As the crowd grew in the waiting room of Steincorp’s Lexington office, the ambiance grew louder and rowdier. People walked in with all kinds of equipment, from large hammers to spears, swords, and even the rare firearm. These people had all gathered for one reason- Hope. 

Hope for a chance at a better future, fame, money, and every other kind of fortune. Hope for power, growth, and acceptance.

Hope… for life itself.

The lights dimmed as several monitors buzzed to life, showing a middle-aged looking asian man with round glasses and a crooked smile. Static could be heard as the speakers awoke, and finally the man began speaking.

"Good Day! I am Yawen Cheng, Headmaster of North Shanghai Ranker Academy. You may also know me by my title, Silver Curtain, or my title as the 6th Strongest Ranker Worldwide.

Today I shall explain the Paths as well as what you can expect going forward!"

The man, Yawen, took a look out past the screen. 

“I can see it now in many of you… Potential! Potential to do many great things, be it Climbing the Ranks as Monster Hunters, or helping in other ways throughout your community.”

The man motioned to a chart on the wall behind him.

“But before you can choose what you will do, you need to figure out what Path you want to strive down. After all, you cannot survive if you are completely cloaked in darkness.”

Yawen pointed at a red square.

“The first path is of course the Path of Warriors. Gain levels by fighting monsters and earn stats to improve your abilities.”

He then pointed to a blue circle.

“Second is the Path of Mystics. Improve your Magical arts at your own pace and build Circles of Magic based on what interests you most.”

Yawen blew a strand of hair from his eyes nonchalauntly, tapping a Green Star.

“Last is the Path of Cultivators. Purify your Organs and Body and build your core to achieve feats beyond your wildest imagination!”

Finally, the man stopped on the screen, letting out a breath.

“One final note, you all shall learn soon about [Skills]. Skills are a manifestation of either a Path's ability or a random capability. Everyone is born with between 1 to 3 inherent skills, and these skills will help determine your future.”

Yawen stopped, taking his cane and tapping the ground. His voice continued for a moment before hitting an awkwardly inserted word that stood out like 3 month old cheese.

“Thank you for sitting through my orientation. You will now begin to enter the room to your RIGHT in an orderly line, and receive your AI. You shall also see your first glance into your future, the Natural Skills you were born with!”

Yawen stood to the side as another man walked into the room, blonde and rather mature looking, with large muscles and a broad smile. The asian man spoke one last time before bowing and exiting the room to his left. 

“Before you go, a word from the newest Unique Ranker on the global leaderboard, the Winter King, Algot Hansson!”

Algot stood up and gave a bow as he spoke.

“Effort. What does it mean to you?”

By this point, nobody was still watching the tv's around the room. Everyone had filed into a long line that was now moving onto the other room. Still, the speakers kept speaking.

“To me, effort is everything.”

A young man with a spear let out a loud yawn, annoying the Ranker Candidates around him. He didn't seem to notice or care.

“You have to try to succeed anywhere. Ranking is no different. I didn't become a U Ranker purely on luck and charisma, as much as I have both.”

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The same young man mumbled to himself.

“Bull.”

The TV continued.

“You want to know how to become like me? Well, I'll tell you.

If you find yourself stuck in a rut, climb out of it. 

If you are sitting at the base of a mountain, climb it. 

If you find yourself in the open sky, seek higher ground. 

You can never be too high to climb and improve yourself.

You will never fail completely unless you stop trying.”

The young man slammed his spear into the ground, his brown hair shaking violently. He yelled out into the room, startling nearly everyone nearby.

“What a load of bullshit!”

…

The brown haired man from before is named Lance King. He has always loathed that name, because of how much he used to be mocked for it.

“Hah, your parents really have high expectations!”

“To think I would be graced by the presence of the Lance King!”

“All Bow down to the King!”

“They might as well have named you Joe.”

Still, he *was* Lance King, and nothing could change that. The issue he faced was that much unlike his kingly name would suggest, he was very normal. Average grades, Average fitness, and a rather unseemly personality that made making friends hard.

No, Lance didn't need friends. Why would he when he had games? So many games, so many books, comics, and everything else of the type. He was a master of many genres, and knew story beats quite well. He hoped to be a writer actually, until his parents told him to “be more realistic”.

That's when he remembered Rankers. They were everywhere, to say the least. Everyone was a Ranker, but really, how did you determine the good from the bad?

Lance knew. He had read hundreds of stories, all about Rankers, how they rose from the depths of despair to claw their way to victory. How just a normal everyday normie Could find a cheat-level skill and become a powerhouse to rival Benedict Bonaparte, Algot Hansson, or even Benjamin Fox, the Top U Ranker.

Lance craved that attention. He needed to be like the heroes he read so much about. And so, he found himself here, at Steincorps’ office, 4 hours from home.

A voice suddenly called out, tossing the brown haired boy from his stupor. He was next in line.

