Chapter Two - Ceremony
Despite how calm I may have seemed when my parents told me about their deal with the goddess, I was freaking out the entire day! There are always rumors about some people carrying grudges through to the next lifetimes and beyond. Some insanely powerful people at level 1000 live for WAY too long, and they keep an eye out for old rivals. Also, there are some really bad people who are on the Kill-On-Sight list for the government. Whenever these people are reborn, they are immediately put to death as soon as the government finds out. For, these people committed crimes so heinous that no second chance is ever allowed!
Of course, these are all just rumors. I looked it up after my parents told me, the last time someone on the KOS list was reborn was nearly a thousand years ago and there’d only been two other incidents of this in the entire written history of the world! According to some of the books in the libraries, the chances of being reborn on the same planet after death is one in two-hundred quadrillion… I had to look up the number… it's big.
That being said, according to my parents I have a “very special soul”. In the past, some people had been killed because their gifts were too good, or their titles bespoke deeds that’d shaken entire universes. What could I have done to make a deity think I’m “Very Special”?
Before today, I’d just been a normal kid who was looking forward to the coming of age ceremony with a little trepidation, but not much. Many people learned of their true callings, were forced into certain lines of work, for instance certain titles require you to receive education at a military or magic academy, while others find themselves ostracized because of their weird, or seemingly useless titles. Although, if there’s anything that history has taught me, there is no such thing as a useless title.
Before the ceremony, it is nearly impossible to increase your stats. Through insanely tough physical training you might increase your strength by one or two points, by reading a ton and focusing on the sciences, attempting to understand how the world and universe works you might increase your intelligence or wisdom. By gambling a lot, you might increase or decrease your luck. But, overall every race has a set base-line that everybody starts at when they reach their coming of age ceremony. For humans, most have 3-4 strength, 4-5 agility, 4-5 intelligence, 1-2 wisdom, 1 toughness, 0-2 perception, 0 defence and 0-1 mental defence, 1-10 charisma, and willpower 1-25.
However, after your coming of age ceremony every race gains stats based on their effort. If you truly attempt to increase a stat with all of your might, it will increase. What sets people apart at their coming of age ceremony is not their stats, but rather their titles. Some come with passive increases in stats, while others decrease how much training you need to gain certain stats. Others allow your magic or physical attacks to deal extra damage, make the food you make taste better, or even passively make you look better.
Despite how this makes it so some people are able to leap off to a massive head-start in life, the best thing about the system is it allows those who truly wish to become more powerful and are willing to work at it succeed. Thus, instead of training for stats most great families, educational institutions, and empires value people who are determined and have an enormous amount of willpower. Because of this, testing to get into prestigious schools, as well as the education of noble children tends to focus almost entirely on mental toughness.
Anyway, my father is a summoner and I always figured I’d just follow his footsteps. From a young age I’ve enjoyed books, I’m quite certain that I’ll get the common “Bookworm” title that increases reading speeds by 50% during the ceremony. Because of the massive amount of learning, intelligence, and wisdom required to become a mage or summoner the most important factor is an endless desire to learn that seems to be ingrained in certain people from the moment of their birth. I’ve already had meetings with my dad’s alma mater, and unless the ceremony goes horribly wrong I’ll likely go to school there. It helps that dad is friends with the current headmaster and I’m fairly certain that he has some dirt on him… Hopefully, my plans won’t be changed today.
“.... and we wish all of our students graduating today the best of luck in any and all of their endeavors. May you seek your dreams to their fullest and live bright, happy lives.”
The speaker on stage finally finished speaking after what seemed like three hours, shaking me out of my day-dreaming and worrying.
“Thank god, I was about to kill myself.” whispered a girl behind me to her friends.
“Look, I think the vice-principal fell asleep! Look at all that drool.” The girls behind me started to giggle as the watched the VP wake himself up and walk forward for his speech.
Up on the stage, the VP pulled out a status crystal and placed it in a special pedestal. Afterwards, he walked up to the podium and cleared his voice before saying, “Students, parents, congratulations on surviving the most boring speech of your life.” Pausing for the expected applause and laughter he turned to wink at the Principal. The look of exasperation on his face was priceless, even from nearly three-hundred feet away. “Now, for the exciting part! Peter Alliston please come up and place your hand on the status crystal… “
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Going by the name of Keselth Sagefang, I had a loooooooooong time to wait. There’s a reason I’m sitting nearly three-hundred feet from the stage surrounded by virtual strangers afterall. I go to Skycrest Academy, the number one readying school in the Vox Dynasty, an empire covering the entirety of the Continent of Aileth.
