The teacher's office.
Ken stood before a striking redhead with a voluptuous figure.
She was dressed in a tailored blouse and a pencil skirt that accentuated her shapely hips.
She had a hourglass figure and her red-painted toenails peeked out from beneath the straps of her heels
This absolute bombshell of a woman was Hannah Schneider.
The homeroom teacher who had made Ken's day worse.
After he flunked the mock test she had carefully prepared.
She told him to meet her in the teacher's office once school ended.
"Ken, I'm going to be honest with you. Your performance on the mock test was far below the passing mark. At this rate, you passing the graduation exam tomorrow is… unlikely. I recommend that you sit out this year or you'll only be setting yourself up for disappointment."
"I understand I am lacking, but I still want to give it a try. So, Miss Hannah, please don't cut my name out of the list," Ken looked at her pleadingly.
Hannah's heart skipped a beat.
'He looks like a lost puppy. How can I say no to that face?'
She found him incredibly cute.
"I won't," she said, respecting his choice.
"Thank you, Miss," Ken said, expressing his gratitude.
Then he asked, "Can I go now?"
"You can." Hannah nodded.
"Goodbye, miss." Ken gave a short wave.
"Goodbye." She returned the gesture and watched as he turned around and walked out of the office, closing the door behind him.
After leaving the teacher's office, Ken stepped into the hallway.
The smile on his face faded.
And a worried look appeared on his face.
He felt worried for his future.
The sun had started to set.
Dusk was fast approaching.
The graduation exam would take place early in the morning.
He had less than twelve hours to push his strength into an acceptable range.
Otherwise, he'd have to look for another way to become a Force Master.
"As far as I know, there's no easy way."
Ken had finished the Immortal Demons and Warring Gods comic before he crossed over, so he knew the locations of treasures that were yet to be uncovered. Some of these treasures could turn a worthless cannon fodder like him into a Force Master!
The only thing stopping him from making use of all that knowledge was his pitiful strength.
Every treasure he could recall was hidden in deadly locations swarming with beasts and monsters. Only a trained Force Master had a chance of surviving in those areas, and even they had to be cautious or else they could risk getting injured or losing their lives. If he, a mere weakling, dared to step foot in those places, he'd die before realizing what killed him!
As for hiring a Force Master to retrieve those treasures?
Such a thought had indeed crossed his mind, but after a while of pondering, he decided against it as it came with its own set of problems.
For one, he lacked any personal connections.
Finding a Force Master who'd agree to help him in exchange for his gale coins would take days if not weeks.
And even if he found one, there was no guarantee they wouldn't double-cross him once they had what he wanted!
"The acceptable range for participating in the graduation exam should be somewhere around the Mid rank Mortal Realm," Ken muttered under his breath.
Force Masters were divided into six major realms of power. Namely, they are, Extraordinary Level, Unbridled Stage, Grandmaster, Warlord, War Chief, and The Sovereign Supreme.
Those not yet qualified as Force Masters belonged to what was known as the Mortal Realm.
This realm was further broken down into four ranks.
Low, Mid, High, and Peak.
Those in the Low-rank Mortal Realm possessed strength equivalent to that of an average citizen of the Heavenly Moon Empire. Those in the Mid-rank were twice as strong. It multiplied from there. People in the Peak rank Mortal Realm were eight times stronger than people in the Low rank Mortal Realm!
Mid rank Mortal Realm!
That was the bare minimum needed to pass the graduation exam.
The Elite Four were all above the mid rank of the Mortal Realm. That alone guaranteed their success in the graduation exam. Their strength was easily four times that of an average citizen of the Heavenly Moon Empire.
Ken was at the low rank.
He needed to reach mid rank before morning… or he'd have no choice but to play with fire.
Rumble!
He was lost in thoughts while walking down the hallway when the floor beneath his feet trembled. It snapped him out of his daze and made him look up.
Was it an earthquake?
No.
It was just Betty, a 600-pound fatty whose eyes were buried beneath folds of flesh, and whose chin had long since declared independence from her face. There were at least three of them holding diplomatic meetings on her neck.
Betty approached Ken with the intensity of a bulldozer and slammed a fat, meaty hand on his shoulder, almost sending him crashing to the ground.
"Ken, now that it's come to this, isn't it in your best interest to accept my proposal? The greatest achievement you can hope for in this life is to become the kept man of a Force Master."
Upon hearing her words, disgust flashed in Ken's eyes. He could still clearly remember the first time they met. She had approached him knowing his circumstances and offered to pay him ten thousand Gale coins if he slept with her. Ken wasn't a prostitute. Even if he was, he wouldn't sleep with her. So, even though he was close to going homeless at the time, he politely refused her offer and walked away.
Who knew that would be the start of his nightmare? She never gave up on owning him and had been pestering him relentlessly ever since.
Not too long ago, in order to take ill advantage of him, she had drugged his water with a powerful aphrodisiac that could override a person's senses and reduce them to a panting beast in heat, like a dog in rut, while he wasn't looking. If not for the timely intervention of Miss Hannah, he would've been thoroughly disgraced.
Unfortunately, he wasn't able to get Betty punished for that as he lacked concrete proof that she was behind it.
Even if he had proof, he didn't think it would have changed anything. After all, Betty was one of the Elite Four and came from an influential family. Who in their right mind would dare offend her just to get justice for him—an orphan with no talent or background?
"Lady, you're built like a truck. Even undead, with their skeletal bodies and empty eye sockets, look better than you. Instead of throwing yourself at guys and traumatizing them for life with your heinous proposals, you should be focusing on exercising to slim down and becoming a better person. Because the way you are now, anyone would find you disgusting."
Ken was done being patient with her. So he lashed out. His words were like sharp knives, stabbing Betty where it hurts the most.
Betty was taken aback. The victim of her twisted obsession had never dared speak to her so rudely before. This was the first time he had ever been so direct with her. Not expecting him to put up a fight, much less target her insecurities lethally, she felt deeply hurt by his words.
"Am I really that ugly…?" Betty asked with trembling lips, on the verge of tears.
"Yes." Ken nodded without hesitation. Betty saw him as a toy to be owned and fucked. He couldn't be bothered to give a damn about her feelings.
"Your mentality is ugly and your personality is rotten. I'd rather die than be with you," He added sincerely.
"Wah!"
Betty wailed like a banshee and ran away while crying.
Watching her big back disappear around the corner, Ken threw his head back and grinned from ear to ear.
"This feeling that emerges from teaching a lesson to scums who think they can prey on you just because you're a little down on luck… it's so exhilarating," he murmured under his breath.
Taking a deep breath, he wiped the grin off his face and composed himself before briskly leaving the martial institute.
As soon as he stepped outside, he became the target of a fly.
It buzzed around him, circling his head and ears, annoying him to no end.
"Ah! I'm going to kill you."
Totally pissed by the fly, Ken reached out with his hands with great precision and clapped thunderously.
Caught between his hands, the fly was crushed to death.
As his hands parted, its body dropped to the ground lifelessly.
"Good riddance."
Ken nodded in satisfaction when suddenly a chime rang in his head.
[Ding! By bullying a vile person to tears and killing the member of a universally hated race, you have met all the necessary conditions to unlock the Slaughter Point System.]
[Congratulations. You have been bestowed the Slaughter Point System.]
[You've ruthlessly killed a fly. You get +1 Slaughter Point.]
"My golden finger..."
A smile crept onto Ken's face.
"... is finally here!"