~Laurent
People always say "Your future is not set in stone". They
believe that whatever choices you make will influence your destiny. Do you want
to know what I believe?
I believe that some things cannot be escaped no matter how
fast you run. In this world, one of those things is getting a system. In
Elarion, once a person gets to eighteen years of age, they are infused with a
system. A system that grants them power and gives more strength that was
initially thought impossible. Here, you get one of the seven system: Either the
Celestial, Necromancy, Titan, Shifter, Psychokinetic, Arcanist or Vampire
system.
I turned eighteen last week. Just in time for the Awakening
ceremony that unfortunately, was starting in just an hour. Most people are
excited about the awakening ceremony, they have every reason to be. But me? I
was terrified. I had a thing with bad luck. Losing both my parents at a young
age and having to go through most of my life alone was proof enough that I
wasn't one of the luckiest people alive. On one hand, I was looking forward to
the ceremony because this would make me more powerful and make sure I'm never
bullied again but on the other hand, I feared my bad luck might get in the way.
I stood in front of auditorium's entrance, the door
obstructed by a large number of people. It was just 8 in the morning but
excitement didn't let anyone stay in bed. I wrestled my way to the door and
went inside. I stood at the spot allocated for other people waiting to get
their systems. An older man stepped on the stage. He had brown eyes and auburn
curls. His physique exuded confidence and his build told tales of many years of
combat. He cleared his throat and took in the sight of us.
"For many years," He started. "The inhabitants of Elarion
lived in fear of the monsters lurking just beyond our borders. We knew it was
only a matter of time before they came forth and conquered us all. We had no
power of our own so we just lived everyday like it was our last, bracing
ourselves for the inevitable."
He stopped and looked around, making sure everyone was
paying attention.
"Until the gods decided to bless us by revealing the Obelisk
Crystal to us in the forest." He said, gesturing to a tall pillar made of
glistening crystals, this sparked applause and cheers. "This crystal have
granted us the power to dominate the monsters as it was meant to be. It granted
us the power to fight for what is ours. It grants us powers specifically
designed to our emotions, temperament and physical ability… and tonight, we share that power with you."
Everyone cheered and clapped as the man left the stage. The
awakening ceremony had begun. Most of us had been to awakening ceremonies
before so we knew how this worked. Walk on stage, place your hand on the
Obelisk, see your system and your rank then walk inside to be given directions
to the part of the school you'd be. Schooling doesn't end at eighteen here, it
actually gets more intense and could even cost you your life. Exciting, right?
The first person walked up. It was a guy. Golden hair, blue
eyes, muscular and had a jawline that looked like it was chiselled to
perfection by a master artist. He placed his hand on the crystal. It roared to
life and showed a colour–Gold. He was going to be a celestial. It showed a
rating of his power next, 1000mp. He was a S-ranked Celestial. In this world,
we calculate the strength of system wielders by ranks. The S rank was the
strongest. Their power usually read from around 801 to 1200mp with 1200mp being
the rare most powerful ones. A-rank was next in line with the rank being around
600 to 800, B rank was 400 to 600, C-rank was 200 to 400, D-rank was 100 to 200
and E rank which was considered the weakest, was from 10 to 100mp. They were
regarded to as just slightly powered humans because their powers levels was as
good as useless in battle.
The second person stepped up. She placed her trembling hand
on the crystal and it roared to life. It showed the colour blue. She was going
to be a psychokinetic. Her rating was 399. She was a C rank. C ranks had power
but they were still not respected. The only ranks that people took seriously
were the S,A and B ranks. The S ranks see themselves as gods because their powers
are almost limitless. Like an S rank Celestial for instance. Other ranks can
wield one elemental power with some wielding two and others three or four. The
S rank can not only yield four but can combine elements and even create new
ones like lightning, lava, ice and metal. S rank Shifters for instance can turn
to any creature of their choice even if the creature doesn't exist and was only
formed from their imagination while other ranks can only turn to either
domestic animals, wild animals, furniture or maybe even kitchen utensils.
Kitchen utensil shifters are what we call E rank for them. How a fork would be
useful in a battle against monsters is what I'm failing to understand.
When the crowd cleared, I saw my chance. I stepped forward,
my heart hammering in his chest. I looked around and saw everyone staring at
me. A few of the people here knew me. Mostly for bad things like chaos and
being weak but after today, that was going to change. Even if I get only a
A-rank system, I'll still get the respect that I've been lacking for years. I
didn't know what to expect from the Obelisk but I knew that from this day,
everything was finally going to change for the better for me.
I placed my hand on the crystal and it whirred. It flashed
black. I got a vampire system. I was so excited. The amazing things I would do.
Flying, summoning bats, super speed, night vision, increased combat ability,
good eyesight. I was already excited thinking about the future. Things were
suddenly looking up.
I looked and watched the rating load and then it stopped. I
rubbed my eyes to be sure I wasn't seeing the rating wrongly. I wasn't.
It read 10mp. I was the latest E-rank vampire.