A Sensitive Matter
Drai and Jian looked at each other, feeling awkward after Christo's "speech".
Christo finally opened his eyes and said, "I'm sorry for blabbering. I was too caught up in the moment."
"It's fine, Christo," Jian said, aware that his bringing up the war topic had touched upon a sensitive matter of his roommate.
"I guess we'll continue with Drai then." Chris suggested.
Drai nodded then contemplated for a moment. He wasn't sure if he should divulge his class, since the matter of the titans' predicament was too dangerous and absurd.
However, Drai thought that even if everybody in Gaia worked together, they wouldn't pose a threat to a single titan. So, Drai decided to be honest about it, since this possible threat was probably somewhere far away in the universe.
"My class is called Seed of Titan. It's like an inheritance of an ancient race. I don't really know what it can do, but for now, it gives me high strength and constitution," Drai explained.
"Ancient race?" Christo and Jian gasped.
"I assume that the race is called titan?" Christo asked.
"Yes. And they wanted a 'seed', so here I am, a 'seed' of the titans."
Christo and Jian were actually doubtful about this "ancient inheritance", since it dropped out of nowhere and they hadn't heard of any class resembling it. But they knew Drai was a straightforward person, so they gave it the benefit of doubt.
"So, going by your class name and how other bloodline classes work, you probably have a certain amount of titan genes. And if nothing goes wrong, the amount will certainly increase with each evolution," Christo speculated.
"Maybe it's the influence of my novels, but whenever I hear the word 'ancient', an image of something powerful comes to mind," Jian added.
"I don't actually know if they're ancient," Drai said. "It's just my guess. But they are powerful."
"Is the race not described in the class description?" Christo asked, slightly stupefied. He thought that if this was truly an inheritance of some race, then the race should've been an important detail to be included in the description.
"No. There's only a poem in the description. It baffled me when I first saw it, since it doesn't actually describe much about the class."
"A poem? If you don't mind, can you show it to us?" Christo requested with heightened curiosity.
"Sure. Let me write it down and send it to you," Drai said as he opened the class screen and prepared to write down the poem on his comm.
After a while, Drai finished copying the poem.
"While we're at it, let's exchange contact numbers," Christo suggested. The other two agreed to this.
After the brief exchange, Drai sent the poem to his roommates.
A moment of silence ensued. Drai watched as his roommates were reading the poem.
Jian was staring at his comm's display seriously, but his face was soon filled with confusion. It seemed like Jian didn't really understand what the signified.
Seeing this, Drai silently chuckled. 'I bet Jian's intelligence is not much higher than mine.'
Meanwhile, Christo was looking at his screen with an astonished look. However, he quickly turned solemn. By the time he turned back to Drai, his face was looking grave.
"Drai. How many people have you told about your class?" Christo asked.
"Two people, my parents. But they only know the name, since they didn't ask further. And there's also Professor Ravi. I'll probably tell him when I visit him, since I'm going to participate in his research," Drai replied.
Hearing this, Christo felt a bit relieved. Then, he said to Drai sternly, "Drai, it's better if you don't tell anyone else about this. Your parents should be fine, but I suggest you reconsider telling Professor Ravi unless you're absolutely certain that he is trustworthy."
"But why?" Drai asked in surprise. He did consider this matter previously, but he had decided that there's probably no harm in letting people know about the titans.
"The matter regarding the titans is too sensitive," Christo answered.
Seeing that Drai was looking confused, he asked, "Why did you decide to tell the truth about your class?"
"Uhm… Because I thought that this enemy or whatever threat of the titans wouldn't be in Gaia or anywhere close."
"And how did you arrive at that conclusion?"
Drai then told them about the scene he saw in his subconscious. Christo and Jian looked horrified upon hearing how the titan grew to the size of a mountain and destroyed a planet.
Jian had assumed that the titans were powerful, but certainly not to the extent of planet-destroying powerful.
'Will this guy be that strong someday?' Jian couldn't help but shiver.
Meanwhile, Christo was briefly caught in thoughts before turning back to Drai.
