"Congratulations. Today, my son has become an Awakened. Congratulations on my son obtaining a Rank B class."
Negut slowly opened his eyes and realized he was sitting in a dark corner of a grand, luxurious banquet hall.
Everywhere he looked, people were dressed neatly and elegantly. On the stage, a middle-aged man in a black suit stood next to a young man in a white suit who resembled him somewhat.
They had their arms around each other's shoulders, smiling happily under the gazes and congratulations of the guests below.
Negut recognized them. They were his father and his younger half-brother.
But more importantly, he realized he was sitting in a wheelchair. His left eye and right leg were gone, his breathing was extremely labored, and every breath made his back flare with pain, forcing him to frown.
He let out a sigh and raised his hand to the back of his neck, where a small metal piece had been implanted.
It was the chip implanted by the World Government into the bodies of Awakened, containing the System that the Government had researched and developed.
In this world, the ranks of Awakened were arranged from lowest to highest as F, D, C, B, A, S.
Ironically, he was the weakest of them all, Rank F, specifically F-99.
That meant that within Rank F there were 99 classes, talents, or skills, and his class was ranked 99th.
'It seems that without the perks of being a Reincarnator, I really am nothing more than a tiny ant. Fortunately, I still have 2 Divine Favors from God. Maybe my life will not be too miserable.'
Negut gave himself a reassuring smile and silently said in his heart, 'System, open my personal status window.'
Right then, an information panel appeared and floated in front of him, just like in a sci-fi movie.
[Name: Sterling Vann Negut]
[Age: 21]
[Class: Slime Summoner | Rank: F-99]
[Level: 00 (0 / 1,000 Points)]
[Divine Favors: x2]
[Attribute Points: Physique (4) | Spirit (7)]
[Skill 1 - Summon Slime: You can summon up to 10 Slimes. Each Slime requires 1 Energy Point to summon. You can sacrifice a summoned Slime in order to summon another Slime.
Limit: 0/10 Slimes | Cooldown: 1 hour.]
[Skill 2 - Slime Summoner: After a Slime you summoned dies or is sacrificed, you will recover a small amount of HP and Energy.]
Looking at the status window in front of him, Negut suddenly thought of the cute Slime monsters he had seen in manga and games, and his mood eased a little.
He also noticed the line [Divine Favors: x2], and felt a faint sense of anticipation.
"System, use all 2 Divine Favors."
[Ding! Successfully used 2 Divine Favors, you have received 2 hidden effects.]
[Breaking the Limit: You can break the limit of every skill or talent you possess.
Note: Hidden Favor, it will not be detected by the Government's System.]
[Omni-Upgrade: You can upgrade every skill, talent, piece of equipment, or even any monster you summon by using Energy Points.
Note: Hidden Favor, it will not be detected by the Government's System.]
The two Favors that appeared before him startled him, his eyes widening in disbelief.
He had thought they would be two skills or items that would simply make things a bit easier for him, but this…
'It feels like God buffed me a little too hard,' Negut complained inwardly.
While he was still deep in thought, a woman suddenly appeared beside him, catching him a bit off guard.
"Mother!" Negut said politely, bowing his head slightly.
That was right. The middle-aged woman with brown hair, wearing a black evening gown and heavy makeup, standing in front of him was his stepmother, and also Erik's mother, Karen.
"Hahaha… today is Erik's big day. Aren't you going up on stage to congratulate him?"
Hearing Karen speak, Negut frowned, because he knew this woman did not have any good intentions. She only wanted to drag him out in front of everyone so they could see how useless he was, thereby making Erik shine even brighter.
To be precise, she wanted to humiliate him in public.
Negut sighed and said, "Mother, it is inconvenient for me to move, I cannot…"
"Don't worry!" Karen suddenly waved her hand, a mocking, contemptuous smile on her face. "You and Erik are both my sons, I will definitely not forget you."
At that moment, a middle-aged butler walked up behind Negut's wheelchair and began pushing him toward the stage.