“Would the next Ranker Candidate please step forward?”

“Y-Yes!” Lance said as he marched into the Machine ahead of him. 

He sat there nervously as the technician prodded the machine, checking again to make sure it was working properly. Lance's nerves got the best of him and he spoke up.

“U-Uh, I heard they have to implant the AI behind your eyes, is that true? They don't have to remove them for that r-right?”

The technician laughed and tapped the machine. 

“Don't worry, they only remove your eyeballs for a moment, then they-”

He was quickly cut off by the receptionist’s dull voice. 

“They used to put the chips behind their eyes, but never had to remove them. Now they inject nanomachines.”

The technician groaned. “You're no fun, Cass.”

Cass gave a glare. “Stop scaring the newbies.”

A moment later, Lance felt a prick in his arm as the machine activated. To his shock, blue screens filled his vision.

[Welcome To Internum V, Created by Steincorp! You are officially on your way to join the Rankers!]

Another box popped up. 

[Would you like to see your current skills before selecting your Path?]

“Yes!” Lance said aloud.

The technician from before laughed. “You don't have to say it out loud, just think to the AI and it'll respond.”

Lance nodded and the AI showed a page.

‘Finally! I get to see what I'm working with!’

Lance smirked.

‘I just know I'm gonna have Laser vision. Or-or maybe a time based skill? I could always use one of those return by death skills or whatever. Anyway, I… What the hell?’

The brown haired boy blinked his hazel eyes as if hoping for his vision to change. His grip on his spear tightened.

“What the heck… Where are the good skills!?!”

Cass looked over from the reception desk before turning to her computer and sighing.

“Tough luck, kid. Guess you'll have to look for work in another field.”

Lance cried out. “No! I… There must be a mistake!”

On the screen, two skills were shown. The first was a D rank Passive, Energize. It allowed for you to regain a small bit of health from being close to but not directly hit by energy attacks. 

This skill wasn't that bad, save for the fact energy attacks were highly uncommon, especially in dungeons.

The other skill was the F Rank Spearmanship skill. Lance could already hear the other Rankers laughing now.

“You really ARE a Lance King! F for Fantastic, am i right?”

Lance cried again. “Please, test me again!”

The technician spoke up, rubbing his eyes. 

“We can't. Besides, your natural skills don't change. You can't even remove them. You can always try to be a Ranker anyway, but… I'd advise against it.”

Lance walked out of the machine, dropping his spear and Shaking the surprised technician.

“Not another one…” Cass groaned and pressed a button on the desk.

“Security!”

A second later, two large men walked in. Seeing Lance, They shook their heads and dragged him away, bringing his spear with them.

“Please!” Lance cried. “Why god, why!?!”

Nobody answered.

…

A large amount of time passed, and Lance found himself drunk in a bar, watching the TV as a game of Football was played. Nowadays, Rankers were everywhere, and especially common in sports.

He watched as a large man made a pass to another, nearly reaching the goal line but tripping just short of it. Lance took a sip of his drink, feeling his pain.

The bartender took his drink away as Lance grasped for it. The drink gone, Lance buried his head in his hands. 

He had chosen to follow the Cultivators path, even despite many warnings, and after being told by everyone, including his family, to stop pursuing ranking altogether. He didn't care, he couldn't give up. Heroes don't give up!

He tried to enter a dungeon, key word is tried. He entered with a few others, including a guy named Colin and an E Ranker named Jake Fidel.

Although the others were supportive, it became very clear very fast that a Cultivator without starting resources was a goner in a dungeon. He could use his spear skill, sure, but he felt too embarrassed now. As such, he tried fist-fighting some goblins. Plural. Goblins with swords and spears.

He had to be saved by Jake and got a permanent scar on his left eye.

In the end, after the run, he became friends with Colin, but never saw the other party members again. Jake eventually moved up to D Rank and stopped talking to him as well.

Colin suggested trying for an academy, and so Lance did. He applied for many of them, but they weren't willing to take in some F-Rank Cultivator for how little money he had. 

Even the worst ranked school in the country, Big Chongo's, turned him down. That was a nasty blow.

Then, his mom kicked him out. He still had Colin to rely on, but Lance wondered how long until he would give up too.

Sitting at the bar, Lance cried. He wasn't the hero he wanted to be at all. He was a loser.

But, deep inside, a fire still burned. A fire that wouldn't let Lance give up just yet.

Lance slammed his fist on the bar. This startled the bartender for a moment, but then he simply chuckled and moved on.

Lance didn't know if it was the alcohol or himself speaking, but he didnt care.

“The world's been out to get me this whole time. I've been wishing for a handout, but it's not coming. So, to hell with the world.”

A fire burned in Lance's eyes.

“I'm gonna tear myself down and build myself back brick by brick, and soon…”

Lance pumped his fist.

“I'll be a skyscraper.”

Lance began his journey toward the stars from that day onward.