In a vast courtyard that could accommodate hundreds, dozens of students lined up in blue uniforms, with the majority wearing black collars and a rare minority distinguished by silver collars. The sun reflected off the fabric, and the atmosphere was charged with silent tension.
The silence was broken by the sound of confident footsteps. A man in his thirties appeared, dressed in bright white that glistened in the sun. His blond hair was carefully styled, and his sharp blue eyes scanned everyone in the square.
"Silence," his voice boomed, and the whispers stopped abruptly.
"I am Mr. Mark Hanson, your trainer until you reach level ten."
He pauses for a moment, adjusting the collar of his white jacket with exaggerated slowness, then continues in a calmer voice
"Some of you are familiar with the system, some are not, but I will explain anyway."
It is common knowledge that you should not mess with the system before reaching the academy at age 16, where your decisions determine your future and young people are not allowed to be reckless about this.
"Before you break the seal of the system, I will explain what you will face. First, your name will be displayed, then your real name—the name you may acquire after performing great achievements evaluated by the system itself."
Perhaps gathering them outdoors was not the best idea; a lecture hall could have been chosen to explain these matters, but the decision to conduct the ritual in the open air was not in vain, as the open air gives a sense of freedom. These children were repressed before they came here, so opening their seal in the open air suggests excellence and focus, which is the ideal state of mind when dealing with the system.
"Then your race, which is obvious, then the H classification. There are classifications from H to S, as we expect. The H classification is the classification of human race and human abilities. Then H+ is the peak of humanity, followed by G, which is the supernatural classification, and your performance in it depends on your race and class, where even classes with the same classification are not all equal. Things are a little relative within the classification, but of course completely different outside your classification."
"Then your class—don't worry about that now."
He summoned a bottle of water out of thin air with a glance from the system, drank from it, then continued
"Then the most important thing, skills. The system divides every part of your being into developable skills: running, walking, breathing, seeing... even your metabolism itself."
A number of students trembled in surprise, and some of their eyes widened in amazement. This kind of information exceeded their expectations and opened their minds to a fantasy they had never known before.
There were those who were steadfast, some of whom stole glances at the system and understood, and some of whom were from the legacy clans.
"All your skills are innate at first, a class that distinguishes the skills that exist within you and do not need to be learned, such as hearing, sight, or smell, as well as the skills that you learn and absorb on your own. Innate skills are always a part of you and only disappear in special cases."
"Then there are acquired skills, which you may acquire in many ways, but when you merge them, you lose them completely, because in the end, they are not entirely yours."
He opened his arms as if addressing heaven.
"And finally, the part of infinite possibilities, the most wonderful part, here lies our strength. You can merge skills to create completely new skills and make your own paths among millions of people."
Finally, the number of students appears. There are only 36 of them, but the rule was to divide the courts into small groups to facilitate follow-up and management.
In the front row stood a boy with the number "8" on his shoulder, with dark black hair falling over his forehead and red eyes like embers smoldering under the ashes. He was of average height, but his distinctive aura and silver collar made him stand out.
There were only seven others like him, so he attracted little attention.
Unlike his enthusiastic classmates, he seemed completely uninterested in opening the system, but rather apprehensive.
There were also others who stood out, such as the one with the number one, with flaming blond hair, ruby-red eyes, and a straight posture, looking eagerly at the coach.
There was also a girl with emerald eyes and jet-black hair, sharing their silver collar but overcome with anxiety.
Next to her, comforting her, was a boy with eyes as blue as turquoise and jet-black hair, just like hers.
There were more distinguished ones, but the coach did not want to keep them waiting.
The coach looked at them, smiled a little, and said
"Now... break the seal."
Student number eight finally whispered
"Break the seal of the system."
[The seal of the system has been broken]
[The status panel is opened for the first time]
[Name: Darlick Thalgron Kaimur]
"As I expected... Kaimur," Darlick thought with a frown and continued reading.
[Real Name: -]
[Class: -]
[Level: 0]
[Statistics]
Attributes: [Son of the Devil], [Creative]
He trembled internally when he saw the trait
'Son of the Devil... Damn it, I knew it.' He looked at the ground with eyes clouded with distress.
That's why he wasn't excited... Nothing can deny the truth now.
The coach waved his hand.
"I didn't explain the traits, did I? Everyone starts with one innate trait. Traits evolve over time, and their use is essential. My trait, for example, is [Clear to Space]—it gives me a kind of kinship with space itself, a promising trait, but my poor choices slowed my development and cut short my future."
