Each student had been given an Awakening Potion a rare and expensive item.
The potion was made by alchemists using refined monster cores, and each batch required a C-rank core just to produce one vial. The cost? Around $3,500 USD each.
After drinking it, the student would place their hand on the Magic Awakening Orb/Stone a polished orb mined from deep inside high-ranking dungeons.
The moment they touched it, the Orb would glow, reacting to the surge of mana inside them.
Then, their stats would appear on the appraisal platform:
Name:
Age:
Class: ★★★★★ (5-Star)
Mana Quality:
Mana Count:
It only took a few seconds, but that brief moment would decide their entire future.
Every year, hundreds of billions of dollars were poured into schools just for this one day: the Awakening Ceremony. It wasn't just the government funding it. Major guilds also invested heavily, securing scouting rights to snatch up promising talents the moment they awakened.
To them, this wasn't just a school event it was a battlefield for recruitment.
The first student to step forward was a girl from Class D.
She looked plain nerdy glasses, neat braids, and the quiet kind that rarely spoke.
Her name was Jasmine, and she was visibly nervous.
Being the first to awaken wasn't something she wanted.
Ramon, the one-armed national hero standing on stage, noticed her trembling hands.
With a warm smile, like a gentle grandfather, he said softly,
"Take it easy."
Jasmine nodded, gathered her courage, and reached out to touch the crystal.
A bright yellow light burst from the orb. The swirling aura was intense.
Everyone leaned in. The mana counter lit up with astonishing numbers:
Name: Jasmine
Age: 18
Class: Healer ★★★★☆ (4-Star)
Mana Quality: A
Mana Count: 800
Gasps filled the auditorium.
"Whoa... a healer?"
"First one and it's already an A-rank?"
"That's one in a million!"
Before the scouts could even react, a sudden flash of blue light appeared beside Jasmine.
A young woman in a black and silver cloak stepped out of a short-range teleportation spell.
It was Mayumi, the Guild Master of the Empress Guild, and the youngest S-rank hunter in the country.
She spoke confidently, her voice echoing across the hall.
"The Empress Guild wants you."
Jasmine's eyes widened. She looked up at the beautiful woman, cheeks turning hall
"Y-Yes, ma'am! I want to join your guild!"
Just like that, the first high-potential talent was taken the empress did not even disclose or give any offer just invitation is enough since Empress Guild is one of the 4 major Guild, recognized not only in Philippines but around the world.
The other scouts could only groan.
From the scout section, chaos broke out.
"Damn it, how are we supposed to compete with this Big shots here?"
"She didn't even wait for the girl to catch her breath!"
"Our guild doesn't even have a healer we really desperate to have one even D rank is enough"
"That's cheating, right? It has to be cheating the Guild master personally recruit!"
"Dumb ass accept the reality even if your Guild master here, they would not be able to compete with major Guild leaders. "
One man in a beige suit slumped in his seat.
"First one and it's already gone..." he muttered, staring blankly.
"My guild master's gonna murder me, when he find out a good talent was snatched out of me, I just promoted to my position here as talent scout at Phoenix Guild"
Another recruiter pulled at his tie in frustration.
"It's fine... It's fine... There'll be more. This is just the start."
"That's the Empress Guild for you," someone whispered said by silver Fang talent scout.
"They sweep the best ones before we even blink." said by White Rose Guild, who only recruits women like the Empress Guild.
"She didn't even have to negotiate..." another groaned.
"Just shows up and boom, deal's done."
"If we could only get an A ranker healer we would become one of the Mid tier Guild. "
National-Level Guild
Definition: Guilds that have either:
Cleared an SSS-rank dungeon, or
Have 2 or more S-rank worldwid
Rarity: Only 22 exist worldwide.
Example: The Azure Guild the only National Guild in the Philippines.
Major Guild
The strongest guilds within a country owning at least 1 dimensional rift to be considered.
Known for clearing S-rank dungeons consistently.
Usually have at least one S-rank hunter and strong support teams.
Mid-Tier Guild
Definition: Guilds capable of clearing A-rank dungeons.
Often have a mix of B- and A-rank hunters.
Low-Tier Guild.
Guilds with fewer than 100 members.
Can clear B-rank or lower dungeons.
New Guild
Requirements to start a guild.
At least 4 founding members.
Guild Master must:
Be at Level 50+
Have a record of clearing 10 C-rank dungeons.
There were ten platforms glowing faintly with mana.
Ten students awakened at a time. Every few minutes, another batch stepped up.
