Shin looked around at the various races his classmates had selected. Nearly everyone had chosen a new race, and Shin was in the minority of only a few who had chosen humans.
"Once again, congratulations to everyone on completing your first steps in SGO." The professor loudly proclaimed.
She beckoned everyone to follow her as she turned around and led the students through the castle gates.
The castle that was Academia City was humongous, reaching high enough to pierce the clouds and sprawled out as far as the eyes could see.
Pristine whitewashed stone was everywhere, creating a regal atmosphere, contrasting starkly against their futuristic bodysuits.
Shin noticed other professors leading their classes of students from other schools and countries on their own tours of the campus.
The professor led the students through the castle town toward the town center, where a massive fountain stood.
Standing next to the fountain was a cat anima wearing a large backpack and dozens of sacks laid around her.
"The United Federation Grand Academy has this tradition of graduating students into the game during the SGO Annual Anniversary." The professor explained.
"You can speak with this Non-Player Character or NPC, and she will award you with ten Red Envelopes." She extended her arm toward the woman, "Opening them will award you with basic items such as potions or money."
Everyone approached the anima woman, and she began handing out bundles of red envelopes to each student with a smile.
"Greetings!" The anima woman exclaimed as Shin approached, "Isn't it so exciting? I just love the new year!"
"Hi! Yeah, I always love the new year. Will there be fireworks?" Shin asked with a smile, raising his hand, exclaiming, "Oh! Where's my manners? Nice to meet you; I'm Shin. What's your name?"
"Oho!" She exclaimed and grinned, extending her hand and shaking Shin's, "I'm Claire! Of course, there will be fireworks! What kind of celebration doesn't have fireworks?"
"Ya know, you're the only one to ask me my name…" Claire said as she knelt, opening one of her sacks and rummaging through it and pulling out a different bundle, and offering it to him.
"Here you are! Happy Decennial!" She exclaimed happily.
"Thank you!" Shin replied, slightly bowing as he grabbed the bundle of red envelopes.
The rest of the students couldn't help but giggle and laugh at him, mocking him in hushed voices for his weird behavior toward an NPC.
Shin ignored the stares and comments, walking toward the fountain and sitting. He opened the bundle, pulling on the ribbon and examining the envelopes.
[SGO Anniversary Red Envelope]
[Untradeable. Redeem for one random item included in the Decennial Event.]
Suddenly, fireworks launched from one of the students after he opened an envelope, startling everyone.
In the next moment, the sky was lit up with countless fireworks as each student began opening their red envelopes.
Shin grabbed the first envelope and peeled the golden seal off, opening the envelope. As he did, a small cloud of smoke concealed the envelope in his hand as a firework soared above him.
In the place of the envelope, a small vial with a silvery liquid inside it sat in his palm. He inspected the vial, and a smile spread across his face.
[Max-Potion of Luck]
[Untradeable. This Potion of the highest quality increases the user's Luck attribute to the maximum for one minute.]
He stared at the potion in his hands momentarily, contemplating his next steps. He argued with himself over saving the potion for later or using it now to maximize his profits.
In the end, he shrugged, determining the optimal value of the potion would reveal itself by using it immediately and taking his chances on the remaining nine Red Envelopes.
Shin grabbed the cork, twisting it out of the vial as he took a deep breath, throwing his head back while bringing the potion to his mouth and downing it in a single gulp.
[The Luck Attribute has been increased to 999. Time remaining 0:59:98]
Not wasting any time, Shin reached for the stack of envelopes and opened them one after another, rapidly obtaining the nine remaining items from the event.
He grinned, rubbing his palms together, his eyes glistening as he stared at the small pile of miscellaneous items before him.
Due to the system's delay in opening the Red Envelopes, he could barely open the final one before his maximum luck wore off.
He reached for the first item he received after taking the potion and picked up the weird antique quill, turning it over as he observed it.
[Heavenly Stenographer's Quill]
[Untradeable. The quill used by God's Secretary to write the laws of the universe. Is capable of changing the unchangeable.]
Shin's brow furrowed as he read the item window for the quill and thought about how to use it when another window appeared, startling him.
[Activate Heavenly Stenographer's Quill?]
[Yes/No]
Shin stared down at the quill for a moment before selecting yes, and the quill began to emit a faint light. Suddenly, his status window opened.
The quill darted toward the status window, brushed the feather against his attributes, and erased them.
He panicked and reached out, grabbing the quill and attempting to stop it futilely before it repelled him back to his seat on the fountain.
The quill flipped around and began writing in new attributes on his status window, and he suddenly felt a surge of power well up from inside.
After it finished, the quill spun around, collapsed into itself, and vanished. Shin reviewed his stats, selecting the new attributes to understand their usage.
[Name: Shin]
[Race: Human]
[Class: Rookie]
[Ability 1:
[Ability 2:
[Ability 3:
[Level: 1]
[Guild: None]
[Familiar: None]
[Sprite: None]
[Companion: None]
[Martial Power: 10]
[Spiritual Power: 10]
[Regal Power: 10]
[Divine Power: 10]
Martial Power consolidates the physical Innate Attributes such as Strength, Endurance, and Agility into a single stat and doubles their effectiveness.
Spiritual Power consolidated the magical Innate Attributes such as Intelligence and Wisdom into a single stat and doubled their potency.
Regal Power combines the Primary Attributes that are included on equipment and doubles their output, and lastly, Divine Power increases damage dealt while decreasing damage taken