The principal's eyes landed on Heli's face.
For a split second, Principal Voss froze.
He recovered almost instantly.
"Heli," he said, voice steady .
"Step forward. Place your hands on the Awakening Stone."
Heli walked the last few steps. The obsidian altar felt cool under his palms as he pressed them flat.
The golden veins beneath the surface pulsed once in response.
Principal Voss raised his hand.
"The Awakening begins. When the light envelops you, you will see the mighty being tied to your profession.
Your abilities are inherited from that entity—its power becomes yours."
In his mind, he added silently: Of course… it is also possible to see a god.
Heli closed his eyes.
The world vanished.
He stood in endless black space. No stars. No sound. Just cold, absolute void pressing against his skin like liquid nitrogen.
…Nothing?
A glitch? A failure?
Doubt crept in.
Then—
A single point of light ignited in the distance.
It grew. Expanded. Became a colossal golden eye.
No. Two.
Twin suns of molten gold opened in the darkness, staring straight through him.
The void shattered like glass.
A being emerged—vast beyond comprehension.
A golden stellar deity, body woven from living plasma and starfire, crowned with a halo of solar coronas.
Nebulae swirled in its chest like breathing lungs.
Chains of orbiting planets and shattered moons wrapped its limbs like jewelry.
It towered over him, infinite, radiant, terrifying.
One massive hand extended toward Heli—fingers of pure solar flame, each knuckle a newborn star.
Outside.
The Awakening Stone began to change.
First, faint violet light seeped from the golden veins—B-rank baseline.
The crowd murmured.
Then the violet deepened, shifted—purple to bright gold.
S-rank.
Gasps rippled through the tiers.
The gold intensified, bled into molten orange.
SS-rank.
Students leaned forward. Teachers exchanged glances.
Finally, the entire stone ignited crimson—deep, bloody red that pulsed like a heartbeat.
SSS-rank.
The plaza fell deathly silent.
Principal Voss's face drained of color.
In an instant, he raised both hands. Invisible energy surged outward.
A translucent barrier snapped into place—dome-shaped, shimmering faintly—blocking the stone's blinding red light from the spectators' view.
Only those on the dais could still see.
Murmurs erupted immediately.
"What happened?"
"Why the barrier?"
"Did it fail?"
Kai leaned forward, sneering.
"Ha! Probably overloaded and broke. Trash awakens trash."
One lackey nodded.
"Bet it's colorless. Or F-rank garbage."
Elara, standing a few rows away, arms crossed.
Can you make mommy proud?
She thought.
Inside the barrier, Principal Voss stared at the crimson glow.
His voice was barely a whisper.
"…What is it?"
He had read every ancient scroll in the academy library,
memorized the profiles of hundreds of inherited beings—dragons, phoenixes, abyssal titans, star serpents.
He knew their forms, their ranks, their signatures.
This? Nothing matched.
No record. No legend.
A hidden god no one had ever named?
Before he could process it, a blinding rainbow burst exploded from the Awakening Stone.
Crack.
A hairline fracture split the obsidian surface.
Golden energy surged out like molten rivers, pouring straight into Heli's body.
Behind him, for one heartbeat, a colossal silhouette manifested—golden stellar form, halo of coronas, eyes like twin suns.
It glanced at Principal Voss.
One look.
The principal's knees buckled.
He dropped to the stone dais, palms slamming down, breath stolen.
Pressure like a star crushing his spine.
Then the figure vanished.
Only Heli remained—eyes closed, a faint golden sun rune glowing on his forehead before fading.
The crimson light dimmed.
Principal Voss exhaled shakily, wiped cold sweat from his brow.
He looked back at the Awakening Stone.
The color had changed.
No longer rainbow.
Just blue.
B-rank.
His expression darkened.
He rose slowly, straightened his uniform, and released the barrier with a wave.
The dome dissolved.
All eyes turned to him.
Principal Voss cleared his throat.
"Heli has awakened a hidden profession: Sun."
He stopped there. The word hung in the air—short, incomplete, uncertain.
The plaza erupted.
Laughter first—sharp, rolling waves of it.
"Sun? What the hell is that?"
"Sunflower? Haha, gonna photosynthesize enemies to death?"
"Sunburn class! One slap and you get tanned!"
"Outer district trash gets a literal sun tan profession? Perfect for beach rifts!"
