[Awakening Overview]

  [Leox Lether]

  [Awakening Stage: Second Rank]

  [Awakening Stage Progress To Next Stage: 2%]

  [Classes:]

  Grandmaster Immortal

  Apprentice Monk

  Apprentice Fire Mage

  Novice Swordsman

  Novice Water Mage

  Novice Wind Mage

  Novice Earth Mage

  [Class Skills:]

  Deathless Rebirth (Immortal Skill)

  Weave Current (Water Mage Skill)

  Greater Overheat (Fire Mage Skill)

  Flame Coating (Fire Mage Skill)

  True Counterstance (Monk Skill)

  Purity Of Body (Monk Skill)

  Cleave (Swordsman Skill)

  Mud Wall (Earth Mage Skill)

  [Discard Skills?]

  [Fuse Skills?]

  [Rank up for increased Overview complexity...]

  Once Leox had stepped out of the church, finally able to get a breath of fresh air, he glanced at his Overview. Numerous changes had been made, which overwhelmed him. Before going over each one, he had to start walking back towards the direction of the Undying City to clear his mind and put distance between himself and the church.

  ...

  With his sword sheathed at his back and his clothes tattered and torn, he marched along the pathway that would lead him back to the city. Thankfully, the sky was dark, and all the settlements he had passed had already started to wind down for the night. He didn't want to scare anyone with his current state. However, at some point, he stopped by a village to find a group of Holy Knights. There were only a few, but he warned them about the danger of the Fallen Saints and what had happened at the Church of Hope. They seemed to be well aware of these Grade Two demons and were more surprised by the fact that a first-year student of the academy had taken one down and even managed to reach the Awakening Stage Two.

  Leox left them shortly afterwards. As long as they knew about the danger, that was all that mattered.

  Finally, he went over the changes in his Overview.

  First was the general changes to his body that he felt after reaching the next stage. He was well aware that all skills relied on an essence called mana, as well as one's general stamina. Both areas seemed to have increased drastically, and he now felt that the efficiency with which he could use his skills would be increased. Along with this, his body felt like it would be stronger and more durable, and even his mind felt like it had increased in clarity.

  Next was the skill limit increase. Upon reaching the second stage, an awakened was now able to have three skills per class, as well as the option to discard skills to make room for others. Due to already having trained intensively with both the fire and monk class skills, Leox had earned himself skills in both those classes.

  Flame Coating was a skill he desperately wanted to awaken. It allowed him to channel flames into a weapon, causing the fire to persist and burn anyone the weapon struck.

  Purity of Body was a Monk skill that allowed him to enter a meditative state, cleansing his body of poisons and toxins. Through controlled breathing and focus, impurities were forced out, leaving his body balanced and steady once more.

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  Along with these changes to his current classes, he had also awakened a new class, 'Swordsman', as well as a skill, Cleave'. This was a swordsman's skill that reinforced a single attack with unnatural power. For a brief moment, the weapon would carry more weight than it should. The heavier the sword used, the more its weight would be amplified.

  As for the Fusion of Skills, Leox understood that these were skills that could be used by using two skills that were able to synchronise together. If he had to guess, he thought that he might be able to coat his sword in flames and then use Cleave to create some greater strike. He would have to practice this further once he returned home.

  His Immortal Class had yet to change in any shape or form. He had to continue to assume that it was already at its peak, or he had not yet reached the threshold needed to earn something new.

  ...

  With these changes understood, Leox continued his journey back to the Undying City. By the time he arrived, he felt as though he was going to collapse out of hunger, thirst, and pure fatigue. He struggled through the city before eventually ending up on the quiet academy grounds. Not even bothering to change into a spare uniform, he made his way over to his classroom, wondering whether Gutaru would be there. To his surprise, the man was. He was sitting at his desk, using a feather to write on a piece of paper as always, and a cold expression rested on his face.

  As Leox entered, the man didn't even look up from his paper until he heard a solid item land on top of his desk.

  "The heart of a Fallen Saint, sir," Leox announced hoarsely.

