After looking over his options, he thought hard about it.
"For your information, you have 10 minutes left until you are forced to leave and join the others."
...he thought hard and fast about it.
Warrior and rogue were out of the picture, he didn't want to be up close and personal. Ranger he didn't mind but he thought it would be a lot of training for something so mundane like shooting and trapping. So the real options were Magician and Cleric.
The Cleric had great potential in his eyes. Healing, protection, support. Those were valuable assets. If the world was about to explode into a bloody mess, then every Cleric alive would be in high demand. It's supply and demand - simple economics. If Olek chose Cleric, he could name his price. It's also not a very flashy or glorified class like the others, who threw fireballs, and chopped heads off. Scarcity means leverage, and he liked it a lot more when he looked at it like that.
But as he tapped his arm and looked at Magician, the more it seemed like the obvious choice.
First, it was new. Magic didn't even exist on Earth until today. Nobody has the upper hand, no nepo babies bouncing off of Daddy's money, it's an even playing ground. Not to mention his natural stats aligned with it.
Secondly, it was scalable. Punching, slashing, and piercing things was something anyone could do. Now, maybe because he wasn't knowledgeable in the subject, but there wasn't much diversity in these areas. But magic? It had breadth. He reckoned there were fields and fields of study that could completely revolutionize Earth. Who ever mastered one field wouldn't just be valuable, they'd be indispensable, not to mention holding a monopoly.
And finally, magic was just fucking cool. Fireballs, teleportation, lightning strikes - this shit didn't exist before. Now that it did? He didn't want to just watch others reign arcane terror upon enemies, he wanted to do it himself.
Cleric may have merit. But Magician was profitable, scalable, and fun. Now that's a concoction for successful business.
Olek nods assuredly, "I choose Magician."
The Envoy's faceless voice responded immediately.
"Class chosen: Magician. Core attribute: Intelligence"
He was expecting that to be all, but it was not done just yet.
A small pillar of black glass rose in front of him up to his chest, a square segment unboxed itself, revealing a plain see-through orb.
"And this is?" He raised an eyebrow.
"This orb will analyse your aptitude with magic and the element you are most proficient at using. You will be graded using the universal mana grading system. E -> D -> C -> B -> A -> S -> EX."
Grade of aptitude? That rung alarm bells throughout Olek's mind. He was starting to think this 'level playing ground' he'd imagined wasn't so equal.
"How does this aptitude affect the caster?" He inquired.
"One's aptitude with mana is a measurement of a Magician's ability to control mana, and is pivotal to their growth. Please note this aptitude can increase through practice and evolving."
"Evolving?" That only left him with more questions.
"Yes. As you grow in levels, your genetic makeup will evolve. This is something only truly understood through experience, and thus I will refrain from explaining as time is limited in this space."
Olek frowned. "Is there a possibility I can change class?"
"..."
"That would not change anything. All candidates have their aptitude analysed, mana is an integral part of the universe and is used by all creatures. Please note, one's aptitude is not a determining factor of one's success in the universe. There are myriad cases of people with no aptitude, rising to great heights."
Olek shook his head, "Aye, but for a gods damned Magician, it's pretty damn important."
"...yes."
He felt a vein pop out his forehead, but sighed. It didn't matter, he wanted to use magic and that was that. He was sure he'd have the chance to pick up a blade if his aptitude was abysmal.
All he could hope was that thanks to his high intelligence, maybe it meant his aptitude would be better as he placed his hand on the orb.
"Analysis started... Please do not remove your hand from the orb."
It felt like electrical signals were being sent throughout his body, his palm tingled as he held onto the orb.
The sensation faded, leaving silence in the black plane.
"Hm."
"What do you mean by hm?" Olek started to sweat.
"This isunusual."
The Envoy sounded unsure, causing Olek's heart great distress.
"I gather that from the hm! What about my aptitude?" He pleaded for an answer.
As he said that, his status appeared once more;
[ Class: Magician | Aptitude: EX | Affinity: Space ]
Olek's eyes and smile were as wide as saucers seeing this result, "Holy shit! EX aptitude! And freaking space magic?!"
He was ecstatic, now he could only assume the cause of the Envoy's surprise were the grade of his aptitude.
"Indeed. Space affinity... On a human..."
Wait, that was the surprising part?
"Is space affinity rare or something?" He asked.
"...Well, yes and no. Affinities are usually tied to race. Human's under normal circumstances don't have the chance to be attuned to space due to racial limitations."
"Then... why do I have it?"
His brow furrowed, he scanned his system menu, there was nothing else on his system that indicated to a reason why it was the case.
