The last thing Kai remembered was the screech of tires, the blinding headlights, and the sickening crunch of his own bones. Then, nothing. A void.
Then, everything.
He gasped, his lungs filling not with the sterile, antiseptic air of a hospital, but with the chalk-dust and old wood smell of a classroom. His heart hammered against his ribs, a frantic drumbeat of I'm alive I'm alive I'm alive.
"—Kai? Are you even listening?"
The voice was sharp, impatient. Kai blinked, vision swimming into focus. He was slumped at a wooden desk, his fingers gripping the edge. Sunlight streamed through tall windows, illuminating floating dust motes. Rows of students in crisp, navy-blue uniforms sat around him. At the front of the class stood Instructor Borin, a man built like a brick wall with a permanent scowl etched onto his face.
This isn't Earth.
The knowledge didn't come as a shock. It settled into him, cold and certain, like a stone sinking to the bottom of a lake. Memories that were not his own—fragmented, blurry—swirled in his mind. A boy, also named Kai. An orphan. A kind aunt. A world of… Towers.
"I asked you a question, Aspirant Kai," Borin growled, his voice cutting through the murmurs of the other students. "The Crimson Spire Tutorial Dungeon. What is the primary weakness of the first-floor guardian, the Ember Hound?"
Kai's mouth was dry. The new memories shuffled, clicked. This was the Veridian Belt Pre-Awakening Academy. A grinding, competitive hellhole for teenagers hoping to become Awakened—humans granted supernatural Classes and the right to enter the Towers and Gates that dotted the world, spilling out monsters and magic. Failure here meant a life in the mundane sectors, a life of irrelevance.
"Its… its legs," Kai heard himself say, the voice younger than he remembered. "The Ember Hound's front legs are over-muscled. It's fast in a straight charge, but its lateral movement is slow. It can't turn quickly."
A beat of silence. Borin's scowl deepened, not with anger, but with annoyance that the class slacker had actually answered correctly. "Sit down. Pay attention. Your Awakening is in one week. Daydreaming will get you a useless Class, or worse, no Class at all."
Kai sank back into his seat, his mind reeling. Awakening. Class. Towers. The boy whose body he now inhabited had studied this relentlessly, with a desperate, hungry hope. Hope to be strong. Hope to provide for his aunt. Hope to find out what happened to his parents, who vanished into a high-level Gate five years ago.
The bell rang, a shrill sound that shattered the tension. Students surged from their desks, their chatter filling the room.
"Did you see Kai's face? He looked like he saw a ghost."
"Probably just realized he's going to flunk the Awakening."
"Yeah, a F-class at best. He'll end up cleaning Guild toilets."
Kai ignored them. The instinct came from the old Kai, a practiced numbness worn thin over years of being the quiet, parentless kid. He gathered his simple bag and moved with the flow of bodies into the crowded hallway.
It was then that it happened.
A transparent, blue screen materialized directly in the center of his vision. Lines of stark, white text scrolled into existence.
[System Initialization Detected.]
[Soul Signature: Anomaly Detected. Integration Protocol: 'Genesis' Engaged.]
[Welcome, User: Kai.]
[Awakening your unique Class…]
Kai froze, causing the student behind him to bump into his shoulder with a curse. He stumbled to the side, leaning against a row of lockers, his breath catching. No one else seemed to see the screen. They flowed around him like water around a stone.
[Class Determined.]
[Class: Creation Priest (Mythic)]
[Class Explanation: You do not create matter. You create STATES. You manipulate the fundamental conditions of existence—the buffs, the debuffs, the curses, the blessings that other Classes merely receive or inflict. You are the architect of status.]
[Initializing Skill Set…]
[Skill 1: 'Analyze' (Passive - Tier 1)]
Reveals basic status information and existing buffs/debuffs on a target.
Current Range: 10 meters.
[Skill 2: 'Minor Blessing of Agility' (Active - Tier 1)]
Imbues a single target with a slight increase in reaction speed and dexterity.
Cost: 10 Mana. Duration: 30 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute.
[Skill 3: 'Minor Curse of Heaviness' (Active - Tier 1)]
Inflicts a single target with a slight increase in gravitational pull, slowing movement and attack speed.
Cost: 10 Mana. Duration: 20 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute.
