Tens of thousands of years after humanity explored the vast universe with the help of other races, they expanded their territory through claiming habitable planets and even terraforming those that had the potential to be one.
With their allied races, they progressed steadily throughout these past thousands of years.
There are conflicts with some of the other species but that is just normal. Not all will become your friend. Some of the people you meet are bound to become your enemy.
However, during these times, humanity received something that they never expected to achieve in reality.
That is unity.
Humans settled their differences and internal skirmishes to join the battle for survival in this vast universe.
They came together with one goal in their mind.
To survive.
And to achieve that they needed to become powerful enough to defend themselves from potential threats and danger that lurks everywhere. Their race should advance their technology and knowledge in order to adapt to the cruel truth of the universe.
Universe. A place where the strong rules over the weak.
As a Low-class Race, they are still far away from the Pinnacle. However, slowly, they take their steps while doing their best to reach their goal.
…
Raia was lying down on the cold grass of the forest. His eyes were shut and his body was not moving. Fortunately, he was still breathing.
Suddenly, a surge of energy flowed throughout his body. He felt a cool sensation enveloping every muscle and vein of him as he began to feel that his wounds were quickly closing and recovering.
A few minutes passed and the pain completely disappeared. He was still tired but it was better than suffering from severe pain all over his body.
He slowly opened his eyes.
The night sky greeted him while the trees waved their branches. He was still in the forest.
"Oh you're awake."
A soft voice was suddenly heard.
Raia looked around and found a lady sitting near him. It was dark but there was a light lamp beside the lady.
"Uhm..What happened?" He asked.
"I was wandering around the forest and found you collapsed to the ground…half-dead. I gave you a flawless recovery pill so you will be good. Now that you are fine, I will be on my way. I already wasted some time here." The lady replied then she stood up. Her answer came with a bit of coldness.
"Wait. A flawless recovery pill? You gave me one?" Raia said as he gently sat down.
"Of course. Or you will already be dead. Your wounds were serious, you know? Your arm was minced and you are bathing in blood. Why would you go to the forest, hunt beasts and not have any recovery pill? Are you a fool?" The lady sneered.
"I had low-grade ones." Raia answered below his voice.
He glanced at the standing young lady and saw her beautiful face. Her hair was dark blue and her features were like those of fairies. Her gears seem top notch too.
'A set of grade 5 equipment. Looks like this lady is really loaded. To give me a flawless pill, she must be really rich.'
"Thank you for saving my life. I don't know how to pay for the flawless pill that you gave me. All my credits won't even be enough to cover a quarter of its price." Raia apologetically said.
"I don't need your money. I will be on my way." She turned around and started to walk away.
"May I know your name?" Raia asked her.
However, she just stared at Raia and continued walking.
'What a lady.'
Raia laid down to the ground again and sighed. He didn't know how to feel. On this day, he felt lucky and unlucky at the same time. He killed a saber fanged wolf. But he didn't get anything from it and even almost died. Fortunately, that lady saved him.
He rubbed his temple.
'I'll think about what happened after I returned. For now I will rest.'
An hour later he retrieved his belongings. The items he had were still there. Some of them were broken like his phone and the scabbard of his sword. He took them and traveled back to the city.
His clothes were torn apart and dirty so he just took them off.
He ran back home from the forest to the south gate of the city.
On the city gate, he swapped his ID card and entered after some inspection.
"It is already late, Raia. Did something happen?"
One of the city guards asked Raia.
"Nothing. I just rested before heading back." He replied to the middle-aged guard.
He decided not to tell anyone about the saber fanged wolf. It was already dead anyways and he has no evidence about its existence. Cases of beasts from deep forest going out are rare anyways and it's unlikely that it will happen again.
"You are fine. That's good."
Dan showed a genuine smile and nodded with satisfaction. After all, Dan witnessed a few times when Raia came back from hunting, wounded. And this time, Raia did not just return successful with his hunt but he also didn't receive any wounds.
After having a small talk, the two separated.
Raia went straight to a trade shop inside one of the narrow alleyways. This part didn't have many people passing by during the day and even more empty at night. He entered the shop and as he expected, no one except a middle aged man who was smoking cigars was present.
"Look who it is. It is already late but I will do business with you. Raia, what do you have for me?" Asked the man when he saw Raia enter.
Raia smiled at him and placed his backpack on the table. He then took out the horns, fangs and skin of feral dogs. Beside these, there were also some corpses of small rabid rabbits and earth rats.
"What do you think?" Raia asked the middle aged man, Gran. He is the owner of this trade shop. His business is rather small but Raia still chose to sell his harvest here mainly because Gran is a close friend of his father and the price he gives is fair too.
Gran stared at the items on the table and smiled. "You did good kid. It seems you've really mastered hunting not just rabbits and rats but also feral dogs now."
His gaze then fell on the bare top of Raia.
Gran reached to one of the cabinets and threw to Raia a shirt.
"Take it. I'll smack your head if you say anything again." Said Gran for he knew what would be the next words of Raia. He usually refuses the things that Gran gave him because he was afraid that he can't pay it back to him.