"Hence the peculiarity."
The Envoy was quiet, perhaps in thought for a moment before responding.
"To have an EX grade aptitude and space affinity as a low grade human... It means he practically breathes space mana, but... Could it? No- Well, maybe."
"No matter. If I do not conclusively understand. I am not permitted to explain. Apologies."
Olek sighed, before shaking his head and regaining his smile.
EX aptitude? That had to be good, no matter how he looked at it. And spatial magic...
Did that mean teleportation? Portals? Creating something similar to this plane? He didn't know, but he was ecstatic at the thought.
"Not to quell your excitement. But this universe is a vast and dangerous place, the Tutorial you are about to be placed in is no cake-walk as it is to prepare you. Vigilance and humility is advised to aid your chance at survival, even with your aptitude, you could die in a moment."
Well that was a sobering thought.
Still, it would certainly give him advantages others didn't possess, for the first time in his life - he might actually be the given the silver spoon. All that character building since birth can be put to good use.
Olek nodded, agreeing with the Envoy, "Got it."
"Good. In a moment, there should be an overview of your basic starting skills, usually, people start with 3 skills, however due to your high aptitude you are granted one more skill attuned to your affinity."
There was a sound like the snap of fingers, and right he was, in front of him were more screens to read over.
"You have two minutes."
[ Skill Acquired ]: Mana Manipulation (Novice) -A magicians nature is to manipulate mana, it is how they cast spells, create formations, and imbue mana into objects. Increases mana recovery by 5%. Enables shaping of mana for basic spellcasting.
[ Skill Acquired ]: Mana Sense (Novice | Passive) -The senses of a magician are attuned to the feeling of mana in the air. Grants the ability to sense the presence and distinction of external mana within a certain distance.Range: 15m
[ Skill Acquired ]: Mana Bolt (Novice)-A basic and crude but effective use of mana to create a magic projectile formed of raw magic power. Costs little mana, require little control, and is a spell the most novice of mages can understand. Cost: 10 MP | Range: 15m | Damage: Low
[ Skill Acquired ] Spatial Pocket (Novice) - Born from an exceptional affinity for spatial magic, this skill allows you to produce a separate space where you can store inanimate objects. Cost: 20MP | Size: 1 m² | Max Weight: 50kg
With this, he started to understand the game-like essence of the system. It wasn't like learning a new skill from scratch where you have no concept, it was like having his brain reprogrammed in already understanding the skill as if he'd always had it. Immediately, Mana Sense started to take affect, no, it's better to say it was triggered by the ambient mana.
His whole world changed.
There was this hum at first, kind of like the static of a TV, but the hum grew into color. Waves of translucent pigments appeared out of thin air, swirling through the air around him like the nebulas overhead. Each cloud had a different quality, some warm and red, others cool in hue, but most was this strange warped grey.
He kind of just knew in his mind what element that represented, a gut feeling. 'Space element'
It made sense, this place is a whole different space, he couldn't imagine how it even started to be formed.
Oleks mouth was slightly open as he did a 360 of his surroundings.
'So this is mana. Incredible. It's like I've been color blind my whole life.'
"Are you done gawking? You have 2 minutes. Please hurry and receive the rest of your endowment."
"The system allows you to naturally probe and identify objects and people, try it now."
As the Envoy said that, a white staff warped into existence, he scrambled to catch it.
He focused his eyes on the object, and like the Envoy said, a system screen appeared.
[ Staff (Novice) ] -This staff is given to new initiates of the universe walking the path of magic. This staff better allows novices to grasp the concept of magic, their affinity, and is more efficient at casting spells.
"This is a nice staff. From what little I can gather." He nodded.
The staff wasn't much to talk about, it was completely plain, like a long white stick, but it felt like he more knowledgeable about magic just holding the stick, even if nothing really came to mind, he was sure if he tried Mana Manipulation holding this staff it would be much more effective than without.
"Indeed, without masters to guide novices in magic, most who choose the class perish. To offset this conclusion, the Mana Accord grants mages a newbie's dream beginners staff, let's say."
At the mention of most magicians dying he looked up in panic at the sky, "Wait what... ah shit I've completely forgot to ask, what are you even sending me to?!"
"Looks like that's time human. You will now be transported to the Tutorial zone. Good luck."
"Wait!-" He tried to shout, but alas, he was sent away.
Space distorted around his body and dragged him into it.
The Envoy let's out a relieved sigh.
"What a peculiar existence. To have a space element as a human should be impossible. He is going to be such a bother..."