A slight movement chased the darkness away from my vision, allowing me to look up at an unfamiliar ceiling, one that was much higher than even the church"s. I was also greeted by the sounds of many high-pitched voices, and as I started to sit-up, I realized the voices belonged to a large group of kids. I had been laying in the middle of a very large room, probably meant to fit up to 1,000 people, although there were only about 400 people, some the height of teenagers, and others just barely above the height of the average toddler. About 7 or 8 meters ahead of me is a decently sized platform, which is about 1 meter up from the floor I"m currently sitting on. Most of the platform was kept from view by a large white curtain, which would probably be hiding a few props or people if there was a play going on."Am I in a school auditorium now? I thought my body moved to that other world, but I guess it was something like my soul or mind that moved..." I tried to make sense of how I had gotten here, and the best I could come up with is that I was carried here while unconscious.
As if someone knew I was confused about where I was, a familiar high-pitched voice called out to me as it moved closer, and the voices waving tail soon came into view, "Ruto, your finally awake! We got scared after you suddenly collapsed like that... so we took you to the school! I was so worried about you..."
"Aw, Asuna~" I swooned over her cuteness in my head as she fell into my arms, crying out her worry and relief laced tears.
"Eh, the teacher"s said you"d be fine," Erin said calmly, as he came up from behind where Asuna was previously standing before she had given in to her cute and childish tendencies...
"Wait, did we miss the orientation?" As I was still patting Asuna"s head, and rubbing her soft cat ears, I got worried, as we may have been late because of me...
"Hm? Oh, nah, the Princ.i.p.al is late, so we haven"t really missed anything. Apparently they saw a child using spatial-magic, and wanted to scout them for the school, but lost track of them..." Erin, though a little nervous that the Princ.i.p.al had seen me, a.s.sured me that we haven"t missed anything, which took a big weight off of my shoulders.
"Hehe, that just means I can spend more time cuddling with this little cutie," I thought to myself, as I looked at Asuna with mischief in my eyes.
[10 Minutes Later]
"I feel like I"m forgetting something..." I thought to myself as Asuna slipped out of my arms, and we both got on our feet to stand next to Erin.
[10 More Minutes Later]
As authority filled foot-steps sounded out from the stage, the room began to become quiet, mainly due to the hard work of the taller kids that shushed the shorter, younger kids. Suddenly, the lights cut out, making Asuna let out an adorable yelp. The only thing that we could see in the Auditorium was a mesmerizing white glow coming from the stage. If you looked closely enough, the glowing was coming from a floating crystal-like shard, about the size of an adult hand, in the middle of the stage. The glow from the crystal grew, as it allowed us the see the person standing on the stage.
"h.e.l.lo! My name is Tyr Breigner, a retired adventurer, as well as the head-princ.i.p.al and advanced magic theory instructor of this school." A feminine voice sounded from the stage, as a small line of text appeared above her head, [Tyr Breigner (Nickname: Tear Bringer) Lv. ???].
[Observed A Legend! Level Up! +2]
"She is the real deal..." I thought to myself, FINALLY making use of u003cObserveu003e"s ability to see a bit of information on other people.
[???"s POV]
"The woman on the stage, Tyr, exudes the calm and overwhelming aura of the sea, as if to match with her azure hair. She is calling a few other people up to the stage, introducing a few more teachers, all with distinct auras coming from them, but none of their auras can withstand the overwhelming pressure of the sea. Well... I say none, but one of their aura"s are struggling against the Tyr woman"s aura," the gentle woman observed the "aura"s" of the people on stage.
