The next morning, Zack walked into the Hunter Association building. The main hall was a huge, open space buzzing with energy. A massive digital board showed dungeon alerts, guild recruitment ads, and the current market price for monster cores.
Hunters of all stripes hurried past. Armored Warriors with massive swords, cloaked Assassins who seemed to blend with the shadows, and robed Mages crackling with faint energy. They all had one thing in common: they barely glanced at Zack. His F-Rank watch and simple clothes marked him as a nobody, just another civilian or a hopeless case.
"Appointment for an E-Rank promotion test. Name is Zackary Cole," Zack said to the woman at the front desk.
The woman barely looked up from her screen. "Cole... E-Rank... Healer. Room 4-B. Examiner Mark." She stamped a piece of paper and slid it to him. "Don't waste his time."
Zack just nodded, his face a perfect mask of kind politeness, and walked to the testing area.
Room 4-B was a small, reinforced arena, about the size of a basketball court. A man in a light-armor vest was leaning against the far wall, cleaning a longbow. He looked to be in his late twenties, and his watch read D-Rank (Mid).
"You're the F-Rank?" the man asked, not unkindly, but with a deep, bored sigh. "I'm Mark. Ranger class. Let's make this quick, kid. I've got a C-Rank dungeon clear in an hour."
"Thank you for your time, Mr. Mark," Zack said.
"Right. First part of the Healer test: mana control and output." Mark pointed to a training dummy in the corner. "This dummy is enchanted to show a 'Minor Laceration'—a light-based wound. Cast your [Minor Soothe] on it. I need to see if your Spirit stat is high enough to even qualify as E-Rank."
Zack nodded. He walked to the dummy and saw the faint, flickering light that looked like a cut. He placed his hand over it.
[Minor Soothe]
He didn't just cast the skill. He pushed his 30.4 Spirit points into it.
The light from Zack's hand wasn't the pale, sickly green of a typical F-Rank. It was a deep, vibrant, and healthy emerald. It pulsed with a warmth that filled the entire room. The light-based "wound" on the dummy didn't just fade—it was snuffed out instantly, as if it had never been.
Zack heard a sharp "thwack."
He turned. Mark had dropped his bow. The D-Rank Ranger was staring, his mouth open.
"What... what was that?" Mark stammered.
"Uh... [Minor Soothe], sir," Zack said, feigning confusion. "Is... is something wrong?"
"Wrong? Kid, that was... that was stronger than my D-Rank party's Cleric! Your Spirit stat must be..." Mark quickly checked Zack's watch. It still read [Rank: F (Beginner)]. "How... How is that possible? Did you put every single stat point you've ever earned into Spirit?"
Zack gave a small, shy shrug. "I just... always felt more connected to my Healer side. I've been practicing. A lot."
Mark's expression changed from shock to something like pity, with a dash of respect. "A 'glass cannon' Healer. You're all Spirit and nothing else, huh? A rare build. Ballsy." He shook his head. "Well, you pass the first part. But the second part... kid, this build is why it's a bad idea."
He pressed a button on the wall console. "This is the survival test. An E-Rank monster will be summoned. You just have to stay alive for sixty seconds. Don't try to fight it. Your job is to heal and survive. Given your... unique stats, just try not to get one-shot."
A glowing blue portal opened in the center of the arena. A creature padded out, sniffing the air. It was a 'Shadow Wolf,' an E-Rank (Beginner) monster with stats around 20-25. It was sleek, black, and its eyes glowed with a hungry, red light.
The wolf spotted Zack. It snarled, its focus locking onto the "weakest" target in the room.
"Timer starts... now!" Mark yelled, nocking an arrow just in case.
The wolf exploded into a sprint. It crossed the distance in a second, leaping for Zack's throat.
The examiner winced, expecting the test to be over.
But Zack wasn't there.
With his 31.1 Agility, the E-Rank wolf looked fast, but not impossibly fast. He bent his knees and smoothly sidestepped the lunge. The wolf's claws raked the air where he had been a split-second before.
The wolf landed, confused, and spun around. It lunged again.
Zack ducked, the wolf's snap-jaw missing his head by an inch.
It swiped with its claws.
Zack leaned back, like a dancer, and the claws missed.
He never took his eyes off the monster. He didn't attack. He didn't even use his new [Shadow Spike]. He just... dodged. His movements were calm, fluid, and economical. He was making a 25-point Agility monster look clumsy.
