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  [The Tod {Wielder Of The God Sying Spear} says that you’re perfect to bee his Avatar!]

  [He offers you great amounts of items, equipment, skills, and much more that will make it easy for you to climb the tower until you reach his world, where you join and bee his sed wife.]

  [He is fident you would make a wonderful heir with the strength you possess.]

  “You’re one of the first ones I’m killing.”

  [The Toddess, {Queen of the Frozen Sea}, is disgusted by the remarks of the {Wielder of the God Sying Spear} and offers you to bee her sister in her own world, g the Ice Titans.]

  “Oh, the Titans? Is that so? Well, it’s the same respoher way. No.”

  [The Tod {Shat Circles The World} wonders if you could bee his Avatar instead. He offer you ahat will hatch a mighty pet that carry you through all the floors of the tower until you reach his world!]

  [He holy just wants a friend…]

  “You’re lying; you’re just greedy. Nothing escapes my eyes.”

  [The Tods are slowly growing angrier about your remarks! Many of them have developed a terrible impression of you.]

  [None of them wants to give you a gift or a sponsorship anymore!]

  [Some of them have begun to plot your demise.]

  “Already? Well, I guess you’re not so different from the old men of Murim then.” I ughed. “I’ll wele every single challenge you throw at me with open hands. But be aware; the more you ahe more painful your death will bee.”

  [Some of the Tods who are more aware of what you truly are capable of have begun c in fear! They have quickly decided to leave.]

  [A few others are still looking at you.]

  “Enough with you, creeps.” I quickly waved my hand as I sat down in front of Nichos, releasing a veil of Photon Essenbined with my Primordial Nine Heaven Fragment’s power within my Inner Realm.

  [You have jured a strange, powerful veil that is fueled by fn energy!]

  [The System Broadcast Fun has been pletely disabled.]

  [It be disabled ohe veil is taken away.]

  [Because of the incredible feat of stopping the steltions from watg over you, you received the [Mirage Veil (A): Lv1] Cssless Skill!]

  [The Skill [Mana Manipution (C): Lv3] has Leveled Up.]

  Another Skill, huh?

  “Much better; it was getting very annoying.”

  “Were you talking to the Gods of the Tower, Lady Bing Xue?” Wondered Nichos. “With the level of power you possess, I am sure you must be the Avatar of one, right? How far have you advanced iower?”

  “Advanced iower? I have not done any of such things.” I said, sighing. “For your information, I am still only at Level 37. This system thing was something I acquired an ho.”

  “Wait, what?!” Nichos gasped. Mortals these days. “Y-You don’t have a Sponsor, yet you possess a power that surpass S Rank Hunters?”

  “What is an S Rank Hunter anyway? A feeble bel to simply measure your Realm of growth? Because it is very inaccurate.” I said. “To begin with, if there are Levels for everyone, how e there are fixed Ranks for people? Wouldn’t everyoually get to S Rank? Then what makes it such a unique of a Rank? At that point, you will be forced to make higher tiers, making everything increasingly voluted.”

  “T-That’s…” Nichos was left speechless for a moment. “You’re n. This system is very old and rather outdated. But there are some foundations for it. You see, these Ranks were born at the beginning of the Apocalypse, wheowers appeared, and the “First Wave” came. A series of Dungeon Breaks appeared all over the world stantly. Humanity stantly fought to survive for almost a year before the number of Dungeons Gate appearances finally decreased signifitly. By then, half of the world’s popution was gone, and many tries were also destroyed.”

  “Half… of the world’s popution?!” I almost screamed in utter anger. “So those Gods… They’ve been killing my kind as if they were nothing but cattle?! I see why, though, by killing humans, they get to harvest Life Ford Mana, isn’t it? And also mao filter out the weaklings and leave those that were able to assimite Mana into their bodies, mostly. Giving them even more ces to harvest even more Mana and Life Force. Monsters…”

  “I-I don’t know what the Gods of the Tower intend, but... Indeed, it has been discussed and theorized by many of over’s figures that we are nothing but cattle to the Tods.” Sighed Nichos. “However, such things are never revealed to the popution. A-Anyways, moving on to the Rank System. Even though everyone level up, not many . There are people innately awakened with stronger skills, higher stats, and more talent than others. Then there are Avatars, which throw the bance off the charts even more with their bonus stats, items, and skills from their Godly Sponsors. Because of this unbance, we had to create Ranks to qualify talent and strength. Of course, even F Rank Hunters, with enough effort, could theoretically rise to S Rank, but it is usually impossible due to their already very low initial power, whicreases the ces for them to die fighting monsters.”

  “Hm, I see. I guess I do uand more.” I nodded. “So it is also based on what yiven from the beginning… How many of these weaker people have risen to S Rank?”