[Margaret Bastia (Nickname : Margarita) Lv. 69]
"Indeed, the person who"s aura was contending with Tyr"s was conceived due to one too many margaritas. It"s in her character description, but I"ve decided I shouldn"t peek too much at person"s character description. Not after what happened with the late Hero of this world, a Hero being an adventurer who has reached Hero-Cla.s.s strength without the help of a sponsor, and has vowed to protect their home world... that d.a.m.ned lolicon. Of course he"d receive ample judgement after I discovered such a thing, after all, I"ve reached G.o.d-Cla.s.s. His strongest attack as a Hero-Cla.s.s would barely reach an ordinary punch from a G.o.d-Cla.s.s," the gentle woman stated matter-of-factly, as if we- as if I was supposed to know what the words "G.o.d-Cla.s.s" meant.
"Ah, I"m sorry... this must be very confusing, as you"ve only just awakened a little over a year ago, and haven"t been able to go far from that pitiful boy, Ruto. I"m sorry, the boy still hasn"t noticed your existence even after I gave him information on the soul... the experience of his first summons must be interfering. Here, I"ll provide you with the information on souls directly, maybe it"ll awaken the knowledge I gave on souls to Ruto too," the woman formed a small orb on her finger, which eventually floated into what I think is my "forehead."
"#%%^#@," strange symbols flashed into my vision, which is barely above the vision of Ruto"s, sending a blinding stinging sensation into my "eyes."
And then...
[Opening Prompt...]
=======================
[Soul + Status Menu Info]
(See Auxiliary Chapter for Full-Explanation)
(General Definition)
The consolidation of a person"s knowledge, experiences, skills, and abilities, given an ethereal form. The cla.s.s of their soul commonly acts as the persons t.i.tle, like King or Queen (see soul-cla.s.s).
(Soul-Cla.s.s)
System-Cla.s.s :
It is thought that the system, which aids and limits development, has a soul....
G.o.d-Cla.s.s :
Peoples/Beings at this cla.s.s have become very specialized. They have pioneered their own paths to dominance, destruction, and/or creation, usually forfeiting control to their Soul Guide.
Emperor/Apostle/Imp-Cla.s.s :
People/Beings with souls at this cla.s.s possess strength and/or knowledge that ranges from the ability to threaten planets, to threatening galaxies...
High King/Hero/Trickster-Cla.s.s :
People/Beings with souls at this cla.s.s possess strength and/or knowledge that ranges from the ability to threaten continents, to threatening entire planets...
King/Legend/Venerable-Cla.s.s :
People/Beings with souls at this cla.s.s possess strength and/or knowledge that ranges from the ability to destroy cities, to toppling entire countries. Most n.o.bles would now claim the t.i.tle of King, Adventurer"s of Legend, and Scholar"s of Venerable...
n.o.ble/Adventurer/Scholar-Cla.s.s :
People/Beings with souls at this cla.s.s have a skewed balance, and have abilities that range from destroying a boulder to a town. n.o.ble"s have a balanced, but inexperienced, soul. Adventurer"s have an unbalanced, but experienced, soul. A Scholar"s experience and balance varies greatly.
Peasant-Cla.s.s :
Everyday people, who don"t seek out strength or knowledge, possess soul"s at this cla.s.s. They possess very weak magical and physical prowess due to their lack of observation and/or training.
Morphing-Cla.s.s :
The Morphing-Cla.s.s, sometimes called a pseudo Enlightened-State, holds no definite shape or strength. Due to its loose form, it reaches out for anything it can get, making the person an extremely fast learner...
(Soul Guide"s)
A separate personality, only developed by King-Cla.s.s and above. Occasionally, soul"s with mutant progression, which are soul"s that have strange shapes and growth, develop soul guides without reaching King-Cla.s.s...
(Status Menu)
The status menu is...
=======================
"Oh... So, maybe I"d be Ruto"s soul guide," I eventually reached that conclusion after going over the information on the soul.
"Perhaps... "
[Ruto"s POV]
"Would anyone like to be first-," Tyr was asking all of us something when I suddenly remembered everything about my encounter with my "sponsor", and the information she gave me on the soul.
"I KNEW I WAS FORGETTING SOMETHING!!!" I screamed out.
All the eyes in the auditorium looked back at me, well, of course they were. I"m the idiot who just yelled out in the middle of Tyr"s question.
