Aetheria City...

In the Aetheria High School.

"Today is the last day of this class. So, be sure to pay attention." 

Inside a classroom, a burly man was standing with an annoyed expression on his face while looking at the forty students in front of him. 

"I have already taught you all there is to teach, so there isn't going to be anything new today. Instead, we will just talk about what you have learned throughout the years. 

So... who is going to explain?"

As he slowly spoke, the man's eyes ran across the students sitting in front of him. He saw some shrinking their necks while some pretending to be busy. There were also a few who seemed excited hoping to be selected.

In the end, the man's eyes finally stopped at the boy sitting at the end row of the class seemingly lost in a daze.

"Eldric. How about you explain to me what you have learned? Let's say... Start from the very beginning."

The man had a good impression of the boy whose name he just called. The seventeen-year-old boy would mostly keep quiet during class. Though his results were ordinary, he always had a sense of calmness to him.

"Uh!?" Startled by someone calling his name, Eldric finally came back to his senses before looking in front of him. It took a moment for him to process what the teacher had just asked.

With a nod, he let out a mouthful of air.

As soon as the teacher called out his name, the students who were shrinking their necks and pretending to be busy finally let out a sigh of relief. Some on the other hand just shook their head in disappointment upon not being chosen.

Eldric pushed back his chair, trying to stand up to answer the question, but the teacher suddenly shook his head before speaking in a loud voice.

"No need to stand up. I already know how much you all bastards respect me. Just answer the question."

"...."

Eldric who was about to stand up stopped before making himself comfortable.

"We don't know exactly when it was, but historians point out the time to be more than a few billion years ago.

Much of history has been lost, but almost everyone unanimously agrees that it was then that the changes in the world began to take place."

Sitting comfortably, Eldric slowly begins to speak. His voice was calm and deep like an ocean, as every word he spoke was spoken slowly and clearly.

"It is said that the world billions of years ago was small in size and divided into many regions. At that time, the world was in a pre-evolution state with no signs of anything extraordinary. 

It is only during the evolution era that changes appeared. The world slowly began to expand, and animals and plants began to evolve. 

No one knows how long the era of evolution lasted, but many historians believe that this era lasted for more than a few million years. It was the era filled with turmoil, almost leading to the extinction of the human race, hence the records of this era and the era before it are almost non-existent."

Speaking till here, Eldric paused for a moment before speaking further.

"It was only after this that the situation slowly began to stabilize. We humans slowly began to push back and establish new cities. 

Now we have the dominant position in this world once again."

As the teacher standing in front of the class listened to this explanation, a satisfied smile grew on his face. It was clear from his expression that he was pleased with the answer.

"Let's not go into too much detail about the history of the world or else it will take an entire week." With a laugh, he patted the desk in front of him.

"Umm..." With a pause, Eldric nodded before speaking slowly.

"During the evolution when every plant and animal was evolving, we humans also gained our way of evolution.

But unlike the animals and plants, we didn't evolve overnight, but we were given the blessings of evolution. Only by finding the blessing stones can a human awaken a profession and the ability to evolve further.

Over time, humans gathered these stones, evolved, and slowly rebuilt the cities. The blessing stones are now replaced with the blessing stele. 

With the re-establishment of the order, humans began to adapt. Unlike before, humans did not use the blessing stones or stele at birth but came up with an age suitable for awakening. 

At first, it was when a person reached twenty-five years. Then it was reduced to twenty-one years and finally, it was reduced to eighteen years."

"Perfect." It was at this time that the burly reached nodded in satisfaction. Signaling Eldric to stop, the teacher looked at the students in front of him once again.

"Rowan. How about you explain to me why we use the Blessing Stele instead of the blessing stones now when both of them can be used for awakening?"

A boy sitting in the middle of the class suddenly let out a smile before replying.

"It is because of the professions that we gain.

The blessing stones can only let us have life profession but the stele can let us have combat profession. 

Also, unlike the blessing stones where a person can only gain one profession, the blessing of the stele can let us have one combat profession and multiple life professions."

With this answer, the classroom finally plunged into silence as everyone looked at the teacher in front of them, waiting for him to speak.

Nodding in satisfaction, the burly teacher raised his hand to signal the students to keep quiet before speaking further.

"Tomorrow you all are going to have your awakening. I hope none of you miss tomorrow's event or else, you have to go to the city hall. 

Also... Take plenty of rest and carefully decide your future. Needless to say, I would suggest you all work hard and try to get into the top universities.

