Free Web NovelChapter 2: The Brutal Awakening - Shocking The Crowd
Violene’s eyes widened in shock and disbelief before her face turned pale, and she began sobbing uncontrollably.
At the same time, she rubbed at her eyes, desperately trying to wipe away the tears streaming down her face.
"Failing your awakening ceremony isn’t the end of the world. You can still get into a good college and make a living by being an ordinary human."
Dave, the instructor, spoke calmly, then lightly tapped his foot against the ground.
Bang!
The next moment, the ground beneath Violene’s feet surged upward. Just as she was trying to gather her thoughts, she was launched through the air toward the nearby grassland.
Dave had controlled the force and trajectory of his attack with such precision that she wasn’t injured in the slightest when she landed on the soft grass.
A dumbfounded look appeared on Violene’s face as she glanced around at her surroundings. Then, realizing the mortifying situation she was in, her face turned bright red.
The instructor, however, couldn’t have cared less.
"Joffrey Barington."
His cold voice echoed across the field.
A young man walked up to the stage, struggling to contain his nervousness as he placed his hand atop the crystal.
"Joffrey Barington. Class Awakening Failed."
Without giving Joffrey a moment to speak, Dave’s foot moved lightly once more.
Bang!
Just like Violene before him, Joffrey was sent flying clean off the stage.
’An elementalist class...’
Amon muttered inwardly, finally understanding the class his instructor had awakened.
Naturally, there was a reason why they started with the lower-ranked classes.
It was said that people with lower intelligence, or more specifically lower IQs, had a lower chance of awakening than those with higher IQs.
’Something about brain power and how brain waves interact with awakening one’s class...’
Amon thought quietly.
Back then, he hadn’t paid much attention to the explanation, so he couldn’t be certain, but he guessed there was some truth to it.
The instructor soon called the third person.
Then the fourth.
Then the fifth...
Eventually, he reached the seventh.
"Jemie Lane."
A young man stepped forward. He looked like someone who had already accepted his fate.
As such, the moment he reached the stage, he placed his hand on the crystal and braced himself for impact.
Yet the impact never came.
Instead, a soft blue light spread outward, illuminating the stage and bathing his hand in a warm azure radiance.
"Jemie Lane. Class Awakening Successful. Talent: Water Control. Rank: F."
"What?!"
Jemie froze in place, completely dumbfounded by the instructor’s words.
The principal and several instructors broke into smiles.
Finally.
A successful awakening after ten trials.
The results this year were truly grim, but thankfully, things were beginning to improve.
"Wait off to the side. You’ll be addressed by the principal after the ceremony is over," Dave advised kindly.
Jemie nodded repeatedly, a wide grin spreading across his face as he hurried off the stage.
The promise of endless resources, strength that surpassed human limits, and powers capable of defying common understanding left him unable to contain his excitement.
...
The awakening ceremony stretched on.
There were more than a hundred students in Class D alone, so their awakenings took quite some time. In the end, barely ten students managed to awaken.
After that came Class C.
Out of eighty-two students, only sixteen successfully awakened.
Class B was called next.
Amon noticed a few rivals among them, but he didn’t particularly take them to heart.
Having only thirty-seven students and yet producing thirty awakeners brought broad smiles to the faces of the instructors and school leadership.
Even the stoic Dave wore a rare smile across his face.
The results of this year’s awakening were finally beginning to look acceptable.
’Now for the finale...’
Amon muttered inwardly.
The instructor seemed to share his sentiment.
His eyes gleamed faintly as he stared at the remaining twenty students.
’We’ll start with the ladies and end with the only guy in the class...’
"Aria Jane."
A voluptuous young woman with graceful curves, large breasts, and a pair of glasses resting on her face walked calmly onto the stage.
There wasn’t the slightest hint of nervousness in her eyes, unlike the anxiety displayed by many of the students from Class D.
Only calm confidence remained in her gaze.
This was Class A.
Failure was something they had rarely experienced.
She raised her slender hand and placed it atop the crystal.
Instantly, a soft crimson light emerged.
Aria broke into a faint smile.
Despite belonging to Class A and knowing her chances of awakening were close to absolute, she still couldn’t help feeling nervous deep down.
"Aria Jane. Class Awakening Successful. Talent: Fire Mage. Rank: A."
Instantly, an uproar swept through the crowd.
An A-Rank talent was simply terrifying.
The future potential attached to such a talent was almost limitless.
Aria glanced toward the crowd and adjusted her glasses. freewebnσvel.cѳm
’I almost feel like crying from excitement...’
Even so, she maintained her composure.
She couldn’t wait to share the news with her parents.
Dave soon instructed her to wait with the others before calling up the remaining girls.
By the end of it all, more than three A-Rank awakeners had emerged, along with seven B-Rank awakeners.
The remaining successful awakenings were all C-Rank.
The instructor was already struggling to contain himself as he looked toward the final two students.
These were the brightest minds in the class.
One was lazy, handsome, and undeniably brilliant.
The other was a hardworking young woman who was equally brilliant and beautiful.
"Go and shock the crowd."
Amon cheered from the side.
Collete, who had been about to move, paused briefly.
Then she mouthed a silent thank you before walking toward the stage.
She didn’t even wait for the instructor to call her.
Her eagerness was already difficult to suppress.
Reaching the stage, she took a deep breath and placed her hand upon the crystal.
Instantly, a brilliant golden glow burst outward.
The surrounding air seemed to brighten.
Even the darkening sky overhead appeared to grow lighter.
Then, above the crowd, the silhouette of a breathtaking beauty emerged.
White, fair, and tender wings stretched from her back as she drifted effortlessly through the sky, her expression carefree and serene.
A shocked look appeared on the principal’s face.
"This..."
His voice trembled.
Even his plump cheeks shook slightly.
Dave’s composure shattered completely, replaced by utter disbelief.
Amon stared at the angel floating above and found himself momentarily speechless.
’I asked you to shock the crowd, not create such a ridiculous spectacle.’
He shook his head wryly, not knowing whether to laugh or sigh.
The phenomenon gradually faded away.
The shock it left behind, however, lingered heavily among the crowd.
"Collete Stargrave. Class Awakening Successful. Talent: Fallen Angel. Rank: SS."
"Oh my God...!"
No one knew who shouted first.
The moment Dave finished speaking, the students erupted.
An SS-Rank talent?
How was that even possible?
Their shock was entirely understandable.
Since the founding of the academy, only a single S-Rank talent had ever appeared.
Yet now, an SS-Rank talent had emerged?
The crowd struggled to regain control of their emotions for a long time.
Only after the principal finally recovered his composure and stepped forward did the noise begin to settle.
"Everyone quiet down. We still have one final awakening."
Dave glanced toward Collete.
He was about to instruct her to join the others when he noticed her gaze fixed firmly on Amon.
She waited silently. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
A daring challenge burned within her eyes.
It was as though she was daring him to surpass her.
’Tsk.’
Amon clicked his tongue and casually strode toward the stage.
Of course, he wasn’t someone who backed away from a challenge.
He paused briefly beside Collete and gave her a wink.
Her eyebrows twitched repeatedly.
Only then did he continue toward the center of the stage.
The crowd watched in silence.
Then he reached toward the crystal.
Deliberately, just as his fingertips were about to touch its surface, he paused and glanced around with a grin.
"Why’s everyone so hasty?"
A vein bulged on Dave’s forehead as he glared furiously at him.
Amon chuckled softly.
Then, finally, he lowered his hand onto the crystal.
Instantly...
...the world exploded.
