Crimson Earth Nation, within the 'Lambs Training' Region
Training School number 973, within the 'class awakening' section.
…
Today was the day of the 'class awakening' for the graduating students of 'Training School number 973', all gathered at the gymnasium.
Their school had no name because it was simply part of the 'Lambs Training' region of the Crimson Earth Nation, meaning it was only one of the 1000 schools which made up this entire program.
Their goal? Awaken strong individuals, of course!
The world was infested with monsters, and all five nations: Crimson Earth, Golden Mountain, Silver Shrine, Elden Land and Stellar Sky all had one simple goal in mind: gathering powerful individuals to help them against the monster invasions, and also to come out on top as the greatest nation by conquering "dimensions".
Students from all over the nation needed to join these schools if they ever wanted to awaken a class/ability/talent, as they needed to be injected with the "Class Syringe" for that to happen.
For two years, two whole years, the students needed to learn about the world, as well as the other nations, monster types, what dimensions were, etc…
And once they were 18, once they finally graduated… they would finally be able to put all of that into action.
"Holy shit…"
"I'm sooo nervous…"
"…"
There were around 500 students in the gymnasium, all awaiting the arrival of the "elites" that would administer the syringes to them.
Rich and poor people alike, both had a chance to become strong, although the latter had EVERYTHING to risk in this, failure meant being deemed as useless by the nation, meaning going to work in the mines or other horrible jobs, with the constant risk and fear of dying from monsters.
And of course, no discrimination for gender, everyone needed to work.
The tension in the gymnasium was palpable as the graduating students fidgeted nervously, their eyes flickering to the entrance every few seconds.
Leon, on the other hand, just looked at the stage, awaiting their arrival, there was no denying he was nervous as well.
And suddenly…
~FWISH~
The lights flickered for only a mere second in the gymnasium, and once it returned… five men appeared on the wooden stage in front of everyone.
"Hello," the leader, the one in the middle, had spiky black hair, and was holding a cigarette in his hands, he had a very defined chin, and was pretty handsome, although he had many scars on his face and arms, signs that he had fought many times before, and possibly won since, y'know, he is right there in front of them.
All the men from the "elite" group wore silver uniforms, except for the leader, who was wearing a black suit with a tie.
Each man held two suitcases in their hands, probably filled with the 'Class Syringes', which were liquids that are supposed to be injected into somebody to awaken their unique talent.
"Training School number 973," one of the men shouted, and the room suddenly became silent.
"Well, well…" the leader, letting out a puff of smoke from his mouth, analyzed the room, "Seems like we got ourselves another group, looks average…" he mumbled.
Although they spent two years learning about the world and such things, they were never TRULY informed about the awakening and what comes next.
And suddenly…
"To all students of this nameless school," the leader spread his arms open, "Please…" he let out a quick smile, "Please forget about every single one of your little delusions and things you learned before coming to this gymnasium."
Huh? What? Did everyone just hear this right?
This didn't make sense, they were informed that they had the opportunity to become strong, to truly show the world their strength, and that awakening a class was the beginning of their lives…
"What the hell?" some were confused
"Heh~" others, although rare, already knew about everything since they were from the 'rich' class.
"…" and the rest stayed quiet, awaiting the rest of the instructions as they didn't want to assume anything that would cause them despair.
"First of all," the leader clapped his hands, and one of the men opened a suitcase, revealing dozens upon dozens of serums inside of it, all with a crimson liquid inside of them, "These things are going to be injected inside of you."
Of course, this was known to everybody, even Leon who didn't pay much attention in class knew that.
But… what they didn't know… what the school and even the nation hid from them…
Was the hell that was about to follow.
It wasn't going to be easy, and MANY, MANY of them, were going to die.
"Well… let me break all your hopes and dreams," the leader sighed, although his expression remained neutral, almost making it look like he was just saying all of that from a script he read beforehand, "First of all… the syringe only has a 50% chance of success in activating a talent or class."
"WHAT?"
"THIS… THIS CAN'T BE…!"
The whole gymnasium erupted, after all, they hadn't been informed of that! They had been told they would ALL have the chance to make a difference, that they could all get out of their mundane lives or lives where the only thing that awaited them was utter poverty!
And yet…
"This means," the leader continued, ignoring the noise, "That among the 500 present here, around 250 of you are going to automatically fail."
They did teach them one thing, though: failure is death, failure is unacceptable, and the nation doesn't need people that fail as they want to be the greatest of the five.
For the rich, they could go back to their homes, and although they would be branded as the 'shame' of their families, they could still take up their family businesses and possibly still be famous as many people who had failed their awakening, and thus lacked strength, instead became fantastic strategists that aided the nation, and also people that thanks to their brains created businesses.
But for the poor or middle classes… being disowned or thrown away was the only thing awaiting them at the end of the road, as they didn't have as much privilege as the others.
Basically, if luck wasn't on their side, they were fucked.
Leon was just as shocked as anyone else, he was from the poor category, meaning that he would be forced to work all his life like a slave for the nation, with no one waiting for him.
'No…' he refused that, "Just… keep going," he mumbled to himself.
He may be average, but he wouldn't allow himself to end like this.
Not like this…
"Looks like you're fucked, little Leon," a boy with tanned skin and short blond hair approached the average-sized boy and put his arm against his shoulder, "And here you thought you could be someone big."
That guy's name was Akira, and he was from one of the richest families in the entire nation, allowing himself to do whatever he wanted as even teachers didn't mess with him.
Plus, his family guaranteed his success as even if he failed an awakening, he could always buy another serum from the black market for an enormous price (although it was illegal) or just take up the family business, although all his siblings were powerful fighters though, so it would hit his pride.
"…" Leon truly hated that guy, he had made fun of him for two years since he had no money and no family, 'You'll see…'
No one dared to defy Akira, and he mocked Leon for no reason whatsoever, isolating him from the rest of the class if not the whole year, except for one friendly person that still spoke to him in secret.
"Enough," the black-haired leader's voice rang, and everyone went back to their positions, "In addition to the 50% failure rate in awakening, you all will have to pass one simple little trial, and of course, it is without saying that those who fail that trial will also be deemed as failures since they are too weak to even attempt the 'ascension' challenge."
"Well, let us have fun, Leon," Akira went back to his original spot, talking to his 'friends' (who were just people scared of him and his influence).
"Anyway," the leader clapped his hands again, and the men in silver uniform opened all the suitcases they had, revealing that they contained just enough serum for everybody, "Let us start this awakening ceremony, I have stuff to do, make sure to entertain me brats, there's been a lack of powerful awakenings lately."
Everyone gulped as the sight of the things they had only ever talked about in class, things only the most privileged would have access to (or people that passed the two years of this program), and then…
"Student number: 1; Mina Yules," the leader read out from a sheet of paper that contained all the names and numbers of the students of the graduating year, "Please come forward."
And just like that, the [Awakening Ceremony] could begin for all these young folks.
It was probably the most important day of their lives, and they couldn't afford to fail.