From behind a desk, the Blood Lake dungeon check-in station guard stared with dispassionate eyes. The man wore a helmet made of dragon bone lined with half a dozen cracks. A plumage of frayed fiery red feathers trailed down the mantle on his shoulders, practically burning the air. His gauntlets were made from worn legendary Hyperion steel. They were flexible enough to allow the man to hold a quill between two massive fingers. The man turned his head to the side to look at me, revealing numerous scars from enhancement surgeries. The clerk’s eyes were mismatched. One metallic orb came from an Andromech by the glow of the blue eye and silver sclera while his other eye held the slit red gaze of a noble vampire. When the man smiled, he revealed the Horus silver dental work famous in the Black Wolf clan. His beard hung down his riveted steel and bone breastplate, nearly touching the ash-covered Hades wood desk.

 

The man took off his helmet and rubbed a patch of scars on his forehead where hair no longer grew. “Kid, I don’t know who let you in here, but this is an A-rank dungeon. It’s recommended that no one under level 350 in a group less than 5 enter. What level are you again?”

 

I searched the man’s breastplate until I found a tiny black nametag. Using the name of staff was important; it helped them feel more like people. I didn’t feel that way when I worked as staff in my old life, but maybe this guy was different. “Fred, I’m level 1, but I’m stronger than I look. Before you say anything, you should know you’re not legally required to stop me. I looked it up.”

 

The man glared, and a great black aura rose around him and lazily gazed out at me. Skills so numerous and strange that I couldn’t hope to guess their effects swept over me before sliding off. My own aura swelled up in its dark green glory and pushed his skills away. Fred raised the scar over his left eye in place of his eyebrow.

 

“Impressive you can control your aura without help from the system. Not many kids your age can do that. But listen, there are better ways to level up than throwing yourself at an A rank dungeon. Why don’t you go into the city and look for some work? There are always giant rats to kill, and they give great experience. Travel around, join a party and defeat some dark lords. You can always come back; the dungeon isn’t going anywhere.”

 

“I want to join the Ultra Skyward Dragon Peak, and they don’t take anyone under lvl50.”

 

“They only take geniuses, and you’re here. So I don’t think you’ll fit in.”

 

I punched forward, putting all of my aura behind the blow, and hit the desk. My knuckles burned, but the desk was unharmed. Fred only shook his head.  

 

The next time he spoke, I felt really pour. “A friend of mine is sending his son there with a Zeus treated spear, a full set of dragonhide armor, and numerous consumables. His boy barely made it, and he’s been taking stat-boosting supplements since he could walk. He grew up eating high-class monster meat. While you have some muscle on you, it’s too lean. Were you raised on a farm?”

 

“Yea, but I made sure not to level up and only increased my stats. So when I fought something strong for the first time, it would give me the most exp possible.” I said.

 

“That’s what nobles do, but they use consumables. So what did you do?”

 

“Pushups, running, squats, and I mostly ate weeds to keep myself alive.”

 

“Are my words getting through to you yet? Most nobles have baseline stats around 200 before their first level up. You can bet their skills are high. Their skills trees are even higher. Do you have a single skill above lvl100?”

 

“Training, Malnutrition Resistance, and Qi Control are both over 100,” I said.

 

“Qi Control, now that is a valuable skill and training boosts stat gains from exercise. But what about Striker, Supers, and Grand proficiency skills. Do you have any powerful attack skills? The training skill tree should give you the Skill Training skill. How high is that skill?”

 

I looked away. This guy knew way too much about my skills. Getting new skills was difficult without the right books. They were supposed to drop in dungeons, and the fastest way to get those drops would be in a high-rank dungeon.

 

“That’s why I’m going into the dungeon. If I can get some skill book drops, I can level up Skill Training faster and learn new skills even faster. You can’t stop me from going inside.”

 

“No, but I can’t assist you in committing suicide; that is illegal.”

 

“I’m strong; my strength stat is way above 200.”

The man nodded. “5000 is still too low for this dungeon if strength is all you have. That aura of yours is impressive, but my desk took it fine. Go kill some rats and look for one of the paid cultivation teachers. You don’t have to go to a prestigious school to become powerful. I didn’t, and look at me.”

 

I pointed my finger at him. “You are behind a desk letting your skills rot instead of leading the front lines.”

