Shining with blue light, the words brought confusion more than relief to me. Where the hell were the numbers for focus?
From the released knowledge, ever since the apocalyptic event that killed more than a billion people occurred, a new magical world took its place. People that are termed as Awakened appeared and others could also become awakened through learning [Skill book] that can be dropped from killed monsters
Yes, monsters. Magical beings that most commonly reside in dungeons, and occasionally come out whenever a dungeon break occurs.
Since more than a year has passed, it became common knowledge that those who are awakened are able to use skills, whether inherently gained or from skill books, to perform amazing feats and vanquish monsters
These awakened beings can increase their strength by killing more monsters and absorbing the [Life Cores] they drop, which add to the three attributes: [Vitality][Focus] and [Strength]
Sigh. So why the f.u.c.k is my [Focus] empty?
I try not to become depressed as I feel my body change somewhat after I awakened. I seem to have become slightly stronger, and can instinctively cast the skill I just learned
The problem is, can I even cast skills if I don't have any Focus?
Why the hell is there no number though? My exhilaration of awakening was slowly fading away as I couldn't figure out the numbers, or lack of thereof, on the blue screen in front of me
Looking back, nothing like this seems to come to mind from the news and everything I have been paying close attention to.
Sigh, I'll have to figure it out as I go, [Vitality] and [Strength] are average, and [Focus], what is required to cast skills and increase the damage you do, is black…
Can I even cast [Fireball] if I don't even know how much [Focus] I have? Usually, most average awakanees can cast F tier skills 5 times before they completely deplete the energy in their body. The larger your [Focus], the higher tier the skills you can cast and the more times you can cast them
Since Awakened Mages are extremely powerful, [Focus Cores] are much more in demand than [Vitality Cores] and [Strength Cores]
Awakened Mages can shoot their skills at a long distance and not even give the monsters a chance to retaliate, while Awakened Berserkers and Awakened Knights have to get up close to fight
I was hoping to awaken to become a Mage…
Sigh, without wallowing in melancholic thoughts anymore, I try the last hail mary I can, actually casting the skill I just learned
[Fireball], a common F rank skill that many F ranked Awakened have. I step out of my small apartment and head to an empty barren field behind the apartment complex
Rent had become increasingly more expensive nowadays, as buildings that had high security where you won't suddenly lose your life were high priced. I had to move quite a distance to get to the barren field before I could begin testing my first skill, and possibly my last
Hyping myself up, I raise my hand in front of me and call out, [Fireball]
A small ball of flames came to light in front of me, much to my shock and disbelief
Along with the shock came exhilaration. I can still cast skills even though my [Focus] bar doesn't show anything?!
Putting my shock aside, I command the fireball to move forward before it exploded a few meters from me
Wanting to test to see if I can at least cast the average 5 fireballs that normal F ranked Awakened can cast, I keep ongoing
[Fireball]...[Fireball]...[Fireball]....
Three more fireballs were shot and exploded in front of me, increasing the shock and happiness in my heart. At Least I have average skills, even if it doesn't show on the stat panel!
Weirdly enough, I did not feel any less energy in my body...Well, my [Focus] was blank, to begin with, so I didn't really feel much.
I focus once more as I cast what is probably my last fireball until I rest for a while before I can cast again
[Fireball]
The fifth fireball flew out and exploded just like the ones before
With a smile on my face, I wiped the perspiration on my forehead while feeling relieved. Being average is not bad, at least with this, I can count myself among the top of many people in the world today
I was still confused on the fact that no numbers were showing on my [Focus] though, which meant I couldn't get a gauge on just how much energy I had and how many times I could cast my skill
I hesitantly raised my hand again to see just how many times I could cast [Fireball]
…[Fireball]...[Fireball]...[Fireball]...
The more times I cast the skill and more fireballs flew and exploded in front of me, the more shocked I became
…[Fireball]...
The shock soon turned into incredulousness, as I had counted more than 50 fireballs flying from me and exploding
This…
10 times the normal amount of energy an average F rank has?!
I try to breathe to calm myself down. 10 times. That means my energy nears rank D Awakened. That was extremely rare, as long-distance awakened with skills like fireballs can easily take down an F rank monster, and 3 to 4 fireballs or equivalent skills can take care of E ranked monsters. D ranked Awakened individuals also triumph over D ranked monsters fairly easily with good usage of their skills
Am I actually one of the talented awakanees? I try to push down the pride that began rising before calling out another [Fireball], because I still didn't feel like I was out of energy
This both scared me and made me extremely hopeful in the future. When I kept casting the skill, I didn't really feel any energy leaving, nor did I feel exhausted
When I reached 100 casts, my shock increased.
