Entering the DOEA office, he had only one goal in mind: to update his adventurer ranking card. After enduring two days of grueling training, he had become keenly aware of the disparity between the strength described on his card and his actual abilities. Moreover, his parents had forbidden him from undertaking missions at or above his current rank, fueling his desire to advance even further, granting him greater opportunities for monster hunts. Explaining to Poppy his need for a new rank reading. She had him wait for about 20 minutes, and just as before, he walked into Mr. Shore's office.

"I heard you need a new ranking," Mr. Shore said, surprise evident on his face.

"Yep," he replied. "I recently experienced a significant surge in power."

"Well, it's your lucky day. We just received a couple of new trinkets from the department head," Mr. Shore exclaimed. "Some sort of new invention by a scientist out west. It's supposed to analyze your whole body instead of just a few aspects."

Wheeling the machine into the office, Mr. Shore quickly strapped what appeared to be a lifting belt around my waist. With an ominous whirring sound, the machine came to life, sending pulses of ether flowing through my body. After about thirty seconds of the pulsating ether, the machine calmed down, and Mr. Shore unstrapped the belt.

"Alright, Mr. Brookshaw, now that the examination is complete, all I need is your rank card and you can get out of here," Mr. Shore said.

Handing him the card, I watched as he slotted it into a machine behind his desk. In just a few minutes, amidst the clatter of Mr. Shore's keyboard, the card was done updating.

"The new ranking machine has a couple of new features, including highly detailed information on every aspect of your body, as well as categorizing your unique ether signature. In fact, the card printer was also recently updated, meaning the card actually emits a weak hint of your ether signature to better identify you," Mr. Shore explained.

"Thank you for being so helpful. I'll see you after I gain a bit more ether," I replied.

Quickly exiting Mr. Shore's office, I glanced down at my new ranking card.

Name - Timmothe Bradley Brookshaw

T80-Ether Pool

S10 - Muscular System

T90 - Skeletal System

T50 - Central Nervous System

T90 - Peripheral Nervous System

S30 - Integumentary System

T70 - Respiratory System

T100 - Cardiovascular System

T90 - Overall Organ Rank

Talent - Peak - Healing - Internal

Ability - Absorption - Unknown

Overall Rank-Peak T

Wow, not only had his ether rank experienced a significant surge in power, but the detail on the Rank Card was absolutely remarkable. How could an ether machine, no matter how bulky, scan him so thoroughly that it could discern the exact rank of almost every single biological system in his body? Now, however, was not the time to ponder the inner workings of the machine. It was time to see what new monster-hunting quests were available, and he even had a pretty good idea of how to bypass his parents' rank restrictions, well, at least in part.

The idea dawned on him as he glanced at his overall rank, now elevated to Peak T, no longer just a flat T or U. This realization sparked a strategy: he could circumvent the agreement with his parents by skirting its spirit and aiming directly for the jugular. Essentially, he planned to pursue high T rank quests, technically one tier below his newly achieved Peak T status.

Walking back into the lobby, he made his way to the job board and perused all of the monster-hunting jobs below his rank. Among them were a couple of general extermination jobs, but the ones that caught his eye were Goblin and Giant Ant extermination.

Goblins were four-foot-tall menaces that reproduced like rats and had essentially infested the whole of North America by this point. Though individually they were considered low U rank in terms of power, their high numbers and swarm tactics elevated them to peak U rank.

On the other hand, the giant ants were a different story. While they behaved like normal ants with queens and mounds, they were simply massive. Individually, the worker ants were no stronger than goblins, ranking low U or even high V. However, it was the soldier ants that posed the real threat. The size of large dogs and harder than stone, they were considered high U rank, with some of the strongest soldiers even reaching low T rank. With their higher overall power, larger numbers, and unwavering determination, they made formidable adversaries, and he wasn't yet prepared to take on such a challenge.

As for the goblins, well, it was open hunting season, and they were on the menu

Walking up to Poppy, he handed her the goblin hunting job, and after a quick glance at his new rank, "APPROVED" was promptly stamped onto the paper in bold dark red lettering. With approval secured, Poppy provided him with a couple of suspected goblin locations to investigate, all approximately 100 miles out from the town, mostly in the northern direction. Setting out, he had just a couple more tasks on his morning to-do list, most notably retrieving his beautiful poleaxe.

