The awakening ceremony finally wrapped up. Students spilled out of the auditorium in waves, chattering about ranks, skills, teams, and tomorrow's exam like it was the most important day of their lives. For most of them, it probably was.
Unlike his old life alone in a dim room with only screens and snacks Max now had actual family waiting somewhere.
A mother and father, both Awakened. Mom had a B-rank Cook class; she ran a modest little shop in the Seventh District, turning monster parts into meals that kept regulars coming back.
Dad was a C-rank Scavenger the rough, hands-on type who went into low-rank domains, butchered the corpses, removed the inedible and toxic bits, and hauled the good meat back for Mom to cook.
They weren't rich. They weren't famous. But the shop stayed open, the bills got paid, and there was always food on the table.
Max walked beside Kai for the first few blocks, hands shoved deep in his pockets, posture loose and unbothered.
High stats for an F-rank, he thought as Kai rambled on beside him.
I didn't even mention the Luck stat. Weird that it doesn't show up in the system window at all like the interface just skips it.
Whatever. This face won't even twitch properly. Too lazy to emote. Honestly kind of perfect. If I had a normal face, my panic would've been all over it by now.
A sudden smack landed between his shoulder blades Kai, grinning wide.
"So? You actually gonna show up for the exam tomorrow?" Kai asked, matching his stride again.
"It's the only real shot most people get to climb. Skip it and you're stuck in whatever trash role they dump F-ranks into. Come on, man I'll help you.
My class is Holy Knight, SR-rank. We can team up. Even with SR, my stats are still level-1 garbage. Yours are already level-5 equivalent. You'd basically be carrying me."
Max tilted his head slightly, sky-blue eyes half-lidded. After a beat, he answered in that low, husky voice.
"Yeah. I'll attend."
Kai stopped walking for a second, genuinely surprised. "Wait seriously? I thought you had zero interest in any of this.
Even with that F-rank label, girls still keep glancing your way. Like, why the hell did the gods waste a face like that on someone as clueless as you?"
...This body is handsome? Max thought, a faint spark of curiosity cutting through the lazy haze.
Haven't looked in a mirror yet. But yeah… the laughing never turned cruel. No one spat real venom.
This world isn't one of those cliché bullying pits from the comics. Good to know.
His thoughts felt sluggish, almost syrupy like the original owner of this body had been chronically low-energy, and some of it lingered. Fine. Less effort wasted.
Out loud, he kept it simple. "I'm heading out. Gotta help Mom at the shop.
Evening rush is coming people swarm like moths when fresh monster meat hits the grill. See you tomorrow."
Kai raised a hand in casual salute. "Don't be late, pretty boy. We're gonna crush it."
Max turned left toward the Seventh District without another word.
The streets of Midger City hummed around him: neon signs flickering above food stalls, distant roars of hunters returning from domains, the sharp scent of grilled meat and lingering mana in the air.
His body felt… different. Stronger. Each step landed with more power than it should have for someone his height.
Muscles responded with quiet, coiled readiness he wasn't used to. Like the stats weren't just numbers they were already rewriting his flesh.
On the way home, he thought idly, I should find a mirror. See what everyone's talking about.
A golden panel shimmered into existence in his vision.
Name: Max Fate
Rank: F
Class: Night Assassin
Skill: Shadow Dive
Description: When the skill is active, the host can move within shadows and perform sneak attacks. Effect doubles at night.
Time Limit: 10 minutes
Activation Cost: 5 mana
Huh. Pretty cool. I've seen skills like this in games. Only 5 mana cost at level 1? With my stats equivalent to level 5, I could probably spam this thing twenty times. That's… four hours and forty minutes of uptime. Insane.
He glanced around. The street was quiet here narrow alley shortcuts between buildings, long shadows stretching from the late-afternoon sun.
Luck's still a mystery, but this skill? I should test it. Might get me home faster. Plus, practice.
Max focused inward.
Shadow Dive.
The moment the skill activated, darkness swallowed him whole.
His body sank into the shadow at his feet like water, weightless, fluid. The world blurred into shades of black and gray.
He moved gliding along the ground, up walls, across rooftops completely invisible except for the faint ripple of his shadow racing forward at ridiculous speed.
Easily 40 km/h, maybe more. It felt like swimming through cool ink, effortless and exhilarating.
This is amazing
He slammed face-first into something solid.
The skill snapped off instantly. Max tumbled out of the shadow, crashing onto cold concrete in a heap. Pain flared across his nose and cheek, but it faded almost immediately his durability stat was no joke.
He pushed himself up, eyes wide in genuine shock for the first time that day.
Right in front of him, blocking the narrow alley, stood a massive black wolf easily the size of a small car.
Crimson eyes glowed in the dim light. F-rank domain beast. It shouldn't have been here, in the middle of the city outskirts.
The wolf lowered its head, lips peeling back from dagger-like teeth.
Max stared.
What the actual fuck.