Bottom of the Barrel – Welcome to Class D

The morning sun in Kael'dun was harsh, almost unnaturally bright, as if it were trying to burn away anyone too weak to stand beneath it. Jin Seokhyun stood in a loosely formed line of thirteen students at the farthest training field of Velkan Academy, where the grass barely grew and the equipment looked like it had been scavenged from a battlefield rather than prepared for students.

He glanced around, taking in the others—mostly human, young, nervous. A few looked like they'd been beaten down by life before even stepping onto campus. No elves, no beastkin, no draconic hybrids. No one from a noble bloodline. Just people like him—or at least, people who looked like him on the surface.

They were the academy's leftovers. The kind of people you tucked into the corners and hoped would quietly disappear.

The man standing in front of them—Instructor Baros—wore armor scuffed from real battles, not ceremonial training duels. He had the kind of build that suggested he used to be something, once, before they shoved him into babysitting the lowest class on the hierarchy.

"This is Class D," Baros said flatly, his voice like gravel scraping against stone. "The lowest of the low. You're here because you have no lineage, no magic worth mentioning, or because someone up top wanted you out of their sight."

There was no attempt at encouragement. No sugarcoating. Just reality thrown at them like a brick.

"You'll get weekly mana evaluations. You'll be thrown into the training dungeons and into the outer woods. If you survive, maybe someone will notice you. If you don't—no one's going to cry."

Seokhyun listened without reacting. The others weren't so composed. A few looked ready to run. A girl with freckles clutched her staff like a lifeline. A boy beside him was already sweating through his uniform.

"In two days, you'll be sent into the forest," Baros continued. "Standard survival test. Three days. Stay alive. If you're lucky, you'll only face beasts. If you're unlucky... well, pray."

Someone raised a shaky hand. "Sir… what if we don't have mana yet?"

Baros chuckled without humor. "Then I suggest you find someone who does. And stick to them like your life depends on it—because it does."

Dismissed with a wave, the students scattered like leaves in the wind, forming small clusters based on desperation or shared fear. Seokhyun didn't move with them. He walked to the side of the field and sat down beneath the crooked shade of a half-dead tree, his eyes scanning the distant jagged peaks on the horizon.

He opened his status window, the faint hum of the system overlaying his thoughts like a whisper only he could hear.

[Class: &@62$- (Otherworlder)]

[Level: 1 | EXP: 0/100]

[Mana: 0 – Unlocks after First Kill]

He didn't feel stronger. There was no glow, no secret aura to show he was different.

But inside him, something was stirring. Slow. Hungry.

[Trait: Gluttony (SSS) – Claim one trait from any slain enemy]

He didn't need talent. He didn't need bloodlines. All he needed was time… and corpses.

His charm sat at 10—useless now, but the system hinted that it would grow through interactions, likely involving girls and quests. His luck, absurdly high at 50, was locked. A reminder that fate was watching, silently weaving his path.

The wind shifted. Someone was approaching.

He glanced sideways.

A girl stood a few meters away, half-hidden behind the tree. She looked hesitant, like she hadn't meant to get this close but was too shy to walk away. Her long silver hair shimmered in the sunlight, a little messy, and her eyes were a soft violet, the kind of color that belonged in poetry. She was pretty—gently so—but everything about her screamed caution, as if even breathing too loud might make her retreat.

She glanced at him, then quickly looked down. And yet, after a few seconds, she sat—not close, but near enough to share the same shade.

Curious, Seokhyun narrowed his eyes and activated his skill.

[Skill: Identify – Activated]

Name: Aine Elwynn

Race: Human (Suspected Hybrid)

Class: None

Level: 1

Trait Detected: Celestial Veins (S)

– A dormant bloodline inherited from the Celestials. Grants potential for divine magic, mental resistance, and spiritual insight. Latent state. Locked.

His breath caught for half a second.

S-rank bloodline. Celestial Veins.

That kind of trait didn't belong in Class D. That kind of person didn't belong in Class D. She probably didn't even know what she carried inside her.

She noticed him looking and shrank back slightly, her voice soft like wind through silk. "Um… I'm sorry. I can move if—if you want."

"You're fine," he said.

She hesitated, then nodded, clutching the hem of her uniform skirt like it was armor. "I'm… Aine."

"Seokhyun."

Her eyes lifted at his name, surprised he responded at all. She looked like she wasn't used to people doing that.

"I guess we're both in Class D," she murmured.

"Yeah."

"I—I don't really know why I'm here. I didn't pass the mana screening… and they said I wasn't compatible with any major magic types."

He didn't respond. She had divine magic locked inside her and didn't even know it.

She stood up suddenly, dusting off her skirt with hurried, awkward motions. "Sorry for bothering you. I'll… I'll see you later."

And then she walked off, almost tripping over a root.

He watched her go without a word.

[System Notification: New Quest Available – "First Blood"]

Objective: Kill a living creature. Unlock Mana. Gain EXP.

Reward: +10 Mana. Trait Absorption (Gluttony) Activation.

The system was stirring. The quest had appeared.

And somewhere deep in his bones, Seokhyun knew this was just the start.