Darlick read his trait with some curiosity.
[Creative]: Breaking stereotypical thinking to find a new path.
"Not exactly wonderful, but useful, especially when merging skills."
Then the coach announced
"Okay, now for the fun part—merging skills."
The students exchanged confused glances. Wasn't it a little early?
"Well, it seems that his impatience is what cut off his future,"
Darlick thought.
"First, there are the stats. You can merge several intuitive skills and raise them as stats that increase and synergize with your other skills. For example: Merge all five senses with [Simple Intuition] and [Thinking] and you will have the skill [Perception]. If you raise it as a statistic, it will increase as you develop and strengthen all similar and related skills."
Also, if you have a slightly creative idea, don't worry, even when you merge innate skills, they never disappear, and you can recall them again and merge them with another skill, and so on. But be careful, not all skills are good. If you merge sight with hearing, for example, you will produce the skill [Overlapping Senses], which is a normal skill, but all of its development paths cause hallucinations and madness."
Also, of course, you cannot merge fundamentally different skills. The naive idea of merging all your skills does not exist.
He stopped to drink more water. It was now clear that the water bottle was part of his skills.
"Finally, when you reach level 10 or 100, you will evolve. It is not recommended to develop your acquired skills before obtaining your category, by the way."
"Now do what I say."
After the introduction was over, each student went to their dormitory. There would be a training and qualification schedule until they reached level 10.
Darlick arrived at his bed, stretched out, and opened his completed status screen.
[Name: Darlick Thalgron Kaimur]
[Real Name: -]
[Level: 0]
[Class: -]
[Statistics]
[Health: 2]
[Endurance: 2]
[Strength: 1]
[Agility: 1]
[Perception: 1]
Traits: [Son of the Devil], [Creative]
[Son of the Devil]: You have demonic blood and a slight tendency toward chaos.
[Creative]: Break out of conventional thinking to find a new path.
Skills: [+108]
Under the supervision of the trainer, he merged:
Under the supervision of the trainer, he merged all the vital processes of his body to be healthy, endure various things such as pain, burns, and toxins in endurance, walking, running, stretching, waving, and other movement skills in agility, all fighting skills such as punching, kicking, muscle strength skills, and finally the senses and simple intuition in perception.
Unlocked breathing skill
"Unlocked [Breathing]"
[Breathing]
[Classification: H]
[Class: Innate]
[Description: Breathing]
[Upgrade Guide]
[H+: Breathing Exercises (0/10)]
[H+: Breathing in High Places (0/10)]
[G: Breathing of Trees (0/100)]
"It's funny that one of the most important skills is [breathing]. I can develop it in more than one direction at the same time since it's innate. Tomorrow, we'll attend a meditation lecture in the academy's forest to develop it, and then a fencing lecture."
'I'm a little excited about tomorrow.' Darlick finished his thoughts and fell asleep thinking about his options and possibilities.
"Wait a minute."
He woke up suddenly and sat up straight.
"Merge [walking], [running], [waving], [jumping], [balancing]..."
[You have awakened movement]
"Merge [movement] with [breathing] and [simple intuition]"
[You have acquired rhythm]
[Rhythm]
[Classification: H+]
[Class: Acquired]
[Description: Your movement is in harmony with your breathing and your mind]
[Upgrade Guide]
[G: Practice with various skills (0/100)]
[G: Practice playing (0/100)]
[G: Harmony and communication with others (0/100)]
"Hahaha," Darlick laughed and finally smiled on this joyful day.
"How did they not think of this? Or did they leave it for us to discover?"
'The skills of an ordinary human being are approximately 108. Did they merge them with different combinations even with the possibility of risk?
"[Rhythm], it will definitely be an excellent help in the future."
Now notice that his breathing has become calmer, his body more harmonious, and despite his enthusiasm, he hasn't bumped into anything.
He breathed deeply, his breathing seemed harmonious, as if his body had become a harmonious machine.
"H+ classification is the pinnacle of humanity. My simple movements have already surpassed the human level, but it is an acquired skill. Once I develop or merge it, it will be lost to me forever. I cannot summon it again by merging the rest of my skills. The system does not allow cheating."
He sighed and hugged his pillow.
"Tomorrow... I'll think about everything tomorrow."
