The room was huge, and blue lights flickered along the walls.
On a raised platform, a man with a broad chest and elegant attire stood calmly.
Beneath the platform stood 28 teenagers, each one with a straight face and eyes far too old for their age.
Tarin looked at the students, then cleared his throat.
"You all know why you are here."
"But for those that don't fully understand, you are here to fight for the human race's future."
"But you can't do anything; at least not now."
"Your bodies are still too weak, and have barely been tempered by spiritual energy."
"The academy would teach you to be strong, strong enough to stand against any threat in the stars."
"Are you willing to fight for the human race?" Tarin's voice boomed.
"Yes sir," the students replied with a scream.
"Even when the training becomes too hard?"
"Yes sir."
"When it seems like the path to power is endless?"
"Yes sir."
"Good," Tarin smiled.
"Remember your words."
"Return to your dorms. Lesson starts tomorrow."
As he spoke, he turned towards the door behind the platform, and walked in.
As Tarin's form disappeared, the students finally heaved a sigh of relief.
"Yo, Orin."
"What do you say we grab something to drink?" Kael asked with a wink.
"No," Orin replied directly.
"Why? Everything here is free. You don't have to pay," Kael pleaded.
"Not a chance. I still haven't thought of a path. I can't waste my time with things like drinks."
"But you are not the only one, all of us here haven't even found a direction to head. Why do you have to be this way?"
"With how high my comprehension is, you expect me to reduce myself to that level? Stop dreaming," Orin said with a proud tone.
"Just for 30 minutes and you refused?" Kael said, his tone softening, like he was about to cry.
"No, don't," Orin warned.
"Fine, fine, I will follow you," Orin said.
"Yes, it worked," Kael whispered.
"What was that?"
"Nothing," Kael replied.
Deep down, Orin knew he had been played, but he followed Kael.
At the same time, the other students were also discussing.
Some sharing insights about their paths, some talking about how things were before they were selected for the academy.
And some boys were... Talking about girls.
But amidst all of this, 4 students stood calmly, their backs resting on the walls.
None of the other students dared to look at them.
They were the heirs to the biggest clans in the world.
The weakest of them, Elan Thorn, a broad-shouldered boy with wild red hair, untamed and falling in jagged tufts over his brow. He wore a high-collared black coat, polished boots. Over his chest, stitched in crimson thread, was a crest of two crossed swords.
Next was Mira Thalor. She had sharp eyes framed by yellow hair. She wore a long silver coat with yellow lining. On her chest gleamed a yellow crest: a coiled serpent encircling a star.
Zara Sylen stood tall, her stance elegant and dignified like she was a divine being who descended in human form. She was draped in flowing white and gold, with a crest of a winged sun upon her chest. She looked less like a girl and more like prophecy given flesh.
But what was noticeable was the fact that even these people seemed to be scared of someone.
Serathen faced down, his eyes slightly closed. His coat was black trimmed with gold. A golden clasp held his high collar in place. On his chest was a crest shaped like a shield.
On it were carvings of a Dragon and a Lion separated by a golden sword.
Serathen looked up, his motion calm and deliberate.
He turned towards the door, and left the hall.
The hallway was lit with golden lights.
Serathen stopped in front of a golden door with a tag: Serathen.
He swiped his card over it, and the door slid open, revealing a huge room.
He stepped in calmly, and walked toward a chair that stood calmly in the centre of the room.
Behind him was the massive bed and wardrobe.
"Ha ha ha ha," he laughed out loud, his usual cold demeanour no longer present.
"I finally completed the system's main quest. I waited for 16 years, for that short speech from instructor Tarin."
"But it is finally over, the system is finally activated fully."
"System," he said, voice brimming with excitement.
[Yes, host.]
A blue panel shimmered into existence in his sight.
"Show me everything. What did I unlock?" he said, his voice filled with authority.
[Primordial system activated.]
[You have unlocked the following functions: System shop, Ancestral dive.]
[Host has gained skill: Absolute understanding.]
Serathen looked at the system prompts, his smirk never leaving his face.
But he stopped. "Wouldn't you explain them to me?"
[System shop: Using primordial points(PP), the host can purchase anything within the system store.]
[Ancestral dive: Using PP, the host can connect to ancient gods and learn from them.]
[Absolute understanding: Grants perfect comprehension of any concept, technique, or truth the moment it is observed.]
"This is crazy, Serathen pointed at the projected screen. With this, creating my path would be easier."
He quickly opened a terminal on his wrist watch, and checked what they had the next day.
"Spiritual theory, weapon mastery, and tool crafting," he mused.
"After that, we are given an hour in the human race's repository to try and discover our paths."
"I am very sure I would discover my path tomorrow with a skill this OP."
Serathen removed his gaze from the skill, and looked at the most surprising thing he saw.
"System, these ancient gods, how strong are they?"
Serathen waited, but did not receive any response.
"Is this thing broken?" He asked with furrowed brows.
He tried t hit it, but his hand went through it.
"Did my system get hacked?" Serathen asked, his face grim.
Then, the system lit up.
[System A. I fully online.]
Serathen blinked when he heard this.
"Weren'tyou online previously?"
[No, you were only using the beta-version.]
[I am the real system A. I]
Serathen nodded calmly, then asked his question again.
[I can't accurately measure their powers, but what I can say is that the weakest one can destroy this universe easily.]