"Artemis King... Autonomous, Rank..."
From the look on the proctor's face, Artemis knew what to expect.
"F. Next!"
****
A thousand years ago the world was invaded by monsters, demons, and other fantasy creatures who's sole purpose was to conquer the world. Thankfully, humans did what they did best:
Adapt.
They adapted to the new energy called Mana, and began to take advantage of another new existence.
The System.
The system was a gift from whatever oversaw the balance of the universe, given to creatures that were less evolved, to give them the chance to defend themselves.
The first thing a to understand about the system was the concept of levels. Much like video games, humans were each given levels, that required EXP to raise. EXP was given for killing creatures but also for activities related to your class.
Classes were the second part of the system. Classes were chosen when someone reached level 5, and would determine the direction someone would grow. They were broken up into two types: combat classes or production classes.
The final thing that is important about the system would be that everyone had something called a Talent. Talents were awakened when someone finally attuned to mana completely, which allowed them to use all the functions of the system. The rank of your talent used to not be as important to people, as just being able to fight for the survival of humanity was enough, but a thousand years had gone by.
Now those who awakened combat classes were referred as Hunters, and their main role in society was to delve into the rifts that still connected other worlds to ours, they were responsible for keeping invasive forces at bay.
The talent you awakened would also determine your rank as a Hunter, which came with various benefits, because without a good talent you were less likely to achieve success which made you a less likely candidate for investment.
Going from SSS-Rank all the way down to F-Rank.
As luck had a sick sense of humor, I awakened with the lowest rank I could get with a talent, which meant my chances of improving my life were going to be much lower.
I sat in a park looking at my disappointing Status page.
[Autonomous][F-Rank]
[Everything will be autonomous, you need only provide the direction and will.]
"Sigh... What does that even mean? How am I supposed to go home and face my siblings..."
I had a younger sister and a younger brother. Our parents had died in a car crash one tragic day and since then I had to take care of my siblings by myself. My brother was just turning five, and my sister was in middle school. They had both shared in the excitement I had felt when I awakened this morning, and we were all hoping for a good result however it turned out to be a dud. Now I had to come home and tell them that I only awakened an F-Rank talent which meant I wouldn't be getting any government funding.
Their lives wouldn't improve at all.
Tears streamed down my face as I sat on a bench in the empty park. It was while I was quietly sobbing that I heard a voice.
"What are you doing crying in a park like a little kid?"
It was a familiar voice. I looked up and confirmed that it was my close childhood friend, Annabelle Bronson. Turning my head to hide my face I ignored her provocation.
"You'd be the same way if you were me."
Unlike usual, she didn't continue mocking me, instead she sat down beside me and gave me a warm hug.
"I know... I saw your results earlier... It's going to be okay Artemis."
I gave the arm that was wrapped around me a slight squeeze.
"Thanks Anna, but I really don't see how... My talent is trash rank and worse yet I don't even know how it works."
"That's okay! You know why?"
"No, why is it okay?"
With a grin, she began teasing me.
"Guess."
"Guess? How am I supposed to guess what it is? Give me a hint?"
Pretending to think for a moment, she tilted her head up, before looking back at me.
"Did you not stop to think how I saw your results today? Especially since they only allow awakeners and Hunter Association personnel?"
My eyes slowly went wide as I finally realized what she meant.
"You awakened too?! W-Why didn't you tell me?"
"I wanted it to be a surprise. But then I saw you leave directly after your results, and I knew you needed some time to yourself."
I smiled lightly as I knew she truly cared about me.
"Still, no more delaying, tell me what your talent is!"
"Mmm... I can't do a demonstration, but...."
A holographic screen appeared before me that had her talent displayed on it.
[Ice Mastery][A-Rank]
[All Ice damage you deal is increased by 50%. Ice spells cost 15% less mana to cast.]
"Anna, this is incredible! Congratulations! Your parents must be so proud of you."
In response to my statement she turned her head slightly, brushing a few strands of hair behind her ear.
"Actually you're the first person I've told..."
My jaw dropped in shock, but I quickly collected myself. Standing up, I pulled her to her feet.
"You need to go home and tell them right now! Go celebrate."
Even though she looked happy, she was still hesitant.
"What about you though?"
"I'll be fine! Thanks to you I've gotten over my own pity party... I'll have to go home eventually, and I think it's better to just face it head on... But I'm really happy for you. If you ever need help, even though I have an F-Rank talent, I'll be there for you."
Anna smiled brightly and gave me a tight hug.
"You better not break that promise."
