It has been 6 months since the heroes' defeat against the Hooded One. Currently, humanity is on the brink of extinction. The cause of the heroes' downfall remained a mystery, but rumour has it there was internal strife between them.

Those rumors were nothing but poison to the ear. Zich, my father, was a member of the party, and the stories he told me before they went on to fight the Hooded One were the complete opposite of the rumours. The party was as solid as family.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I needed to attend the Sacred Awakening Ceremony. It has been 6 months, yet there have been no heroes that have awakened. That means the current heroes haven't died yet. My father might still be alive out there.

There can only be 6 heroes at one point in time when the world is in grave danger. The Hooded One is the current threat that humanity is facing, and the previous Six Heroes went and fought against him. Before the fight against the Hooded One, two heroes retired.

Sir Aest The Grand Healer, and Sir Finn Bulwark of the Weak. That might be the reason why they were defeated. They lacked the manpower. Sir Finn was handicapped due to an early battle prompting him to lose his right leg, while Sir Aest retired early on due to him being unfit for battle.

A sigh escaped my lips. Will this be the end for humanity? I looked up at the starlit sky and frowned.

As I was walking, lost in thought, I finally reached the plaza where a bunch of teenagers like me had gathered for the Sacred Awakening Ceremony.

A muscular old man stood in the middle of the gathering, whose hair ran grey and his eyes as blue as the sky. He was grooming his well-grown beard as he observed the teenagers that gathered around him.

Murmurs were heard all over the place as people stared at the old man. They were wondering what class this person was in. Judging by his muscular build and scars found all over his arms, he must be a barbarian. Wait, No, why would a barbarian be overlooking the Sacred Awakening Ceremony?

It didn't add up. I observed the old man as he stood there quiescent, minding his own business. He tightly held a book beside him. The book seemed ragged and worn, but there was some sort of mystical feeling around it. This man is a priest...? Appearances do fool you sometimes, huh.

"Ehem," The old man cleared his throat. The murmurs of the people around me were defeaned simultaneously, "My name is Algor, and I will be overseeing tonight's Awakening Ceremony, but before that, I'd like to know why most of you guessed I was a barbarian." He raised his right brow.

The woman next to me confidently raised her hand, "You?" Algor pointed at the girl beside me.

"It is because of your outstanding physique, Sir. I'd like to include those battle scars found on your arms and body. Those are signs that you fight on the frontlines against the Hooded One's Immortal Army." She spoke briskly.

"Well, you are half correct. I did fight on the frontlines, but that does not mean I'm part of the Barbarian Class." Algor responded, smiling gently, "How about you, boy?"

His finger pointed towards me, "M-me?" I stuttered.

"Yes, you."

"My guess is that you are a priest," I spoke briefly. I could suddenly hear light chuckles and giggles towards my answer. Were they ridiculing me?

Stolen novel; please report.

'What kind of priest fights on frontlines?'

'Is he stupid?'

'He must be joking, right?'

These murmurs entered my ears, but I dismissed them. I was confident in my answer.

Algor raised both of his brows in surprise, "Why are all of you laughing? He's correct." The laughter died down abruptly with his words. Murmurs of disbelief began.

'He wasn't joking?'

'How is he a priest?'

'He must be pulling our leg.'

"To be precise, I'm a Command Priest." Algor continued, deafening the whispers of the teenagers. It wasn't because of how famous his class was, but because of how most of the teenagers here in the plaza didn't know what a Command Priest was.

The woman beside me raised her hand once again, "Sir Algor, my peers are wondering what a Command Priest is?" she asked.

A wide smile formed on Algor's face, "Let me demonstrate," He grabbed the flask found hanging on his waist and took a sip before clearing his throat, "Ehem,"

Just what was he doi—?!

"Kneel," Algor spoke calmly as his eyes surveyed the plaza. Everyone who heard his voice was now kneeling in front of him against their own volition, "Now, do you understand what a Command Priest is?" He continued

My eyes widened as my line of thought was interrupted. My body moved on its own, and a few seconds later, I found myself kneeling on one knee. Some unknown weight put pressure on my shoulders, and I couldn't stand up.

"Ehem, let's start with the ceremony, shall we?" he continued as he snapped his fingers. The pressure on my shoulders disappeared instantly. Just what is that power?

"I would like everyone to stand up, and clasp their hands together. Once done, call upon which God you pray to. The God you pray upon will be the God who will lend you their power, so choose wisely." Algor instructed. Various names of Different Gods of old and new escaped the lips of the people around me.

I believed in multiple gods, but I had to choose which one to call upon. What do I yearn for? There was no basis on which God was the strongest. Who should I choose? This is hard.

I glanced to my right and noticed the girl beside me was also struggling. She must be having the same trouble as me. What do I want...? Suddenly a memory of my father crossed my mind. He only believed in one God, and it was Dione, The Goddess of Salvation.

Should I follow my father's path and call upon Dione? I shook my head. No, I should forge my own path.

"I call upon The Goddess of Blood, Silex."

As I uttered those words, a string of letters etched in the air by what I knew was divine magic appeared out of nowhere in front of me.

〘The Goddess of Blood, Silex. Answers your call.〙

〘The Goddess of Blood asks what do you long for?〙

"I yearn to know the mystery that clouds the defeat of the previous heroes," I answered.

〘The Goddess of Blood supports your ambition.〙

〘You have awoken your aspect〙

A golden light began to wrap around my body as I felt my whole being ascend to another level. So this was the feeling of awakening.

I closed my eyes and immersed myself in the feeling. I could feel the divine magic flowing through me. It felt like I was being cradled by the Gods themselves. This was pure bliss.

After a few seconds, I opened my eyes, and there I saw my awakened class.

〘Class: Hero〙

〘Archetype: Slavekeeper〙

〘Title: None〙

〘Primary Skill: Enslave〙

My eyes widened as I saw the text appear in front of me. This can't be...

"Congratulations on your awakening, young ones. I sense that a few of you have exceptional talent. You, boy who answered priest, what class did you awaken?" He pointed towards me.

"Hero," I answered, and a grim feeling crept upon me as seconds passed by.

The girl beside me raised her hand and spoke, "I also awoken as a Hero."

That's two...

From within the crowd, another person raised their hand. I couldn't see their appearance, but his voice sounded masculine.

That makes three...

Only 6 Heroes can appear in one instance in time. Counting the retired heroes, there are now 5. I slowly glanced over my shoulder, and there I saw a beautiful woman who stood behind me. Her hair flowed down like a silver waterfall, her eyes were a deep emerald green, and her skin was as smooth as porcelain.

I watched her slowly raise her hand, and that's when I realized my greatest fear had come.

"Um...I'm also a hero..." The beautiful girl spoke shyly.

"Four heroes..." Algor spoke in amazement and realization, "You all know what that means right...?" he trailed.

Everyone nodded their heads slowly as they, too had, realized what it meant.

The previous heroes have been wiped out. Zich, my father, was dead.