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Chapter 1: Sewer Talent
"Class Three of Qinglong Academy, Link, Awakening Talent — Clone, Level... Black Iron!!"
Hahahahaha~!
Accompanied by a burst of laughter, one second Link was happily playing with his girlfriend in their rented apartment, and the next second, he inexplicably appeared in a crowded square, retracting his right hand with a confused look on his face.
What the hell is going on?
Shouldn't my right hand be touching my girlfriend's washbasin? How did it turn into this Awakening Ball?
Wait — how do I even know it's called the Awakening Ball?
With a strange expression, he looked at the unknown crystal ball quietly resting inside a box atop the stone platform before him.
Before Link could process the sudden change in scenery, amid the roaring laughter, a voice full of disgust sounded clearly next to him.
"I didn't expect you would awaken one of the most useless talents — a Black Iron-level clone. As expected, a poor kid from the mountains couldn't possibly awaken anything powerful. I shouldn't have wasted my time on you!"
"Lin Qingyu?"
He turned his head toward the voice.
Standing there was a girl in black fishnet stockings and a tight JK-style skirt, who had walked up to him at some point.
Link was momentarily stunned, instinctively blurting out her name.
"Don't call my name!"
The girl snapped furiously.
"You think you have the right to call my name? Black Iron-level clone? What use is that? Even if you had awakened a Black Iron-level hardening ability, it could at least help me in the dungeon. But a clone? Haha, what use is one more piece of trash?"
With that, Lin Qingyu stormed past him to the Awakening Ball, raised her hand, and gave it a vicious slap.
The next moment, a dazzling golden light erupted!
"Lin Qingyu, Student Number 0667, Awakening Ability — Source of Magic, Level... Gold!"
Wow~!
The reaction was completely different this time — instead of laughter, the crowd erupted in astonished uproar.
Countless eyes turned to focus on Lin Qingyu.
Immediately, eager voices came from below the Awakening Stage:
"Senior, would you like to join our Lions Club? Our Minister is an 18th-level powerhouse! Join, and you'll get a full set of Level 1 Bronze Equipment!"
"A set of Bronze? So cheap! Schoolgirl, join our Xingluo Society! We'll give you a Level 1 Silver Staff directly! Besides, Xingluo is the only society at Donghua University capable of hosting a hundred-member team!"
"We'll give you a Level 1 Silver Necklace!"
"Out of the way, you trash! Schoolgirl, consider the Iron-Blooded Society! Our president, Zong Heng, is first on the Donghua Tianjiao List! He earned his founding regiment qualification as early as the third year! Join us, and you'll instantly become a core member!"
Amid the fierce competition, Lin Qingyu, who had awakened the coveted gold-level ability, glanced coldly at Link and said with disdain:
"We are no longer from the same world."
Then, flashing a sweet, innocent smile, she walked down the stage — instantly engulfed by the vying recruitment efforts of the clubs.
After all, a gold-level ability was an elite treasure, even among the top federal universities like Donghua!
Meanwhile, Link stood frozen on the Awakening Stage, stunned.
It wasn't until the impatient instructor kicked him off the stage that Link finally snapped out of it, wearing a dumbfounded expression.
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Nightfall
By the time darkness covered the Awakening Square, only Link remained.
He sat there, smoking two packs of cigarettes, unable to understand how he ended up in this situation.
"So... how the hell did I become a time traveler?!"
Despite the surreal situation, all the evidence — the memories flashing in his mind like another life, the news headlines on his phone, his youthful college-age face, and the inexplicable professional panel that appeared whenever he closed his eyes — pointed to one undeniable truth:
This was no dream.
He had really come to another world!
A world almost identical to Earth in culture — but one dramatically different in one regard:
The existence of Professionals.
From the memories, he recalled:
About ten years ago, mysterious items called Awakening Balls suddenly descended upon the world, along with countless inexhaustible wild monsters and dungeon portals.
The world order collapsed... briefly.
Humanity soon discovered they could awaken special talents and professional panels by touching an Awakening Ball — gaining powers to fight monsters and dungeons.
Governments eventually gathered Awakening Balls under strict control. Now, only students who passed the academic assessments and entered one of the top hundred federally recognized universities were allowed to awaken legally.
Anyone who awakened without authorization was labeled an illegal professional and hunted down by government forces and professional associations.
Thus, the professional civilization flourished.
But passing the university exam and becoming a professional was only the first baby step.
The true factor that determined one's future power was Talent.
There were nine known talent levels:
Black Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Earth, Sky, Star, Planet, and Stellar.
Higher-level talents brought stronger passive abilities.
Some talents could boost a professional's power by several times, dozens of times — or even hundreds.
For example, Lin Qingyu's awakened Gold-level Source of Magic granted her a 500% increase in mana capacity and recovery speed — an overwhelming T1-tier talent even among Gold abilities.
But Link's Black Iron-level clone talent?
It was laughable.
It created an ordinary clone, fragile enough to die from a single hit, and once dead, it stayed dead.
Worse, the clone's experience, level, equipment, and stats were all independent — totally disconnected from the main body.
To make the clone strong, he would have to train it separately from scratch — using precious resources he didn't even have.
Even if he managed that, what could a regular clone do against super-talented professionals with special effects?
In card game terms, he was a basic white card against others' legendary gold and SSR cards.
A slight difference in stats couldn't bridge the built-in gap in special abilities.
"So what the hell am I supposed to do now?"
"What, work at an electronics factory screwing bolts for double pay?"
"Or deliver two takeout orders at once and try for the Kangaroo Takeout Daily Delivery Championship?"
Link's heart ached.
Worse still, the full flood of memories revealed an even crueler truth:
His original body was the mountain village's pride — an orphan raised on communal kindness, who fought tooth and nail to get admitted into Donghua University.
The whole village pinned their hopes on him, dreaming he would soar after awakening.
And what had he done?
The idiot he replaced — the previous Link — had wasted all his precious potential resources on that girl, Lin Qingyu!
Those potential resources were rare treasures — boosting initial attribute points after awakening, and slightly improving the chance to awaken higher-level talents.
Only first-class universities provided them.
Yet the old Link, seduced by a few sweet words from Lin Qingyu, handed everything over like a fool.
Now, he had neither high-level talent nor extra attribute points — just a complete waste of a character!
"Fk!!!"**
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