Chapter 5: Awakening Ceremony (II)
Malrik slowly walked toward the Awakening Stone.
The entire hall watched his every move. Outwardly, his expression remained perfectly calm, composed, and aristocratic—the textbook definition of a stoic noble. Not a single trace of nervousness cracked his handsome facade.
Yet inside? His brain was running a mile a minute.
What class am I going to get? And more importantly, where the hell did my SSS-rank talent go?
Ever since waking up in this body, those two questions had been bouncing around his skull. Memories of his previous life flashed through his mind—the endless disappointments, the bitter regrets, and that spectacular hidden class he could never actually use because his mana pool was a dry puddle.
Infinite Evolution had been a legendary, broken cheat code, but without mana, it was about as useful as a solar-powered flashlight in a cave. He could still clearly feel the phantom weight of that utter helplessness.
He locked his emerald-green eyes onto the massive black crystal towering ahead.
Please tell me I’m going to awaken a sword class.
It made perfect sense. He belonged to House Vesperion now, a family whose very name made the Valorian Empire break out in a cold sweat. The current Patriarch, Duke Vaelzareth Vesperion—affectionately nicknamed "The Sky Devourer" because normal titles apparently weren’t edgy enough—was a swordsman. The six Banner Bearers? All swordsmen. Even the previous generation? Pure blade-wielders.
Granted, House Vesperion wasn’t entirely devoid of variety. Throughout its bloody history, a few insanely powerful mages had popped up. Some became Elders, others rose to Grand Elders, but you could basically count them on one hand. And let’s be real, none of them had ever managed to outshine the blade-swinging psychopaths running the show.
If I awaken as a mage, they probably won’t disown me, Malrik reasoned, but their expectations will drop straight through the floor.
That wasn’t what actually gave him anxiety, though. There was a much more terrifying, hilariously cruel possibility looming over him.
What if I roll a Necromancer again?
The class itself was a powerhouse, no doubt about it. But Necromancers were the ultimate high-maintenance build. They needed a massive mana pool, an endless supply of fresh corpses, and a ridiculous amount of time to cook up an army. Without major financial backing, most Necromancers ended up as broke, squishy targets.
Malrik finally halted right in front of the Awakening Stone. The monolithic black crystal loomed above him, dense waves of dark mana swirling beneath its polished surface like a literal abyss.
The entire hall fell into a suffocating, dead silence.
The Banner Bearers watched. The Elders watched. The Grand Elders watched. Even the heavy armored knights stationed around the perimeter fixed their eyes squarely on his back. They were all waiting, watching, and quietly judging the "weakest link" of the family.
Malrik took a silent breath, raised his hand, and firmly pressed his palm against the crystal.
...
Nothing happened.
The hall remained completely silent.
One second passed. Then two. Then three. The Awakening Stone didn’t even flicker. It just sat there, looking like a very expensive, very unbothered rock.
A faint, judgmental frown rippled across the faces of several Elders.
Internally, Malrik’s cool demeanor instantly shattered into a million pieces. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me. Is this thing plugged in? Did I get a defective body? Don’t tell me I’m a dud!"
Five seconds. Ten seconds. Still absolutely nothing.
For the first time since walking into the room, genuine, unfiltered panic flared in his eyes. "Are you serious right now?!"
Then—
BOOM!
A violent torrent of dark mana erupted from the Awakening Stone, detonating through the quiet hall. The black crystal flashed with a blinding, ominous light as ancient runes began rapidly multiplying across its surface like a virus.
The entire atmosphere of the chamber shook. Audible gasps echoed from the spectators.
Then, thick, glowing text slowly crystallized in the air above the stone:
[ Hidden Class: Necromancer ]
Silence. Absolute, pin-drop silence.
The Seventh Son of House Vesperion had just unlocked a Hidden Class.
Generally, classes in this world were neatly divided into five clear tiers: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Hidden, Epic, and Legendary. Among them, Hidden Classes were considered exceptionally unique, carrying rule-breaking mechanics that defied conventional understanding. Epic Classes were said to appear in barely 1% Awakeners, while Legendary Classes were a mythic, 0.01% anomaly.
A Hidden Class was already more than enough to throw a major noble house into a frenzy. But absolutely no one—not a single soul—expected the family’s supposed "disappointment" to pull one out of his hat.
Several Elders narrowed their eyes, their analytical brains short-circuiting. A few Grand Elders exchanged frantic, silent glances. Even his six overachieving older brothers looked visibly stunned. Before today, they figured Malrik would walk away with a decent Rare class at best. After all, compared to their monstrous talents, he had always been labeled the least gifted.
They had budgeted for a sack of potatoes, and he just brought a nuke to the party.
Right at that exact moment of collective shock, a ridiculously familiar, electronic chime echoed squarely inside Malrik’s head.
[ Ding. ]
His pupils instantly contracted. A sleek, translucent blue overlay snapped into place right over his vision.
[ Dormant Soul Talent Detected. ]
[ Analyzing Soul Signature... ]
[ Reconnection Successful. ]
For a brief, glorious moment, Malrik completely forgot about the auditorium full of staring nobles. His breathing stopped entirely as the system finalized the printout.
[ Talent: Infinite Evolution ]
[ Rank: SSS ]
His entire body froze. It’s still here... The cheat code actually followed my soul to another world!
Before he could even process the absolute absurdity of his luck, his raw 100 Intelligence stat reacted. A massive surge of brilliant, emerald-green mana violently detonated outward from his body.
At the exact same time, the Awakening Stone responded to the sudden influx of cosmic energy by unleashing a counter-torrent of pure, pitch-black mana.
Green met black. The two wildly conflicting energies violently intertwined around his figure, forming a massive, swirling vortex.
The entire Awakening Hall began to tremble violently, dust shaking loose from the ancient pillars. The black crystal glowed brighter and brighter, approaching critical mass.
Several Elders literally jumped out of their seats. A few Grand Elders stood up, their legendary composure entirely discarded. Absolute shock plastered itself across countless faces. Nobody had any clue what kind of freak mutation they were witnessing.
At the epicenter of the absolute chaos stood Malrik Vesperion, his eyes locked onto the floating golden text before him.
A slow, profoundly devious smile crept onto his face.
"Oh, it is so over for you guys. I’m back."
The light intensified to a blinding crescendo, the crystal groaned under the pressure, and the high-and-mighty Awakening Hall descended into pure, unadulterated pandemonium.
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