[Warning: 'Creation Priest' is a misunderstood Class. Societal perception ranks it as a low-tier Support role. Your growth path is uncharted. Tread carefully.]
[Primary Quest Generated: 'The First Step']
Objective: Successfully pass the Academy Awakening Ceremony in 7 days.
Failure Condition: Death or Class Rejection.
Reward: Unlock Skill Evolution Path.
The screen faded, leaving its afterimage burned into Kai's mind. A System. A Mythic Class. Creation Priest. His heart wasn't hammering with fear now. It was pounding with a fierce, terrifying thrill. He understood instantly. In a world obsessed with flashy fireballs and giant swords, with raw damage numbers, the power to tip the scales of a fight itself… it was invisible. It was profound.
And it would be ridiculed.
"Hey. Dreamer."
A hand shoved him hard against the lockers. CLANG. The sound echoed in the hallway, now mostly empty.
Kai looked up. It was Alex, a broad-shouldered boy with a sneer that was almost impressive in its consistency. Alex's father was a D-rank Awakened in the City Guard. It gave him all the confidence of a born bully.
"You blocked my way," Alex said, his voice low. "You made me look stupid in front of Rina."
Kai's eyes flickered. Almost instinctively, the new part of his mind—the part connected to the System—activated.
[Analyze: Alexander 'Alex' Vern.]
[Class: Unawakened. Physical Prowess: High-Tier Adolescent. Status: 'Aggressive Posturing' (Self-Applied).]
"I didn't see you," Kai said, his voice quiet. He pushed off the lockers, straightening his uniform.
"You never see anything," Alex stepped closer, crowding him. "You're a ghost. A nothing. Next week, after the ceremony, you'll be less than nothing. I'll probably get a Combat Class. Maybe 'Blade Dancer' or 'Pyro Knight'. What'll you get? 'Janitor'? 'Cook'?"
The old Kai would have looked down, taken it. The new Kai—the one who had died once and been given a second chance, the one with a Mythic Class humming in his soul—felt a cold clarity settle over him. This wasn't just a bully. This was the first obstacle. The first test of his new reality.
"Maybe," Kai said, meeting Alex's eyes. "But you're not Awakened yet either."
Alex's sneer turned into a real smile, cruel and eager. "Don't need to be Awakened to put you in your place."
He threw a punch. It was telegraphed, clumsy with anger, but fast and heavy.
Kai didn't try to block. He couldn't. The old Kai's body was scrawny, underfed. But his mind was a strategist's.
He activated 'Minor Curse of Heaviness'.
A shimmer of invisible, violet energy, visible only to Kai, shot from his fingertips and wrapped around Alex's punching arm.
Alex's eyes widened a fraction. His punch didn't slow much, but its trajectory dipped. The force was still there, but the aim was off. Instead of connecting with Kai's jaw, the meaty fist grazed his cheekbone and slammed into the metal locker beside his head.
BOOM.
The sound was deafening. Alex yelped, more in shock and pain than from the actual impact on the locker. He stumbled back, clutching his now-throbbing hand. He stared at it, then at Kai, confusion and dawning fury on his face. "You… you little—"
"Problem here, Aspirants?"
Instructor Borin's voice cut through the hallway like a knife. He stood at his classroom door, arms crossed.
Alex instantly composed himself, hiding his injured hand. "No, sir. Just a misunderstanding."
Borin's gaze swept over them, lingering on Kai's reddening cheek, then on Alex's poorly concealed fist. His expression was one of profound disinterest. "Save your energy for the Awakening. Or for the dungeons, if you're lucky enough to see one. Dismissed."
He turned and walked away.
Alex leaned in close, his voice a venomous whisper. "This isn't over. Next week, when I have my Class, I'm going to break you in the practical exam. Publicly."
He shoved past Kai and stormed down the hall.
Kai stood alone, the adrenaline leaching away, leaving him trembling. He touched his stinging cheek. He'd won. Sort of. He'd used his power, unseen, to turn a breaking blow into a glancing one. But the cost was immediate. He felt a deep, inner emptiness—his Mana pool, which he now sensed was a tiny, shallow well, was half-drained from that one, minor curse.
And he'd made a powerful enemy.
[Quest Update: 'The First Step']
[Sub-Objective Added: 'Survive the Academy Practical Exam.']
