Ravenford's central hall was alive with noise. Thousands of people had gathered.
Nervous youths, their guardians and the guild staff moving briskly among them. The air was subtly seasoned with polished steel, incense, and something more. a bitter aftertaste of mana that stuck to the skin.
At the other end of the hall, high on the balcony where nobility reigned apart from the masses, Duke Garrick Starfall stood, watching the scene unfold beneath his gaze. His presence alone seemed to command the room like a mountain presiding over a valley. He had on dark blue robes with silver thread embroidered in them, and he looked every inch the man who had led hunters on hundreds of expeditions. His piercing eyes swept the crowd, cold but anticipatory.
"Today", his voice thundered, easily carrying, "is the most significant step of your lives. Within these walls, your fates shall be revealed. Some of you will rise. Some… will remain as you are. Remember, what awakens within you is permanent. Power is fixed…unchangeable. No matter what you awakened in, you will still be an important asset to this kingdom."
A hush fell over the hall. Even the children clutched at their parents' hands tighter.
Rick and Fin slipped into the crowd, clutching the small brass tokens they had been given. Numbers etched into the surface determined when they would walk. Rick glanced at his: 273. Fin's was 274. They would go in together, one after the other.
The boys exchanged a quick grin, though their hands were clammy.
"Man," Fin muttered under his breath, "look at all this. It's like a treasure hoard."
He wasn't exaggerating. The massive hall was filled with rows of dungeon loot, gleaming swords and chipped daggers, cracked monster cores, mysterious crystals, enchanted trinkets, and even scraps of cloth humming faintly with mana. All that was collected from dungeons is scattered on both sides of the hall. Each item had once been pulled from the depths of a dungeon. Each was a possible key to someone's awakening.
One by one, the unawakened were called. A young girl approached first, her hands trembling as she walked through the scattered relics. For a moment, nothing happened. Then a silver glow erupted around her body while reaching the end of the hall. She gasped, tears spilling as the crowd cheered.
At the hall's end, the ceremony master stood with a crystal ball. Looking at the girl, with a smile on her face, she said, 'Dear, put your hand above the ball.' As she put her hand on the ball, the ball showed something that only the ceremony master knows. Just a few moments later the ceremony master shouted, "C-class Healer." Her family wept with relief and pride. From above, the duke is also happy to see that.
Another boy followed. This time, no glow came. He walked the entire length of the hall, face growing paler with every step, until he reached the end…unchanged. With no reaction ceremony, the master didn't need to test with the ball. Everyone knows he was unlucky to not awaken. His shoulders sagged. The silence that followed was heavier than any cheer.
Rick swallowed hard. Fate was merciless. You awakened into a class, strong or weak, and that was it. No amount of training could turn a weak class into a strong one. And only the strongest has freedom in a world where everyone believes in survival of the fittest.
Rick's fingers brushed the edge of his token. "Guess it's our turn soon."
Fin gave a crooked grin, masking his nerves. "Relax. You'll awaken into something cool; I'll awaken into something cooler, and we'll be rich by the end of the year."
Rick snorted. "Or we both end up E-Class and go back to scavenging dungeon trash."
"Hey, don't jinx it."
Mostly E-Class hunters are the weakest, and the earnings they get are very low. Most of the time they grouped with non-hunters and collected dungeon loot off the floor that hunters had already cleared. Because a dungeon doesn't have a single floor. Different dungeons have multiple floors, and each floor's monster gets resurrected after some time. And if the closer floors to the gate are not cleared from time to time, then monsters get spun out of the dungeons and create havoc in the city.
Families cheered, cried, and prayed all around them as names were called, one after the other. The weight of expectation pressed down like an invisible hand. Rick could almost hear his heartbeat echoing in the vast chamber.
When the staff's voice rang out:
"Number two hundred and seventy-three."
Rick froze.
Fin nudged him forward with a grin that looked steadier than it felt. "That's you. Go on, buddy."
