The morning session was just basic theory: class types, cultivation stages, and common monsters...
It was boring and dull.
Finally, it was afternoon. The bald school counselor came into the classroom and organized the students who had registered to go to the playground for the Class Awakening.
"Allen, where are you going?" The school counselor noticed Allen in the crowd and frowned.
Registering for the Class Awakening required a fee of 20,000 gold coins. Many students in the school couldn't afford that amount.
Allen lived in the slums; he could barely afford food most days, so he shouldn't have been able to pull out 20,000 gold coins.
"Teacher, I registered," Allen said, his voice cold.
The bald school counselor checked the list in his hand and found Allen's name. He looked surprised.
"So you're not as poor as you look," he said, giving Allen a meaningful smile. This man often accepted gifts and looked down on poor students like Allen.
"Just some inheritance from my parents. This is all I have left."
Allen's eyes were full of suspicion. His cold demeanor was far beyond that of someone his age.
"Alright, just hurry up and follow the line," the school counselor dismissed him with a wave of his hand. He didn't pay it much mind.
Allen fell to the back of the line and once again became like a ghost, invisible to everyone.
...
The huge playground was already full.
Not only were the graduating students there for their awakening; many younger students had come just to watch.
Headmaster Flynn walked up to the high platform. After a few brief words of greeting, the Class Awakening ceremony officially began.
"Class 1, student Maxim," a beautiful female teacher with gold-rimmed glasses walked up to the platform. She checked her list and started calling names.
In the crowd, a chubby kid pushed his way forward and ran up to the platform in a panic.
"Hello, t-teacher," the kid stammered, bowing clumsily.
The female teacher smiled gently and comforted him. "Don't be nervous. Just place your hands on the crystal ball and sense with your heart."
"Yes, yes!" The kid nodded quickly. He stuck out his chubby little hand and pressed it against the crystal ball in front of him, closing his eyes with a look of deep piety.
Hummm...
The crystal ball began to flash, and a shield shape slowly started to form inside the light.
"Combat class, C-rank Shield-Bearer. Not bad," the beautiful teacher said, nodding with satisfaction. She marked Allen's name on the list.
"Thank you, teacher!" The chubby kid beamed, looking like a victorious general strutting off the platform with his head held high.
"Ridiculous. Just a C-rank Class Awakened, acting so proud."
"Have you never seen the world? I'll awaken an S-rank class next and slap this fat idiot in the face."
"Bro, you need to be more ambitious with your daydreams. I doubt you'll awaken an SSS-rank combat class," someone joked back.
...
The students below whispered among themselves. Some were envious, others jealous.
The Class Awakening was divided into three types: combat class, support class, and production class.
Each class also had levels, ranging from high to low: SSS-rank, SS-rank, S-rank, A-rank, B-rank, C-rank, D-rank, E-rank, and F-rank. Nine levels in total.
A C-rank combat class was already quite good.
The awakening continued, but the success rate was much lower than Allen had imagined.
Halfway through the ceremony, only about one-third of the students had successfully awakened. Most of them were production class or support class. Only a dozen or so had gotten a combat class, and the highest rank among them was a B-rank Berserker.
"I won't fail, right?"
Allen felt a bit anxious in his heart.
That 20,000 gold coin registration fee was all he had earned from selling his blood over the past year.
If he failed the awakening, he feared he would have no choice but to survive by selling his blood forever.
"Next is Lilia," the beautiful teacher adjusted her glasses and looked down at the crowd.
The whispering students fell silent instantly.
A flickering flame appeared above her. There she stood: a girl with fiery red hair and a swaying skirt, wearing a long white gown that accentuated her porcelain skin, her slender neck, and her delicate features. She looked like a noble, elegant white swan.
Lilia. The most beautiful student at Quinn Academy and the recognized first beauty of Blackspire.
She was noble, graceful, and icy cold. She gave no special attention to any male students.
She also held another title: the only daughter of the City Lord.
At this moment, a sea of eager eyes from the male students below stared at her. Even the female students were filled with envy, but the huge gap in status made any jealousy impossible to feel.
Lilia looked calm and poised, used to such scenes. She extended her slender hand and gently touched the crystal ball.
Gulp!