Entering Ricky's, he spotted the man at the counter. "Ricky!" he exclaimed with enthusiasm. "How's my beautiful poleaxe doing?"

"I finished it up last night," Ricky replied with zeal. "It's a marvelous work of art, and the ether channels I incorporated into the weapon are top-tier, at least for low-ranked gear. The ether channels should passively gather ether from the atmosphere, enhancing the sharpness and durability of the weapon by a significant margin."

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"And by the gods, that horn was a marvel," Ricky continued. "I've never seen such a high concentration of ether in a trophy from such a low-ranked beast before. In any case, I removed the old spear tip and replaced it with the horn, slimming and sharpening it in the process. With the ether engravings, it should be strong enough to punch through solid steel without a scratch."

"I thought the engravings you were talking about were ether tech," I exclaimed.

"No, not really," Ricky explained. "The engravings and channels are how we produce ether gear. It's not really tech because, well, there's no tech involved. It's just an engraving that channels the atmospheric ether into certain patterns to create the effects. Ether tech, on the other hand, is just normal non-ether machinery combined with ether to make ether tech."

"Well, that makes more sense than saying everything is just ether tech. Thanks, Ricky," I said.

After thanking Ricky profusely for the excellent work, I collected my poleaxe and headed out toward the northern fence line. It had become late morning, and I had no time to waste. There was at least a 100-mile run towards the first of the suspected goblin locations, and I was eager to test out my new tools.

Flashing his ID to the guards at the gate, he was easily waved through and began his journey. Weaving through the forest at superhuman speeds, he quickly ate up the distance between himself and the nearest goblins. He encountered minimal wildlife, dispatching a few mutated beasts whose pelts would fetch a decent price. With his speed and incredible endurance due to his healing ability, he reached the location in just under two hours.

As he crept closer toward the cave system, he held little hope of finding any goblins. There were no recent tracks or visible signs of goblins, but there were a couple of scratches on the nearby trees, so he decided to investigate further.

As he cautiously approached the cave, he entered it silently, holding a glow lamp in his right hand and his weapon in his left. However, only three steps in, a ball of spikes rushed at him, alerted by the glowing light. He wielded his improved poleaxe for the first time, effortlessly slicing through the charging beast. The spiky ball made no sound as it succumbed to its own momentum, impaling itself on his weapon. With the beast dispatched, he swiftly surveyed the rest of the cave, removing the spikes from the presumably mutated porcupine and collecting a few ether-rich fungi. Locations abundant in ether-rich materials were favored spots for ether beasts to inhabit, making them lucrative destinations for adventurers seeking treasure.

After gathering all he could from the location, he pulled out the location papers he had acquired from Poppy. This single location was one of almost a hundred in these parts alone, and he had been warned before that these spots often held either beasts or nothing at all, even if they were suspected goblin hideouts. Hopefully, he would have better luck at the next location.

Setting off after stowing all of the goods in his new backpack, he arrived at the next location within five minutes, it being only a couple of miles away. As he got closer, he noticed many more signs of living beings in the area, and not just a small number either. From the tracks, it looked to be close to ten, presumably goblins in the area. Walking closer to a giant tree, which was unsurprisingly the object to where the goblins called home.

Creeping up to the tree, he was about 50 feet away before the goblins seemed to sense something was amiss. He wasn't the stealthiest of creatures, and this experience only reinforced how utterly incapable of stealth he truly was. Sure, he could sneak up on a few low-level beasts, but even the weakest of the more intelligent monsters could sense him coming. In the end, however, it didn't matter. The clump of gangly, four-foot-tall creatures gathered at the trunk of the massive tree were too slow to react.

