I was looking at a glistening book on the table, a [Skill Book], albeit a very low ranked one at that. [Fireball], an F ranked spell that only the most unfortunate beginners start with.

But this skill book took a majority of my remaining inheritance, and all of my savings. I was known to be a fairly smart guy before everything went to shit, so I planned ahead before spending most of my money

In the worst-case scenario, I still have enough funds to last me at least a few months.

In the best-case scenario, as planned, I would consume this skill book and hope for a semi-decent talent when I awaken.

Getting this skill book was not easy, but it was the only way to awaken if you did not awaken naturally. The rich had no problem awakening themselves, their children, and their children's children

I look at the skill book again before steeling my resolve and picking it up. Bringing it close to my chest, I close my eyes.

A few seconds pass before I see a flash of light, even though my eyes are closed. Opening them, the book in my hands had disappeared, and at the corner of my eyes something else had appeared

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?

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 newly 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]

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

Forcing myself to remain calmer, I cleared the first floor quickly and headed down the winding steps to the 2nd floor.

The apes came in batches of 3-5, and just ran towards me when I neared. I didn’t let them get any closer than 4 meters from me, hurling balls of fire towards them as soon as they were in my sight

And just like that, an incredulous sight occurred in the F ranked Dungeon [Ape’s Paradise]. Without a moment of rest, an F ranked hunter cleared the 2nd floor, and the 3rd...and the 5th...all the way to the end of the 9th floor with ease

"WAAH!"

I lost control of my emotions as I let out a triumphant shout before the boss room. I had never imagined something like this to be possible!

Without a single issue, I had effectively taken down groups of Apes, collected multiple [Core]s, and reached the BOSS room all by myself

I reeled my emotions in as I let out a confident smile...and went further down to the BOSS room

A huge ape awaits me in the circular cave that is the last room.

"ROAR!!!"

The cave lightly shakes from the scream. My smile does not leave my face as five fireballs fly towards the ape that is now charging towards me. The first hit its chest, stopping it on its tracks. The second and third smash its shoulders, knocking it backward. The fourth and fifth explode on either side of its head, effectively finishing it off.

As soon as the ape crashed down, a blinding light flashed in the last floor and a green crystal rose in the middle. Touching this crystal will allow you to leave the room and appear at a random location near the entrance of the dungeon

I slowly revel in my first ever completed dungeon hunt, a solo one at that.

I then go towards the now dead ape to see any possible drops. By its side, a few F rank [Core]s are present...along with a [Skill Book]

I grab the [Core]s and put them inside the bag, before reaching out for the skill book. [Minor Heal] was now in my hands, giving me quite a shock. It wasn’t the rarest of F rank skill books, but it was one of the more expensive ones as it easily took care of any cuts and minor injuries.

I also placed the skill inside the bag and proceeded to sit down and think while staring at the green crystal in front of me. The problem at hand is how I should handle myself from now on

An F rank newly awakened hunter clearing an F ranked Dungeon in under 30 minutes was unbelievable. It would have to be someone who was B ranked or above to be able to carry out the same thing

I made sure not to show too much of what I could do when I took the licensing exam because currently, all I have going for me is the fact that I seem to have a large pool of energy to cast skills. This does not mean I am powerful, nor do I hold the power of someone rank B or higher

Even a rank D or C could easily sneak behind me and take me out as long as they’re faster than me. So my plan was to stay low key until I could buy more skills, preferably higher ranking ones that would match my large energy reserves

Sigh, and that required money.

Another plan was forming in my head though. Looking over at the gains just from clearing [Ape’s Paradise] once, I had in total 1 F Rank [Skill Book] and 40+ [Core]s from the more than 160 apes I had killed from the 9 floors before

This alone made me bolder to make some accelerated plans...

Just from one Dungeon run alone, I can make more than $60,000...In under 30 minutes. This alone gave me a great shock.

Normal parties would have to split the loot, and it would take them more than 2 hours of intensely fighting monsters in close combat, which brought them exhaustion and made many parties recuperate for a few hours after each dungeon run.

Most parties would go into the dungeon once or twice a day. With each person making around $10,000, the life of a hunter can be considered very luxurious

So, assuming the BOSS drops either a skill book or possibly an item, I can make around 60 grand each run...this made many ideas dance around in my head wildly.

I’ve already spent many months observing hunters and researching every knowledge available to the public about them. I’ve researched even more into all the known [Skill Book]s and [Item]s that can be dropped from BOSS rooms

For someone with a large energy pool like me, I already had a few books in mind that would work very well. Of course, I also have to keep on testing just how much [Focus] I really have

A wild thought keeps appearing in my head that I do not want to entertain as it is too grand...the possibility that because my [Focus] appears blank, and I can repeatedly continue to cast skills with no feeling of exhaustion...could mean that I can simply keep on casting skills as much as I want...

BOOM

It felt like something had exploded in my head as this idea came and my mind entertained it more and more. My heart was also beating fast that this could even be a possibility

But...why not? From what I’ve seen so far, there is no value for my [Focus] attribute. Is it more logical to think that it is just a really high number that I somehow cannot see, or that because it is blank and I can still cast skills, I can simply continue to cast skills without any problem of depleting something?

I took a deep breath to calm my nerves before I came to terms with a new plan. It was somewhat risky, but it will be fast and reduce any possible future problems, whether it be from monsters or hunters.

The world after the apocalypse was vastly different, but still the same. Now even more filled with dangers and deaths. A hunter could easily be killed by monsters, robbed by other hunters, or killed by the government if they do not fall inline

To secure my safety while rising up, I will need a highly defensive and offensive skill, and well as a speed supporting skill. Something of C rank or above would be highly effective, and yet the cheapest C rank skills start off at $500,000

So...How do I go about this?