Ranger

"All right."

The staff member had no particular opinion on Ji Xinghuo's choice and immediately registered his application.

Ji Xinghuo wasn't worried that his application would be rejected. He had passed both tests, and his score was far higher than most people's.

Although Thousand Spirit Dexterous Hands was a relatively sought-after ability, its availability wasn't low. Even if he had to queue up and wait, it wouldn't take long.

He asked, "Does the service center have any Thousand Spirit Dexterous Hands Ability Seeds in stock?"

The female staff member hesitated.

She lowered her head to check Ji Xinghuo's test results before replying, "There should be some. A batch of Ability Seeds arrived the day before yesterday, and several of them were Thousand Spirit Dexterous Hands. Once Mr. Ji's application is approved, you'll be able to receive the Ability Seed right away."

"Thank you."

Ji Xinghuo gave her a delighted smile, then sat down nearby to wait. It'll be smooth sailing if I can get the Ability Seed today.

Thousand Spirit Dexterous Hands was an Outstanding Ability.

The standards for ranking abilities had originally been issued by the Astral Defense Council. The first four tiers, from lowest to highest, were: Basic, Quality, Outstanding, and Super-Limit.

In fact, this standard was used not only by countries on Earth, but throughout the Astral Realm as well, though the specific names differed slightly.

Outstanding Abilities were already very rare.

Even among Outstanding Abilities, Thousand Spirit Dexterous Hands was one of the most sought-after. Its market price was around 1.6 million Asia Yuan.

Even when one had the money to buy it, they often had to wait a while.

That was because Thousand Spirit Dexterous Hands was the core ability of the Ranger Class Template.

A Class Template could be understood as an esper's path of life evolution.

Under normal circumstances, each time an esper evolved, they could only fuse with one Ability Seed. Thus, the choice of ability became especially important—it was the most critical factor in determining an esper's strength.

However, there were simply too many abilities! If espers had to choose for themselves, they had no way of knowing which abilities formed the optimal combination.

Nearly two centuries had passed since the opening of the Star Gates. Most of the abilities obtained on Earth, along with the collected information on them, had been entered into the Astral Defense Council's Ability Seed database, for a total of more than 12,000 abilities.

Countries, factions, organizations, and individuals on Earth had certainly concealed some ability information. If everything were counted, the total number of abilities might reach 20,000.

Over 90% of those twenty thousand or so abilities were Basic Abilities. Their effects were similar, their power too low, and some were even useless trash abilities.

Thoroughly researching the remaining 10% of abilities was an almost impossible task.

Many abilities conflicted with one another and could not be fused together.

Some abilities simply weren't suitable for Earth Humans. It might have been due to genetic differences or other reasons, but in any case, their fusion success rate was zero.

Some abilities could be successfully fused, only to suffer a drastic drop in power or even inexplicably fail.

It also varied from person to person, making matters exceedingly complicated.

Of course, there were also positive examples with excellent results. Certain abilities complemented one another when mastered together, offsetting each other's weaknesses and enhancing each other's strengths, producing effects far beyond their normal power.

Thus, starting in the twenty-first century, countries across Earth had invested countless resources into researching abilities, trying to identify the best ability combinations while learning from other civilizations and races. After two centuries of accumulation, every nation now possessed vast amounts of data.

By analyzing ability data and putting it into practice, they eventually arrived at a series of optimal ability combinations.

These ability combinations were Class Templates! Like in virtual games, each Class Template had a name, such as Giant General, Shadow Blade, Martial Artist, Gravity Master, Mind Hacker, Superconducting Arcanist, and so on.

A Class Template generally consisted of five abilities, though some had as many as seven or eight.

The greatest advantage of Class Templates was their stability, along with guaranteed strength. Their component abilities were relatively common, had a low chance of conflict, high fusion success rates, and considerable potential. They could quickly form combat effectiveness, and the methods for breaking through bottlenecks were well established. Thus, they were the choice of most espers.

Although Class Templates were fixed, the path of evolution was not.

As long as they weren't afraid of conflicts and could successfully fuse abilities, espers could change their minds midway and switch to another Class Template at any time.

Of course, there were always people who wanted to blaze their own trail, abandoning Class Templates to freely explore their evolutionary paths.

Such people were called Unclassed Espers, and they were exceedingly rare.

An Unclassed Esper was either a genius or a fool, or someone who had obtained an extraordinarily powerful ability that lacked research data and fell outside the scope of Class Templates, leaving them no other choice.

Thus, Unclassed Espers were either exceptionally strong or exceptionally weak.

Their ceiling was high, but their floor was even lower.

The overwhelming majority of espers still prioritized stability and chose Class Templates.

At present, there were more than forty mature Class Templates worldwide that suited humans. Including incomplete Class Templates and certain unique ability combinations, that number would be two or three times higher.

Ji Xinghuo had no intention of becoming an Unclassed Esper. After careful consideration the night before, he had chosen Ranger.

Ranger was one of the most popular Class Templates.

According to Astral Defense Council statistics, Rangers accounted for 7% of espers worldwide, ranking fifth in total numbers! A Ranger's primary combat method was ranged attacks, but their close-combat strength was also exceptional. They were agile and nimble, with quick reactions, making them a relatively well-rounded Class Template.

