I ran home, my legs pumping. The pitying stares of the other students and the confused murmurings about my "Common Mage" awakening faded behind me. I didn't care. I clutched the secret in my chest, a burning coal of excitement.
My parents were waiting in the living room, a small, hopeful "Congratulations!" banner strung up on the wall. My father was there, still in his work-worn overalls. He'd actually taken a day off from his job at the city forge for this.
"Luke! Congratulations on awakening!" my mother said, pulling me into a hug.
"How did it go, son?" my father asked, his voice rough but kind.
I took a deep breath. "I... I awakened a common occupation. A Mage."
I braced for the disappointment, the forced smiles. But they didn't come. Instead, my father let out a hearty laugh.
"A Mage! Wonderful! Listen, son," he said, putting a heavy hand on my shoulder. "It doesn't matter what occupation you have, we will always be there for you. But you're worried about the 'common' rank, aren't you?"
I nodded mutely.
"Then let me tell you something," he said, his eyes intense. "You think your occupation is weak? In theory, it's one of the strongest."
He pointed to the TV, which was showing a news report about Elara Vance and her new Mythic-ranked [Frostfire Archon] job.
"That girl," he said, "is a 'Fire Mage' and 'Ice Mage' combined. An 'Uncommon' Fire Mage has a huge advantage in fire-based attacks, defense, and resistance. But you ask them to cast an [Ice Bolt]? They're useless. If they want to learn other elements, they can buy the skill scrolls, but it will never be as strong as their main element."
He tapped my chest. "But a Mage... a Mage is not limited. A Mage is a blank canvas. You can have more than one main element. You can learn fire, ice, wind, earth, anything. The true strength of your occupation is its limitless potential."
He smiled, a rare, proud expression. "But keep this in mind: that potential is why no one respects it. It takes too much time to train two elements, let alone more. So, focus on your [Fireball] for now. Master it. In the future, you can add more. Now, let's have a drink, shall we?"
My mother and father were both happy, and their joy was infectious. Even my two little sisters, who had woken up from the noise, came out to celebrate "Luke's magical day!"
After eating, I finally excused myself and went to my room, locking the door behind me.
My heart was pounding. My father's words... limitless potential. He had no idea.
"If I am not wrong... 1,000 SP per second."
I sat on my bed, practically vibrating, and did the math.
In 1 minute: 60,000 SP
In 1 hour: 3,600,000 SP
In 1 day: 86,400,000 SP
In 7 days: 604,800,000 SP
In 10 days: 864,000,000 SP
In 1 month (30 days): 2,592,000,000 SP
"Wow," I breathed. "That... that's so many."
A normal person needed to kill 25,000 monsters to upgrade one skill from Tier 1 to Tier 2. I would have enough SP to do that every 50 seconds.
My dad was right. I could show the actual worth of a Mage. If... if it was even a "Mage" anymore.
A soft knock came at my door. "Luke?" My father entered, holding a few small, thin boxes.
"I know you're excited, son," he said. "But a mage needs more than one spell to his name. I've been saving up for this. It's not much, but it's a start."
He handed me a scroll. [Basic Skill Scroll: Appraisal].
"Every Awakener needs this," he said firmly. Then he handed me two more. [Basic Skill Scroll: Wind Blade] and [Basic Skill Scroll: Earth Wall].
"Don't overexert yourself," he warned, mistaking my earlier silence for disappointment. "Just study them. We're proud of you, son."
"Thanks, Dad," I said, my voice thick. He had spent his savings on these for me.
As soon as he left, I tore open the [Appraisal] scroll. It dissolved into light in my hands.
[Ding! You have learned [Basic Appraisal (Tier 1)]] [10x Multiplier System detected! Skill [Basic Appraisal] has been upgraded!] [You have learned the skill: [All-Seeing Eye (???-Rank)] (Tier 1)]
My breath hitched. It even upgraded learned skills.
"Status," I commanded, opening my hidden system panel.
[10x Multiplier System Window]
Name: Luke Arkwright
Occupation: [???(???-Rank)]
(A hybrid class merged from 10 mage occupations)
Level: 1 (0/100 EXP) (10x Multiplier Active)Health: 100/100 Mana: 200/200 (10x Multiplier Active)Skill Points (SP): 7,241,000...
(Approximately 2 hours since awakening)
Talent:
[??? (SSS-Rank)]: (Merged from 10 talents)
Generates 1,000 SP per second.
Increases all EXP gains by 10x.
Increases casting speed by 10x.
(Effects of 7 other S-SSS Rank talents are active and multiplied by 10).
Skills:
[Fireball (???-Rank)]: (Tier 1)
[All-Seeing Eye (???-Rank)]: (Tier 1)
My occupation wasn't "Mage." It was "???." whatever it is And I already had over 7 million SP.
I looked at the other two scrolls my dad gave me. Then I looked at my SP.
"Time to see what this system can really do."
A/N: Thanks for reading, and if you like it, plzz add it in your collection.