The awakening hall thrummed with silent power. The room's noise was magically contained, so the voices of the crowd fell on them, when they entered the room.
The lower section of the hall was opened to the common folk of Sierra Vista. While the upstairs, and more lavish seating, were reserved for the awakened of Fort Thunder.
Horus's great vision found Enji upstairs with an unconcerned look on his face.
Scanning the hall, he found both the top and bottom seats were filled. It wasn't like this in the years Horus had visited to watch awakenings before turning eighteen.
June had guided them upstairs, now she turned to leave. Horus grabbed her arm.
"We have to talk about something later." He dreaded it, but no one told her that Wally, her brother, was dead.
She nodded, smiling awkwardly, and then left.
He disappointedly turned to Ulrich, who was already walking up the stage. Once the crowd's applause died down, the announcer pointed at the awakening stone in center stage.
"You first, sir Ulrich," he said with an awkward smile.
Ulrich's expression grew more sour before tentatively placing a hand on the stone, and it began to glow an icy white. Ulrich gasped, and his misty breath confirmed what everyone guessed.
But the Announcer read out the results of the control panel regardless. "Epic class! Argent mage!"
A loud applause rolled through the hall. Horus could hear some boos mixed in, but they were drowned out by the applause.
Ulrich almost smiled. As he came down, Randall and the others surged forward to congratulate him. He met Horus's eyes, and they both offered each other a nod.
He's probably pissed with me because of John.
The awakening went on, and the other awakened Adept or Elite classes. To be expected, but being able to start at Elite was already a big boon.
Upgrading your class requires lots of resources and dangerous quests.
Someone in the Elite class could reach Master and maybe even try for Epic one day.
The Announcer's eyes widened reading Randall's result. "Master class! Siegebreaker!"
A heavy round of applause broke out, Randall paused briefly, a tear running down his face, before hugging Shiv tightly.
"Good luck," he whispered as she walked to the awakening stone.
Her slender brown hand brushed the stone, and ethereal blue hands filled the air, mimicking her. The announcer looked from the screen to the shaking girl in disbelief.
"Epic class! Conjurer!"
The hall was on its feet. Two Epic classes were completely unexpected. Shiv jumped into Ulrich and Randall, their celebration was not graceful, but it came from something they all feared.
Shiv's parents both awakened common classes that, if she got too, wouldn't allow Shiv to continue training and being close to her friends.
Horus also offered a hug to her. "That was amazing. Bloodhaven's blessed to have someone as hardworking as you get this class."
Shiv looked down, blushing. Her reply was barely audible: "Thank you."
"Horus Twilight," the announcer said solemnly. "Will you do us the honour of witnessing your awakening?"
Horus' footsteps echoed in the now silent hall. They did their best to restrain themselves, but he could hear even the lowest whisper.
"Legendary class, legendary class…"
"Grow in kindness, as you grow in strength…"
"He'll change everything…"
His heart felt like it would burst suddenly. Getting an Epic class had always been a given. Somedays, he even found himself musing on what skills his mother's Legendary class had.
Like it was already guaranteed he would get it.
Suffocating his fear, Horus grabbed the stone firmly.
Nothing happened.
He knew the signs of awakening [Crescent swordsman]; he watched his siblings do it before.
The announcer didn't say a word. His eyes were glued to the screen in front of him. A shudder ran through Horus as the mana in his soul bloomed.
A black screen with golden bezels appeared in front of him.
[Welcome to the system, Horus. Outlined below are your basic stats that can be improved with hard work and quests.]
[Once you reach the common tier limit in one skill, you will gain access to the Trade feature and the party feature.]
[Once you reach the Adept tier in two skills, you will gain access to the Arena feature and Reputation rankings.]
◇—Status—◇
Name: Horus
Title: Lonely Moon
Class: Common Swordsman
Attributes:
[Endurance] > 17 (Common)
[Tolerance]> 20 (Common) [Skill limit reached]
[Physicality]> 20 (Common) [Skill limit reached]
[Perception]> 20 (Common) [Skill limit reached]
[Reflexes]> 18 (Common)
[Basic Swordsmanship]> 20 (Common) [Skill limit reached]
[Basic Archery]> 8 (Common)
[Shelter building]> 13 (Common)
[Cooking]>13 (Common)
[Striking proficiency]> 17 (Common)
[Twilight Swordsmanship]> 15 (Common)
[Trap disarming]> 2 (Common)
Weapons slot (4):
Storage: None
Quest(s): None
The common class. His heart nearly stopped.
