The rest of the proceedings had a somber tone to it. People still cheered, and they still became happy when their son or daughter achieved a great class. The mood kept being ruined by the kid staring at nothing, however. He’d done nothing but stare at the floor in front of him with tired eyes. He wasn’t actually looking at nothing, of course. He was reading the class he’d just gotten through the blue screen. He’d gotten a boon from the class, realizing just how unfair having no class really was.

You have obtained a class! The class ‘Lonely Prince’ Has been added to your core.

Lonely Prince: Flawed, unworthy, weak. These thoughts constantly swirl around your head, a mark on your soul that reminds you of your failure. You couldn’t protect those you cared about, those who cared about you. Despite that, your talent exceeds that of most. You are meant for a path of greatness, even if it means you lose everyone along it.

The fates are watching.

He scoffed, was this a class or just a reminder of his stupid actions? The fates could burn for all he cared, none of it mattered to him. If that was it, he wouldn’t have called it unfair. But this class… It was much more than just a pitiful description.

Royal Magic: You are a royal, as such, magic bends to your will. You have the ability to learn all magic abilities until 3rd tier at a much faster rate. Spells are more potent and cost less mana.

Heroism: Your body is fated to help the weak, and in times of danger, it will take over and persevere. Gain incredible battle-sense near death.

Royal Metamorphosis: You are meant for greatness, as such, you have no blatant weaknesses. Your body will change to make it so. +50 to all stats when activated.

Forsaken prince: A prince is nothing without his peers, and yet having nothing means you have everything to gain. You have abandoned. You have been abandoned. It is painful, but one cannot get stronger without pain. You gain twice as much experience when fighting alone, and half as much when fighting with company. You view life with less importance.

He thought back to the insane power Keyla had obtained just after her awakening, and how unstoppable Elizabeth was when equipped with a shield. Classes were downright overpowered… He had worked for two years to gain over three hundred status points… and now here he was, with a skill that gave him an extra… Jesus, four hundred!? He grimaced, all that hard work he’d put into becoming stronger had been dwarfed in a moment.

His grimace turned into a grin soon, though. This was what it meant to have a high-star class… The only part of this that seemed like a complete downside was the “Forsaken Prince” skill. Humans required others to properly succeed. Even a powerhouse like Elizabeth soon became a punching bag when outnumbered. Not to mention, If he ever tried to get a job as a guard or a warrior, his growth would be severely limited. If this had been any other situation, Elliot would have cursed his low luck stat for what happened. The class’s huge burst in power suited him now, though.

Once he’d found his sister and brought her body back, he would just settle down and take a job as a lonely hunter or something. As long as this class helped him survive long enough to bring her back, that would be fine by him. Though it did bring a problem… He would probably not tell Elizabeth he was leaving, now. If by chance she followed him, then she would literally drag him down. He would have not minded her company before, but life liked to surprise every once in a while…

The awakening soon ended, and Elliot had been the first to leave. At least, he thought that to be the case. The moment he opened the church doors to leave, he saw the knight that had just been on his mind. Her eyes were furious and her arms were crossed, as if disappointed with him. He cursed, knowing exactly what was about to go down. “Elliot! You were going to run away!” It wasn’t a question. He wanted to lie, but after two years of talking to her, he knew how she worked, and how perceptive she was..

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“...How did you figure it out?” He walked over to her, close enough to reach into her own personal space. The girl seemed to be weirdly intimidated by him, even though he was so much shorter than her. “A-ah… because of my… dad.” She didn’t look him in the eyes, her face flushed red. She almost continued before suddenly looking up again, the spell broken. “Wait! I won’t let you get away with this, Elliot! You told me we’d go together when we adventured!” Her face flushed red once again, and Elliot took a step back. “You said that I was… someone you could trust.”

He almost grimaced.

Of course, she was. But this… “Elizabeth… I wanted you to join me. But this isn’t a fun adventure.” She scowled again but didn’t look him in the eyes. It seemed she had started crying. “I’m going to find my sister and bring her back. I want her to be buried here, alongside us one day.” The words felt heavy and thick coming from his own mouth, and he realized the only reason he wasn’t crying was due to the ‘deep isolation’ skill working overtime.

“I’ll… When I come back, I will give you all my time... But, right now, family comes first.” For some reason, that sentence seemed to reach her. Even the people behind him, who he just realized he’d been holding up, all gasped. Elizabeth, her eyes still filled with tears, suddenly looked at him with new eyes. “W-what? What did you say?” Elliot was a bit confused at her sudden change, but took the lifeline. “I’ll always stay by your side, Elizabeth. You’ve become someone that I couldn’t do without.” She’d become like his new sister, someone he could give his life to.

The girl jumped at him and he braced to be hit, but only received a warm hug in return. “I… I wiw alwwas… augh.” He couldn’t hear her through her sobbing, but he still awkwardly hugged her back. He wondered if he should tease the knight, but some things were better left unsaid. It was a warming moment, and even with the skill “Deep isolation” He could feel the warmth of her kindness filling his heart. He’d have the adventure of a lifetime with the girl one day, he knew it.

He couldn’t wait to return. Goodbyes were had and the blacksmith had even tried to offer him money for his travels. The man seemed strangely happy but Elliot couldn’t impose on them. They’d already done enough with the weapon and chest piece given to him. The man’s wife, whom he’d come to learn these past couple years was also named Elizabeth, was crying almost as much as her daughter, hugging him and telling him to return if things became too difficult for him.

He smiled and nodded, knowing that he’d either return with his sister or not at all. Plenty of people went to see him off, some of who he’d apparently helped but he had no recollection of. He didn’t bother looking for his mother. He knew she wasn’t there. But inside, there was a warmth in his heart. His mother hadn’t spoken to him out of spite, but out of kindness. If she had begged him to stay, or even just broke down in front of him, he’d never have had the courage to leave her side.

After she sent the blacksmith to give him the sword, he realized she probably wanted Keyla back as much as he did. His eyes, for the first time in almost a week, suddenly reignited. His mother wanted this, or at the very least, she accepted his departure. With this thought, a heavy feeling lifted off his shoulders, and he could look up again at the blue sky. The sword on his back suddenly felt a lot heavier, and he took it in his hand.

It was brought out slowly, deliberately. The people around him looked in awe as he carried the giant blade, taller and heavier than most of them, with one arm. This sword was a hundred times better than the blunt greatsword he used before. Hell, it couldn’t even hold a candle to this massive, yet deadly sharp behemoth. If he was confident before that he would live to see his town again, then why would he feel any hesitance now?

He looked back and smiled at them, and the people smiled back with a bit of hesitance on their face. Elliot, the fool that he was, didn’t realize that after his heart cleared a bit, his bad habit had returned. As he felt the size and saw the beauty of the sword, the weight in his hand, something inside him reawakened. The smile on his face was hardly less than a grimace. full of battle lust. Only a few could recognize it as battle lust, however, and not bloodthirst. Many saw the town’s precious prince and assumed he was going to get revenge for his sister. Even Elizabeth seemed distraught, knowing far too well from her father’s stories that a path of vengeance would lead to nothing but death.

The few who knew, however, smiled with a hint of worry on their face. That was a person that would change the world. The change was inevitable, but what really mattered was who the boy would become. Did they send off a prince, or a tyrant?