Rampaging Direbeasts, the Age of Arcanas

Lantian Base City.

Central Hospital, Ward 302.

"I've crossed over?"

There was a slightly excited expression on Ling Jiu's face. He had originally been an ordinary office worker back on Earth and had been slogging hard for three meals a day.

However, as soon as he woke up, he realized that he had crossed over into this world and had been reborn as a teenager with the same name.

Well, so be it then since he had no attachments back on Earth. It was the beginning of a brand new life. The problem was...

This world was extremely dangerous!

The memory of his past life had told him that this was a parallel world, and it was also called Earth.

It was not until a catastrophe known as Woe of the Direbeasts, which swept the globe, that the planet was set on a path of no return.

A large number of dimensional rifts had appeared on Earth.

Arcane energy called the Gene Arcana had gushed out of the rifts and spread across the world, eventually leading to the evolution of the animals, as well as plant life, on Earth.

Meek kitties had become ferocious beasts with huge fangs and claws, while loyal doggos had become bloodthirsty demons. Even the bonsai plants in peoples' homes evolved into ravenous man-eating trees.

As for the birds and beasts in the wild that strictly followed the laws of the jungle, all of them had evolved into apocalyptic Direbeasts.

Disaster was inevitable!

Countless Direbeasts had begun to assail human habitats, and humans rose up in resistance, only to find that their proud firearms could kill some low-level Direbeasts.

Even nuclear weapons, which had served as a strategic deterrent before, were unable to have the desired effect. The consequences were devastating, with humans falling from the top of the food chain straight to the bottom!

Countless people perished!

Countless cities were destroyed!

Countless families were ripped apart!

In just a few years, the world's human population had plummeted from six billion to three billion, and half of the world's people had died by the claws of the Direbeasts.

"Why did I end up in such a dangerous world?" Ling Jiu felt suffocated.

It was an absolutely perilous world, and even though he was living in a base city, it was still dangerous.

One needed to know that the Lantian base city he lived in was just a medium-sized base city with a population of five million. If they ran into a slightly stronger Direbeast, the city's defenses would be at risk of being broken.

The teenager, whom Ling Jiu possessed, had been hospitalized due to serious injuries caused by a Direbeast that had broken into the base city.

"It looks like this young man with the same name as me, Ling Jiu was born into a broke-a** family, and his cheap father just declared bankruptcy last month. He is hundreds of millions in debt..."

Ling Jiu was in despair. It had not been easy for him to ride the wave to cross over. For him to end up in such a dangerous place on top of being broke, Ling Jiu had no idea if it was appropriate or not to verbalize the words in his heart!

"Forget it, let's just deal with it now that I'm here!"

Ling Jiu soon focused his attention on another thing: the Arcanites!

The animals and plants had evolved under the stimulation of the Gene Arcana, and humans, as part of Earth, were no exception.

A very few lucky ones had also evolved with the nourishment of the Gene Arcana and attained all kinds of incredible abilities!

Flame control, metal control, gravity control, instant movement, extreme speed...

People called these abilities... Arcana and those who had Arcanas... Arcanists!

The appearance of the Arcanites allowed mankind the ability to fight the Direbeasts. With the Arcanists' help, humans quickly established survival bases, and thus, managed to survive.

In this world of rampaging Direbeasts and all-around danger, the Arcanites pretty much defended humanity while they fought the Direbeasts. They also had a variety of privileges at the same time, and every Arcanist was of the upper class!

"Arcanists, eh? Forget the identity and status of one, having an Arcana itself is tempting enough!" Green light appeared in Ling Jiu's eyes.

In his previous life, people with special powers had only existed in novels, comics, movies, and TV series. But in this world, people with special powers existed!

Some could control fire and lightning, some could transform into giants, some could instantly teleport, while some could move at the speed of light...

"It's just so tempting! If I had an Arcana, it would be just so awesome..."

The more Ling Jiu thought about it, the more excited he got.

"There are generally two ways to become an Arcanists; one is having the talent for Arcana!

"The vast majority of Arcanites were born with natural talent, and as long as they reach the right age, they can participate in the Arcana Trials and awaken their Arcana!

"The problem is, there are very few people with innate Arcana talents, and there may not be one even in a group of a thousand. So, the number of Arcanists is very low, and of Lantian's five-million strong population, the number of Arcanites only comes to a few thousand!

"Second, via Arcana Agents!

"The Gene Arcana appeared thirty years ago, and after such a long period of research, scientists have successfully developed an Arcana Agent!

"I've heard that a single vial of Arcana Agent would allow an ordinary person without any Arcana talents to awaken their Arcana abilities. Unfortunately, that thing is just too expensive!"

