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[Please support the work by adding to your library, and donating power stones, golden tickets, and gifts!] The gods decree and the mortals obey. So what happens when the devil decrees? After watching his last family member, his little sister get devoured by monsters along with his friends. John loses all hope and falls to his vices. his future bleak and destined to be pathetic. until one day, his only friend takes him to get his awakening and receive a blessing from the universe, a [Gift]. all goes well and he awakens successfully, gaining a high-rank gift [Transcendent]. still feeling hopeless he turns to leave. "You need power, don’t you? you wish to bring back your friends, and your sister, don’t you?" enticed by a strange voice he returns to the alter. "Take my [Curse] and I will guide you to the the tower and then to the [Stygian Crypt], there you will receive the power to revive those who you hold dear!" "curse?" "Humans are so foolish, so quick to trust the gods that play them as pawns, but when pitiful ol’ me offers my grace, they call it a curse! fear not, no harm will come to you." "why me?" John asks. "why didn’t you ask the gods why they granted you such a [Gift]? quickly now, take my hand or those you love will suffer forevermore." "I…accept!" "good! You are the final one and the 12th of those I have granted boons, go forth and break this chessboard!" A deal with the devil once made, can never be broken. John, did not realise that day that he had stepped on the road to heights unseen. the gods? the devils?mortals?the cursed? none will stand in his way. but first, he would need to see his own limit. [On Hiatus until May 12th 2024]
I was flabbergasted by the words 'You cannot die, how could such an affront to logic exist?
"What? this description can't be real!"
I couldn't help but shout from shock, the words 'you cannot die' were unbelievable, to say the least. Mind you, death was an unchangeable fact, even gods were known to die. Words that directly opposed the natural order of existence were truly shocking.
"This must be a play on words or something. I'll just tell William about the [Gift] as for the tower…. I'll give it a go when it comes."
For the first time in five years, I felt motivated to do something, the tower the hooded figure mentioned, as strange as it sounded made me feel a strange sort of excitement. Of course, that was just naivety...
After leaving the altar, I met William outside.
"How did it go? What did you get?!" he asked with an excited expression as if he was sure my [Gift] wouldn't be mediocre.
"I'll just show you. Share [Gift]."
A panel detailing my [Gift], [Transcendant] appeared to him.
He closed his eyes three times in quick succession and then wiped them. When that didn't work, he pinched his ear. His face quickly turning into one filled with shock.
"X RANK?!!"
"Keep it dow-"
"Did he just say X rank?"
"X rank?"
"Did you hear that guy, did he say x-rank?"
It was too late so I pulled his hand and ran out quickly. We only stopped once we found an empty alley.
"You idiot! If you pull attention to us like that we'll end up selling body parts!" I said with an angry tone.
"Sorry, I'm sorry. I was just too surprised, there are only 11 known X-ranks after all! And they were the same ones that beat the [Calamity] years ago!"
"*Sigh* I know. Just keep it down, you know what this city is like." I said.
"Yeah, speaking of which we shouldn't be hiding in an alley, it's never saf-" said William seriously, but his words were cut short by a hoarse voice.
"What do we have here? Two fresh body part donors!" said the voice.
When we looked back, we found a tall dark-skinned man, nearly 8 feet tall with a large belly and scarred bald head. His arms were covered in cyberware and the steel pulsed with mana. It was a hunter and one enhanced with cyberware at that.
"What do you want?" said William with a dangerous expression.
William stepped forward, of course as a B-rank hunter himself, he was confident.
"I want your body parts, I was just looking for some free money!" said the man as he struck his fists together.
*Thud!* *Thud!*
Just his fists caused the surrounding walls to shake. As if a small earthquake had occurred.
"Stay back, John, I'll take care of him!"
In an instant, William jumped forward towards the man, a thin layer of blue energy covering his entire body. The moment their fists met, the ground shook, and blood splattered everywhere.
"AGH!!You! You were a hunter?" Shouted the man as pain seeped into his voice.
"You get what you deserve!"
