Every human awakens on their 18th birthday. They awaken to a system from the heavens, that allows them to grow stronger, and obtain skills to defend Earth from monsters.
This is how life has been for the past 20 years, and today was the awakening of Draven Castle.
****
Late into the morning, Draven opened his eyes, and excitedly got up from his bed. It had been two years since he transmigrated into this world, and he had been looking forward to this day for so long. It was the day of his 18th birthday, which was also the day people of this world would go through a process called "Awakening". This would allow them access to a system, much like a game, that would let them to gain skills to fight off monsters.
Each person had a unique skill when they were awakened, while some were not useful, some were extremely powerful. It could be said your fate was decided on what skill you received first.
"Let's see what my starting skill will be! Sometimes your starting skill can completely determine your path forward."
I excitedly opened my status, which could be done with the simple thought of it.
[Name: Draven Castle]
[Race: Human]
[Level 1: 0/100 EXP]
[Health: 100/100]
[Mana: 100/100]
[Stats:
STR: 10
CON: 10
AGI: 10
DEX: 10
INT: 10
CHR: 10
LCK: 10
]
[Skills: Editor (SSS-Rank)]
"SSS-RANK?!" I shouted.
Skills and Items had rarities, from F-Rank which was the lowest, to SSS-Rank which were the highest. While not all skills could be judged on rank alone, the effects could be drastically different.
I inspected the skill while holding my breath.
[Editor (SSS-Rank)]
[Allows for the user to add or remove words before or after an item or effect, to change something's description.]
"What? That's kind of... Vague? But vague descriptions means less restrictions on it's uses. Hm, let's try it out."
Draven then walked over to the kitchen in his house, and grabbed a knife.
[Common Kitchen Knife (F-Rank)]
"Add 'Un' to Common." Draven said aloud.
He then inspected it again.
[Uncommon Kitchen Knife (F-Rank)]
[A kitchen knife sharper than normal kitchen knives.]
The effect was pretty good, but I wondered how far it could really go.
"Add 'of Magic' to the suffix."
[Uncommon Kitchen Knife of Magic (F-Rank)]
[A kitchen knife sharper than normal kitchen knives, that can cut through F-Rank magic.]
"This... Is incredible? There are so many different applications of this! The first thing to do, is to go to the Hero's Association, and get myself registered. That way at least I can start getting some money from the government, and even start hunting monsters for money."
I quickly got dressed, and ran out of the house. My younger sister, and parents wouldn't be home until much later. My younger sister was still in school, and my parents both worked as office workers. They had not awakened a combat skill, and to top it off they were scared to fight monsters as well.
However they weren't shamed for this regard, as after 20 years humanity had stabilized their position in the world, allowing for those who didn't want to fight to not be forced. My parents had instead chosen skills that helped them perform their jobs better, such as my father's [Multitask (D-Rank)] skill that helped him, well, multitask better.
My mother had a analytical skill, and they both made good money working for the city. I, however, wanted to become a Hero. One of those people with magical abilities that become unrivaled.
It was cool, in my opinion.
I was driving in an old car, that I had received as a gift on my 16th birthday. It was just an old used car that my parents were able to get me to get to and from school, but I still cherished the old thing. It reminded me a lot of my first car in my past world, which was also an old and used car.
In this world there were mostly cars that used mana stones to power them, so a car like mine which still used fossil fuels, was ancient. I had just pulled up to the parking lot of the Hero's Association building, when I had an idea.
I placed my hand on the car and inspected it.
[Old Car (F-Rank)]
Immediately my eyes lit up.
"I think I really can edit anything... Okay, let's try this. Remove 'Old' prefix, and add 'Magical' to instead. Also... Add 'of Luxury' to the suffix."
Immediately the car changed completely. The outside had become fully black, with tinted windows, and when I opened the inside I really could only describe it as luxurious. It had tan leather seats now, and the dashboard had completely changed to a highly modern one. I could even watch a movie while I drove, if I wanted.
The effect was incredible, and I started to think about other things I could change. Also the fact that my skill didn't seem to be limited by any resource like mana, made me think that the skill really lived up to it's SSS-Rank title.
I closed my door, locking it, and headed inside feeling even better than I did when I first used the skill. What kind of man doesn't want a nice car? How would I explain it to my parents? I don't know. That's for future me to deal with, right now present me was going to just ride the high.
****
The process for registering went smoothly, they only asked some basic questions before telling me the risks of becoming a Hero. I consented, signed some forms, and received my new Hero's license. I then went to a nearby bank, that only dealt to Heroes, and signed up there too.
Heroes had separate banks, because they typically had a larger income, and their banks required heavier security.
Anyways, once I had finished making a bank account, I immediately headed to the nearest exit gate to the city. I was planning to go to a gate, and hunt some monsters around the area to get some experience. My goal was mostly to find gear, and skills. Not as much to level up. Levelling up would give me attribute points, which I could use to increase specific stats, to cater to a type of fighting style.
It wasn't long before I arrived at the gate, and finished the procedure to leave the city. This would be my first day as a Hero.
****
After making it through the gate, I found a nice quiet place away from the entrance, so no one would see me using my skill.
While it wouldn't be a bad thing to be sought after by big guilds, it wasn't good either. I had heard about assassins being used for corporate espionage and to kill key members of opposing guilds. If my skill were revealed I would be used to upgrade items and skills till I died.
So I quietly upgraded my clothes when no one was looking.
[Resilient Shirt of Protection (F-Rank)]
[Padded Pants of Movement (F-Rank)]
[Swift Shoes of Air-Walking (F-Rank)]
The shirt and pants were to help me stay safe by increasing my defense, while also helping me move around easier. The shoes, were the prize. I could take three steps in the air, before I would have to touch the ground again.
While gripping my knife, I walked around looking for weaker monsters to pick off. I had to be wary of things like Goblins, and Wolves, which typically travelled in packs and groups. I was looking for monsters that were alone, making the fight a little more manageable.
I was still someone with no experience at all in fighting, but I believed I could learn. I walked while keeping my attention to the terrain, making sure I kept a mental map in my head. It was another twenty minutes before I found my first monster.
It was a Magic Tortoise, a monster that had an incredibly durable shell, that was further enhanced by a magic skill each tortoise had. They would typically be hard to deal with, as they would just curl up and hide in their shells.
But I was different.
The moment it saw me, it immediately hid inside it's shell, the normal strategy by these monsters. So I was able to just walk up to the monster. I put my foot on top of it, pinning it to the ground, and I readied my knife.
"You really met the worst opponent today... I'm sorry."
I then shoved my knife, which tore through the protective magic of the tortoise like butter, into the asshole of the tortoise.
"SKKKKKKKKKKKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
That was the last sound the tortoise would ever make.
[+25 EXP]
It wasn't honorable... But it was honest work. I didn't receive anything else from the tortoise kill, so I quickly left and looked for more monsters. I spent the next hour hunting, but I only came across three more tortoises. I killed them all the same way I did the first one, but the last one finally dropped something.
[Regeneration (F-Rank) skill book dropped.]
I quickly changed the skill, as it was one I already had a plan for.
"Add 'Extreme' to the prefix."
[Extreme Regeneration (F-Rank) has been learned.]
I smiled, and resumed my hunting with renewed vigor. My skill was already changing my life drastically, and it could even change my life more if I were to take real advantage of it.
To be honest with myself, I was still feeling really guilty for having such a powerful skill, that I hadn't been using it to the fullest yet. I hoped to be able to indulge once I got used to it, but for now I was content just making things easier for myself, and my family.
I had also reached level 2, so I put my five AP into my Intelligence, and decided to call it a day. I went back to the gate, and drove home.