The air around Riku was tense with anxiety, excitement, and anticipation as he fell into the line of hopefuls.
It was a familiar feeling. Back in game launch days. The anxiety and excitement before the servers went live.
His mind reeled, but on the positive side, 'I wonder what ability I'll get. Oh, what if I get a special one that no one has ever gotten? That'll be broken. What if I land an S-Tier ranking?'
He decided to look around and it made his stomach drop.
A girl stood at the front, a scowl permanently plastered on her face. Her fists were red and steaming. A boy stood by the other side, the ground under his foot frozen. Riku spotted another boy who was reading a floating book. Telekinesis.
Most of them were either anxious and quiet, or, most of all, showing off their abilities. That seemed to be the problem for Riku. 'I'm supposed to be able to use the ability before getting evaluated? Why didn't Gramps tell me this? I don't even know how to exhibit whatever ability I've got. Damnit!'
Riku tried all means he could to try and do something. Anything to make his ability work. His pride didn't let him ask anyone how they managed to start using their ability. He just moved whenever the line did. He moved without realizing he was now at the front.
"Next!" A voice barked from inside the building.
He never knew he was next until the boy behind tapped him on the shoulder. "You moving or not?"
"Oh, sorry about that." Riku apologized, heading into the place that would decide his fate.
The inside was a vast space with a glowing green crystal levitating on a pillar. At the side sat the same severe woman from the slums, now identified as Adjudicator Varia and by her side, stood the same broad-shouldered man, named Sergeant Corb.
Adjudicator Varia didn't raise her head from the parchment she was writing on. "Name?"
"Riku,"
"Place of origin?"
"The… Eastern grove?" Riku repeated what she had said the other day.
Varia nodded, writing down the information. "Step forward and kindly channel your energy through the crystal," she said, finally looking up.
Riku nodded and stepped to the crystal, his heart beating frantically in his chest. He stood in front of the crystal. 'Alright, stand in front of the crystal. Done. Now, channel your energy through the crystal… yeah, how do I do that?'
"Channel your energy through the crystal." Varia repeated.
"O-okay." Riku stuttered. He extended his hand to the crystal, trying to force out something he never even knew. Nothing happened.
He breathed in and out. 'Calm down, Riku, you can do this.' he thought, closing his eyes shut. He tried to calm himself down. He just wanted something to happen. Anything.
He heard Sergeant Corb snort. "Is he sleeping?"
"Focus." Varia's low voice still echoed in the vast space.
After a few seconds, Riku started to feel something from his core, reaching into his hand and then to his palm. A faint yellow glow came from his palm and he could feel it.
He slowly opened his eyes, seeing something form in front of his hands. It shimmered for a second then stopped. Hovering right in front of his hands was a 3D model of a human made of light, barely reaching the size of his palm. 'What tha… Is this what everyone else did? This is good right? Right?'
Varia's brows went up slightly. For the first time since Riku saw her, she wasn't expressionless. "Wow. Never in my life did I ever think I would live to see this class in person," she muttered beneath her breath. She look down and started writing on the writ.
Riku blinked, his mind trying to understand what was happening right now.
Varia handed him the writ. "Riku of the Eastern grove. Tier-5 mid. Designer-type, considered highly non-combative. Not accepted."
"Oh, we are recruiting toy makers now?" Sergeant Corb scoffed.
Riku's body felt light, like it wasn't his at all. His fingers slowly wrapped around the paper.
"Of all classes, a Designer? You should be ashamed of yourself and probably hiding your face and your toy. Get out of this place." Sergeant Corb mocked, the words feeling like venom in Riku's ears.
He slowly walked out. Whispers and snickers came from different directions. People laughing at him for his useless class.
He had been called several bad names by clients: Lazy, unreliable, ignorant, a hack. But never a toy maker. He wished for the best but got the worst. "Wow. Just… wow," he muttered, walking onto the streets.
The sun's heat felt even harsher now, as if it were also showing its disappointment in him.
"Bullshit. That's what it all is." Riku cursed under his breath. "Even the angry landlady's continuous knocking early in the morning is better than this." He exhaled deeply. That life was gone. He was stuck in this world now.
He walked his way to the Grand market. The Grand market was Lowtown's main market, but the local Lowtown market closer to the Eastern grove was the major hub for whatever you were looking for.
Riku entered the market, and as expected, it wasn't as crowded as the one he sold fish with Borin.
He found a bench and sat down, trying to cool off his mind. He tried using his ability again and the same figure manifested. The more he stared at it, the more he felt a realization starting to sit in place. After a minute, he snapped his fingers. "Yes. It's not a useless ability. It's a dev kit I can utilize." He grinned.
His eyes gleamed with renewed hope. "Let's see if I can adjust it." He focused on moving it but nothing happened. He tried changing its size. Nothing happened there either. After a few seconds, it flickered and disappeared. He suddenly felt the core where his energy came from being empty.
He didn't have enough energy to even keep it for long, let alone affect its physical state. "Why's everything so hard, tch?" He stared at himself in the puddle of water in front of him, as if expecting an answer.
Then, a series of screams came from ahead. Riku quickly turned his head, seeing people running away. He bolted towards the source of the commotion, curiosity getting the better of him.
He skidded to a stop. In front of him was the first spirit he'd ever seen. Not as a drawing. The real thing.
Its body was a coil of deep black smoke, with two red dots where its eyes should be. He couldn't mistake it. This was one of the most common spirits. A Tier-5 ghostling.
He suddenly felt his body flowing with energy, but more strangely, it wasn't coming from his core. It was as if his body was attracting from the air.
"Nooo! My child!" A woman's hoarse voice cried out.
Riku turned to see a woman pushing through the fleeing crowd to get her son who was the last person in the spirit's path.
The boy tripped and fell down. The spirit was closing in on him. Riku's body moved on autopilot as he ran to the side where people weren't following, jumping over crates and stalls.
He came just in time, stopping in-between the boy and the spirit. Now that he got here, what was next? He didn't think that far.
The spirit paused, expecting something, but nothing happened. It growled and started closing the gap.
"Aren't there any Spirit Hunters around?" Riku muttered, looking around. His gaze locked on the boys mother who now looked at him with a pleading look. She went down on her knees, clasping her hands together in a silent, desperate plea. And he wasn't ready to let her down either.
The spirit was about to lunge when he extended his hand, creating something. A small glowing orb. It was the most basic thing he could think of at the moment and it seemed to pique the spirit's interest.
The surge of energy he was feeling allowed him move it. "Go on. Follow the shiny thing." He said to the spirit.
The spirit followed the orb, trying to catch it. Riku turned, quickly helping the boy up. "Go to your mommy, okay? Go go go," he whispered, patting the boy as he ran to his mother.
Now how exactly does he deal with this thing with just a little light trick.
A figure came from above, tearing the spirit into two. It was a girl. She stood up, pushing her long blonde hair behind her ears, sword in hand. "Thanks for making sure no one got hurt." She turned to Riku, her expression deadpan.