The sun rose and fell three times before Zeke opened his eyes again.
Feeling a soft, mushy cushion underneath him, his body sank on the mattress. The first thing that came to his mind was relief that he finally woke up and escaped that terrifying darkness.
But the second thing was regret that he even woke up.
"Ghk!"
Zeke suddenly vomited out bile on himself, recalling what happened in the Awakening Ceremony. He wanted to deny it…! It was impossible! A heaven's chosen like him, awakening a gray-quality class?!
'There must be something wrong!'
But even as he thought of this, the information of his class flashed in his mind, making him deathly silent.
[Class: Stick Master — You are a master of the stick.]
[Skill: Stick Manifestation (Active), Stick Skill (Passive)]
"Gh… ah.."
Zeke vomited continuously, shaking like a leaf. His once proud expression disappeared, replaced by utter fear. What was to become of him now? Now that he has become a Gray?! He can't be ordinary!
Bam!
At that moment, the door was barged open by someone. Zeke instinctively raised his head, seeing that it was Elder Belmud. Belmud glanced at him and then sighed, as though pitying him.
"The Head is calling for you, Zeke."
"...!"
When Belmud spoke, the first thing Zeke noticed was his pitying tone, one that he had never received in his life. The second thing was that he was called by his name directly, something that had never happened before. His heart crumbled.
"N-no… there…"
As Zeke struggled to explain himself, Belmud spoke coldly.
"Zeke, do not make the Head of the Starlight wait."
"...!"
Zeke was stupefied. Now it was more than obvious. Belmud's attitude had changed. This uncle, whom he had admired all his life, showed disdain towards him, breaking his spirit.
His gaze lowered briefly, lifeless.
"... I understand. Let me get changed."
He mustered a reply.
Belmud nodded, looking at the bile on the sheets.
"Hurry. Don't forget to change."
Then, he closed the door.
Zeke fell silent, a mix of emotions rising in his heart. Fear intertwined with sorrow, and sorrow was overwhelmed with resentment. He clenched his hand and raised his head, looking at the door.
How dare they treat him like this?!
Zeke gritted his teeth.
How dare Uncle Belmud…
He was Zeke Starlight!
'Even if it's gray, I can still work hard…'
In the history of the Age of Classes, nobody with a gray-quality class ever succeeded.
"But I'm Zeke Starlight."
Zeke murmured, regaining a semblance of confidence. It was said that Heaven tests the strongest with the most difficult challenges. Wasn't this referring to him? How could his destiny be ordinary as the heir of the Starlights?!
Perhaps the Head realized this as well, which is why he called him.
"That's it!"
After a moment of thinking, Zeke smirked, understanding everything. He chuckled excitedly and quickly stood up, forgetting about the bile on his clothes, as he walked out of the room.
As soon as he stepped outside, whispers echoed in the hall.
"The trash finally woke up!"
"It's him… the shame of the Starlight! Ever since the Awakening Ceremony three days ago, I can't step outside without being scorned!"
"That trash should've just died! Why did he even bother to wake up?!"
"Wait, is that… yuck!? What the hell?!"
Zeke's expression cracked, showing anger. But he quickly regained his composure, knowing that they weren't at fault for not being able to see his destiny. Just like before, all they could do was look at him from afar.
He buried his anger in his heart, accepting the criticism openly.
With a steadfast gaze, he walked towards the Head's office.
Zeke wanted to barge in right away, but he stopped himself. He knocked twice as a courtesy, and then a steady, cold voice came from the other side of the door.
"Come in."
Click!
Zeke nodded calmly and twisted the doorknob slightly, opening the door. To his surprise, besides the Head of the Starlight, someone else was in the room. It was the middle-aged woman who accompanied Amber from before, Agatha Xynth.
'Is the Xynth here to comfort me?'
Although confused, Zeke didn't mind their presence. He looked at the Head of the Starlight, but saw that the man's expression turned ugly, looking at him as if he were a piece of filth.
"Head…"
"You! How dare you!"
The Head of the Starlight glared at him, blood rising in the man's head.
"Haven't you embarrassed us enough?! YOU PIECE OF TRASH!!"
The words Zeke prepared were forced back in his throat, causing him to stumble on the door. His expression cracked, showing disbelief. The Head, who always showed him love, was showing an extremely terrifying expression.
He wanted to run from this room immediately.
"Disgusting."
Agatha glanced at Zold and couldn't help but frown in disgust. She turned towards the Head of the Starlight, shaking her head.