 

The man smiled. “What do you think success looks like? Go then. I won’t stop you, and no one will be coming to save you. Maybe you are the 1 in a million prodigy that can brave this dungeon at lvl1. I’ve never seen one in two decades sitting behind this desk. Just give me your name, familiars, stats, equipment, and skills, and you can go right through. Here write them out on this piece of parchment.”

 

Status

Red lvl1

Age: 18

Sex: Male

Height 5’ 10.”

Familiars: N/A

Rank: 1

Job: N/A

Enhancements: N/A

Implants: N/A

Body Part Replacements: N/A

Perks:

Radiant Superhuman Body: Health Points = VIT x 15,  Health Regeneration (WIS x 15) / 1min

Maximum Primal Qi: QI Points = 1000 + (INT x 5)

Superb Qi Control: PATK and PDEF = Qi Points x STR / 100

Ultra-Divine Radiance: x10 Organic Object Development

 

Equipment:

Radiant Persephone Training Sword Rank2 lvl3 +300% VIT, +3%STR

Giant Rat Leather Armor Set Rank1 lvl25 +25% VIT

Dream Jade Medallion Rank2 lvl5 +500%, WIS +5% INT 

 

Stats

HP 17062.5

HR 37.5/sec

QP 1,420

PATK 13,017.14

PDEF 13,017.14

MATK 84

MDEF 150

VIT 350 (1,137.5)

STR 890 (916.7)

DEX 500

AGL 700

INT 80 (84)

WIS 30 (150)

CHA 9

LUK 5

 

Skills

Training Skill Tree 127 of 1000

Training lvl100

Skill Training lvl10

Familiar Training lvl1

Level Training lvl1

Equipment Training lvl15

 

Qi Control Skill Tree 118 of 2000

Qi Control lvl100

Aura Manipulation lvl12

Qi Enhancement lvl5

Qi Manifestation lvl1

 

Survival Skill Tree 265 of 1000

Survival lvl100

Poison Resistance lvl45

Heat Resistance lvl10

Malnutrition Resistance lvl100

Photosynthesis lvl10

 

Makeshift Swordsmanship lvl4

 

Brawling lvl7

 

Cooking lvl10

 

Sprinting lvl30

 

Penmanship lvl3

 

I wrote the last skills on my list and put down the quill, and blew gently on the ink as the skill instructed. Once the paper was dry, I handed it back to Fred. The man looked over my sheet and shook his head.

 

“Did you trick the quill somehow?”

 

I looked up at the man and blinked. “Why would I do that?”

 

The man grumbled. “If we had any space in the guild, I would sign you up for recruitment. Where did you come from, lad?”

 

“My parents were farmers.”

 

“What were you too much for them, so they sold you off?”

 

 I shook my head. “No, I beat up a merchant’s son, and pa kicked me out. Then the merchant’s guards came for me, so I ran. I might have leveled up and ruined my chances.”

 

“Your stats are all over the place, and your skills are even worse. I would say join a lesser sect like the Celestial Yin Yang Triumvirate or the Phoenix Sage Proto Celestials. Hell, even a demon sect wouldn’t be so bad with someone with your stats. But, do you really want to get into the Ultra Sky Dragon sect?”

 

“It’s the Ultra Skyward Dragon Peak.” I corrected.

 

“That’s what I’m saying after you graduate from a sect; no one cares about where you came from so long as you have the skills you need. So why don’t you look for a wise old master in need of a talented apprentice? They’ll teach you more than the sky dragons will for free.”

 

Did he think my future was a game? I might not be rich or as powerful as him, but I had dignity and my own pride. Green light spilled out around my body as I grit my teeth. Before, when I had hit his desk, I held back, but this time I wouldn’t. I pulled back my arm, ready to turn his desk into firewood. Instead, my fist flew forward and struck a blue barrier. I felt the bones in my hand shatter and pain lance up my arm.  

 

My blood covered the barrier as I slowly pulled it back. I felt my bones pop back into place one after the other as my blood slowly flowed back into my hand. My chest rose and fell as my hand continued to throb.

 

“Alright, kid, calm down; listen, with a hurt hand, you’re in no shape to enter the dungeon. But there is a group that asked for access, but they don’t have a fifth party member. So it would be safer if you went with them even if you probably won’t survive. So here, take this slip and come back tomorrow morning.”

 

Fred handed me a talisman with a number on it, and I tucked it into my pants. My fingers popped, and already my hand was back in tip-top shape. I could do it; I could gain the strength and money I needed to enter the Ultra divine Dragon sect. I blinked and glared at the clerk. Now I was doing it too.