CHAPTER 1
Azzimus Forthridge was a likeable kid. He did his chores, he helped in the farm in the summer days, and he sewed pelts into garments for winter.
Born seventh to a family of nine little Forthridges, he was both an endearing little brother and a kind older one.
He was fallible. Like all children, he had extravagant hopes for the class he would awaken on his sixteenth birthday, and he would boast as if he’d already gotten it. Azzimus the Knight. That was his dream.
But fewer than one fifth of the population awakened to military classes, and significantly fewer still would awaken one of a high tier like the Knight.
Azzimus was seventh in a family of nine children. The way he saw it, since the six before him awakened to civilian classes, then the odds that he struck one in five and became a hero were in his favour.
After all, the Neverend were an enemy that would always threaten the lives of his friends and loved ones. Settlements were overrun all the time, and they didn’t exactly rise again.
Azzimus was just one of many children that held this dream, and like many, he would likely learn to keep his head down as he matured. He would till the fields or swing the hammer and support those that would protect him. He would level through his labour, support his defenders wholeheartedly, and feel like a small, vital part of a much greater whole.
Or, he wouldn’t.
The day of Azzimus’ birth was like any other. The anniversary, even more so.
He crouched amongst fields of raspberries, carefully pinching them and dropping them into a wide bucket of little depth. It wouldn’t do to crush them, least of all under their own weight.
“Azzimus!”
Smiling, Azzimus jumped to his feet and peeked over the raspberry filled hedges.
“Teldesi! Lunch time already?”
The teenager huffed and puffed and slowed to a stop with her hands on her knees.
“How do you do this every day?”
Azzimus scoffed and crossed his arms. With an air of righteousness, he shook his head.
“That’s right! Shake your head in wonder at my drive!”
“You moron.” Teldesi shook her chestnut locks and rolled her eyes. “Come on. It’s today.”
“What’s today?”
“You, stupid!”
It took a minute for Azzimus’ brain to catch up, but when it did, he went bug-eyed and dragged Teldesi from the field in a rush.
“W-How could I forget?!”
“You’ve been working too hard. I keep telling you to take a break. Hey! Don’t pull so hard!”
Her words fell on deaf ears, but despite that a wide smile crossed her face.
As the sibling closest to her in age, Azzimus held a special place in her heart. The big brother that would work himself to death in the future, if only a class wouldn’t prevent such a thing.
It wasn’t out of any request or obligation. To her, Azzimus clearly just enjoyed using his hands and doing what he could to help. It was what drove him to do everything he did.
He wasn’t a doormat, he just genuinely liked putting a smile on people’s faces.
Teldesi stumbled over a wayward shovel in their path.
“Okay seriously, slow down!”
…
The closer they got to town, the less they spoke.
It was an important day for Azzimus, and his nerves were high. As for Teldesi, she held his hand in silent support.
In reality they hadn’t been far from the town proper at all. The fields were already well within the walls, as if it were any other way, the crops wouldn’t last a single night.
The two crossed dirt streets full of mulling pedestrians and passed by wooden homes and taverns. They waved at those they knew and pet the neighbourhood dog when it ran by. They were in a rush and strayed from getting stuck into any untimely chatter, however, much to the consternation of Grandma Taylor.
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The pair eventually reached a cathedral, built of smooth stone and stained windows, the only building of its kind in Morza. The doors were wide and heavy but took to surprisingly little force. After Azzimus gave it a strong shove, they creaked open.
The cathedral was richly adorned with tapestries and lanterns, and the tall, stained windows dyed the light a variety of colours.
Aside from the religious decorations for which no expense was spared, there were only benches leading up to a simple lectern placed behind three wide, wooden steps. A door in the back of the chamber might lead to more, but Azzimus had never explored that far.
“Would you be Azzimus, then?”
Azzimus’ eyes darted to the figure of a wizened old man picking through a book in the light cast by a window.
He hadn’t realized that someone was standing right next to the entryway, but he didn’t let his surprise show. He wanted to make a good impression on his class day.
“That’s me, sir.”
Clap.
The book slammed shut and the priest nodded.
“Come with me, then.” The priest’s eyes moved to Teldesi. “And you can watch if you would like.”
With that, the priest turned around and slowly walked toward the lectern. Azzimus nervously followed behind, and Teldesi pat him on the back gingerly.