Moreover, Rangers were in high demand, so they never had to worry about finding work.

The root cause lay in the Astral Realm.

The Astral Realm existed between reality and illusion, a parallel world to the material universe.

It was a higher-dimensional space formed from the thoughts and emotions of countless intelligent beings combined with the infinite energy at the center of the Milky Way.

The natural laws of the Astral Realm were completely different from the physical laws of the real universe. It was filled with a wondrous energy that acted upon both the microscopic world and the spiritual world, and possessed idealistic characteristics. Scientists called this energy by a term physics had abandoned in the twentieth century—Ether! Ether was the source of all supernatural power.

It could open star gates leading to the Astral Realm, stimulate the evolution of life, grant mastery over great power, and forge superhumans.

At the same time, Ether rendered all electronic devices, firearms, and nuclear weapons ineffective in the Astral Realm. Any weapons or tools made through physical laws and chemical reactions could not be used there.

This was an ironclad law of the Astral Realm! Even the oldest and most powerful civilizations in the Milky Way had to obey this rule!

Unable to use firearms, espers lost the vast majority of their long-range attack methods. Low-level espers in particular could almost only fight in close combat within the Astral Realm.

That was why long-range attack capabilities were especially valuable in the Astral Realm.

And Rangers could meet that need.

The Ranger Class Template was built around the ability to "shoot." In its early stages, it primarily used bows as weapons, while its close-combat strength was no slouch either.

More importantly, when Rangers left the Astral Realm and returned to Earth, replacing bows with firearms would boost their strength by several levels.

Most espers became relatively weaker on Earth.

Only Rangers and two or three other classes instead saw their strength soar on Earth, and Rangers received the greatest boost of all.

Whether serving as snipers on the battlefield or assassinating targets in cities, Rangers were terrifying presences whose deterrence far surpassed that of other classes.

The Ranger class also had tremendous potential, with many possible advancement paths.

However, Ji Xinghuo had not chosen Ranger solely for employment prospects and potential. The bigger reason was that it was highly compatible with the Myriad Stellar Eye.

The Ranger Class Template included five abilities.

They were "Thousand Spirit Dexterous Hands," "Flash Step," "Intuitive Reflex," "Precision," and "Balance."

The Myriad Stellar Eye could replace both "Intuitive Reflex" and "Precision." Moreover, the Myriad Stellar Eye was more powerful than those two abilities, with the additional eye-related effects of Eagle Eye, Infrared Vision, and See the Minute. Taken together, they were enough to give a Ranger unbelievable perception! As long as he could obtain Thousand Spirit Dexterous Hands, his Class Template would be nearly complete.

He had just become an esper, yet he would already possess three abilities, two steps ahead of everyone else.

Ji Xinghuo's plans did not end there.

Next, he had to find a way to earn enough money to purchase cultivation resources and services. He would strive to undergo another life evolution within one or two years, advance to Intermediate Esper, and fuse another Ability Seed.

During that time, it would be best if he could obtain an Expansion Oddity as well, allowing him to fuse an additional Ability Seed.

If everything went smoothly, he would possess five abilities as an Intermediate Esper, his Class Template would be fully formed, and his strength would far surpass that of espers at the same level! Plans were always wonderful.

Ji Xinghuo became somewhat immersed in the beautiful future he had envisioned and drifted off for a moment. Then his phone gave a soft vibration as he received a message.

At the same time, a woman's voice came through. "Mr. Ji, your application has been approved. You may collect your Ability Seed now."

Ji Xinghuo perked up and immediately rose to his feet.

"Please follow me."

Ji Xinghuo followed the staff member up to the fifth floor and entered one of the spotless, quiet rooms. This was the service center's ability fusion room.

To prevent Ability Seeds from being falsely claimed or resold, the Astral Department had issued regulations stating that all Ability Seeds obtained through applications could not be taken out of the service center and had to be fused on the spot. If one was not in suitable physical condition, the fusion could be postponed, but for no longer than a month.

Naturally, Ji Xinghuo chose to fuse the Ability Seed immediately.

The person responsible for fusing Ji Xinghuo's Ability Seed was a female doctor in a white lab coat, around fifty years old, with a calm expression. After verifying Ji Xinghuo's identity once more, she said softly, "Please sit down. There's no need to be nervous, Mr. Ji. The Ability Seed will be ready shortly."

"Alright." Ji Xinghuo nodded gently.

The female doctor's smile was infectious, putting him even more at ease.

Soon, a staff member entered carrying a metal case and handed it to the doctor.

She opened the case in front of Ji Xinghuo and removed a cryogenically stored test tube. It contained a transparent solution, within which a pale gray mass floated.

Ji Xinghuo's eyes lit up. This was the Thousand Spirit Dexterous Hands Ability Seed!

The Thousand Spirit Dexterous Hands Ability Seed took the form of a tangled mass of roots. It had multiple sources, most of them related to plants from the Astral Realm.

Such a tiny thing was worth 1.6 million Asia Yuan.

The doctor used tweezers to lift out the Ability Seed and gently placed it into another test tube.

