"Iason! Come down! It's your big day!" Were the words of a young man's mother calling him from downstairs. It was Iason's 18th birthday, meaning that he finally had the chance to figure out what Venator class he belongs in! His heart raced in anticipation, threatening to burst out of his chest each second he isn't making progress towards revealing his own class.
"One sec, mom!" Iason shouted down before pulling on a white hoodie and fixing his hair in the mirror. After rushing downstairs, the boy got a general glimpse of his mother before he left. They had fairly similar features, being their big yellow eyes and slim bodies. Iason's blonde hair took after his father though, a powerful warrior Venator who is seated at the top of the ranks, and another reason why he was so ecstatic about today. Not because he got the chance to see him but by general knowledge, Venator classes are all derived from their parents.
Iason's mom pulled him in for a hug and patted his shoulder. "You stay out of trouble over there, alright? I'll make sure Kia looks out after you!" Kia Firaga was his childhood friend, who was a couple month older than him, and as a result, received her class first. After undergoing the test, she became a battle-mage who specialized in enhancing her attacks with powerful fire-based skills. Again, with another strong Venator influencing his life, he couldn't help but mentally prepare himself for this day.
"Oh c'mon, mom. I'll be alright." Although it was subtle, she could tell by the look on his face that Ihe was worried. What if I become something that I don't want to be? Or maybe a class that even my parents wouldn't be happy with? All of those negative thoughts that echoed in his mind were stopped in an instant the moment she spoke again. "Hey." She locked gazes with him and spoke sincerely. "Whatever you end up as, I'll always be your number one fan. Got it?" Iason stared at her, not even realizing the small tear rolling down his cheek and curving past a slight smile. "Got it."
With a farewell and wave, the new Venator stepped out of his home and started walking down the street. "The Diamondback Association building shouldn't be too far away from here," he thought to himself. The Diamondback Association was the main company offering resources and training to Venators nowadays. Ever since the Fissures opened, the Diamondbacks seized the opportunity to help out these people with their newfound abilities. It was this association where his dad was trained; where Iason promised him he would follow.
As he began to space out, he felt a sudden hand grab his shoulder followed by some loud yelling. "Hey, Goldie!" That nickname... He turns to his right to see Kia walking beside him with a grin on her face. She had bright red hair and eyes, along with dark skin from getting tanned by the constant use of her fire.
"Redhead! So my mom really did ask you to watch me..." Sighing, he looked down with a smile, somewhat dejected.
"Nah, nah! I just came here to wish you a happy birthday! Also, I'm watching over you on my own accord, thank you very much." Kia lifted her hand off and continued walking next to me.
"Yeah right... Oh! By the way, what was the test like for you? I hope I didn't have to study anything." His heart dropped to the simple idea of studying. He was able to make it through school and all, but part of that was because of the fact he was confirmed to be a Venator. After all, how can the defenders of the world defend if they can't even graduate?
"It's not anything special to be honest. The Diamondback Association made something based on the status window to tell a person what their class is." The female says before shrugging, her eyes tracing up the large, spire-like building in front of them. The status window... A mysterious system that activates after a Venator turns 18. Iason got his first lick of the system this morning. It gave him a message that read, "Congratulations on becoming a Venator!" It wasn't much, but it at least let him know that it worked.
"So this is it, right?" He says, following Kia's stare.
"Yup! I'll help you check in and we'll find out your class in a bit!" She says patting his shoulder once more before walking ahead towards the door. Iason follows and enters one of the sets of double glass doors, almost instantly being amazed by the structure inside of the building. The walls above the receptionist desk were lined with black and white marble, sectioning each of them off to form patterns and symbols, each of which represented a special sigil of the Venators.
The beginning of the symbols was one that was shaped as a Fissure, which had a similarity of a crack in the ground caused by an earthquake. That's how all Fissures start off as. A small earthquake followed by a message sent to nearby Venators in the area, and a large, glowing opening in the ground that allows Exiles to enter the world.
Under the symbol of the Fissures were ones representing the classes. Starting from the left was a knight helmet in the shape of a wolf's head, which is usually the sign of a warrior. Next was a spider with legs formed out of blades, a symbol that strikes fear into the hearts of the enemies of assassins. Another symbol was a bear face in the shape of a shield, the representation of all tanks. After that, was a crow with feathers made of arrows, the sign of the rangers. Following this was rabbit made of crystals. Sure, it was a little bit of a silly way to represent mages, but it was pretty clever nonetheless. And last but not least, there was an angel surrounded by its countless amount of wings. Supports. Looking under all of these were the different classes branching off from the main five. Well... four of the main five at least. There was absolutely nothing under the angel.
Iason raised an eyebrow at the angel. He never understood how a class, something just as integral to Venators as are Skills and Talents, could be completely wiped off the face of the Earth. A certain pit in his stomach began to form as he stared longer at the symbol.
As he was staring at the memento, Kia called Iason over to the front desk to continue with registration. The woman behind the desk had hair colored like the two different marble on the walls and a smile welcoming enough to tame a pack of starving wolves.