The silence in the awakening hall was suffocating. Horus's hand slipped off the awakening stone, and he stepped back.
The announcer stumbled through the words. "C-common class. Common Swordsman."
Voices scattered in confusion, shouts rose in defiance and disbelief. Horus came down from the stage slowly, looking from face to face.
Enji trembled silently, his eyes were wide, unaware of the people speaking to him. He turned away, staring down at his hands.
Randall had a small smile on his face, like he couldn't believe his eyes. Ulrich muttered to himself, refusing what he had just heard.
Shiv was frozen, just staring.
Before Horus knew what was happening, he was outside the building. The world blurred around him, and his heart kept hammering at his chest.
●——●
A couple minutes later at the edge of town, Horus found refuge in an abandoned house. A circuit of shouts made its way through the streets. News that Horus had awakened a Common class spread quickly.
The house was empty and dusty. One of the many homes that hadn't been occupied since the apocalypse. The floorboards creaked as he made his way up to the roof.
The entire city was trembling. What happened today was a loss for the struggling remnants of humanity. A loss of a potential champion.
Leaning against the shaky railing, something in Horus hoped they would forget. Go back to their lives and forgive him for not living up to his potential.
[Crescent Swordsman].
Every one of his siblings awakened this class. It was the bare minimum.
His friends got the classes they wanted, even Shiv went far beyond.
From the looks on their faces, I doubt they want anything to do with me.
And it would be the same with his siblings. Except now he was a stain on the Twilight clan. They would all join Ares and work on dealing with him. Make sure his dishonour vanishes.
"Wally, John, I'm sorry," He muttered to himself
They sacrificed everything for him. Because they all thought he would lead Bloodhaven to prosperity and safety.
But he failed, and a small part of him always expected this.
He slammed his fists into the temple to feel something. But then he laughed.
"Why am I happy?"
What a rotten bastard he was. He couldn't dare to show his face to Seraphina, not that she would ever want to see him again.
And he was afraid to even meet Enji again.
He had a strange premonition. Their next meeting would end in a battle to the death.
With a slight pull, the crescent-shaped blade at his hip came loose from its scabbard. He studied the black blade and the small glimmer of stars beneath the surface.
Celestial Steel. It came from another world. Seraphina and Twilight's best warriors travelled through a gate in Nevada to get this steel.
Many people died just to forge this blade. Many people died just to forge him.
Without the Epic class, he was limited to the [Basic Swordsmanship] skill pool.
Enkdiu straightened up suddenly. Something struck him, and he will Status to open and confirm it.
Skills:
[Twilight Swordsmanship]> 15 (Common)
Why do I have Twilight Swordsmanship in my Skills?
Only people with the class of [Crescent Swordsman] or [Twilight Swordsman] should have that Skill.
He checked all his other skills, and they seemed in order. There was one way to confirm it was real.
He eyed his [Weapons slot], then his sword. Sheathing the sword, he mentally willed the blade to be equipped.
[Celestial Steel sword has been equipped]
This way, he could call the weapon back to him if he lost it, and any passive effects on him would affect the sword.
[Twilight Swordsmanship] mana affects Celestial steel. He drew the sword. If he had the mana type then…
The sword glowed with auroral lights, dazzling purples and blues that made his heart leap.
What's happening? How is this possible?
He checked his class repeatedly, dismissing and resummoning his status like a faulty computer. Then the title above his class caught his eye.
[Lonely Moon].
He had never heard of this title. It had to be high-tiered. He willed the system to expand it.
[Rarity: Unique]
Unique? That meant its utility wasn't defined by the normal ranking system. He read the description.
[Description: Someone has tampered with your Fate. This title is compensation.
With this Title you can gain mana types of all Swordsmanship classes. As long as you train and gain insights into the nature of these sword styles, you can gain their mana types and use their skills.]
For a long time, he was frozen, standing there and staring into the air. This was beyond a game-changer. It was something he only casually wanted as a child.
He remembered seeing the displays of the [Sword Saint] class and wishing to learn their skills. At that time, he wanted to learn all about swords; he still loved them till today.
Now he could.
He could learn all skills. Claim any class.
His family would have no choice but to accept him now. It wasn't his fault that he didn't awaken the right class; the literal system acted against him.
A small smile carved itself onto his face, but deep within, something twisted his guts.
"Why am I not happy?"
"Good question," a melodious voice said behind him. He spun around to find June smiling nervously at him. "Sorry, I didn't know how to announce myself."