aura (Max-Level) – You were born to be a star, the center of attention, the MC of your world.
Effect: Maximize Luck
Great achievements have been made within the tutorial!
Awaken a Max-Level hidden talent
Reward: 100 coins
Awaken multiple Max-Level hidden talents
Reward: 400 coins
The two of them didn’t move and didn't speak. They couldn't.
Adam blinked once. Then again, slower this time, like his brain was trying to catch up with what his eyes were seeing.
“…What?”
Before either of them could properly react, the system erupted again.
Another fanfare of horns. More confetti. Louder this time, more intense, as if the system itself was celebrating.
Main Character of Tutorial #2,689: Milky Way Galaxy, Sol System, Planet-1 (Designation: Earth) found!
Unlocking Class System & increasing difficulty to maximum level
Difficulty already maxed.
Enhancing difficulty modifiers
“…Wha…?”
Mei pointed at herself.
“Main character? Me?”
Her eyes were wide, reflecting the endless cascade of notifications flooding the panel.
Adam, however, was focused on something else.
The class system.
Both of them knew what that meant.
Classes weren’t supposed to appear inside the tutorial. They were something Players unlocked after clearing it. A reward for survival, not something handed out at the starting line.
And yet…
Because of Mei, the rules had bent.
Or maybe they’d just been broken outright.
Adam’s gaze dropped to the final line.
Enhancing difficulty modifiers.
A bad feeling settled in his chest.
Before he could dwell on it, the system shifted again.
Combining hidden talents to assign a class.
Class Assigned: Gunslinger (Hidden)
Gunslinger – A hidden class focused on gunplay with immense potential.
Gunslingers are those who have pushed their weapons and bodies to their absolute limits, and then gone even further. They are beings who have become one with firearms.
“Wow…”
Mei leaned forward, eyes practically sparkling as she read through the description.
“It’s perfect.”
Adam nodded slowly.
It really was.
Even without knowing the exact skills tied to the class, the description alone made it obvious. This class wasn’t just strong, it was tailor-made for her.
That wasn’t surprising.
Mei had always been like this. Talented, instinctive, ridiculously skilled at anything she set her mind to. Even before the Game appeared on Earth, she’d already been building herself into something extraordinary.
Now…
It was like giving wings to a tiger.
There was no telling how far she could go.
Adam swallowed quietly.
He just hoped he could keep up.
He didn’t need anything crazy. No broken, world-defying abilities. Just one solid High-Level talent would be enough.
Something useful.
Something that wouldn’t drag her down.
The system chimed again.
Awakening Player Adam Colt’s hidden talents…
Talents awakened!
Hidden talents:
Fitness Expert (High-Level) – You have gained a complete understanding of physical fitness, but have yet to surpass the limits of your human body.
Effects: Stamina & Physical Strength increased by 15%
Magic Novice (Low-Level) – Due to being from a world lacking in magical energy, your original Max-Level magic talent has gone unused and regressed.
Effect: Magic-based skills effectiveness increased by 5%
Medical Adept (Mid-Level) – You possess enough medical knowledge to place yourself among the upper tier of nurses and physical trainers.
Effect: Healing efficiency of skills and items increased by 10%
Main Character’s Boyfriend (High-Level) – You are the boyfriend of a main character. Does that make you the #1 sidekick?
Effect: Occasional bursts of extraordinary luck
Adam stared at the final line.
Then read it again.
“…I got two High-Level talents.”
His eyes narrowed as he frowned.
“…So why do I feel worse than if they were all low-level?”
He dragged a hand down his face.
“Does this system hate me? What does it even mean, #1 sidekick? And how is being someone's boyfriend a hidden talent?”
Mei snorted.
Then, completely failing to hold it in, she burst out laughing.
“Pfft! Don’t worry, sidekick.”
She clapped him on the shoulder with a grin that was equal parts teasing and confident.
“This MC will carry you.”
Before Adam could fire back, the system chimed again.
Combining hidden talents to assign a class.
Class Assigned: Shield Healer (Rare)
Shield Healer – A Rare class with moderate potential.
Shield Healers have exceptionally fit bodies, however their abilities lay in using magic barriers to protect their allies while also providing timely buffs and healing. It is a purely magical class, despite the high physical requirements.
Mei tilted her head, studying the description with a thoughtful hum.
“So… you’re a tanky healer with buffs?”