Rick stepped forward, every eye in the hall following him. The scattered treasures shimmered faintly under the mana lights, like stars waiting to be claimed. He felt as though fate itself was waiting for him at the other end.
He drew a deep breath and walked.
thud… thud… thud…
Step by step. The weight of the world pressed on his shoulders. Each step rang louder than the last, echoing in his head, drowning out the cheers, the whispers, and the prayers of the crowd. His chest tightened. His mind burnt with a single thought: what if I get E-Class or nothing?
And then it happened.
A warmth bloomed inside his chest. His skin tingled, and suddenly…
Light burst from him. Golden. Radiant.
Gasps filled the hall. Some shouted, others whispered in awe. Rick stared down at his trembling hands, swallowed by the glow, heart racing with disbelief. For one wild moment, hope surged through him. Maybe, just maybe, he'd drawn the kind of power that can solve his worry.
By the time he reached the end of the hall, the golden light was still dancing around him. The ceremony master placed Rick's hand onto their tool. The instruments flickered with runes, measuring what lay hidden inside.
Rick held his breath.
The ceremony master frowned at the results. He checked again.
Finally, he looked up. "Awakened… E-class Warrior."
The words struck harder than any monster's blade.
The golden light winked out. Silence followed. Then, soft murmurs rippled through the hall… disappointment, pity, and some even with laughter hidden in their tones.
Rick's throat went dry. His knees nearly buckled. E-class? That was the lowest of the low. The bottom rank. The class nobody wanted, nobody respected.
From the crowd, Fin's face went pale. His grin was gone, replaced by a clenched jaw. He looked ready to storm the examiner's table, but Rick managed the faintest shake of his head.
The inspector sighed quietly; his voice softer now. "I'm sorry, boy. The result is… fixed. It cannot be changed."
The hall moved on, calling the next number. But to Rick, the world had already stopped.
But still as a friend, Rick stayed in the hall to see what his friend would get.
The hall quieted as the next token number was called.
"274"
Fin hesitated for a moment. His hand twitched at his side, his jaw tightening. Then, with a steadying breath, he stepped forward.
tap…tap…tap…
His boots struck the stone floor, each impact sharp and deliberate, resonating in the silence. The faint clinking of trinkets and scattered loot on either side of the aisle marked his passage. A strong reaction occurred in Fin's body. A light blue colour covered his whole body. Above, nobles leaned forward in their seats, curious eyes gleaming. The duke himself shifted slightly in his balcony, his gaze narrowing with interest.
Rick clenched his fists by his side. His chest tightened as he watched his only friend walk toward the altar of awakening. They had shared scraps of bread, pain, and laughter in the darkest corners of life. Rick's heart pounded, caught between pride and dread.
Fin reached the end of the aisle and placed his hands upon the ball.
The hall held its breath.
The crystal pulsed once. Twice. Then it erupted into light so fierce it painted the entire hall in brilliant white. Gasps echoed all around.
Symbols…arcane runes…appeared in the ball. In that instant a bright smile appeared on the ceremony master's face. "Congratulations, you have awakened as an A-Class Magician."
"An A-class…!"
"Impossible!"
"Who is he?!"
Cheers burst forth, shouts of awe and envy mingling into a cacophony. Nobles applauded from the balconies; commoners roared from below.
Rick's throat went dry. His eyes trembled, his heart soaring and sinking all at once. This was Fin…his Fin… Yet now a gulf of power, of destiny, had opened between them.
Fin turned, his face bathed in the fading glow. His eyes found Rick's in the crowd. For a heartbeat, the hall vanished for them both.
Fin's lips curved into the faintest smile… not of triumph, but of reassurance.
Rick exhaled a shaky breath. Pride swelled in him, fierce and burning, even as doubt gnawed at the edges of his heart.
The crowd erupted again, but Rick only whispered it under his breath.
"Fin…"