Chapter 3: Status panel and Betrayal

A war cannot be fought solely with words.

It requires skills, courage, power, and experience.

But where will some 17-year-old high school students who grew up in a peaceful society acquire the courage, skill set, and competence to fight bloodthirsty demons in war?

The answer to this question was right there in front of us.

It was a gorgeously decorated altar, behind which stood a smaller version of the goddess Romia's statue that we saw earlier at the summoning hall.

"The Holy Altar has been blessed by the Goddess Romia. This will display the abilities bestowed by the goddess upon you..."

The pope explained that this location was designed for us to check our job class, statistics, and other fundamental data in order to better understand our position and enroll us in the appropriate program for future training.

For instance, a person with a class related to healing would receive training from priests and military doctors who would aid them in better honing their abilities and maximizing their potential.

However, I still had this feeling that this ceremony had another reason behind it.

I wasn't sure if I was being paranoid, but in an unknown world with unknown people who could decide my life and death in a split second, being cautious wasn't a bad thing.

"Please, everyone, come one by one. Prick your fingers with a needle, pour some blood into the crystal ball, and chant. Dear Goddess, show us the way."

Hearing the pope's call, silence filled the hall once again, and everyone started looking at each other's faces.

However, when it looked like nobody might come forward,

"Let me check first "

A loud voice came from the front, and Max emerged from the crowd in response to the Pope's call while moving towards the altar.

Max was a boy who stood 5 feet, 8 inches tall and had blonde hair, black eyes, and a long chin, giving him a sly delinquent appearance.

He was, nonetheless, a sweet boy.

Or at least, that was how he always tried to present himself to others.

However, there were rumors that he was a bully in middle school, and even at the start of high school, the police charged him with street fighting.

He moved in the direction of the altar as directed by the Pope, and a moment or two later, a brilliant light erupted from the crystal ball, and a blue screen like a hologram popped up in the air, resembling the character status panel from a video game.

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[Name: Max Oswal]

[Age: 17] [Level: 1]

[Job Class: Berserker of Adversity]

[Health: 100%] [Mana: 100%]

[Physique: F- / A] [Mana: G / C] [Spirit: F / C]

[Skill: Berserker's Rage, Berserker's Plight]

**The prowess of skills increases in proportion to the amount of work put into them, and every ten levels, either a new skill or an existing one will be unlocked or upgraded.**

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"Marvelous! as one would anticipate from the valiant hero whom our goddess has blessed. The Berserker class, with rank A potential in physique, is truly very powerful. I'm grateful. I humbly bow before you, oh great goddess Romia."

The Pope applauded with great energy, and for the first time, his face showed that he was really happy.

His sudden enthusiasm startled Max, and for a split second, he didn't believe what he was hearing, so he asked again.

"Is it really that good?"

"Yes, an ancient hero from the past also awakened the same class, and he was one of the most powerful people of that time. So you don't have to be concerned because we also have his experience journals and planned training regime, which will be extremely useful to you. "

Max was worried before the status check, but as soon as he heard the pope's words, his worries went away and were replaced by a big smile.

Watching Max's status and hearing the Pope's words of encouragement, other students were now bursting with optimism and joy.

Marx soon returned to the group, and one by one, the other students also began to make their way to the altar to receive their status reports.

[Daisy Loren ( Misty Archer)]

[Potential: B]

[Bradley Cooper (Blazing Spearman)]

[Potential: C]

....

.....

.....

When the status of many students was checked, the majority of them came out to be of only B and C rank, and there were only two students with potential "A" besides Max .

One of them was a girl named Mia, who got the "Wizard" class, and the other was our discipline committee leader, Mayuri, who got the "Holy Saintess" class, which was more akin to the buff and healing classes.

My turn was getting closer, my forehead started to perspire, and I was once again having a sinking feeling in my heart as one more student made his way to the altar to have his status checked.

But Theresa calmly held my hand, and as if she had read my thoughts and emotions, she softly whispered in my ears,

"There's nothing we can do in this situation, so don't worry too much. Everything will be fine. "

Her words worked like magic. They calmed my racing heart, and I nodded to her to let her know that I was fine, and while everyone's attention was on the student who was at that moment checking his rank, I slowly whispered back to Theresa.

"It's your turn next. All the best."

"Thank you, and all the best to you too. It's your turn after me."

~Muah!

Before I could even register her words in my mind, she chuckled a little to herself, gave me a peck on the lips, and dashed off to get her status checked.

Sigh!

A slight sigh escaped my lips, and a relaxed smile appeared on my face as I felt the lingering sensation of her lips on mine, after which I turned my head and looked above the crystal ball, where Theresa's status appeared.

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[Name: Theresa Cameron]

[Age: 17] [Level: 1]

[Job Class: Sword Empress of Calamity]

[Health: 100%] [Mana: 100%]

[Physique: F+/S] [Mana: F/S] [Spirit: F+/S]

[Skill: Sword Intent, Sword Flow, One with Sword]

**The prowess of skills increases in proportion to the amount of work put into them, and every ten levels, either a new skill is unlocked or an existing one is upgraded.**

————————————————————

"Oh, my goodness!"