"Sunrise? Sunset? Or just Sun Block? SPF 100 protection!"
Kai's voice cut loudest from the third row, swollen cheek twisting his grin.
"Sun! That's it? B-rank Sun? Bro, you're basically a walking light bulb. Flicker and die!"
More laughter. Whistles. Someone in the back yelled, "Shine bright like a diamond—or just burn out!"
Heli stood motionless on the altar steps. Face blank. Hands loose.
Principal's gaze dropped to the Awakening Stone.
A crack ran across its surface—thin, but deep.
This stone has stood for over a century. Thousands of awakenings. Not one fracture. Not one incident.
Until this boy.
Sun… something. Not in any record. Not even a hint.
And now the stone is damaged. Because of him.
Principal Voss raised a hand.
"Quiet. All of you."
The laughter choked off mid-breath.
He turned to Heli.
"Heli. Step down. Ceremony continues."
Heli walked off the altar without a word. The crowd parted again—some smirking, some whispering, most already bored.
He moved through the aisles, mind turning fast.
Sun Sovereign.
He had seen the full name flash in the stone's light before it cracked—clear as day.
What did it mean?
What power came with it?
He replayed the vision: That hand closing around him—gentle, yet it carried the weight of entire galaxies.
No ordinary inherited being. No dragon, no phoenix, no titan from the academy texts.
This was something older. Something forgotten.
From the third row, Kai's voice rang out again—louder now.
"Hey, Sun Boy! Wait for the combat class! We'll rub your face in the dirt! B-rank hidden trash? You'll be everyone's punching bag!"
His lackeys laughed.
"Sun? More like Sun Loser!"
"Get ready to shine… under our boots!"
Heli didn't turn. Didn't slow.
He kept walking until he reached Elara's row.
She stepped out to meet him.
Elara looked at his face for a second, then sighed softly.
She reached up and ruffled his black hair—gentle, familiar, like she'd done it a hundred times.
"Feeling bad?"
Heli shook his head once.
"No."
Elara's eyes curved.
"Good. Mommy won't abandon her son over a little B-rank label."
Elara tilted her head.
"What's your initial skill?"
Heli closed his eyes.
A faint panel materialized in his mind—golden-edged, half-faded.
[Profession: Sun Sovereign
(Sovereign dim, barely legible)
Rank: ?
Initial Skill: None
(Requires Level 1 to unlock first skill)
Passive effect: Physical attributes +100%]
He opened his eyes.
"No initial skill."
Elara frowned.
"Impossible. Even C-rank professions get something basic at start."
She crossed her arms tighter.
"Practical combat class starts tomorrow. No skill, no foundation—you'll get shredded.
And your monthly resources depend entirely on that performance."
Heli met her gaze.
"I'll find a way."
Elara exhaled.
"Upgrade requirements?"
Heli checked the panel again.
Solar Essence × 1 unit.
Elara pulled out her academy terminal, fingers flying.
Her face darkened as the search results loaded.
"…One unit of Solar Essence. Pure, unrefined.
Top families hoard it like treasure. Even I'd need almost a full year to scrape together one unit through missions and family allowance."
She stared at him.
"Son… what kind of cursed profession is this?"
Before Heli could answer, a voice cut in from behind.
Kai sauntered past with his two lackeys, cheek still swollen but grin wide.
"Yo, Sun Loser."
He flexed his hand. Pale-blue lightning crackled between his fingers.
"Awakened S-rank: Thunder Mage. One punch and you're charcoal."
He laughed.
"Solar Essence? That shit's reserved for the real elites. You? Outer district rat? You don't even qualify to smell it."
His lackeys snorted.
"Enjoy being the academy joke, B-rank Sun Boy."
Kai leaned in closer.
"You'll be crawling out of practical class in pieces. And that 'upgrade' material? Dream on. You'll never touch one unit in your life."
Heli's brow furrowed.
Then—
A crisp, mechanical chime rang inside his head.
[Congratulations, Host. Emotional Damage System bound successfully.]
[Core Mechanic: Inflict negative emotions on targets—shock, despair, humiliation, rage, broken pride.]
[Harvest their "Emotional Damage" to earn EMD Points.]
[EMD Points redeem rare items, skills, essences from System Shop.]
[Current shop: Solar Essence ×1 = 100 EMD Points.]
[Current EMD: 0]