Darlick woke up energetic. He was alone in the room, so there were no disturbances or interruptions.
He went to wash, and it was clear that his distinctive rhythm was like clockwork. There were no mistakes, no extra movements, no forgetting where the towel was. Everything was clear and harmonious.
"Not everyone has the same training schedule... My schedule only includes meditation in the forest and fencing training." Darlick frowned.
"Is this racist treatment because I'm from Chaos? The race can be purged later anyway."
He headed outside for his first lecture, specifically toward the forest behind the academy buildings.
It wasn't a real forest with animals and an ecosystem, but rather trees arranged for a specific purpose.
On his way there, he met a student with a silver collar, who was easy to recognize because people kept their distance from him, like Darlick.
Darlick approached him and was in a good mood.
"Hello, Leo, right? The son of the demon slayer Gastarov."
The young man turned to him, with fiery blond hair and sparkling ruby eyes.
"It's amazing to find fans of my father here. Do you know my father?" Leo looked at him.
"Of course! The demon slayer Gastarov, who worked his way up from the bottom until his name became synonymous with the slaughter of demons." Darlick put his hand on Leo's shoulder, for he had found a new companion.
Red eyes were a clear sign of demonic lineage, and the fact that others shunned them and scattered them made them understand each other.
"Haha, you have good taste." Leo unconsciously accepted him as a friend.
Although Leo's father was a killer and exterminator of people like Darlick's father, he didn't mind because demons were enemies of humanity.
Look at the earth, it's a new cultivater. They killed everyone who resisted, millions and millions of people, then came something worse than demons, nightmares, exterminators of billions of humans and heralds of the end of the world.
They kept talking about this and that until they arrived at the lecture hall.
It was a nice space surrounded by trees, with students sitting on it and the trainer at the front.
The atmosphere was breathtaking and beautiful. Darlick and Leo sat down, then the rest arrived and the instructor began.
Everyone was silent at first, of course.
"First, I would like to congratulate some of you who have given birth to H+ skills."
The students turned to each other. Only one day had passed, and some had already reached the pinnacle of humanity?
Darlick and Leo also froze.
"It's true that you have a schedule and what appears to be an educational system from start to finish, but that's all nonsense. The way to progress is to be cautious and smart and know when to move forward and what to do. You didn't have to wait a whole night to start training. Some of you have already started and acquired innate H+ skills."
Darlick also froze along with the crowd.
"Damn right, why did I wait a whole night when I could have been training and finally using the system?"
"A good night's sleep may be the obvious choice, but the system forces us to be creative, not obvious. Take this as a warning, or you'll quickly fall behind."
Liu pulled his hand back. It's true that he merged his skills and produced a good skill yesterday, but he didn't think about staying up late and practicing.
It's funny that these two are actually similar.
The coach adjusted his collar and drank a little water from the usual magic bottle.
Is this a habit or is he showing off?
"Now, of course, you have seen the conditions for developing certain skills. You can choose one or more paths in the case of innate skills, but the most important thing is that the skills with a higher rating than yours are what determine your class path."
"We are here to train breathing with trees. Scientists have calculated the number of hours needed to complete this, which is 100 hours."
The students were surprised. Isn't that too much?
"100 hours for a G-ranked skill is the minimum requirement." He looked at them sternly with his amber eyes.
"Once you obtain the chi, it opens up several important classes such as fighters and immortals, and there is even a class that uses chi to modify genes."
This is common knowledge because one of the legacy clans is famous for it, which is why the son of this family did not attend, as he does not need this training.
"You can divide these 100 hours however you like, or even cancel this course altogether. The choice is yours, but the duration of this lecture is 12 hours. We aim to develop this skill before the tenth day."
"12 hours is too much. What are we, machines? I'm leaving in an hour at most," one of the students complained.
The instructor taught them what to do: simply meditate next to the trees.
With the gates of hell opened to exterminate humanity, Mana entered their world. Humans cannot adapt to Mana and benefit from it, but some plants can.
These are all special trees that benefit from mana and release chi.
Chi is the vital energy of trees with a hint of mana. Vital energy is easy to absorb. It can be ingested or even breathed in.
Darlick and Leo sat in a meditative position and began.
Getting used to not moving and being silent for a long time was a little uncomfortable, but they did it.
After an hour, some students left.
After more than two hours
[You have awakened meditation]
"Huh," Darlick was surprised, as he hadn't heard a sound in a long time.