The moment they arrived at the centre, there were bloodshed happening. People were killing each other. Some who just come from the forest after realising the condition are also were surprised by the bloodshed.
Hirotsuka didn't seem to care at all but Akari on the other hand seems worried and tried to calm things down by making them realise that they don't necessary have to kill each other.
Some realising it but some didn't care.
Hirotsuka decided to pull Akari away. She turned to him in confusion.
"Don't bother wasting your energy on them. Most of them obviously didn't care." He leaned down and whispers it to her ear. She is stunned by his words.
She turned around and saw it clearly. Some people she had try stopping just continue killing without a thought.
[ The given time has run out. ]
Some people seems relieved to have manage to fulfilled the conditions before the time ended. But the one who failed to do it looking really worried.
Then a strong wind came and Ravielle appeared again.
[ Congratulations for passing the scenario, people of the earth. ]
[ Ones who didn't passed will be eliminated. ]
The angel snapped her fingers and the one who didn't manage to kill something disappeared into a dust.
"Wait, no!"
"Help me!"
The failed ones let out a cry of help and everyone didn't dare to bat an eye on them. Hirotsuka on the other hand are busy thinking how many rounds it will be since the angel didn't specify how much.
[ Now, dear humans. We will begin picking your classes based on your performance from the scenario earlier. ]
Immediately, a window appeared in front of everyone. Hirotsuka look down to his options.
[ Class Selection]
└ 1. Assassin
└ 2. Abyss Walker
└ 3. Dark Knight
└ 4. Reaper
All of it seems a good choice for Hirotsuka but he decided to pick the 'Abyss Walker'. In an instant, he received 4 skills and a dagger as an abyss walker.
[ Congratulations for choosing the 'Abyss Walker' class! You will be given 4 new skills and a new weapon for you to use. ]
[ You have obtained 'Shadowfang' dagger! ]
Hirotsuka pressed the description for the new dagger.
[ Shadowfang ]
Description : Increases critical strike chance against unaware enemies. Bonus damage when attacking from behind.
He then open his status window to see his new skills.
[ Status Window ]
└ Name : Hirotsuka Kyoutsu
└ Age : 24
└ Class : Abyss Walker
└ Sponsor : None (5 Constellations has taken interest in this person)
└ Exclusive Attributes : None
└ Exclusive Skills : Soul Reflection Lv. 1, Alluring Vision Lv. 1, Drown in Illusion Lv. 1, Shadow Step Lv. 1, Silent Execution Lv. 1, Dimensional Body Lv. 1, Gates of the Abyss Lv. 1
└ Overall Stats : Physique Lv. 40, Strenght Lv. 50, Agility Lv. 50, Magic Power Lv. 15, Endurance Lv. 20
└ Owned Coins : 900
└ Remaining Stat Points : 0
He pressed all the new skills and read the description instantly.
[ Gates of the Abyss ]
Description : Opens multiple shadow portals and strikes enemies from every direction.
[ Dimensional Body ]
Description : Chance to ignore incoming attacks.
[ Silent Execution ]
Description : Deals massive damage to targets below a certain HP threshold.
[ Shadow Step ]
Description : Mark a target. Instantly teleport behind them within range.
Hirotsuka are satisfied with the skills given. It really are useful and he love it. The skills really suits him a lot. The 'Shadow Step' will be useful for him to catch the enemy off guard.
He then turned to Akari. "What classes options do you get?"
"Umm... I got Buffer, Puppeteer, Soul Harvester and Celestial Judge." Akari told him while still staring intensely to the window.
Hirotsuka was surprised by the options because all of it are useful for her to use. All of it sounds powerful for him.
"Have you made up your mind?" He asked and she shook her head.
"All of it seems good but I don't know which one to choose... Can you pick one for me?" Akari turned to him with pleading eyes though she's not sure if he's able to see her expressions or not.
Hirotsuka already imagined what her expressions was and shook his head. He didn't want to make the decision for her since it should be something that she will be comfortable with.
"You should choose it yourself." He says and she sighed heavily.
She decided to close her eyes and choose one by following her gut. Then she opened her eyes when another window popped up.
[ Congratulations for choosing the 'Celestial Judge' class! You will be given 4 new skills and a new weapon for you to use. ]
[ You have obtained 'Scales of Justice' dual blades! ]
She was surprised by the class she choose by following her gut. She quickly turned to Hirotsuka.
"I ended up choosing the 'Celestial Judge' and got dual blades." Akari says excitedly because it seems powerful.
Hirotsuka raised an eyebrow, clearly taken aback. He had expected her to pick something more subtle, like the 'Puppeteer' class. "Hmm. Didn't see that coming." He said, a trace of amusement in his voice. "Good for you, though."
"Check the new skills and tell me about it." He says and she opened it. She almost forgot to check the new skills that she just got.
"First skill that I got is 'Celestial Execution'. It instantly targets a marked enemy with massive holy damage. Damage scales with their curse level or debuffs. The next one is, 'Divine Insight'. It detects hidden traits, curses, or class-specific secrets of enemies. The third one is, 'Aura of Justice'. It makes nearby allies gain minor buffs to defense, magic resistance, or accuracy. The last one is, 'Divine Chains'. It restrains multiple enemies in glowing celestial chains and prevents movement or skills for a short duration." Akari explained, nearly jumped in place.
Hirotsuka considered her words carefully. "Interesting." He murmured. "You've got both offense and control. Execution hits hard, Chains locks down multiple targets, and the aura… that's subtle but useful. It's not what I expected from you, but it suits you."
