A knight ranked core

The audience watched the stage eagerly. They were ready to welcome the next genius. Could anyone awaken a higher ranked core this time?

Under many gazes the first golden shimmer suddenly appeared. A young woman had awakened her core, opening the path of a warrior for her.

Next, many others quickly followed. One by one golden shimmers spread. One, two, five.

Among the crowd Ennuc had tears in his eyes. So many of his students had already awoken their potential. For most commoners it was harder to awaken due to a lack of training and resources. In a normal class it was already great if fifty percents of students formed a core. Therefore, Ennuc was gratified for every single one of them.

After a few seconds Yerive's skin also shimmered finally. He was the tenth student while Parton and Nocia had already succeeded before him. Although all of them only had a golden shimmer, it was better than not awakening at all. Out of their friend group only Tepo and Ganaph were still struggling.

Suddenly excitement boiled among the crowd. A green shimmer had unexpectedly appeared. Although many hoped this would happen, what where the odds? A third squire ranked core was on the cusp of being born!

On the gallery the VIPs' eyes were trained on the stage. Who was it that showed such potential? However, when they recognized the student, many of the VIPs pulled long faces. They turned towards a certain man, watching his elated face in annoyance.

But Tondka Sr. didn't care. It was just right for everyone to be jealous of him. Who asked him to produce such a gifted son?

That's right. It was Tondka Lirane Jr. who awakened a squire ranked core.

His father beamed in excitement, while the audience stared at the young man in awe. Another genius had appeared.

When the students slowly woke up, everyone focused on Tondka. The young man immediately understood what had happened. He basked in all those mixed emotions directed at him. When he noticed the mayor's smile, Tondka felt as if he had reached the highest point in his life. All his hard training was paying of.

Tondka took a step forward. This was his moment. It was the perfect time to form some connections with those bigshots present. Just as he wanted to open his mouth though, a quiet whisper reached him.

"Please.", advice the missionary. "Don't disturb your fellow students."

Turning around in confusion, Tondka frowned heavily. Why was it them again? His eyes fell on Tepmodus and Ganaph, who were still absorbing the white light.

Tepo didn't notice any of the commotion. He was immersed in the absorption. Although he wouldn't awaken his core today, Tepo was determined to make the best out of the situation.

After only a few moments he realized something interesting. As the core absorbed the white light, a slight change occurred. Among the symbols within his core, a new one suddenly appeared.

At first it was still blurry, as if submerged in water, but it gradually became clearer. After a while the symbol suddenly pulsed once before joining the others in leisurely swimming within his core. At this moment the information about his core's rank changed. Instead of 'damaged (3/100)' it now read 'damaged (4/100)'.

Surprise and excitement filled Tepo's mind. Who would have thought that he would discover a way to repair his core so easily. Now he only needed to find out what kind of energy this white light represented. One more reason to investigate those believers.

While Tepo was in a good mood his friends watched him and Ganaph in apprehension. They didn't understand what took their friends so long. Was there a problem with their awakening or not?

Suddenly Nocia drew a sharp breath. She stood right next to Ganaph, discovering her friend's abnormality at the first moment. A strange, dark green shimmer flickered over the young woman's skin. But it didn't seem stable. It continued to struggle. Many exclaimed in pity when the shimmer quickly vanished again.

But Nocia felt it wasn't this simple. The shimmer had already appeared, which meant the core had already awakened. How could it disappear?

When the crowd was almost ready to move on, Ganaph's body suddenly shook. Disbelieving eyes and gaping mouths filled the hall as a blue shimmer engulfed the young woman's body.

Nocia stood next to her best friend. She had her hand before her mouth, suppressing a startled shout. Was her friend really so talented? The young woman had to hold back her tears of excitement.

Among the VIPs everyone stood up in shock. Their eyes were filled with greed. Everyone wanted to recruit this girl with everything they got.

Even the bigshots on the stage had incredulous looks. Missionary Vyrohna almost lost control over the orb. It was unbelievable that a knight ranked core would appear here. In a small city like the Floating Rain City the chances for this happening were negligible. Although a knight ranked was only a single step above a squire rank the differences between them were massive.

The mayor held his breath in apprehension and even the indifferent school president gazed at his student in shock. But just as Taren Raunej wanted to stand up and be the first to congratulate Ganaph, he remembered something. His eyes directed towards the side, he watched as the old man slowly stood up. His face gloomy, the mayor didn't dare to move.

When the older man stepped forward, the VIP gallery fell silent again. A few sighs rang out. They knew that this gifted student wasn't fated with them. Even the general audience felt that something was off. No one was fighting for the newly awakened genius as her eyes slowly opened.

Ganaph' focus wasn't on the stage yet. She felt a mysterious presence in her body. As the child of commoners, she had little to no information about core ranks.

But even Ganaph could tell that that she didn't awaken a common core. When she felt the weird atmosphere in the hall, her eyes found Nocia's. Feeling her best friend's encouraging look, Ganaph smiled joyfully.

Suddenly a light cough rang out. Ganaph turned around, blinking at the older man standing before her.

Finally receiving Ganaph's attention, the older man spoke solemnly:

"Young lady, what is your name?"

The young woman was slightly confused. Why was this man questioning her? She didn't do anything wrong, did she?

Not trusting the man who had suddenly approached her, Ganaph tried to find some support. Only when Nocia nodded lightly did Ganaph dare to answer:

"Ganaph Sharint."

Noticing the girls' interaction, the older man's brow twitched. However, he was here for a purpose, so he ignored Ganaph's distrust.

"I'm Richard Rosefall. I am an emissary of the Free World Alliance. Since you awakened a knight ranked core, you are qualified to join us. Are you willing to fight for honor alongside our brave knights?"

Ganaph's confusion mirrored the audience's. Not many understood what the Free World Alliance was. Even among the VIPs a few only had some vague information. But the older man didn't explain himself. He was sure that his presence was enough to convince the young woman.

Therefore, he was all the more surprised when Ganaph once more turned towards Nocia. In this small city where no one recognized the name of the mighty Free World Alliance, what could a random teenager know? And to his indignation the white-haired woman even pretended to think deeply.

But Ganaph trusted her best friend. Nocia had always been incredibly intelligent. But at the same time she wasn't embarrassed to admit if she didn't know something. Thus, when Nocia began to think, Ganaph patiently waited for her friend's judgment.

The decision wasn't easy though for Nocia. Although joining the Free World Alliance was an opportunity many dreamed about, Nocia wasn't sure if it was the right place for Ganaph.

The entire audience waited in anticipation. When Nocia nodded hesitantly after a few moments, everyone's eyes lit up. Although they didn't know the Free World Alliance, they understood that it must be an incredible force from outside the city. This time, Ganaph's rise was guaranteed.

The only one who stayed indignant was Tondka. This should have been his time to shine, but Ganaph ruined it all. She stole his limelight! Why? He also awakened an advanced core, but no one paid him any attention.

After Ganaph confirmed her decision even the mayor stood up with a bright smile. He congratulated the young woman enthusiastically, almost as if currying favor. Parton and Yerive celebrated alongside their good friend, while a joyful mood spread in the hall.

No one remembered the last student whose eyes were still closed until a tired female voice spread in the hall:

"Everyone. Please, let's give the last student a fair chance!"

Only now did everyone's eyes fall on Tepo. Yerive and Parton flinched in embarrassment. How could they forget about their best friend?

Meanwhile everyone felt strange as they watched Tepo. He had been absorbing the white light for such a long time. Could it be that the young man might awaken an even higher ranked core?