She was also nervous, but more than that, she had never seen Azzimus so unsteady. In her heart, he was the older brother that she had always looked up to, as he was always surefooted and confident. That this affected him so much increased her own nerves.
“Azzimus the Knight,” he whispered incessantly.
“Azzimus the Knight,” Teldesi parroted.
It was extremely unlikely to get a high-tier class, and while wishing for it wouldn’t help, it carried no harm and helped his focus.
“Alright, Azzimus.”
The priest reached the lectern and lay upon it the book in his hands. The priest moved into position as if he was going to conduct a sermon, but then left his hands on the book and gazed upon Azzimus with a searching gaze.
“Calm yourself. Now, under the light of the goddess.”
It was a simple ceremony that Azzimus knew the words to. A simplistic affair that he had observed with the awakenings of all his elder siblings.
The priest brought forth, from no discernible pocket, a simple goblet. With but a gesture of the priest’s hand, the light of the cathedral abruptly moved as if tangible, and after a moment, it became as if liquid. The priest spoke words of wisdom, plucked straight from the book he’d placed on the lectern.
But Azzimus wasn’t listening.
The light spilling through the windows swirled into the goblet. The cathedral, apart from the priest and the goblet in his hand, turned to heavy, immeasurable darkness.
Azzimus couldn’t even see his own hands.
Between them had been a mere lectern, but to Azzimus, it felt like an unreachable distance. As if the priest in front of him was no mere man, but a figure of impossible heights that he could never compare with.
But it was just a hallucination. He shook his head and pushed it to the back of his mind.
After five long minutes, light flooded the cathedral once again. A subtle pressure Azzimus hadn’t noticed fell from his shoulders, and the priest wiped thick sweat from his brow.
“Come now, drink before it loses power.”
Gingerly, Azzimus accepted the goblet into his hands. The priest took a step and immediately wobbled, but Azzimus quickly reached over and stopped him from falling.
“Careful!”
The priest smiled. “I am getting old, it seems. If you really want to be helpful, might you do me a favour and awaken the Priest class?”
Azzimus laughed, and a tension in his heart loosened.
He stared into the goblet, at the red liquid that sloshed around the golden cup, and his mind wandered. He thought of the future, unknown to him now, but would be set irreversibly to a predetermined path once he simply downed this cup.
“Superstition says that the longer you stare, the less suitable the class you awaken.”
Hearing the words, Azzimus stopped hesitating and upturned the goblet.
[Initializing…]
He burped and wiped his lips. The taste, while not nice, wasn’t terrible.
It was too late for worries or concerns. Azzimus merely closed his eyes and waited. After all, the words of the goddess would cross his eyes no matter if his lids were shut or not.
[Name Discovered!]
[Azzimus Forthridge]
[Special Characteristics Discovered!]
Azzimus clenched his fists.
[Driven]
[Strong-willed]
[Self-deluding]
He sighed but nodded along with the traits he was given. He agreed with all three, and two positive stat bonuses to outbalance one negative was considered lucky.
[Class Discovered!]
It was at this point that Azzimus opened his eyes and looked to his sister. Teldesi looked back and gave him two thumbs up.
“Azzimus the Knight.”
He smiled. He already decided that it didn’t matter what class the goddess gave him. He didn’t really have to-
[Warrior]
His thoughts were immediately derailed. Even the initial joy at being a combat class and the expectation of a combat-related unique skill was swiftly shoved aside with a delude of messages.
[Unique Skill Discovered!]
[Unique Skill Incorrect!]
[Unique Skill Discarded!]
“Wait what-”
[Unique Skill Generated!]
[Unique Skill Incorrect!]
[Unique Skill Discarded!]
Blunt horror filled his mind and his eyes went unfocused. He didn’t even think to tell the confused priest or his wide-eyed sister what was happening, already teetering on the edge of shock.
[Reboot!]
[Initializing…]
[Unique Skill Generated!]
[Wish]
[Class Discovered!]
[Knight]
[Class Incorrect!]
[Merge Complete!]
[Class Discovered!]
[War Knight]
[Attributes Determined!]
Azzimus felt severely manhandled. When arms enveloped his shoulders and slowly finished his descent to the ground, he realized he’d collapsed.
Wild transformations perforated his flesh. Energy that spawned from nowhere riddled his organs. Even his brain felt foggy, and his heart extraordinary heavy.
He opened his eyes, to meet Teldesi’s worried but expectant gaze.
“I’m a knight, sis.”
Azzimus promptly fainted.