Moon's hands began to tremble. This wasn't right. The voice was explaining the basics of the First Sanctuary as if he belonged here, as if he had the same right to be present as the awakened students around him.
[May your journey be prosperous. Welcome, once more, to the First Sanctuary.]
The presence faded, leaving behind a profound silence that was quickly filled by excited chatter. Students began comparing notes, discussing what they'd heard, marvelling at their surroundings.
Moon stood frozen, his mind racing.
An error. It had to be an error. Some terrible glitch in whatever system governed the summoning process. His luck, already abysmal today, had somehow managed to get worse. Instead of being cleanly rejected and sent home, he'd slipped through a crack, been overlooked by the mechanism that should have filtered him out.
His breathing quickened, and panic crept up his spine like ice water.
He had no class or abilities. Essentially, he had no way to defend himself if he left the safety of this base and from what he understood, people couldn't just leave the First Sanctuary whenever they wanted on their first visit. There was a minimum duration, usually a week, before the return portals would accept a new arrival.
He'd have to survive here for an entire week with nothing but his baseline human capabilities. No system interface to track his health, no skills to call upon, no power to protect him and no food to eat.
Moon's eyes moved around the courtyard.
[You may check your status by thinking or uttering the word 'status'.]
The spirit's voice returned with this final instruction.
It was common knowledge, really.
Every child knew this from the moment they learned about Awakeners. But hearing it directly from the spirit made Moon respond instinctively, despite knowing he had no class to display.
"Status," he whispered.
Light coalesced before his eyes, forming into a translucent panel that only he could see.
[ Name: Moon ]
[ Race: Human ]
[ Class: Classless ]
[ Level: 1 ][ 0% ]
[ Lives: 1 ]
[ Strength: 10 ] [ Agility: 12 ] [ Constitution: 12 ] [ Mana: 15 ]
[ Attribute Points: 0 ]
[ Skills: None ]
[ Talent: Grim Reaper]
[ Class Skill: Class Slot {0/1} ]
Moon stared at the panel, his mind grinding to a halt.
How could he have a status while being a Null? That made no sense. Nulls were rejected by the system entirely. They didn't get panels. They didn't get stats. They certainly didn't get talents or class skills.
Was something wrong with the awakening orb? Had it malfunctioned? Maybe his awakening hadn't failed after all.
Before he could process this revelation, the world dissolved again.
This time, Moon appeared inside a massive base with huge, sturdy walls. Other students materialised nearby, filling what appeared to be some sort of plaza. The architecture around was solid, defensible, unmistakably designed for safety.
Moon looked around, trying to orient himself, when a girl with big round eyes and two ponytails approached him. She looked young, probably one of the new awakeners, and radiated nervous energy.
"Hey...I'm kind of new here. I just entered the First Sanctuary. Can I...form a team with you?" She looked at Moon with an expectant gaze.
Moon glanced at her for a second, his thoughts racing. Getting a team would be ideal for survival. He still didn't understand what was happening with his status, so playing it safe made sense. Besides, if she was an awakened, she wouldn't be completely helpless. Having someone with actual abilities would increase his odds dramatically.
"Sure, but can you give me a moment? I'm just sorting out some things."
The relief on her face was immediate. Her breath that was caught suddenly left her chest.
"Oh, thank you! Yes, of course, take your time." She stepped back slightly, her eyes darting around the base with undisguised curiosity.
Moon turned his attention back to his status panel, focusing on the entries that made no sense.
[Class: Classless]
[Description: You are an anomaly. Whilst everyone is tied to a class from their birth, you are free from the restrictions of the system. You are able to learn any skill from any class based on your comprehension or from fruitful encounters.]
His breath caught. Learn any skill from any class? That was impossible. Classes were rigid by design. A mage couldn't learn sword techniques. A knight couldn't cast spells. The system enforced those boundaries absolutely.
But apparently, he had no such restrictions.
His eyes moved to the next entry.
[Talent: Grim Reaper]
[Description: You are the Grim Reaper; you gain 5x the lives from the beasts you kill.]
Moon's mind reeled.
Lives were the currency of progression in the First Sanctuary. When Awakeners killed monsters, they absorbed a portion of the creature's essence, gaining what the system called "lives" that could be used for evolving skills after their first class advancements, trading and most importantly to live.
The first sanctuary had multiple zones some zones once you die there, you will lose a single life. But there were other zones where, once you die, you lose tens or even hundreds of lives.
Five times the normal amount. That wasn't just good. That was extraordinary. Most talents offered minor percentage increases or small utility benefits. This was a complete multiplicative bonus on the fundamental resource of this world.
His hands shook as he focused on the final entry.
[Class Slot {0/1}]
[Description: You are able to mirror a class you see in action for twenty-four hours. You gain the class skills of that class depending on your level. The class skills you gain can be turned to real skills based on your understanding and comprehension.]
Moon read it twice. Then a third time.
He could copy classes. Not permanently, but for twenty-four hours at a time. And more than that, if he understood the borrowed skills well enough, he could make them permanent. Real skills that would persist even after the mirrored class expired.
His failure to awaken hadn't been a failure at all. It had been something else entirely. Something the awakening orb couldn't recognise because it fell outside the standard.
He was an anomaly.