Ling Jiu sighed. A vial of Arcana Agent was worth hundreds of millions, and the moment it appeared, all parties would snatch it up. Even if his dad were not bankrupt, he would not be able to afford it.

"It looks like I can only place my hope on the Arcana Trials in half a month's time!"

It is worth mentioning that while there were Arcanites in this world, the vast majority of people were still ordinary folk.

So, Huaxia still retained the college entrance examination system, and the Arcana Trials was a month before the college entrance examination.

If he was found to have Arcana talents during the trials, his life trajectory would change dramatically.

He would not need to take the college entrance exams, would not need to slog through college, and would directly be hired by an Arcana Agency. He would lead a completely different and exciting life.

"Brother, how are you?"

Just as Ling Jiu fell into deep thought, someone suddenly pushed the ward door open. Wearing a school uniform, a girl with unconcealable beauty came in with a bag of fruits.

What a kawaii 1girl!

She was a literal goddess!

Ling Jiu's eyes were wide open!

"Brother, what's the matter with you? Are you unwell?" The pretty girl looked puzzled.

"No-Nothing!"

Ling Jiu quickly shook his head, and his feelings were rather complicated. The beautiful girl was none other than his cheap sister... Ling Xiaotong.

Jumping Up the Social Ladder, Arcana Trials

A week later, with his body healed, Ling Jiu was discharged from the hospital. He then began his tedious school life.

His results in his past life had been good, and he had been a first-tier student. Yet, it was useless as the curriculum in this world was very different from the one in his past life. Even if you were an English professor, you might still fail this world's college entrance examination because... English was not even part of the subjects.

While he attended the boring classes, the 5th of May arrived in the blink of an eye. Just as the evening self-study session was about to end, the headmaster came in.

"I have something to tell you!"

The headmaster was a bespectacled middle-aged man, named Yin Guoping. "We all know that the Arcana Trials will begin tomorrow. I believe all of you are looking forward to it, but I would like to remind everyone to not place too much hope in it!"

"The chances of an Arcanists appearing is a thousand to one!"

"Hence, for the vast majority of us, the Arcana Trials is just a walk. There are also things that you need to do after the trials!"

"We only have one goal, and that's the college entrance examination next month!"

"Do you understand?"

Yin Guoping looked at everyone in the class.

"Yes, Sir!"

Everyone answered loudly, but the flame of hope was burning bright in their eyes.

Arcanists were upper-class folk. Should their Arcana be detected during the trials, they could jump up the social ladder and completely change their own fate as well as the fate of their family.

Who would give up so easily?

"It all depends on tomorrow!"

Looking at the eyes of the students in the class, the headmaster sighed. He would say the same thing year after year, and it would always fell on deaf ears.

...

Early the next morning, the schoolyard was packed, as all of Lantian First Highschool's third years had arrived.

"Ol' Ling, I'm nervous!"

Ling Jiu's best buddy, Li Kai was particularly nervous. His family background was ordinary, but he was easygoing and righteous. He could get along with Ling Jiu, so their relationship was good.

"Ol' Li, chill. If you're fated to get it, you'll get it. If you aren't, it won't come no matter how much you try!" Ling Jiu smiled and comforted him.

Although he said that, he was equally nervous inside.

It was a moment that would truly determine one's fate, who could stay calm?

"Ol' Ling, you're just too steady!"

The clock struck eight amidst everyone's uneasiness, and the principal, as well as other school leaders, led a group of people up the stage in the schoolyard.

Others carried some instruments and placed them on a pre-prepared table.

After he waited for everyone to settle down, the principal looked at the sea of students as he said with a loud voice, "Today's the Arcana Trials. First, let us all welcome with warm applause, the Manager of the Longwind Arcana Company's Lantian Base City branch, Mister Dai Changsheng and his team!"

Clap, clap, clap!

Thunderous applause rang across the field, and all of the students stared eagerly at Dai Changsheng as well as the employees of the Longwind Arcana Company he had brought with him.

In this world, Arcanites would generally choose to join a force.

The force could be the army, or an Arcana Agency, or a consortium, or a family, or some other organization...

These organizations, which had gathered many Arcanists, were the greatest forces of mankind, and they held resources that ordinary people could never reach.

The Longwind Arcana Company was one of the top 500 Arcana companies in Huaxia, and its branches covered many of Huaxia's various base cities. It was extremely strong.

To be able to become the general manager of the Lantian Base City branch, Dai Changsheng was definitely an Arcanite himself.

Who would not be excited to see an Arcanist?

"Hello, students!"

Dai Changsheng gave the students a simple greeting, and the Arcana Trials officially began.

