Jack’s pulse thrummed with excitement as he yanked up his status panel immediately.
[Name: Jack] [Profession: Wasteland Hunter] [Level: Lv.1 (Max Lv.10)] [Strength: 11] [Agility: 18] [Endurance: 8] [Spirit: 4] [Skills: Predator, Keen Eye]
Sure, the stats were straight-up garbage by any normal metric. But compared to his old Scavenger panel? This was a total glow-up.
Jack didn’t let the hype go to his head, though. He popped open the Evolution Column right away to check the requirements for his next advancement.
[Evolution Path: E-rank Wasteland Hunter → D-rank Wreck Reaper] [Evolution Requirements: Task 1: Reach Level 5. Task 2: Hunt 10 Wasteland Beasts. Task 3: Acquire 1 D-rank beast carcass.]
“Alright then, time to head out into the wilds.”
Jack took a deep breath, no trace of fear in him. If he wanted to claw his way to the top of this hellscape, the Wasteland beyond the city walls was non-negotiable grind territory.
He stuffed all the scrap he’d salvaged into his bag and left the Abandoned Auto Yard. Yeah, he didn’t need to scrounge for trash anymore, but this junk would still fetch a decent chunk of coin. His folks worked themselves to the bone as it was—anything he could do to take a little weight off the family was worth the hassle.
He was halfway out the yard when he slammed straight into Nix, who was stumbling around dead drunk. Looked like the guy had just bailed from Vera’s party; he was so hammered he could barely stand straight.
“Well, well, if it isn’t Jack.”
Jack had zero interest in messing with him, but Nix deliberately stepped in his path and sneered.
“Everyone from class showed up to the party. Every single person. Wanna guess who bailed?”
Jack nodded. “Me. I was busy with something important.”
“Important? Like what, digging through trash piles?” Nix doubled over cackling like he
’
d just heard the funniest joke in the history of the world.
“I was busy screwing your mom.” Jack ’ s tone was flat, completely deadpan.
“You son of a bitch!”
The words hit Nix like a bucket of ice water, burning off every last drop of his buzz in an instant. He glared at Jack, murder in his eyes, and roared, “You’re nothing but a worthless Scavenger! Me? I awakened an E-rank profession—Peddler. What gives you the right to run your mouth at me?”
He fished a short blade out of his jacket, staring Jack down with a cold laugh. “You know how the Kingdom rules work, right? High-rank pros kill low-rank ones, all they gotta do is pay a little fine. And a sad little Scavenger like you? What’s your life worth, a couple of credits?”
He raised the blade and lunged straight for Jack’s chest, fully intent on gutting him right there.
Jack’s blood ran cold. It hit him just how brutal this world really was—some guy he’d sat next to in class for three years was ready to stick a knife in him just because he was a Scavenger.
But if his old classmate was gonna play dirty, Jack wasn’t gonna hold back.
He dodged the deadly thrust in a flash and slipped on his hunting claws. “My turn.”
The words barely left his mouth before he swung both claws in a vicious arc, raking deep gouges down Nix’s back.
“AAAAAH!”
Nix screeched so loud it hurt Jack’s ears, collapsing to the ground and writhing in agony. His back was ripped wide open, flesh split open, blood pouring out all over the dirt.
Jack didn’t stop. He was ready to finish this for good. His claws were inches from tearing through Nix’s throat when an invisible force slammed down on him, freezing him solid mid-move.
“Jack. Stand down.”
A young man in a tailored suit stepped out of the shadows, a smoldering pipe clamped between his lips.
“X?” Jack looked up, genuinely shocked.
X was another one of their classmates. His theoretical grades had always been right behind Jack’s, second only to him. But unlike the garbage Scavenger profession Jack had gotten at first, X had awakened a D-rank profession—Conjurer. This wasn’t cheap party tricks, either; this was real, combat-ready magic.
“Nix works for me now. Let him go.” X lowered his pipe and fixed Jack with a stare that left zero room for argument.
X was a D-rank pro now, and as far as he was concerned, Jack was still just a useless Scavenger. If he killed Jack right here and now, the
Frostveil City guards wouldn’t even bother writing a report about it.
Jack held his gaze for a beat, weighing his odds, then pulled his claws back. He wasn’t strong enough to take X yet. No point in picking a fight he couldn’t win.
“Smart move.” Seeing the once untouchable top student submit to him like this, X clapped his hands in satisfaction. He didn’t even glance at the bleeding mess on the ground before turning to leave.
Then, like he’d just thought of something, he paused and glanced over his shoulder with a smirk.
“Let’s forget about you skipping the party. Tomorrow our class is putting together a group expedition into the Wasteland. If you’re interested, meet us at the city gate at dawn. Consider it an apology for not inviting you earlier.”
Jack felt sick to his stomach just listening to it. X wasn’t trying to make amends—this was straight-up humiliation, plain and simple. If Jack was still a Scavenger, he’d never be allowed to set foot in the Wasteland on his own. X was just showing off how much power he had now, dangling the offer like a treat for a stray dog.
What X didn’t know was that Jack wasn’t a Scavenger anymore. He was a Wasteland Hunter.
Jack watched X disappear into the night, then slung his sheepskin satchel over his shoulder and walked the other way. He’d planned to head straight home, but with the Wasteland expedition tomorrow, he decided to hit up an adventuring supply shop first and offload his scrap while he was at it.
He made his way to Valor Outpost, the biggest chain adventuring store in
Frostveil City. The second he stepped inside, a shop attendant took one look at him covered in dust and grime, and his face twisted with obvious disgust. He pegged Jack as a Scavenger instantly, and wanted nothing to do with him.
Scavengers were always dead broke and a total pain to deal with. They’d drag you around the store asking about every single item, waste an hour of your time, and then maybe—maybe—buy the cheapest thing on the shelf. The commission was never worth the headache.
The attendant made a split-second call, acted like Jack didn’t even exist, and immediately turned to help another customer. Jack didn’t get mad, just stood there quietly waiting.
A few minutes later, all the other attendants finished with their customers. Every single one of them silently, collectively decided to ignore Jack too. They’d rather wander around the store doing absolutely nothing than deal with a customer like him.
It was a good while before a young female attendant hesitantly walked over. Her voice was soft, almost timid. “Hello, sir. Is there anything I can help you with?”
Jack looked at her, genuinely surprised. He’d fully prepared to wait all day for someone to come over. “I’m looking to sell this scrap, and pick up some supplies for a Wasteland expedition.”
The second the words left his mouth, all the other attendants shot him looks of pure scorn. Not only was this guy bottom-rung trash, he was a liar too? A lowly Scavenger heading into the Wasteland? Shopping for expedition gear? Yeah, right.
“Are… are you serious?” The girl stared at Jack, clearly struggling to believe him.
“100%.” Jack gave a small nod, then added, perfectly calm: “Also, I’m not a Scavenger. I’m a Wasteland Hunter.”