The first thing I felt was pain.
A dull, throbbing pain in the back of my head, like someone had slammed a door against my skull. My eyes opened on instinct, and all I saw was a wooden ceiling—dark, cracked, and full of splinters that looked like they'd fall on me any second.
It took me three seconds to realize two things:
One: This was not my room.Two: This was not my world.
I sat up quickly, but my thin—almost fragile—body protested with a sharp ache. When I looked at my hands, they weren't mine. They were too small, too pale, too weak.
"Okay," I whispered to myself, "don't panic. Breathe."
My breathing didn't help.
I scanned the tiny room. A wooden bed, a cracked mirror, and clothes that looked like old potato sacks. A faint smell of dust and cold air. No phone. No lights. No sign of Earth.
"…I really died."
Blake—the boring gamer who did nothing important and died without anyone noticing—that version of me really was gone.
I swallowed hard and looked into the mirror.
A teenage boy stared back.
Thin face.Flat black hair.Ordinary eyes.Not handsome, not scary, not memorable.
Just painfully average.
"Great," I muttered. "I reincarnated into someone even weaker than I was back on Earth."
Before I could think further—
A loud, sharp voice yelled from outside:
"HEY! F-GRADE! WAKE UP, YOU WASTE OF SPACE!"
I flinched.
F-Grade?That didn't sound like a compliment.
I walked to the door, opened it—
—and stepped into chaos.
A big courtyard filled with hundreds of students in neat academy uniforms. Some were practicing sword forms. Others were circulating qi. A few were bragging about which elder they wanted to join.
Everyone looked strong. Confident. Proud.
Everyone except the three boys walking straight toward me.
The leader—tall, sharp-eyed, hair tied into a neat ponytail—looked at me the way someone looks at rotten fruit.
"Oh look," he sneered, "the F-Grade finally crawled out of bed."
The crowd around us shifted, whispering.
"Is that him?""The kid with the lowest talent score in academy history?""I heard his spiritual veins are completely blocked…"
My stomach sank.
The ponytail boy shoved a jade tablet in my face.
"You see this?" he said loudly, making sure everyone heard him. "This is your test result from yesterday."
He cleared his throat dramatically.
Name - Carter Vale
Talent: F-Grade
Qi Capacity: 1/100
Spiritual Veins: 90%Blocked
Overall Potential: Practically None
Laughter exploded around me like fireworks.
"Even the chickens on my farm have better talent!""Why didn't the academy just reject him?""He must have bribed someone!"
I kept my face blank.Inside? I wanted to crawl into the nearest hole.
The ponytail boy stepped closer. "Listen, trash. The entrance examination starts today. People like you don't belong in there. You'll only embarrass real students."
He poked my chest hard.
"Stay out of the exam. Stay out of our way. Understand?"
His finger pressed harder.
I didn't think.
I just… moved his hand aside.
A simple gesture.
But the courtyard gasped like I had punched him.
The bully froze. "Did you just touch me?"
"I don't like people pointing at my chest," I said quietly.
His eyes went wide with disbelief—then dark with fury.
"You worthless piece of—!"
His hand slapped me across the face.
CRACK.
White pain exploded. My ear rang. My vision blurred.
But then—
A clear DING echoed in my head.
And a glowing, transparent screen appeared.
[SYSTEM BOOT COMPLETE]
My heart jumped.
A system?
Lines of text formed slowly, like a machine waking up from sleep.
[Weakling System — Version 0.1]
A growth system designed for the weakest possible host.Features unlock when the host suffers and endures hardship.
Skill Unlocked: "Pain Conversion Lv. 1"– Converts 2% of physical pain into Temporary Qi– Duration: 12 seconds
My eyes widened.Two percent wasn't much, but it was something.
Before I could react, the bully grabbed my collar and punched me in the stomach.
Hard.
The breath left my lungs. I collapsed to my knees, clutching my ribs as pain stabbed through me like burning needles.
Then—
[Damage detected — converting pain: +9 Temporary Qi]
A warm surge rushed through my meridians.My heart steadied.My senses sharpened.My breathing eased.
Temporary qi.Energy created from pain.
Not talent.Not skill.Just… stubbornness.
I dragged myself back up. "Is… that all you've got?"
Ponytail's eyes almost popped out of his skull.
Around us, whispers exploded.
"He survived that hit—??""Did he suddenly awaken something?""No, impossible. He's F-Grade."
I didn't argue.I didn't fight back.I just walked past them.
Each step hurt.But each step also made something clear inside me:
I'm done being weak.
The bullies didn't follow.They just stared, confused and angry.
I walked through the courtyard, ignoring the stares, until I reached the huge stone gate with carvings of dragons and stars. This was the entrance to the Cultivation Academy's test grounds.
Just as I lifted my foot to step inside—
The system chimed again.
[New Quest Available]
Quest: "Don't Die During the Entrance Exam."Difficulty: Extremely HighReward for Surviving:– System EXP– Unlock Random Feature– Temporary Qi Recovery bonus
I stared blankly.
"…Don't die?"
Not "pass," not "do well," not "impress the elders."
Just don't die.
Great.Fantastic.Perfect confidence booster.
But I clenched my fists.
"I didn't get a second life just to give up."
I breathed deeply.
In my old world, I had wasted every chance I ever had. I ran from challenges. I hid behind screens. I gave up before even trying.
Not here.Not again.
I walked through the gate.
Whatever was waiting for me inside, I would survive it.
I had to.
Even if my talent was trash…Even if my body was weak…Even if I had nothing…
I had a system.A path.A chance.
And this time?
I was going to climb from the bottom, even if I had to bleed for every step.