The Grand Hall smelled of ozone and desperation. Thousands of students stood in rigid, silent columns, their breathing shallow and synchronized. Above us, on a raised dais draped in the charcoal-grey banners of the United Human Front, sat the high-ranking officials of Jianghai City. But they weren't the ones we were looking at.
Our eyes were fixed on the man standing at the center of the stage. He wore a tactical exoskeleton that hummed with a low, predatory blue light.
This is the Commander Wei of the Jianghai Defense Force—a man whose name was synonymous with the successful defense of the North Gate during the Third Incursion.
He stepped to the edge of the podium, his voice amplified not by a microphone, but by the sheer pressure of his Aetheric resonance.
"Look at the person to your left," Commander Wei began, his voice like grinding tectonic plates. "Now look at the one to your right. By sunset, two of you will be the masters of this world. The third will be its fuel."
He gestured to the massive, translucent crystal pillar behind him—the Awakening Monolith.
"Aether is not a 'magic' from your fairy tales. It is the Breath of the Universe, a cosmic radiation that the 'Nature of All' system filters into our reality. Before the Awakening, your bodies are like leaky buckets. Today, the system will determine if your bucket can be sealed and upgraded into a vessel."
"The Nature of All is the ultimate meritocracy," Wei continued, his eyes scanning the crowd with a cold, professional detachment. "It analyzes your genetic potential, your spiritual willpower, and your soul-origin. If it grants you a Combat Class, you are the sword. Support, you are the shield. Miscellaneous... you are the foundation. But remember: in this era, a foundation is something people walk on. Do not expect mercy if the system deems you a 'stepping stone'."
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The ceremony began with clinical efficiency. One by one, students were called up to touch the Monolith.
"Student 0412: Chen Bo."
A nervous boy with thick glasses approached. He touched the stone. The Monolith hummed, a dull, muddy brown light flickering for a second before dying out.
[Result: F-Rank — Miscellaneous Class: 'Cartographer']
The boy's face drained of color. "Cartographer? But... I wanted to be a Warrior! My father paid for—"
"Next!" the proctor barked. Two guards unceremoniously ushered the sobbing boy off the stage. His future had just been liquidated. He wouldn't be fighting monsters; he would be drawing maps in a windowless bunker for the rest of his life.
"Student 0588: Zhao Kai."
My 'old friend' strutted forward. He cast a smug glance back at the crowd, specifically toward where I stood. He placed his hand on the crystal. It erupted in a vibrant, crackling yellow.
[Result: B-Rank — Combat Class: 'Thunder-Caller']
A roar went up from the front rows. A B-Rank Combat Class was a ticket to the upper crust. Zhao Kai's chest puffed out, his eyes gleaming with a newfound, violent authority. He didn't just walk off the stage; he marched, already imagining the monsters—and classmates—he would crush.
Then, the air in the hall grew thin. A hush fell over the room that was heavier than the Commander's voice.
"Student 0601: Ye Shenyue."
She moved with a grace that felt predatory, her crimson silk dress swirling around her legs like a pool of fresh blood. Beside her, Li Wei—the man from the sports car—whispered something in her ear, his hand lingering on the swell of her back. He had already awakened a month prior in a private ceremony: an S-Rank 'Solar Knight.'
Shenyue stepped up to the Monolith. As her fingers brushed the surface, the hall didn't just glow—it froze.
A localized blizzard erupted around the stage. Shards of crystalline ice spiraled into the air, reflecting the overhead lights like a thousand diamonds. The temperature dropped twenty degrees in a heartbeat. The Monolith turned a blinding, piercing silver-white.
[Result: A-Rank — Support Class: 'Ice Mage (Sub-type: Frost Sovereign's Grace)']
"An A-Rank Support!" someone gasped. "With that level of crowd control, she could freeze an entire dungeon floor for an S-Rank team!"
Commander Wei actually stood up, nodding in approval. An A-Rank Ice Mage wasn't just a student; she was a strategic deterrent.
Shenyue turned, the frost still clinging to her eyelashes, making her look like a creature made of moonlight and stone. Her eyes scanned the crowd, seeking the adulation she felt she deserved.
Then, she saw me.
Her gaze locked onto mine. For a moment, the triumph in her eyes flickered into a cold, mocking pity. She whispered something to Li Wei, and the two of them began to walk toward the exit of the hall, passing through the aisle right where I was standing.
She stopped directly in front of me. The air around her smelled of expensive perfume and the biting chill of a glacier.
"I saw you looking, Feng," she said, her voice loud enough for those nearby to hear. It was sharp, devoid of the warmth she used to fake. "Take a good look. This is the last time you'll be close enough to even see my shadow."
Li Wei laughed, pulling her closer, his 'Solar Knight' aura radiating a heat that mocked my thin jacket. "Let it go, Yue'er. You're an A-Rank 'Ice Mage' now. To the state, you're a treasure. To this guy..." he glanced at my frayed collar and the dark circles under my eyes, "...you're a god he's no longer allowed to pray to."
Shenyue leaned in, her eyes narrowing into icy slits. "In three days, I'll be entering the 'Frozen Heart' Gateway with a gold-tier guild. And you? You'll be lucky if the system gives you a class that lets you sweep the floors I walk on. We're worlds apart now, Feng. Don't make it harder on yourself by pretending we ever belonged in the same one."
She didn't wait for my response. She turned, her arm wrapped firmly around Li Wei's, her crimson dress a taunting streak of color in my peripheral vision.
I stood there, silent. My heart was a steady, rhythmic drum in my ears. I didn't feel the cold. I didn't feel the insult.
In my soul, the obsidian ember roared. It wasn't Aether. It wasn't a gift from Nu Wa. It was something that had crawled back from the void with me, and it was getting hungry.
"Student 0722: Ning Feng."
The proctor's voice echoed through the hall. The "nobody" stepped forward.