Although the village of Czech is remote, this village located on the border of the kingdom has abundant forest resources and many hunters. Roska is the most powerful hunter in the village, without a doubt. Three years ago, when I was five years old and Nicole was nine, Roska saw that both of us were growing up and finally felt relieved enough to start hunting monsters deep in the forest. At that time, Roska had just reached the fifth rank.

The Fighting Spirit of a fifth-rank warrior can be extended to the weapon, enhancing the weapon's attack power. When two equally strong fourth-rank warriors fight, their Fighting Spirits often cancel out each other's attacks, making it difficult to break through the opponent's defenses. However, when a fifth-rank warrior strengthens their weapon with Fighting Spirit, the Fighting Spirit on the weapon cancels out the opponent's Fighting Spirit. As a result, the sword can easily pierce into the enemy's body.

In simple terms, fourth-rank warriors strengthen their defense, while fifth-rank warriors enhance both their defense and attack power.

This world is called the Western Human Realm, and apart from the Tanja Kingdom, there are many other human countries. There are three major human empires, each with territories covering an area no less than ten Tanja Kingdoms combined. The territory of the Tanja Kingdom is approximately equivalent to the size of the Qin Dynasty during the unification of China.

It is said that the Southern Forest is home to isolated natural elf tribes, and there are also underground races below them. Below the underground races is the Abyss, where strange species occasionally appear, most of which have strong aggressiveness. The northern region is the territory of the orc race, basically similar to cat-eared girls. The western region is the territory of the half-orc race. According to Roska's description, the appearance of half-orcs is similar to the green-skinned orcs in World of Warcraft, not cute at all. The eastern side is an endless sea, and the mysterious sea race resides in that direction. As for the dwarves... these little dwarves have tribes established in various directions.

In other words, the human race lives in the middle of the surface territory, surrounded by various peculiar ethnic groups. The pressure on the human race is immense. Under the heavy pressure from other ethnic groups, the kings of the human race have established many exclusive academies for training warriors and mages. At that time, students who attended these academies did not have to pay any fees as long as they had the qualifications to enter.

However, it is a pity that the human race is a race famous for its greed, just as famous as their creativity... In simple terms, they have all sorts of bad nature.

Children with talent as warriors would be sent to a warrior academy for learning after they developed a sense of Qi. Super geniuses like Nicole, who erupted with a sense of Qi at the age of five, are rare resources fiercely sought after by countless warrior academies. As long as Nicole agrees to join any academy, she would receive numerous benefits, such as free tuition, scholarships, and even exclusive teachers and magic weapons.

However, because of my existence, Nicole did not enter any academy. She said she would wait for me to develop a sense of Qi and enter the academy together... But seven years have passed in a flash, and I still haven't activated my Qi. I'm afraid I am the type without aptitude for being a warrior. Damn it! I'm a transmigrator, how could I not have any cheats! Where is my grandpa, why did you leave me! Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it...

I angrily hacked at the wooden dummy, but no matter how hard I struck, the wooden sword couldn't leave a scratch on it. The wooden dummy had a smirking face drawn with simple paint, and it was a face that I personally drew. Now it was mocking me...

I don't know when I started to lose my calmness. At first, I thought that after transmigrating, I would have an easy time in this new world with cheat codes. But I quickly realized that it was an ordinary path. It wouldn't be a problem if it were a peaceful country like China, but this is a different world, an otherworldly world! A world where a group of bandits can attack, burn, kill, and pillage while you sleep!

If I don't have power, I will be useless. And if Nicole is stronger than me, I won't even have the face to ask her to be in a relationship with me. Ordinary people have no good life in this world. I have even thought about doing some business, but I was a shut-in in my previous life. Even though I know some business-related things, this world is different from Earth. If you earn money, you are likely to be robbed by guards or thugs.

Roska is indeed strong, but he is not strong enough to single-handedly confront an entire territory. If trouble arises, the lord can simply send two fifth-rank warriors and hundreds of soldiers to besiege our family.So the safest route is to train quietly and develop a sense of Qi before obediently going to the Warrior Academy to make connections and broaden one's network. After graduating from the academy, there will be a certain foundation for self-defense, and it will be much simpler to join a noble family, the military, or become a mercenary.

However, I am currently stuck at the step before entering the academy... because I... can't activate my Fighting Spirit.

It's okay, if you can't learn Fighting Spirit, there is still magic. Once Dad has enough money saved up, I'll take Xiao Ke to the Magic Academy.

Rosca has been comforting me with this line for years. But the cost of studying at the Magic Academy is on a completely different level from the Warrior Academy. A normal Warrior Academy would require about 50 gold coins a year, which is equivalent to 500 silver coins. But the Magic Academy is different. If you want to enter the Magic Academy, you have to pay 500 gold coins upfront, and that's just the basic tuition. Afterwards, you'll have to buy things like magic staves, magic stones, magical materials, and so on. In simple terms, the cost of training a magician is enough to train 20 warriors of the same level.

And that's just for poor training! For rich training, it's even more extravagant. Just a low-level magic staff alone is worth thousands of gold coins... Compared to warriors... it's not even in the same world.

I have tried to persuade Nicole many times to not worry about me and not waste time, and to go to the Warrior Academy early. But she just shakes her head and then molds my face into various shapes, saying to me, "If there's no Xiao Ke's face, big sister will be lonely, you know."

For me, Nicole didn't go to the academy. If this goes on, she will miss the most malleable age, and perhaps because of me, she won't be able to reach the pinnacle of a warrior.

