Chapter 4: Ranger
by xennovel“Okay.”
The staff member showed no particular reaction to Ji Xinghuo’s choice and immediately registered his application.
Ji Xinghuo wasn’t worried his application would be rejected. He had passed two tests with scores far above most.
Even though the Skilled Hand is a sought-after ability, it’s not scarce. Even if he had to wait, it wouldn’t be long.
He asked again, “Does the service center have any Skilled Hand variants available?”
The female staff member hesitated.
She looked down at Ji Xinghuo’s test scores then replied, “We should have some. A batch of variants arrived the day before yesterday, and a few of them were Skilled Hand. Mr. Ji’s application could be approved very soon, and he could receive the variant immediately.”
“Thank you.”
Ji Xinghuo gave her a bright smile, sat down to wait and thought, “If I can get the variant today, that would be smooth.”
Skilled Hand is a remarkable ability.
Ability tiers were originally published by the Star Defense Council. From low to high, the first four are: Basic, Quality, Remarkable, Limitless.
This standard is used not only by Earth’s nations but across the star realms, albeit under slightly different names.
Remarkable abilities are quite rare.
Even among remarkable abilities, Skilled Hand is among the most coveted, with market prices around 1.6 million Asia Yuan.
Often, even if one has the money, a wait is inevitable.
This is because Skilled Hand is the central ability for the “Ranger” career template.
Career templates can be seen as pathways for a mutant’s life evolution.
Usually, a mutant evolves once and can only merge with one variant. Therefore, choosing the right ability is crucial—it determines the mutant’s strength.
However, there are too many abilities!
Leaving mutants to choose themselves, they wouldn’t know which abilities offer the best solution.
Nearly two centuries since the Star Gate opened, Earth has gathered abilities and their information, most of which are catalogued in the Star Defense Council’s database, totaling over 12,000.
Earth’s nations, along with various forces, organizations, and individuals, likely hid some abilities. The total number could reach 20,000.
Over 90% of these 20,000 abilities are basic, having similar effects and low potency, some even useless.
The remaining 10% are nearly impossible to fully research.
Many abilities conflict and cannot be merged.
Some abilities are simply unsuitable for earthlings, possibly due to genetic differences or other factors, and the fusion success rate is zero.
Some abilities, even if successfully merged, significantly drop in potency or even fail mysteriously.
And due to individual differences, it’s very complicated.
Of course, there are good examples where some abilities complement each other, enhancing effects far beyond the norm.
Since the 21st century, Earth nations have invested countless resources studying abilities, trying to find optimal combinations, and learning from other civilizations. After two centuries, a lot of data has been gathered.
Analyzing ability data and putting it into practice, they’ve found the best ability combinations.
These combinations are the “career templates”!
Like in virtual games, each career template has a name, e.g., “Great General,” “Shadow Blade,” “Martial Artist,” “Graviton,” “Mind Hacker,” “Superconductor,” etc.
A career template typically comprises five abilities, though some might have seven or eight.
The biggest advantage of a career template is stability and guaranteed strength. The components are relatively common, with low conflict rates and high fusion success rates, offering significant potential and rapid combat readiness—thus, most mutants choose them.
While career templates are fixed, the path of evolution is not.
As long as conflicts aren’t feared, mutants can change their minds at any time, switching to other templates.
However, some prefer to forge their paths, abandoning career templates for a freer exploration of evolution.
These individuals are called “no-class mutants,” very rare.
No-class mutants are either geniuses or fools or have acquired extremely powerful, yet undocumented abilities not covered by career templates, out of necessity.
So, no-class mutants are either extraordinarily strong or incredibly weak.
Their potential ceiling is high, but their floor much lower.
Most mutants still prefer stability and choose career templates.
Nowadays, over forty career templates are suited for humans globally. If incomplete templates and unique combinations are included, the number might triple.
Ji Xinghuo decided not to become a no-class mutant. After careful consideration last night, he chose “Ranger.”
Ranger is one of the most popular career templates.
Data from the Star Defense Council shows that Rangers make up 7% of all mutants globally, ranking fifth in number!
Rangers primarily fight from a distance, but their melee capabilities are also strong. They are agile and responsive, making them a well-rounded template.
Plus, Rangers are always in demand, never having to worry about employment.
The root lies in the Star Realm.