Adam read over it once more, then shrugged.
“…I guess?”
It wasn’t flashy. Definitely not comparable to hers. But it wasn’t useless either. If anything, it sounded like the kind of role that would keep both of them alive.
The system chimed once more.
The tutorial will begin in ten minutes. Please familiarize yourself and ask any questions now. Once the tutorial begins, system functions will be limited to information display only.
Mei perked up immediately, leaning toward the floating screen like an excited student.
“Hey, system! Am I really the main character?”
There was a brief pause before the response appeared.
You are not the main character. Rather, you are one of many main characters. There is one in every world where the Game appears. Each is the accumulation of their world’s luck and fate. One purpose of the Game is to determine the greatest among them.
Adam read through it slowly, brow furrowing.
“One of many…?”
“Hmm…” Mei tapped her chin, completely unbothered. “So other worlds really do exist. I wonder what they’re like?”
A mischievous smile crept onto her face.
“Do you think there’s a world where everyone has butt faces?”
She giggled to herself.
Adam didn’t even look at her.
“Childish.”
There is.
Both of them froze.
Then slowly turned toward the system panel.
Yes, Adam. They fart.
Adam’s mouth fell open.
“I didn’t ask…”
You thought about it.
Mei burst out laughing, clutching her stomach.
“Now who’s childish?”
Adam deliberately turned away from her, choosing to preserve what little dignity he had left.
“…Show me my stats.”
The system responded instantly.
Adam’s Stats:
Strength – E
Constitution – E
Dexterity – E
Magic – E
Luck – F
Adam’s eyes widened slightly as he read through them.
“Wow… these aren’t bad at all.”
He leaned closer, thinking back.
“I remember seeing a screenshot online from someone who cleared Normal difficulty. They only had E in Dexterity and Strength. Everything else was F.”
He nodded to himself.
“This is probably around Hard difficulty level.”
“Too bad you’re still a sidekick,” Mei said with a smug grin. “Let me, the MC, show you what real stats look like.”
The system shifted.
Mei’s Stats:
Strength – D
Constitution – D
Dexterity – D
Magic – D
Luck – C
Adam’s eyes nearly popped out of his skull.
Even Mei blinked in surprise this time.
Those stats… weren’t normal.
They weren’t even close.
The strongest Player on Earth, the one who cleared Nightmare difficulty, only had a single D-rank stat. And that had been Luck.
Mei had four.
And a C on top of that.
“System,” Adam said slowly, “remind me of the rank breakdown.”
Rank breakdown:
G – Below Human / Child
F – Average Human
E – Trained Human
D – Human Limit
C – Beyond Human Limit
B – Superhuman
A – Superhuman Limit
Each rank is approximately twice as strong as the previous. However, a rank two times (or more) above another can be more than four times as powerful.
Adam turned toward Mei, his gaze unconsciously scanning her from head to toe.
She stood tall, just shy of six feet, her sun-tanned skin giving her a warm glow. At a glance, she looked more like a fashion influencer than a fighter. Flashy makeup, bold accessories, and her two-tone hair made her stand out in any crowd.
But he knew better.
Beneath that soft exterior was a body honed through years of training. She’d taught him martial arts herself, and he had first-hand experience of just how terrifying she could be in a fight.
Still…
He wasn’t that different.
He had trained alongside her, built his body as a professional physical trainer, pushed himself in the same ways she had.
They were the same height.
Similar builds.
And yet…
Their stats weren’t even in the same world. Even her Magic stat, which he had a talent for, was higher than his.
Adam exhaled quietly.
“…Yeah. Of course you’d be like this.”
He wasn’t sad or discouraged. If anything, he was proud of her.
But…
It still didn’t feel great knowing just how wide the gap between them really was. All this time, he’d believed they were more or less on the same level.
Clearly, he’d been wrong.
Still, this wasn’t Earth.
He wasn’t bound by the limits of a normal human body anymore. The ceiling he’d spent his whole life pressing against had been ripped away. Here, strength wasn’t fixed. It could grow, evolve, break past what used to be impossible.
Superhuman wasn’t a fantasy anymore. It was a starting point.
Adam’s eyes steadied as his thoughts settled.
He would catch up.
No… he would surpass her.
Even if she was the main character.
A quiet fire ignited in his chest, steady and unyielding.
The tutorial was about to begin.
And he was ready to show her what he was capable of.