The testing equipment were a combination of a computer and a mind helmet combination that they just brought.

There was a total of ten instruments, and each time ten people could undergo the trial.

After a class teacher called out names based on the list, ten students walked up the stage.

Then, with the guidance of Longwind's staff, they put on the mind helmets and started the trial.

"Is this the device to test if someone has Arcana talents? I heard it's expensive!"

"It's not ordinarily expensive! To put it bluntly, even if we were sold, the money from that won't be enough to cover one device!"

"Are you for real?"

"You think? The device is made out of two components, a smart computer and a mind helmet. Once we put on the mind helmet, our minds will be drawn into a preset virtual realm by the computer, and we'll experience some extreme situations!"

"At the same time, a special silver needle on the helmet will stimulate the pineal gland at the front of our brain and input the Gene Arcana into it."

"Under the twin stimulation, people who have Arcana talents will generally awaken successfully..."

As the audience below whispered, Longwind Company's staff operated the computers.

The next moment, all ten students screamed because they had encountered something unusual. Some were angry, some were desperate, some were fearful, some were excited..."

Their expressions were varied but all extreme.

Ling Jiu was secretly amazed. While experiencing extreme stimuli and injecting the Gene Arcana into the pineal gland, Arcana would be awakened under the twin stimuli. So this was the Arcana Trials!

Of course, only those with latent talents would awaken. If you did not have any Arcana talent, it would only be as good as tossing about and doing nothing.

"I wonder if these ten students have Arcana talents?"

Ling Jiu stared at the ten students closely, and all of the students on the field watched them nervously as well.

It was the first time most people were watching an Arcana Trial, but it might also be the only time in their lives.

Unknowingly, a minute had passed, and aside from screaming, the ten students showed no abnormal behavior.

"They have no Arcana talents!" Dai Changsheng shook his head and motioned the staff to stop the trial.

"Next batch!"

The school leaders had long gotten accustomed to this. There were too few students with innate Arcana talents, and in the previous years, getting even one was good enough. In fact, for many years, there had not been a single student with Arcana talents.

This year's trials had only just begun, so it would be impossible for them to strike something yet, so they had to be patient.

"Next batch!"

"Next batch!"

"Next batch!"

The North had started to warm up in May, and as time passed, the sun rose increasingly higher while the students waited nervously under the scorching sun.

When it was close to noon, the first to the tenth classes had completed the trial.

What made everyone sad was that the ten classes had more than five hundred students in total, and no one had any Arcana talents.

Seeing this, many students gradually despaired.

"To think that there's no one in the first ten classes with Arcana talents... It looks like we're done for!"

"Damn, the probability is just too low!"

Ling Jiu was secretly anxious. He was not a person without confidence, but he was unable to muster any confidence with the situation before him. Ten classes, and not a single person. That made it impossible to have hope!

"Ol' Ling, it's our class' turn!"

Arcana Awakened, But It's Not Me

Ling Jiu looked up and saw Yin Guoping. Their class teacher was walking toward the rostrum with a list in hand.

"Whether I'll live an easy life or slog for the rest of my life, it all depends on this!" Ling Jiu said to himself.

His student number was "36", and he was in the fourth batch of his class. After a few minutes, it was his turn.

"Zhang Hui!

"Ma Tianyu!

"Wang Fang!

"Luo Dachou!

"Li Xiaoqiang!

"Ling Jiu!

"Li Kai!"

...

"Ol' Ling, I'm so nervous!"

Li Kai's trembling hands were sweaty.

"Ol' Li, look on the bright side, this is just an Arcana Trial, not a blind date with a gold-digger. What the hell are you afraid of?"

Ling Jiu smiled faintly and stepped up the stage first, but because he was too nervous, he stepped on air and stumbled like a fool.

"Ol' Ling, are you all right?" Li Kai asked with concern.

"I'm fine. Sh*t, a bad start!"

Ling Jiu quickly got up and went up the stage nervously. Then the staff from Longwind Company placed the mind helmet on his head.

"Whoaaa."

Ling Jiu only felt his consciousness blur for a moment before he arrived in a completely unfamiliar environment.

The wind was howling and bitingly cold. As he looked over, he saw that the earth was covered in thick white snow. This was a world of ice and snow.

"Is this the virtual world created by the smart computer?" Ling Jiu was shocked. "This is too real, isn't it?"

Was it real?

It was absolutely real!

The white snow, the howling winds, the white icebergs, and the crunchy sound of footsteps on the snow... Ling Jiu even felt the bone-chilling cold.

Was this really a virtual world?

"Roar!!!"

