At the center of the pond lay the seabed.
Mana flowed gently through the water, faintly lighting the seabed.
A tall tree with faintly luminescent leaves stood on the seabed, birds perched along its branches.
A short woman in white, her blue hair tied in a long ponytail, quietly watched the children gather mana.
Among the children with blue, green, grey, or white hair, one boy with purple hair stood out immediately.
He sat at the center in a lotus position, eyes closed, handling mana far better than the other children–even better than most adults.
As he absorbed more mana, his body began reacting on its own.
Soon, his eyes twitched, sweat beading on his face.
"Holy shit. Feels like I've been asleep for years!"
He let out a sigh.
Then he realized he was being stared at.
Slowly, he cracked one eye open, 'Damn it… my memories are suddenly coming back.'
As he searched for a way out of the awkward situation, a girl beside him asked innocently:
"Cid, what is a holy shit?"
Cursing was not foreign here, but specific profanities did not suit the isolated Sea Elves.
Cid, short version of the name Cidelion, chuckled and turned to the lady teaching them.
Before she could speak, Cid stood. "Ma'am Irid, I think I'm done for today."
After a brief contemplation, she said, "You can return."
"Thank you, ma'am." Cid immediately left the seabed, crossed the stone path above the water, and returned to his home.
The other children, inspired by how quickly Cid finished, returned to their cultivation.
Meanwhile, only then did Ma'am Irid notice the even more irregular mana fluctuation around Cid.
This was the moment his past began to resurface, pushing him towards change.
- - - - -
The years passed swiftly in the Sea Elven town.
Cidelion, or Cid, grew from a precocious child into a strikingly handsome young man.
His purple hair, a stark contrast to the blue and white shades of his kin, flowed past his shoulders, and his black eyes held a depth that went against his age.
The regained memories of his past life isolated him—not through rejection or occasional random outbursts of mana, but by choice.
He spent his adolescence delving into the village's ancient texts and correlating them with his memories.
He also mastered weaponry and quietly prepared for the day he would officially awaken his Class, or as this world knew it, his Path.
At sixteen, every qualified member of the Sea Elves participated in the Awakening Ritual, a necessary step to join the ranks of the supernatural and receive the Goddess's official acknowledgment.
The ritual took place beneath the great luminescent tree, the underground hall where the elders usually gathered.
Elder Kaelina, her voice ringing with ancient authority, stood before Cid and a dozen other sixteen-year-olds.
"Cidelion," the Elder began, "approach the Stone of Resonance."
Cid, calm and collected, stepped forward.
The Stone of Resonance was a massive, smooth obsidian monolith humming with latent mana said to tap into the Goddess's reserve.
He placed his hands on its cool surface, channeling his accumulated mana reserves, a stream far stronger than any his peers possessed.
The stone pulsed, casting an ethereal purple light that engulfed Cid.
Unlike the usual process of his soul merging with divinity to form a Designation, the Stone of Resonance merely worked as a trigger to complete Cid's awakening of what was within him.
Soon, he heard the not too unfamiliar voice of the Universal System, the Arbiter.
It had sounded several times before, informing him of thighs he had already awakened, like his Designation or Blessing.
[Path "Overseer" has completed its awakening.]
[Unique Blessing "Divine Impact" is evolving "Overseer".]
[Path "Overseer" has evolved to "Fraudulent God".]
A wave of mana gathered at his core before spreading out like a wave, washing a sensational feeling over all those present in the hall.
Elder Kaelina gasped, her eyes wide. The Sea Elves typically awakened common or rare classes related to water magic, healing, or nature defense.
While they stood in awe, Cid closed his eyes as he awaited the completion of his awakening.
He still had a Unique Skill to awaken.
It was a rare ability that only a few were fortunate enough to awaken without external influence.
Even otherworlders, whose souls are usually attuned to have higher chance of awakening a Unique ability, take time to awaken one.
Cid had actually obtained his Unique Ability the moment he settled into this world.
But due to ThenNowSoon's apparent inability to smoothen his reincarnation, Cid had to settle with slowly awakening his Unique Skill along with his other memories, abilities and world title.
[Unique Ability "Phantom Forge" has awakened.]
[World's Blessing "Divine Impact" is evolving "Phantom Forge".]
[Unique Ability "Phantom Forge" has evolved to "Phantomancy."]
Cid felt a connection to his newly acquired power.
A skill that wasn't granted by his Designation or through a blessing, but born from his unique connection to supernaturality.
A final surge of energy swept through the hall.
The silent guesses everyone had from the beginning about Cid being an outlier were confirmed.
Some even began to wonder if he could be the savior of the Goddess to save them from their pending doom.
Meanwhile, Cid was bothered with his own thoughts as he proudly smiled.
'At long last… the tutorial's over. Now it's game on, fuckers.'
- - - -
Name: Cidelion Lyth
Star: [I]
Designation: [Jester of Constellations]
Path: Fraudulent God
⤷ Path Skills: [Assign]
Aspect: Phantomancy
⤷ Aspect Skills: [Convert], [Indestructible]
Unique Blessing: Divine Impact
Extra Skills: —
[Arbiter Shop]
Arbiter Coins: —
- - - -