The sun hovered just above the horizon, casting golden rays over the vast ceremonial ground. Dew still clung to the short, well-tamed grass, sparkling like fragments of stars scattered across the earth.
Hundreds of students stood shoulder to shoulder in uniform formation, their cloaks fluttering gently in the morning breeze. Each one bore an air of anticipation—vibrant eyes, squared shoulders, and hearts pounding with the promise of destiny. Today was the Awakening.
At the center of the ground, raised upon a smooth obsidian pedestal, stood the Awakening Globe. It pulsed faintly with a living light, as though breathing.
Ethereal tendrils of magic swirled within the transparent sphere, reacting to the energies around it, waiting—hungering—for the touch of a soul ready to unlock its true path.
An official called the names, voice echoing across the field. One by one, students stepped forward, the crowd parting like a tide. Each approached the globe with trembling steps, hands outstretched, drawn not only by duty—but by a desire to be seen, to be chosen.
The air grew tense, charged with silent expectation. And then, with a sudden flare of blinding light, the first awakening began.
The ceremonial officer raised a hand, his voice firm as it rang through the crisp morning air.
"Liang Fei."
A tall boy with storm-gray eyes stepped forward. His footsteps were steady, but his clenched fists betrayed the tension he held. As his hand touched the Awakening Globe, it pulsed—then flared.
A column of sapphire light surged upward, and a symbol of a roaring wind dragon spun into the air above him.
"Wind-Class Summoner," the announcer declared.
A murmur rippled through the crowd.
"Yue Rin."
A slender girl with a scarlet ribbon in her braid approached next. She touched the globe lightly, almost reverently. It flickered—then burst into crimson fire. A phoenix emblem danced in the air, wings wide in radiant flare.
"Flame-Class Elementalist!"
Cheers erupted from the female students nearby.
Eyes widened. Some boys exchanged glances—she'd just become a future target for admiration, envy, or more.
"Han Jiwoon."
A lean boy with quiet eyes. The globe shimmered dully, forming a buckler shape.
"Basic Shield-Bearer."
Not glamorous, but solid. Jiwoon nodded, unfazed. Defense classes often survived the longest.
"Mei Xuelan."
Barefoot on the grass, Xuelan walked like the wind itself. When she touched the globe, there was no dramatic burst—only silence. Then the light began to pulse in a rhythmic wave, like a heartbeat. A lotus symbol rose, ringed in shadows and light.
"Dual-Nature Healer. Rare."
Even the instructors leaned forward at this one.
"Zhao Ren."
The globe hesitated under his touch, then cracked with faint sparks. A small coiled snake emerged in shadow.
"Shadow-Scout. Low-Tier."
Zhao looked disappointed, but the scouts were known for their agility and intelligence—if not their power.
"Lin Yuyao."
Eyes followed her—tall, elegant, already drawing whispers among the crowd. As she touched the orb, light exploded outward. A twin-bladed sigil spun in the air.
"Celestial Blade Dancer. Elite Class."
The crowd broke into gasps. Even the instructors stood straighter.
"Takemi Haru."
The foreign student walked slowly, head high. The globe responded with a silvery light, forming a small rotating gear.
"Tactical Engineer. Rare Utility-Class."
Some looked confused; others, intrigued. A class with little offense but incredible field value. Then, a quiet settled.
"Lin Wei."
He clenched his fist tightly, feeling the weight of a hundred gazes pressing down on him. This was it—the moment he had been waiting for. The moment his path in this world would begin.
He turned slightly.
Just a few feet away, standing at the edge of the formation, was Lin Xiaoyu—his younger sister in this life. Her soft eyes met his, full of innocent confidence. She mouthed the words without sound, but he understood them clearly:
"You'll be alright."
Her small fingers, which had been gripping his hand a second ago, slowly let go.
The warmth lingered.
Lin Wei turned back toward the Awakening Globe, stepping forward with steady feet, though his heart pounded like war drums. He passed the last of the students, walked across the open circle of trampled grass, and stood before the orb.
The globe shimmered faintly, like it recognized something in him.
He raised his hand and placed it on the smooth, cool surface of the Awakening Globe.
[Host detected.]
[Initializing—NTR & Sign-In System.]
[All Summoners: Rare Class.]
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
"Eh?! Did I just see that?"
"What class was that? It blinked too fast!"
But before anyone could react further, Lin Wei's eyes flew open.
The world around him snapped into sharp focus—hundreds of students staring, instructors frozen mid-breath, their faces all painted with the same expression: envy.
Yet, only he could see what appeared directly in front of him—hovering mid-air like a translucent hologram. A strange, blue-colored, pole-like display rotated slowly.
