The morning rays of sun peered through the window, casting a shadow on the face of the young boy reading in the room.
Noah shielded his eyes, closing the book with a thud. He gently placed it under his bed before sitting upright in his chair.
He had read through the entire night, leaving him both exhausted and exhilarated. Just as he'd hoped, Modrich had written about the "impossible" talent.
In this world, the talent grades of every human were measured by an AI known as the Star Network.
Grades ranged from F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, and SSS. However, there were some talents the AI couldn't categorize.
These were called "impossible" talents—not because growth was impossible, but because the AI couldn't evaluate them, as they were beyond its understanding.
Modrich had written that someone with an "impossible" talent could either become a legend or a failure, with an equal 50:50 chance for either outcome.
He also mentioned that the word "impossible" held a deeper meaning, and anyone who could decipher it would take a huge step toward unraveling the mysteries of talent grading.
Noah felt a weight lift from his shoulders.
After finishing his morning routine, he greeted Mira and ate the breakfast she offered before heading toward the outskirts to find a blacksmith named Evlin.
Evlin was an elderly blacksmith in the city who needed young workers to help hammer metals.
The job paid in credits—the currency of Rift Walkers—which was a main reason for Noah's excitement.
Following the directions, Noah walked several miles until he reached Evlin's smithy. It was situated just after the Tier 1 Fire Lizard dungeon, near a wide river that marked the safe area.
'They say a Rift Walker always needs new weapons after a run, since most of their gear gets damaged after just one.'
Noah thought as he stepped into the smithy, where the scent of molten metal filled the air, mingling with the sound of metal clanging.
An old, white-haired man was hammering away at hot metal, but Noah noticed that his strikes lacked the force needed to shape the metal perfectly.
Glancing over to a pile of scrap metal, he realized why Evlin needed a new assistant.
Sensing Noah's presence, the old man stopped his work.
"No essence aura. Boy, are you here for the job?"
Noah was surprised by the old man's perceptiveness. He gave a slight bow and replied, "Yes…"
A person who could sense essence aura wasn't ordinary. This man had to be a retired Rift Walker.
Evlin scoffed, "You don't look like you could even lift this hammer…" He pointed to a hammer nearby.
Noah glanced at the hammer, then at the thin frame of the old man. Without a word, he picked up the hammer and started hammering the molten metal.
For five minutes, he worked, shaping the metal into a sharp sword. When he finished, he looked proudly at the old man.
Evlin rubbed his chin, pretending to consider him critically, though his eyes betrayed a glint of excitement.
Noah smirked, seeing through the old man's attempt to appear indifferent, though the slight tremor in Evlin's hands gave him away.
"Not bad, boy. Since you're better than the last hundred I tested, I'll give you the job. You can start today."
* *
One year passed just like that.
Noah would be turning sixteen in two days. During this year, he had saved twelve thousand credits, though he was still ten thousand short of buying a slot for the Tier 1 dungeon run.
'Ten more months, and I can start my first dungeon run,' Noah thought as he got ready for work.
He greeted Aunt Mira and ate the breakfast she offered him. Over the past year, he had grown closer to her now as she cooked food for him personally.
Her son had been a famous dungeon raider in the city before becoming a Rift Walker and moving to a B-grade planet.
Noah learned that planets were ranked based on mana concentration and the number of naturally formed dungeons.
Their planet was F-ranked, which explained why they had to pay such a high price for dungeon access.
Planets above D-grade allowed runners to use lower-level dungeons for free.
Noah had asked if there was a way to relocate to a higher-grade planet, but without a higher talent grade or guild support, a ticket to a better planet was out of reach.
He accepted that bitter truth as it was not like there was something he could do about it for now.
As he walked through the western part of the city, vendors on both sides greeted him.
Over the past year, he had become a bit of a local celebrity due to his hard work and good looks.
"Hey, Noah, you're early today!" called Grandpa Chen.
"Yes, Grandpa Chen, I've got some work to finish up."
"Aye, Noah," chimed in Madam Hel. "My daughter asked about you yesterday. Are you free today?"
"Sorry, Madam Hel, I have to go home early today."
"Noah~ why are you taking so long to become an adult?" teased Miss Melena.
"Ahem—Miss Melena, time is moving too slowly, haha…" he blushed.
This was all becoming routine for him. Sometimes, Noah wondered why everyone was so friendly toward him.
'Master Evlin says it's probably because of my looks... I suppose he might be right.'
He arrived at Evlin's weapon smithy, opened it up, and got to work.
Bang.
Noah skillfully struck the half-molten metal, his muscles tensing with each blow.
A year of work in the smithy had given him a strong, athletic build. His biceps bulged, his chest muscles had become firm and defined, and his abs had sculpted into eight packs.
His upper body was close to perfection.
Master Evlin even had to build a wall around the smithy, as female runners would gather just to watch Noah hammering.
[Strength attribute increased by 2]
[Strength - 35]
In this world, the only way to advance one's cultivation was through dungeon or rift runs, but attributes could be improved through dedicated training.
Tier 1 cultivation gave ten points to each attribute, with a maximum attribute limit of 100.
That meant a Tier 1 cultivator could reach up to 100 in strength, agility, defense, and spirit.
Upon awakening, Noah had started with ten points in each attribute.
Now, after a year in the smithy, his strength had increased by 25 points.
He was confident he could take on some Tier 1 runners, even without mana or a skill.