Chapter 3: Hunter License

As soon as I was back in my apartment, I took deep breaths and analyzed everything that had happened so far. No numbers were showing for my [Focus], something I have never heard about before. Yet, I could still cast skills that require focus. I did not feel any exhaustion while casting F-ranked skills over 500 times. My goodness. Taking another deep breath, I continued thinking. The most important question now is, do I just have an abnormal amount of Focus that surpasses most people, or something else? This was the biggest thing on my mind, as even the strongest B-ranked Awakened individuals could not cast skills that many times without exhausting themselves. Alright, with that in mind, I need to test just how many times I can continue to cast skills before I can't anymore. This also means I need to get my hands on higher-ranked skills that consume more energy. With that in mind, a smile bloomed on my face. Just the fact that I could cast an F-ranked skill more than 500 times meant amazing things. As long as I am not brain-dead, I can easily clear an F- and E-ranked dungeon, even if I'm alone. D-ranked dungeons might be a stretch, as the strength of monsters increases, and I would need higher-ranked skills besides fireball to take them down. But there's no problem taking things slow. I pull out my phone and look at the remaining balance in my bank account. $5,867 Enough money for rent and food for a few months and the remainder of my savings. I convinced myself to buy the F-ranked skill book, [Fireball], for $20,000. After this, most of my inheritance money was gone. A year ago, when the apocalypse began, my parents were not so lucky as to survive. I was stuck in the basement of my old house asleep and escaped the onslaught of monsters that were taken care of by the government and newly awakened people after a few days. As time passed, more information was released to the public. Monsters had appeared. Most of them congregated in Dungeons. If they were left alone, they would increase, and something called dungeon break would occur. This caused monsters to leave the dungeon and indiscriminately attack everything on site. But never fear, Awakened people are here. Able to use powerful skills and great strength to protect everyone else… And now, I was among those people too. The first order of business? Obtain an Awakened License that will allow me to enter dungeons. Without a license, you cannot bypass the security that allows the Awakened to clear dungeons. You can get a license fairly easily, as you just have to be examined and exhibit skills. I was itching to get started as soon as possible, so I grabbed my backpack and rushed downtown. With the advent of monsters and heroes, many of the populations were condensed into a few protected cities. Almost everything was close to each other, so the Awaken Center was not too far away. A few minutes and I was already there. On the way, I saw the usual people with sullen faces and occasional awakened individuals rushing about. The Awakened Center was vibrating with life, as long lines of people visiting shops could be seen, with even more carefully selling monster [Cores] to the authorities. Many people chose to first consume the [Cores] and get stronger themselves, but many more also sold them to the government and other markets as they went for high prices. [Vitality Core]s and [Strength Core]s went for around $1000, while [Focus] Cores were almost double that price because of their demand. I moved my eyes to another section of the Center, which was dealing in the selling of Skill Books ranging from F to C. Obtaining a C-ranked skill book was a dream for many people, as they were extremely rare and went for more than half a million dollars. The air buzzed with excitement and ambition as hopeful Awakened browsed the shelves, their eyes gleaming with desire. I could see some people clutching their coins tightly, weighing the risks and rewards of investing in their futures. Skill Books promised the potential to change lives, granting abilities that could turn the tide in battles against the monstrous threats lurking outside the safety of the Center. I felt a pang of longing as I watched them, knowing that each book represented not just power but the hard-earned dreams of those desperate to thrive in this new world. The marketplace was alive with chatter, and I couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to hold one of those coveted tomes in my hands. Would it unlock my potential? Would it finally allow me to stand among the strongest? Looking at the skill books that I greatly desired, I shook my head and moved towards the Registration Hall. The receptionist was very welcoming, asking for my name, date of birth, address, and bank account information. As soon as she had everything down, I was told to head toward a certain door where my ability would be observed. 3 people were standing behind thick glass and an open area with testing dummies. After hearing the directions, I stood a few meters from the dummies and cast [Fireball] consecutively 8 times, making sure to look like I was struggling to get the last few out. "Wow..." (Judge 1) "A peak F rank huh…" (Judge 2) Drawing a few surprises from the observers behind the thick glass, everything was completed successfully, and I received my license. It was a golden card similar to a credit card with my name, age, and rank. The surprise from the observers was most likely because high-ranked awakened are extremely rare, with there being only one B-ranked awakened in this city that is known publicly. There are a few tens of C-ranked awakened, a few hundred D-ranked, and thousands of E- and F-ranked. Most of the hunters were F-ranked, so being at the peak of this rank at the starting point was a good thing in itself. One can slowly raise their rank by absorbing [Core]s, but unless you were in the army, where they were provided for you by the government, or in a rich household that could buy them en masse, you would rise very slowly. There were some slight changes to the panel on the corner of my eyes as I walked out of the Awakened Center and received my license. [Noah] [Occupation: Hunter] [Vitality: 10] [Focus: -] [Strength: 10] [Skill(s): (Fireball-8)] A new occupation had appeared, marking me as an official awakened Hunter, and...Oh? I was surprised because I hadn't seen it before, but the proficiency of the [Fireball] skill had quickly risen to 8. This was an extremely fast process when it took people weeks to raise their proficiency with their skill. I guess it is understandable, as I was able to cast the skill more than 500 times, and most people have to use their skills over weeks to reach that number. My next course of action after getting my license was the nearest beginner dungeon in this city, Ape's Paradise. Boasting 10 floors, each floor held 10-20 monsters, with the last floor housing a huge black Ape 3 meters in size. This dungeon was regularly cleared by parties of F- and E-ranked Hunters, who could take on the monsters and the boss without fear of casualties if everyone was doing their jobs. Parties consisting of 2 Knights who put their focus on their [Vitality], 2 berserkers with their focus on [Strength], and 2 mages with their focus on [Focus] were the most common for this dungeon. The Knights act as tanks to ward off coming monsters, and Berserkers use their high strength to strike down and protect the mages that are the brunt of the firepower to kill everything on site. Equipment from dungeons was extremely rare, so most people had to make do with newly designed machetes or metal pipes and iron shields as their first equipment. Only the boss of the dungeon had a chance to drop [Skill Book]s and [Items]. Any item dropped from a dungeon was highly sought after, with their prices not being too different from the [Skill Book]s. My goal today was to enter [Ape's Paradise]... and alone at that. My heart was pounding at this crazy idea. When the thought was forming in my head, I had to ask myself multiple times if I had gone insane. But it will not be that dangerous. Seeing how I can cast my Skills so many times without feeling any fatigue, the rank of my [Focus], even though I can't f.u.c.k.i.n.g see it for some reason, should be nearing B if not A. And any rank B hunter can easily clear Rank F and E dungeons, though they don't have to, and put their focus on higher-ranked dungeons. Now, with me being the only F-ranked Hunter entering and clearing this dungeon... My heart was pounding from the possible rewards. Usually, rewards are split between the many members of the Party, but I would keep all the [Core]s and possible [Skill Book]s and [Item]s that drop. Just the thought of it made my heart excited. I steeled my resolve and headed towards [Ape's Paradise].