The Hidden World

Nataru began to call up students based on where they were seated. The first person to go up was a beastkin girl with bear ears that had a terrified expression on her face. When she walked up to the desk, Nataru gave her a reassuring smile.

 

“Don’t be nervous,” he said gently to her. “There is no bad class. The crystal will display the class you choose but it will not show your choices. You know what to do, right?”

 

The girl gave a small nod.

 

“Then go ahead,” he said with a small smile.

 

The bear girl put a trembling hand on the orb and closed her eyes. Yuki felt a rush of mana and the crystal began to glow.

 

‘I can see the difference between the people of Ethros and humans,’ Yuki observed. ‘That mana density and control is much more than that of any human I’ve seen.’

 

The girl stood there for a couple seconds. Then the seconds ticked by until a minute passed. She opened her eyes and a symbol was projected from the orb, floating in front of the class with a white shine. The symbol was of an axe.

 

“A warrior, I see,” Nataru said with a smile. “Axe as your main weapon. Well done, you may sit back down.”

 

As the girl went back to her seat, Nataru took a tablet much like the one Selene used and began to tap on it. Then he called the next person up.

 

This went on for a period of time. Some people were finished in seconds, other took several minutes. From the results, Yuki observed many patterns. Beastkin had a tendency to pick only warrior related classes. Whether this was due to their culture or because they might be extremely strong, Yuki couldn’t say. Dwarves seemed to pick warrior and craftsmen jobs. And elves picked mainly mage and warrior jobs.

 

That wasn’t to say that there weren’t any exceptions. There were two beast kin and a dwarf that chose magic related classes and an elf who picked a craftsman class. The female elf that prevented the mugging chose a swordsman class.

 

Then it was Yuki’s turn to be tested. When his name was called, all heads turned toward his direction. Yuki ignored these and walked straight to orb resting on the table. Nataru nodded and smiled reassuringly as Yuki reached toward the class crystal.

 

Yuki closed his eyes and started the familiar task of manipulating his mana. He pushed it out of his palm and into the crystal under his hand.

 

‘Show me my class choices,’ Yuki command to the crystal.

 

But something odd happened after his command. Some of the mana that was being poured into the class crystal began to be diverted into a different direction. The crystal that hung from Yuki’s neck absorbed it and began to warm up. At the same time, the class crystal in Yuki’s palm did the same.

 

Before Yuki’s eyes, two menus appeared. One was white with the title of Classes. The other was black and titled Unique Classes. Below these menus were a multitude of words in various colors. The Common Class list was gigantic, with bold lettering that listed three categories.

 

In the black menu, there were only one class that was in a bold gold.The class was titled Assassin in large lettering. Yuki stared at these this class, his mind racing. A gold color most likely meant that this was the class that was most recommended for him. Based on the title of the menu that the class was listed on, this class was unique to Yuki. Yuki assumed that an assassin class was a combat type class. It would most likely deal with the covert killing of targets and being secretive. He didn’t know whether it was particularly strong but since it seemed to have been made for him, his decision was easy.

 

‘Assassin class,’ Yuki ordered. 'Though it is a little ironic.'

 

The golden words of the class flashed and a notification appeared before Yuki’s eyes.

 

[Class: {Assassin} Has Been Chosen. The Following Effects Have Been Applied: {Accelerated Strength, Accelerated Speed, Accelerated Mana}. Class 1 / 2 Has Been Picked. Please Choose Another Class.]

 

‘Wait, another class?’

 

The black menu blinked out of existence, leaving the normal menu by itself.

 

‘I can pick another class apparently,’ Yuki thought. ‘Nataru did say that a rare few can choose multiple classes.’

 

Yuki began to scan through the Class categories. When Yuki opened a category, a gigantic list would appear with the names of dozens of classes. The Combat category was the largest of the three. Yuki ignored this one.

 

‘I have a combat oriented class already,’ Yuki thought. ‘I should pick something that would add to what I don’t have.’

 

And so Yuki clicked on the Craftsman category. A list expanded and displayed all of the classes that were encompassed in that group. There was blacksmith, weaponsmith, carpenter, leather worker, alchemist, and other creation related classes. Yuki went through these and found a class that seemed interesting. It was labeled as Magical Craftsman. The name made it looked as if it was a broad class that included a multitude of things making it quite appealing to Yuki.

 

‘Let me look at the magic classes before I decide.’

 

Yuki then opened the Magic category and a bigger menu than the one for Craftsman appeared. Immediately, one class caught his eye.

 

It was another class that was colored in a golden hue. A class that read Support Mage. Yuki didn’t hesitate in his decision.

 

‘Support Mage class,’ Yuki ordered.

 

[Class: {Support Mage} Has Been Chosen. The Following Effects Have Been Applied: {Accelerated Defense, Accelerated Mana}. All Main Class Slots Are Filled. You Cannot Change Classes.]

 

With that, Yuki disconnected from the orb and cut of the trickle of mana that fed it. He opened his eyes and saw a glowing symbol of a sparkling staff.

 

“A Buffer, I think? That is interesting,” Nataru commented. “We don’t normally get those here. Most of the support class are healers.”

 

Yuki walked back to his desk and sat back down, again ignoring the whispers of the other students.

 

‘Maybe gold color actually means it’s a special class,’ Yuki thought. ‘Katem-san didn’t seem to know the name of the class. It’s support, not buffer.’

 

“Now that everyone has been tested, let’s get onto the next event of the day,” Nataru announced.

 

‘There’s more?’ Yuki thought.

 

“We will be finding your spirit beast. Think of these beings as your familiars,” Nataru explained. “Your familiar is very important in how you will develop in the Academy. Different beasts have different effects. We will be going to a place so that you can find the one right for you.”

 

“But before we do, I have to warn you again,” Nataru said. “It won’t be you who will be choosing your familiar, it will be the familiars themselves. Spirit beast have a unique trait to them. They can determine those that are worthy of them and those that they can support the best.”

 

Nataru lifted his right arm and a bright light erupted from it. When the light had cleared, a silver fox was sleeping on the desk.

 

“This is Natalie,” Nataru introduced. “A silver fur fox that has a special affinity to ice elemental magic. She is my spirit beast.”

 

There were oos and aahs from the students.

 

“If you are lucky, you will gain a spirit beast as well. However, not everyone will receive one. This is just how it is sometimes. This doesn’t mean that you weren’t worthy but rather because your perfect familiar wasn’t available at that time. So don’t feel down if nothing happens.”

 

Nataru clapped his hands.

 

“Alright, that’s enough talking. Let’s begin,” he announced, his eyes gleaming. “Follow me to the Sanctuary.”

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The way the class effects work are simple. They accelerate the growth of certain stats pertaining to the class itself. Since Yuki has two classes that synergize quite well with each other, Yuki now has accelerated growth in every stat possible with double acceleration in mana. Intelligence and health cannot be accelerated. Stats can't grow past the person's limits. Accelerated growth just makes it so that people can reach their limits faster.