Raia wore the shirt. It was simple but comfortable and gave his cold body some warm feeling.
"Thank you. How much for all of these?" Raia asked.
"Hmm. 100 silver credits for the five rabbits, 120 for the twelve rats and I'll give you 450 silver credits for the parts of the feral dog. 670 silver credits in total."
Raia smiled as he listened to Gran. What he earned today was one of the highest earnings he had.
"Sure. I'll sell it."
Raia took out his ID card that also has the bank feature. When he confirmed that the money was sent to his account, he bid farewell to Gran after he thanked him.
"Ah right, kid. The university entrance exams are near. Be sure to do your best but also be careful. I'll wish you all the luck. Say hello to your parents for me."
Raia turned around and bowed slightly.
He ran back home. It was already dark so their shop was closed but his father was still working in the smithy.
"Oh you're back. How did the hunting go?"
A woman greeted Raia. This is his mother, Rose. Her beauty is still clear despite not being that young anymore. Her pure black hair and white skin were the few features that resembled Raia.
"It's great." He answered with a bright smile.
"That is really great." She said as she rubbed Raia's hair. "Let me check your wounds."
She then inspected the body Raia got from the battle today but when she saw that the wounds were already healed, she knew what happened.
"You're Uncle Gran gave you another pill?" she asked Raia.
"Yes. He said he'll smack me if I say anything so I just accepted it. He also gave me a shirt because I threw away the one I have. It's so dirty. Uncle Gran also says hi to you guys." He went with the flow.
His mother assumed that he was given a pill by his uncle and it was better than telling her about the flawless pill the lady gave her. He knew that if that occurred, eventually what really happened would be known to her family.
He didn't want to worry her parents more than they already are.
"When the time comes, make sure that you repay every kindness that they gave you," said Rose.
Raia nodded. "Don't worry, mother, I will."
At this moment, his father stopped working and went in their direction.
"From the looks of it, you had a great day. Are you alright?"
His father Hauran inquired about his condition. Raia then started to talk about what happened that day except for some details.
…
"Let me see your sword." Hauran said.
Raia gave his sword to him and he started to examine it. Even a child could say that the condition of the sword was bad. Hauran sighed.
He then stood up and returned with a sword in his hand.
"Here." He pushed the sword toward Raia who stared at him blankly.
"What is this?" he asked curiously.
"Your new sword, what else could it be? The university entrance exam is near and you need to have a better weapon to increase your chances of passing. I will not let you take the exam with scrap metal, you know?" Hauran rubbed his nose.
Raia bowed his head as tears slowly flowed down his cheeks.
He knew what this sword represented.
The blood and sweat of his parents.
Their smith shop was not that huge. His father is only at 2nd level martial spirit state and he can only create and repair low-grade 1 up to low-grade 3 weapons. These types of weapons were just common items for everyday life and hunting small beasts.
What his parents earned was just enough for their family to carry on their everyday needs.
Raia didn't experience the luxury of life. He knew about their status and he never demanded anything from his parents but they gave him what he always needed even if they had to sacrifice something in return.
Just like the sword that he was currently in his arms. It was made from the sacrifice of his parents. Maybe even his siblings lost something for this weapon to be created.
This motivates him to enter the university. If he graduates and becomes a martial warrior, he can have a stable salary from the government, enough for them to live without worry.
"Thank you father."
"I used silver alloy but the result is better than I expected. This one is at high grade 2 so you can hunt easily with it. Just be careful out there." Hauran advised him.
Raia wiped his tears and nodded.
"Go cultivate. You have the crystals from the feral dogs, right? Use it. It is better than those common-grade spirit herbs you are taking."
"I will. Thanks mother, father." Raia said as he embraced his parents. They were startled but hugged him back.
"Go. I'll prepare dinner for you." Rose kissed Raia's forehead.
…
In the middle of his room, Raia swallowed the spirit crystals of the feral dogs. A feral dog is just a mid-rank 2 beast but he still had a hard time killing it because of his cultivation level.
If he enters the academy, even though as an ordinary student, he can have a few resources to continue his cultivation. And advance faster than his current speed.
He refined the energy contained inside the spirit crystals and let it flow although out his body.
An hour later, his body shook and his foundation rumbled. He felt pain all over his body but he endured it.
A few minutes later and the pain subsided then it completely disappeared.
1st level Martial Physique State!
He broke through successfully to the next state. Now, he reached the minimum state requirement for the university entrance exams which is Martial Physique state.
Raia was elated. He barely made the requirement but it was better than nothing.
While stabilizing his foundation, he felt hot all of a sudden. After which, he sensed something floating inside the center of his body.
A small orb that glows so bright his body actually felt hot.
Minutes passed and its light dimmed revealing a beautiful transparent orb. His body also cooled down.
'Hm? Isn't this the one that the saber fanged wolf dropped earlier? What is it doing inside me?' Raia said while looking at the orb with his spirit force.
He was frightened a bit but still touched the orb with his spirit force.