“But…”
Kael Veyron looked around his living room.
“…claiming Purple Sky Thunder caused a little more trouble than I expected.”
The lightning surrounding his body had already disappeared.
What remained was a disaster.
His entire living room looked as though a missile had exploded inside it.
The sofa had been torn apart.
The television was nothing more than a pile of shattered components.
The coffee table had been blasted into several pieces.
Fragments of glass and wood were scattered across the floor.
Some of the debris was still burning with small flames.
Even the walls and floor were covered in blackened craters where the lightning had struck.
Kael scratched the back of his head.
“Yeah…”
“This is going to be expensive.”
He looked around at the destruction.
Fortunately, he had realized something was wrong during the transformation and had desperately tried to restrain the power surging through his body.
Otherwise, the damage wouldn’t have been limited to his living room.
He might have destroyed the entire apartment.
Or worse…
The entire building.
Kael couldn’t help feeling a lingering sense of fear.
Purple Sky Thunder wasn’t an ordinary Lightning-type ability.
According to the memories of this world, the name was associated with ancient legends of primordial thunder– a destructive force said to possess enough power to destroy even divine beings.
Of course, Kael was currently nothing more than an Awakener.
He couldn’t possibly unleash the full potential of an S-rank ability.
But even the fraction of power he could currently control was frightening.
If he had released it without restraint, blasting through the floor would have been easy.
And if the floor collapsed…
The entire building could have followed.
Kael himself probably would have survived.
But the other residents wouldn’t have been so fortunate.
Fortunately, he had controlled the lightning at the last moment.
The disaster had been contained.
Kael exhaled.
“It seems I seriously underestimated Purple Sky Thunder.”
He looked at the destroyed living room again.
“If I’d known the transformation would cause this much trouble, I should’ve gone straight to the outskirts of the city before claiming the Beginner’s Gift Pack.”
Despite his complaints, Kael was extremely satisfied.
The greater the ability’s potential, the better his future would be.
And there was no doubt about it.
Purple Sky Thunder was terrifying.
Then Kael suddenly remembered something.
“Wait.”
His eyes brightened.
“The Beginner’s Gift Pack also gave me 200 Ability Points.”
“What exactly are those for?”
As soon as he finished speaking, the familiar electronic voice sounded inside his mind.
[Ability Points can be obtained by killing Ferocious Beasts.]
[Ability Points can be consumed to increase attributes, levels, and skills.]
[Your current Ability Points and available upgrades can be viewed through the System Panel.]
Kael’s eyes flickered.
So that was how it worked.
Ability Points were essentially experience points.
Kill monsters.
Earn points.
Spend points.
Become stronger.
Kael couldn’t help smiling.
“The classic monster-hunting progression system.”
“Simple…”
“But useful.”
He immediately opened the Deep Blue System Panel.
A translucent blue interface appeared before his eyes.
[Name]: Kael Veyron
[Level]: Awakener
[Ability]: Purple Sky Thunder — S-Rank
[Physique]: 121 Blood Qi (+)
[Spirit]: 140 Hertz (+)
[Skills]: Spearmanship — Beginner (+)
[Combat Technique]: Thunder Gale Break — Beginner (+)
[Ability Points]: 200
Kael studied the panel carefully.
The interface was surprisingly simple.
There were no unnecessary statistics.
No complicated menus.
The plus signs beside certain attributes indicated that they could currently be upgraded.
The others could not.
Kael’s attention naturally fell on his Physique and Spirit.
These were the two fundamental attributes of an Awakener.
Physique represented the strength and vitality of his body.
Spirit represented his mental strength, perception, and ability to control supernatural power.
For most Awakeners, both attributes hovered around 100.
Kael’s current values of 121 and 140 were already quite good.
But then he noticed something else.
His Spearmanship.
Kael frowned.
“I’ve been practicing the spear for five or six years…”
He stared at the panel.
“And I’m still only at Beginner level?”
He couldn’t help complaining.
Most people who awakened supernatural abilities relied primarily on their powers.
But weapons were another important means of combat.
Swords and sabers were the most common choices.
Kael had chosen something different.
A long spear.
He had started training with it when he was barely thirteen.
Five or six years of practice.
And yet…
Beginner.
That felt somewhat insulting.
The proficiency of combat skills was divided into six stages:
Beginner.
Intermediate.
Advanced.
Master.
Grandmaster.
Perfection.
Beginner represented the lowest level.
Essentially, it meant that someone had only just entered the path.
Kael’s second skill, Thunder Gale Break, was different.
It was a dedicated spear-based combat technique.
After awakening his E-rank Weak Electricity ability at sixteen, his predecessor had spent nearly 300,000 credits to purchase the technique.
He had practiced it for less than two and a half years.
So having only reached Beginner proficiency was understandable.
Kael rubbed his chin.
“Two hundred Ability Points…”
He stared at the plus signs.
He could use them to strengthen his basic attributes.
Or improve his combat techniques.
Or perhaps save them for something else.
But tomorrow was the College Entrance Examination.
He needed to maximize his combat strength before entering the examination zone.
Every point mattered.
“Physique and Spirit are the two fundamental attributes.”
