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Just a heads up, readers, I’ll be using brackets for skills since they will now carry a certain level of importance from this point forward. You’ll see what I mean in the first paragraph.
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[Eh? Seriously? Interesting.] Cynrik found it hard to complete a singular sentence after hearing the explanation Tobs had given. His mind was already forming a dozen different strange ideas, from flinging blue [Fireballs] to flying by overusing his [Continual Flame] like a certain billionaire playboy philanthropist did.
[Hey Tobs, can you give me an estimate on how much a single point will strengthen my skills?]
-No, figure it out on your own.-
[SASSY, damn Tobs, I need you to let the whole cat ears and tail go, I’m sorry ok. I promise it won’t happen again.] Cynrik shook his head in disbelief at her response and paid no mind to how Tobs seemed to be getting more and more “sentient” as the days went by.
With Cynrik preoccupied with his attempts to pry out free info from their system, Brance was still going through the list of Sub-Classes. The general conclusion he had come to was, “It’s all shit.” Unlike Cynrik, who had already gone through the process of obtaining his prereq skill. Brance had been at a loss for what he wanted to do in the future. He didn’t have a fancy toy like Cynrik’s Assassins Tool, and if he was being honest with himself, he didn’t really have any interest in Non-Combat Classes.
The legitimate only reason he was still going through this never-ending list of classes was the added stat bonus. So Brance aimlessly scrolled through Class after Class, checking each of their prerequisites until he finally stopped on one he had seen earlier.
-Tier-1 Non-Combat Class, Miner-
-Prerequisite = 80 STR, 40 DEX, 40 VIT-
-Stat Enhancement = Maximum of 1 STR
-Passive Skill = Basic Miner: 10% chance to completely replenish Stamina when successfully mining Ore or Mineral.
-Skill List-
– Level 0 : Basic Ore and Mineral Mining-
– Level 0 : Basic Ore and Mineral Detection
– Level 0 : Basic Summon Pickaxe
– Level 5 : Basic Extraction
– Level 10 : Basic Excavate-
– Level 15 : Basic Construct-
– Level 20 : Basic Transmute Ore-
He had found this Class early on but kept passing it by, but with the clock ticking and only a few hours left before Phase: 2 begins, it was time to make a choice. He could either go with the Miner Class or continue leaving his Sub-Class empty until he came up with what he wanted to do in the future. Left with only those two options, Brance turned to Cynrik for his input.
[So, I found a Non-Combat Class that increases my STR, and its prereqs are stat-based without needing any other skill. The only issue is, I’m not so sure it’ll be helpful to us.]
[Hm? Show me what you’re looking at.]
Brance sent over the listing for the Miner Class, and Cynrik’s reaction was out of his expectations. His older brother calmly got up, walked in front of him, leaned forward, and violently flicked him in the forehead.
[ARE YOU FUCKING RETARDED, BRANCE? THIS IS AMAZING. SHIT, LOOK AT THAT LAST SKILL. DO YOU EVEN REALIZE HOW VIABLE IT IS TO TRANSMUTE ORES?] Cynrik snapped.
Wearing a frown and feeling wronged, Brance rubbed the small bump formed from Cynrik’s flick.
[Considering we are about to jump into an Egress, where it is a well-known fact that you can find all kinds of ore and minerals, this kind of Class is Amazing. Not only do you get to summon a free janky pickaxe at level 0, but you also get a detection skill. Hell, all we need now is a Blacksmith, Runist, and Alchemist, and we could literally make all of our own shit. Think of how much money we would save.]
As Cynrik spoke, he flailed his arms around and paced back and forth.
Knowing his brother had a point, Brance simply tuned out the rantings and insults being thrown at him and chose Miner as his Sub-Class
-You have obtained the Tier-1 Non-Combat Class Miner.-
-Your Stat Distribution has been adjusted; you will now receive an additional 0.1 points in STR upon increasing your Main Level.-
-You have learned the Passive Skill Basic Miner.-
-You have learned three Basic Skills.-
-You have learned the Basic Miner Skill Ore and Mineral Mining.-
– You have learned the Basic Miner Skill Ore and Mineral Detection.-
– You have learned the Basic Miner Skill Summon Pickaxe.-
Squeezing his eyelids shut tightly, Brance took several labored breaths as the information about his new Sub-Class, flowed directly into his brain. A couple of minutes later, he opened them back up and found Cynrik lying on his couch with his eyes closed. Under his closed eyelids, it was apparent he was sifting through the information from his Engineer Class.