The goblins sensing him 50 feet away didn't matter if he closed the distance in a flash, exerting his muscles to the brink of what they were capable. He felt them strain and rip apart as he shot forward like a bullet. In a couple of steps, he was on the first goblin, and with a bestial growl, his weapon split the nasty creature in half. Moving as fast as he could, he transitioned from the first goblin to the next, only a couple of feet away. However, this one was more prepared. His first strike nearly killed the little creature on the spot, only being blocked by a hastily brought-up scrap of metal. Even so, the force of the blow shot the goblin into a nearby tree, presumably shattering a good portion of the creature's bones as the tree groaned in protest. With him killing or incapacitating the first two goblins, the remaining eight quickly rallied around their leader, the four-foot-tall creatures reacting with commendable speed.

Exerting so much power had torn his muscles badly, but his healing abilities swiftly remedied the damage, which was fortunate as the eight remaining goblins charged. The first he skewered with the spear tip, pulling the impaled creature towards him. He kicked out with his heel, connecting with the creature's gut and sending it hurtling towards its companions, bowling over three of them. In just a few heartbeats, he had broken the majority of the charge, but that didn't mean it was over just yet.

With his momentary distraction caused by the first goblin, the second managed to impale him through the lower belly with its jagged weapon, the force enough to pierce completely through and out the other side. As the goblin attempted to retrieve the spear from his guts, he flexed his core, the spear refusing to budge. Summoning all his strength, he swung his poleaxe through the air, shattering the goblin's head in a spray of red and gray. The pain, unable to faze him due to his recent experiences, he quickly confronted the next two goblins with a sweeping strike, severing the first one's left hand as it attempted to expose his guts with a jagged dagger, and cutting the second's spear in half.

With the second sweeping blow, he severed the first goblin's head, leaving an image of utter horror permanently affixed to its face. With a burst of speed, he delivered his third strike into the side of the second goblin, wielding a spear, almost bisecting the creature.

After the brutal melee, he backed up, allowing the remaining goblins to recover from the living bowling ball. Pulling out the spear from his guts, he watched part of his intestine pop out, soon retracting from the outside world with a sickening squelch as his wound repaired itself. With the blood-soaked spear in hand, he chucked it like a javelin at the now fully recovered goblins, impaling one to the ground and turning another's foot into mincemeat. With his wound healed over, he charged the newly disoriented group of goblins, but it was just an act.

The three remaining fully capable goblins were just acting, stepping on the butt ends of the spears, they planted them into the ground as if hunting boar. Unable to react in time, he plowed into the three spears at full speed. One impaled his left arm while the others pierced his guts, ascending into his chest, lacerating his lungs and arteries on their way up. However, his momentum couldn't be denied. The spears snapped, and the beast within him was unleashed.

The one to his right bore the brunt of his swing straight to the midsection, completely cutting the creature in half, the momentum of the swing bearing down on the middle of the three goblins. However, as his poleaxe came to bear on the creature, it quickly unsheathed a short sword from its waist, blocking the strike. Even so, the momentum drove the short sword into its body, cutting a bloody gash into its chest. With the strike blocked, he wound up a kick and punted the four-foot goblin, lifting it off its feet and completely shattering its pelvis. With it dealt with, he looked around only to see the last goblin running away.

"Oh no you don't!" Dropping his poleaxe, he grabbed the remaining part of the spear from his left arm, hurling it with all the power and accuracy he could muster. The spear impaled the goblin through its back, and it collapsed, dead on the spot.

Removing the two remaining shattered spears from his chest, white gathered around his vision as spikes of pain shot through him. However, the pain abated in a matter of seconds, his skin healing over just as quickly. Surveying the landscape, he quickly picked up his poleaxe and walked over to the goblin with its foot impaled by the first spear he had thrown. It was frozen with utter fear and horror on its face. Without mercy, he put it out of its misery, cutting its head off with a single strike, permanently etching the emotions on the goblin's face.

After mercy-killing the short sword goblin with the broken pelvis, he quickly cut off all of the goblins' ears, placing them in one of the pouches in his bag. Surprisingly, the goblin that he had blown into a tree with a parried strike was still alive, slowly recovering from the brutal injury. However, the whole fight had only taken about a minute, not nearly enough time for the goblin to recover, and its head soon found its way off its body, the ears soon following. In total, he had killed and collected the ears of 10 goblins, looting 20 ears, a good short sword, a couple of good daggers, and a few plants the goblins had been carrying with them. It was a good haul, but he still needed to check one more thing out.