Rain hit like needles.
It wasn't gentle, or refreshing, or poetic.
It was cold, punishing, and loud enough to drown his thoughts.
Kieran pulled his threadbare hoodie tighter around himself and pressed his back against the alley wall. The bricks were damp. Moldy. He could feel the chill through the fabric.
His stomach growled.
Again.
He ignored it. Hunger was familiar.
Two days without food wasn't the worst he'd endured.
What hurt more was the constant whisper in his head:
You should have been something.
You should have succeeded in the Awakening exam like everyone else.
But he didn't.
He failed.
Everyone else in his age group already awakened their systems:
Hunters Alchemists Battle mages Healers
Even the laziest student would get at least 10 stat points to start.
Kieran got nothing.
A reject.
A failure.
Not even worth society's resources.
The academy's exact words echoed mercilessly:
"No talent detected."
He clenched his fists until his knuckles ached.
A sudden metallic ting echoed in the air.
Like a bell.
Then—
Ding.
Kieran blinked.
Something shimmered in front of him — faint at first, like a smudge of blue light.
The rain should have washed it away, but it didn't.
The light sharpened.
A translucent screen materialized before him.
───────────────
SYSTEM INITIALIZING…
───────────────
He froze.
No way.
A System?
The letters reorganized.
───────────────
Infinite Evolution System
───────────────
His breath caught.
A real System.
He wasn't talentless.
He wasn't nothing.
He wasn't—
You have received (1) Stat Point.
A single line popped up, emotionless and brutally disappointing.
Allocation is irreversible.
Just one?
Kieran stared.
He'd seen enough awakenings to know the average was 10–20 stat points at start.
Some elites began with 50.
He had 1.
Not even enough to reach the bare minimum of a trainee hunter.
"Is this a joke?" he whispered.
No response.
Another screen appeared, listing his stats:
───────────────
STATUS
Name: Kieran Vale
Age: 17
Class: Unassigned
Level: 1
STR: 1
AGI: 1
VIT: 1
INT: 1
WIS: 1
LCK: 1
Unallocated Stat Points: 1
───────────────
He wiped rain off his face — or maybe they were tears, he couldn't tell.
One stat point.
He had waited his whole life for a miracle.
He got a crumb.
But then another line appeared—different from all the system interfaces he'd seen.
Warning: System Growth Scaling is active.
The more effort you invest, the stronger the evolution.
Effort?
He focused on the "Allocate" button beside Strength.
Before he could think, the rain thickened—harsh, freezing, relentless.
He remembered every insult. Every failure. Every student laughing while he swept training hall floors.
He pressed ALLOCATE.
───────────────
STR +1
───────────────
His muscles didn't suddenly bulge.
No surge of power.
But something… shifted.
Deep in his bones.
As if his body whispered:
Try.
Without thinking, he sprinted.
Feet splashing through puddles. Breath burning. Heart pounding.
He ran with everything he had.
By the time he collapsed, chest heaving, lungs screaming—
he saw something new.
───────────────
Proficiency gained: Running (F)
───────────────
Then:
Progress: 1%
The realization hit him harder than the cold ever could.
He didn't get an instant cheat.
He didn't get a powerful start.
He got something else.
Growth.
Real growth.
Sweat, pain, effort—
and his system responded.
Slow.
Stubborn.
Relentless.
And evolving.
Kieran looked up at the rain and laughed.
Not with joy.
With something sharper.
Determination.
"Fine," he whispered to the empty alley.
"If the world won't give me talent—"
His hands curled into fists.
"—I'll earn evolution."
The screen flickered again.
───────────────
Quest generated:Prove you deserve power.
Reward: Unknown.
───────────────
For the first time in years, he felt alive.
And hungry.
Not for food.
For progress.
For change.
For more.
"Continue"