In a final-year classroom at Jinjiang No. 2 High School, an adult stood before the students, his expression serious.
The homeroom teacher of Class 3, Mr. Stone.
"Well then, as I just said, the end-of-year exams will take place in one week. The Player exam will be held in a dungeon, and the Liberal Arts exam will be held in a classroom."
The room remained silent, attentive to his words.
He continued:
"The risk of death during the Player exams is real and high. If you don't have the ability for it, don't force yourself to take this path. You can always choose the Liberal Arts exam and live a life different from that of a Player."
His gaze then drifted towards the back of the classroom.
He met the eyes of one student.
Remedy.
"This is my advice to you all..."
Remedy's gaze, however, remained fixed on the blackboard, impassive. His fingers, nonetheless, tapped twice on the desk. One, two. Then nothing more.
The teacher sighed inwardly.
"If everything is clear to you, then good luck to everyone. See you all in a week."
The teacher left the classroom.
One after another, the students got up and left in turn.
Remedy, however, remained seated, lost in thought.
Suddenly, a hand slammed violently onto his desk.
He startled, his gaze dropped to the hand then rose towards the figure standing beside him.
It was the same trio again. Jett, and beside him, Leo and Marcus.
"Daydreaming again? Thinking about the exam?" Jett sneered.
"Don't tell me you want to take the Player exam?" added Leo.
No response, Remedy didn't utter a single word.
Jett's eyes widened.
"What? You're serious, man? Hahaha! Let me remind you, you don't even have a system, let alone a class. And you want to become a Player? Seriously?" he laughed.
"Drop it, man. You can't grow. You're just not cut out to be a Player," Marcus concluded.
Remedy still didn't utter a word. He simply slid his hand into his pocket, his fingers brushing against the broken glass of his watch.
The trio finally walked away, laughing. Remedy watched them leave, then sighed.
He took the watch out of his pocket. It showed noon.
He stood up and began putting his things in his bag.
I have to go now, or I'll be late.
Then he left the room quickly.
As if the time the watch had shown him was telling him he was already late.
Even though the watch itself no longer worked.
— — —
On a small football field, a luminous circle, like a dimensional rift, floated at its center.
The dungeon gate.
A safety fence surrounded the area.
Two guards in black suits stood in front of the entrance.
Three boys approached them.
"What are you looking for?" one of the guards asked.
The young man dressed in yellow, positioned in front of the other two in blue and red, spoke up.
"We're here for the dungeon we reserved."
He showed the confirmation received on his phone. The guard checked the guild's seal.
"You're the ones who reserved the training dungeon? Alright. You can enter. Your assistant is already there."
"Thank you," the boy in yellow replied.
They entered and walked towards the center.
Beside the gate, a figure was sitting on a pile of metal rods. The figure was calmly cleaning his daggers.
The boy in blue leaned towards the one in yellow.
"Do you think we can pull off the plan with this assistant?"
"Why are you still stressing? You're a player, I'm telling you," the red one retorted.
"I'm not stressing! I just wanted to make sure everything would go smoothly!"
"Yeah, of course..."
"Calm down, both of you. There's no need to worry," the yellow one intervened.
He added:
"Don't forget why we chose him. And don't forget that I have a class."
In this world, only those who possess the system can grow and fight monsters.
And even among them, not everyone has a class.
But he had one. And not just any class.
A translucent interface appeared before his eyes.
═══ STAT WINDOW ═══
Name: Yellow
Lineage: Human
Tier: 0 — Normal Human
Level: 1
EXP: 0%
Health: 100%
Energies:
• Mana: 100%
═══ CLASS ═══
• Elemental Mage — Lightning
═══ SKILLS ═══
• Shock (Beginner)
═══ INNATE TALENTS ═══
• None
═══════════════════
A smile formed on his lips.
"Don't worry. Everything will go as planned."
After all, he's just the technician assistant, the one who can't grow.
They stopped in front of the figure.
Remedy looked up at them.
"You're late," he stated, his voice calm and neutral.
"Haha! Sorry, we got a little lost," the yellow one replied with a forced smile.
Remedy's gaze briefly analyzed them.
Then he stood up.
"Let's go... And make sure you listen to me inside the dungeon."
He took the lead of the group and headed towards the gate.
The yellow one's face tightened slightly.
"Let's go."
They followed Remedy and entered the dungeon.
— — —
They arrived inside the dungeon, a somewhat dark stone cave.
Ahead of them, up high, red lights flickered on.
Then came the sounds of claws on rock and the flapping of wings.
Multiple bats, larger and visibly more vicious than usual, flew towards them.
Remedy brought both hands behind his back and drew the two daggers from their sheaths. The blades traced an arc before his hands firmly gripped them again.
"I'll weaken them to the brink of death. All you'll have to do is finish them off afterwards," Remedy declared.
He didn't wait for their response and launched himself towards the monsters.
Remedy's role wasn't to teach or give advice.
It was simple: he just had to allow them to increase their level.
He was an assistant.
Upon reaching them, a few controlled body movements allowed him to slip past the creatures.
Followed by sequences of dagger strikes.
The sound of blades slicing wings and stabbing bodies was heard, knocking the bats to the ground, half-dead.
You could directly see the fruit of hard work and the mastery of impressive techniques.
That was Remedy, the technician assistant.
The boys didn't waste time.
They approached and finished off the monsters.
The bodies disappeared, leaving the loot behind.
With such ease, experience points poured in.
Their bodies glowed, marking their level up.
Something Remedy had never experienced.
After a while, all the bats, about sixty in total, had been eliminated.
The total experience gained, 18,000 points, was distributed among the three boys.
They were now each Level 3.
Remedy stood apart while they grouped together, seemingly discussing something.
He took a bottle of strong alcohol from his bag.
He lifted his clothing, revealing multiple wounds on his chest and abdomen.
He poured the alcohol over the injuries, which stung intensely.
But his face remained as calm as ever.
He couldn't afford a healing potion, so his only remedy was this alcohol.
And this pain was his daily life.
He bandaged his wounds, then took out his phone, pressed a button before putting it back in his pocket.
Then he walked over to the three boys.
"If you're finished, let's go outside. You'll pay me outside. For the rest, settle it with the guild."
The assistant's job wasn't really tied to the guild. It was just a transaction between Players. The guild was merely an intermediary.
The loot belonged to those who reserved the dungeon; the assistant took a commission, as did the guild.
As Remedy passed them, the one in yellow blocked his path with his arm.
"Wait a second." His voice, that of a rookie, had become that of a boss addressing his employee.
"We'll pay you here. I hope you don't mind?" he hissed, the other two standing by his side.
Remedy smiled, almost amused.
Their smiles, he knew them too well.
It was the smile of those who had just discovered they had a knife, facing someone who possessed none.
The End