Negut sighed inwardly, but right now he truly had no way to resist. He could only let Karen humiliate him as she pleased.
Billy, the father of Negut and Erik, saw Negut and a trace of guilt flashed across his face, but when he saw Erik standing beside him, that guilt instantly vanished.
When everyone saw the butler pushing Negut's wheelchair up onto the stage, they were puzzled. Their eyes were filled with probing looks, contempt, and extreme ridicule.
"Is that the Sterling family's eldest young master?"
"That's right. I heard he lost a leg and an eye and suffered reduced lung function because of a traffic accident."
"How pitiful."
"Pitiful? He's just a useless cripple. The fact that the Sterling family is still taking care of him is already his greatest honor. If I were the head of the Sterling family, I would've thrown him into the slums long ago."
"Hahaha… seeing him standing next to Erik is like seeing a dung beetle standing next to a swan."
"What an eyesore. I heard he used to be an arrogant bastard. Now he's lame and missing an eye. Serves him right."
"Have you heard? Negut has awakened too, but he only got a Class rank F-99."
"Damn it! F-99, how low can you even get?"
"Seems like that's the lowest, most useless one. If I were him, I would've killed myself already."
Hearing the countless malicious comments directed at him, Negut felt his heart grow cold, but he quickly adapted.
In his previous life, when he lived on Earth, he had been an orphan and had already endured enough insults like this, so by now he was used to it.
Even so, he was still human, and his heart was not made of stone, so he still felt embarrassed, humiliated, and uncomfortable.
At that moment, Karen walked up onto the stage, took the microphone, and said loudly with a smile, "Everyone, although Negut is not my biological son, in my heart, he is also my son."
"Today is Erik's big day. He has awakened with a Rank B class and is the pride of the Sterling family, but I have not forgotten that I still have this poor child as well."
As she spoke, she forcibly squeezed out a tear. Her expression looked as if she were trying hard to hold back her emotions, making everyone feel she was such a great mother.
Karen continued, "Today is not only a celebration for Erik, but also for Negut. Ah, I almost forgot. Negut, what talent or class did you awaken? Could you tell everyone?"
She held the microphone up to Negut's mouth and, standing at an angle where the people below could not see, she was wearing a cruel smile.
Negut knew very well that this woman wanted him to personally speak his own shame out loud, to turn him into a clown for everyone to laugh at.
He took a deep breath and said softly, "Rank F-99, Slime Summoner."
"Ah!" Karen feigned surprise, her face showing a hint of embarrassment as she glanced at Billy.
Billy nodded, signaling that she did not need to worry, but the hall below had already become noisy, and countless malicious comments once again rang out.
"Damn it! F-99, how desperate must the Sterling family be to produce such a useless piece of trash?"
"Ah! Disabled and useless. If Billy didn't have Erik, I'm afraid he would have been so hopeless he'd kill himself."
"That bastard may be useless, but he's still lucky. His stepmother is so good to him that at the very least he doesn't have to worry about his future."
"Huh! He's just a bloodsucking parasite. I think Billy should have thrown that bastard out a long time ago. Keeping him around only brings shame to the Sterling family."
Right then, Erik suddenly snatched the microphone and shouted, "Everyone, I hope you can show some respect to my brother. Even though he only awakened a Class rank F-99, he is still an Awakened, still my older brother, and still a member of the Sterling family. I will not allow anyone to insult him."
Hearing Erik's words, Billy's gaze toward him grew even softer and more satisfied. When he looked at Negut, all he could do was let out a sigh filled with disappointment.
The people below also felt that Erik was extremely magnanimous. His character and status rose even higher in their hearts.
Negut sighed. He felt that this false, hypocritical atmosphere was suffocating. He wanted to push his wheelchair away, but Karen had already locked the wheels, so he could only sit there, becoming the center of all the malicious gossip.
Karen curled her lips into a smile and said softly, "Since Erik and Negut are both here today, we should also settle their engagement with the Burton family."
Hearing that, Negut drew in a deep breath. His heart turned cold, as if the next act was the real "gift" Karen had prepared for him.