I swallowed hard and stepped forward, placing my hand firmly on the Awakening Crystal. The moment my palm made contact, a surge of warmth rushed through me, and for a brief second and it flickered. The crystal pulsed once, dimly, as if it were trying to process something, then nothing.
Silence filled the room.
The scientist furrowed his brows and tapped his tablet, as if waiting for some delayed result. The Hunters standing in line behind me began whispering.
"Did… did it not work?""Maybe he's just another no-class.""Poor guy. To come all the way here just for nothing."
I felt my throat tighten.
The scientist sighed, shaking his head. "No reaction. No mana signature detected." He turned his tablet toward me.
[Hunter Class: None]
[Rank: Unawakened]
It was official. I was still nothing.
I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palm. How? I could feel the power inside me. The System had changed me. The calibration, the stats—I knew I was stronger than before.
So why wasn't it showing?
The scientist barely spared me a glance. "Sorry, kid. No class, no rank. You're not qualified to be a Hunter."
I stood there, frozen, my mind racing. This has to be a mistake. Then, the System's message appeared in front of me.
[System Override Blocked]
[Host's Status Concealed]
My breath hitched. "Concealed?" I asked, "The System was hiding my status?"
Before I could process it, the scientist gestured for me to move aside. "Next!"
I felt a wave of shame burn through me as I stepped back. The stares, the whispers, the pity—I had felt all of it before.
Ten years ago, when everyone around me awakened and I didn't.
And now, even after getting the System, I was still a nobody in their eyes.
I turned around and walked out of the Awakening Test Room, my body stiff. But inside, I was boiling with frustration.
Then—
[Quest Reminder: Watching is Not Enough]
[Time Remaining: 69:24:04]
My frustration was immediately replaced with panic.
I still have to kill a monster!
But I wasn't a Hunter. Without registration, I couldn't legally enter a Gate.
Which meant, I need to find another way in.
Stepping out of the Hunter Association HQ, I exhaled sharply, trying to clear my head. The cold evening breeze brushed against my skin, but it did little to cool the frustration burning inside me.
I was still No-Class.
Even with the System, even with the stats and skills—I was nothing in the eyes of the world.
As I walked through the dimly lit street, I heard footsteps approaching from behind.
"Hey, buddy!"
I turned around.
Three men stood in front of me, all dressed in worn-out combat gear. Their weapons hung loosely at their sides, their armor scratched from past battles. Their leader, a tall guy with a scar over his left cheek, grinned.
"We saw what happened inside," he said, crossing his arms. "You got no class, huh?"
I stiffened. "What of it?"
The scarred man chuckled. "Relax, kid. We're not here to make fun of you."
The shortest of the three, a wiry man with sharp eyes, smirked. "Yeah, we ain't got time to bully nobodies. We're here to offer you a job."
I narrowed my eyes. "A job?"
The third guy, a muscular brute carrying a massive hammer, cracked his neck. "You look like you could use some cash. How 'bout working as a porter for us?"
I frowned. "A porter.?"
The lowest job in the Hunter industry. Porters were the ones who carried supplies, retrieved materials from slain monsters, and sometimes—if things went bad—became monster bait.
They weren't fighters. They were just expendable helpers.
Scarface took a step closer. "It's simple. You follow us inside a gate, carry our loot, and we'll make sure you get paid. Easy, right?"
I clenched my jaw. I had power now. I knew I wasn't the same powerless failure I used to be. But without a Hunter license, I had no way to legally enter a Gate.
"…What kind of Gate?" I asked.
Scarface grinned. "D-Rank. Nothing crazy, just some goblins and maybe a hobgoblin boss. Shouldn't take too long."
I hesitated for a moment.
D-Rank Gates were dangerous for untrained civilians. But I wasn't a normal civilian anymore.
And more importantly, This is my only chance to kill a monster before the quest timer runs out.
I exhaled. "Fine. I'll do it."
Scarface clapped a hand on my shoulder, his grin widening. "That's the spirit! Come on, kid. Let's get you geared up."
Scarface led the way, walking with an easy confidence that suggested he'd done this a hundred times before. The other two flanked me on either side, their presence just close enough to remind me that I was still an outsider.
As we moved through the dimly lit streets, the wiry man with sharp eyes glanced at me and smirked.
"If we're gonna be working together, might as well introduce ourselves." He pointed a thumb at himself. "Name's Roth. I handle recon and long-range support."
He then gestured to the massive brute walking beside me, the one carrying the giant hammer.
"That's Dane. Close-combat specialist. Dumb as a rock, but he hits hard."
Dane let out a low chuckle. "Better to be a rock than a twig that breaks after one hit." He shot Roth a pointed look, and the smaller man just rolled his eyes.
Scarface, still leading, finally spoke. "You can call me Vance. I'm the leader of this little operation."
I nodded slowly, memorizing their names. "Ryzen," I said.
Roth snorted. "Yeah, we know. We were inside the Association when you took your 'Awakening Test.'"
My jaw tightened slightly.
Vance chuckled. "Relax, kid. We're not here to mock you." He glanced over his shoulder. "Hell, I respect the fact that you're still standing after that humiliation. Most guys would've just given up."
I didn't respond. Truthfully, I had given up until the System changed everything.
The group eventually stopped in front of a run-down apartment complex on the outskirts of the city. The neon sign above the entrance flickered, half the letters missing.
"Home sweet home," Roth muttered sarcastically as he pushed open the rusted door.
Inside, the place was exactly what I expected. Cracked walls, a lingering smell of old beer, and a messy pile of gear in the corner. Clearly, they weren't the cleanest bunch.
Dane dropped his hammer onto the floor with a loud thud and stretched. "Alright, let's get the newbie suited up."