C3 The Novice Gift Bag

"Due to the system's initial loading process, your body has been under severe strain, leaving you in a weakened state. Rest assured, the system is now fully operational and will no longer impose any burden on your body going forward."

"Hu." Luke exhaled deeply with relief.

The past eight years had been a torturous nightmare, and he had no desire to relive that pain.

"You can enhance your attributes using the attribute points awarded by the system."

"Attribute points? What are those?"

"Ding!"

As Luke's words hung in the air, a prompt shimmered on the system's display: The newcomer's gift pack is now in your warehouse. Please claim it.

Luke accessed the warehouse to discover a vast space, easily over a hundred square meters, with a gift bag placed at its center.

"How do I open this?"

"Just think it open."

"Open!" Luke focused his thoughts on the gift bag, and as a burst of golden light filled the space, two books materialized: Elementary Thought Reading and Martial Skill: Shadowless Walk.

"What's all this?"

"These are special skills you've drawn. Elementary Thought Reading allows you to briefly access others' thoughts, but it's limited to three uses per week, with each use lasting only ten seconds."

"So, I get just thirty seconds per week?" Luke scoffed after the system's rundown. The skill seemed hardly worth the effort.

"Elementary Thought Reading is basic, but as you upgrade it, you'll get more uses and shorter cooldowns."

"I see." Luke nodded, then inquired, "And this 'Martial Skill: Shadowless Walk'—is it truly like the martial arts from Wuxia novels?"

Luke's heart pounded with excitement. Ever since his childhood, he had adored the extraordinary martial artists in Wuxia dramas, dreaming that one day he too might wield such skills and dominate the martial world. It was a naive dream, perhaps, but one that many men shared.

"Correct. But this book merely opens your martial arts training system; you'll need to invest skill points to advance it."

"Are there even more impressive martial arts techniques available? Like the Nine Yang Divine Technique, the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms, the Sunflower Bible... Bah, let's skip anything meant for eunuchs..."

"I'm sorry, but the offensive martial skill conflicts with the straight-A student system. This system does not condone the use of force. Please understand."

"Ah well, that's too bad." Luke felt a twinge of disappointment but quickly followed up with, "How do I learn these special skills?"

"Just click on the skill book."

"Ding!" With his focus on the two books, a flash of golden light appeared, and suddenly the skill bar was before him.

The skill bar was neatly packed with blank squares. Above were the 'Normal Skills,' and below, a row of golden squares for 'Special Skills.' The newly acquired Elementary Thought Reading and Martial Skill: Shadowless Walk were now represented by a simple heart and foot icon in the special skills section.

"You earn Normal Skill Points through typical achievements, like being a school-level straight-A student or ranking first in your grade. Special Skill Points, however, require significant accomplishments, such as winning a provincial competition or becoming a national Olympiad champion. The points awarded vary with the difficulty of the achievement."

"Interesting." Luke nodded, then inquired, "You mentioned attribute points earlier. Where can I find those?"

"Please open the character attribute panel."

"Hmm." Upon hearing this, Luke reopened the attribute panel and, at the very bottom, he found the following:

Remaining attribute points: 100 points

"Can I allocate all of them to my physique?" he asked.

"Certainly. You can assign the points with your thoughts. But are you sure you want to invest all your attribute points into physique?"

"Absolutely. My body's nearly falling apart. If not my physique, what else should I improve?" Luke declared.

As his words fell, a golden light flashed, and his 'Physique' stat in the attribute panel shot up to 115!

Simultaneously, Luke felt a tingling sensation in his body. Accompanied by the soft crackling of bones, his once frail frame began to inflate slightly, like a balloon. A powerful warmth spread to every limb, bringing a sensation of profound comfort.

"My arms, they've become so thick and strong!" Luke marveled, rolling up his sleeves to see his once slender arms now significantly bulkier. Filled with surprise, he lifted his shirt to glimpse his abdomen and couldn't help but exclaim, "I've even got a six-pack now!"

Luke rose to his feet and took a couple of steps, feeling an overwhelming surge of energy coursing through him—a stark contrast to the constant lethargy and listlessness that had plagued him before. For someone who had been virtually incapacitated for a decade, this was nothing short of a miraculous rebirth.

"This feeling... is just too damn exhilarating!" Luke couldn't contain his excitement, throwing his arms up in a victorious cheer.

"Ding! Congratulations on earning the 'Fitness Master' achievement! You have been awarded 10 standard skill points!" A golden glow accompanied the notification that popped into Luke's mind, and the 'Fitness Master' achievement in his status bar turned from gray to silver.

"What's this?" Luke was momentarily taken aback.

"Your physical attribute has surpassed 100 points, reaching a robust level, hence the achievement," the system informed him.

"Well, that's something..."

"Surpass 150 points, and you'll be at a professional athlete's level. At 180 points, you're a sports champion, and 200 points puts you in the league of a sports legend. Additionally, victory in a sports event could also net you achievement rewards."

"Got it."

With his body brimming with vitality, Luke couldn't bear to sit idly under the tree any longer. He got up and began to move around, fully engrossed in the thrill of his newfound strength.

"Ouch!"

Just then, a sharp cry of pain echoed from the sports field.

Luke turned to see a soccer player from his field writhing on the ground, a classmate from his own class.

"Is the student alright?"

The fallen student was quickly encircled by peers, while the concerned gym teacher, who was refereeing the game, approached with a furrowed brow to inquire about the situation.

The injured student remained silent, but his pained expression spoke volumes.

"Let's get him to the school infirmary," Hildur, the class president of Sophomore Class 2, instructed some of the boys nearby.

"It looks like a sprained ankle. Probably nothing serious," the gym teacher assessed after a glance at the student's swelling ankle. Turning to Hildur and Carl, he asked, "Does your class have any substitutes? If so, we should swap someone in to keep the game going."

"There are only twelve boys in our class, with no one to substitute," Hildur and Carl both said, their faces etched with concern.

Sophomore Class 2 was known throughout the school for its imbalance of genders—over forty students, but just twelve boys. For this soccer match, every available boy had been called to play.

"There are eleven boys playing on the field, so shouldn't there be one more boy in your class?" Mr. Wood, the sports teacher, inquired.

"Mr. Wood, you're not aware, but we do have one more boy. However, he's utterly useless—lazy, dim-witted, and his physical condition is worse than that of the girls! It would be better to have a girl on the field than him," Carl said dismissively, glancing back at Luke who had just walked up behind him.

"You're the f*cking trash!" Luke snapped back at Carl's insult.

"Are you looking for trouble?" Carl's face darkened with anger, shocked that Luke, whom he had always scorned, dared to talk back.

"Enough, both of you, quiet down!" Mr. Wood interjected, seeing the confrontation escalate. He then added, "Per the school's competition rules, if Sophomore Class 2 can't field eleven players, then I'll have to declare your team's forfeiture."

"No, please, Mr. Wood, we can manage with just ten players," Carl pleaded, desperate not to forfeit the game.

"Even if you win today, you'll face the same issue in the next match if you're still short of players... Enough, no more discussion. The game is over, and Class One, Class Three is declared the winner..."

"Wait!" Luke suddenly called out. "I can step in and play!"