Jiang Yu and his family lived in Sector 2, a modest district bordering the edge of the inner city.
Meanwhile, Lin Xue resided alone in an apartment near the heart of Sector 1, within a well-known high-rise hotel called Edge Scion—a place famous among the awakened for its security and view of the inner city's skyline.
Although Jiang Yu attended a middle school located within the inner city, his circumstances were far from luxurious.
He didn't belong there. Unlike many of his classmates—children of renowned hunter families, raised in comfort behind layers of protection—he came from the outskirts, where survival came first, not prestige.
And that was why he often found himself on the receiving end of subtle looks, careless words, and the kind of silent disdain only the privileged could afford to show.
"Then, see you tomorrow. Get some rest first—we'll meet at the dungeon entrance," Lin Xue said as her building came into view, giving him a small wave.
"Yeah. Tomorrow it is," Jiang Yu replied with a smile.
As he watched her walk away, he couldn't help but think—she hadn't changed. Not even after everything that happened to his family. She still treated him the same.
Their connection went back further than most people knew. Jiang Yu's father had once worked under her mother's team, and the two of them had met several times as kids. It wasn't surprising that they became friends early on.
But what did surprise him… was that she still remembered.
"Yes! He agreed."
Just after Jiang Yu turned away, Lin Xue's cold and aloof demeanour melted like mist in the morning sun.
A soft hum slipped past her lips as she walked toward her building, her mind still lingering on Jiang Yu's quiet answer.
"With me, he'll level up quickly," she muttered to herself. "I want to see how that idiot Wei Yan dares to mess with Brother Yu again at school..."
She pouted slightly, stomping once in frustration. Wei Yan had always irritated her—chaotic and arrogant—while Jiang Yu had been like a calm older brother to her since childhood.
Maybe it was because of the bond they'd formed early on, when their families crossed paths through their parents' work.
That's why, even now, she stayed close to him, even if she wore her cold mask in front of others—to make sure no one interrupted his training.
Although Jiang Yu's house was in the outer city, it was still situated very close to sector 1, not that far apart from Lin Xue's building.
Which was thanks to the other hunters, who were saved by his father's effort that year, that they were still safe within that region.
Jiang Yu and his mother were really closely tied to all the hunters there. Although a bit weaker than most hunters in the inner city.
But their numbers were really large, making them quite powerful within the hunter circle.
"Little Yu! Got your class." A burly guy shouted with a big grin.
"Yeah... Though Non combat orientated." Jiang Yu smiled, looking at the guy and the group behind him. "From here on, my adventure will start." With a loud voice, Jiang Yu's small face lit up with a bright smile, completely opposite to his usual behaviour in the class.
"Haha! That's the spirit!" the man laughed heartily.
"Want big sis to pamper you." Within that group, the large-scale magician named Sarah noticed the hint in Jiang Yu's words; knowing how noncombat-orientated classes can be rather impactful in little Jiang's life, she came to pinch his cheeks while joking. Though Jiang could tell that she was trying to cheer him up.
"I am alright! Just like I said once. There is no useless class, only useless users."
"Is that so? Then here, this is big sis gift. I am sure it will help you." Hearing Jiang Yu's tone. Sarah did not push it deeper. And handed him a spellbook that can directly help an awakener to get a skill within it.
"Thanks! I will use it properly. So, keep an eye on the holo-cast of my first hunt." Jiang Yu replied as he bumped his fist with the muscular guy and turned to leave while greeting others.
While walking back, Jiang yu felt a bit warm by big sis action, as he knew how much a skill book cost, and by selling these skill books, she could have made quite some money, but he knew she definitely kept a best book for him to give him as a gift.
'Thank you...' He silently muttered. Not letting it out of his mouth, given awakeners tend to have quite keen senses of hearing.
Skill Book: Mana Bullet.
Description: The user can shoot a Mana Bullet and can add any attribute to it.
Looking at it. Jiang Yu smiled, knowing how a versatile skill like this price can shoot beyond one's imagination; plus, these kinds of skills did not tend to drop from normal monsters at all.
Only those treasure boxes and other options have a small chance of dropping this skill.
After taking the lift to the 4th floor.
Jiang Yu walked to his room and opened the door to the small apartment that he had rented with his mother, while the money from the private property was used for his father's treatment, which did stabilise his health, though his mind was still in a coma state, and the chances that he might open his eyes are very slim.
It is said that he is mind zero, a state that is created by high exposure to mana in a very weak physical state.
Due to that attack and wave of mana exposure, Jiang Yu's father entered a half-living state, though it is stated that those who wake up from this state tend to exhibit very great control over mana and physical enhancement of other sensory organs.
So, the little boy and his mother were still patiently waiting and believing in his father's endurance, thinking he might really pull it off. While in truth, Jaing Yu was trying to find a way to get himself a special treasure from the other side, a special scroll called the Expansion Coil, which has special skills related to healing.
"I am back..." He weakly muttered, entering the silent lobby. Looking at the dim apartment, he pulled his back down and looked at the slip on the refrigerator.
[Food is inside; I'll be back at 10 pm.]
[Dear]
With a smile. He took off the chit and crumbled it inside the dustbin while looking inside the fridge to find the dish and taking it out while heating it in the oven. He got changed quickly and even took a refreshing bath and after all that, he started to enjoy his warm meal.
"Delicious! Thanks for the food." As if chanting a mantra, he thanked them for the food. Thinking how this kind of food was a luxury back in his previous life.
After getting a job in his previous life, he got cut off from his family, and later both of them passed away due to old age. Since he was born very late, his mother and father became old quite quickly before he could give them the comfort.
Thanks to that, he buried himself in work, having no friends or wife. He lived his life quietly until dying due to overwork.
Except from the overwork. He truly enjoyed his previous life, and it was worth living.
So, he had no lingering attachment to it, and maybe it was because of that mentality; in this life too, he was also opting for a similar lifestyle until that fateful day.
It was on that day. Jiang Yu realised that in this world, he needed strength, and without a doubt, it was the key element to living a successful and peaceful life.
Plus, after reading about hunter, he got completely engrossed and realised why people enjoy playing games like MMORPGs and reading novels with basic systems and levelling systems.
After washing the dish.
He walked back to his room. And after lying down on his bed, he opted to use the system interface to look at his status and other bars.
Name: Jiang Yu
Class: Ancient Archive [Abyssal Rank]
Ideal Training Bot: 0
Physique: 1.8
Mana: 3
Strength: 1.7
Agility: 1.3
Spirit: 1.1
Training Skill: Basic Swordsmanship [Level 1 (22/100)] [Collectable]
Class Skill:
Mind Eye [Level 0 (0/10)].
Aeon Archive [Max] [Entry Pass: 5].
Observation [Level 0 (0/10)].
Acquired Skill:
Basic Body Strengthening [Level 1 (20/100)].
Basic Swordsmanship [Level 1 (5/100)].
Jiang Yu completely felt surprised. After all, he had been training for the last 4 years of training at swordsmanship and he was barely able to bring it up to Level 1 (5/100) mastery.
But since getting the system, it has not even been an hour, and his skill mastery went over 22, which is 17 points higher, which is basically higher than all the mastery he had gotten in past years.
'What is this... Is training bot that smarter than me.' Just the moment he thought like that, he got an immediate response from the system inside his brain.
And according to it, the bot working inside works in an ideal state, which is equal to a like player in their zone state. Increasing their learning capacity by 100 times, and thanks to that, all of his skills will develop at a rapid rate, though only at a lower level.
Since higher levels will have higher difficulty.