Unwilling Eldritch Horror of Fortune

“I have unlocked your hidden potential, and everyone should have access to their innate skill now. Take some time to familiarize yourself with its function because that skill is unique to you, and only you.” Raffiel continued, “Additionally, do not despair if you think that the numbers shown on your status screen seem low, for you have yet to undergo even the first trial.”

I didn’t feel any different, but I guess that’s because Noe unlocked whatever hidden potential I had before. That Calm Mind skill was probably my innate ability.

“You will improve, grow, and become pillars for your fellows. I am sure that you may have many questions about this new information, but they will be made clear to you in the following days. What I want to point your attention to is the Job Section. This is the most critical aspect for the beginning of your journey as Aspirants.

“Currently, your class should be set as Commoners, but that will change once you have completed the first Trial. The Class system is the one that determines what type of Awakened powers you can utilize.” This time, Raffiel strengthened his tone and put on a serious expression, “This is the most critical information to take note of, for it will determine your future as Awakened Beings.”

He paused briefly, looking at everyone in the room, before beginning again, “Each of you will be presented with various Class options upon completion of the first trial, and those choices will be set based on the types of actions that you took in that trial. Be careful though, for not all Classes are made equal, and the most outstanding amongst you will be presented with a higher grade option.

“For simplicity’s sake, the classes are divided into 6 categories, These ranks are as follows: S, A, B, C, D, and E, with S rank being the most prestigious and E the opposite. Do not despair even if you did not achieve an S rank class, for the job system is not set in stone, and you can make further advancements down the line. However, getting a good class at the start will greatly increase your future success.”

Various people started to slowly nod in understanding. The system was pretty understandable, even for people who didn’t play a lot of games like myself. Not only was this system was easy to comprehend, but the information was also presented in an easy-to-read format.

“Furthermore,” Raffiel continued, “Classes can be roughly split into categories that suit the characteristics of each of you. So if you prefer head-on confrontation, then a Melee frontline class would be presented to you. Or if you enjoy using your intelligence to outwit your opponents, then a mage option would show. There are as many classes out there as there are people, so please choose the one that you think best suits you when the time comes.”

Raffiel clapped again, “Alright, I’m sure that you are tired of hearing me talk for so long, so let me finish up by introducing the first Trial of the Aspirants!”

With another flourish, more lights descended, and a neat backpack fell by the feet of each person present. I picked mine up and saw that there were various containers of dried rations packed in, along with some water and other survival gear.

I didn’t have the time to go over each item, because my attention was forced back to Raffiel. I’ll have to find a chance to get a proper inventory of my stuff later.

“The first trial is a simple one.” Raffiel said amicably, “Simply survive for one week, and you will be given the first taste of power. It would be remiss of me to send you in with nothing, so you are all given a pack with enough food and water to last a few days. Not enough for the whole trial period, but it should be enough to get you started.”

Given my insider information on this site, I’m pretty sure that survival would mean a little more than just toughing it out in the wilds. I don’t know what kinds of monstrosities these Central people will throw at us, but I just hope that I was ready to face anything head-on. I mentally prepared myself for the worst.

Taking a deep breath, I stuffed the items I took out back in the bag and continued to listen to Raffiel.

“There will naturally be danger present, although I sadly cannot disclose the nature of the danger to you.” Raffiel said with an exaggerated frown, “The only thing I can say is that you must be prepared to defend yourself from harm, and thus, the next thing that you must do is choose a weapon to wield.”

“Origin Matrix wishes to initiate Newbie Weapon Selection Sequence,” Noe said, “Does Host Watt accept?”

Yes.

A small screen appeared in my retina, and a huge list of weapons was displayed. I could somehow scroll through the selections, like I would on a phone, and was honestly surprised by the options available. There was the traditional stuff like swords, clubs, and the like, but Raffiel even included things like pistols, machine guns, and everything in between. I was spoiled for choice.

Thankfully I didn’t really have to make a selection myself here. I turned on the Absolute Luck Skill, closed my eyes, and rapidly flipped through the pages upon pages of weapons. I had no experience with any such object, so I’m counting on Noe to find the one that wouldn’t kill me if I held it.

Counting a few seconds in my head, I stopped the scrolling and selected whatever option I landed on in the end.

I opened my eyes and saw a simple spear sitting on my lap. Its design was plain, but it looked sturdy enough. I guess that makes sense, since the spear was a weapon that even a novice can use rather well. I felt my eyes tingle a bit and saw that the Rookie Arbiter Eyes ability worked on the spear. Does that mean that I can see information on inanimate objects as well? Or was it only for things that came out of the Origin Matrix?

Shoddy Spear (E rank): A cheap, mass-produced spear.

• 15 attack
• 5 defence (Weapon Type Bonus)

The stats for the weapon were as terrible as I thought, but I noticed that if I could see similar stats when I focused on the weapons that the other Aspirants had. Even the biggest guns had barely more than + 25 attack.

About 60 - 70% of the people went with a firearm of some sort, while the others had various melee options. Most of the people here looked rather uncomfortable holding them, but there were a few who looked like they had some practice with the weaponry.

Noticeably, the Regressor also chose a spear to use - the same one that I had - while the really huge dude chose to use a pair of gauntlets, and that discreet woman chose two slim short swords.

Once everyone had chosen something to defend themselves with, Raffiel clapped and everyone’s focus was once again back on him.

“I hope that everyone is satisfied with their selections.” He said with a smile, “But our time is almost up for now. I will now begin the first Trial; please grab your things, and I wish you the best of luck!”

With that said, everyone in the room disappeared in a flash of light, and the once marvelous decorum returned to its original worn-down look.

Raffiel bowed and looked at me one last time, "Thank you for sitting through the introduction, Walter and I must applaud your acting abilities. You certainly did look like you had no idea about the basics of the Trials."

That's because I really had no idea about this stuff!

“Indeed,” I said, "I pride myself in acting the fool."

Raffiel laughed, "Marvelous! I hope the pathetic Humans entertain you in your experiments!"

I nodded.

"And please feel free to call upon me for any situation," He added, "When you are outside the views of others, of course. I will be happy to assist you in any capacity."

"I will keep that in mind," I said, keeping my tone neutral. I was, however, quite happy to know that I had a backup plan in case things turned really terribly in the Trial. Hopefully, I didn't need to call on Raffiel for help, which would most certainly bring my qualifications into question, but having that option put my mind to ease.

"Now transport me to the first Trial," I commanded, "We've been talking for long enough."

The fake angel bowed one last time and snapped his fingers again. A sense of vertigo washed over me, and when I opened my eyes again, I was somewhere else entirely.