The Star Realm sits between reality and fantasy, a parallel universe of the material universe.
Consisting of countless sentient beings’ thoughts and emotions combined with infinite energy from the galaxy’s center, it’s a super-dimensional space.
The Star Realm’s natural laws differ from the physical rules of the real universe. It’s filled with a magical energy that influences both the microscopic and the mental world, characterized by idealism—a term discarded by 20th-century physics called “ether.”
Ether is the source of all supernatural powers.
It opens the Star Gates, stimulates life evolution, grants immense power, and creates the extraordinary.
Ether also renders all electronic devices, firearms, and nuclear weapons inoperative in the Star Realm. Anything dependent on physical rules and chemical reactions ceases to function there.
This is an iron law of the Star Realm!
Even the most ancient and powerful civilizations in the Milky Way must adhere to this rule!
Without firearms, mutants mostly lose long-range attack capabilities, especially lower-tier mutants, who are limited to close combat in the Star Realm.
Hence, long-range attack capabilities are especially precious there.
Rangers meet this demand.
The Ranger template is based around “shooting” abilities, initially using bows as the primary weapon, though their melee strength isn’t weak either.
More key, Rangers, upon returning to Earth and switching their bows for firearms, see their strength increase significantly.
Most mutants see a relative decrease in strength on Earth.
Only Rangers and a few other careers see their powers surge on Earth, with Rangers experiencing the greatest increase.
Whether serving as snipers on the battlefield or assassinating targets in cities, Rangers are a chilling presence, their deterrence far surpassing other careers.
Rangers also have great career potential with many advanced paths available.
However, Ji Xinghuo chose Ranger not just for employment and potential but because it matches perfectly with the All-Seeing Eye.
The Ranger career template includes five abilities.
They are “Skilled Hand,” “Blink Step,” “Intuitive Reflex,” “Precision,” and “Balance.”
The All-Seeing Eye can replace “Intuitive Reflex” and “Precision,” and its functions exceed those two abilities. Additionally, it provides Hawk Eye, Infrared Vision, and Micro Vision—three eye-related effects that together grant Rangers incredible perceptual abilities!
Once his application for Skilled Hand is approved, his career template will nearly be complete.
Having mastered three abilities as a new mutant, he is two steps ahead of others.
But Ji Xinghuo’s plans don’t stop there.
Next, he plans to earn enough money to buy cultivation resources and services, aiming for another life evolution to an intermediate mutant within one or two years, allowing another variant fusion.
In the meantime, it would be best to acquire a “Capacity Expander” for an additional ability merge.
If all goes well, he would have five abilities as an intermediate mutant, his career template fully formed, far surpassing peers at the same level.
Plans are always beautiful.
Ji Xinghuo somewhat got lost in the beautiful future he envisioned, drifting off until a light vibration from his phone brought him back.
Then a female voice came through: “Mr. Ji, your application has been approved. You can now collect your variant.”
Ji Xinghuo perked up and stood immediately.
“Please follow me.”
Ji Xinghuo followed the staff member to the fifth floor, into one of the tranquil, white rooms—this was the service center’s ability fusion room.
To prevent false claims or reselling, the Star Realm Department issued a rule: variants approved and collected here cannot be taken from the service center and must be merged on-site. If one feels unwell, the procedure can be delayed, but not beyond a month.
Naturally, Ji Xinghuo chose to merge with the variant right away.
A female doctor in a white lab coat, around fifty years old with a calm demeanor, reverified Ji Xinghuo’s identity. She then said gently, “Please sit, Mr. Ji. There’s no need to be nervous; the variant will be ready soon.”
“Okay,” Ji Xinghuo nodded lightly.
The doctor’s smile was infectious, helping him relax further.
Soon, a staff member came in carrying a metal box, handing it to the doctor.
She opened the box in front of Ji Xinghuo and took out a cryogenically frozen test tube containing a transparent solution with a light grey mass floating inside.
Ji Xinghuo’s eyes lit up. This was the Skilled Hand variant!
The form of the Skilled Hand variant looked like tangled roots, mostly derived from Star Realm plants.
This tiny thing was worth 1.6 million Asia Yuan.
The doctor used tweezers to carefully place the variant into another test tube.
The test tube contained a freshly prepared solution. The root-like variant fell in and immediately began to wriggle and struggle, like drowning earthworms.