[Daily Poll Detected]
[Sign-In?] [Yes / No]
His lips moved before he could think.
"Yes," he whispered.
In an instant, a faint puff of blue vapor emerged from the orb and surged toward him—phasing directly into his chest. No one reacted. No one saw it. It was as if time had skipped a beat for everyone but him.
He turned and calmly descended the stage, the shattered remnants of the globe still crackling behind him. His legs moved on autopilot as he returned to his place in the student line.
Then he saw her—Xiaoyu—his little sister in this new world. She wore a beaming, silly smile on her face.
"So awesome, brother!!!" Her excitement lit up her whole face. Without warning, she rushed over, grabbed his hand, and held it tightly with her own small fingers, eyes closed like she was making a wish.
"Please bless me with brother's luck!" Before he could reply, she darted away toward the stage. Lin Wei chuckled softly.
His heart, which had been weighed down by fear and uncertainty moments ago, felt light.
A rare summoner class… a strange system… Looks like I'm finally walking my golden path in this world. And yet, deep within him, the system pulsed once more—
[New Quest Unlocked: Target Acquisition - Lin Yuyao.]
[Note: Seduction Tier Quests grant additional Sign-In Bonuses.]
His smile faded just a bit.
This world… was going to be very different from the one he knew.
"Lin Xiaoyu!"
A soft glow enveloped the girl as she placed her hand on the Awakening Globe. A serene symbol bloomed into view—a flower blooming under a crescent moon.
"Natural Healer: Rare Class."
Another wave of gasps rolled through the field.
Lin Wei merely smiled.
He wasn't surprised in the slightest. After all, her mana signature had outclassed his during the entrance exams. He'd expected no less than a rare-class awakening for her. If anything, he thought it might have even been higher. As the awakening ceremony concluded, the students began to disperse. Instructors called names and divided them into classes, guiding them toward the main academic building.
By chance—or perhaps due to nothing more than the coincidence of shared surnames—Lin Wei and Lin Xiaoyu were placed in the same class.
Even better, they ended up sharing the same desk.
"Hehe! Same seat again," Xiaoyu giggled, swinging her bag onto the bench as she grinned up at her brother. Lin Wei smiled and reached out to pinch her nose lightly. "We're just destined to be classmates forever, huh?"
They settled in as the rest of the students filled the room—forty in total—each assigned seat taken with military precision. The buzz of chatter was low, focused. Students compared awakening results, speculated about class rankings, and whispered about the shattered globe.
Then—
The door opened.
Silence fell instantly.
A woman in a black military uniform stepped through, boots tapping sharply against the polished floor. Her bearing was straight, her expression unreadable. A 2-star badge gleamed on her chest.
Lieutenant.
Even the more confident students stiffened in their seats. No one in the room was even close to such a rank. A Level 50+ player, at the very least—and that kind of power meant she'd crushed dungeons and crawled out of more than one battlefield.
"Good. You know when to shut up," she said coldly, her voice cutting through the air like a blade. "Take your seats, cadets." They already had—but somehow, the entire class straightened another inch. This wasn't just school. This was survival. And even with rare classes, Lin Wei knew this world would not go easy on them.
The lieutenant scanned the room once, her sharp eyes taking note of every cadet.
"Today is only the introductory session. There will be no formal lessons."
She paused, letting the tension settle before continuing.
"Unlike your middle schools, this academy has little use for theory. Here, everything is practical. You will train, fight, survive—and grow stronger."
A small flick of her wrist brought up a holographic projection on the wall behind her, showing a floor map of the school with glowing red points.
"Starting tomorrow, you and your deskmate will form your first combat pair. You will enter one of the school's internal training dungeons—classified as 'Normal Rank' with low difficulty. Your performance, growth, and kill count will be recorded in real-time by the system."
She turned away briefly, tapping the wall console.
"With each level you gain, your ranking within the class will be updated automatically. If two cadets have similar levels, they will be placed into a monthly combat evaluation, where they fight under supervision to determine their standing."
A few students exchanged glances—some nervous, some excited.
"And for those with ambition—if you believe you're stronger than someone above you, you're free to challenge any higher-ranked cadet at any time. If you win, their position becomes yours."
A faint smirk curled on her lips as she turned back to them.
"This academy is not built on kindness. It's built on merit. No one holds their rank without proving they deserve it."
She stepped away from the podium, heading toward the door, but paused one last time.
"If you have any questions, or problems—come to my private office. Not here. Not during class."
And with that, she walked out—leaving a heavy silence behind her, and forty cadets with wide eyes and racing hearts.