"Next, Lucas!"
The homeroom teacher's voice echoed across the stadium, filled with anticipation.
Today was the most important day for the senior students of Azure High—the Awakening Ceremony!
In this world, plagued by dimensional rifts and rampant monsters, everyone had a chance to awaken a Profession at the age of eighteen.
Lucas walked onto the platform, taking a deep breath. He placed his trembling hand on the suspended Awakening Crystal.
Buzz—
Instead of a blinding golden light or a fierce crimson glow, a faint, dirty gray fog emerged from the crystal. It looked like smoke from a dying candle.
The teacher frowned. "Lucas, F-Rank Profession... Necromancer."
The noisy stadium suddenly went silent for a second, followed by an eruption of laughter.
"Necromancer? Isn't that the weakest summoning class?"
"Hahaha! I heard F-Rank Necromancers can only summon brittle skeletons that fall apart if the wind blows too hard!"
"Trash! What a waste of his handsome face."
Lucas clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms.
F-Rank... The lowest tier?
Standing not far away, a tall, muscular boy sneered. It was Blake, the class bully. Beside Blake stood a majestic, burning tiger—an A-Rank beast he had just summoned.
"Lucas, looks like you're destined to be cannon fodder," Blake mocked, patting his Flame Tiger's head. "My tiger can crush your skeleton with a sneeze. Maybe you should just quit and become a logistic worker."
Lucas didn't talk back. He lowered his head and walked off the stage amidst the jeers.
Evening. In a cramped, dimly lit dormitory.
Lucas sat on his bed, staring at the open space in front of him.
"Come out," he commanded weakly.
Clack. Clack.
With a sound like dry bones rubbing together, a small summoning circle appeared on the floor.
A white skeleton crawled out. It was barely the height of a child, holding a rusty bone dagger. It looked so fragile that a kick could shatter it.
[Skeleton Soldier]
[Rank: F (Common)]
[Strength: 2]
[Agility: 3]
[Skills: None]
Lucas looked at the blue holographic panel floating above the skeleton's head and let out a bitter laugh.
"Strength 2? Even a normal adult has a Strength of 10! You really are trash..."
Lucas felt a wave of despair. In this dangerous world, without power, he was no better than an ant. He might as well be dead.
"Is this my fate?" Lucas murmured, staring at the dumb skeleton.
However, just as he was about to cancel the summon—
[Ding!]
A crisp, mechanical sound suddenly rang in his brain. It was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.
[Detected strong unwillingness from the host. System activating...]
[God-Tier Evolution System successfully bound!]
Lucas's eyes widened. "System?!"
As a fan of web novels in his past life, how could he not know what this meant? His cheat had arrived!
[Scanning the Host's summon...]
[Target found: F-Rank Skeleton Soldier (Common).]
[Evolution Route Detected!]
A huge, golden status screen popped up in front of Lucas, completely covering the F-Rank panel from before.
[Option 1: Strengthen Bones (Consumes 10 Mana) -> Skeletal Warrior (E-Rank)]
[Option 2: Dark Infusion (Consumes 50 Mana) -> Skeleton Mage (D-Rank)]
Lucas frowned. These were normal paths. But then, he saw the third line, glowing with a dangerously alluring red light.
[Hidden Option 3: God-Tier Evolution (Novice Gift Pack Active - Free for First Use)]
[Target: Supreme Being of the Undead Race.]
[Evolution Result: SSS-Rank · The Abyssal Dragon Empress!]
[Success Rate: 100%]
Lucas gasped, his heart pounding like a drum.
"SSS-Rank? Dragon Empress?!"
This was the highest tier in human history! And it was a hidden evolution!
He looked at the dumb little skeleton standing in front of him, then at the glowing button. There was no hesitation.
"System, choose Option 3! Evolve!"
[Command accepted.]
BOOM!
A terrifying dark energy instantly exploded within the small dormitory. The fragile white bones of the Skeleton Soldier shattered, but they didn't disappear. Instead, they swirled into a vortex of darkness and crimson lightning.
A terrifying aura descended, causing the temperature in the room to drop to freezing point.
From within the darkness, a slender, curvaceous figure slowly stepped out.
She had long, flowing silver hair that reached her ankles. Her skin was pale and flawless like porcelain. On her forehead grew two cute, crystalline dragon horns. A pair of black wings enveloped her naked, perfect body like a cloak.
She opened her eyes. Her pupils were vertical slits of molten gold—the eyes of a predator, yet looking at Lucas with total submission.
"Master..."
Her voice was husky and alluring, sending shivers down Lucas's spine.
She kneeled on one knee, lowering her noble head.
"The Dragon Empress of the Abyss, Seraphina, answers your call."
Lucas swallowed hard.
His trash skeleton... really turned into a Goddess?