Jake's train of thought was broken when he heard a cold snort. He immediately knew who it belonged to.
Confirming his thoughts a voice spoke with a sneer, "Hahaha, what use is it to be the topper of the class if you can't even awaken a proper element?"
"Well said, unlike some self-centered people who like to show off, young master Jason who awakened the Fire element with A potential was always humble in the class."
The others in the class laughed.
'Some already relayed my awakening details?'
Before anything could else happen, the class teacher arrived. Everyone present could only sit silently in the presence of Mr. Harper. Jake took his seat too.
Mr. Harper looked at the class and nodded in satisfaction, "Now that everyone is here, let me start by congratulating you for successfully awakening.
You should all know that every profession is ranked from F to S. Now you are all at F-Rank and called Apprentice. Then comes Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced, corresponding to E, D, and C ranks.
This is the same for all professions and we add the profession name of the hunter at the end to differentiate.
The top two variates with the profession."
"Now you are all apprentices and you have one year to reach beginner rank. Only then are you qualified to attend a University or you would end up in some low-end college."
"Take the entry card for Crossworld before you leave. I don't think I need to remind you about Crossworld. Now when I call your name, come and pick up your card. Then you can leave."
Crossworld is an Online world, where hunters train themselves without the price of death. Crossworld has pros and cons.
First, there is no death, which saves a lot of lives while gaining some combat experience but it is only accessible until one reaches E-Rank which is at level 20. After that point, access to Crossworld becomes restricted.
This no-death also causes ego inflation in some hunters which causes deaths in real-life combats.
Even if there is the pro of no death, the resources and experience gained by killing monsters are far less compared to real life.
Second, Federal Alliance is not the only ruling government in the new world. There is access to many other alliances and federations through Crossworld. In real life, not all those lands are near or safer to reach.
Though connecting and exchanging resources is not easy in real life with most, this enables exchange with all, though it is a bit restricted.
Virtual resources are either consumed or exchanged with others for real-time Federal Alliance Coins(FAC) or as currencies in their own federations.
Though there are a few cons, the pros outweigh these few cons.
Crossworld is the best place for nurturing young talents. This saves a lot of lives who think that everything is easy after awakening. These young hunters can tune their combat abilities here. Though this doesn't bring the death rate to zero, when these hunters venture out in real life, it does significantly reduces the losses.
The crossworld operates on its own and was not controlled by anyone.
Every year it refreshes itself. Old participants would be kicked out and new ones enter. The landscape, environment, everything changes.
If one was lucky, one could find some treasures. These can't be brought out but can be sold at the Origin. Origin is the place where one enters the Crossworld. Every new awakened will spawn here. This applies to every nation in the world.
Every nation would have its own tower and part of the land in the origin.
This is not only the place of spawn but also trade.
If one awakened life professions like alchemy or blacksmith, they would stay here. This is a safe zone where fights are not allowed.
Life professionals would buy resources to create items that would increase their levels. This is similar to combat professionals who hunt and kill monsters to increase their level.
Life professionals wouldn't receive any experience and level increase by killing monsters. They only gain experience when they craft the items pertaining to their profession. This doesn't mean they would be weak to kill monsters or can't craft items of other professions.
Life professionalists are encouraged to hunt and tune their skills in Crossworld. This is so that they are fit to fight if they find themselves in a bind.
They can craft items of all professions if they learn how to. The only problem is that they can't attain the quality of the said item to the peak.
Crafting items of other professions would be waste and so they concentrate on their own, where they can reach their peak.
This can also be said to be true for combat professionals.
For example, a fire mage can be said to be best at using fire magic. This is because he has the highest affinity to the fire element.
He can also use spells of other magic like Water magic, Ice magic, or Wind magic. Though it can be done the casting time and the power of the spell deviates from the element of his affinity.
Mage consumes Mana to cast spells. To cast a spell certain amount of Mana is required. When comparing two mages who cast the same spell but only one has that elemental affinity.
This mage's mana consumption would be low compared to others. Even the casting time would be lower. How much low depends on the mage's efficiency in casting that spell.
These can decide the result of a combat, the result that can leave one alive or dead.
Even with this mages do learn some spells that help a lot, though they are of their element.
For example, Blink can make people disappear and appear in a different place. This can help one in combat to dodge an enemy strike.
Wind can fan the flames, so fire mages and wind mages learn a few spells of the other.
Water/Ice, Earth/Metal/Sand, are a few combinations that are interlinked. So a mage of one element in the combination always tries a few spells belonging to the other element in the combination.
This goes for other professions as well. Though the extent of diving into other categories is considered small, there are many people.
"Now when I call you, come to me. You need to bind the card with your blood. Once you do that, you are free to go."
With that, the class teacher completed the process in a half hour for a class of twenty-five awakened.