Kyran and Neil stepped out onto the station platform, joining the forming crowd of newly arrived passengers. The curious and eager faces on many of them made the procession look like a class field trip, or a group of young tourists in a foreign country. It was many of the group’s first time in the capital city after all, so they wanted to take it all in.

Admittedly, Kyran had been to the capital a few times before, but he still marveled at the sight of the intimidating city walls in front of him. There was no time to gawk, however, as they needed to get through the gate before the others and register themselves at the Sada Temple. It was almost 11, and The Awakening began in a little over two hours.

The two of them entered through the western gate, closest to the station. While the checkpoint process to enter the city was expedited for the sheer volume of visitors, it was still thorough. The city couldn’t have the people feel unsafe at such a festive time after all. Kyran did wonder what exactly the guards deemed too dangerous to enter, as there was a healthy number of armed adventurers also being let into the city with no hassle. A question for later, he supposed. After a practiced pat-down, he and Neil were through the gates and into the city proper.

On either side of the cobble streets he walked, Kyran saw signs welcoming the newcomers, and residents offering their good luck and greetings to those who passed by. A little further up, the road widened into an outlet containing several temporary mercantile stands looking to capitalize on the more well-off, but young and naïve visitors. After all, the day of The Awakening was essentially a huge influx of curious tourists, at least in the minds of the merchants and shopkeeps in the city. As Kyran was neither well-off nor naïve (in his mind), he simply kept walking forward.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t the one holding onto the money, and before he knew it Neil matched his stride from behind while holding a kebab in either hand.

“You know we’re going to eat right after we register right?” Kyran reminded his friend with a bit of resignation in his voice.

“Yeah,” came Neil’s reply, “but I need something to tide me over you know? Also, when there are food stalls around, you can’t not buy some finger food.”

“…Why did we leave you in charge of the money again?”

“Because I’m the responsible one, duh.”

More responsible with most things, yes. With money? That was a hard no from Kyran, but he wasn’t going to argue that right now. His dad had lent them enough credits to spare, and a couple of snacks wasn’t going to break the bank. But speaking of spending money…

“Oh, we should probably reserve a room before we head to the temple.” Kyran remembered. “If we wait too long we’ll be out on the street tonight.”

With a nod and approving grunt through half-chewed kebab meat from Neil, the two of them headed into what looked like an average inn, with an average name to match.

The receptionist at the Night’s Rest Inn was happy to help the pair reserve a room, and she greatly appreciated them for actually thinking ahead instead of showing up at 3 in the morning after the partying was over and the rooms were already full. Unfortunately, that appreciation didn’t equate to a cheaper reservation – 40 Imperial Credits for one night. Almost double what it would normally be, but given the day and the circumstances, that was to be expected. The two of them deposited their bags in their room and set off towards the temple again.

Along the way, Kyran noticed a few signs advertising a post-Awakening apprenticeship. After acquiring a system, choosing an apprenticeship was the first major decision one would have to make. Local experts in almost every field would offer their expertise at no cost to teach those newly awakened the basic knowledge they needed to pursue what would likely be their future career. There were apprenticeships for adventuring, labor work, government faculty, and almost anything else one could think of – though finding an apprenticeship for a more niche field could prove difficult. Since it was such an important decision, it was critical to not be foolhardy and rush into it. For this reason, registrations opened exactly one week after The Awakening, which gave everyone time to consider their options. Time that Kyran might surely need.

One of the signs along the way advertised a blacksmithing apprenticeship, which had Kyran thinking again. He had stated before that he just wanted a combat system, but that wasn’t entirely accurate. Honestly, if he received anything other than a crafting system, he could give adventuring a shot. Even the dime-a-dozen classes that the working-class received could be applied in creative ways to benefit an adventurer. A {Gardener} could grow food during long travels and even utilize nature magic to support combatants in their party. A {Librarian} was a keeper of knowledge and could discover a monster’s weakness in a fight. Even an {Orator} could use their speaking abilities to buff their allies and debilitate their enemies. Essentially any system could be twisted towards proper use in combat and adventuring as a whole, especially when paired with a class that supported the strengths of that system.

Crafting systems were the exception to this. A crafting system offered no support in terms of combat, exploration, or survival. The only thing it did was assist crafting. No passive experience gains. No special abilities that could be used outside of specific conditions. No ability to impact a battlefield. Crafting systems could craft very well, but that was it. It didn’t matter what class was paired with it, there would be no useful synergy between the two.

The more Kyran thought about it, the more nervous he became. It seemed as if the odds were stacked heavily in his favor, but he couldn’t really be sure unless he could actually see his system pool. It was entirely possible that 90% of his innate options were crafting systems. Under normal circumstances he would be perfectly content to take after his father and become a blacksmith, but he had a conviction he needed to follow through on.

Right. I need to find him. I will find him. I’ll make it work.

While lost in his thoughts, the pair turned a corner onto the path leading to the temple doors – if you could even call it a temple. Kyran was always amazed by the sheer size and grandeur of it, almost as if it were a palace. The front of the temple was lined with 8 spiral fluted columns, all 50 feet high. Above the columns rested a triangular gable roof, with an intricately detailed mural of the goddess Sada embellished on the front. Her face was featureless, but that just made the depiction seem all the more deific. That section of the temple was just the assembly hall, however. Meant to hold the hundreds of people waiting to be awakened. There were smaller attachments off to either side of the building, likely prayer rooms and the actual Awakening chamber. Behind the assembly hall was an even larger section of the temple, twice as high as the first. It likely held housing for the priests, as well as the inner chambers.