Choosing to leave his brother alone, Brance leaned back and closed his eyes before eventually drifting off to sleep. There were only seven hours left before they both had to report for the Physical Exam, so it was best to get rest while he could. Unfortunately, they didn’t know how much sleep they’d be able to get over the next few days. Plus, Brance burned a lot of his Mana during the completion of his Mantra, so now was the opportune moment to get some of it back.
Using [Mana Sight], Cynrik looked over at his sleeping brother and sighed softly. Unlike Brance, who seemed to be able to sleep anywhere and whenever he wanted, he didn’t have the liberty of such a talent.
‘Hey Tobs, how do I enter my SOC?’
-The Sea of Consciousness is similar to a skill; you just need to will it to activate, and your soul will be pulled in.-
With Brance sleeping away happily and Cynrik training in his SOC, six and a half hours flashed by, and a loud alarm went off in the dorm room, startling all four of the children.
“ATTENTION, ATTENTION, ATTENTION. Phase: 2 will begin in 30 minutes; anyone who reports even a second late will be automatically failed and teleported out of the Exam Area.
Like a fire alarm, the announcement kept screeching loudly through the entirety of the building.
Cynrik and Brance jumped up at almost the same time, switched into their respective DMG and T1 loadouts, and started stretching their bodies to limber up. Cynrik was decked out in both swords and Assassins Tools, and Brance had condensed his two shields into one and had it on his back.
Seconds later, a combat-ready Benny and Gabby appeared in the living room. Gabby wore form-fitting green leather hooded armor and shorts, exposing her arms and legs but covering her forearms and thighs, were matching leather vambraces and cuisses (thigh armor). Even a little pink rabbit sharing an uncanny likeness to Sir Hoppington, the 8th, was stitched onto the left side of her chest. On her back was a wooden short bow and quiver.
Benny was wearing something similar to Cynrik and Brance. The only difference was it was in the same shade as his sister. He had a small buckler shield on his back, and on his left hip was a short sword.
The four children gave each other a confident nod and directed their attention to Cynrik, who had fallen into the team leader position.
“Alright, keep your heads on straight, follow my orders, and if anyone messes with you, kick their asses. Let’s get the hell out of here already.” Not one for profound, heartfelt speeches, Cynrik said a couple of words, pulled up his hood and spun on his heels, causing his coattail to flutter, and walked out of the dorm in the lead.
The other three children followed behind him, and minutes later, they made their way through the crowd of tired, nervous kids towards the center of the massive courtyard, where 14 large stages had been erected overnight. There were four testing machines and eight adults on each of these stages, all of whom were standing at attention with their hands behind their backs and looking out over the crowd of children.
When the clocks hit zero, they transformed back into the hologram of Saylin, who hovered dozens of meters above the ground.
“Welcome everyone to the Physical Exam portion of Phase: 2. As you all can see, there are a total of 14 different stages. Each of these has four machines that you will have to step up to and place both hands on. In doing so, your stat profiles will be viewable to only the two Overseers stationed at that machine. The Overseers will double-check the results; if you have a passing grade, the device will light up in green; it will be red if you fail. Upon passing, you will receive a token, which you will place into the slot on your Watcet; only then will you be allowed to move on to the Practical Exam. If everyone understands, start forming orderly lines at each of the stages, the Overseers will usher you to their Testing Machines.”
Finishing up his statement, Saylin scanned the crowd of children, searching for two familiar faces, but he was stunned when he located them. Unlike what he expected, Cynrik and Brance showed no signs of nervousness or hesitation, and even from this distance, he could see the subtle changes in the two boys.
If they had looked in the mirror after their evolutions, they would have noticed the minute differences in their appearances. Although subtle, they had both grown by a couple of inches, and their bodies had filled out a bit more. They no longer looked their age and instead appeared to be around 13 or 14 years old. Cynrik’s hair had a few new streaks of red, and Brance had gained a few spots of white hair.
For someone of Saylin’s level, he immediately realized that these two boys had undergone their first Evolutions, and to his surprise, it even appeared they had somehow healed the damage to their Codexes and Circuits. He only knew this because he could see the flecks of different color light shining softly in their eyes.
Saylin smirked and couldn’t help but look forward to what these two would show during the remainder of the exam.