Savannah Military Academy, Georgia.
Junior Class C.
"Liam! Liam Vance!"
Liam blinked and straightened up, realizing the white-haired history professor was glaring at him from the front of the room.
"Read these two paragraphs. Now."
Zoe Carter, sitting next to him, subtly held up two fingers under the desk. Liam caught the hint and stood up.
"On the evening of September 6th, 2025, a small meteor—later identified as 'Wimlis'—crashed into the Pacific Ocean.
The impact itself caused little damage to coastal nations, but within a year, its cosmic radiation spread worldwide…"
"Biological mutations followed. Hidden realms opened. Earth entered an age of cataclysm."
"…As mutated beasts grew stronger—some immune even to nuclear strikes—nations began to unify.
Eventually, five federations emerged, and together they formed the Apex Hunters Association, training enhanced individuals who had evolved due to the radiation to fight back against these monstrous threats."
The professor gave a slight nod, motioning him to sit.
"Get yourself together. I don't want another fainting incident during this afternoon's drills."
Scattered chuckles echoed across the classroom. Some were sympathetic, others plainly mocking, all directed at Liam.
In a school geared toward preparing recruits for military service—or for the elite Apex Hunters—passing out during training was downright embarrassing.
Zeke Matthews, seated two rows back, a bulky guy with a buzz cut and the top combat score in the class, couldn't help but add:
"Deadweight. Try not to drag us down again in next month's combat trials."
Zeke was a powerhouse—not only leading the class rankings but also sitting in the top five of the entire academy year. As the son of a wealthy defense contractor, his influence was hard to ignore.
Naturally, his lackeys chimed in.
"Yeah, seriously, how'd you even get accepted?"
"With those scores? You'll flunk out before you graduate. Might as well start flipping burgers."
"You got dropkicked by Rena from Class B last month, remember that? Instant knockout."
Liam raised a hand to stop Zoe from speaking up in his defense. She pouted, visibly fuming, but Liam only gave her a slight, amused smile.
He wasn't bothered by their jeers—he'd grown used to them.
It had been two years since the headaches started—episodes so intense they sometimes knocked him out cold.
His mom had scraped together what little savings she had to run tests at three different hospitals, but none found a cause.
And so it went—light fainting spells every few days, a major one each month.
His grades in academic classes were holding up, but his physical training? Not so much. His performance was bottom-tier.
The only reason he hadn't been expelled was thanks to his impressive marks in "Energy Refinement" and his quiet, diligent attitude.
"Energy"—a cosmic force discovered after the cataclysm. It could be absorbed by the human body, enhancing physical abilities and sometimes even awakening extraordinary powers.
It went by many names across the world: mana, chi, aether. But the Apex Hunters standardized it as "Energy."
Truth be told, the guys mocking him weren't wrong.
If things didn't turn around soon, Liam might not meet the academy's graduation requirements—much less qualify for military enlistment or hunter selection.
Dropping out and getting a job would at least help ease the burden on his mother.
That's what he believed—until yesterday.
He lowered his eyes to the textbook and began quietly reciting from memory.
Clumsy at first, but after a few stumbles, he got through the entire paragraph.
[Mnemonic Skill - Lv0: EXP +2]
Liam's eyes flicked to the translucent interface that shimmered faintly in the air before him. He said nothing and moved on to the next paragraph.
[Mnemonic Skill - Lv0: EXP +3][Mnemonic Skill - Lv0: EXP +1][Mnemonic Skill - Lv0: EXP +2]
This interface had appeared right after yesterday's fainting episode.
Liam had a strong suspicion this mysterious system was behind his strange condition all along.
Because today—this morning—he woke up clear-headed for the first time in years.
And now he could see his own stats:
Name: Liam VancePotential Points: 0
Strength: 8Agility: 9Endurance: 7Focus: 10
Skills:
Energy Refinement (Incomplete) - Lv1 (82%)
Hand-to-Hand Combat - Lv0 (89%)
Dual Blades - Lv0 (95%)
Footwork - Lv0 (78%)
Mnemonic Skill - Lv0 (66%)
Note: Average for a healthy adult male is 5.
His numbers were solid—if you compared them to the general population.
But in a school like this, designed to train elite soldiers and hunters? Most cadets could punch through a brick wall and sprint faster than a moving car.
The cataclysm didn't just mutate the beasts—it changed humanity too.
Especially after the discovery of Energy Refinement techniques.
He remembered watching an old video as a kid:
A skyscraper-sized ape rampaged through a city, shrugging off bullets and missiles. Just as the military prepared to launch a nuke, a lone hunter appeared on the battlefield, wielding a crimson blade. With a single strike, the monstrous creature was cleaved in two.
That moment—burned into his memory—had been Liam's dream ever since. He wanted to be someone like that.
But with his health the way it was, that dream seemed further away each year.
Until now.
[Mnemonic Skill - Lv0: EXP +4][Mnemonic Skill - Lv0: EXP +3]
[Mnemonic Skill Lv0 → Mnemonic Skill Lv1! Potential Points +1]
"Huh…"
His eyes lit up. He tapped on the tooltip for Potential Points.
[Potential Points: Can be used to enhance skills or increase attributes.]
He hovered over his first skill.
Energy Refinement (Incomplete) → Energy Refinement (Complete)Required Points: 3
Liam nodded. That made sense.
The academy only taught the first two volumes of the technique. The full version had seven, which were restricted to military or hunter members.
Unlocking it early would be ideal, but with only one point, it was best to hold off. His weaknesses were still too glaring.
He browsed through the requirements to level up his other skills, then opened the attribute descriptions:
Strength: Correlated with muscle power, impact resistance, and speed.
Agility: Tied to reflexes, balance, precision, and movement efficiency.
So far, so good. But then:
Endurance: Affected stamina, healing, immune resilience, nutrient absorption, muscle/bone development... and even energy absorption.
Focus: Tied to willpower, mental resistance, memory, calculation, spatial awareness… plus energy affinity, control, and power.
Energy absorption and control.
That explained a lot.
The radiation had changed humanity's biology—cells now passively drew in cosmic energy, strengthening the body.
Energy Refinement just accelerated the process.
So if Endurance and Focus were high, he could absorb and refine energy faster—basically a full-body upgrade.
And his high Focus stat might be the reason why he was so good at Energy Refinement.
Why, then, was his physical development lagging?
The fainting spells, lack of exercise, and possibly a naturally weak constitution had held him back.
As for energy powers… if they were tied to Focus, then could his 10-point stat mean latent potential?
His eyes sharpened.
He made a mental note.
"Add point to Endurance."