[New Status Effect Acquired: 'Minor Concussion' (Duration: 2 hours).]
A headache began to pulse behind his eyes. Right. Consequences. The graze had still hurt.
He walked out of the academy's main gates, the late afternoon sun warming his face. The city of Lumen stretched before him—a place of stark contrasts. Gleaming spires of the Awakened Guilds pierced the sky in the distance. Closer, the buildings were simpler, older. He followed a familiar route, the old Kai's memories guiding him through bustling market streets, past hawkers selling monster-core charms (mostly fake), and down a quieter side alley.
There it was. A small, cozy-looking building with a warm, golden light spilling from its windows. The sign above the door read, simply, "Elara's Hearth."
The sight of it hit Kai in the chest with a force stronger than Alex's punch. It wasn't just a memory. It was a feeling. A deep, aching warmth. Home.
He pushed the door open. A bell chimed softly.
The inside was all polished wood, the smell of roasting meat, fresh bread, and herbs wrapping around him like a blanket. It was empty between meal rushes.
"Kai? Is that you?" A woman's voice, melodic and warm, came from the kitchen.
She emerged, wiping her hands on a flour-dusted apron. She was in her early thirties, with kind, tired eyes the color of amber and hair the shade of dark honey tied in a loose braid. Aunt Elara. His only family. Her face, etched with the daily worries of running a small business in a world that prized monster hunting above all else, lit up with a pure, unguarded joy at the sight of him.
Then her smile faltered. Her eyes, sharp with a love that noticed everything, went straight to the red mark on his cheek.
"Kai," she said, her voice dropping, soft with concern. She was in front of him in an instant, her cool hand gently tilting his face. "What happened?"
The lie came easily, born from a lifetime of not wanting to worry her. "Nothing. Just… gym class. Got hit with a training ball."
She searched his eyes. He saw the doubt, the fear she always carried for him—the fear of a woman who had already lost her sister and brother-in-law to this brutal world. But she also saw his need for her to believe him. She sighed, the sound full of a weary love.
"Sit," she commanded softly. "I'll get some ice. And you'll have the first bowl of tonight's stew. You need your strength for your studies."
As she bustled away, Kai sat at the counter, the System screen still a phantom in his mind. He looked around the small, warm restaurant his aunt fought to keep alive every single day. He looked at her back, straight and strong despite the weight it carried.
This was it. This was the reason. Not glory. Not revenge. Not even the mystery of his past life's death or this life's missing parents.
It was this light. This warmth. This hearth.
He had a Mythic Class no one would understand. He had a bully who wanted to break him. He had an Awakening ceremony that could mean life or death.
And he had seven days.
He clenched his fist under the counter, the ghost of his past life's death and the very real pain in his cheek merging into a single, iron resolve.
I will get stronger. I will pass. I will protect this.
[System Notice: User's Resolve has been acknowledged. 'Paradox Skill' seed detected. Nurture it.]
A new, faint icon pulsed at the edge of his consciousness, undefined. Kai ignored it for now, focusing on the immediate.
Elara returned with a cloth-wrapped ice pack and a steaming bowl of stew that smelled like heaven. "Eat," she said, her voice firm. Then, softer, "You know you can tell me anything, right?"
Kai took the ice, the cold a sweet relief against his skin. He met her eyes. "I know, Aunt Elara. Thank you."
He ate the stew, the simple, delicious food filling more than just his stomach. It anchored him. To this world. To this life.
Later, in his small, tidy room above the restaurant, he stared at the ceiling. He brought up his Status screen.
[Name: Kai]
[Class: Creation Priest (Mythic - Locked until Official Awakening)]
[Rank: Unawakened]
[Mana: 12/25 (Regenerating)]
[Skills: Analyze (T1), Minor Blessing of Agility (T1), Minor Curse of Heaviness (T1)]
[Paradox Skill Seed: '???' - Inert]
Seven days. He needed a plan. He needed to understand his skills, his limits. He needed to train not his body, but his mind, his mana control, his timing.
And he needed to be ready for Alex.
As he drifted into an exhausted sleep, his last thought was of the System's warning. 'Misunderstood Class.' A small, grim smile touched his lips.
Let them misunderstand.
The cliffhanger wasn't a battle cry or a revelation. It was a quiet, deep-seated certainty that settled in the dark room.
I will make them see.