The hovering blue panel shimmered in front of Orion, cold light dancing across shattered desks and panicked faces.
"Level... Title... Class...
And Mana!"
"This is just like the fantasy novels and games"
A thrill crept its way into his eyes even as alarm bells clanged in his head as he studied the supernatural panel before him. He'd spent sick room years devouring fantasy novels to escape the taste of hospital gruel, now their tropes stared back at him in neat rows of data.
Orion could understand his status as they were pretty self-explanatory.
His spirit, strength, endurance, and stamina were high due to his daily exercise and strong mental strength, while his agility was low due to his 250-pound frame. The thing he was the most excited about was the Mana Stat. Magic, this was the dream of every child growing up and now it seems to have become a possibility.
" Mana 2... is that pathetic or decent?" he whispered wishing for a benchmark as he read the ability and skills section.
Ability: Gluttony (SSS) — Unique
"Gluttony huh, the voice said that the awakened abilities depended on our life record and given my life of overeating... this seems appropriate. This SSS in front of it must be its rating" muttered Orion as a grin tugged at his lips even amongst this hell.
"SSS" Even in games you rarely see that. Highest tier or at least close to it he reasoned.
"Hehe looks like I lucked out"
Whatever's coming, I've got an edge.
He sobered just as fast. Power would definitely draw challengers the way blood drew sharks. He needs to keep a straight mind and grow stronger faster.
If my guess is correct then with this talent I can get ahead in this race of evolution. Orion was not a naïve person in fact, all his years of suffering had made him pretty clear to the truth of the world.
He was clear that if this system could really grant them supernatural powers then it would simply be a short cut to bringing out the dark side in people, pretty soon it would be the law of the jungle, the survival of the fittest. The Earth would turn into a playground for the strong.
So, he had to think ahead and make the most of what he had to grow stronger so he could protect his mom and himself from the greed of this world.
Get strong. Find Mom. Keep her safe.
"Moreover, the voice said residents not humans…" muttered Orion as he thought deeper "humans most probably aren't the only ones evolving".
Across the room Brian, an athletic, blond eighteen-year-old pushed to his feet standing atop a toppled desk and shouted, "EVERYONE LISTEN UP!" blood trickling from one ear, he still wore the captain's armband from last year's inter‑ward relay—a symbol of a future now ash and rubble.
"Brian," thought Orain as he came out of his thoughts and looked at the man who spoke, "he always was the leader type".
Brian seeing that he had somewhat gotten the people's attention bellowed.
" Everyone listen up! In this time of crisis panicking will do you no good. I want everyone to listen to me. You all heard the voice. I think it's telling the truth. You can see for yourself by following its instructions. Call out status in your heads and some things will be made clear."
The students now somewhat calmer due to Brian's shout stopping their spiraling thoughts, took deep breaths and slowly followed the instructions.
"Huh it opened"
" What...? Mana is this real"
" H-holy… this is just like a game"
" Level and class? Can we really become stronger like in the novels?"
A series of different exclamations arose around the room as the students opened their statuses.
After listening to the students who spoke up even the few who were skeptical of Brian's words followed suit. Soon everyone had seen their statuses.
Brian pressed on. "Good. Now that you all have seen your status we can move forward and find a way out of this predicament. The voice - system mentioned abilities. If any of you have any abilities please speak up. If this is really like a game then there must be talents related to healing. I'll go first. I have a C rank great strength talent it boosts my strength" said Brian in a single breath.
"Smart move" Orion's eyes narrowed. Reveal something to encourage others.
"This guy can adapt quickly; others would have been reluctant to reveal their talents if he hadn't revealed his first… but who knows if that really is his real talent, " he muttered suspiciously.
"Anyway it's a plus for me as I can learn more about the system this way" Orion focused his ears to hear what the others would reveal. But unfortunately, only 2 more people spoke up. A girl with track star legs with a D rank speed talent and another boy with a useless F grade hearing talent, while the rest said they can't see their talent on their status.
"If they're telling the truth then it seems the probability of one having a talent is extremely low, much less a high-ranking one. It seems my talent is something much greater than I thought "
Orian excitedly took another look at his talent section, realizing the absurd rarity of an SSS ability. His own value soared in his mind, but so did the target on his back.
He closed off his panel and kept a poker face.
Everyone else also seemed to have made this connection as the talentless people started to look pale, eyes turning hollow, while to 2 who had a talent were excited knowing they were one of many.
Brian seeing the situation again turning bleak hid his disappointment in the crowd as best as he could and spoke up.
" Everyone there's no need to get worried just because u have no talent right now doesn't mean you can't awaken one later, for now we need WOOH…AHH"
Brian was just in the middle of his speech when the world started to shake again, much more violently this time.
The floor heaved dust pouring from the ceiling cracks, forcing Orian to remember the system's words "the earth will undergo its final transformation in 10 minutes… SHIT"