For me, Rosca hunts monsters day and night. He wants to create opportunities for me and let me take the test at the Magic Academy. In fact, I already took the test a few years ago, and the result was not ideal at all. However, Rosca did not give up, he said, "A few failures don't mean anything. As long as you're willing to work hard, no one will fail for a lifetime."

No, you're wrong, I am the type who will fail for a lifetime. For example, in my past life, I was a typical failure my whole life...

Staying by their side will only be a burden. This kind of life troubles me deeply. I have actually thought about running away from home, but as soon as I imagine Nicole and Rosca desperately searching for me, I can't make that decision.

As I walked towards the tavern, my task was to buy some cooked food and wine. Rosca has been hunting monsters in the forest for three days now, and according to tradition, he would come back today. So, Nicole gave me a gold coin to buy some food and wine to bring back home.

The purchasing power of one gold coin is about 100 RMB on Earth, so in the tavern, I can only buy some meat and affordable wine.

Just as I entered the entrance of the tavern, an unpleasant smell of alcohol hit me, making me very uncomfortable all over. Although I was an otaku in my past life, I didn't have the habit of excessive drinking and domestic violence, because I didn't have a wife...

Uh, it seems like I've come to the wrong place, no, it should be the wrong time... Before I could turn around and leave, a hand was placed on my shoulder, freezing my body. I couldn't escape.

"I wonder who it is, turns out it's Moko." The 20-year-old hoodlum Alex forcibly turned my body to face him. This annoying guy smiled and immediately spewed out a nauseating stench from his mouth. "Haha, just when I was thinking about how to get some money for drinks, Mr. Moko showed up, it's really timely!"

Another hoodlum, Hank, also approached. This drunken scoundrel rudely reached into my pocket, planning to grab some pocket money.

"You better let me go, Rosca is coming home today."

I always try to avoid these hoodlums whenever I can, but when I can't, I use Rosca's name to suppress them. Unfortunately, this time it's a bit troublesome. Maybe it's because they've been drinking, these two hoodlums not only are not frightened by Rosca's name as usual, they even intensified their embarrassment towards me.

"Thinking you're great just because you have a hunter for a dad?" Hank kicked my abdomen, causing me to fall to the ground. The pain made it impossible for me to get up, and a foul foot stepped on my face. My nose, cheeks, and lips were pressed against the ground, filled with dust and the nauseating smell of Hank's foot. But the pain from my attacked stomach made me unable to react, I could only hold onto the area that was attacked with both hands, feeling all my organs squeezing together.

"If you just hand over the money earlier, you would have suffered less pain, you little disobedient brat." Alex pulled out a gold coin from my pocket and blew on it near my ear, making a loud sound. Hank continued to beat me, kicking my face, back, and hands.The attacks, one after another, not only hit my body but also my heart. Every attack suffocates me...

Just a couple of thugs can trample me to death... I am tired of feeling powerless! I must fight back, I must!

As the thought came to me, I took advantage of Hank lifting his leg and quickly pulled out the hidden dagger at my waist, aiming it at his ankle. Hank is a first-level warrior; he could have dodged this stab. But he never took me seriously, thinking I was weak and wouldn't dare to resist. That's why he couldn't avoid the dagger. However, it was my first time using a weapon against a real person, and it was an impulsive decision. Combined with my injuries and lack of strength, the dagger didn't penetrate Hank's ankle as I had expected. Instead, it left a bloody gash on his calf.

Hank and Alden looked at this scene in disbelief. While their feet were still bleeding, they remained motionless, as if under a petrification spell.

I actually injured someone... Before this, I had only fought goblins at most, and it was my first time using a knife against a real person... In my past life, accidentally hurting someone would have led to imprisonment. I became absent-minded, with chaotic thoughts in my mind. At one moment, I felt the exhilaration of fighting back; the next moment, it turned into a scene of being locked up by the police uncle... Because of this, I missed the best opportunity to counterattack while these two bastards were astonished. They quickly reacted, especially Hank, who stared at me with eyes spitting fire, like a wounded beast.

"Kid, you're dead!" he said.

In that instant, it felt like I saw a giant gorilla roaring at me. If I didn't do something, I might really be killed. I had to escape.

Without hesitation, I turned around and ran. Hank couldn't run fast due to his injured leg, but Alden reacted quickly. As a first-level warrior, he pounced on me just as I turned around. He grabbed my shoulder with one hand and tightened his grip on my wrist with the other, trying to break open my hold on the dagger.

The strength of a first-level warrior is something an eight-year-old like me couldn't resist. With a strong squeeze, my wrist was forced to let go of the dagger because it couldn't withstand the pressure.

Losing my weapon, Alden threw me to the ground without a second thought. I weakly rolled on the ground, hitting my head and face on the floor. Dizzy, my knees and arms were starting to feel numb.

"Damn brat, how dare you hurt me! I'll kill you!" Hank, limping, approached with hostility. My head was still spinning, and I only knew that Hank was coming; perhaps I would die. I finally had a chance to be reborn, only eight years old and I hadn't done anything, and now I would die...

"Stop!" A melodious voice stopped Hank from approaching. In a flash, a petite figure stood in front of him. Although I could only see her back, that familiar aura told me that Nicole had arrived.

"How dare you bully Xiao Ke... I will never let you go!" Nicole is a second-level warrior, and she used all her strength in a single strike. Although she could only access the Fighting Spirit within her body, activating the Fighting Spirit would enhance Nicole's physical abilities. With a simple punch, Nicole sent Hank flying backward.

Nicole... You protected me again... I am truly useless...

My head feels heavy... I can't keep my eyes open...