Mark, the D-Rank Ranger, was completely dumbfounded. His jaw hung open.
This was not an F-Rank Healer. This was not a "glass cannon." The kid's speed, his footwork, his calmness... it was all wrong. It was faster than some E-Rank Assassins he'd seen.
Mark's hand tightened on his bow. He suddenly felt a cold sweat on his back. The kid... he was a total anomaly. The examiner felt threatened, not by the wolf, but by the F-Rank Healer who was casually dancing with it.
BEEEEEP!
The 60-second timer went off. The wolf, enraged at its failure, gathered itself for another lunge.
"Test over!" Mark yelled. He pressed the console, and the wolf dissolved in a flash of blue light.
The arena was silent.
Zack stood in the center, not even breathing hard (thanks to 32.1 Stamina). He straightened his shirt and looked at the examiner with his polite, kind expression.
"Did I pass, sir?"
Mark just stared. His mind was racing. How? The kid's watch still said F-Rank. How could he have that much Spirit and that much Agility? It was impossible. He had to be hiding his rank. But... the watch couldn't be faked.
"You..." Mark swallowed, his voice tight. "You pass. Congratulations, I guess."
He walked over and authorized the promotion on his own terminal. Zack's watch buzzed.
[Hunter Rank Updated: E (Beginner)]
[Class: Healer]
"Congratulations, Hunter Cole," Mark said, his voice now stiff and formal. "Welcome to E-Rank."
"Thank you, sir," Zack said, bowing his head. "I'll... I'll keep working hard."
He turned and left the room, leaving the D-Rank examiner alone and deeply unsettled.
Zack all but ran home, a wide, genuine grin on his face. The moment he was in his house, he locked the door and went straight to the collection room. He placed his hand on the statue.
[Welcome, Host. Daily Entry Confirmed.]
[E-Rank Wave Mode Unlocked. Would you like to begin?]
"Yes."
The world dissolved.
[Spawning E-Rank Wave 1: Lesser Goblin x 10]
Ten green-skinned monsters, tougher and meaner-looking than the F-Rank Kobolds, appeared. Their stats were all around 20.
Zack's stats were all over 30.
The Goblins charged.
"My turn," Zack whispered.
His 31.1 Agility was a storm. He was a blur to them. But he didn't just dodge. He attacked. His 31.5 Strength turned his fists into hammers.
He didn't just fight. He was brutal.
He tested his new skill. As a goblin ran at him, he focused on its shadow.
[Shadow Spike]
A black, razor-sharp spike of dark energy shot from the floor, impaling the goblin's foot. The monster shrieked and fell. Zack finished it with a single, ruthless punch.
In less than a minute, all ten goblins were dead.
Zack stood over the last one. He didn't wait for it to dissolve. He activated his new main skill.
[Devour]
His hand crackled with a faint, black energy. He placed it on the goblin's body. The monster dissolved instantly, but not into light. It dissolved into a stream of dark energy that flowed into Zack's hand.
He felt a tiny, but direct, increase in his power.
[Devour Successful. Strength +0.02, Agility +0.01, Defense +0.02]
It was tiny. But it was guaranteed. The cubes were a bonus. This was the real prize.
He walked the field, devouring all ten monsters.
[Total Devour Bonus: Strength +0.2, Agility +0.2, Stamina +0.1, Spirit +0.1, Defense +0.2]
He then collected the new E-Rank 'Medium' cubes they had dropped.
[Total Cubes: Strength +1.0, Agility +1.0, Stamina +0.5, Spirit +0.5, Defense +1.0]
He spent the next hour in the dimension, a ruthless god reaping a harvest. He tore through waves of Goblins, Orcs, and Dire Wolves. He devoured everything.
When his time was up, he reappeared in the collection room, thrumming with new power. He felt fantastic.
"Barros," he said to the empty room. "Let's see you push me around now."
[ Reader's Note: Zack's Stats ]
Rank: E (Beginner) / (System Rank: E (Beginner))
Class: Healer / God-Eater (Mythical)
Strength: 33.0(+1.5 from start)
Agility: 32.6(+1.5 from start)
Stamina: 33.6(+1.5 from start)
Spirit: 31.9(+1.5 from start)
Defense: 32.7(+1.5 from start)
(Note: Stat gains are from his first E-Rank dimensional grind, combining [Devour] and 'Medium' stat cubes.)