"Status" I call out, wiping the sweat from today's workout off of my forehead before it drips into my eyes.
[Name: Buford Presley]
[Race: Human]
[Level: 1]
[HP: 2600]
[XP: 200/1000]
[Age: 15]
[Class: Gamer(F-Tier)] [-] [+]
[System: Idle Game System]
[Stamina: 9] [-] [+]
[Agility: 8] [-] [+]
[Strength: 8] [-] [+]
[Intelligence: 20] [-] [+]
[Wisdom: 20] [-] [+]
[Energy: 0/3400]
[Mana: 0/8000]
[Sprint (F>E)] (5 Seconds>7 Seconds)
[Mana Imbuement (F>E)] (Can imbue mana into weapons as well)
[Meditate (F>E)] (10%>15%)
[Well Fed (F>E)] (1% per 10 seconds>1% per 5 seconds)
Greatly pleased with the weeks of effort and the new numbers on my status window, as well as the improvements to my abilities, I open up my phone to gaze longingly at another greatly pleasing number.
2647.23$
A month had passed, and I finally got my second paycheck. I had spent a good chunk of my free time looking into PC parts and picking deals, and it was finally the day to buy everything and build it!
Opting to shower in the gym, I order the parts and quickly clean myself up before heading home. As I got home, I was greeted with a sight I'd been dreaming of. All of my orders had arrived!
I quickly brought them inside, took my time enjoying building the PC, carefully applying the thermal paste, and making sure the cords were beautifully organized, before hooking it up to the monitor.
I carefully peel back the plastic film on the glass casing, reveling in the culmination of my hard work, before pressing the power button and watching it light up and whir to life.
The first thing I install is, of course, all the drivers for the hardware, the second thing being an awesome looking MMO I've been wanting to play all month but unable to due to the low specs of my laptop.
I spend the next few hours playing the game, leveling and chatting occasionally with the fellow players.
As I'm playing, I suddenly hear the doorbell ring. I walk my character over to a path and head to the door, wondering who it could be.
Opening the door, I'm greeted with a face I haven't seen since the day I arrived in this world.
"Miss Grace, hello! Lovely to see you again, how can I help you?" I smile.
"I came to check in on you since it's been a mon- wait. Did you awaken?"
"Hm? Oh, yeah, I did. Why?" I reply nonchalantly.
"Have you registered with the Awakened Association?" She asked.
"No, I haven't. Do I need to?" I ask, a little concerned that I may have accidentally broken a law.
"The law mandates registering yourself as an awakened within 6 weeks of awakening." She replied.
I stiffen slightly. Well, I still have 2 weeks, at least.
"Ah, well, that's good to know. I still have time then." I manage to reply.
"I can take you now if you'd like." She offered with a smile.
"I'll take you up on that offer, Miss Grace, thank you." I reply, getting my shoes and coat and following her out to her SUV.
We catch up on the drive, her tone conveying her genuine care for my wellbeing. Usually the tone I've read from workers like these has been that of someone just doing their job and asking questions they're required to ask to fill out reports, but her tone has none of that, just a genuine motherly concern, and it throws me off.
It scares me a little, if I'm being honest.
"Here we are. I can come in with you or wait out here if you'd like." She says, the vehicle pulling to a stop in front of a grandiose building that seems like it could withstand a nuclear missile.
"I can handle it myself, thank you. If you need to head out before I finish I can manage my way home, so don't worry if I take too long." I answer.
"Nonsense, I drove you here, I'm not gonna leave a kid stranded after taking him somewhere. Go on in, get registered, and don't worry about how long it takes. I'll be here to drive you home when you're done." She replies firmly.
She seems to be a very stubborn woman when it comes to being good to kids, a trait I really admire.
As I walk into the building, drinking in the sights of different people and their nervousness and excitement, I find myself thinking back to my previous life. I wonder how different it would have been if even one person had been like Miss Grace.
Shaking my head, I find my way to a line for a receptionist, wait my turn, and eventually get told to head to a different line to await testing.
I thank the man working the counter and head over to the line he pointed me towards, eyeing the others in line with curiosity.
Men and women from all different walks of life are lined up in front of me, some seeming nervous, some seeming confident, their expressions showing just how sure they are that they'll have a high tier class, and some showing a mix of nervousness and excitement.
From my reading on the Awakened Platform I found that people don't typically know the tier of their class before registering and getting tested, so I'm probably the only one here who already knows my results.
I also found that the only way anyone has ever increased the tier of the class they awakened was by going through an extremely rare phenomenon called Reawakening. It's so rare that in the entire history since the Mana Apocalypse hit, the cases of it happening can be counted on two hands.
I suppose I'll be considered an addition to that number when I upgrade my class with the system.
I watch as excited faces walk into the room, and exit either even happier than they entered, or with an expression so dejected you'd think they were just informed of a family member's passing.
About 10 minutes pass by, and finally a young man calls out my name, signaling that it's my turn, and ushers me into a medium-sized, poorly-lit room.
"Place your hands on the crystal and channel your mana, the intensity of the light will tell us what tier you are."
I place my hands on the crystal, channel my mana, and watch as it begins to light up.
'It's a little brighter than I'd expect for the lowest tier?' I muse to myself, my confusion growing as the light continues shining brighter and brighter.