5: Chapter 4 — Got Your Eye on Our Kyle?
5: Chapter 4 — Got Your Eye on Our Kyle?
[Divine Talent — Total Enhancement activated.] [Summon enhancement effect increased tenfold.] Kyle immediately turned his attention back to the Skeleton Warrior.
He had already checked its attributes when he first summoned it.
For a Level 1 Iron-rank summon, its original numbers hadn’t been particularly impressive.
Combined with its battered skeleton and the rusty sword that looked as though it had been picked up from somewhere along the road, it hardly matched the scale of the phenomenon that had appeared during his awakening.
Now that his Divine Talent had taken effect, however, the attributes in front of him had completely changed.
[Iron-rank Skeleton Warrior] [Level: 1] [Strength: 150] [Agility: 150] [Spirit: 150] [Vitality: 150] [Skills: None] Kyle stared at the four identical numbers for several seconds.
One hundred and fifty.
Every single attribute had reached 150 points.
Most Level 1 awakened professionals started with base attributes somewhere around ten points.
Even Combat Classes that specialized heavily in a particular attribute would have difficulty matching the Skeleton Warrior immediately after awakening.
And this was only an Iron-rank Skeleton Warrior, the lowest rank of summon available to him.
Kyle looked at it again.
A dull gray-white skeleton, cracked ribs, and a badly damaged sword covered in rust.
No matter how he looked at it, the thing still seemed as though it had been put together from whatever scraps happened to be lying around.
No one looking at it would have guessed that such ridiculous attributes were hidden beneath that miserable appearance.
Kyle finally understood what his Divine Talent really meant.
A tenfold enhancement.
Rather than simply increasing the number of summons, Total Enhancement directly strengthened the summoned creature itself.
If he eventually gained access to higher-ranked undead and they received the same enhancement…
Kyle stopped himself there.
He was only Level 1.
There was no point thinking too far ahead.
For now, one thing was certain.
Necromancer was nowhere near as simple as it looked.
While Kyle was checking the Skeleton Warrior’s attributes, Oswin raised one hand.
A faint light appeared at his fingertips before landing gently on the Skeleton Warrior.
It was an Appraisal spell.
The instant the light touched it, the Skeleton Warrior, which had been standing quietly beside Kyle, suddenly turned its head.
The blue soul flames in its eye sockets flickered sharply.
A notification immediately appeared in Kyle’s mind.
[Skeleton Warrior has detected an unknown probing force.] [Counterattack?] [If no command is given within ten seconds, it will counterattack automatically.] Kyle reacted immediately.
Don’t attack.
The Skeleton Warrior had already begun raising its damaged sword, but it stopped the moment it received his order.
Its skull remained turned toward Oswin, and the soul flames in its eyes continued to flicker as it watched him.
Several students standing nearby were startled by the sudden movement and quickly stepped back.
Oswin, on the other hand, didn’t seem bothered.
If anything, he looked mildly surprised.
“Quick reaction.” The Appraisal spell he had used wasn’t offensive.
He had only intended to take a quick look at the summon.
He hadn’t expected the Skeleton Warrior to notice immediately.
Kyle had only just awakened and was still Level 1.
For a Level 1 summon to react so quickly to an outside influence was unusual.
When Oswin tried to examine its detailed attributes, however, the information he received was limited.
Apart from confirming that it was an Iron-rank summon, he couldn’t see its exact attributes.
Oswin raised an eyebrow.
It seemed the summons of a Hidden Class were different from ordinary ones after all.
He didn’t try again and withdrew the spell.
“That’s enough.
Thank you for showing us.” Kyle nodded.
Oswin glanced once more at the Skeleton Warrior before adding, “Hidden Classes often develop differently from ordinary classes.
What you see at Level 1 doesn’t necessarily tell you much about what the class will become later.
Spend some time learning how your skills work, and don’t rely on the rarity of your class alone.” “I understand.” Kyle gave him a respectful nod.
Oswin said nothing more, and Kyle returned to the other students with the Skeleton Warrior following behind him.
As he approached, the students around him almost instinctively made a little more room.
It wasn’t that they were deliberately avoiding Kyle.
Having a skeleton carrying a rusty sword walking directly toward them was simply uncomfortable.
The bones clicked against one another with every step.
The damaged sword remained firmly gripped in its hand, while the blue soul flames in its eye sockets moved faintly as it walked.
There was also a slight chill whenever it passed close by.
Several students quietly moved another step away.
Gavin was the only one who didn’t.
Instead, he walked straight over.
“Kyle.” He studied the Skeleton Warrior for a while before asking, “Can I touch it?” Kyle glanced at him, then nodded.
With permission granted, Gavin cautiously extended one finger and touched the Skeleton Warrior’s arm.