“If I increase them, my physical strength should improve.”
“My control over combat techniques should also improve.”
“And since supernatural abilities originate from both the body and the mind…”
Kael’s gaze settled on the two attributes.
“The power and control of Purple Sky Thunder should improve as well.”
That made the decision easy.
“I’ll strengthen the foundation first.”
Kael divided the 200 Ability Points equally.
One hundred for Physique.
One hundred for Spirit.
He focused on the first plus sign.
Then…
“Deep Blue…”
Kael’s eyes sharpened.
“Add points!”
He pressed it.
DING!
A powerful sensation immediately surged through his body.
His Blood Qi began rising violently.
It felt like a river suddenly bursting through its banks.
His muscles tightened.
His bones seemed to become heavier and stronger.
Every cell in his body appeared to be filled with new vitality.
Then came the second transformation.
His mind became clearer.
His thoughts accelerated.
His perception sharpened.
The world around him suddenly seemed more distinct.
Even his control over Purple Sky Thunder changed.
The violent energy that had previously felt difficult to control now responded much more naturally to his thoughts.
Kael’s eyes flashed.
“So that’s it.”
He clenched his fist.
A strand of purple lightning appeared between his fingers.
Instead of exploding uncontrollably, it remained perfectly stable.
“Supernatural abilities essentially originate from the interaction between Physique and Spirit.”
“Increasing both doesn’t just strengthen my body and mind…”
“It also increases my ability’s potential and control.”
Kael nodded in satisfaction.
He opened the system panel again.
The numbers had changed.
[Physique]: 141 Blood Qi (+)
[Spirit]: 160 Hertz (+)
[Ability Points]: 0
Kael stared at the numbers.
“So both increased by twenty.”
“That means every Ability Point gives me 0.2 Blood Qi or 0.2 Hertz.”
He calculated it mentally.
The conversion wasn’t particularly generous.
But Kael wasn’t disappointed.
After all, this wasn’t ordinary cultivation.
There were no years of training involved.
No dangerous medicines.
No side effects.
No painstaking meditation.
He simply spent Ability Points…
And his attributes increased.
“Still…”
Kael glanced at the empty Ability Points counter.
“It’s a shame there were only 200 points in the Beginner’s Gift Pack.”
“If I’d had another few thousand…”
He shook his head.
There was no point dreaming about points he didn’t have.
What mattered was his current strength.
And judging from what he could feel…
It was already extraordinary.
“With Purple Sky Thunder…”
Kael smiled.
“Getting into a Superpower University should be more than possible.”
In fact, from the moment he received his S-rank ability, Kael’s strength had already risen to the upper echelon among the examinees in Westhaven Province.
After increasing his Physique and Spirit, he could confidently say he was among the strongest candidates taking the Combat Examination.
But Kael didn’t dare claim that he was the strongest.
Westhaven Province was enormous.
More than eighty million people lived across the province.
And this year’s Combat Examination had more than 700,000 candidates.
Among such a massive population…
There would inevitably be monsters.
Some might not possess S-rank abilities.
But an A-rank ability combined with exceptional combat techniques, battle experience, and powerful equipment could still produce terrifying combat strength.
And some of those candidates came from wealthy or powerful families.
Their families could hire famous mentors.
They could purchase rare combat techniques.
They could provide expensive training resources.
Some could even arrange powerful bodyguards to accompany them into the wilderness.
Those students could accumulate real combat experience by fighting ferocious beasts long before the entrance examination.
Kael couldn’t compete with them in terms of resources.
He was an orphan.
He had no wealthy family supporting him.
No famous mentor.
No personal bodyguard.
No endless supply of training resources.
But then again…
They didn’t have Purple Sky Thunder.
Kael looked at his hand.
A thin strand of purple electricity slowly wrapped around his fingers.
His eyes narrowed.
An S-rank ability was something that money couldn’t simply buy.
And Kael had one.
Knock!
Knock!
Knock!
Suddenly, frantic knocking came from the front door.
Kael froze.
Someone was outside.
The knocking became more urgent.
BANG!
Before Kael could even react, the entire front door was kicked inward.
A group of firefighters wearing orange-and-black protective gear rushed into the house.
Each carried firefighting equipment and high-pressure hoses.
They immediately prepared themselves for a major fire.
But then they stopped.
The firefighters stared around the destroyed living room.
No massive flames.
No raging fire.
No unconscious victim.
Instead…
There was a perfectly healthy young man standing in the middle of the wreckage.
Kael stared back at them.
The firefighters stared at Kael.
For several seconds, nobody said anything.
One firefighter slowly lowered his hose.
Another looked at the destroyed television.
Then at the shattered furniture.
Then at Kael.
Finally, he looked around again as if trying to understand what had happened.
Kael blinked.
“Uh…”
He awkwardly raised one hand.
“Hello?”
The firefighters remained completely silent.
Kael suddenly realized how suspicious the situation looked.
His house had been nearly destroyed.
The neighborhood had probably seen the lightning.
The sky had turned black.
And now a perfectly calm teenager was standing in the middle of the wreckage.
Kael swallowed.
Yeah…
This is going to be difficult to explain.