Hope arrived at the association for his re-registration, memories of the last time flooding his mind. The association was as crowded as before, bustling with adventurers and activity. He made his way inside and spoke to the receptionist, who pointed him towards the 7th hall. As Hope walked, he recalled the pain he had endured and memories flooded his mind, particularly of seeing his mother in eternal sleep. Determined to save her, he moved towards the hall, noting the stage where the presentation had been held previously. Finding a corner, he settled in and watched as the hall gradually filled with people.
The orientation began, led by an association representative. It followed the same routine as last time. After the orientation, he headed to the power testing area where the first test was for strength. An instructor stood before a large black marble stone and explained its purpose.
"This is a power testing stone," the instructor announced. "It can withstand strength up to A rank due to its quality and size. The strength you input will be converted to kinetic energy, which will then be displayed by the intensity of the light produced. Each of you will test your strength in order."
Hope's thoughts raced. I need to control my power carefully. I want to aim for E+ rank or just above E+ rank. I can't afford to raise suspicion among the association members.
One by one, the participants tested their power. A punch from one person produced a golden light in a lightning pattern within the stone, and the tester announced, "E rank." Others followed, with results varying from F rank to B rank. Finally, a punch caused the room to be bathed in a bright golden light.
"It's A rank!" the instructor exclaimed.
Hope couldn't believe his eyes. His gaze moved towards the person who punched the marble. It was Kara, his neighbor, but her eyes were now a stark white.
Kara... she awakened, Hope thought. He activated his Eyes of Truth and saw:
Species: Human
Class: None
Status: Normal
Health: 5000/5000
Mana: 1000/1000
Strength: 1944
Defense: 10
Agility: 10
Luck: 10
Intelligence: 10
Skills: 1
What's with the unbalanced stats? Even an E ranker has more evenly distributed stats. But her strength... she must be using a skill, Hope mused, focusing on her abilities.
Scale of Stats: Enable - The user can see the stat screen and adjust stats freely.
Now I get it. She allocated all her stat points to strength, Hope realized. This skill allows her to freely adjust her stats. With the stats she has, she's an upper B ranker, but by concentrating all her stats into one, she appears as an A ranker in specific tests. But I thought I was the only one who could see and use stat screens. Could there be "Identical Skill List"?
Everyone was amazed, and the room buzzed with excitement. The instructor called everyone back to their positions to continue testing.
Next was the agility test. Hope matched his pace with the others, deliberately lowering his agility to avoid suspicion, while Kara achieved an A rank again.
The final test was for magic resistance. Everyone stood as a high-ranked mage emitted mana into the atmosphere. Some managed to block the energy, but Kara stood there unaffected.
Hope used his Eyes of Truth.
Species: Human
Class: None
Status: Normal
Health: 5000/5000
Mana: 1000/1000
Strength: 10
Defense: 1944
Agility: 10
Luck: 10
Intelligence: 10
Skills: 1
Last time, I passed out when the mana hit me, but now I have to make it look like I can't handle it.
Hope knelt down and fell to the ground.
After some time, only Kara and seven others out of 200 people remained standing when the mana dissipated.
The instructor called for assistance, and several people came to wake up the candidates, calling them by name. When they reached Hope, they called out his name, and he quickly got up. At that moment, Kara noticed him.
Kara: "You're here!" (Her face turned red). "I was going to tell you at home that I awakened, but you found out here. What are you doing here?"
Hope: "After the dungeon break, I wanted to retest my abilities, that's all."
Kara: "Oh, then let's go together."
Hope: "I'm fine with that, but I'm pretty you are the 26th A ranker in our country, you'll need to meet with people here and recruiters."
Kara: "No way, the tests aren't even finished."
As she said that, a man in a suit approached and asked Kara to come with him. Kara went along, saying to Hope, "See you outside, wait for me!"
Then Hope and the others moved to the next room. However, Hope hadn't noticed the camera that had been focused on him from the beginning.
After all the testing, Hope stood in front of the association building, holding his new license.
Hope: "Finally, I got my license. D rank. It's a step up from my last rank, but it won't raise suspicions."
Kara saw him from afar and, in a burst of speed, reached him. A gust of wind blew through the association as Kara appeared and grabbed Hope's hand. Others were shocked by her sudden arrival, but Hope was not.
Hope looked at Kara and smiled.
Kara: "Oh, I thought I'd surprise you, but you're clearly not scared..."
Hope smiled and said "I told you your rank is A, right?"
Kara: "Yep! It's A rank. And what rank are you?"
Hope: "I'm D rank."
Kara: "D rank? But you're stronger than most D rankers."
Hope: "You're just imagining it."
Kara: "Maybe you're right. I must be imagining things."
Hope: "What did the recruiters say?"
Kara: "They told me I awakened as an A ranker and have the potential to reach S rank in the future, but I feel like I'm cheating since I was born with a rare skill."
Hope quickly covered her mouth to stop her from saying more. "Don't tell anyone about your ability. If they understand how it works, they could exploit it and put you in danger." Kara's face turned red, and Hope quickly withdrew his hand. Hope noticed the people arriving in front of the association hope knew they where guild representatives and recruiters.
