"Welcome to the world of Fantasia!" The king shouted in delight with a bright smile.
Although others were still bewildered by the situation, a select few had sparkling eyes, implicitly screaming; "Yes! This is what I've been waiting for!"
Reaction alone already gave Michael a rough idea of their personalities.
"Revered Goddess, give me strength and mold thy surroundings."
[ Augment ]
The king suddenly chanted followed by a magic-like circuit appearing in front of his mouth.
gleaming dust scattered from a radiating white line forming the symbols like chalk.
It turned out to be a sound amplifying spell from the increased volume of his voice.
Everyone was awestruck by the sight, erasing all of their doubts.
"So this is magic..." They all thought.
Then, the king went down the altar and explained the situation up close.
He walked through the red carpet back and forth as he elaborated on the subject matter; the world-ending enemy, magic, political standing, geography, etc.
Exactly what any high-power people would do in these kinds of events in fantasy stories Michael read.
The explanation soon excited many but it only worried Michael more.
Many complicated systems were mentioned and even confidential state of affairs. Michael was greatly intimidated by the new information and stressed the unclarified topics that seemed to be purposely left out.
His unstable mental state made it more difficult to understand.
Though none of that mattered to him now as his goal is to survive and live in peace, he still thought it would come in handy later. Michael took a mental note of keywords such as 'Borders', 'Nobility', 'Dungeons', and many more.
After the brief introductory explanation, the king went up to the altar and continued the rest there.
He had started talking about the world's magic.
Meanwhile, Michael calmed his unsettled nerves. Surprisingly it didn't hit as hard as he thought it would, though it might be from the adrenaline.
Michael already had a rough idea of how it works from his time of reading novels, so he only listened to important parts.
Although most topics were as expected, a few differences caught his attention. One of which was the jobs.
Classes are the categories while jobs are the subclasses;
-Warrior: Knight, Berserker.
-Long-ranged: Sharpshooter, Archer, Gunner.
-Magician: Priest, Mage, Scholar.
Everyone starts with a civilian class, with their job being the current occupation that they have; a smith, farmer, lumberjack, gate guards, etc.
But since they're the summoned "angels", the goddess will give them classes adept to their aptitudes and personalities. Giving Michael certainty that he'll be at least a long-ranged class since he's in no way in good shape. He is rather skinny.
Common knowledge was also mentioned. But out of all of them, the one that surprised him the most is the absence of being able to allocate stat points when one of them asked the king.
'Apparently, the stat point we were talking about is gained from training physically, you can't gain them out of anywhere else and add them yourself.'
Which he has no idea whether it would be good or bad right now.
'If that's how it is, then you'll need specific training to raise specific stats...' Michael thought with a slight frown.
After a few questions from the students, the king elaborated more in the form of a story.
Michael listened but again, only paid attention to the important bits.
'EXP is called World Points here and it can be only gained from killing living beings. Every 50 levels you will get a title that fits your character and your exploits so far.'
'It is called World Points because the higher your level is, the more defined your presence is explained by the king. If your level is high enough, and if your reputation reached a certain degree, it may be possible to contact the otherworld; the heavens.'
'A myth was handed down onto the kingdom that if one reached the "level no man has set foot on" they would be granted a wish. No matter how unreasonable it is, you will be rewarded.'
Michael's eyes widened learning this fact. His eyes showed a hopeful glint.
Even if it's considered a myth, with the sheer absurdity of their situation right now, the story doesn't seem too farfetched.
He now more or less had a lead on how to return back to earth.
But it may be a perilous one.
After a brief silence when the story ended, the king placed his hand on the crystal ball and a yellow holographic message appeared;
______________________
Name: Alfred von Fantasi [ Title: 2, (A Kingdom's Heart), (Valiant Hero) ]
Age: 45
Race: Human
Class: Ruler (King)
Growth: Very Fast
LVL: 89
STR: 489
AGI: 322
VIT: 456
DEX: 290
INT: 1390
Skills: (Private)
______________________
"This is what we call the stat crystal. As the name implies, it shows the stats you've accumulated from daily training." The king said.
He took his hand off and the message disappeared shortly.
'Stats befitting of a king indeed' Michael thought to himself.
With enough information, he crossed his legs and dove into his thoughts.
There are three huge continents in the world, one in the southwest, the northeast, and the middle. With the knowledge the king gave, the southwest is closest to earth's climate and culture. I should keep that in mind.'
'The absence of the ability to freely allocate stat points is going to be complicated. It's best to write down the requirements for each stat as soon as possible. I hope they'll supply us each with a stat crystal.'
'To survive, I'll need someone powerful backing me. Finding a mentor with the same job or class as me should do the trick. With the status of a hero, it shouldn't be too hard. I hope.'
'The king has yet to explain what is exactly the enemy we're going to face. It's either that there isn't one and is just using us as a political weapon, or the enemy is too formidable and intimidating that they will only tell once we're ready to prevent deserters. I doubt it but I shouldn't trust them fully. Not yet.'
Regardless, his only goal is to live peacefully with his friends, so all that planning might not be followed through.
"Now then, it's time to reveal your long-awaited stats."
King Alfred stated with a smile followed by the excited roars of the students.