Sounds of people swallowing their saliva could be heard from the crowd. The boys below wished they could be the crystal ball themselves.
Hummm...
Suddenly, everything changed. The crystal ball shot out blinding light as an endless sea of blood filled the air. It was filled with the scent of slaughter and destruction. Within the bloody shadows, cold flashes of light danced wildly, kicking up strong gusts of wind.
"Oh my god, this is a strange sign from the heavens! The symbol of an SSS-rank Class Awakened!"
A gasp of shock rippled through the crowd.
Even Headmaster Flynn, sitting high on the platform, stood up in excitement. His beard trembled slightly as he fixed his intense gaze on Lilia, who was now shrouded in the blood shadow. He looked as if he had found his second youth.
An SSS-rank Class Awakened was something seen only once every hundred years.
It had been over 100 years since Lord Quinn last saw an SSS-rank Class Awakened born.
Today, another SSS-rank Class Awakened had emerged from Quinn Academy. The academy and Headmaster Flynn himself would soon be famous again.
Flynn seemed to already see himself surrounded by praise and glory.
"Quick, let's see what class Lilia has awakened!" he said, his voice hurried and slightly trembling.
The beautiful teacher finally snapped out of her daze. She adjusted her glasses and shouted loudly, "Lilia has awakened an SSS-rank rare combat class: Bloodshadow Warrior!"
A rare warrior type, which was even stronger than elemental types.
"Excellent, excellent," Flynn nodded repeatedly, a huge grin spreading across his face.
The strange signs in the sky vanished. The wind blew gently, and clouds drifted calmly. Everyone's eyes turned back to that stunning figure.
Some people were simply born to be the main character.
"Thank you, teacher," Lilia bowed politely and gracefully walked down from the platform.
Her face remained calm and cold, showing no emotion on the outside. But inside, she was filled with intense joy.
An SSS-rank combat class... she finally made sure she hadn't disappointed her father.
Lilia was so dazzling that everyone forgot the awakening ceremony wasn't over yet. The intense attention she got faded quickly, just like it never happened before.
Even the beautiful teacher who was guiding the students looked distracted as she checked her list, continuing to read names: "Next student, Allen."
"Allen? That name sounds familiar."
"Oh, I remember. That's the only student from the slums in our school."
Quiet whispers rose again from the playground, but this time they were full of mockery.
"A kid from the slums still dares to dream about awakening? Do they really think Class Awakened is as common as cabbage?"
"What if he succeeds? Maybe he'll finally fly up and become a phoenix."
"Do you actually believe that?"
"No way," the speaker didn't hesitate at all.
Allen stepped out of the crowd, his hands tightly clenched, palms soaked in sweat.
He didn't really care about their mocking words, but his heart raced as he walked onto the platform. Guided by the beautiful teacher, he took a deep breath and slowly touched the crystal ball with both hands.
Hummm…
The moment Allen's hands made contact, another sudden change occurred.
Howling winds swept through the air as dark clouds rushed in. The sky, which had been clear just moments ago, suddenly turned pitch black. The entire playground was covered in a thick, dark shadow.
Click, click...
Under the heavy clouds, purple lightning crackled. The atmosphere felt heavy and suffocating, filled with a terrifying power that could destroy heaven and earth.
Thump!
Below, a student got so scared he fell right onto the ground. He looked up, eyes wide with terror, staring at the scene.
"Another sign from the heavens! Does this guy have an SSS-rank combat class too?"
"Allen, I admit I was a bit too loud earlier. Please forgive me, just pretend I never said anything."
The student who had been shouting the loudest moments ago was now trembling in fear, terrified out of his mind.
No one expected Allen to suddenly shoot up into the sky and become a phoenix.
An SSS-rank Class Awakened carried an influence that was hard to imagine. Anyone trying to mess with him would be crushed like an ant.
On the platform, the old headmaster, who had just sat down, bounced up again. He grabbed his own beard so hard it hurt, making him grimace in pain. Only then did he realize this wasn't a dream.
He was already over 60 years old, well past his retirement age. He never expected his greatest life moment to only just be beginning.
Two SSS-rank Class Awakeneds? He wouldn't even dare to dream of such a thing during the day.