Kara: "I know, but... I trust you. I trusted you with my life once before, so I believe in you."
Hope: "Just don't reveal your skill to anyone. Now, do one thing. Go somewhere other than your home. The recruiters probably already know you awakened as an A ranker and started looking for you. Look up some skills like appraisal block, some basic defense, and evade skills online. Learn them quickly. Take this—my number. If you need anything, contact me."
Kara: "Okay, but I need to talk to you. I have to tell you what happened that day at camp."
Some people approached the association, and Hope knew they were recruiters.
Hope: "I think the guilds received your information. You need to go. Contact me after you reach a safe place and learn those skills."
Kara: "Okay, but I need to talk to you."
Hope: "You need to go now. Hurry."
In a flash, Kara disappeared, and Hope remained behind.
Hope: "Now she'll be safe, and her skill will remain hidden. If someone with appraisal skill learns about her abilities and leaks that information, she'll be the weakest A ranker out there. With all her stats concentrated in one area, it's a significant weakness. I need to help her however I can. Anyway, she'll be safe. Now, I have my license, and it's still morning. Let's head to the Tower."
Hope reached the Tower's second floor, encountering new types of goblins and other monsters. Finding them weak, he ascended to the third floor. Unlike the first and second floors, the third floor was a dense forest with interconnected caves, changing weather, and time. When Hope arrived, the light from the Tower's mana stone at the top was setting, and darkness descended. As night fell, the true beauty of the forest and its creatures was revealed. Hunters there warned him:
"You need to leave, boy. Night will soon fall on this floor, and rare monsters will soon spawn."
Hope thanked them for the warning and evaluated his situation.
This is my first night raid. My Eyes of Truth skill shows only four other hunters on this floor. I think I can handle the nocturnal monsters, and I might gain more powerful skills. With my Eyes of Truth, I can easily locate lumination mana stones, which spawn only during the Tower's night cycle.
Hope ventured deeper into the forest as the light gradually faded, allowing darkness to envelop everything. The forest glowed with light from various plants and insects, while the Tower's mana stone cast a cold moonlit glow overhead, illuminating the entire floor in a new perspective of beauty.
"In the moonlight's beauty, I feel at peace, but it's also the time for nocturnal monsters to emerge," Hope remarked to himself.
A message appeared: Eyes of Truth activated. Resisted Pollen of Beauty.
Hope: "Pollen of Beauty... I'm glad my senses are back. Otherwise, those monsters could have caught me off guard. This illusion could have made me feel peaceful even if monsters attacked. Now I understand why few adventurers hunt in the dark."
Hope easily dispatched several shadow wolves with his dagger. The ultrasonic attacks of vampire bats attracted more monsters, and Hope hunted them as well. He stored the valuable bodies of the shadow wolves and vampire bats in his subspace, as they were worth more than those of lower-ranked monsters.
Finally, he activated his Undead Summon skill and summoned 25 skeletons. He commanded them to hunt monsters and bring the loot to him. As they did, Hope saw his XP steadily increase. Resting briefly, he used his XP to enhance his abilities, but he realized he couldn't increase them beyond 50. Alarmed, he investigated and found that his defense had reached 50. He decided to focus on increasing it, allocating points until it also reached 55.
A message appeared one by one:
First message - Stats Cap Met: Species Boost Disabled.
Species boost... What's that? Hope wondered as he noted his XP was increasing more slowly than before one by one.
Second message - Connection Enabled.
What connections? I've never heard of any... It must be something unique to my skills.
Status
Species: ???
Class: None
Status: Normal
Health: 50/50
Mana: 33/54
Strength: 55
Defense: 55
Agility: 55
Luck: 55
Intelligence: 55
Skills: 12
Affinity: Dark
XP: 122
Unallocated Stats: 0
Skills
Beast Step F (Active/Passive)
Intangible F (Active)
Eyes of Truth F (Active/Passive)
Mana Vein F (Active/Passive)
Dark Affinity F (Active/Passive)
Healing Attack E (Active)
Growth (Inherited Skill)
Eater (Inherited Skill)
Blade Art E (Passive)
Undead Summon F (Active)
One with the Blade F (Passive) - User can use blade art and blade movements
Steal (Active) - Based on luck, user can steal anything
Identical Skill List: When 2 or more people possess skills of the same type but with differences. Example:
Fire Ball: User can create a fireball using 2 mana and manipulate it.
Fire Control: User can generate and manipulate fire using mana (amount of mana increases with the size of the fire).
Resonation: When 2 or more skills of the same type combine, they strengthen each other, increasing the skill's rank and power.
Mana Stones: Normal mana stones are found throughout the Tower's floors and serve as an alternative energy source. Lower floors have lower-quality mana stones, while higher floors have higher-quality stones, but in fewer quantities.
Lumination Mana Stones: These special mana stones appear only during the Tower's night cycle alongside normal mana stones. They serve as a potent high energy source. Compared to regular mana stones, Lower floors have lower-quality lumination Mana Stones, while higher floors have higher-quality stones, but in fewer quantities.