Victor returned to his room.
His previous body owner was a nerd. He had read hundreds of books over the years, covering a wide range of topics that most people of his age would never even consider studying. Because of that, Victor naturally possessed much more knowledge than his normal peers, even though he had only recently taken over this body. That inherited knowledge settled into his mind as if it had always belonged to him, giving him a quiet confidence that others did not notice.
After awakening, the first task of the awakener was to comprehend the first skill or spell from the grimoire.
This step was considered the true beginning of one's path. Without successfully understanding even a single spell, an awakener could not move forward, no matter how great their potential might have seemed at the time of awakening.
Then he would enter the first realm, the apprentice realm.
But to comprehend the skill, he would first need to comprehend the element itself. The spell was only an application, while the element was the foundation. Without understanding the nature of fire, water, or any other element, it would be impossible to properly control the energy required to form a spell.
Once he successfully comprehended one, the rest became somewhat easier to master. The initial barrier was always the hardest, and after crossing it, the path would gradually become smoother.
But for Victor, the situation was entirely different. He would have to comprehend all the elements and their individual ten skills, which would take years or even hundreds of years for a normal person who did not possess that much lifespan.
That was why he was tagged as a supreme trash.
The title was not given out of cruelty alone. It was based on cold logic. No one believed that a person could complete such an impossible requirement within a single lifetime.
After comprehending a skill, they would enter an E rank dungeon to gain real battle experience as well as collect monster cores. These dungeons were dangerous, but they were necessary. Without real combat, theoretical knowledge would remain useless.
Then they needed to absorb the cores to accumulate enough mana to break through to the next realm.
"Let's begin," he thought.
The thick grimoire appeared in front of him.
It hovered quietly, as if responding to his will. Victor reached out and opened the book, his eyes settling on the first page with a focused expression.
There were ten basic fire spells recorded. Each spell had its own page, and the next ten pages contained detailed explanations of how to master and use those skills properly.
Then he became curious.
The next element was water. There were eleven pages dedicated to the water element, including both spells and explanations.
Then came earth, followed by wind.
Then metal element.
After that came lightning, then light element, and then darkness.
He thought the book should have ended.
But it did not.
There were still pages left.
"What the hell? How many elements are there?" he thought, his brows slightly furrowing.
He turned another page.
Then he found the next element.
Space element.
This page had three basic spells, and the next element was time, which had only two spells.
Victor swallowed his saliva slowly.
There was no mention of such elements in the books he had read, nor had he ever heard from anyone that space and time elements existed. These were concepts that belonged to legends, not to the practical world of awakeners.
"Total eighty five basic spells. If I want to break through to the novice realm, I will have to comprehend them all, alongside an intermediate spell," he thought grimly.
Now he truly understood why he held such a title. It was not an exaggeration. It was accurate.
"Anyway, let's take the first step," he thought as he returned to the first page again.
"Fireball."
This was the very first spell of his grimoire.
Normally, even an ultimate genius needed at least one month to comprehend his first spell or skill.
"I wonder how long I would need."
He carefully read the entire spell and its explanation. It described how the spell would work, how to channel the energy, how high the damage would be, and how far the range could reach.
The explanation was extremely complicated. It involved precise control of mana flow, temperature balance, and structural stability of the formed flame.
But as soon as he closed his eyes to ponder what he had just read,
[Ding! Unparalleled Comprehension is activated. You have comprehended the basic spell, fireball.]
Boom!
Before he could understand what was going on, his body automatically started channeling mana according to the energy cycle described in the grimoire.
He did not even know where this mana was coming from. To step into the apprentice realm, they needed to rely on their elders to provide basic monster cores in order to gain mana, as they could not absorb external mana at this stage.
Yet his body was already moving on its own.
Suddenly, a small fireball appeared in his palm. It burned steadily, yet it felt warm rather than harmful to him.
"Damn! I have already broken through to the apprentice realm," he said as he started laughing.
He quickly looked at his panel.
[Name: Victor Walker
Rank: Apprentice Mage
Mana: Infinite
Combat prowess: 10 star
Talent: Unparalleled Comprehension]
His combat prowess had jumped from one to ten stars. It was the clear difference between an awakened person and a non awakened one.
But almost immediately, he felt fatigue spreading through his body again. A mage's combat prowess came from their spells, not from their physical body.
His body was still as weak as before.
He then took out the bottle the elder had given him.
[Name: D rank body strengthening pill
Function: It can enhance the strength of the physical body of anyone below novice realm.]
There was a gray pill inside the bottle. He took it out and swallowed it without hesitation.
Instantly, he felt an intense heat rushing through his body.
The heat spread into every part of him, as if it was tearing his muscles and bones apart before rebuilding them.
He gritted his teeth as the pain intensified.
Fifteen minutes later,
The pain finally subsided. The weakness he had felt all these years vanished almost completely.
Victor understood that the pill was very precious, but the elder had probably felt sympathy for his situation and had decided to help him.
"I will repay this kindness someday, elder," Victor thought quietly.
Normally, the pill would have greatly enhanced someone's strength, pushing them to a much higher level. However, in Victor's case, it only worked to restore his weak body to a normal condition.
But it was enough for him.
Victor took a deep breath and looked at the next spell.
It was named "Heat Blast."
He read the function carefully.
Heat Blast was an omnidirectional wave of burning force released from the caster. It had a basic range of five meters, but it could hit everything within that radius simultaneously.
"Good," Victor nodded before closing his eyes to comprehend the spell as well.
[Ding! Unparalleled Comprehension is activated. You have comprehended the basic spell, Heat Blast.]
He checked his combat prowess again.
[Combat prowess: 11 star]
It had added one star to his power.
"Let's keep comprehending," he said softly.
At that moment, he heard a knock on the door. His father's voice followed.
"Family is throwing a party to celebrate the three prodigies. Do not bother to show up there to bring more shame. And here is a ginseng. Boil it with some water and drink it. It will give you some strength to move freely. Leave for the shop tomorrow. You will live in the shop from now on. The family has decided to give you the shop."
"Okay," Victor replied with a single word.
He heard his father's footsteps fading away. He stood up, opened the door, collected the ginseng, and then closed the door again.
"I do not need it. I will give this to brother Rudi. After all, he will be living with me from now on," he thought.
Then he closed his eyes again and continued.
The next day,
[Combat prowess: 20 star]
Victor had comprehended all ten basic fire elemental spells, which included Fire Lash, Flame Burst, and others.
After completing the fire spells, he had fallen asleep. His body could not handle any more strain at that moment.
"Victor, open the door."
Rudi's voice came from outside.
Victor walked over and opened the door. Rudi was standing there, holding two large suitcases.
"I have packed all the necessary things for us. Let us leave before anyone wakes up. We will have our breakfast at the shop," Rudi said with a calm smile.
Victor smiled as well. Both of them were in the same situation, and he appreciated Rudi's steady and reliable nature.
Rudi had already come out of his despair and managed to handle himself well.
"Okay, brother. Wait for me. Let me freshen up," Victor said as he entered the washroom.
After ten minutes, both so called trash of the Walker family left the house on a small scooter.
Their destination was the worst shop owned by the Walker family, a place known for having the least customers and the lowest value.
Yet for Victor, it was more than enough.
It was a place where no one would interfere with his growth.