"If what you saw was true, then hiding the truth becomes even more important," Christo said. "Drai, what makes you think that the enemy of the titans hinted by the poem is the only threat you should be wary of?"
"Huh? What do you mean, Christo? Do you think the titans had other enemies?" Drai asked in shock.
"They might or might not, but that's irrelevant for now. What I mean is that there are other potential threats in Gaia due to the implications of your class, Drai. Humans."
"Humans? Why? They aren't even related to the titans, right?" Drai naively asked.
Seeing Drai's naivety, even Jian shook his head.
Christo helplessly explained, "Drai, humans are inherently egocentric and ambitious. That's how our species have achieved supremacy on Gaia despite our relatively short history. That's why the Century of Chaos occurred shortly after the System arrived.
"Your identity as the inheritor of the titans will attract many people's greed. The first reason is for research purposes. To my knowledge, you're the first person to ever receive an inherited class. If those lunatics from the Viridian Technocracy ever learn about this, you'll be captured as a lab rat and dissected until they figure out how the System could be utilized to transfer such powers and if it could be replicated by humans.
"And the second reason is for power. If people learn about your potential, they will do their best to make you loyal to their cause, whether through obvious benefits or unscrupulous means, even if it involves your loved ones."
Upon hearing this, Drai shuddered. If anything were to happen to his parents because of his foolishness, he would regret it for the rest of his life.
"And for those who fail to secure your loyalty, they will hold nothing back to end your life before you grow strong enough to threaten them. And if the powers who know about your potential don't care enough to make you join them, they will just end you right there and then.
"Of course there are potential benefits too for revealing the truth, but they might as well be nothing in the face of the aforementioned dangers," Christo concluded.
Drai was silent. He didn't realize his class carried such risks. He had naively believed that people would just accept his identity and maybe ask some questions like what his roommates had done.
At this moment, Drai despised himself. He hated that he was foolish enough to nearly threaten his future and the lives of his parents. He wanted so badly to pull up his status window and smash that "6" into smithereens. Drai thought that if he were smarter, he would've realized these potential risks even before choosing his class.
'But would I have still chosen it if I knew about the risks?' Drai thought for a moment before shaking his head. 'It doesn't matter. I've already decided to trust my class no matter what. I just have to be more prudent to avoid the dangers that Christo mentioned.'
Thinking about Christo, Drai turned toward him. He knew that Christo was really smart, but now he realized how helpful it was to have such an insightful friend.
"I owe you my life and my parents' lives, Christo," Drai said sincerely. "I'll make sure to repay this favor and keep the truth about my class a secret." Then Drai looked toward Jian, trying to judge his reaction.
"Don't worry about it," Christo said while turning to Jian. "Jian, I hope you understand the gravity of this matter. The truth should never leave this room. Otherwise, I'm sure you know the consequences."
"I know," Jian answered solemnly. He then looked at Drai straight in the eyes. "I, Jian, swear on my Dao Heart that I will never talk about this matter to others unless with your consent. If I fail to do so, let me be struck by the Heavens and my life forfeit!" Jian valiantly swore while pointing toward the ceiling.
Drai ignored the weird oath and stared deeply at Jian. Eventually, he nodded and simply said, "Thank you, Jian."
Jian breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that despite his sincerity, if Drai had decided not to trust him, he would probably not live long enough to attend the entrance ceremony.
Feeling the somber mood, Christo cheerfully said, "Okay, I think that's enough for introductions. Let's continue talking later, since I need to go somewhere."
The rest agreed as they too were tired from the serious talk. They didn't expect the casual introductions to bring about several tense moments.
"I think I'll go check out the fitness center," Drai said. He was feeling stiff from staying still for too long.
"I'll be meditating in the room," Jian also added.
Following that, the three of them went to do their own things.
It was rather ironic that a loner like Drai managed to get close to his roommates even before the day ended. Despite their different personalities, the standoff, misunderstandings, and heavy conversation, Drai felt that, for the first time in forever, he had found for himself two good friends.
***