When Fina arrived, his leisurely time came to an end. She didn't say anything or do anything; she just sat down next to him, spread out her book, and half pushed him out of his seat.

She didn't question his earlier bizarre behavior, and it seemed she didn't notice any changes in him. She spoke in her usual tone, "You look terrible."

Without looking up from her book, Fina asked casually, "Did you take your medicine today?"

The green herb trial was over, and taking that medicine was no longer necessary. But to ease the concerns of those who cared about him, Xiaoning still took out the unmarked medicine bottle, popped the cap with his thumb, and shook out a pill.

His resistance to poison had stabilized, and further improvement would require alchemical potions.

With these thoughts, Xiaoning tossed the pill into his mouth and chewed it. A few seconds later, the poison spread, his heart contracted violently, and his blood surged.

His complexion visibly reddened.

In some ways, this biological reaction was quite deceptive.

Sitting beside him, Fina seemed to hear the intense beating of his heart.

"Uncle is gone. Can you still get this medicine on your own in the future?" she asked in a cold voice.

"Don't worry."

After digesting the poison, Xiaoning reassured her.

Fina turned her head, her beautiful face still cold.

"Yes, it seems I don't need to worry about that anymore."

"But what I want to talk about now is the second issue. Xiaoning, you are terrible at business. I mean it. You didn't charge that girl just now, and you can't even fix clocks. If this continues, you'll starve to death."

Reminded by her, Xiaoning recalled that the rich girl had indeed left happily without paying.

Not only did she not have the consciousness to pay, but he also lacked the awareness to charge.

Xiaoning scratched his head.

Fina continued, "So, have you thought about your next steps?"

Next steps...

Hearing these words, Xiaoning's gaze turned distant.

His future had once been planned out: complete the green herb trial, take the potion, become a superhuman, and change his fate of dying from exhaustion.

What to do next should have been guided by his father, but an unforeseen accident severed their legacy. The mysterious world would now have to be faced alone.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

What was the difference between the real world and the dark world described in books? As a newly awakened superhuman, he knew nothing...

Seeing him dazed, Fina sighed.

"You are as slow as ever."

With that, she leaned back and opened a drawer in front of her, rummaging through it.

Xiaoning knew what she wanted to take out.

"The Admission Letter from St. Oriole University - History Department."

This was his dream before he knew about those secrets.

To become a highly educated scholar, get a decent and well-paying job, so his father wouldn't have to toil in this shabby shop, save some money, and then marry a young and beautiful...

"Ahem!"

His fantasy abruptly ended as Xiaoning coughed into his hand.

Fina, who was smoothing out the creases of the admission letter, glanced at him coldly.

"With this, your future is still promising."

"Finish college, find a well-paying and decent job after graduation, save some money, and marry a young and beautiful woman..."

Although she was depicting a bright future, Fina's voice grew colder, making Xiaoning shiver involuntarily.

She didn't act this way with others; this coldness was reserved for him alone, a punishment for the grave mistake he made in his youth.

Xiaoning chuckled awkwardly and replied, "Isn't there a young and beautiful woman right in front of me? No need to wait until after graduation to find one."

Fina glanced at him and then turned back, continuing to read her book on astronomy.

"Suit yourself."

Her voice remained cold, but Xiaoning, who had known her for over a decade, could feel the chill dissipate.

Becoming a highly educated person had its benefits; it was a promising future and a good cover for his other identity. His father's savings weren't much, and he would have to rely on himself to survive.

After promising Fina that he would enroll in college with her in a week, she left satisfied.

"I need to start studying hard."

Xiaoning sighed, standing at the shop entrance and looking around. He figured there wouldn't be any more business, so he closed the shop and began his studies.

Herbalism, mysticism, alchemy, engineering, spells, weapons mastery—an array of knowledge that all top-notch demon hunters needed to possess.

With such a vast range of superhuman knowledge required, Xiaoning felt that even a pig would become formidable with enough learning.

During the dark ages, resources were abundant, dark creatures were everywhere, and magical plants and supernatural materials were readily available, making advancement easy.

But now, in an era dominated by humanity and science, the supernatural had become indistinguishable from myths.

He could use the lab's resources at first, but later he would inevitably have to scour the world for lost materials.

He then thought of the naive rich girl.

A mithril bracelet, serenity flower essence, supernatural items...

These supernatural objects were in the possession of an ordinary person with no spiritual power?

Xiaoning was puzzled.

If not for the vast difference in social status, he would have found a reason to visit her home and see if he could discover anything more.

A fellow superhuman with broken lineage like himself?

Or could these items be easily acquired with enough money?

Xiaoning decided to hide his identity and observe their situation in reality.

After all, he didn't have the strength yet.

Considering this crucial issue, Xiaoning smiled bitterly.

A demon hunter was indeed a top-tier superhuman series, but that was after taking several potions. He hadn't even fully absorbed his first potion yet.

A qualified demon hunter could cast spells, master various weapons, and understand all kinds of mystical secrets. They were powerful because the brutal green herb trial allowed them to take potions without fear.

High poison resistance meant they could drink low-level alchemical potions like water and take far more potions than others.

Demon hunters often disguised themselves as herbalists, alchemy apprentices, engineers, biologists, historians, while these low-level superhumans could only take one to three potions in their lifetime, but demon hunters could take a dozen.

Completely non-human...

Thinking of the unstoppable later stages of this series, Xiaoning comforted himself: "In the early stages, I should just hide and develop. I must avoid conflicts. If... if it's unavoidable..."

Considering this possibility, he frowned, and his voice changed unconsciously.

"It's better to kill them."