"f.u.c.k, she isn"t mad is she," I prayed that Tyr wouldn"t be upset as I slowly looked towards her on the stage.
"Ah, I"ll take it you want to try first? Alright, come on up kid," Tyr"s tone sounded a bit annoyed, but I avoided a disaster... I hope, because I fail to remember what I was about to do.
"Pssst, Erin! What does she want me to do? I kinda s.p.a.ced out..." I whispered to Erin as I shuffled around to make it seem like I was getting ready to go up.
"Hm? O-oh, uh, you are just going up there to see your status," Erin replied to my question.
"Oh... that weird information bomb had pretty good timing, because I know what that is! It was oddly tucked in with all the stuff about the soul. Convenient! I must have a Soul Guide, a separate personality inside of my soul... I"ve been getting excited very easily, and it has been a bit difficult to act serious," I continued to think over the information as I walked up to the stage.
The closer I got to Tyr, and the teacher"s standing off to the side, the tighter my chest felt. It kind of felt like my head was under water.
"What do I do now?" I thought, looking up to the woman, Tyr, while tilting my head.
After noticing me look up at her without doing anything, just standing around, she instructed me, "Just touch that modified Magic Crystal. Oh, er, the floating glowy thing."
"Oh! What does it do?" I asked.
"Oh, yeah, you seem like quite the curious kid, so uh, let me think of something simple... Okay, this one lets you see things like your name, but others usually help you use magic!" Tyr explained to me, but it was obvious her excitement was forced.
[Ruto]
As my hand got closer to the Magic Crystal, the light from it began to shine with a greater intensity. I could feel something stir up inside me, followed by a pale blue light coming from my hand and being absorbed into the crystal. It was mana. I could tell this much because it matches the description in the story books Nana read. With most people, when they first interact with mana, it"ll be a gentle sky blue.
[Accessing Summarized Status Menu...]
"This notification or system thing really is involved with everything..."
============================
[Personal Status Menu]
Name : Ruto
Race : Demi-Human (Fox-Wolf)
Age : 5
Level : 16
Money : 500 P0G0S0B
t.i.tle(s) : [Pitiful Creature] [Blessed]
[Orphan] [Impossible Growth]
Soul : Morphing-Cla.s.s (Mutated)
Cla.s.s : None
Stats :
Strength/Vitality - 144 (+3)
Agility/Dexterity - 144 (+5)
Intelligence/Wisdom - 64 (+37)
Charm - 26 (+???)
Skills:u003cEnhanced Hearing (Pa.s.sive)u003e
u003cTuranian Language MAX (Pas.)u003e
u003cScan Lv. 1u003eu003cObserve (Pas.)u003eu003cInventoryu003e
u003cReplicate/Modify Lv. 1u003eu003cInterpret Lv. 8 (+35 INT)u003e
Magic : None
Affinities : Spirit, Holy/Divine, Unholy...
Traits : ~???~(Hidden)...
============================
[After experiencing opening the [Status Menu] once, you can now replicate it at will, without a Modified Magic Crystal. No one can see it without your permission.]
The "[Status Menu]" didn"t just come up in-front of my eyes, it was shown as a hologram floating above the crystal, and it was a lot to read for it being "summarized." It was too small for anyone other than Tyr and I to see, so I looked over at her to see if the results were okay-
"Uh... Why are you just staring like that?" I was a little concerned.
She just kind of stood there, mouth gaping open, "Um..."
"I-is there something wrong with my [Status Menu]?" Alright, she was starting to freak me out.
Tyr.exe eventually restarted, then she collected herself and said, "Ehem... uh, there must be a defect with this crystal. Margaret, please get another Magic Crystal!"
Margaret, with hair the color of blood, immediately ran off into what looked like a storage room door at the side of the stage. The moment she came back out, Tyr threw the defective crystal towards her. Margaret flailed around, trying to catch the crystal, eventually stabilizing with a flash of light, which I a.s.sume is magic.
