The sky above Lemuria City gradually darkened as evening settled over the city.
By the time Aaron returned home, the streets were already lit by rows of yellow street lamps. The apartment building where he lived stood in one of the older districts near the southern side of the city.
It was not a luxurious place, but it was quiet and stable, the kind of neighborhood where most ordinary families spent their entire lives.
Aaron climbed the stairs to the third floor and unlocked the door to his small apartment.
The room inside was modest. A narrow sofa sat beside a low wooden table, and a small kitchen occupied the far corner of the living space. The previous owner of this body had lived alone after his parents passed away several years earlier, leaving him with just enough savings to finish school and support himself for a while.
Aaron placed his bag on the table and stretched his arms.
The silence inside the apartment felt refreshing after the noise of the awakening ceremony.
For a moment he simply stood there, replaying the events of the day in his mind.
Awakening.
Laborer class.
System activation.
Registration with the Bureau.
And that froststeel dagger.
Any one of those events would have been enough to shake an ordinary person.
Yet strangely, he felt very calm.
Perhaps it was because he had already experienced something far more unbelievable when he transmigrated from his Earth into this world. After that, everything else seemed easier to accept.
He poured himself a glass of water and sat down at the table.
Then he closed his eyes.
The system interface immediately appeared within his consciousness.
Yoink!
.....
[Effort Theft System Activated]
Player: Aaron Emegrey
Class: Laborer
Rank: E
Level: 1
Experience: 0 / 100
[Attributes]
Strength: 8
Agility: 9
Constitution: 9
Spirit: 7
Free Attribute Points: 2
Inventory: 1 item
.....
He focused on the inventory.
The frostfang dagger materialized again in his hand with a faint shimmer of light.
He held it up under the lamp and studied it carefully.
The blade was narrow and elegant, its surface reflecting a pale silver glow. If he looked closely, he could see faint crystalline patterns along the edge of the metal, like frost spreading across glass during winter.
Even someone with no knowledge of weapons could tell that this dagger was far from ordinary.
Aaron swung the blade lightly through the air.
A faint cold current followed the motion.
"Interesting."
The system had said that items would be amplified by an unknown factor, but the result clearly went beyond simple numerical improvement.
The weapon had evolved.
A common beginner dagger had turned into a rare froststeel weapon.
If the system worked this way for every item...
He slowly lowered the blade.
Then he opened the system panel again.
"So the real question," he murmured, "is whether it works the same way for skills."
Unfortunately, he currently had none.
Laborer was a lifestyle and support class. It provided physical endurance and tool efficiency, but it did not grant combat skills at all.
And most awakened individuals obtained their first class skill around level five.
That meant Aaron would need to gain experience.
And the fastest way to gain experience was obvious.
Monsters.
He leaned back in his chair.
Beyond the massive defensive walls surrounding Lemuria's City lay forests, ruined highways, abandoned towns, and countless creatures born from the Opening rifts that had scarred the world centuries ago.
Most citizens never saw those places.
Hunters did.
Three days from now, he would be one of them.
A faint knock suddenly sounded at the door.
He blinked in surprise.
He stood up and walked over before opening it.
Rei stood outside.
He looked exhausted.
"You came all the way here just to knock on my door?" Aaron asked.
Rei pushed past him and collapsed onto the sofa.
"I walked halfway across the district," he groaned. "You should at least offer me water."
Aaron handed him a glass.
Rei drank it in one breath before sighing deeply.
"Brother Aaron, I've been thinking about this all afternoon."
"That sounds dangerous," Aaron said.
Rei ignored the joke.
"The expedition is in three days... we should prepare properly."
Aaron raised an eyebrow.
"Such as?"
"Equipment, supplies, basic training," Rei said. "Even beginner hunters usually spend weeks practicing before entering the wilderness."
Aaron considered the suggestion.
It was reasonable.
"Where do you suggest we start?"
Rei immediately brightened.
"There's a hunter market two streets from here. They sell beginner gear."
Aaron chuckled.
"You already planned this?"
"Of course!" Rei said proudly. "If we're going outside the walls, we can't go empty handed."
Aaron glanced at the froststeel dagger resting on the table.
He quietly returned it to the system inventory.
"Alright," he said. "Let's take a look."
The two of them left the apartment and walked through the evening streets.
The hunter market was located near one of the city's inner checkpoints where patrol units monitored movement between districts. Bright lanterns hung above dozens of stalls selling equipment, armor, potions, and monster materials.
The atmosphere felt completely different from the calm residential area.
Hunters moved through the market with confident strides, their weapons strapped to their backs or hanging from their belts.
Some of them carried faint scars.
Others carried the unmistakable aura of experienced fighters.
Aaron and Rei looked slightly out of place among them.
"This place is always busy," Rei said quietly.
Aaron nodded.
A stall selling basic weapons caught his attention.
Cheap swords.
Iron spears.
Short bows.
Most of them were simple tools designed for beginners.
A middle aged vendor leaned over the counter.
"Looking for equipment?"
Rei nodded enthusiastically.
"We're joining a beginner hunting team."
The vendor gave them a quick glance.
"Class?"
"Scout," Rei answered proudly.
The vendor nodded approvingly before looking at Aaron.
"And you?"
"Laborer."
The vendor paused.
Then he shrugged.
"Well, stamina classes can still carry supplies."
Rei coughed awkwardly.
Aaron simply smiled.
Before they could continue, a familiar voice spoke from the neighboring stall.
"You two are late."
Both boys turned their heads.
Luna stood beside a table covered with weapon maintenance tools. Her long dark hair reflected the lantern light, and her calm expression looked exactly the same as it had earlier that afternoon.
Rei blinked.
"You're here too?"
Luna nodded slightly.
"Preparing equipment."
She glanced at Aaron.
"You should do the same."
Aaron tilted his head.
"Advice from a future B rank hunter?"
Luna did not react to the teasing.
"Advice from someone who prefers not to carry dead teammates."
Rei coughed loudly to hide a laugh, but Aaron just smiled.
"That sounds reasonable."
Luna looked at him quietly for a moment.
Then she said something unexpected.
"The beginner expedition will leave through the eastern gate in two days."
Her gaze sharpened slightly.
"If you are serious about joining... do not oversleep."
Aaron laughed.
"I'll try my best."
Luna gave a small nod and turned back to the equipment stall.
Rei leaned toward Aaron and whispered,
"I think she's keeping an eye on you."
Aaron shrugged.
"Maybe she's just worried about her team."
But as he glanced at Luna again, he had the strange feeling that the next few days were going to be far more interesting than he originally expected.