  “No more than a hundred across the world, but that’s still a lot, I suppose,” Nichos said. “All of them are hardw and admirable people... I was formerly A rank; I Awakened very strong Skills from the get-go and was also chosen as the Avatar of a God. Although it might be shameless, I had no choice. In those times, I rength to protect my wife and my daughters. But even with that strength, I couldn't... I couldn’t save my wife.”

  “But you saved your daughters.” I smiled. “You’re a good and admirable father, Nichos. I am sure your wife is proud of what you’ve done and aplished. Make sure to raise those girls well.”

  “T-Thank you… It really means a lot ing from someone like you, Bing Xue.” Nichos felt slightly touched. “Anyways, your strength... It is pletely unpreted. It seems you’re one of perhaps the only three unique cases iire world. People who had no powers suddenly awakeo overwhelming strength, surpassieran S Ranks without even Leveli. We call them World Css Hunters. There are only three iire world; you would be the first one iates, ma’am, and the fourth iire world.”

  “Huh, iing.” I nodded. “World Css Hunter, eh? It doesn’t sound too bad; it's much better than just a letter. Seriously, Murim has a much better naming sehah.”

  “Murim?” Nichos asked. “What are you talking about, Lady Bing Xue?”

  “Fet what I said. Who are these three World Css Hunters?” I wondered.

  “The first one ever es from Africa; his name is Jamiel, often known as the Champion Of Wild Beasts. He awakened a power that allowed him to tame a and monster weaker than him, immediately f a gigantic army of beasts that he used to singlehandedly protect Africa, one of the most vulnerable tis in the world, and unify various smaller tries that were devastated.” He said.

  “I see, an admirable man with the aura of a queror, I see.” I nodded.

  “The sed is Yanisse, from Russia. She’s known as the White Void. Her powers are the ability to trol spad the element of the void to instantly devastate any foe, quite literally deleting them out of existence.” Sighed Nichos. “She’s a cold and mysterious woman; most are afraid of her, but she’s also very beautiful and quite popur in her try as a model.”

  “Oh, the Element of Void? Amazing.” I felt slightly fasated. “Perhaps I should meet this girl one day. I could earn a few things about this elusive element!”

  “And the third is from South America; his name is Pablo, the most ret World-Css Hunter before your appearance.” Said Nichos. “He’s known as the God of the Bck Sun; he is not only capable of summoning a domain that enpasses everything in endless darkness, but he is also the avatar of several Aztetheon Tods that govern their underworld. He is a Neancer as well, trolling endless armies of Undead. He has protected South America since his awakening, and he’s known as their hero. He was born in Peru but retly moved to Chile.”

  “Quite an iing trio of fellows. I suppose I could meet them all eventually and gauge how truly powerful they are.” I smiled, feeling slightly ied. “Jamiel, Yanisse, Pablo... I will remember those names. Now, I register?”

  “Yes, of course. First of all, I would like to, even if it might seem ridiculous, gauge your total stats and skills to some extent; this is a procedure necessary fistration. I know you are incredibly strong, but even then..." He muttered, feeling slightly afraid of my response.

  “Don’t be afraid, Nichos. I won’t feel angered by such things. Is that the orb I must touch?” I touched it. “Is that it?”

  FLASH!

  A fsh ht light surged from the crystal orb Nichos offered to me, suddenly showing some numbers—my current System Stats. And also some of my Skills. The Privilege Skill arently hidden; it didn’t show Titles either.

  “S-So these are your stats. Wait, aren’t they too low for how strong you are, Bing Xue?” He asked. “How does this make any sense…”

  “I didn’t let the System assimite my body or soul, so these are the surface stats I am accumuting from a bnk ste. I think of the system as a little piece of equipment that grows along with me.” I smiled. “And well, it allows me to gather Mana more effectively too.”

  “S-So you were strong before even… The System Assimition?” He muttered, his hands trembling in horror.

  “Yes.” I smiled with hoy. “Is that it, Nichos? So what Rank do I qualify for?”

  “I only possess the authority to give you A Rank. I will o tact the HQ and ask them for a meeting ter, where your true power will be tested, so we see if we either give you the S Rank or the World Rank.” He said. “I’m very sorry for this; I know you’re at least S Rank, without a doubt. But I ’t give you the Ra…”

  “It’s fine; give me any rank; I don’t really care.” I shrugged. “Are we done?”

  “Not yet! Please wait a moment." He started printing some papers, and then he asked me to sign my registration. I read everything, and it was just frivolous things I wouldn’t follow anyway. I won’t be bound by stupid tracts. I am only registering because my family desperately wanted me to do so.

  “And done,” I said. “When is this meeting with the HQ you’re talking about?” I asked him.

