"What the hell is with that guy? Lush, what the hell is wrong with you?" Rean thought to himself.
The system panel pops up.
Reminder notification.
Failed to evolve D-rank dungeon boss talents.
Another panel popped up.
Task accomplished - defeat of a D-rank dungeon boss.
Reward points - 100.
Shom began talking about the upcoming award ceremony taking place two weeks from now.
Rean could care less. He was still in shock. He got sidelined for Michael. It's no coincidence, is it? I get the reminder the very moment my spirit is about to be crushed. Almost like a cheat system. They want me to evolve to the best version of myself, huh? I'll oblige.
"Pull up current stats," Rean said in a low tone. No one paid him any heed.
[Strength] — (10)
[Mana] — (10)
[Speed] — (5)
[Evolution rate] — (1)
'Huh, ok. Since my evolution rate is directly tied to my current convention, which is still E-rank, I should invest a lot of points into it. It may be the best shot I got at leveling up,' Rean thought.
"How many points do I need to get a higher evolution rate?" he said.
There was no new pop-up icon.
'That's strange. Something always happens whenever I ask a question,' he continued.
"How many points do I need to max out my strength?" he asked again.
Still no response.
'That's crazy. I know I need 90 to reach 100, but why would the system not confirm this for me?' Rean thought.
"Ok, let's try this one more time. How many points do I need to enter the next rank?"
Immediately a new panel popped up.
All 4 elements need to be 100.
He read out from the interface.
'That's unusual. It answers certain questions. What's the basis? Why answer this but not the other two? Something fishy is definitely going on,' he thought.
'There must be something I'm not getting. But what though?' Rean thought.
'Wait. Wait. The system has given me little details concerning the evolution rate. It's still pretty much vague. Maybe it's part of the assessment. I probably won't raise my evolution rate as quickly as the other two. This is gonna be a gamble but—'
Rean stopped all the unnecessary thinking.
"30 points to evolution rate," Rean said.
His points were immediately deducted. He looked to the panel.
His evolution rate was still at 1.
[Evolution rate] — (1)
'What?' Rean thought.
Despite just investing 30 reward points, his EV rate was pretty much the same.
'Is something wrong?' Rean thought.
"20 points to strength," Rean said.
A system panel appeared.
[Upgrade implemented]
[Strength] — (10 •> 30)
'My strength went way high. It's now at 30 points. This means I just need 70 more to fill this category, at least for an E-rank convention,' Rean thought.
'I have only 50 reward points left. I should probably split it between speed and mana. Best to balance my stats. I don't want to be lacking in anything fundamental,' Rean continued.
'No.'
A thought crept in.
'That's boring. Uninspiring even. How did I assimilate my first skill? I crept behind the monster, stabbed it, and forced the evolution and assimilation process. What I need is speed. Speed to strike and activate my ability,' Rean concluded.
"50 points to speed."
Another panel popped up.
[Upgrade implemented]
[Speed] — (5 •> 55)
'I am going to be a swift type. Overwhelming monsters with my speed. I'll make sure to upgrade my speed stat at every level. My strength and mana are useless if I don't get my hands on sustaining talents,' Rean said, his fire reignited.
"Is that clear?" Shom said. "And also, you've been murmuring a lot. What's up, Rean?"
"Nothing, sir," he replied.
'That kid... weird,' Shom thought, paying Rean no further thought.
'It's really been two weeks since we joined Division Black,' Rean thought.
'All we've done since I have been here are just harsh, rigorous, physically draining activities. I get we want to train our strengths the usual way, as that can also raise our points, but it's not as effective. The best way to raise our stats would be through raids, so what the hell are we doing?' Rean asked himself.
'I know Shom is thinking way ahead. What exactly, I don't know.'
"Ok, that's enough," Shom said. "You can get off the treadmills."
"What? It's only 12:00 p.m. Why aren't we training well into the night as usual?" Charles asked.
"Simple. Today the award ceremony for hunters is being hosted. The guild needs all hands present to celebrate. It's hunters-exclusive, so take this opportunity to mingle with fellow hunters. Who knows, you could learn a thing or two when they name the current top hunters," Shom continued.
"Go home, get cleaned up, rest up. The night is going to be wild," Shom said.
"Oh, and before leaving, I heard some of you are tired of only doing boring training. Well, don't worry, that's all over. Tomorrow we take our first raid. Don't go too crazy tonight. Tomorrow it all begins," Shom ended, letting them off.
They all pack up and head their various ways.
'Tomorrow is the day. I can't wait,' Rean thought to himself.
************
2 weeks ago.
"I'm home," Rean said as he opened the door.
"Welcome," Tylan responded.
The two brothers locked eyes before immediately bursting into tears.
"I don't wanna be in your shadows, big bro. I want to be my own man," Tylan said with a mocking tone.
"Haha, very funny. But come on, you know what I meant," Rean quickly responded.
"Yuh, I do. You wanted to be your own man," his brother said, his laugh only growing louder.
"Make fun all you want. You know I just didn't want the position to be handed down. I wanted to earn it. Look how that turned out. I got in, and by my own merit."
"I know, little bro, and I am so proud of you," Tylan said, no jest.
"Oh, and I don't call you big bro. Your imitation sucks," Rean added.