Just as Ling Jiu was wrecked by uncertainty, a thunderous roar rang out in the distance. As the rolling sound wave rushed over, Ling Jiu's eardrums felt like they were about to shatter.

Turning around, he saw a polar bear about hundreds of meters tall leaping toward him.

Boom.

Boom.

The polar bear landed on the ground in thunderous thuds as the earth shook. The terrifying threat sent Ling Jiu trembling.

"It's fake! It's all fake! It's a virtual environment, there's nothing to be afraid of!"

Ling Jiu tried his best to tell himself that, but his body shook uncontrollably, especially when he looked at the fast-approaching polar bear. The fear in his heart became stronger and stronger. In the end, the polar bear lunged at Ling Jiu and crushed his head with a snap of its jaw...

Woooshhh!!

Another blur later, Ling Jiu sensed that his mind had exited the virtual space. Right then, he was drenched in cold sweat. His legs were shaking uncontrollably, and his face was extremely pale.

"That... That was scary!"

Recalling the image earlier, Ling Jiu felt the lingering fear in his heart. Before he could completely calm down, though, an excited voice suddenly traveled into his ears. "Someone has awakened!"

"Awakened? Could it be me?"

Ling Jiu was shocked as he looked at the owner of the voice. It was Dai Changsheng.

He only saw Dai Changsheng look in his direction with a gratified expression. "Boy, congratulations on being the lucky one and awakening the power of the earth!"

"Awakening the power of earth? Is it me?"

Ling Jiu was so excited that he could not help himself. He then saw the principal, the class teacher, and the top school leaders all walking toward him.

The principal even stretched out his hands enthusiastically as he tried to shake his hand. Ling Jiu was so elated that he was about to reach out and shake the principal's hand.

Unexpectedly, the principal walked past him, and the class teacher, as well as all those from the school's top echelon, walked past him. They made their way to the person beside him and surrounded that person.

"This student here, what's your name?"

"Li... Li Kai! I'm Li Kai!"

"Li Kai, congratulations!"

"Li Kai, you are the pride of First High..."

Ling Jiu turned around and looked at Li Kai, who was surrounded by the principal, the class teacher, and the leadership cadre of the school. His whole being was struck by lightning...

He only saw countless grains of yellow sand surrounding Li Kai and dancing around him like fairies. They did not seem to be bound by Earth's gravity but were, instead, controlled by Li Kai.

He then looked at himself; there was nothing.

"Li Kai awakened the power of earth? Not me?" Ling Jiu felt like he had fallen into an ice cave, and if there was a song to describe his mood now, there was nothing more fitting than the following:

Fluttering snow...

Howling winds...

The world was nothing but a blur...

...

"God, why have you screwed me over?!"

Ling Jiu did not know how he left the stage. The greatest pain in life was to be given hope, only to have it extinguished...

"Sigh, bloody hell!"

Ling Jiu was not in the mood to watch the rest of the trials as he prepared to find a place to vent. As for the others... they could go to hell!

"Ol' Ling!"

Li Kai's voice rang out from behind. Ling Jiu turned around and looked at Li Kai who was walking over. "Ol' Li, congratulations!" He forced a smile.

"Ol' Ling!"

Li Kai was still stuck in his state of euphoria as he hugged Ling Jiu and shouted, "Ol' Ling, I've awakened my Arcana! I've awakened my Arcana!"

"Congratulations!"

Ling Jiu smiled bitterly and congratulated Li Kai. However, he was promptly stunned because the moment Li Kai grabbed him, a few lines of weird golden characters suddenly appeared before him.

Name: Li Kai

Race: Human

Arcana: Earth Manipulation (Awakened, replicable)

"Bloody hell!"

Ling Jiu thought that he was hallucinating, and he shook his head vigorously. Yet, the few lines of small characters were stuck in front of his eyes, and they remained there.

"The hell?"

Ling Jiu pulled away from Li Kai, and the lines of words disappeared. When he touched Li Kai again, the words appeared once again.

Name: Li Kai

Race: Human

Arcana: Earth Manipulation (Awakened, replicable)

After several consecutive attempts, Ling Jiu discovered something weird.

Whenever he came into contact with Li Kai, the words would appear.

"Could it be... This is my Arcana?"

"Replicable... What does that mean? Can I replicate Li Kai's Arcana?"

Ling Jiu's breathing became erratic as he tried to replicate it.

Wooosh!!

The small words instantly spread out and formed a golden light that enveloped Li Kai.

At that moment, Li Kai seemed to be covered by a thin golden veil, which completely enclosed him from head to toe.

About ten seconds later, the golden light left Li Kai's body and returned to Ling Jiu. This time, a set of different characters appeared:

Replication successful. Assimilate?

"Assimilate!"