After a short deliberation, the first to come up was a bald student with a green uniform;
______________________
Name: Clive James
Age: 17
Race: Human
Class: Warrior (Spearman)
LVL: 1
Growth: Fast
STR: 29
AGI: 19
VIT: 15
DEX: 18
INT: 9
Skills: (None)
______________________
The boy was nervous at first, but quickly became proud and relieved when the stats of another were shown;
______________________
Name: Dave Gohan
Age: 16
Race: Human
Class: Warrior
LVL: 1
Growth: Normal
STR: 9
AGI: 20
VIT: 15
DEX: 7
INT: 15
Skills: 1, (Quick Thinking)
______________________
From the first two students, Michael was able to discern more information. Getting a class without a job is possible, and unlike Clive, Dave got a skill.
'From the looks of it, Dave is the bullied type, his skill must be connected to how he lived his life trying to stay out of trouble.'
Michael thought.
'If that's the case I should be able to get a skill related to being lazy right?'
"Like a self-healing skill, or auto hunting, or maybe just a more efficient body like faster regeneration."
He smirked thinking of all the possibilities a skill like that would have.
After the first few went up, everyone followed and formed a line. Some fought from others cutting in but the dispute was quickly ceased.
Michael and his group were last in the line.
"Kyaa!"
*Thud*
Mia suddenly shrieked and fell to the ground.
"W-Where am I?! Michael!" She shouted.
She looked all around with tears dripping down her cheeks.
The king heard the commotion and glanced behind, "What's wrong?"
"A-Ah, she just woke up," Zack explained.
Seeing the king, Mia screamed again.
"Am I really that scary?" The king chuckled.
But the humor only added more fuel to the fire.
It started to become a bigger problem than it really is.
Michael forcibly pulled her up, catching and holding her by her shoulders.
"It'll be fine, calm down." He said staring at her in the eye.
And with the help of Zack and Rebecca, she was quickly calmed down.
A tear fell from her cheek, "You'll stay with me, right? All of you will, right?"
"Why would we leave?" Michael replied with a smile.
Mia burrowed her head on his chest and quietly sobbed.
One by one each student got to see their stats, while Michael explained what had happened so far to Mia.
She was even more frightened, but easily got a hold of herself now. She had to stay strong for the sake of everyone.
After a few minutes, every single student except for Michael's group was done.
The most apparent and strongest of the bunch was Lily Anderson, with by far the best class and strongest stats;
______________________
Name: Lily Anderson
Age: 16
Race: Human
Class: Magician (Archmage)
LVL: 1
Growth: Very Fast
STR: 25
AGI: 31
VIT: 22
DEX: 29
INT: 38
Skills: 3, (Enhanced Senses), (Quick Thinking), (Self-Rationality)
______________________
"Wow so lucky!"
"I envy her..."
"That's broken!"
Were only a few of the statements uttered. Some of the officials right by the king even joined in hoping to form connections.
Finally, it was Rebecca's turn.
At first, she was nervous and hesitant. But after a few words of encouragement, she swallowed all her fears and confidently walked up to the altar.
Radiating grace and conceit as she places her hand on the crystal.
______________________
Name: Rebecca Flaura
Age: 16
Race: Human
Class: Magician (Fire Mage)
LVL: 1
Growth: Very Fast
STR: 14
AGI: 21
VIT: 25
DEX: 22
INT: 51
Skills: 2, (Bewitch), (Devotion)
______________________
Upon seeing this, the room erupted with praise.
But despite the cheering, Michael looked at it with his eyes furrowed.
He had always had bad luck, so he was very hesitant and anxious about seeing his profile.
Rebecca was teary-eyed as she walked back towards the others.
She pounced on Zack in relief which surprised him.
He hugged and patted her back, "I knew you could do it,"
Zack was then next. He took a deep breath before going up, with Mia following behind him.
______________________
Name: Zack Grey
Age: 16
Race: Human
Class: Hero (Battlemage)
LVL: 1
Growth: Fast
STR: 29
AGI: 20
VIT: 40
DEX: 20
INT: 15
Skills: 2, (Goddess's Blessing), (Unyielding Will)
______________________
Name: Mia Raven
Age: 16
Race: Human
Class: Magician (Necromancer)
LVL: 1
Growth: Very Fast
STR: 9
AGI: 10
VIT: 15
DEX: 12
INT: 100
Skills: 1, (Mana Reservoir)
______________________
Once again, the room exploded in amazement and envy.
"These guys are so lucky..."
Michael whispered underneath his breath followed by a feeble smile.
He went up to the altar with anticipated eyes on him.
"He's with them right?"
"I wonder what kind of skills he'll get."
'You shouldn't get your hopes up.' He sighed.
As he stood right in front of the crystal ball, the king greeted him which he replied with a deep bow.
In a cold sweat, he took a big gulp of saliva and held the ball.
______________________
Name: Michael Fortune
Age: 16
Race: Human
Class: Auxiliary
LVL: 1
Growth: Slow
STR: 12
AGI: 14
VIT: 11
DEX: 10
INT: 29
Skills: 2, (Thorough Analysis), (Sloth)
______________________
Michael covered his face and looked up. "I fucking knew it!"