It was well known that a hunter enhanced with cyberware was nearly unmatched at the same rank, so the man had grounds to be confident. He was just unlucky and met a B-Rank hunter like William instead of an easy victim.
"This…"
I wasn't surprised by the violence, nor was it their strength, as an orphan with a sister to protect on the streets of Heavy Rain district in Day City, I had seen my fair share of blood and gore. What was more surprising is that I felt an instant change In my body as my eyesight suddenly improved exponentially upon seeing William cover himself in the light blue energy.
I felt a strange energy enter my brain and nourish it as information condensed and muscle memory formed, in an instant I felt like I was an experienced practitioner. In what? Everything!
The man was dead and William had collected his valuables, a common sense act in the streets.
"Are you okay, John? JOHN!!" william said with clear shock as he looked towards me.
I was also in shock as I looked down at my hands. They were actually glowing light blue!
"How did you do that?" asked william as he shook me by my shoulders.
"I-I don't know, I just suddenly knew how, and when I tried it it worked," I replied.
He looked at the sky and sighed and then his expression turned into a smile.
"You X-Ranks really are different.." he said with a smile.
"Is it that special? I thought all hunters had to learn [Enhancement] when they first started." I said in bewilderment.
"We do but it takes a long time! I was called a genius because I learned fast and do you know how long it took me?" asked william with a wronged expression.
"A day? A month?" I asked with curiosity.
"A year just to cover my hands!" he replied.
"Are you sure you aren't just bad at it?" I asked again.
"Bad? Out of the 120 million registered B-rank hunters I was ranked 3 millionth In terms of speed!" he replied with a proud expression.
"I guess it was my [Gift], but this energy it's not like what they described on the Internet," I said.
"How so? You feel it flowing from your heart to your hands right? If it's about your stats, even a 5 in Mana is good enough to learn [Enhancement]. [Projection] is a different matter though." he said.
"No, my Mana is 0 and this energy is not coming from me, it feels like it's in the air, I can't describe it exactly," I replied.
"Huh? 0 Mana is not uncommon but still that's not possible. There's no way mana can come from anywhere outside of your body unless…"
"Unless?"
"Unless you had a dragon, fairy, or elf bloodline or some other higher-rank race with high affinity like those but that's impossible too."
"True that's not possible. But it feels strange like I'm scooping water from a bowl and moving it as I wish, and it feels not only calming but natural." I replied.
"Hmm, well I don't have a reference for X-Ranks so maybe that's normal. I do however know what we should do next!" said william with clear excitement.
"Oh? What?" I asked.
"We need to get you into a dungeon!" said william with a joyous expression.
"Huh? No wa-"
Before I knew it, I was standing at the entrance to a gate. My body was clad in William's old armor and a HUD appeared in front of my eyes detailing my current status. A virtue of linking my personal link to the armor. In my hands was a long sword and in my heart an unshakable anxiety.
"How did William get me to do this?"
A hand suddenly touched my back.
"Calm down, noobie. It's just an F-Rank dungeon and William said you already learned [Enhancement] so you'll be alright. Now let's head in."
The hand belonged to an old friend of William's from his E-Rank days, a hunter who couldn't go past his limits and became a teacher for new hunters instead, Johnathan Vrain, also known as the father figure of all new hunters.
Tall with a strong build despite his snow-white hair and beard. And even rarer was his body that had no scars, no cyberware enhancements not even a personal link on his neck, a form of purity that was strange in the new world.
"Yes, sir," I replied.
"Let's head in noobies!" shouted Johnathan as we all touched the gate's beautiful but ominous glowing gray exterior.
"Yes, sir!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Yes? Pops!"
The team consisted of Johnathan leading us, me the close-quarters damage dealer, a young woman skilled in [Projection] as the mage, a middle-aged man as the tank, and another young man as the healer. Of course, all of us were dressed appropriately in armor made from monster parts, and those who could afford Cyberware also had it equipped. Of course, I couldn't afford even a personal terminal at the time.
[Would you like to enter the dungeon? Y/N]
A panel appeared to all of those present.
Of course we all pressed yes.
…..