"Hi there!" She said. "Iason Defyer... Ah! You're the son of Mr. Defyer! We expect great things from you! Now, if you would bring up your status window, we can register you into our system and you'll gain access to the facility that reveals your class. After that, you'll be able to enter rooms that specialize in training your class. Understand?" He nodded silently, noticing the badge of this woman's shoulder. It was in the shape of a crow made of crystals. Such a badge represented the class "arcane gunner." Kia had a similar type of badge as well, which she placed hooked onto one of the belt loops of her pants. Hers was a wolf made of crystals, symbolizing a battle mage.
People can recognize the different badges from two distinct characteristics: their creature and what they were made of. Every two classes could form two hybrid classes, which was why they were separated like this. For example, battle mages have a badge in the shape of a wolf, but are designed to look like it was made out of crystals. Spell knights are also a hybrid class of warriors and mages, but they have different skills and their badges look like a rabbit in the form of a knight's helmet. Those training to become Venators have become quite familiar with the combinations of classes which can be rather helpful when forming parties.
Kia nudged the boy's side with her elbow, snapping him back into reality after seeing he didn't speak for a second. "Ack- Sorry... Status window!" He stammers causing the window to appear in front of him. People usually can't see the status window, but a notification can be heard after it appears.
Upon hearing this, the woman nods. "Perfect! Here's your temporary badge for now. After the system we have upstairs finds your class, it'll dispense a badge that you can attach to your temporary one and which'll tell you what your class is." She hands Iason a light, metal piece with a smooth hook in the middle.
"Alright, thank you!" He smiles to her and starts walking over to the right towards the elevators.
"Now, one thing about the class discovery process..." His friend suddenly blurts out, forcing him to flinch and turn his head to her. Kia had a more stern look on her face but she continued to look forward. "While you're doing it, there's gonna be a bunch of people watching. This is for guild recruiting and possible teaming formations. So no pressure! Got it, Goldie?" She switches up and pats his back. Iason lets out a sigh of relief after realizing she was overdramatizing the situation.
"Y-yeah... got it-" So I have an audience? No pressure my ass! I've never been so nervous in my entire life! Even if he thought Kia was being overdramatic, this elevator was about to bring him straight to his future.
The class selection room was on the first floor (not to be confused with the 0 floor, the one they were on), which was what Iason quickly pressed inside the elevator. Other than him and Kia, two other Venators walked in the elevator with them. Both were fairly young, with the one on the right being a man with dark brown hair and the other being a shorter girl with pink hair. The guy had a badge of a knight's helmet with a beak. A specialist, a hybrid class between a warrior and ranger, someone who excelled in close and long-ranged combat. The girl's was on her purse which was in the shape of the standard tank emblem. Although class hybrids existed, that didn't mean full-blood classes were ruled out. Still, if you looked at her, you wouldn't believe she was a tank. Especially considering the mainly pink outfit consisting of a skirt with frills underneath.
The two other Venators noticed Ihe pressed the first floor button, so they instantly perked up. "New recruit, eh? You don't mind if I catch a seat as an audience, right?" The man said crossing his arms.
"Me too! It's not very often you get to see a class selection." The girl adding on as she looked up at Iason.
"I don't see why not." He shrugs and glances over at Kia, which she gestured back at him with a nod. The new recruit swallowed quietly and grinned, butterflies filling his stomach as the nervousness was overpowered by a sense of community as he began to connect with other Venators.
"I'm Elijah, and this is Jaelyne. We were just about to meet up with our guild members, but we could spare some time."
"I'm Iason!"
"Kia. Nice to meetcha!"
She says before fist bumping the Elijah and Jaelyne. Iason always admired Kia for being an extrovert. After all, she was the one who intitated their friendship in the first place.
The doors opened right after their introductions and they were greeted with a large, circular room with two doors on both sides which lead to an audience station behind glass to view what was in the middle. The center of the room had a pedestal with a slanted panel facing the elevator. All lights were pointed towards the elevator, illuminating a path leading to the pedestal like it was the only thing that mattered, and to Iason, it was the only thing that mattered
"Iason Defyer?"
The voice of a woman echoed from speakers lined on the ceilings.
"Yes ma'am!"
"Please allow your companions to step into the audience first before you approach the screen."
Iason looked back at Kia, Elijah, and Jaelyne. Kia smiles and pats his shoulder before making her way through one of the doors. The other two gave him a head nod and a thumbs up and followed Kia.
His heart pounds against his rip cage as he walks up to the panel, anxiety painful enough to nearly make him collapse on the floor. Despite the pressure, Iason pushes forward, staring down at the screen which had the words, "Place your hand here" above an outline of a hand. With a loud gulp, Iason follows the instructions provided. The second he made contact with it, the status window opened. "Inferring class..." This was it. The moment he has been waiting for for his entire life. Everything has lead up to this.
Error. Unidentifiable class.
This means... I'm a brand new class! Maybe things are finally looking up for me! I wonder what it is... I can't think of any new combination of the current classes other than... No. There's no way.
Dispensing temporary badge.
A slot under the panel opens and the badge comes out. There it was. The angel with several wings cupping it the same way Iason held the badge with his hands. The boy looked up from the badge and at the crowd, all of them staring at him with faces of disbelief and disgust.
Iason was a support class Venator. And the hundreds of people in the audience knew this.