"Phew..." Margarit- Margaret let out a sigh of relief as she began to walk towards me.
Her feet only came to a stop inches away from where the first crystal previously was. She bent over, placing the newer crystal in its place, a familiar glow emanating from it.
"Ehem, er, uh... go ahead and try again," Tyr cleared her throat, and probably her thoughts too, as she told me to try once more.
I gulped inwardly. Of course I did, I"m nervous that something is wrong with me or my [Status]. Anyways, listening to her suggestion to try again, I lifted my hand slowly to the crystal. A recognizable stirring welled-up the energy, mana, inside of me, before it escaped from my hand as a familiar pale blue light. The light wrapped itself around the crystal, causing the crystal to shine intensely, before being absorbed by it like before.
[Accessing Summarized Status Menu...]
============================
[Personal Status Menu]
Name : Ruto
Race : Demi-Human (Fox-Wolf)
Age : 5
Level : 16
Money : 500 P0G0S0B
t.i.tle(s) : ...
Cla.s.s: None
Soul : Morphing-Cla.s.s (Mutated)
Stats :
Strength/Vitality - 144 (+3)
Agility/Dexterity - 144 (+5)
Intelligence/Wisdom - 64 (+37)
Charm - 26 (+???)
...
============================
"Uh... I think I broke Tyr," I thought to myself, as Tyr began to foam at the mouth.
*
[???"s View]
"Oh, she rebooted. "
Tyr took in a deep breath, the calm of the ocean once again returning to her. The other teachers looked confused, but if they had seen Ruto"s stats, who would blame her for such a reaction? Completely undermining the fact that his INT/WIS increased by four stats each level, both STR/VIT and AGI/DEX increases by a total of nine each level. Ruto"s potential for growth is abnormal, to say the least.
"Do you have no common sense...? No, wait, you are just a kid, of course not."
Tyr was struggling to make sense of such a genius. It takes scholars many years of magical study to reach level 50, gaining them base stats of 100. This is excluding the additional buffs a scholar may receive from magic spells, cla.s.ses, and equipment, which may even raise stats to the 200"s. This is all dependent on the magical apt.i.tude and financial situation of the scholar. Even adventurer"s take a couple years of monster grinding to grow to level 50, but newbies usually don"t even fight monsters their starting years.
Tyr had tried to convey similar information to Ruto, although she watered it down even more due to his young age. Ruto, however, was able to get the gist of his unique gift(s) despite that.
"I am a cheater. "
Yes, that seems to be the "logical" conclusion that Ruto has come to.
Ruto twitched his ears in mild curiosity as he asked, "So... what is a cla.s.s? "
Ruto had heard about these once before, when had obtained a priceless object. It had recommended the use of AGI/DEX cla.s.ses, though Ruto didn"t know what it meant for him to do.
Try took another deep breath, formulating the words to explain cla.s.ses to a child, when Ruto said, "Oh, don"t bother simplifying it. I"m a "genius" after all."
"Well... "
[Ruto]
Tyr decided to finish with the remaining students and explain our living arrangements, before giving me an answer. Asuna, Erin, and I would share room 207.
Now, about cla.s.ses: A cla.s.s is kind of like your job. Having a cla.s.s makes you naturally more talented in whatever the cla.s.s pertains to than those that don"t. That isn"t to say a swordsman can"t become a master without starting with or acquiring the cla.s.s, but the system will most likely gift a fighting cla.s.s to anyone who has true talent in swordsmanship, making cla.s.sless masters practically extinct. It seems the system promotes the growth of those with talents.
That is also why it recommends agile cla.s.ses to use light weapons, like daggers, while it recommends stronger cla.s.ses, with STR/VIT based builds, to use heavy weapons, like great swords. It aims to support people. Although, I am not sure how far the support extends. If I were to come close to its power, would it attempt to stunt my growth? This is a question for another time, for now, I need to catch up with my party, find my dorm room, then explore my [Status].