Chapter 2: The World Transformed
Walking along the road home, Su Ke looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar shops and stalls on either side.
'Did I transmigrate? Or am I still asleep and dreaming?'
Su Ke pinched himself.
Ouch! That hurt.
'Looks like I'm not dreaming.'
The more Su Ke thought about it, the more uneasy he felt, and the faster his heart began to race. The sensation was like failing to finish holiday homework just as school was about to start, knowing the teacher was coming to check and that those who hadn't finished would be made to stand outside and be struck with a ruler.
Taking a deep breath, Su Ke suddenly broke into a run toward home.
He shortened what should have been a 30-minute walk to just 15 minutes.
By the time he arrived, he felt as though he was about to run out of breath.
When he got home, Su Ke's mother, Zhang Xu, was cooking dinner, while his father, Su Yuan, sat on the sofa watching television.
Looking at the two of them, Su Ke quietly let out a sigh of relief.
'Good. Mom and Dad haven't changed either.'
"I'm back!"
"Oh, Xiao Ke is back. How was school today?"
Su Yuan turned his head to look at him as he spoke.
"Same as usual. Nothing special."
Su Yuan frowned. "I really don't get it. Your old man isn't stupid, so how did your IQ end up so low? Who did you take after, anyway?"
Zhang Xu hurried out of the kitchen. "Su Yuan, what do you mean by that? Are you saying my IQ is low? So what if he isn't good at academics? As long as he awakens a good Supernatural Ability tomorrow, he can still become someone important!"
Su Yuan quickly explained, "Honey, that's not what I meant. It's just that the probability of awakening a Supernatural Ability is too low.
"Although everyone can awaken one, it's extremely difficult to awaken a good ability. A child's ability is mostly inherited from their parents. Our ability qualities are poor, so our son's awakening probably won't be much better."
"In today's world, don't be fooled by the calm on the surface," Su Yuan continued. "If you don't have an important role in society, when disaster strikes, people like us will be the first to die. He needs to excel in either martial prowess or academics so his future life can be better."
"You said it yourself—our abilities aren't good, and our education isn't high either," Zhang Xu replied. "We couldn't achieve it ourselves, so don't force the child. If it really comes to that, we can swallow our pride and ask the Lin and Wang families for protection. Given our son's relationship with them, they should help us."
"Sigh. That is one option," Su Yuan said, "but I don't want Xiao Ke to always be subordinate to others. I want him to be able to stand on his own."
"You have the nerve to say that?" Zhang Xu shot back. "Aren't we working under someone else's company right now?"
"That's different. Our son is brave. He dares to stand up to bad people," Su Yuan said stubbornly. "It's precisely these qualities that allow us, his parents, to gain some standing through our child."
"Pfft. You always have an excuse."
"Uh… Mom, Dad, you two keep talking. I'm going to my room first."
Su Ke quickly slipped away. Based on his experience over the past ten-plus years, the conversation would soon turn toward him, so leaving early was the best choice.
After returning to his room and locking the door, Su Ke sat at his desk, turned on the computer, and began searching for information about this world.
After half an hour of searching, he finally gained a basic understanding of it.
As for history, it was largely just as Lin Ning had described.
500 years ago, spatial rifts opened, spiritual energy revived, and humanity entered a new era.
The Spirit Energy Era.
This year was the 513th year of the Spirit Energy Era.
With the revival of spiritual energy, humans could absorb it to cultivate, awaken Supernatural Abilities, and continuously grow stronger.
Such people were known as Spirit Energy Users.
Back then, humanity relied on a group of powerful Spirit Energy Users to fight for territory against the Yao Beast.
Supernatural Abilities came in many forms, but they could generally be divided into 2 categories.
Combat class and Support class.
Supernatural Ability talent grades were divided into Mortal Grade, Good Grade, Excellent Grade, Outstanding Grade, Earth Grade, Heaven Grade, Legendary Rank, Supreme Grade, and Mythical Rank.
The realms of Spirit Energy Users were divided from 1st Tier to 10th Tier, with each tier containing 10 stages.
It was worth mentioning that the distinction between Combat and Support was not based on talent or the type of ability, but on how the ability was used.
For example, if one awakened a fire ability.
Some could scorch the heavens and boil the seas, some could burn away the world's impurities, or even ignite the sea of consciousness.
Likewise, with a water ability.
Some could instantly flood a city, while others could use it to heal wounds.
The former examples were Combat class, while the latter were Support class.
Even if a Mortal Grade Combat class fire ability user could not defeat a Mythical Rank Support class fire ability user, the former would still be Combat class, and the latter would still be Support class.
However, these 2 major categories were official classifications. In reality, there was another type circulating among the people.
The Livelihood class.
This category was related to talent.
While others scorched the heavens and boiled the seas, you could only stoke a boiler.
While others flooded massive cities, you could only act as a water dispenser.
While others used wood-type abilities to encompass all things and achieve absolute battlefield control, you used yours for farming.
Those whose talent was too poor to serve a combat function were classified as Livelihood class.
To put it bluntly, this was a world where there were no useless abilities, only useless talents.
Although spiritual energy brought evolution to humanity, the disasters it caused were equally immense.
For example.
Far overseas, there was a nation.
Because it was surrounded by the sea on all sides, it became dominated by marine-type Yao Beast.
Now, all modern civilization there had been completely destroyed. Every resident was captured by the Yao Beast and kept like livestock.
The food the Yao Beast fed them was mixed with large amounts of Spring Sun Grass, a spiritual plant with effects similar to an aphrodisiac. Those who consumed it were stimulated into their most primitive instincts.
As a result, the people there spent their days doing nothing but reproducing. Newborns were raised, and once they matured, they were devoured by the Yao Beast.
It was no different from humans raising livestock. Although the nation itself still existed in name, the people within it endured endless torment.
After reading this, Su Ke could not help but feel anticipation for tomorrow's Supernatural Ability awakening.
'What ability will I awaken?'
At that moment, a knock sounded on the door.
"Xiao Ke, come out for dinner!"
"Coming!"
Already hungry, Su Ke eagerly washed his hands and sat down at the table.
Looking at the braised pork, braised fish, braised spicy chicken, braised potatoes, and braised tofu in front of him, Su Ke fell silent.
"Mom, why is everything braised?"
"We're eating braised dishes today to wish you a blazing success in awakening your Supernatural Ability tomorrow."
"Dad's ability is a lighter. Could I also awaken a fire-type one?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? What lighter?" Su Yuan snapped. "Your old man has a fire-type Supernatural Ability!"
"Then how about it, Dad? Try maximizing the output of your ability."
Su Yuan paused. "…Eat."
Su Ke grabbed a steamed bun and ate with great enjoyment, taking a bite of food and then a bite of bun.
After finishing the meal, he returned to the computer to cram more missing historical knowledge. When it was about time, he went to bed.
As a result, he suffered from insomnia all night.
This caused him to wake up very late the next day.