14 - Class Choosing

As they exited Halstein's office, Stiles, Dante, and SteelArm led Aria toward a hidden section of the guild. They entered an elevator, and SteelArm pressed a button that wasn't labeled. The doors closed, and the elevator descended deep underground.

Aria looked around, feeling the change in air pressure as they traveled downward. "This place... it seems... different."

Dante grinned. "Yeah, not a lot of people know about this part of the guild. It's where we do advanced evaluations and class awakenings manually."

The elevator finally came to a stop, and the doors slid open, revealing a dimly lit hallway. The walls were reinforced with metal plating, and the hum of machinery filled the air. At the end of the corridor, they entered a spacious chamber with a massive sphere-shaped object in the center. Thick cables and wires extended from the sphere, connecting it to various machines across the room.

Aria's eyes widened. "What is this...?"

"A class resonance sphere," Dante explained, stepping forward. "This thing taps into your mana and analyzes your potential class paths. If it works like it should, it'll display all the available classes you can choose from."

SteelArm nodded. "It's how most high-rank hunters confirm their classes. Some people awaken naturally, but this method ensures you don't overlook a potential path that a hunter could have gotten instead of what they awakened as if they so wish to change."

Dante patted the side of the sphere. "For me, I could've chosen between Reaper, Flame Swordsman, Phantom Dancer, or a weird class called I never looked at called Driller. I went with Phantom Dancer because it suited my fighting style best." He turned back to Aria. "All you need to do is place your hand on it and release some mana into it. After a few minutes, it should display your options."

Aria hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward. Slowly, Aria placed her hand on the sphere and let her mana flow into it, the machine hummed to life. The wires running across the room crackled faintly with energy, and the sphere glowed with a pulsing light.

Then, dozens of classes began to appear in shimmering text above the sphere.

Dagger-wielding assassins.

Staff-bearing mages.

Martial artists with enhanced bodies.

Talisman users invoking ancient spells.

Even weaponless combat styles, something rarely seen.

The list kept expanding, filling the entire screen with options. Stiles, SteelArm, and Dante watched in stunned silence as the sheer number of possibilities unfolded before them.

"She has this many options?" SteelArm muttered, eyes widening. "Even high-ranking hunters usually get three, maybe four at most… This is unreal."

"She's not normal," Stiles added, crossing his arms. "This level of potential… it's insane."

The sphere continued to glow brighter, the options it displayed now pulsating with an otherworldly energy. The sheer number of possibilities stretched across the screen, some familiar, some foreign. But then, a sudden shift happened. The entire room felt like it was being drawn into an unseen vortex, as if the very air around them had changed. The hum of the sphere grew deafening, and the temperature in the room dropped, sending a chill down their spines.

SteelArm's eyes widened. "What the hell's going on?"

Before anyone could respond, the list of classes began to slow. Then, with a jarring flicker, the entire display froze. The room became eerily still, the only sound being the sharp beating of their hearts.

And then, in the blink of an eye, the countless classes that had been displayed moments ago began to fade away. One by one, they vanished into the ether. The sphere pulsed with an intense glow before the screen cleared entirely.

But what replaced the options that had once flooded the screen sent an immediate shock through the room. New names appeared, glowing with a deep, ominous purple light:

Bringer of Chaos and War

Void Priestess

Priestess of Storms 

Frost

???

Stiles, SteelArm, and Dante all exchanged stunned looks. The silence stretched on for a beat too long, until Dante finally broke it, his voice shaky but filled with disbelief. "What... What the hell is this?"

SteelArm's usually stoic expression faltered, his mouth slightly agape as he looked from the sphere to Aria and back. "I've never seen anything like this before. These... these are different."

Stiles' eyes narrowed, he glanced at the final unknown option, a feeling of unease creeping up his spine. "What the hell does it mean?"

As if answering his unspoken question, the air around them seemed to shimmer, and then—like a soft breeze stirring through a quiet room—a voice, calm and soothing, echoed through the space.

"Choose wisely, for this will affect the course of all that is to come."

The voice was warm, almost maternal, yet carried with it an undeniable weight. It wrapped around them like a protective embrace, the words resonating deep within their souls.

Then, as quickly as it had appeared, the voice faded, leaving only silence in its wake.

The three men stood frozen, each of them processing what had just happened. A feeling of awe and trepidation filled the air. This was no longer just about Aria's journey. The fate of everything seemed to be tied to this moment.

Aria stood in front of the sphere, her hand still resting on it, her eyes scanning the list of classes before her. She felt a pull, a deep connection to each of the names that appeared, as if each one resonated with a part of her being. Yet, the unknown fourth class—marked only by question marks—was the most enigmatic. She couldn't shake the feeling that whatever that class was, it might hold the key to unlocking everything she's missing.

The three men, who had seen many things, now found themselves in a moment of rare, near-reverent silence. They'd all seen potential before, but what stood before them now was a turning point. A pivotal moment for their guild and possibly the world. They didn't know it yet, but this decision—this choice—would ripple through time and space, altering the very fabric of reality itself.

Dante's grin returned, though it held a hint of awe. "This is it. This is the real deal. Whatever happens next, it's gonna be huge."

Stiles' usual composure was still present, but even he couldn't suppress the excitement in his voice. "She's not just a player in this world anymore. She's a force. We have to help her make the right choice."

Aria, still staring at the list of classes, slowly nodded. Her mind raced, but for the first time since awakening in this body, she felt like she was truly on the brink of something—something big. She glanced at the men standing behind her, their faces filled with anticipation and respect.

"I'll choose wisely," she whispered, though her words seemed to carry far more weight than they should. She wasn't just choosing a class. She was choosing her fate, and with it, the fate of the three next to her.

The three men stood back, each of them eager but mindful, waiting for her decision. This was a turning point for all of them—one they would never forget.

Aria lowered her hand and exhaled softly. "How... do I pick a class from this thing?" 

Dante spoke up quickly, "Just look at the one you want and imagine yourself using it and call out its name." 

Aria slowly scanned her eyes through the list she saw and closed her eyes.