Chapter One: An Unusual Awakening

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Godless Continent, Southern Region.

City of Energy, Market District.

In front of the Hunting Task Office.

A sharp click broke the air as a slightly overweight middle-aged man lit the cigarette in his hand, inhaled deeply, then turned to the young man of about twenty standing beside him.

"Ye Chen, have you decided which task you want to take?" the middle-aged man asked.

Ye Chen, cloaked and silent, held a beast tooth pendant in his palm, pressing it to his forehead as if in silent prayer.

The next moment, he opened his eyes, determination hardening his face. He reached out, about to tear down the task slip with the highest bounty.

But someone was faster. The slip was torn down, folded, and stuffed into a pocket—the hand belonged to the very same middle-aged man.

"I told you to go hunting, not to throw your life away. Do you really think you’re an Awakened?" he scolded.

"Jin Yinghui, you don’t have to worry. My skills are no less than an average Awakened’s," Ye Chen replied with firm resolve. "Winter is coming soon. For the next three months, there’ll be nothing to harvest. Hand me back the mutant sand lizard task slip."

Jin Yinghui flicked away his half-smoked cigarette in frustration, sparks scattering on the ground. He shot a glare at Ye Chen, who refused to listen, then turned and marched into the task office.

Ye Chen was left pouting, forced to choose among the relatively less dangerous hunting tasks posted on the board.

...

A dry, cold northern wind swept up dust and sand in relentless waves. Withered grass and grit rolled along the ground.

On a small mound outside the city, Ye Chen lay in wait, perfectly still. In his hand, he gripped a broken blade, eyes fixed, awaiting his prey.

Below the mound, several sand tunnels as wide as bowls led into the burrows of giant sand rats.

This was a continent where Awakened and mutant beasts coexisted.

Each sand rat in the burrow was the size of a housecat, a crimson stone set into its brow.

Ye Chen had been crouched there since afternoon, breathing slow and even, his eyes narrowed to slits, a sharp glint flickering within.

He glanced at the sky—luck seemed not to be on his side today; soon, night would fall.

Once darkness came, many large nocturnal predators would begin to roam.

Suddenly, he raised his head, wary and puzzled. "Why are the sand rats in the burrow so restless?"

Lying flat, ear pressed to the ground, he sensed the sand rats’ sudden agitation as they scurried frantically inside, as if terrified.

Just as he pondered the cause, a flurry of sand rats erupted from several tunnel mouths, fleeing in all directions, utterly ignoring the hunter who’d lain in wait.

This was his chance!

In that instant, Ye Chen sprang into action.

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He moved like a panther concealed in twilight, leaping out in a burst of earth.

Still as a stone, swift as a hare.

The last sand rat in the pack hadn’t time to dodge before Ye Chen dropped from above, seizing it by the neck.

It squealed shrilly, thrashing and struggling, forelegs flailing, hind legs kicking.

Ye Chen gripped its head in his right hand and, with a practiced twist, snapped its neck. A crisp crack sounded, and its limbs went limp. It moved no more.

The crimson stone in its brow shattered into dust, dispersing into the air.

Ye Chen was unfazed—he’d come to accept that the shattering of the stone marked the creature’s true death.

He smiled in relief—at last, he had his minimum quota for the day.

But before his joy could bloom, his face changed abruptly.

A violent tremor shook the ground beneath his feet, sending a chill up his spine—something was terribly wrong!

As a seasoned hunter, he instantly understood why the sand rats had panicked and fled.

The hunter’s sense of impending crisis exploded in his mind—run!

At that moment, the mound behind him erupted with a deafening crash, a storm of sand and gravel swallowing Ye Chen whole.

He turned to see two eyes, massive as copper bells, reflecting his own terror.

A mutated giant sand lizard, as imposing as a heavy truck, burst from the earth, charging straight at him.

The "truck" was out of control.

In the blink of an eye, Ye Chen was struck and sent flying by the monstrous beast.

His body, like a severed kite, tore through the curtain of dust, leaving a man-shaped hole in the sand.

Crack!

It was over...

Still airborne, Ye Chen heard the simultaneous snapping of several ribs, the piercing of his lungs.

Shattered too was the beast tooth pendant at his chest—the only relic found with him when he was discovered as an infant orphan.

Ye Chen felt his life slipping away, just as he had ended the lives of so many beasts.

Despair clouded his vision as he gazed at the gray sky.

But the broken pendant turned to powder, merging into his body.

It felt as if a key had unlocked a door within him.

A mysterious voice echoed in his mind:

[Task:]

[Slay the mutant sand lizard]

With a heavy thud, Ye Chen crashed to the distant ground.

Who was that speaking?

A flash of doubt crossed his mind.

But in the next instant, doubt was swept away by a surge of joy.

Had he awakened? Was it finally his turn?

For he could now see a number—“6”—glowing in his mind.

Ye Chen knew exactly what that meant.

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The power of an Awakened is measured by points known as "Innate Value."

Anyone who can see a number in their mind is undoubtedly Awakened.

But what surprised him even more was the half-open door below the number, light spilling from within.

It seemed the mysterious voice had come from behind that door.

Just as he tried to push it open and glimpse the world beyond, the ground trembled again.

His eyes snapped open—the giant sand lizard, nearly five meters long, was charging toward him, its limbs churning, tail sweeping dust into the air.

Ye Chen sprang to his feet, astonished to find the pain in his chest was gone.

But more wondrous still, he felt a mysterious connection between himself and the broken blade in his hand.

He instantly realized his awakened ability was most likely tied to the broken blade.

As his mind linked with the blade, an invisible force extended forward from the break.

In a flash, a complete hunting knife appeared in his grip.

Yet the front half of the blade remained invisible to the naked eye... transparent!

But Ye Chen’s instincts told him the blade was whole.

And as the blade became complete, the number in his mind dropped from "6" to "4".

This was the cost of using his ability.

With a low growl, Ye Chen drew on years of experience battling beasts, knowing this was no time to retreat.

The giant sand lizard flicked out its tongue, a gust of wind surging toward him.

Ye Chen dodged to the side, lunging for the creature’s flank.

His target: the lizard’s eye.

If its belly was one weak spot, then the eye was another—one shared by most prey, especially after mutation and growth, which also made weaknesses more pronounced.

The sand lizard instinctively squeezed its eyes shut, lids armored with fine scales.

Ordinary blades could never pierce them, but before Ye Chen’s broken blade, they were as fragile as paper.

To be precise, it was that invisible edge that pierced the scales.

With a sickening pop, the blade plunged into the eyeball.

Ye Chen shoved the knife deeper, the unseen edge driving straight into the lizard’s brain.

He twisted the blade, churning the creature’s already unimpressive brain to pulp, venting the fury of his near-death escape.

The giant sand lizard collapsed, raising a cloud of gray dust.

The mysterious voice echoed in his mind again:

[Task complete. Reward: Inheritance of the God Hunter]

Ye Chen froze, for he clearly felt a piece of beast hide appear in his mind.

On the hide was inscribed: Breath Technique, Monster Beast Level.

He muttered in confusion, "Could it be that I’ve awakened my own personal task office as well?!"