Akari grinned, a thrill running through her. "I can't wait to try them out."
[ Now that you guys have selected classes of your choice, we will proceed to the sponsorship. ]
Ravielle fly around playfully as new windows appeared in front of everyone.
[Sponsor Selection]
Your chosen sponsor will be your strong supporter.
└ 1. Nameless Astra
└ 2. Great Master of Vision
└ 3. Arcana Reverie
└ 4. Cursed Dame
└ 5. Veiled Enchantress
While he is considering which one to choose, he is ignoring the pop up notifications from the stream.
[ The constellation 'Nameless Astra' is hoping for you to choose him. ]
[ The constellation 'Cursed Dame' have sponsored you 500 coins. ]
[ The constellation 'Cursed Dame' have sponsored you 500 coins. ]
[ The constellation 'Cursed Dame' have sponsored you 500 coins. ]
[ The constellation 'Cursed Dame' have sponsored you 500 coins. ]
[ The constellation 'Veiled Enchantress' is waiting for your decision. ]
[ The constellation 'Cursed Dame' have sponsored you 500 coins. ]
[ The constellation 'Arcana Reverie' is trying to stop the constellation 'Cursed Dame' from bribing you with money. ]
[ The constellation 'Great Master of Vision' is amused by the situation. ]
[ The constellation 'Cursed Dame' have sponsored you 500 coins while the constellation 'Arcana Reverie' trying to stop her. ]
His notifications are overflowing with the 'Cursed Dame' giving him money over and over. Since it's annoying, Hirotsuka decided to pick the 'Nameless Astra'..
[ The constellation 'Cursed Dame' gasped by the audacity. ]
[ The constellation 'Nameless Astra' is holding back his laughter. ]
[ The constellation 'Great Master of Vision' is holding back his laughter. ]
[ The constellation 'Veiled Enchantress' holding back her laughter. ]
[ The constellation 'Arcana Reverie' is trying to calm down the constellation 'Cursed Dame' from throwing things at you. ]
Hirotsuka smirked to himself before he turned to Akari. He wonder what constellation that she choose and anjther notification popped up.
[ The constellation 'Nameless Astra' have gifted you the skill of 'Eyes of Insight'. ]
Hirotsuka raised an eyebrow at the new notification. He then open the skill to read the description.
[ Eyes of Insight ]
Description : You are able to look into other player's status window.
He is surprised to be given a really useful skill like this. He then turned to Akari and decided to use the skill on her.
[ The skill 'Eyes of Insight' is activated. ]
[ Status Window ]
└ Name : Akari Kim
└ Age : 24
└ Class : Celestial Judge
└ Sponsor : None (3 Constellations has taken interest in this person)
└ Exclusive Attributes : None
└ Exclusive Skills : Divine Chains Lv. 1, Aura of Justice Lv. 1, Divine Insight Lv. 1, Celestial Execution Lv. 1
└ Overall Stats : Physique Lv. 20, Strenght Lv. 20, Agility Lv. 30, Magic Power Lv. 10, Endurance Lv. 15
└ Owned Coins : 300
└ Remaining Stat Points : 0
Hirotsuka raised an eyebrow when he saw it. He realised that this means, he's able to see other people's skills. He wonder if he could see monster's skills too. He then remembered about using his eye skills on Akari.
While she's too focused on making a decision, he activated the skill 'Alluring Vision'.
"Akari, look at me." He says and she turned to him with a curious look. He leaned down and pulled his blindfold a bit to lock eyes with her.
The moment it reach 10 seconds, a notification appeared and he pulled up the blindfold to cover his eyes again.
[ You have charmed the person in front of you! They will follow whatever you order as long as the skill is on! ]
He smirk to himself then he starts giving orders. "Tell me what constellations you have in the options."
In an instant she replied. "The constellation 'Cursed Dame', 'Tears of Themis', 'Angel Dame of the Moon'."
"Smile and wave." He ordered. She did.
"Twirl around." He ordered again and she did.
"Tell me your secret that you refused to tell me." He said, not really wanted to know but decided to ask it for fun.
"I once accidentally eat the strawberry shortcake that you love because I was too hungry after buying it for you then lied saying that they ran out since I don't have any money with me at that time." She says and his jaw almost dropped.
He really thought that it ran out even though he had already counted when the shop opened and when they put out the strawberry shortcake.
He sighed when he remembered the time when she lied to him, her tone was hesitant and scared at that time. That day, he thought it because she's afraid that he will get mad, he never thought that it because she ate the cake that was meant for him.
[ The constellation 'Great Master of Vision' is laughing. ]
Silence settled between them like a held breath.
He did not turn to face her when he spoke again. His voice was steady, but beneath it lay something fractured, something already resigned.
"If I ask you to become my eyes… to help me to the very end, even if the path demands blood—yours, mine, or another's. Will you still accept?"
"Yes."
The answer came too fast. Too certain.
He finally looked at her then, searching her face as though trying to find the hesitation that never arrived. "Why?"
For a moment, she said nothing. Her fingers curled slowly at her side, knuckles whitening. The weight of his question pressed against her chest, heavy and merciless.
"Because I know what waits at the end," she said at last. "And I know what it costs to walk toward it alone."
Her gaze did not waver.
"If my hands must be stained." She continued quietly. "Then let it be for your sake. If I have to lose myself in the process, then so be it. As long as you reach the end."
The air between them turned cold.
He decided to stop using the skill. Her expression from being in a daze, she turned back to normal. She looked around in confusion.