When it reached 300, my head was pounding from this unknown situation
When it reached 500 casts, My whole body shook. I breathed heavily before looking around me, I was fairly deep into the barren field and had the cover of trees behind me
Glancing around and making sure there was nobody around me, I rushed back to my apartment to try and calm my nearly exploding heart
500 times I had cast an F ranked skill, and I didn't feel any exhaustion, what exactly was going on?
Chapter 2 - 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 skill 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 cannot 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. Which 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 braindead, I can easily clear an F and E ranked dungeons, even if I'm alone
D ranked dungeons might be a stretch, as the strength of monsters increase 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 now gone
A year ago, when the apocalypse began, my parents were not so lucky to survive. I was stuck in the bas.e.m.e.nt of my old house asleep and escaped the onslaught of monsters that were taken care of by the government and n
ewly 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 onto 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 a $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
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.
There were 3 people 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 due to the fact that high ranked awakened are extremely rare, with there being only one B ranked awakened in this city that is known publicly
There a few tens of C ranked awakened, a few hundred D ranks, and thousands of E and F ranks. Most of the hunters were F ranked, so being at the peak of this rank at the starting point was a good thing by 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 in mass, 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 didn't see it before, but the proficiency of the [Fireball] skill had quickly risen to 8. The 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 a period of 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, 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 cant 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 care 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 heading towards [Ape's Paradise]
Chapter 3 - [Ape's Paradise]
A huge monolith structure was surrounded by high walls. There was security at the entrance and heavily armed soldiers on the walls.
Even though this was only an F ranked dungeon, it made up for millions of dollars of revenue every day with a large number of people entering, clearing the monsters, and selling the resources they receive inside
This monolith had a blue color, indicating it was a normal dungeon with little danger of a dungeon break. If the color changed to orange and then to red, it meant a dungeon break was imminent
Regularly clearing the dungeon kept the color at blue, turning it into a treasure trove with capable people farming it
You always had casualties every now and then from Hunters that were either too full of themselves, bad teammates, or just plain unlucky
Now, I sincerely hope I don't make myself on the category of being too full of myself
Gathering my wits, I show the guards at the metal entrance of the enclosure my hunter ID before heading in. Inside the walls, there were a few hunter teams getting their gear in order or just talking
A few people were standing around looking to either form parties or invite others to their party. At the center of the blue monolith, there was a square, door-like structure. This door like structure was how you entered the dungeon
Those in a group would have to touch the door with a few second differences, but under a minute, to be transferred to the first floor of the dungeon together
There was a party prepared to go into the dungeon in front of me already, so I reigned in my curiosity about the other hunters around me and stood a few feet away from the in-going party
It didn't take long before a few hunters noticed a lone man waiting by himself
"Oy, is that kid
thinking of going in alone?" Hunter A
"Bro, another one with a death wish" Hunter B
"Just ignore him, who knows, maybe he's one of those prodigies that can solo an F rank dungeon? Haha" Hunter C
Ignoring the laughs around me, I wait patiently as the entire party in front of me disappeared in a flash, and waited the required minute before going forward and placing my hand on the square door
In an instant, I was transported into a large cavern, where I had just caught the attention of two 1 meter tall black apes
I brought myself to full attention and observed both the apes and my surrounding before I began my first dungeon hunt
[Fireball]
A single fireball, and then a second, and a third, and a forth quickly flew towards the two apes
When the ball of fire exploded on their faces, they were already incapacitated and letting out dying screeches. They would not survive after that, and a second fireball hit them at the same location, quickly finishing them off
I breathed heavily as I felt the adrenaline course through my body. 2 F rank monsters, easily taken care of by me. Haha, this was a feeling I could get used to!
Usually, F rank hunters would use their skills sparingly, making sure to cast them all either on the BOSS or on emergencies. I did not have such reservations
I went towards where the apes fell and grabbed a glistening [Strength Core] that dropped. It was small in size, smaller than a pigeon's egg, and yet they went for a thousand dollars on the market
I placed the [Core] into my backpack and ventured farther in. I didn't have to walk far, as 3 apes were quickly rushing towards me screeching after hearing the death screams of their brethren
With a thought, [Fireball] was cast one after another, each not missing its targets that were rushing forward.
Another [Strength Core] dropped from these three. [Core]s were not guaranteed to drop every time a monster died, and getting 2 from 5 monsters was already fairly average
Placing the newly acquired [Core]s in the bag, I rushed down the path of the Cavern, meeting another set of 5 apes that I quickly burned
I had to force myself to calm down as I so easily and quickly took down the monsters and collected [Core]s. I never imagined myself being able to do something like this and had to pinch myself a few times just to make sure it wasn't a dream
Infinite Mana In The Apocalypse c1-705 Page 3