Chapter 5: Rewards

"Ugh…"

He slowly opened his eyes as the familiar smell of incense and the murmurs of nearby children confirmed his location, "This is... The church?" He was back in the Awakening Hall, surrounded by the other kids. He squinted, his eyes focusing on the ceiling above.

"Did I get the class…?" he whispered, barely audible, but as he tried to sit up. His head immediately pulsed with pain, as if someone had driven a spike through his skull. All the memories from his awakening trial flooded into his mind at once—every sight, every sound, every emotion—it was overwhelming.

He winced, massaging his temples, trying to make sense of it all. Around him, the other noble children didn't look much better. Many were pale, drenched in sweat, their eyes wide with the shock of what they had experienced. Some clutched their heads, groaning from the intensity of the trial.

Arthur couldn't help but shrug as he noticed that most of them looked fine, as if they hadn't even taken the tests to begin.

The migraine, however, began to fade. The more time passed, the more the experience of the battle settled in, becoming clearer in his mind. He could still feel the sensation of the Mana Slash coursing through his body, the tension of that final, desperate blow.

'Did I succeed?' he pondered inwardly, his brain still fuzzy from the recent migraine.

Without hesitation, he willed his status screen to appear, as doing so now came as naturally as breathing.

_____

Name: Arthur Sylvia

Age: 10

Class: Sage [Lv. 5]

HP: 220/220 --> 300/300

MP: 300/300 --> 360/360

Strength: 25 --> 28

Agility: 23 --> 26

Intelligence: 29 --> 32

Dexterity: 19 --> 20

Endurance: 20 --> 22

Vitality: 17 --> 19

_______

His heart raced. The pain that had gripped his skull moments ago seemed to vanish, replaced by a rush of excitement. The word 'Sage' gleamed on his status screen, a confirmation that the battle had been worth it.

"Sage…" he repeated inwardly, a smile creeping across his face. " With this… I can get stronger... I know I can."

His voice trembled with determination, the exhaustion from before momentarily forgotten. But as his eyes roamed the status screen, something caught his attention.

"Whoa… I'm already Lv. 5?" he muttered in disbelief. His eyes widened, realization dawning. "Oh, right… I remember the notifications about XP after I killed those goblins…" His voice trailed off, the words dying on his lips.

The memory of those kills resurfaced violently. His chest tightened, and a cold knot twisted in his stomach. The faces of the goblins flashed in his mind—wide-eyed in their final moments, struck down without mercy. Their lives snuffed out by his hands.

'I… murdered them.'

The word echoed in his mind, sharp and relentless. His breath quickened, growing shallow. The elation of his newfound strength felt tainted now, blackened by the weight of what he'd done. His fists trembled, curling tightly as the image of their lifeless bodies played over and over, burning itself into his thoughts.

For a moment, the guilt threatened to consume him entirely, But then, in a flicker of time—a memory. His resolve. The words of his mirage during the trial came rushing back, cutting through the haze of guilt.

'I made myself a promise... No going back now,' he thought.

With one final, steadying breath, Arthur made his choice. He couldn't afford to be paralyzed by doubt. He had walked this path knowingly. He'd made his resolve back in the trial, and now he had to live with it.

With his mind clear, he opened his system's notification page with a thought, eager to see the other details he had missed after blacking out. His eyes widened as the words scrolled across his vision:

____

[Congratulations!]

[Quest] Complete

• Protect the town

• Stop the Goblin Stampede and Defeat the Goblin King

[Congratulations, You are now a Sage.]

• • •

[Notice!! Bonus requirements have been met]

• Goblin King has been defeated

• Your HP is not yet depleted

[Recalculating Rewards...]

____

Arthur blinked, his heart pounding in his chest. "Bonus requirements?" His pulse quickened as the system continued to update.

____

...

_______

[You have obtained the following rewards]

• ??? XP

• Unique Skill: <[Eyes of Divinity]> has been obtained

• You have received the blessing of Helia, the Goddess of light.

• Skill <[Appraisal]> has been acquired

• Skill <[Sword Arts]> has been acquired

• You have acquired the class trait <[Comprehension]>

[All rewards have been distributed... Awakening complete, Congratulations, You are now a Sage.]

______

Arthur stared at the screen, his mind reeling from the sheer magnitude of his rewards. Eyes of Divinity? Status immunity...'

Normal class rewards couldn't compare to what lay before him. He had never heard of anything like this in his studies. His hands trembled, not from fear, but from the overwhelming possibilities that now lay before him. His eyes widened with excitement.

"Attention everyone!"

The instructor's voice boomed through the Awakening Hall, cutting through the groans and tired muttering of the children. "Alright, listen up!" His tone was sharp, commanding. "In ten minutes, we'll be heading to the reception hall where your parents are waiting. I know some of you feel like crap right now, but trust me, you'll be fine after resting a bit."

Arthur blinked, barely processing the words at first. The exhaustion had hit him like a brick, and even the thought of moving felt like a herculean task. He could hear murmurs from the other children, a mix of complaints and half-hearted grumbling, but no one argued aloud.