The numbers quickly piled in:
42 A-ranks
103 B-ranks
180 C-ranks
300 D-ranks
20 E-ranks
40 F-ranks
The gym buzzed with tension. Recruiters whispered, pointed, scrambled to claim talents the moment their status flared into view.
"That one's ours!"
"Too late, he already got an offer."
Mid tier guild monopolized the Good talents they offer high signing bonus, salary and even skillstones to the promising talents.
"How the hell are we supposed to compete with these bigshots?"
Mid-tier guilds clenched their jaws as top guilds moved with untouchable speed, confident and unstoppable.
It was finally Rowel's lackeys' turn.
All six stepped onto the awakening platforms.
June awakened as a B-rank Swordsman – 2★
Carlo as a B-rank Alchemist – 3★
Jacob as a B-rank Ranger – 2★
But the remaining three stunned the entire auditorium.
Mark awakened as an A-rank Guardian 4★, one of the rarest tank classes.
Rodney as an A-rank Fire Mage – 3★, known for overwhelming offense.
Marcus as an A-rank Beast Tamer – 3★, a class bordering on S-rank. Beast Tamers can subdue even S-rank monsters, and their summoned beasts never truly die they can be re-summoned after death, stronger than before.
Gasps echoed from the audience.
Three A-ranks. Three B-ranks. All in one batch.
Recruiters rushed in.
"$500,000 signing bonus! Full armor set for the Swordsman!"
"$1 million and a rare wand for the Mage!"
"$2.5 million for the Beast Tamer! We'll even sponsor your first raid!"
"Join our Mercenary Guild!" one shouted.
"I'll personally guarantee a $10 million signing bonus and five Advanced Skillstones for A-rbatch three Advanced and $4 million for B-ranks!"
Skillstones
Skillstones are extremely rare and expensive items that grant the user a random skill upon use. Their effect is unpredictable, and once used, they cannot be undone or reused.
There are seven tiers of Skillstones, each increasing in power and value:
Tier Estimated Value (USD)
Low-Tier $50,000
Mid-Tier $500,000
Advanced $800,000
Elite $1,000,000
Rare $10,000,000
Unique $100,000,000
Legendary $1,000,000,000+
Once absorbed, the Skillstone binds permanently to the user, with no way to trade or transfer it.
The higher the tier, the more valuable and coveted it becomes.
Then a silence fell.
Iron Phoenix Guild stepped forward.
Their recruiter smiled confidently.
"Tsk. Is that all?"
He turned to the six.
"For the B-ranks we'll give you $10 million each, 2 Advanced Skillstones, and one Elite."
"For the A-ranks $15 million, ten Advanced, and two Elite Skillstones each. We'll also make you party leaders from day one."
The crowd erupted in shocked murmurs.
No other guild had offered anything near this level.
Iron Phoenix was living up to its name a powerhouse with deep pockets and an eye for talent.
They already had 34 A-rankers, and more than 10 thousand members, and it looked like they were about to claim three more.
"Phoenix guild was known as financial powerhouse in mid tier guild even though they are A rank,their resources was comparable to a major guild.
Then...
.A slow clap echoed across the auditorium.
Clap… clap… clap…
All eyes turned toward the source.
A tall figure with wild red hair strode confidently toward the stage, a lazy grin stretched across his face. His uniform was slightly rumpled, like he couldn't care less, and his every step screamed arrogance.
"Wow… Phoenix Guild. That was a very generous offer," he said, voice dripping with mock admiration.
He turned to the crowd, eyes gleaming.
"I'm honestly touched. You guys finally realize how amazing my friends are."
A murmur spread through the hall.
"But," he said, placing a hand dramatically on his chest,
"they've already pledged their loyalty… to me."
He jabbed a thumb toward himself, grinning wider.
"Because they know I'm the one destined to lead them, strong people needs strong leaders. "
There's a saying" the one who keep the her is the mountain dog."
Then, with confidence, he pulled out a small glass vial filled with a glowing potion. Without hesitation, he downed it in one gulp.
"I'll show you what is the difference of overwhelming strength"
He turned to the awakening stone, raised his right hand and slammed it down.
BOOM!
A violent gust of wind exploded outward as a searing red aura erupted around him. The pressure in the air thickened. Students near the front instinctively stepped back.
The screen above flared to life, brighter than any before.
Name: Rowel
Age: 18
Class: Berserker – ★★★★★ (5-Star)
Mana Quality: S-Rank
Mana Count: 1,500
Stunned silence swept the crowd.
A five-star class.
An S-rank awakening.
1,500 mana.
Everyone held their breath.
But before they could even react