Trevor shook his head. The rules were actually really simple.
The criteria to qualify for the test were:
1. You must have awakened an essence.
2. You must not have any criminal record whatsoever.
3. You or any member of your family must not have any connection with the government.
Trevor looked over the qualifications carefully. He believed he was on the right track—apart from the last part. His mother was obviously in hiding, and if she were ever found, that would be a death sentence.
The government was extremely strict about dungeons; it was a miracle if anyone received any sentence apart from death, no matter how minor the offense.
Trevor calmly flipped to the section on the tests. It was a simple two-level test. The first was kept secret, while the second involved an individual mission inside a weak dungeon.
"Well, fair enough," Trevor muttered as he turned to the last page of the book.
There were a few handwritten notes. He began reading through them quickly:
Note: All potential candidates should have at least a basic knowledge of dungeon magic and ancient magic. If ready, make the enchantment on the book and proceed into the portal that appears.
Trevor finished reading the book and finally dropped it beside him, resting his face on his pillow. If only I had focused better in class, he thought with a sigh. Then I wouldn't have to read a huge book on dungeons and ancient magic tomorrow.
Opening his system interface once more, Trevor decided to check things out before heading to bed.
He navigated to his deck of cards and noticed that he had unlocked one more. Ever since he obtained his second card, the deck feature had been activated—meaning any card he used would now be saved there. Each card had three uses per day, and at his current level, he could only use one at a time.
The more cards he unlocked, the more he could use at once—and the more uses he'd have.
Looking through his collection, he currently had four cards:
Eyes of Hades: Allows you to see sensitive spots on women, showing how aroused they would be when touched. Also reveals their deepest cravings.
Whispering Shadows: Allows you to read and manipulate people's thoughts.
Lust Raider: Displays detailed stats about a person's sexual life and level of arousal. The more aroused they are, the stronger the bond formed.
Magic Lips: Increases your chances of winning a woman's heart by up to 50%.
Trevor studied his cards carefully. He was sure Magic Lips had just been unlocked today. He began wondering which card he would use on Miss Silvia tomorrow.
Next, he scrolled to the Mission section of the screen. He had about three days left to complete it.
Trevor sighed as he closed his eyes. He had never spoken to Miss Silvia before, and now he had only three days to pull this off. Still, he had his cards—surely, that would be enough.
He smiled faintly at the thought as sleep finally swept him away.
---
The next morning, Trevor woke up and went through his normal routine. He bought his mom her lunch, prepared breakfast, and soon after, he was on his way to school.
When he arrived a few minutes later, he immediately noticed the tension in the air. Everyone was talking—or more accurately, gossiping—as he passed.
Was I late? he thought, checking the time. He was actually ten minutes early. So what was going on?
He began imagining different scenarios as he made his way through the hallway. His clothes weren't tattered anymore; he was dressed neatly, wearing new ones less than a week old.
Instinctively, Trevor pulled out his phone and checked the class group chat. He needed to know what the commotion was about.
At first, it was filled with random, meaningless messages. But after scrolling down, he found the real bombshell.
"Have you guys seen Levi today? He looks like something a bear attacked!"
"Wow, that's bad. Maybe he was attacked by an S-rank dungeon creature. He's lucky he made it out alive."
"Yeah, that's right. Poor guy. He should have just run back home. Isn't his essence speed-based?"
"Knowing Levi, he wouldn't run. He'd rather fight. Such bravery."
There was a bit of back and forth, but the topic seemed to be dying down—until the same person dropped the real shocker:
"Well, he ambushed Trevor with some boys… and got a good beating instead."
The chat went silent for a full minute, as if everyone was trying to process the message. Then it exploded.
"You're lying."
"No way. Why should we believe one random person? We haven't even heard from Trevor."
"He's just seeking attention. Best to ignore him."
"Yeah, I agree with you, bro."
Trevor stared at his phone as he walked to his seat. He murmured a quiet greeting to Caroline and sat down, his eyes still fixed on the chat.
Caroline glanced at him for a moment, noticing how focused he was. She leaned slightly closer, catching glimpses of the heated argument on his phone.
"Well, that aside," someone in the chat wrote, "who's coming for the Hunter recruitment?"
Then another message popped up.
"Wait, I just saw Levi now—and he might have a point. Dungeon creatures scratch and bite, right?"
Silence filled the chat again. Meanwhile, Levi had been watching the conversation unfold from his own phone. He was pleased at first—but as he read on, his expression hardened.
"Yeah, I was just about to say that," another person added.
"True, but Trevor doing this? Still questionable. Sure, he nearly beat Levi once, but that doesn't mean he'd always win."
Then another message appeared:
"Wait, I was also part of the ambush."
It came from the same person who had started the whole discussion.
Just as everyone began typing again, Levi couldn't take it anymore—and started typing too.