Skycrest Academy is incredibly expensive, and a mark of prestige. The Vox Dynasty oversees the school and its curriculum, which focuses heavily on discipline, including mandatory military conduct classes, swordsmanship, archery, and survival classes that match the harshest conditions of military bootcamps. They also manage to somehow pack arithmetic, history, science, and two elective classes into the 12 hour long school-days.
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All nobles and rich merchants save up in order to afford the exorbitant entrance fees. The only ones exempt from the fees are the children of military men and adventurers who have served the Dynasty with great bravery and accomplished great feats. The Dynasty goes so far as to send every single member to Skycrest, seeing this as a way to have their children interact with the children of famous, powerful men and women whose levels surpass the average adventure by hundreds. The Vox Dynasty even goes so far as to encourage their children to marry the children of these famous adventures and military men thus binding them to the Dynasty with blood. As the son of Allisa and Vathum Sagefang, the sole survivors of the only successful dungeon clear in the last thousand years, I got in for free.
Unfortunately, the popularity of the school and my last name means that I sat nearly two-thousand seats back from the stage… thank god my name doesn’t start with a Z...
Bored…
On stage, people excitedly announce their titles, and show their stats to the world while the most prestigious military and magic academies in the world watch. Even some exceptionally powerful individuals attend in hopes of finding a new disciple, or just because being invited to sit on the stage in incredibly prestigious. Looking up, I see my parents sitting directly next to the Crown Prince of the Vox Dynasty talking animatedly… Somehow, I just know they’re talking about setting me up with the princess again…
Every now and then, a name I recognize or title that surprises me would be announced that caught my attention…
“Kersiie, Prince of Puneum” was announced, Puneum was a small island kingdom that maintained its independence from all empires but has close ties with the Vox Dynasty. Kersiie was one of the few people I actually enjoyed talking too… “has received the title of Bookworm which is incredibly useful for those wishing to pursue magics and summoning. He has also recieved the title of Royalty which multiples charisma by 3, and Wise Beyond His Years, which grants two wisdom!” At the last, various people started clapping. Any title that increases stats is incredibly rare; I hollered, surprising everyone seated near me since I had been apathetic to almost everyone else. “What? I can’t cheer on my friends?” I asked the people sitting near me.
I’m awakened from my stupor as the person to my left stands up and enters the short line waiting to go on stage. In order to cut down waiting time, the next ten people in line walk to the stage early so they don’t have to wait for the people to traverse the entire distance to the stage… by the time it gets to the back it's nearly a thousand foot hike. Not wanting to wait any longer, I stand up and start walking to the stage early, my ass was starting to go numb.
Finally, “Keselth Sagefang” is announced and as I walk onto the stage a hush instantly descends on the entire auditorium. “Freaking famous parents…” I muttered under my breath. On the stage, I see the Principle of the Academy I wish to attend straighten in his chair and nod at me. My parents smile widely, while the in the stands surrounding the stage many nobles and merchants pay close attention. “Fucking famous parents…” I said it a bit louder, and this time the Vice-Principal heard me. He had to hide his smile behind his hands, while my mom’s smile turned into a glare… damned high-level archers and their enhanced senses.
As I placed my left hand on the Status Crystal, I felt a force within me react to it. I could feel my soul twisting, and for just a moment a pain so great that I lost control of my body. Unable to scream, move, or even breathe. It lasted for only a moment, but once it passed I regained control of my body as if nothing had happened. In front of me, a screen had appeared automatically announcing my stats and titles to the world.
NameKeselth SagefangAge15ClassN/AGuildN/AProfessionN/ALevel1Health94Health Regen.22/secondMana65Mana Regen.36/secondStrength3Intelligence6Agility4Wisdom3Toughness1Perception3Defense0Mental Defense1Charisma4Willpower21TitlesBookwormSummoners LegacyReading Speed Increased by 50%Summoning Spells require 15% less manaArcher's LegacyBorn FamousAttacks with a Bow deal 15% more Damage; Perception increases 50% quickerCharisma is multiplied by twoThe Ultimate SacrificeStats Increase 50% Faster
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“Keselth Sagefang is the holder of the common title bookworm. The uncommon Title’s Summoner’s Legacy, Archer’s Legacy, and Born Famous, as well as the Unique Title, The Ultimate Sacrifice which effects are unkown not only to us, but also to Keselth himself.”