  Gutaru looked at the heart, then up at the boy in front of him. His eyes lingered on him for a moment before he finally spoke.

  "You are the torture child, correct?"

  That's one way to put it.

  "Yes."

  "Well done, you are the third child to pass the task."

  Afterwards, the man returned his eye down to the sheet of paper in front of him, which was filled with nonsensical scribbles. Leox waited for a moment, wondering whether the man had anything left to say, but he didn't. So, he made his way back home and finally rested.

  There was only one day left until the class one students would return to lessons as normal. He decided that he would spend this time familiarising himself with his new skills.

  Once that was over, he visited his best friend.

  Ivy Graceful rocked backwards and forwards on her bed within her chambers. Her skin was riddled with goosebumps, and for a while, she was too frightened to exit her room.

  It was night, which meant that the holy sisters were now confined to their chambers due to curfew. A few moments before, she had been offering her prayers to the Allfather, as they always did before sleeping. That was when it happened.

  Ivy felt a strange feeling wash over her, and immediately, she recognised it as her awakening. Within the church, the sisters and mothers all worked diligently in hopes of receiving their awakening. There were many different tactics used to encourage their awakening, such as specific prayers, specific environments and even targeted training. This was all done to awaken the most common class known to those of the church: Light Mage.

  Oftentimes, the Holy Sisters and Holy Knights would awaken other similar classes, such as the Cleric or even the Paladin, depending on their upbringings. Each class awakening process was said to feel the same: a vast amount of light that blinded their vision, followed by their bodies feeling as if they had been made anew.

  However, that wasn't the case for Ivy. As she felt herself awakening, a dark, shadowed clouded her vision, followed by the strong desire to reduce others to nothing. She panicked at first, garnering the attention of her fellow sisters who had not yet awakened. As soon as she realised what had happened, she ran to her room before any of the Holy Mothers could find her and ask her to demonstrate her holy magic.

  Once on her bed, she took a glance at her Overview and was struck with worry.

  [Awakening Overview]

  [Ivy Graceful]

  [Awakening Stage: First Stage]

  [Awakening Stage Progress To Next Stage 0%]

  [Classes:]

  Dark Mage

  [Class Skills:]

  Blind (Dark Mage Skill )

  [Rank up for increased Overview complexity...]

  The Dark Mage.

  "Why, why, why!"

  Awakening the dark mage class wasn't a crime in itself. There were those, such as the Hawkings family, who awakened skills that were linked to the concept of death and necromancy. However, for a 'Holy Sister' to awaken such a class suggested that she had been living a double life. Even through prayer, performing good deeds, learning about the healing arts, and time spent around fellow sisters, she still managed to awaken a class linked to darkness, which suggested that she had secrets to hide.

  It took no time for her to come to a calculated decision. She had to escape from the church, no matter what. But where would she go?

  "..."

  There would be time for her to worry about that later. For now, Ivy put on her robes, tucked the dagger that she always kept under her robes, and crept out of her window leading to the gardens of the church. Her feet carried her faster than they ever had, until she reached a quiet alleyway, where even the moonlight couldn't reach. Soon afterwards, she fell asleep, but was eventually awakened by the sound of approaching footsteps.

  Ivy wasted no time outstretching her hand towards whoever it was approaching her, using her newly learned skill 'Blind'. She felt a dark, shadowy magic erupt harmlessly from her palm, crashing into the figure in front of her. But at the same time, the figure cast a skill of its own, larger and much more powerful than her own. It's overwhelmed her skill, devouring it like food before travelling towards her at great speeds. As the skill hit her, she found her vision being taken from her, as the darkness blinded her.

  Helplessly, she reached for the dagger beneath her robes and started swinging it around, hoping to make contact with her attacker. Eventually, she felt the dagger pulled from her palm, and a hand wrapped around her throat, grasping so tightly that she couldn't breathe.

  Then, a feminine voice whispered to her.

  "Stop resisting, dark one. The Hawkings are not your enemy."