Gradually, the variant’s shape dispersed, fading until it completely dissolved into the solution after a few minutes.
The doctor gently shook the test tube and nodded in satisfaction.
“Take off your shirt.”
Following her instructions, Ji Xinghuo complied. He already knew the Skilled Hand fusion method was via injection, so he wasn’t surprised.
The doctor drew the solution into a syringe and wiped Ji Xinghuo’s clavicle area with alcohol. She comforted him, saying, “It might hurt a bit. Clench your teeth and bear with it, and please, don’t move.”
“Yes.”
Ji Xinghuo nodded solemnly.
The doctor’s hands were very steady as she inserted the needle slightly above Ji Xinghuo’s right clavicle, angling it downward to reach the brachial plexus behind the collarbone.
Ji Xinghuo frowned slightly; it was indeed painful, but compared to the agony of merging with the All-Seeing Eye the previous night, it was bearable. He had undergone several willpower tests, enduring even level seven electric shocks—it was more painful but manageable.
After half the solution was injected, the doctor quickly withdrew the needle and inserted it into the other clavicle, injecting the rest of the solution.
“All done,” the doctor said with a smile. “That went well. Please wait in the observation room for half an hour. If you feel unwell, report immediately.”
Ji Xinghuo dressed, “Thank you, doctor.”
He sat down in the observation room and immediately received a document on his phone—
Soon, Ji Xinghuo felt the reactions.
From his shoulders down to his palms, he began to feel a slight itch accompanied by a mild pain, like countless tiny needles moving through his arms, painful and itchy, causing numbness in his hands.
Ji Xinghuo wasn’t alarmed.
These were all normal phenomena mentioned in the care instructions.
Skilled Hand, the core ability of the Ranger, would make his hands extremely agile and stable. He would become more sensitive to touch, able to perform complex, delicate movements. Any skill involving his hands would be quickly mastered.
Through the injection, the variant integrated into the neck’s brachial plexus, then spread to the ulnar, radial, and median nerves.
These three nerve branches and even smaller terminal nerves govern all movements from the upper limbs to the hands, and fingers.
Ji Xinghuo carefully feels the changes in his hands.
A moment later.
The pain and itch inside his arms begin to fade, and he can feel his hands again, significantly more sensitive than before.
He gently clenches and then opens his fists, feeling very subtle sensations in his palms.
With a casual wave, he can detect changes in the air passing between his fingers, each one capable of precise movements.
His touch has become finer; even with his eyes closed, he can form precise outlines of objects just by feeling them.
His hands’ reaction speed also seems a bit faster.
Ji Xinghuo recalls a skillful video he once watched.
“Let’s give it a try.”
He takes out his phone, places his index finger at the center of the back of the phone, and with a little force, makes the phone spin on his fingertip. However, it only spins a few turns before losing balance and sliding off.
His palm flips and catches the phone, then he tries again.
After only about a dozen attempts, Ji Xinghuo masters the technique, managing to keep the phone spinning on his finger. Whenever the phone nearly slips off, he gently taps it with another finger to regain balance, achieving hundreds of spins at most in one go.
Although the spin speed and count aren’t as high as in the video, breaking a hundred is impressive enough to demonstrate his skill.
“Impressive!”
Ji Xinghuo exclaims, no wonder this ability is core to the Ranger.
The main weapon for Rangers is the bow, with seventy percent of their strength focused on shooting. The significant enhancement that the Thousand Nimble Hands brings to archery is evident. Not only for archery but also for melee weapons—be it knives, swords, or daggers—this ability significantly benefits martial techniques.
Like many abilities, Thousand Nimble Hands can be enhanced through training.
“Looks like the fusion succeeded?”
Ji Xinghuo smiles; he’s never doubted his potential to become a Transformed — “Now that I’ve got my first ability, I’m officially a Transformed, even if only at the beginner level.”
Thinking this, Ji Xinghuo triggers a thought.
He looks down slightly toward the ground, and the interface for the Myriad Images Star Eye unfolds in his vision. Sure enough, the information has changed!
【Myriad Images Star Eye Master: Ji Xinghuo】
【Species: Earth Human】
【Level: Beginner Transformed】
【Ability: Thousand Nimble Hands (Level 1/47)】
【Spiritual Source Energy: 0】