Boss, I want to sell a cornea.
Oh right, I am selling a kidney too.
In the old shipyard port, deep inside the underground black market, Zayne Locke walked down a narrow passage with half his face hidden behind a mask. He climbed onto a grimy, makeshift operating table with practiced ease.
The ruthless organ dealer who specialized in trafficking human parts looked at him with a complicated expression.
Kid, are you sure about this?
In the past six months you have already sold one testicle, one kidney, one spleen, one gallbladder, one testicle, half a liver, a left hand, and an anus. If you sell another kidney, you will not last two days.
Even for someone who had spent years harvesting organs, this was the first time he had seen someone butcher themselves to this extent. It was insane.
I am sure. To save my sick mother, anything is worth it. Zayne's eyes filled with tears.
Good.
The dealer nodded. Not because he cared, but because a young and healthy kidney could fetch hundreds of thousands once matched, and he only needed to give Zayne ten thousand. As for the cornea, that was priceless to someone blind.
Soon, without any anesthesia or sterilization, Zayne's last kidney was removed along with his corneas.
Enduring the stabbing pain radiating through his lower back, he clutched the ten thousand dollars the dealer handed him and staggered out, disappearing into the darkness.
Though blind, Zayne had memorized every path in the black market long ago.
He turned left and right through the alleys until he was certain no one was following him. Only then did he let out a long breath.
A thought flickered through his mind. In an instant, all his missing organs regenerated. Even his clouded eyes regained clarity and brilliance.
With the money from selling the earlier organs and this last ten thousand, it should be enough for the class awakening fee.
He whispered to himself. The story about the dying mother was of course something he made up to fool the dealer.
He was a transmigrant who had arrived in this world with the classic protagonist setup. A complete orphan.
This world resembled Earth, but was countless times larger, filled with demons, monsters, and countless dungeons and secret realms where death lurked everywhere.
At first he had been terrified he would die young as a powerless orphan, until he discovered his immortality.
As long as he willed it, no matter how severe the injury, he would fully recover within minutes. Even missing organs or limbs would grow back.
But after discovering this, Zayne did not brag. He became even more low key, going nowhere except school.
Because humans in this world could undergo class awakening at an altar and become powerful combatants. Immortality meant nothing if he had no way to defend himself. It was like being a defenseless monk without the protection of a mighty warrior.
If anyone learned he was immortal, he would be captured and dissected. Everyone coveted immortality. His fate would be miserable.
Awakening into a class cost an absurd amount of money. Just the registration fee alone was one hundred thousand. Tomorrow the old shipyard port was holding its annual awakening ceremony.
If not for gathering this money, Zayne would never have risked selling his organs. For an orphan, this was the fastest method he had.
Thankfully he had collected the full amount. The black market recorded no identities, so he did not need to worry about exposure.
The next morning, Zayne arrived at school early for the awakening ceremony.
He needed to become a powerful awakened as soon as possible. Only then could he protect himself.
After paying the fee, he quietly moved to the end of the line.
To avoid revealing his immortality, he always acted silent and low profile. Combined with his poor background, he had no friends.
Zayne? Why are you here?
His homeroom teacher looked at him in surprise. In her mind, a poor student should not be able to afford this ceremony. Then she asked with an odd tone.
Did you take out an awakening loan?
Zayne nodded. Since she had already provided him an excuse, he did not bother explaining.
At once, many classmates looked at him with pity.
The awakening fee was so high that loan services had naturally sprung up. They were called awakening loans.
Taking one was a gamble. If you awakened a powerful class, great. If you awakened a useless one, the crushing interest would force you to work your entire life paying it back.
You... sigh. Do your best.
The teacher sighed. What was done was done. In her eyes, a poor orphan should just take the regular exams and live as an ordinary person. Even if he awakened successfully, the resources required afterward were nothing he could afford. She clearly did not expect much from Zayne.
As the ceremony began, everyone shifted their attention away from him.
To them, Zayne was just someone with unrealistic dreams trying to leap to the heavens.
The principal of the old shipyard port high school personally presided over the awakening.
Life class, grade A, poultry breeder.
On the altar, a student turned pale. When he saw the orange glow representing grade A, he had been thrilled, but it turned out to be a life class.
Classes ranged from F up to SSS. Combat classes were best, support classes second, life classes last.
Do not feel discouraged just because it is a life class. There are no useless classes, only useless people. Remember, once a poultry breeder raised the Inferno Boar King, terrifying countless combat classes. The principal spoke to reassure him.
Hearing this, the student's dim eyes rekindled with hope.
Thank you, principal.
The ceremony continued intensely. Gradually, the principal's brow furrowed.
This year's batch seemed weak. Over a hundred awakenings and the highest was that A grade. Combat classes were especially rare.
Next. His tone carried impatience. At this rate he would be held accountable.
The next second, a fiery red phoenix burst skyward from the awakening altar.
The scorching heat singed the hair of the students in the front row, filling the air with the smell of burnt protein.
This is... an SSS class.
The principal's breathing turned rapid. A grade glowed orange, S grade was red, SS was gold, and SSS manifested visions.
Whether combat, support, or life class, SSS represented a qualitative leap. Just like the legendary poultry breeder who raised the Inferno Boar King.
Old shipyard port high school was about to shake the entire alliance.