Kyran shook away his awe and glanced down at the wide double doors that served as the temple’s entrance. He could see a line of people already formed and waiting to enter and register. He and Neil took up the back of the line as still more people joined behind them. Looking around, he couldn’t help but feel strange at the sight of everyone around him being the same age, all gathered in one place for a common purpose. That being said, everyone around was clearly not of equal footing in their upbringing and quality of life. He could easily pick out those who dressed and acted like aristocracy, as well as those who could only gather scraps of credits to afford a meal or two while they were in the city.

Those poor few were lucky that the train fees into and out of the city were waived for the next few days. Well, lucky wasn’t quite the right word. The Awakening was not only a public service, but one ordained by the Goddesses themselves, so imposing a transportation fee and effectively segregating the lowest class of people was an act of blasphemy. After this week though, those few were on their own.

Among the growing crowd of people, someone in particular caught his eye. She was around his height at 5’10” (179 cm), if not a little shorter. She had sharp facial features that emphasized her confident (if a little smug) demeanor. She had fair skin and eyes a deep piercing blue, contrasting with striking red hair styled into a side braid that fell in front of her right shoulder. Most importantly, though: she was an elf! Non-human races were fairly uncommon on the continent of Vega, so it was always a cool experience to come across one of them.

Also, the fact that Kyran found her aggressively attractive didn’t hurt.

After a few more minutes of waiting, and the duo were inside the building. They each shared their status with the priest manning the reception desk.

Name — Kyran Hall System — None Class — None Attributes Strength: 113 Speed: 94 Dexterity: 109 Toughness: 101 Vitality: 96 Intelligence: 140 Stats Health: 960 Mana: 700 Class Abilities None Special Abilities Fire Affinity

“K-eye-ran Hall?” the priest inquired.

“No, sir. It’s ear, not eye. Kyran.”

“Understood, I’ll pass that along.”

Name — Neil Prior System — None Class — None Attributes Strength: 124 Speed: 90 Dexterity: 86 Toughness: 133 Vitality: 121 Intelligence: 83 Stats Health: 1210 Mana: 415 Class Abilities None Special Abilities None

He turned to Neil. “Neil Prior?”

“Correct.”

The priest scribbled a few things down on some parchment. “Alright. You two are all set,” he informed them. “Just wait around in the hall until we’re ready to start. It’ll be about an hour.”

After roughly an hour of waiting, the hall was packed with about 800 nervous and eager people. A door at the far end opened, and five priests walked out, the one in the lead addressing the group.

“Welcome everyone to the temple of our great Goddess Sada. I am Head Priest Zarkan. I know you all have various emotions running rampant through you, but that is understandable, for today is one of the most important days of your lives. Today is the day each of you receives your own system. Some of you may have grand expectations, and some of you may feel like you deserve something great. But be aware that these systems are a gift from our gracious goddess. She will be bestowing your livelihood. A class can be chosen by you, and even removed by priests and priestesses of Celia. A system, on the other hand, is permanent. Whatever you receive is hers to give, and yours to treasure. Please bear this in mind.”

“With all that said, I will now go over the procedure for The Awakening. We will begin by bringing in groups of people separated by surname. We will be doing this in reverse-alphabetical order, so starting with Z and ending with A. As each group is brought in, I will personally act as the conduit to bestow your systems from our goddess. Do not worry about the privacy of your system. As I am only a conduit, neither I nor anyone else in the room can perceive the system you receive. Your privacy depends entirely upon your own judgement. After your group has finished, you may leave the temple and go about your day.”

Zarkan turned around and soon called for group Z to follow him into the chamber. Kyran leaned over to Neil, “Guess you’ll be done way before me. Go ahead and wait at the inn for me afterwards.”

“Alright, but don’t take too long,” Neil replied with a smirk.

As if I have any control.

And so, Kyran sat and waited; the number of people in the hall steadily dwindling. Finally, after about three hours of waiting, Zarkan called out for group H. They entered and aligned themselves in order, Kyran surprised to notice the elf girl from earlier standing just to his left. Had he no respect for the sanctity of the ritual, he’d have introduced himself. All the better he didn’t, because he was so anxious about this whole thing that he’d probably end up stuttering like an idiot.

Zarkan started with the person at the far left. He stated their name along with a line that followed, and with a practiced motion pressed his index and middle finger to his forehead, then drew a line to theirs. He then moved swiftly down the line, bestowing systems to each person. There was the occasional cheer, gasp, or exasperated comment, but the head priest seemed not to notice nor care.

Before he knew it, Zarkan was already to the elf. “Natalia Harris, the Goddess Sada bestows you this gift.”

After a few seconds, Kyran heard a faint “Dammit,” and noticed how the elf – Natalia, as he now knew – deflated a little bit. Her aura of confidence was muddled by disappointment and contemplation.

Great, as if I wasn’t already worried enough. Shit, shit, shit, shi-

“Kyran Hall, the Goddess Sada bestows you this gift.”

He saw a flash of light and felt something connect to him. It was a quick, fleeting feeling, but it was definitely there. Something so deep and beyond his understanding had touched his essence, his very soul. And when it went away, he was left staring at his new status screen.

“W…what?”