"The Xynths apologize, but we will be severing the engagement of Amber Xynth with Zeke Starlight. Please understand."
"...!"
Zeke's eyes widened, unable to believe what he was hearing.
The Head of the Starlight was helpless, but he sighed, nodding quietly.
"I understand. Please give my regards to the Rosamanthia."
"Naturally."
Agatha nodded respectfully and stood up. She walked towards the door, glaring at Zeke coldly. She waved her hands, causing Zeke to be blown to the side, his back pressed against the wall.
But Zeke didn't care. He only noticed her gaze looked at him like he was a pathetic piece of garbage.
'Why?!'
At that moment, Zeke suddenly felt his body rise into the air, causing his expression to change.
Whoosh!
A sword made from starlight pierced his shoulders, making him scream in pain.
"Argh!"
The Head of the Starlight gazed at him coldly.
"Does it hurt? Oh, Zeke… how much I want to split open your heart, feed your body to the monsters, and erase you from the family's history. Your awakening ceremony was witnessed by everyone and has now spread across the capital. In our five hundred years of heritage, this is the first time we were treated as a laughingstock!"
Zeke coughed up a copious amount of blood, staining his already bile-filled uniform. He raised his head, looking at the Head of the Starlight with a disbelieving expression, his lips trembling soundlessly.
"Even then, you couldn't maintain your composure… while the Xynths representative was here, you dared to show up covered in your bile?! Disgusting!"
The Head of the Starlight's voice rose, filled with rage.
"But death… It's mercy for trash like you."
His voice suddenly calmed, but this made Zeke's fear rise instead.
"From this day onwards, you are no longer a Starlight. Your engagement with the Xynths is now void. Tonight, you will be exiled to the Red Land, where your useless kind deserves to live."
Zeke's expression turned lifeless, each statement breaking his soul. He stared at the Head with disbelief, then turned to resentment. Just as he was about to speak, the starlight sword on his shoulders pierced even deeper.
"ARGH!"
He cried out painfully.
"How dare trash like you look at me with such eyes?!"
The Head of the Starlight frowned in disgust.
But Zeke raised his head forcefully, glaring at the Head with rage. He opened his mouth despite the pain. A hundred questions rose in his throat, but only one ended up escaping his mouth.
"... Was Amber the one who severed the engagement?"
"Hm?"
The Head of the Starlight gazed at him, as if understanding something. He laughed softly, making Zeke's heart shake. Then, he smiled cruelly.
"Naturally. How could she stomach being with trash like you?"
"...!"
Zeke's heart finally gave out, and his head lowered lifelessly.
Seeing hope vanish from Zeke's eyes, the Head of the Starlight felt satisfied. He called out outside.
"Take him away."
A member of the Starlights went inside the room, bowing at him respectfully before dragging Zeke away.
***
The day passed like a blur to Zeke, his gaze stuck on the ceiling of his room.
His thoughts lingered, then went away. Not a thought stayed longer than a second, odd, as he used to love thinking so much. But that very love turned against him. His throat itched terribly, and he wanted to grab his neck and clasp it strongly to stop the itch.
But he couldn't allow himself to do that.
His thoughts were like a killer's, and his hands were the knife threatening to split open his heart. Silence was a war in itself, and Zeke was slowly losing out each second.
When the sun fell, somebody barged in the door.
Bam!
Zeke lifelessly turned his gaze, seeing that it was an ordinary member of the Starlight family.
The member was looking at him coldly, then spoke.
"Your flight to Red Land has arrived. Follow me."
Zeke stood up and followed them outside. They arrived in the teleportation formation and were whisked away to a hidden location. He raised his head and saw a mobile flying ship, with multiple people entering inside.
All the people who entered were dirty, poor, and grays. Those who flew to the Red Land didn't do so by choice, but by punishment. Punishment for being weak in a world that only cared about the strong.
At that moment, the member of the Starlight hacked his neck, causing his eyes to roll over.
"... I owe your mother a favor. I'll help you just this once."
Zeke's consciousness immediately slipped away. But unknown to him and the Starlight member, an electrifying sensation suddenly coursed through his body, but this time, pleasant and soft.
Before he fell unconscious, a class name flashed in his mind.
[Class: Gamer — The world is nothing but a game in your eyes, everything can be leveled up through hard work.]
[Quality: Black.]
[Skills: Gamer Proficiency (Passive), Gamer Attributes (Passive), Gamer Growth (Passive), Gamer Overload (Active)...]