The instructor continued, his voice growing sterner. "You've all gone through something tough, but this is part of the process. Take these minutes to recover."

'Good grief,' Arthur thought, slumping back against the wall. 'Just what I needed—a nice little break.' He noticed a few kids around him whispering in frustration, rubbing their temples or wincing from headaches. No one was in the mood to move yet, and the instructor seemed to know it well.

'Anyways, I should check out my rewards.' Arthur thought.

_____

<[Comprehension]> (Trait)

[A trait possessed by all who bear the class 'sage'. Grants the innate ability to learn any and all arts known to the world.]

[Overall stat gain will increase by a multiplier 1.5x]

<[Basic Sword Arts Lv.1]> (Passive Skill)

Improves proficiency and precision when handling a sword

<[Appraisal Lv.1]> (Active Skill)

Gives a detailed explanation of a target.

<[Helia's Blessing]>

Due to your heroic efforts, the goddess Helia has granted you a blessing. Your body has become immune to all forms of status abnormalities and debuffs.

<[Eyes of Divinity Lv.1]> (Active Skill)

A lesser version of the eyes of true gods. It's effect vary depending on skill level.

Reveals the truth of the world to the user.

______

"This… Is this system broken or something?" he muttered comically, poking the screen in an effort to fix it, but to no avail. "With this comprehension skill, I might just be able to follow any path I want, though I can't say for sure…"

"I already have a pretty good idea of Sword Arts, so lemme try the next one... Appraisal"

'it says I need a target... Good thing I have one right here" he grinned.

Right in the middle of the hall, resting gently on an exquisite looking altar lay his target—the awakening artifact.

"Appraisal"

In response to his command, his red irises lit up gently and began glowing in a soft hue. Then a screen flickered into his view

______

Name: Divine Mana Crystal (???)

Type: Artifact

Description: ???

______

Contrary to its description, the information felt quite vague.

'Is it because it's still level 1?' thought Arthur. "It's got potential" he grinned

"And then there's the goddess' blessing," he whispered. "I don't know what to say… so I really can't be affected by things like poison, cool"

"Now, last but not the least, my unique skill."

Before he got the chance to test it out, the loud voice of the priest boomed through the hall once again.

The man instructed the children to follow him to their parents, and with much effort, Arthur staggered to his feet and joined the procession to the lounge for nobles.

Many of the young nobles grumbled at the harsh treatment, their tired bodies protesting. But as for Arthur, the thought of falling asleep on his mother's comfy lap revived his spirit, the spring in his steps clearly evident to his on-lookers.

While walking down the hallway, some kids chatted about their classes, boasting about what their parents would think. Whistling nonchalantly with his hands behind his head.

Though he tried not to care but the amount of eyes on him was staggering. He somehow managed to dodge a lot of unnecessary conversations prepared for him on the way there by the overly obsessed girls around him.

'Come to think of it, I can't just tell them my class is sage though...'

The image of his parents going into overdrive over the mention of a divine class made him cringe. The stress he'd endure was simply too much.

'I need to think of a replacement...'

"Alright, it's time to put all those years of studying to good use. Time to find a class substitute."

Suddenly, the large door in front of them swung open revealing what looked to be a banquet hall for nobles. The hall was very large and overly furnished to meet with the tastes of the nobles.

Immediately the door opened, most of the children rushed to their parents with a lively spring in their steps while still upholding their elegance as nobles.

But some of them stayed behind, a gloomy expression worn over their faces.

It didn't take a genius to realize that their classes choices weren't anything worth mentioning, and knowing most noble types, that meant discrimination in their circles.

Arthur couldn't help but feel bad for them, but he was still deep in thought about his class replacement. Scanning the hall for his parents, Damian felt a shiver run down his spine as once again, the countless gazes landed on him.

"Arthur!~" The sweet familiar voice of his mother—Amelia, called out to him, bringing him out of his misery, her cute tone beckoning him over. Which he quickly complied to.

At their table, Arthur resisted the urge to rest on his mother's lap. He didn't want to look like a baby among his peers as he was apparently much older than them in reality. Instead, he just leaned on his mother's arm.

"So Arthur," Damian started, "How'd it go?"

"Yes, tell us" Amelia added, her eyes full of curiosity.

"Ok, but for starters…" Arthur began, "You guys literally left out the most important part about there being a splitting headache right after the class change"

Damian chuckled nervously. "You know son,... Here's a piece of advice from your old man... Always expect the unexpected kid, that's a life lesson."

'And that relates how?' Arthur pondered

"Besides, we don't want our little Arthur getting all worried over something trivial, now do we?," Amelia teased, leaning in closer, "So, what class did you get?"

'Trivial?, It literally felt like a bunch of nails were driven into my skull!' Arthur exclaimed inwardly.

"Yes, Arthur, " Damian added, "What's your awakened class?"

Arthur sighed while he took on a more serious tone. His parents sensed the change in atmosphere as well.

"About my class…". Arthur began, the mood around the table tensing up as the statement left a lingering silence between the family of three.

"It's.... A secret"