"Huh? What is going on? No, here... where is this?" Max muttered under his breath, his eyes widening in confusion as he blinked rapidly, trying to make sense of the scene around him.
Just moments ago, he had been lounging in his dimly lit room, controller in hand, immersed in the new smut game he'd been grinding through for hours.
The familiar hum of his PC fan and the glow of his screen were gone, replaced by this chaotic hall filled with chatter.
"How did I end up here?" Max looked around, his head swiveling slowly, taking in the sea of faces all teenagers around 18 years old, dressed in neat school uniforms, buzzing with anticipation.
"Is this... I think... time travel? Like those in comics?" He furrowed his brows, sinking into deep thought, his mind racing through possibilities.
His heart pounded a little faster, a mix of excitement and dread creeping in as fragments of unfamiliar memories began to flicker at the edges of his consciousness.
He was jolted from his reverie when a voice boomed from the front. There, standing on the elevated platform in the middle of the grand auditorium, was a massive blue crystal shining brightly with an otherworldly glow, pulsing like a heartbeat.
Next to it stood a man in pristine priestly clothes, his robes embroidered with intricate silver runes that caught the light. "Max Fate," the priest called out, his voice echoing through the hall with authority.
Max felt a sudden rush of memories flooding in spiraling images and knowledge that weren't his own, yet now felt intimately familiar.
He understood this world in an instant: its rules, its dangers, its hierarchies. But he moved toward the platform anyway, his legs carrying him forward on autopilot, even as his mind reeled.
As he approached, whispers and snickers rippled through the crowd of students.
"Hey, hey, it's Max," a boy said, nudging his friend with a smirk, pointing openly at Max.
Then one asked, his voice laced with mock curiosity, "Huh, is he famous?"
"No, opposite," the first boy replied, chuckling. "He's a loner who doesn't even care about the world. I bet he doesn't even know what awakening is."
Then another spoke up, piling on with a grin, "Yeah, he's more ordinary than ordinary. Even if he awakens a trash ability, no one will care."
"Wow, that's pretty bad, isn't it?" someone else added, shaking their head in exaggerated pity, while laughter bubbled up around them.
Max, on the other hand, with the spiraling memories settling in, thought to himself, Shit, this is a sword and magic world in the modern era.
He pieced it together quickly: 1000 years ago, the massive domains appeared, and monsters came outside, wiping 80% of humanity.
But some awakened because they came in contact with this awakening stone and awakened, and they stopped monsters. And the domains became resources for the ruined world.
Now everything depends on the domains that rank from F rank to SSSR, the highest rank, and the classes have the same ranking, F to SSSR.
Max stepped onto the platform, his shoes echoing softly on the polished wood, and reached out to touch the awakening stone.
The moment his fingers made contact, the light shone like a sun, its brightness blinding everything in an explosive burst of radiance that filled the entire auditorium.
Students shielded their eyes, gasping in awe, while the air hummed with raw energy.
"Oh shit, what the fuck is that? Is this a SSR? At least a SSS? With that, our Azure country will have a prodigy!" the man in priest clothes exclaimed, his eyes wide with excitement, his hands trembling slightly as he stepped back from the overwhelming glow.
All the students' eyes were on Max now, fixed with a mix of envy and anticipation.
One whispered loudly, "Hey, didn't someone say he was more ordinary than ordinary?"
Then the screen flickered into existence above the platform, holographic and shimmering, revealing his class in bold letters.
Rank: F
Class: Night Assassin
The crowd erupted with disappointed sighs and groans. " Hahaha all that show for that? No-name class, just another assassin."
"Haha," Kai laughed, who had awakened earlier with a SR ability, his shoulders shaking as he pointed at Max, his face twisted in amusement.
"A F rank at that, the absolute trash," another student jeered, the laughter spreading like wildfire through the hall.
Max thought to himself, his expression unchanging despite the sting, Shit, whatever the class is, at least I don't have a girlfriend to shame me at times like this.
He walked to the sides of the platform, his steps casual but deliberate, ignoring the stares boring into his back.
His friend Kai caught up quickly, still chuckling. "Bro, what the fuck?" He placed his hand on Max's shoulder, giving it a playful shove.
"I thought it was a SSR or SSSR or at least a SR like me. That big show, and your face is still shit."
Max's face was always like that dumb-looking, with a perpetual blank stare that made him seem aloof or slow.
But he wasn't the Max Kai knew anymore; something had shifted inside him with the reincarnation.
Kai spoke again, wiping a tear from his eye, "You don't even know what those imply, at least try opening the status and see what's the skill."
Max nodded slightly and shouted inwardly, focusing his mind: System.
A panel as small as his class appeared before his eyes, in gold but worn out at the edges, like an ancient relic barely holding together.
Name: Max Fate
Class: Night Assassin
Skill: Shadow Dive
Stats:
Strength: 100
Agility: 100
Mana: 100
Durability: 100
Luck: Maxed
Max spoke aloud, his voice flat and unemotional, "The skill is called Shadow Dive something, and stats are all 100."
Kai, who was laughing, stopped immediately, his grin freezing on his face. "What did you say?"
Max repeated, without a hint of bragging, "The stats are 100."
Kai spoke, his face pale now, draining of color as his eyes widened in shock, "Fuck, how is that possible? A normal awakened would have 10 to 20, so how is your 100? And you say all?"
Max was gonna say about the luck, opening his mouth slightly, but someone came from behind them, interrupting the moment.
It was the principal, Layra the SSR awakened, the face of Midger Academy. She strode forward with commanding presence, her long black hair swaying, her black eyes scanning everyone with piercing intensity, and the awakening process still going on behind her on the platform.
She spoke, her voice clear and authoritative, carrying over the murmurs, "As you may know, you'll be assigned to your classes based on your rank, but you'll need money to spend.
For that, you'll need academy credits. You can earn it through tomorrow's exam."
She paused, letting her words sink in, her expression stern and unyielding. "So after the awakening ceremony, go home and get some rest, and come here at exact 10 in the morning."
The hall began to quiet down as students shuffled, the energy shifting from mockery to anticipation for what was to come.