In no time the three weeks of apparent peace were over, and my birthday was here. Once the hour at which I had been born arrived, I would awaken, receiving the Status Window and the profession that had made the original Marcus Blade the potential man of my girlfriend's novel.
It would be wrong to say that I wasn't nervous, after all, there was a chance that my gamble failed, right? After all, although this body was the body of Marcus Blade, the soul was no longer the same. Something like this never happened in the novel, nor was it ever mentioned the importance of the soul in regard to the profession given by the System.
"Don't be nervous, sweetie. Mommy is here."
As if noticing my own apprehension, my mother showed a small smile, although it didn't help much, considering that her face was not in a good state.
After so much time worrying about being separated from me, news of my deal with the elders of the Blade family reached her. She was ecstatic, I almost suffocated or had my spine broken under that powerful hug.
However, as the weeks passed and the date of my awakening approached, she once again fell into stress. She even delved into superstition and tried to in some way influence which profession I would receive.
The amount of weird rituals she made me go through was unbelievable.
My mom then led me towards the courtyard of the Forger family. There the elders of both families were already present.
The Blade family was, as always, carrying swords, their physiques hidden behind ceremonial robes.
The Forger family was way more eye-catching. They all had bulging muscles, and some of them had several burn marks, made from years of forging.
Both the High Elder and my father came to greet us.
"You are finally here."
It was the High Elder who spoke, my father stayed silent, giving a silent gaze at my mother, betraying seemingly no emotion. My mother, on the other hand, stared fiercely at him, apparently with anger, betrayal, and disgust?
Noticing my gaze on her, she reverted to her usual gentle expression.
"Sweetie, your grandfather spoke to you, shouldn't you answer?" she reminded me.
"Ah! Hello, High Elder."
He just nodded.
"The awakening is close, let's get ready."
My father finally spoke, looking at me for the first time today.
With that, I was now seated in the middle of the Blade and Forging Family's elders, waiting.
Until suddenly.
A huge shockwave sounded. Blowing away leaves, pieces of grass and making the clothes of those present flutter in the wind.
A sound reached my ears.
[Congratulations. You have Awakened.]
[Adapting body...]
[Body Adaptation Complete]
[Unsealing Profession...]
[Profession [Cosmic Forger (SS)] unsealed]
[Accessing Status Window...]
[Status Window Accessed]
[Sharing Clearance Status to Awakened...]
[Clearence Status shared]
[
Name: Marcus Blade
Age: 5
Rank: G-
Talent: S+
Profession: Cosmic Forger (SS)
Strength: G
Speed: G
Stamina: G-
Vitality: F+
Magic: F-
Willpower: D
Charisma: A+ (This stat is completely unrelated to mana or combat, this stat cannot be evolved)
Skills:
→[Blade's Basic Sword Art (G)] (12% proficiency)
→[Forger's Crafting Arts (G)] (18% profiency)
→[Magic Arts (G)] (10% profiency)
Profession Skills:
→[Cosmic Forge's Flame (A)] (0% proficiency)
→[Cosmic Forge (SS)](0% proficiency)
]
'Huh. About what I expected.'
"The awakening has ended. Bring me an Appraisal Slate."
Grandfather quickly called out.
Appraisal Slates were inventions born from a quite famous, slightly rare profession called [Appraiser]. It had the ability to read someone's status window and then carve it onto itself. This was particularly useful for organizations like Guilds and Mercenary Associations.
In this world, the awakened were tasked to venture outside human civilization to win back the territories lost during The Catastrophe. Lying about your rank and skills was pretty common in old times, so Apraisal Slates were quite a saving grace.
Imagine dying in your expedition because the guy from the Mercenary Association was, in fact, not capable of healing, or he was, but his skill was only a D-Rank?
Not fun.
Grandfather was given an Appraisal Slate and used it on me.
[Do you wish to share your Status Window with the device named: ASBF-****-7***9 ?]
