"Ashton High, Sinus Cytis."
Following the altar officer's elderly voice, a young man donning Ashton High's uniform ascended the stone stairs leading to the massive hole at the center of the giant stone sword, pressing his palms on the blood rune inscribed on the stone table shortly upon arrival.
The awakening ceremony had already been ongoing for more than seven hours now, and unluckily, Ashton High was in the middle of the list.
'Tch, I could've used half that time to train! Why did we have to leave so early?' Daru inwardly clicked his tongue in annoyance, finding waiting for his turn an utter waste of time.
He would've much preferred swinging his training sword.
But then, his attention was seized as a huge holographic window appeared, containing unexpected news.
The system interface of the Sword Trials, a trial of survival between four worlds, four races, in the game-like world of the Myriad Sword Realm, had long been nothing new to everyone's eyes.
What would always be eye-catching, however, would be the information contained in the awakening window:
==
Bladeborn: Sinus Cytis
Race: Human (Lesser)
Sword Type: Cutlass
Tier: B
==
A wave of "ooohs" and applause rolled through the crowd, some shaking their heads in disbelief and envy.
Ashton High had always been one of the top five high schools in the southern region of Cluster 4.
But still, who the hell was this Sinus Cytis guy, and how did he awaken such a high-ranking sword despite being unknown in the region?
Heck, even some students in his own school didn't recognize him!
Not to mention, his name sounded like some sort of affliction…
Only elites usually awaken B-tier swords and above, and even among fifty thousand students, only around five hundred would be lucky enough to obtain one.
As for A-tier and above?
Only possible for the Sword Princes of each high school, although even they mostly end up awakening one of the same rank as this Sinus Cytis guy, which was why the tier of the sword he acquired was such a big deal.
Of course, it couldn't be considered too high compared to the swords awakened by the sons and daughters of heaven, some of which obtained legendary SSS-Tier swords.
Only one or two people in each batch are destined to acquire a sword of such a tier, and even then, rarely does it happen in one's cluster and region.
For example, even though a few S-Tier and SS-Tier Sword Awakenings would occur every year, the last time an individual awakened an SSS-Tier sword in this altar was seven years ago, and that guy was now apparently rampaging and laying ruin upon humanity's enemies in the central continent of the Myriad Sword Realm.
This was how unlikely it was to awaken a peak-tier sword.
Even Daru, who was among the most talented in this batch, was expected to only obtain something of the SS-Tier at most, as it was truly up to the gods who designed the trials to decide who gets to awaken the fateful, lore-rich, legendary swords of humanity's history.
Unfortunately, not everyone was destined for a sword.
The next student failed to suppress his tears as he descended the altar.
It seemed that, unlike the majority, he was one of those destined to live a mundane life, though he could already somehow feel it.
He had always worked long, hard hours in training.
Yet, he somehow still ranked at the bottom of his swordsmanship classes.
There were quite a number of students who ended up like him.
However, a majority still managed to awaken swords of at least the D-tier, which was considered the baseline of "average".
Those who awakened a sword of a lower tier than D were considered untalented individuals—mere bottom feeders in the trials.
After all, in the Myriad Sword Realm, the rank of one's sword determined the heights one could reach.
One's swordsmanship would naturally still matter, but only when the disparity in sword tiers isn't huge.
Tricks were simply useless in the face of absolute power.
Another half an hour passed before, finally, the second-to-last student of Ashton High, Cody, descended the altar, pleased after shocking the southern region and awakening an A-tier sword despite being buried under Sword Prince Daru Finnley's shadow the entire time.
Had Daru not been around, he would've been Ashton High's Sword Prince.
There was no animosity between the two, however, as Cody had long made peace with the fact that he wouldn't be able to surpass Daru ever.
"Ashton High, Sword Prince, Daru Finnley."
Soon came the much-anticipated awakening of one of the most famous sword princes. The elderly altar officer's voice reverberated across the vast plaza.
Daru, maintaining a composed exterior despite his eagerness to see what tier and type of sword he would awaken, ascended the altar stairs in slow steps as instructed by Ashton High's Vice Principal.
'Is posturing like this really necessary?' he sighed inwardly in impatience.
Daru inevitably arrived at the stone table, pressing his left palm atop the blood rune, and as expected, his sword mark lit up.
This was the sign that someone would awaken a sword.
It was also at this point that time seemed to slow to a crawl for the students and faculty of Ashton High, their hearts racing in anticipation of what their most talented Sword Prince would obtain.
While difficult, there was still a decent chance he would be among the heavens' chosen, bringing pride to the school by awakening an SSS-Tier sword.
Ashton High School's reputation would skyrocket should that happen.
And the rewards they would obtain…
Soon, the much-awaited interface began to appear, and even Daru's usually indifferent and deeply bored heart now pounded wildly.
He would be with this sword until his final breath!
And then the world froze as impossible information appeared on the interface…
==
Bladeborn: Daru Finnley
Race: Human (Lesser)
Sword Type: Tachi
Tier: F
==
"F…?" muttered the stupefied altar officer. "H-How could this be?"
Sword Prince Daru Finnley, F-Tier sword? Perhaps it was he who made a mistake?
This was simply impossible!
Unfortunately, in front of him and everyone from Ashton High was undeniable proof.
The crowd exploded in activity in the next moment, a majority whispering in hushed tones while a bold minority outright laughed and openly mocked Daru:
"F for Fraudster?"
"No, more like F to pay respects, hahaha! This guy is done for, no?"
"Haha! Gods…F-tier? Wouldn't he earn more studying at a regular university and working at the offices of renowned guilds?!"
"I knew there was something wrong with this Daru Finnley. How could his battles be so perfect, otherwise? Maybe another case of paying one's way to the top?"
"But I heard he's living off pensions from the government?"
"NO!! MY PRINCE!! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?! HOW COULD YOU BE FAKE?!"
The bald principal of Ashton High, meanwhile, directly fainted as the last few strands of hair on his head fell, unable to believe the current situation.
It was the downfall of the century!
The ceremony must proceed, however, so despite the shock and heavy disappointment, the elderly altar officer forcefully regathered his wits:
"Y-You may now descend. Your sword's name will be confirmed and registered on your first day in the Myriad Sword Realm by Cluster 4's Southern Bladeborn Academy. You would also then receive a random starter artifact from the trial, but don't expect anything too fancy, as the trial gift only served to help a Bladeborn progress in the early stages."
Strangely, Daru only bowed and descended the altar without any change in reactions, as though the tier of his awakened sword didn't matter to him one bit.
The faculty members from other high schools concluded that this might be due to how confident the fallen sword prince was in his swordsmanship, sneering inwardly:
'Heh, this kid still doesn't realize the gravity of his situation?'
They knew all too well that no level of sword mastery, if the brat somehow wasn't a fraud, would save an F-ranked bladeborn in the Myriad Sword Realm.
In their minds, Daru was truly done for, and they couldn't be blamed.
After all, only the owner of the sword was allowed to see his own sword's status, and he could only do so inside the Myriad Sword Realm or within the vicinity of a Sword Altar in the real world.
This naturally included the name, skills, and passive of an awakened sword.
In front of Daru was a holographic window that only he could see:
===
Sword Status
Name: O??mar? ??????u??
Type: Tachi
Tier: F
State: Sealed [Novice Swordheart Cores - 0/100]
Sword Skill(s): [Locked]
Passives: [Locked]
===