  “Tomorrow, everything has already bee up. They will e running ohey’re doh their own jobs.” He sighed. “About twenty Hunter Association Chairmen, the president of all the Hunter Associations, and probably the Prime Minister of the Uates will all be ing. You might not know, but videos about what you’ve done are already cirg all over the i; they o address this quickly or there’ll be an uproar over your existence.”

  “Huh, I suppose this is fihat's a nid quick respo reminds me of my times in the Heavenly Court when I had to trol every new little mohat wao join us, fufu.” I ughed. “Well, I will amuse your little game for now. But I won’t be wasting my time with all of you more than that, alright? After that is done, I hope I am no longer bothered. Those who attempt to do so will receive great punishment and, perhaps, a merciless death too. I am merciful and have great patience; I would not have lived eleven thousand years without them, but such virtues have limits. Is that okay with you, Nichos?”

  “Y-Yes…” Nichos nodded. “It is perfectly good. I uand. We will not bother you anymore oomorrow's gathering is done…”

  “Perfect. I also expee pensation for taking away my time, yes?” I asked with a gentle smile. “It is the least you could do to pay respects to me, as yreat immortal venerable.”

  “Immortal… Venerable? Ah, yes, of course, ma’am.” He nodded obediently. “And I apologize once again for what I did to you before... anicked; you kicked that man, so we thought."

  “He was very rude, so I had the right to be rude to him as well,” I said. “But when someoreats me with kindness and respect, I will do the same to them. I hope we get a better uanding from now on.”

  “We will.” He nodded with a gentle smile. “Thank you for being so uanding about this entire ordeal. I wish you a good day. And this is your Hunter Association Lise. You’re now an A Rank hunter, Lady Bing Xue. Tomorrow, you might even bee America’s first World Css Hunter.” The man handed me a very me-looking silver card with my name and rank.

  “So that was it? This card? Holy, maybe I shouldn’t even have bothered with this!” I ughed. “Oh well, fine, fine. I will py along. Goodbye, and see you tomorrow, Niake sure to behave, son, and tell yirls I say hello! Here, give them these things. I am sure they will like them.”

  I handed him a box of cookies and chocotes I had crafted using ingredients inside my Inner Realm, a small show of generosity that Immortals often gifted to one ao keep formalities and respect with one another.

  “Oohh! Yes, of course.” He nodded obediently as I walked away. “A-And thank you for the sweets. I am sure the two will like them.”

  “Goodbye.”

  I walked away and moved downstairs, where my mother and my little sister greeted me. Well, now that was quite a long versation we had there. But this gives me a better uanding of how the world has ged.

  “Katherine, you’re finally back! Did yister?” My mother asked, looking very exhausted and slightly stressed. I have made her feel this way; I should apologize.

  “I’m sorry for w you so much, mother. I have brought shame to our family for making such a huge fuss about these feeble little mortals and their annerisms. Perhaps I should have simply ighe barking dog.” I apologized.

  “Barking… dog?” My mother was fused. “A-And well, you’re not too well yourself; you were away too long. I am sure you must be very tired and stressed. Let’s go bae now, honey. You o rest.”

  “There’s o apologize, big sis; you kicked ass!” Ruby said. “You’re so cool! It's been a while since I’ve seen such a strong awakening. Most of the time, they’re just me-looking dudes that think they’re gods and are so cocky and annoying.”

  “Hahaha! Murim was also full ant men like that.” I ughed. “Do you know what I did with those arrogant men who thought that because I was a woman, I had to kneel before them and obey them? I crushed every single one of them. And I will do the same here if any of them, men or women, dare to stand before my new, peaceful life with my family.”

  “A-Ah, ahahaha…” My sister didn’t take that too kindly; it seems she got a bit scared.

  “Anyways! Let us go eat something, yes?” I smiled back at her, giving her a head pat and a kiss on the forehead. “Big Sis wants to spoil her little sister. How about we have a delicious feast inside my Inner Realm? I will show you all kinds of things there! You will be really amazed.”

  “S-Sure?” My sister said, “What’s an Inner Realm though?”

  “I am so fused right now." My mother wasn’t in the right pce either.

  I suddenly noticed that the man named Juan was not around.

  “Is Juan gone?” I wondered.

  “Ah yeah, he has a night shift in his job, so he left already.” Said Ruby. “He works as a porter and gatherer in low-level dungeons ihe tower’s first floor. It’s the only thing F Rank Hunters do without risking their lives.”

  “Is that so? I should visit that tower soon; I am quite ied in how everything works there.” I said.

  “Ah, Katherine, so what’s your Rank?” My mother wondered.

  “A Rank for now, sadly. Tomorrow maybe World Css.” I said.

  “What?!” Both had the same sho their reas.

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  Pach