[Yes] [No]
'Yes'
After giving authorization to have my status window shared, the Appraisal Slate on my grandfather's hands started to slowly be carved.
First showing my name, then age, rank, and the focus of this whole occasion, my talent and profession.
[
Talent: S+
Profession: Cosmic Forger (SS)
]
Talent was a stat that determined the evolution speed of an awakened, determining the highest Rank they will ever achieve and the speed that would take to reach each realm.
Having a Talent stat of S+ meant that the highest Rank I will ever reach is SS- and that my progress was going to exponentially slow down once I reached the B+ Rank.
But the real focus today was my profession, [Cosmic Forger (SS)].
This profession gave me two skills, [Cosmic Forge's Flame (A)] and [Cosmic Forge (SS)]. The former allowed me to summon a flame that could be used for combat as well as modify anything that it touched. The original Marcus mainly used its offensive abilities.
The latter was the main focus of the profession. It used cosmic energy, i.e., the fusion of mana and aura, to create weapons out of thin air by using the user's knowledge of said weapons. Of course, it wasn't limited to just weapons.
Of course, there was no way for the people present, except for me, to know that. However, the profession name, "Cosmic Forger," was enough to make people understand what exactly its main field of operation was.
And with this, it was checkmate.
'With such an incredible profession that leaned into the Forger family's specialty, and the fact that it was a Rank SS profession, the Blade family COULDN'T let such a talented awakened go.'
They wouldn't have a choice but to cease hostilities, or at the very least public hostilities, in order to keep me tied to their family while also getting the education that would most profit me, which could be given by the Forger family for free! They only had to let me be with my mother.
"I see, it seems that we are in quite the situation."
My grandfather spoke.
"High Elder! What exactly is the boy's profession?"
Someone from the Blade family asked.
"His profession is called "Cosmic Forger." For now, I believe that the elders of each family should take a good look at this Appraisal Slate and talk to each other before we resume negotiations."
Now I just had to wait.
The Appraisal Slate was passed around. The elders of the Blade Family, especially the ones that had voted against this whole situation, frowned.
The elders of the Forger Family seemed quite content, on the other hand.
After that, both families' elders grouped around and started discussing things. I stayed out of it, waiting to hear their solutions.
From what I could tell, the Blade Family was stuck in a dilemma: either start negotiations and relinquish some of the influence they might've had over such a talented awakened in the future, or ignore the deal and steal my custody, most likely wasting all the talent and potential they so wanted to possess.
The Forger family, on the other hand, were not worried about what to do, that was quite clear. Teach the boy to become a master forger, however, being the weaker side, they were still worried about what the Blade family would do.
They eventually made a decision and turned towards each other, ready to negotiate.
"We, the elders of the Blade Family, represented by me, the High Elder, have reached a decision."
"We, the elders of the Forger Family, represented by me, the Family Patriarch, have reached a decision."
They spoke at the same time.
They paused, looking at each other as if trying to discern who should speak first. The High Elder went first.
"The Blade family believes that family member Marcus' profession has a lot of potential for our swordsmanship. However, we recognize that the main core of the profession can only be properly cultivated by your family, Patriarch. But there is still a great hurdle in the path of the boy. As someone as talented as him, only a giant in the political game like the Blade family can properly protect him and find allies in the political and social stage for him to grow."
He paused, letting the Patriarch speak after him.
"The Forger family is in agreement. The best place for young Marcus to grow is undoubtedly our family, however, we also recognize the dangers that housing such a talented individual with our meager strength poses to not only us but, most importantly, the boy."
He paused and took a deep breath.
"We are willing to reach an agreement on how to divide the time for the boy to learn our forging techniques and your swordsmanship."
"We are as well."
They both walked closer and shook hands. I heard my mother sob and cry of joy, the stress that she had been holding on her shoulder washing away with relief.
'I did it.'
**********
Author's Notes: One more chapter. The initial hurdle has been surpassed by our protagonist. What will happen now?
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