Rean took a taxi. He couldn't afford to use his bicycle; he was already running late.
'I need to make a good impression if I am going to get scouted, but look at me. Somehow I'm running late and it's not even my first day yet.'
A little under ten minutes passed. Rean made it. 'From what my phone is saying, the association should be hosting the raid right here. Wait, there's a bunch of people over there. I should probably walk over and talk to them.'
"Hey, are you guys with the association raid team 91?" Rean asked. It was a diverse crowd. Their faces varied. Not just that, no one paid his question any mind. He didn't get a response. It seemed like everyone was mad at him or something.
A hand made contact with his shoulder. "Oh hey, everyone, Mr. whatever his name is, finally made it here." This was Captain Amer; he's in charge of raid team 91. "You'll be carrying a lot of the extensions. See it as punishment for your selfishness today. Alright, let's head out," Amer said.
'I knew it, I'm already off to a bad start. This is so not good,' Rean said.
Rean picked the extension box, placed it on his shoulder, and they all walked ahead to the gate not too far from the site.
(Extension — refers to every useful thing huntsmen take into the dungeons.)
"Wow," one said.
"It's incredible," said another. The seemingly dry atmosphere had lit up; all the newbies were ecstatic.
"So this is what a gate looks like up close. It's amazing," Rean said.
"Ok, stay sharp. My name is Amer, I am a B rank. This is a D rank dungeon. We should have no issues taking this thing down. I know you all have your different ranks and stuff. So I'd like all eight of you to introduce yourselves. I'd probably never see you again, so no need to go as far as state your name. Nobody cares, especially when you're just starting out. Just your rank and your talent will do. I don't need your specialization. I doubt you'd have any, seeing as you all just awakened. Ok, you with the hat, we'll start from the left with you and end on Mr. I think the world should wait for me. Ok, go."
"I am C rank, fire talent."
"D rank, water talent," said the next.
"C rank, agro talent."
"B rank, wind talent."
After the B rank spoke, everyone gasped. There was this immediate chatter. He had now become a target, knowingly or not. Since he was B rank, that means he most likely awakened normally. As the Source rarely yields B rank, normal people see this as weakness—something cringe, like deeming him not hungry to get the best out of life—rather than viewing it as a smart decision where he weighed the risks and consequences.
After some unimpressive chatter:
"E rank, earth talent," said the next.
"D rank, thunder talent."
"C rank, ice talent."
And it finally came to Rean's turn.
"C-rank… em… em. I have a question."
"What? You haven't even met the very basic requirement of stating your talent, and you claim to have a question? The disrespect," Amer noted.
"Well, I can't exactly say my talents without knowing something first," Rean said.
"Huh," someone in the crowd let out.
"I'll humor you. Ok, it's a caved-in plant monster hub," Amer said.
"Well, that's quite the coincidence. I happen to be a C rank with agro talent. Please treat me well as I have just awakened," Rean shouted, declaring he was behind the rest of them.
"Ok, with that sorted, leave the dungeon boss to me. If you understand, then let's get this raid started."
All nine huntsmen walked through the gate, eight of which experienced something unlike anything they'd ever experienced before.
On the other side…
"The cave is being held up by a lot of roots. It's actually beautiful," Rean said.
"Beautiful? You mean damn creepy. It looks like the kind of trash that would house witches in children's books," another said.
"Don't say that. He's an agro type; this must be his thing," another said. They all laughed at Rean.
He was definitely the oddball. Every group needed one, and as it seems, he was the perfect pick.
'I can't be harbouring these stupid thoughts right now. I have to level up, gain points, and finally test this vessel system thing out.'
"Let's get that first talent," Rean said with a cocky grin.
*********
13 hours ago
"How do I level up?" Rean asked.
Another panel popped up. 'Points are allocated from the spoils of dungeons and raids. These points can be invested in any of the four. However, you cannot level up when in a dungeon; all points must be processed outside the gate.'
'Damn, this thing must think it's clever. If one could level up in a dungeon, there's truly no telling how far I could go.'
Dungeon bosses of different ranks have different points. 'Huh, let me go through them.'
Another panel popped up.
[E rank] — (10 points)
[D rank] — (100 points)
[C rank] — (1,000 points)
[B rank] — (10,000 points)
[A rank] — (100,000 points)
[S rank] — (10,000,000 points)
"Woah, why the jump? S ranks must really be something else."
Another panel popped up. 'The ranking system is relative to your current rank. It changes with your current convention. This is to ensure the best performance of the vessel.'
'Best performance, huh,' Rean let out, with a fire in his eyes.
A panel popped up: "Slash opponent, and evolution will begin shortly."
A lone humanoid figure walked out of the inner cave. It was plant-like, as expected.
"It's mine," the B lone rank shouted (not the captain). "Come," he said.
His entire arm transformed, now coated in mana skin.
(Mana skin is used by all huntsmen to fight. It allows them control of their elemental talents and grants the ability to fire mana pulses. The amount of skin it covers dictates and tells a lot about the user's mana pool, strength, and general evolution. Most newbies have their mana skin cover as little as just their palms. Acting as a glove, it can be used to fire various elemental attacks.)
"Plant thing, come!" the B rank shouted.
As if in response, the plant monster charged at the B rank, only to get stabbed from behind. It died immediately from one hit.
"That's amazing, Captain Amer," one said.
"That wasn't the captain," said another.
The creature fell to the ground. It was Rean. 'I one-shot the beast'. Rean thought.
'So this guy was pretending to have little experience, huh? He's one of those types,' Amer thought to himself.
'I killed it , I mean it died from a single strike . Running up from behind and striking from behind was definitely a smart move,' Rean thought to himself.
A panel popped up:
[Talent Assimilated] — (Root Ship)
[Talent Count] — (1)
"That was mine," the B rank shouted before the captain came between him and Rean.
Rean looked back at him with a grin, so targeted. The B rank knew Rean was making fun of him.
"Next," Rean said.