In Cid's perception, tiny scripts floated around him lighting up the dark shadows around him.
He knew this language, and could decipher roughly what it said.
[New Awakener detected! Class not detected. Assigning class.]
[Class Unlocked!]
[Newcomer is now a common class - thief. Unique class talent, Rob unlocked.]
[Class Attributes Assigned.
+5 AGI
+3 STR
+2 INT
+2 CON
+1 LUK
2 Attributes free. Assigned to awakener. ]
[Awakening completed. Booting from space in 3,2,1.....]
Cid opened his eyes, calm as before, with none of the struggles other people before him showed.
"Congratulations on the class. What class did you awaken, Cid?", the vice headmaster asked.
Cid saw in his vision, the sea of people around him, some familiar, some friends, other enemies. Rumia, in particular, like a wronged bride was staring at him incessantly, as if fearing the worst.
"I've awoken the thief class."
Almost immediately, the gossip started back up.
"Isn't that a common class?"
"Right! It's not even one of the good ones!"
"I thought Cid would awaken something better than that!"
"Quiet! Quiet up!", the vice headmaster barked as his expression went from pleasant to livid.
"Well, get off stage, then. Don't take up more time.", he then continued, unceremoniously.
Rumia, seeing this, let out a sigh of relief. It was as if the knot in his heart finally lifted. With an epic class in hand, even if he wasn't the best at academics, he would surely be granted the position of junior inspector now, over someone that has a common thief class. More importantly, his father wouldn't be disappointed...
Cid chuckled and went off the platform, almost bumping into the vice headmaster. The old bogie did not notice, however, and continued urging the next student to come up.
Cid whistled as he felt the thick wallet in his left coat pocket.
Goddamn, there's gotta be at least 500 Denars here. How much did this old crony steal from the academy?
Looking past his old friends who seemed to be keeping a distance from him now, he locked eyes with Rumia, who seemed to be sniggering with schadenfreude.
Cid simply shook his head and went off to the side, unnoticed after some time, and escaped the compounds of the academy by sneaking.
Well, it was partially due to the fact that nobody expected anyone to run away during this ceremony. After all, concerning their future, only a fool would go back home halfway without seeing his class awakening to the end. Therefore, there wasn't much security at all by this time.
Besides, Cid would've sneaked out regardless. He was an old, experienced hand at this type of work.
As Cid walked back to the market, he whistled and willed his eyes to focus on the invisible markings around his head.
This was a special technique he had taken from the library of the Wise One. It was quite a spectacular challenge, and he had gotten his spectacular reward. This technique was special, and allowed him to see the invisible runes emanating from his soul, as it leaked into the air. By concentrating on the stats he wanted to see, he could summon more and more details from his head into the air, giving him access to so much information.
Of course, he also had to learn runespeak. Information was useless if you couldn't read it.
The runes started to fly up, and arranged themselves neatly in front of his eyes.
[Name: Cid Sidle
Age: 18 Years, 9 Months, 5 Days Old
Gender: Male
Step: The First Step
Attributes:
1. STR - 4
2. AGI - 7
3. IGI - 3
4. CON - 3
5. LUK - 2
Talents: Unique Talent - Rob.
Class: Common Class: Thief.]
Most of the attributes, Cid had expected. The first awakening would make anyone twice or more than twice as strong as they were before. His stats before awakening were quite poor as a result of his living conditions, and even after awakening, it was poor compared to other people. His agility stood out, but that was only because of his thief class.
To an ordinary person, Cid was a terrifying enemy. He could single handedly take on ten or more people at the same time, if they had not awakened. It was just a shame that all the adults in the world had gone through the class awakening already.
The first class awakening placed ordinary people into the first step. This was also known in the world commonly as the Entry Realm. In the second step, you had more access to your powers and the world termed you as being in the Adept Realm. This was what most people failed to achieve the entire lives, as they had to go through a trial to unlock the next step within their bodies.
It was not optional. If you didn't have the power or the strength to power through the trial's challenges, you could very well fail and end up dead. Your soul would extinguish, effectively terminating you from this life.
Therefore, most people did not attempt the trials. Power was good, but you had to be alive to enjoy it.
Those in the Adept Realm enjoyed great power and status, being essentially one step above the Entry Realm. They were again, by virtue of compounding attributes, stronger than the Entry Realm people by a large margin. There were more realms above the Adept, such as the Expert. But Cid's mind was elsewhere at this point.
Cid's talent was quite lackluster, even though it was a unique talent.
It could steal certain attributes from enemies temporarily, and were forcibly given back after combat. This meant that the enemy had their attribute nerfed, and Cid fought them with an attribute buff. On paper, this was good. However, the thief class' weak base attributes and the randomness of the rob effect rarely worked out well in Cid's favour. Therefore, even for a unique talent, it was not that good.
Suddenly, he stopped.
Cid already had some palpitations in his heart for what he was about to do next. This could go either way, but it was quite necessary for a few reasons.
I invoke the blessings of the Decaying One.
Cid focused in his mind, spoke in an ancient script, and the world stopped for a moment.
....
....
Silence.
The world came to a standstill.
The air stopped, the birds stopped, the insects stopped too, mid flight. Time itself had frozen, and not even light could escape this freeze. Cid's techniques prevented him from going blind, as he had to see in a different realm of existence to comprehend the world around him.
Slowly, the world turned grey. Statues of various beasts and humans popped out from the ground, menacingly and slowly, and there was no sound in the world. A silent apocalyse. The world could have ended in that second, and none would be the wiser.
A creature slowly walked up from the ground, as if it were not of this world. It was a decaying mass of flesh and other substances, putrid in stench and terrible to the eyes. It was not clear whether this creature's face was its own, or whether it had been morphed by Cid's own consciousness.
The creature walked up to Cid and merely stared at him silently.
Curious, it moved its head from side to side, up to down. At last, it spoke.
Why have you summoned this one here? And do you know the price?
Cid, although very experienced, still had a layer of sweat under his clothes. Nobody could be unfazed while talking to an elder god. This was a fear of the primal level, and not something merely superficial.
Composing himself, he spoke, somewhat nervously.
I come here from the other timeline. My mission is one of the Vast, and the price has already been paid in full.
The creature did not change expression and silently looked at Cid.
Every second that passed without an answer, Cid grew more nervous. The silent pressure from this being, although it had tried its best to contain it, still leaked into his heart.
This one understands. You are one of the Vast. Speak, what aid requires my self, mortal?
Cid replied in the same ancient script.
It was promised to me, by the other One, a full cleanse and a consultation with the world's will.
The creature ceased to move, as if thinking. After 3 full hours of excruciating silence, it finally replied, coming back to life.
Very well. You will be cleansed. But the consultation will not be possible. You will earn it yourself, at the Beros Qual.
The strange creature made a strange movement, and looked up into the sky for a few seconds before it blew a gust into Cid's head, shaking him to the core and rendering him nearly unconscious. Then, it unceremoniously took its leave, returning back to its realm.
The world slowly regained colour, and the statues turned and looked silently at Cid, curious, until they finally took their leave as well. This was the first mortal to survive a meeting with an elder being since...
The insects slowly started moving, and the birds regained their chirps. The world had finally resumed, as if the elder being had allowed it to exist.