Chapter 4

As John Williams and Aaron Blackclover walked back to the HQ together, John addressed the elephant in the room.

"Three men, struck in the head several times with a metal pipe. Doesn't that sound a little too familiar?"

"She wasn't lying. The only explanation would be that she has illusory magic which manifested as a defense mechanism. She saw them as beasts probably because she doesn't have it in her to kill people."

"I guess that's plausible. It's going to be a hassle to placate an Elite family. Even though no one actually cares about the perp, they're going to take advantage of the situation."

"Good luck with that."

"Ugh…"

"Haha."

"You know, …I've been wondering. …Is it possible for someone to Awaken while getting assaulted?"

"...I don't know. I hate to say it but if that was the case, there would have been more Users. I think there's more to it than just that."

Ding!

Suddenly a transparent screen or interface popped up in front of my face. I was so startled that my soul left my body.

Status Window:

Inventory Coins Gems Store 🔒Community

Personal Info:

Name - Ciel Winslow

Age - 21

Ability Scores:

Strength - 11

Dexterity - 11

Constitution - 9

Intelligence - 14

Wisdom - 14

Charisma - 15

Alignment: True Neutral

Race: Human 

🔒Class: Not Selected

I sat there silently for who knows how long. Everything was beyond confusing. I don't know where I am, I don't know what I'm supposed to do, I don't know anything. It was frustrating. And I hated it. 

Stop.

Take a deep breath.

Take deep breaths.

Until I feel fine or I cry it out.

Thankfully I calmed down pretty quickly thanks to the sight in front of me.

A blue panel called Status Window.

It looked like a hologram. But I could touch it. It felt like a touch screen but transparent.

I had never seen anything like this in my world yet somehow, it was the only thing that felt familiar.

It was something straight out of an action fantasy RPG-type novel. I've read many novels of that genre to know the implications behind its existence. However, I've never played an RPG to know about this in depth.

But if it really is a dystopian world with dungeons and players or things of that nature, that would mean that I either fell into a novel or it is on a completely different planet, universe, or dimension. And almost everything would make sense. Almost.

I took my time to read the entire thing. Just by going through the store, my assumptions were proven right. This place had monsters.

Going through the community option would have been nice, but the option was locked. When I tapped on it, I received a pop-up notification telling me that the locked options would unlock as soon as I became a 'User'. 

No class…

I guess here you get to choose the path you want to take. Does the store have a class change ticket or something?

It did and it was beyond expensive.

Then I remembered the blue orb. 

Right. I forgot to look it up.

I took the phone and searched for the meaning of different colors.

It indicated my 'Affiliation' and the 'Highest possible cap'.

By definition, a talent cap would indicate the farthest height one could reach. However, it is possible to push the limit. To push it by one rank, one must pay an enormous amount of gems. So, to most people, it meant nothing. The first cap is considered the final cap. And you need to go to the association to get thoroughly examined and find out your talent cap.

White/Black - Lightest/Darkest - S

Pink/Violet - Lighter/Darker - A

Red/Blue - Light/Dark - B

Orange/Indigo - Somewhat Light/Dark - C

Yellow/Cyan - Least Light/Dark - D

Green - Neutral - E

None - None - F

According to the chart, I am a dark-affiliated awakened who might have a chance at becoming a B-rank User-

Knock. Knock.

Who-

The door slowly parted, and my 'brother' walked in carefully with a basket of fruits.

Glossary:

True Neutral-

A true neutral character does what seems to be a good idea. He doesn't feel strongly one way or the other when it comes to good vs. evil or law vs. chaos. Most true neutral characters exhibit a lack of conviction or bias rather than a commitment to neutrality. Such a character thinks of good as better than evil after all, he would rather have good neighbors and rulers than evil ones. Still, he's not personally committed to upholding good in any abstract or universal way. Some true neutral characters, on the other hand, commit themselves philosophically to neutrality. They see good, evil, law, and chaos as prejudices and dangerous extremes. They advocate the middle way of neutrality as the best, most balanced road in the long run. True neutral is the best alignment you can be because it means you act naturally, without prejudice or compulsion. However, true neutral can be a dangerous alignment when it represents apathy, indifference, and a lack of conviction.

Humans-

are the most adaptable of the common races. Short generations and a penchant for migration and conquest have made them physically diverse as well. Humans are often unorthodox in their dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, and the like.