CH.3

Seeing his awakened attribute, Ain felt a deep sense of disappointment.

"Ant? Seriously? What kind of attribute is this? Ant—symbol of weakness? Are you kidding me?" Ain thought to himself, frustrated.

"Huh... whatever. With the system, I can hide my true attributes. I already knew that revealing them would bring endless trouble."

Having made up his mind, Ain decided to check the description of his awakened attribute, hoping for something useful.

[Ant Characteristics: By awakening this attribute, you have obtained all the unique abilities of an ant, namely: Defense Augmentation, Smell Augmentation, Sense Augmentation, and Strength Augmentation.]

"Huh, that's... a lot?" Ain thought, his curiosity piqued. He quickly checked the details of each characteristic:

[Defense Augmentation: Strengthens the user's muscles to the level of iron, nullifying damage from attacks. This skill will enhance further as the user grows.]

[Smell Augmentation: Enhances the user's sense of smell, especially for chemical scents. This skill will improve as the user grows.]

[Sense Augmentation: Grants the user the ability to detect any presence within a 25-meter radius by sensing vibrations in the ground, air, and even space. This skill will improve as the user grows.]

[Strength Augmentation: The user can exert a force 50 times their body weight. Current strength: 3.4 tons. This skill will improve as the user grows.]

Reading through the descriptions, Ain's emotions were all over the place. His jaw nearly dropped as he stood on the awakening platform, struggling to maintain his composure.

"WHAT KIND OF BULLSH*T IS THIS?!?!" Ain screamed internally, his mind racing with disbelief.

"Ants are weak? A symbol of weakness? You must be joking! Who said that?!? F, I was the one who thought that!"

"Anyway, these abilities are way too cool!"

(A/N Fun fact: In terms of size, ants are among the strongest creatures on Earth.)

Looking at the characteristics, Ain knew he had to keep his attribute a secret. It was far too powerful. Especially [Strength Augmentation]—he could easily exert 3.4 tons of force! That kind of strength was equivalent to a Peak Elite Magus or Elite Warrior. And he is still in the first level, what will happen if his level upgraded?

In the Human Federation, Awakeners were divided into two classes: Magus and Warrior. Those who followed the Magus path focused on developing external powers, much like spellcasters. Warriors, on the other hand, used their attributes to create an invisible armor around themselves, providing immense offensive and defensive capabilities. (A/N: Think of it like Armament Haki, except the color matches the user's attribute.)

Combat power rankings were also categorized into two paths:

Magus:

Beginner → Magus → Elite Magus → Master Magus → Grand Magus → Sovereign

Warrior:

Beginner → Warrior → Elite Warrior → Master Warrior → Grand Warrior → Overlord

Back to Ain.

Staring intently at the [Strength Augmentation] description, Ain's thoughts spun wildly.

"50 times my body weight... are you telling me I need to get fat? The fatter I get, the stronger I become?" Ain thought sarcastically.

But the more he thought about it, the more he realized the terrifying potential of his attribute. He absolutely had to hide it.

Meanwhile, the emotions of the other students were a mix of relief and pity. Some sighed, and the majority—mostly the boys—were relieved. Those who had past conflicts with Ain seemed excited to witness his perceived downfall.

To them, having a Unique Attribute meant Ain's combat abilities wouldn't be impressive. Human nature could be cruel, and many were eager to surpass and look down on him.

But Ain couldn't care less. In fact, he almost wished someone would insult him, just so he could figuratively slap them across the face. After all, as a proud otaku and avid novel reader, he longed to experience the dramatic "face-slapping" routine typical of Chinese protagonists.

After Ain's awakening, the deans wore somber expressions. They had high hopes for him, but his unique attribute was considered lackluster. Despite his 5-star potential, with a unique attribute, his future achievements were expected to be modest at best.

However, a flicker of hope remained in their eyes. Although 90% of those who awakened Unique Attributes were deemed weak, the remaining 10% often awakened with incredibly powerful abilities.

Take, for example, one of humanity's pillars. She had awakened the Beast Tamer attribute—a game-changing ability. She could tame any creature of the same rank, and there was no limit to how many beasts she could control, as long as her spiritual power could support it.

And monsters, being far stronger than humans of the same rank, made her a formidable force. At the same rank, one monster could easily fight off two human Awakeners simultaneously. And this girl had an entire army of tamed beasts at her command.

Thank goodness she was on humanity's side.

Now, faced with Ain's unique attribute, the deans itched to rush to the platform and shake the truth out of him.

"Ahem, alright. Let's continue with the awakening ceremony," the principal announced, signaling for Ain to step down.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Ain smiled, shrugged, and quietly descended from the platform. However, he grew annoyed by the pitiful looks directed at him from the other students.

"Why are they pitying me? If I told them what my attribute really was, they'd probably have a stroke!" Ain thought, maintaining a polite smile.

As he sat down, Ain felt someone staring at him.

Scanning the room, he quickly found the source: a woman. She had long, dark brown hair, tanned skin, and striking golden eyes. Her outfit—a beautiful white blazer, black shirt, and dark blue skirt with gold trim—was immaculate. Without a doubt, she was a peerless beauty.

Seeing her gaze, Ain could only give a helpless smile. He knew that a long conversation awaited him, as this woman was the closest person to him at the school.