She then left and ran towards her home. Anna lived in the middle class suburb of the city, but we once lived next door to each other. When my parents passed away, hers had just received promotions at their jobs and moved them to a nicer part of town.
Her father still helped us with anything he could, but they had their own lives too, so it was inevitable that I still had to step up to take care of my family. Since I had no mana in my body, I was weaker than average adults, and that made me less desirable for employers.
I had dropped out of college to start working, but even with that I was only barely able to keep the house we grew up in. However I didn't have enough money to move us to a nicer part of town, so we still lived in the same two bedroom house I grew up in.
I walked the opposite way from where Anna went, and made my way home. When I got outside, I stood in place for a moment, bracing myself.
"Phew... It'll be okay. I'll figure something out.."
With renewed vigor, I took a deep breath and opened the front door with a forced smile.
"I'm home~!"
I sang out. Quickly I heard small footsteps coming from the bedroom, and my brother rounded the corner smiling brightly.
"Artie!! Sis, Artie is home!"
He ran up to me and jumped into my arms. I picked him up while laughing and momentarily forgot how I was feeling about myself. Then I heard footsteps coming out of the other bedroom. My brother and I shared a room, while my sister had her own room. This was out of consideration of a teenage girl going through puberty.
I smiled at her as she came out.
"Hey Mary. Did Tommy eat dinner yet?"
"Yeah, we just finished eating a couple hours ago. There's your leftovers wrapped up on the tables."
I looked over at a bowl with a paper towel over the top. I smiled and walked over to it, while I held Tommy in my arms.
"Thank you Mary..."
She came over and sat on the other chair. She didn't say anything, just watched me silently eating, while I fed Tommy half of my food. I know he had already ate, but Tommy was a bit of a chunky kid so I made sure to always give him half of my food.
This also led to me having a slightly malnourished body, but I didn't care. Mary also had long since stopped trying to argue with me about it, so that wasn't the reason why she was staring at me now.
"You know Artie... It's.. Okay if you didn't get a good talent."
My spoon stopped moving for a moment. I was scared to look her in the eyes, so I looked down at the food.
"Did Anna tell you?"
"Yeah... But don't blame her, I made her tell me."
Sighing, I gave the spoon to Tommy and let him eat the rest of the food.
"I don't blame her. I know she probably told you so that it wouldn't be so hard for me to bring up. But it's true... F-Rank talent."
Her hand reached across the table and held mine. She lightly squeezed it.
"It doesn't matter. You're still our brother... We still have a chance when I awaken, if I can get a good talent and scouted into a decent guild..."
I smiled bitterly. The life of a Hunter was filled with threats to their lives, and death could happen at any moment. This wasn't what I wanted for my sister. I wanted to establish some savings, and buy her decent gear to get her started. The early phase of a Hunter were incredibly dangerous.
Not wanting to think too much about it for now, I decided to change the subject.
"Let's have a movie night. You two don't have school tomorrow so let's stay up a little later."
"YAY! Can we watch Bone and Rocky?"
Bone and Rocky were characters in a popular kids show that Tommy liked. While Mary and I didn't care for the show, we both liked seeing Tommy smile as he watched the show. I went to my room and got a DVD from a hidden book. We didn't have live television, so I had to ask a friend of mine to record the episodes for me, and we simply told Tommy they were live.
It was a lie, but it was to help Tommy not feel restricted by our financial struggles.
I grabbed a couple blankets from the room and brought them to the couch. Mary grabbed the pillows and we all sat together on the small couch to watch the show.
I waited for my siblings to fall asleep before I began to think about my next steps.
'I can't challenge a rift alone, I need to go with a party, but who would take someone with an F-Rank talent... Wait, I could always work as a porter! If I worked as a porter I could make more money than I do now, and maybe I can get a few stray kills until I'm a little stronger.'
Deciding that was the best course of action going forward, I gently lifted my brother onto the couch while I got up and headed to my room. Once there, I closed the door gently and booted up an old computer.
The computer was something I had put together by finding old parts in the trash over the span of a few years, but it did the job.
Once it loaded I went to the Hunter Association's main page and registered for the Hunter's Forum. Even though I only awakened an F-Rank talent, I was still given a new Hunter's license. This replaced my old civilian ID, and would be used for everything Hunter related.
I registered and quickly began looking for a party looking for a porter.
Porters were the people in the group that carried supplies for a dungeon attack and also dismantled bodies for useful byproducts or mana crystals.
