Ryan then came out of his stupor and smiled. "Good, now go back to your seat," he said, happy that at least one awakened. Their school is not a grand one, just a small district academy. Getting one awakened is already a miracle in their low-end district, so he was already relieved. Plus, she awakened from his class; it meant he would get a bonus too.
The other students, now too in full hope, waited, but...that newly lit hope was quickly shattered.
"Ara Keen, awakening failed!"
"Bran Leo, awakening failed!"
One after the other, from the second up to the forty-eighth—every student who stepped onto the podium failed to awaken, except for the first female student, Lily.
By the end, the once-bustling hall had grown eerily silent, save for the soft sobs of those who had failed their awakening.
Mike was now numb; he simply closed his eyes and prayed to the god he thought might hear him.
"Mike, you are next," Ryan said, sighing as he thought maybe Lily might be the only awakened.
Mike just exhaled, and, taking a deep breath, he walked near the place, his hand on the orb. It was smooth to touch and a bit cold, as Mike waited…
'Damn it… is it a dud?' Just as both he and Ryan thought, suddenly the orb lit up, a series of lights forming on it.
"Mike Vester—Awakened Class: Knight, F Rank," Ryan said, smiling widely now, as he nodded to Mike. "Go and sit back," he said.
Mike also came out of the stupor and nodded, smiling as he went back, resisting the urge to check his system on the spot.
He went and sat with Lily, who was also the only other one awakened in class, as she turned to him and smiled. As she began to talk, it mainly revolved around teaming up since she was a mage and he was a knight—both can be a great combination.
Mike, a bit shaky, said, "Surely, a B-rank like you can find someone else," as she shook her head.
"No, I'm timid and shy… I have only talked to you, you know. So how am I going to ask strangers?" she asked, flustered, her head down.
Mike looked stunned, and then he recalled from the original Mike's memories that both of them were childhood friends, and as she said, she was extremely timid and shy, so of course she asked him. She also didn't mind that he was Frank.
Did I reincarnate wrongly? Where is my looking-down-on-low-potential-awakened scenario?' Mike jokingly thought, but he was genuinely happy Lily didn't abandon him.
On the other side, after Mike, the last student also went through the test, and he was not awakened. So in their class, only he and Lily awakened.
The whole class was now silent, with many crying or trying to hold it back.
"You all can now go home," Ryan said and then added. "After calming down, go and have yourselfchecked to see if you guys have any talent in other paths of the supernatural."
Then he turned to Lily and Mike. "As for you two, come with me to the principal's office. Each awakened gets a subsidy from the academy, so let's go and get yours," he said as both Mike and Lily nodded and stepped forward after him.
On the way, two more teachers joined them as Ryan and the other two talked while smiling. Mike looked at the others as he thought there were only two more classes that were meant to be tested for awakeners.
Which meant they were from the students who awakened at age 16—the time when there's the highest chance to awaken—and it was staggering, four this year. All four looked smug, as they had awakened on the very first try.
The others were from the 17-year-olds, and in that group it was two students.
And adding him and Lily from the 18-year-old class, there were eight awakened this year.
Soon they reached the principal's office and knocked on it.
"Come in," a voice said.
They walked inside, seeing an aged man behind a desk surrounded by business documents. The moment he saw the number of students, he burst out laughing, "At last! Heaven blessed my academy—we got eight students awakened!"
The teachers also smiled, as they were equally happy, though for entirely different reasons. The principal was happy because it meant more admissions to his academy once the news got out about their academy having a whole eight awakeners, while the teachers were happy because they would get bonuses.
"Good, very good," the principal nodded as he opened his drawer and took out eight envelopes. As he stood and handed them to the students, he said, "Here is your subsidy." He smiled as he gave each one to them.
One curious student from the 16-year batch opened it and said loudly, "Oh my god, 10,000 credits!" He shouted as others also quickly checked and indeed found the same amount.
The principal, though, shook his head. "This is nothing compared to what you guys will get from the SNA (Supernatural Association). You will get a monthly subsidy of 15k, though only for three months. And if you reach Rank 2 during that time, the amount will increase even more. So work hard."
He paused and continued, "Also, now that you all have awakened, you all can join the upcoming academy exam. Though I must give you a warning—just being awakened doesn't mean you will pass this year, as only peak Rank 2 even has a chance there. But surely they will at least give you guys some experience for future attempts, so go and work hard."
He then turned to Lily and Mike and said, "Though you two only have three months to try to reach the minimum standard for the academy, as the minimum age limit is just 18 years old for the Awakener Academy."
"Meaning this year is the last chance for you guys." He patted their shoulders and leaned back in his chair. "Now you are free to do whatever you want in the next three months, and if any of you want to give the Awakener Academy exam, just contact us a month before. Our school will get everything ready so that you all can just focus on getting stronger for the exam."
He said this as each of them bowed and then left.