Cold.
Hard.
Nothing else happened.
The Skeleton Warrior didn’t even turn its head.
Once Gavin realized it wasn’t going to attack him, he became much bolder and knocked twice against the bone.
The sound was surprisingly solid.
“Huh.
That’s harder than it looks.” Gavin leaned closer and stared into the blue soul flames burning inside the Skeleton Warrior’s skull.
He had expected to feel heat as he approached the flames, but the opposite happened.
The closer he got, the colder it felt.
He quickly pulled his head back.
“That’s weird.
Why is the fire cold?” Kyle didn’t answer.
He didn’t completely understand it himself yet.
Gavin walked around the Skeleton Warrior once before returning to Kyle.
“Is it strong?” “Not bad.” Gavin looked unconvinced.
He glanced at the cracked bones and rusty sword again.
“This thing?” Kyle nodded.
“Stronger than you.” Gavin immediately looked offended.
“Seriously?” He pointed at the sword.
“Look at that thing.
I’d believe you if you told me it came straight out of a junkyard.” Kyle didn’t bother explaining.
With 150 points of Strength, Gavin probably wouldn’t care how rusty the sword looked after taking a hit from it.
Before Gavin could continue inspecting the Skeleton Warrior, the teacher handling registration called his number.
“Number ninety-one, Gavin Reed.” “My turn!” Gavin immediately forgot about the skeleton and ran toward the formation.
After taking a few steps, he turned and waved at Kyle.
“Just wait!
I’ll come back with something amazing!” Kyle nodded.
Once Gavin had left, he turned back to the Skeleton Warrior.
The demonstration was already over, so there was no reason to leave it outside.
With a thought, a dark vortex appeared behind it.
The Skeleton Warrior immediately turned around and walked inside without hesitation.
A moment later, both it and the vortex disappeared.
The faint chill surrounding Kyle faded with it.
He opened his status panel again.
The information for his Summoning Space had changed.
[Summoning Space: 1/10] [Skeleton Warriors: 1] Kyle checked the description and soon understood how the space worked.
Undead creatures he had already summoned could be stored inside it temporarily and released again whenever he needed them.
More importantly, releasing a summon that was already stored inside the space didn’t consume Spirit again.
That meant he could turn his Spirit into summons ahead of time, store them, and release them all at once when a fight began.
His current Summoning Space had ten slots, which meant he could store up to ten Skeleton Warriors.
Ten.
Kyle thought about the attributes of the one he had just summoned.
If all ten had the same stats, then for someone who was only Level 1, that was already an impressive amount of combat power.
And ten slots clearly wouldn’t be the limit forever.
As his class level increased, the Summoning Space would continue to expand, allowing him to store more and more undead.
Ten.
A hundred.
Maybe even more.
If that happened, he might not need to fight monsters himself at all.
He could simply send his summons forward and let them handle everything.
Kyle was beginning to understand what made a summoning class truly dangerous.
Numbers.
While he was thinking, the awakening formation lit up again.
Kyle looked over.
Gavin was standing at its center.
As his awakening neared completion, the translucent image of a shield appeared in front of him, followed by a longsword.
Sword and shield hovered together above the formation.
The teacher responsible for registration soon announced the result.
[Advanced Combat Class: Sword-and-Shield Knight] Gavin stared at the result for two seconds before his entire face lit up.
“A Knight!” He looked at his class information again to make sure he hadn’t imagined it, then broke into a huge grin.
Not only had he actually awakened as a Knight, but it was even an Advanced Class.
The serious expression he had worn inside the formation disappeared immediately as he hurried down.
“Kyle!” His voice reached Kyle before he did.
“What did I tell you?
I knew I was made to be a Knight!” Kyle looked at his smug expression and couldn’t help smiling slightly.
He gave Gavin a thumbs-up.
That only made Gavin more pleased with himself.
“When we start running dungeons, I’ll stand in front and you can stay behind me with your skeletons.” He thumped his chest confidently.
“Don’t worry.
As long as I’m there, nobody’s getting anywhere near you.” Kyle nodded.
Apparently deciding that wasn’t dramatic enough, Gavin frowned in thought for a moment before suddenly clapping his hands together.
“Wait, I know the perfect line for a Knight.” Kyle looked at him.
Gavin cleared his throat and put on his most serious expression.
“If you want to kill me, you’ll have to step over your own corpse first!” Kyle stared at him.
Several nearby students who had heard him did the same.
After two seconds of silence, Kyle finally spoke.
“You said it backward.” “Huh?” Gavin froze.
Then realization hit him.
Without the slightest trace of embarrassment, he replied, “Obviously.
I did that on purpose.” Kyle looked at him.
“Seriously.” Gavin kept a straight face.