Mana crystals fueled everything in the world, and monster byproducts were used by production classes to make gear for combat classes. This meant that they were worth quite a bit, and were always in demand. This also meant porters would always have a job. Higher ranked rifts were incredibly dangerous, but with the promise of a higher income I couldn't turn away.
I applied for several listings, but I got rejected almost immediately from all of them. I was feeling incredibly dejected, but then I received a private message.
[From: Arturo Silva]
[RE: F-Rank Rift Spam]
[Hey, saw you applied for the porter position for tomorrow. We would love to have you, but I hope you understand that we will be moving very fast. Our objective is to help a rich newbie hunter quickly level up, so you will have to keep up with us. We have another porter so your split will be divided between the two of you, but you guys will get 5% each for the total profits we collect from selling materials. Let me know if this still interests you.]
'This is perfect! 5% is low but if I work hard... I can make more than I would from my full time job.'
I quickly typed a reply, and after a while I received a reply with the location. I was feeling really tired, and decided to get some rest since I would have to work hard tomorrow.
****
After waking up early I quickly prepared a simple breakfast of eggs and some toast for my siblings. They were still sleeping, but the appointment was at 7 am so I needed to leave now. I made sure to wear clothes I could move easily in, and let myself out of the house.
I walked all the way to the train station and payed the fare to get to the rift where I needed to. It was outside of the city in a nearby forest, but if I were to try to walk it I would spend more than half a day to get there.
The rift we would enter today was an F-Rank one that was filled with a monster called a Grey Wolf. They were only level 5 and their attack patterns were simple. They could be killed until someone reached level 5 themselves so that's why we were here today.
The important thing to me was that they were simple to dismantle. The materials that were actually worth any money were the teeth and the fur. A complete pelt could sell for upwards of $1,000, while the teeth went for $25 each, which meant there was some serious potential to make over $1,000 today.
Excited, I tightly gripped the handle of a small dagger I had brought with me and touched the set of pliers in my pocket. I knew it wasn't pretty equipment, but for now it's all I had. The entire train ride I was tapping my foot in anticipation.
Once I arrived at the train stop, I quickly headed to the entrance of the rift. There was a checkpoint right before the rift, but when I showed my license they quickly found that I was with the party that reserved the rift for the day.
I walked past the checkpoint and saw the man who matched the online profile of Arturo I was talking to yesterday.
"Hi Mr. Silva, I'm Artemis King, the porter from last night."
I extended my hand and he took it with a firm grip.
"You're here early! I like that. The other porter is over there. I saw you have no past experiences so you can go to him to ask for advice. All I can ask is that you both stay far back because we can't be bothered to protect you today. Other than that, work hard because your pay is also tied to it. The rich kid should get here soon, so be ready."
I nodded and thanked him. I went over to a man on the side of the rift who had a very large bag and introduced myself.
"Hello, I'm Artemis King, the other porter."
He raised his head and pushed his glasses up before grabbing my hand.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Mitchel Miller, I've been a porter for almost a decade. If you need any advice, feel free to ask me. Oh, it looks like you don't have a bag?"
"Ah... No I don't really have any money so I couldn't buy one..."
At this Mitchel tossed me a backpack that I caught awkwardly.
"It has a weak spatial enchantment so it's only holds about four times the size of the bag, but it should be enough for you today. I'll let you practice skinning when we have the time, but focus on pulling the canines from the mouth."
"T-Thank you so much Mr. Miller! I'll be sure to give this back to you at the end of the day."
Smiling Mitchel patted me on the shoulder and began talking to me about other aspects of being a porter. I listened intently for a while when we were quickly interrupted by the arrival of a small entourage.
I got up from the ground when I saw Mitchel getting up, and looked towards the checkpoint where everyone else was also looking. There entered a group of five men in black suits, with a single young woman standing at the forefront. She looked to be 18 or 20 at the most, but I didn't care too much about how young she looked.
While I was only 27, and the age gap was still somewhat acceptable, I didn't care about girls much. My priorities were making money and taking care of my siblings.
However I could appreciate that she was a very attractive person. She had shiny blonde hair and moderately pale skin. She definitely looked like someone who came from money.
To affirm my thoughts, I could see several of the men from the party looking at her with googly eyes.
She walked straight to Arturo, one of the only ones who kept his composure, and they began talking. After a while they both shook hands and Arturo ordered his party to get ready.
The woman's name was Tiana Renner, and she had just turned 18 a few months ago. She awakened yesterday, and today she was going to try reaching level 5 to unlock a class. She glanced at us two porters, but didn't say anything. After a short while everyone was ready, and we followed the main party into the dungeon.