Homeroom Teacher Grace Harper:
@Everyone: This year's Martial Aptitude Exam requires a minimum of 120 Qi & Blood. If you reach 150, you'll qualify for the elite academies. "Only ten days left—do your best, class!" The group chat of Class 9, Senior Year suddenly exploded with activity. "I'm at 117 now. Just need one Qi & Blood pill. Easy."
"I'm 145! I still have a shot at the elite schools!"
"Lena Quinn's Qi & Blood is already at 160."
"No surprise. She's the class queen. Totally envious."
"What about Ethan Carter? He used to be just as famous as Lena."
"What else? He dropped out six months ago. Total waste." Scene Cut: A Run-Down Apartment Lying in bed in a dim, damp room, Ethan Carter stared at the glow of his old phone lighting up his handsome face. "Everyone seems so confident."
"If you pass the Martial Aptitude Exam, you get into a Martial University…"
"Becoming a warrior practically guarantees a future." He paused. Of course he was envious. Ever since the Spiritual Awakening, where energy surged back into the world, monsters and beasts ran rampant—and thermal weapons became obsolete. In this new era, warriors were everything. Not just heroes. They had status, privileges, and money—lots of it. Meanwhile, Ethan had to get up every morning to stand in the Labor District's job queue. Dirty, heavy, exhausting work.
All day.
For barely a hundred bucks. A warrior?
Kill a low-level beast, and you could sell it for a few thousand.
High-level beast?
Tens of thousands. Maybe even millions. The gap was like a canyon. He had once dreamed of becoming a warrior too. But dreams didn't pay for Qi & Blood pills. "Last I checked, my Qi & Blood was 82."
"Still is. Hasn't moved in six months." A single pill could raise it by 6 points…
But it cost more than $10,000. He couldn't afford to dream. All he could do was survive. Work. Eat. Sleep. Repeat. At this rate, Ethan could already see the end of his life—from age 18 to 80, all mapped out in struggle and poverty. Even the weakest of his classmates had already left him in the dust. He sighed, placed the phone aside, and closed his eyes. Buzz... buzz... buzz... Just as he was drifting off, a mosquito landed on his cheek. Smack! Dead. Totally normal for his moldy old apartment. But then— DING! — You killed a mosquito. Qi & Blood +0.01 Ethan sat up straight. A translucent blue screen hovered before his eyes: Name: Ethan Carter
Age: 18
Realm: None
Qi & Blood: 82.01 / 200 He slapped his own cheek. "Not dreaming... I'm not dreaming!" "The system! My golden finger... it's finally here!" He waited. No response. "Hello? System?"
"…No interface? No voice? Dumb system?" Nope. Nothing. But it didn't matter. As long as it worked. "0.01 for a mosquito... so 600 mosquitoes = one Qi & Blood pill?" He jumped out of bed, suddenly full of energy. "I can't afford pills—but I can kill bugs!" Inside the mosquito net, he found three more. Smack! DING! Qi & Blood +0.01
Smack!
+0.01
Smack!
+0.01 He could feel a faint warmth in his blood. It was working. After another 20 minutes, he found six more in the apartment. He was now at 82.1. But… no more mosquitoes. "Where else…? Garbage. Flies!" He ran to the kitchen table and spotted one. Smack! DING! — You killed a fly. Qi & Blood +0.01 "Flies work too?! Jackpot!" Where had he seen the most flies? The garbage station behind the apartment complex. He grabbed his insecticide spray and darted out the door. It was already past 8 PM. Elderly folks strolled about, chatting and walking dogs. He envied them too. To retire peacefully meant they'd probably been warriors when they were young. People like him?
Work until you die. But now... Now he had a chance. At the garbage station, flies buzzed in swarms. PSSSSHHH! He sprayed with all his strength. Flies dropped like rain. DING! Kill a fly… +0.01
+0.01
+0.01… Much faster than the swatter. Still not fast enough. "Ethan! What are you doing out here?" a familiar voice called out. It was Old Man Warren, his neighbor from the first floor. "Hey Mr. Warren! Just… doing my civic duty. Public health, you know?" Ethan grinned. Mr. Warren chuckled. "Good heart, bad tools. That spray's useless outdoors. Come, I've got real stuff—pesticide and a pressure sprayer. Want it?" Ethan's eyes lit up. "You'd let me use it?" "Sure. We're all just doing our part, right? Wait here."