“I wanted to see if you’d correct me.” Kyle couldn’t be bothered to argue.
The guy had clearly spent several seconds trying to remember the line, and now he was pretending it had been intentional.
When Kyle stopped responding, Gavin laughed.
“Hey, at least you said four words to me.” “That’s progress.” Kyle turned and walked away.
“Hey!
Wait for me!” The last few students completed their awakenings soon afterward, bringing the day’s ceremony to an end.
Once all the results had been recorded, Edmund gathered the graduating students in the main lecture hall and briefly went over the results.
A total of 106 students had participated in this year’s Class Awakening.
Thirteen had awakened Combat Classes, eighteen had awakened Support Classes, while most of the remaining students had received Life or Production Classes.
The two who attracted the most attention were naturally Erin and Kyle.
Erin had awakened the Rare Combat Class, Elementalist.
Kyle had awakened a Hidden Class that had never before appeared at Westport First Academy—Necromancer.
Gavin’s Advanced Combat Class, Sword-and-Shield Knight, was also considered an excellent result.
Overall, Edmund was clearly pleased with this year’s awakenings.
“Your Class Awakening is complete, but this is only the first step toward becoming true awakened professionals.” Standing at the front of the lecture hall, Edmund looked over the students.
“Starting tomorrow, Westport City’s beginner trial zone will officially be open to you.
Students with Combat and Support Classes may enter according to their own abilities.
Use the opportunity to become familiar with your skills and start gaining levels through actual combat.” Many students immediately became excited.
They had spent three years studying theory.
Now they could finally start leveling for real.
Edmund waited for the room to settle before continuing.
“Those of you with Life and Production Classes don’t need to worry.
The academy has already arranged appropriate training courses for you.
Starting tomorrow, specialized instructors will help you learn how to use your class abilities.” He paused.
“The advancement assessment will take place in seven days.” “How much progress you make during this week will directly affect your final result.” The atmosphere in the room became noticeably more serious.
They had all learned about Westport City’s beginner trial zone in class.
Most of the monsters there ranged from Level 1 to Level 8, and the danger was much lower than in the true wilderness beyond the city.
It was designed specifically for newly awakened professionals.
Of course, anyone confident enough in their strength could choose to leave the city and level in the wilderness instead.
The academy wouldn’t stop them.
But once they left the city’s protected area, they would be responsible for whatever dangers they encountered.
Edmund went over several more precautions before dismissing everyone.
The students quickly packed their things and left the lecture hall.
Kyle and Gavin walked out of the academy building together.
They hadn’t gone far when a familiar voice called from behind them.
“Kyle.” Both of them stopped.
Kyle turned around and saw Erin walking toward them.
She was clearly there to speak to him.
From the moment she approached, her attention remained fixed on Kyle.
Gavin looked at Erin, then at Kyle.
After a few seconds, a grin slowly appeared on his face.
“Erin.” He sounded far too pleased with himself.
“Don’t tell me you’ve got your eye on our Kyle?” Erin stopped.
She slowly turned toward Gavin.
“Go away.” “Sure thing.” Gavin agreed immediately and moved several steps to the side.
He didn’t actually leave, of course.
He simply stood nearby, making it obvious that he intended to watch.
Erin ignored him and looked back at Kyle.
“I need to talk to you.” Kyle nodded.
“Go ahead.” Erin had clearly prepared what she wanted to say.
“Let’s compete again at the advancement assessment in seven days.” Kyle waited for her to continue.
“I’ve always lost to you in the academy exams.
When I awakened today, I thought I’d finally beaten you for once, but then you went and awakened a Hidden Class.” She still sounded slightly annoyed about it.
“But having a rare class doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll level faster.” “So this time, we’ll compare our results at the advancement assessment.” Erin lifted her chin slightly.
“Are you in?” Kyle didn’t need much time to think about it.
“Sure.” Erin had apparently expected him to respond with nothing more than a nod, so his immediate answer caught her off guard.
By the time she recovered, Kyle had already started to turn away.
“Wait.” Kyle looked back.
Erin met his eyes and added seriously, “This time, I’m going to beat you.” Kyle thought about it for a moment.
“Good luck.” Then he turned and continued walking.
Erin remained where she was, temporarily at a loss for words.
She had come over to challenge him.
So why did it somehow feel as though Kyle had just encouraged her instead?
Gavin, who had been holding back his laughter nearby, finally lost it.
Erin immediately turned toward him.
“What are you laughing at?” “Nothing.” Still trying not to laugh, Gavin hurried after Kyle.
“Kyle, wait for me!” Erin watched the two of them walk away before looking down at her own class information.
Rare Combat Class: Elementalist.
She slowly clenched her fist.
Seven days.
This time, she was taking first place back.