After all, it is related to your future."

Taking one last look at the students sitting in front of him, the teacher finally let out a hearty smile. 

"And with this, I wish you all the very best.

Class dismissed."

.

.

.

.

Walking back home through the brick road, Eldric was silent the whole time. He would occasionally glance at the world around him and admire the tall buildings made up of unknown materials. This world which seemed like a combination of the modern world and the medieval world was still somewhat unusual for a person like him who used to live in modern society before inexplicably arriving in this new unfamiliar world.

It's been almost a month since Eldric opened his eyes in this new world. He didn't know how or why he arrived here. Other than the body, he also inherited almost everything from the previous body owner. Which include memories as well.

Arriving in front of a dilapidated five-story building, Eldric stood for a long time silently looking at the pitiful state of the building before taking the stairs.

It wasn't until he reached the top and stood in front of apartment number 506, that he stopped and unlocked the door before finally stepping in.

Unlike the outer building which was covered in dust, the inside of his apartment was spotless clean. Other than some necessities, there wasn't anything else there.

Looking at the familiar bed along with the kitchen which didn't have anything inside, he shook his head before closing the door behind him and lying on his bed.

It wasn't until a few more minutes passed and when Eldric was about to fall asleep that a voice full of dissatisfaction rang in his ears.

"Are you really just going to sleep?"

"Ugh." Eldric wasn't surprised by this sudden voice, but let out a grunt. Inhaling a mouthful of air, he raised his head slowly which was buried under the cover, and looked at the position of the chair.

On his chair, the figure of a young girl who seemed to be twelve or so years old was sitting quietly looking at him with a face full of disdain. Wearing a pink princess-type dress, her hair was tied up in a ponytail with a butterfly ribbon. She was wearing white sparkly sandals while swinging her legs in the air.

Looking at her, she looked like a white porcelain doll with sparkly black eyes and hair. 

"Go away."

Giving her one glance, Eldric moved his hand like shooing away a cat before turning his face to the other side.

"Let me sleep. I am tired."

"Tired?" The girl looked at him with disbelief on her face. "Tired from what? Sleeping too much?"

"You should think about tomorrow and your future." Why the hell are you even sleeping in the first place?"

"Sigh..." Eldric who was still trying to sleep finally sat on the bed with a yawn while looking at the girl in front of him. 

"You know... I have read countless novels. When other people travel through the world, they receive cheats. Sometimes a system and sometimes a treasure. And yet, here I am... stuck with a soul that only I can see...

Really... Who are you and what are you even doing here?"

As soon as Eldric finished speaking, the figure of the girl disappeared from the chair before arriving behind him.

At this moment, her pitch-black eyes were looking at the young boy in front of her as she tilted her head in confusion.

"There you go again... Talking about traveling the world and a cheat. You really did hurt your brain a month ago when you fell down.

Are you sure you are okay and don't need any healing?"

The girl completely ignored Eldric's words as she began to look at him carefully once again.

"Forget it." Eldric shook his head as he began to think about the events that led him here.

A month ago, he was a fifteen-year-old boy living with his family in the modern world, surrounded by comfort and luxuries. Then, one night, he went to sleep and woke up the next day in this entirely new world.

Eldric had read countless novels with the same situation and being a person who was rather mature for his age, it didn't take too long for him to calmly accept the situation.

And it was then when he was getting used to his new life that he saw a small butterfly during the lunch break in school.

Unconsciously he tried to reach for the butterfly and the moment he did it, he fell from the stairs.

When he opened his eyes once again in the nurse's room, he saw the girl for the first time floating in the air above his head in front of the nurse. 

Seeing no reaction from the nurse, he was scared out of his wits. His first response was to run away. But feeling a sense of intimacy from her, he finally stopped.

In his mind, she was perhaps his gold finger. He was sure that the girl in front of him was anything but simple. She was one of those existence who had lost their bodies and now existed in the form of the soul only.

So, during the past month, he tried talking with her, hoping to gain something. But unfortunately, she wasn't interested in talking about herself or guiding him. The only thing she said was to wait till he awakened his profession.

Helpless, other than listening to her, there wasn't anything else that he could do at this moment. 

Annoyed by her constant chatter, Edric could only shake his head with a bitter smile.

"What do you want me to do?"

As soon as Eldric spoke, a smile ran across the girl's face as she finally let out a laugh.

"How about having a meal first?"

With a helpless sigh, Eldric stood up, changed his clothes, grabbed his identity card, and walked out of the building toward the nearest food court.