The test tube contained a freshly prepared reagent. As the root-like Ability Seed fell into it, it immediately began to wriggle and struggle like a living thing, like an earthworm drowning in water.

Gradually, the Ability Seed's form dispersed and faded. A few minutes later, it had completely dissolved into the reagent.

The doctor gently shook the test tube and nodded in satisfaction.

"Take off your shirt."

Ji Xinghuo did as instructed. He had already known that Thousand Spirit Dexterous Hands was fused through injection, so he was not surprised.

The doctor drew the liquid into a syringe, swabbed both sides of Ji Xinghuo's collarbones with alcohol, and reassured him, "It may hurt a little. Grit your teeth and bear it. Don't move under any circumstances."

"Yes."

Ji Xinghuo nodded solemnly.

The doctor's hand was exceptionally steady. The needle pierced the area above Ji Xinghuo's right collarbone, angled downward, and reached the brachial plexus behind the collarbone.

Ji Xinghuo frowned slightly. It truly hurt, but compared to the agony of fusing the Myriad Stellar Eye the night before, it was nothing. He had undergone the Willpower Test many times, and even Level 7 Electric Shock Pain was worse than this. He gritted his teeth and endured it.

Once half the reagent had been injected, the doctor immediately withdrew the needle and inserted it above his other collarbone, injecting the remaining half.

"All done." The doctor smiled. "It went very smoothly. Wait in the observation room for half an hour. If you feel any discomfort, report it immediately."

Ji Xinghuo put his shirt back on. "Thank you, Doctor."

After he sat down in the observation room, his phone received a set of "Ability Fusion Precautions," complete with possible reactions after fusing Thousand Spirit Dexterous Hands, training methods for the ability, how to recover from fusion failure, and so on. It was extremely detailed, and the service was very considerate.

Very soon, Ji Xinghuo felt the effects.

From his shoulders down to his palms, a faint itch began to spread, accompanied by mild pain. It felt as if countless tiny needles were roaming through his arms, painful and itchy at once, while both hands went numb.

Ji Xinghuo did not panic at all.

These were all normal phenomena mentioned in the precautions.

Thousand Spirit Dexterous Hands was a Ranger's most important core ability. It could make both hands exceptionally nimble and steady, heighten the sensitivity of touch, and allow the hands to perform complex, delicate movements. Any hand-related skill could be mastered rapidly.

Through the injection, the ability fused into the Brachial Plexus Nerve in the neck, then spread into the ulnar nerve, radial nerve, and median nerve.

These three nerve branches, along with the lower peripheral nerves, controlled all movement in the human upper limbs—from the arms to the palms, and then to the fingers.

Ji Xinghuo carefully sensed the changes in his hands.

A moment later.

The pain and itch inside his arms began to fade. He could feel his hands again, and they were clearly more sensitive than before.

He lightly clenched and opened his fists, and the sensations coming from his palms were extraordinarily subtle.

With a casual wave, he could even sense changes in the airflow passing between his fingers. Each finger seemed like an independent organ, capable of making precise movements.

The sense of touch in his hands had become more refined. Even with his eyes closed, merely feeling an object with his hands allowed him to form an accurate outline of it in his mind.

The reaction speed of both hands had also noticeably increased.

Ji Xinghuo recalled a flashy technique video he had watched before.

"I'll give it a try too."

He took out his phone and balanced the center of its back on his index finger. With a slight exertion of force, he made the phone spin on his fingertip, but after two or three rotations, it lost balance and slipped off.

With a flip of his palm, he caught the phone and tried again.

After only a dozen or so attempts, Ji Xinghuo had grasped the trick. He could spin the phone on his index finger, and whenever it was about to slip off, he would lightly flick it with another finger to restore its balance. At most, it spun more than a hundred times before losing balance.

Although it did not spin as fast as in the video he had watched, and could only barely surpass a hundred rotations, it was still an impressive display of skill.

"Amazing!"

Ji Xinghuo exclaimed in admiration. It truly deserved to be called an Outstanding Ability.

No wonder it could become a Ranger's core ability! A Ranger's primary weapon was the bow and arrow, and seventy percent of their strength lay in shooting. One could easily imagine how greatly Thousand Spirit Dexterous Hands improved archery. And it was not limited to archery—Rangers also carried melee weapons. Whether blades, swords, or daggers, Thousand Spirit Dexterous Hands was equally beneficial to martial arts.

Furthermore, like many other abilities, Thousand Spirit Dexterous Hands could be upgraded through training.

"Does this count as a successful fusion?"

A smile appeared on Ji Xinghuo's face. He had never doubted for a moment that he could become an esper. "Now that I've mastered my first ability, I'm an esper, even if I'm only an Elementary Esper."

At that thought, Ji Xinghuo's mind stirred.

He lowered his head slightly and looked at the ground. The interface of the Myriad Stellar Eye unfolded in his vision. Sure enough, the information on the interface had changed!

Myriad Stellar Eye Master: Ji Xinghuo

Race: Earth Human

Rank: Elementary Esper

Ability: Thousand Spirit Dexterous Hands (Level 1, 1/47)

Spirit Source Energy: 0