As soon as Theresa took her hand off the crystal ball, her status panel went away, and a very loud shout echoed through the room.

After that, the pope made a mad dash for the statue of the goddess, dropped to his knees in front of it, and began offering praise and gratitude to the deity.

This was the first time the Pope appeared to lose his composure and acted as though he had won the most crucial jackpot in the world.

Everyone was taken aback by the Pope's sudden outburst, including Theresa.

Because we had read so much fantasy literature and played so many fantasy video games, we knew for a fact what those ranks actually stood for, and we also knew that an S rank was the highest possible achievement in any field.

That was why, Theresa's S rank stat potential shocked us all.

As I observed the reactions of those around her, a broad smile spread across my face.

She made me genuinely happy, and I felt like I was being praised as well as she was. ​

"Is this what they call it—feeling happiness and pride at your loved ones' success?"

Unfortunately, my happiness didn't last long.

─ Fate really had a twisted sense of humor. Just when you think that everything is going well, something always comes along and ruins it.

The happiness I felt after seeing Theresa's status vanished like a puff of smoke as I returned my gaze to the holographic display in front of me.

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[Name: Aiden Rivera]

[Age: 17] [Level: 1]

[Job Class: Unknown Lord]

[Health: 100%] [Mana: 100%]

[Physique: F-/E] [Mana: G/E] [Spirit: F+/E]

[Skill: Domination, Shadow Blend]

**The prowess of skills increases in proportion to the amount of work put into them, and every ten levels, either a new skill is unlocked or an existing one is upgraded.**

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Silence!

As soon as my status panel came out, the room fell into an uncomfortable and suffocating silence.

I would be lying if I said that I wasn't shocked, and others who were observing my status screen were also dumbfounded.

The level of stat potential that was displayed on the panel was the lowest thus far.

And despite the fact that I was a little unsure about what kind of class I got, I knew for sure that I was the weakest of all of us.

"Was this the reason for that bad feeling?"

I didn't know.

Maybe it was, but for some reason, my heart was still agitated, and the agitation just got worse with each passing second.

No one said anything as I walked back to my spot next to Theresa, but everyone's face, except for Mayuri's and Theresa's, had a look of contempt.

Mayuri had a concerned look on her face, and Theresa

"...."

The chill emanating from her caused my entire body to shudder.

What was this?

This expression on her face

It wasn't contempt, nor was it ridicule.

It was... "disappointment?"

'Are you disappointed that I have such low potential? Then why do you have that twisted expression on your face?'

"Don't worry, Theresa. Even though my potential is low, I have the Unknown Lord class, and from my skills, I can feel that I can dominate monsters and the like and let them work for me. With an army of monsters, we can easily fight the army of demons."

My mouth moved on its own as I subconsciously started explaining to her, thinking that she was a little worried because of me.

Some of the students breathed out in relief as I explained, while others clicked their tongues to show they didn't like it.

Although I wasn't sure, I felt that my job class was some type of monster-controlling or monster dominating type, allowing me to control monsters and store them in my shadows.

Actually, there was a hunch in my mind that my skills could not only control monsters but literally anyone under certain circumstances.

But I didn't tell my assumptions to anyone, even if they were accurate.

This was because no one would want to have someone by their side who had the ability to control them.

That was why I just told them what I thought would be the best way for me to get out of this situation with the least harm.

After witnessing the mocking expressions on everyone's faces, my head began to spin.

Even the main source of emotional support I had was ignoring me with a dissatisfied frown on their face.

As I looked at Theresa, the expression on her face only made me feel worse.

My sole thought was to explain to Theresa and force her to remove that frown from her face.

My nose grew runny, and my face became flushed.

'Was I affected by her that much? No, it shouldn't be.'

"There are no monsters in this world. Stop daydreaming. The only thing you can control are small animals that would be easily crushed by a single demon. It's such a waste "

The Pope interrupted my train of thought.

He, too, had a dissatisfied look on his face as he shook his head in disappointment, and unlike before, when he was talking in a warm, grandfatherly way, this time his voice was cold and distant.

─ Wait, doesn't that mean Aiden is a waste?

─ Humph, so much for acting haughty.

─ As a waste, he should stay away from Theresa Noona; I never like how he clings to her.

─ He might spread his worthlessness to her.

....

....

....

As if the Pope's words had set them off, everyone started making fun of me, and they didn't even try to keep their voices down this time.

All of the frustration and emotions that had built up inside everyone up to this point shot out like bullets from a machine gun, directly aimed at me, making my stomach churn.

Even the incidents from Earth were coming out one by one, and baseless accusations kept piling up on me.

─ I even heard that he blackmailed a teacher to give him full marks on the last exams.

─ I always knew he was only acting to be a good person.

As I heard all the insults and false accusations, I gritted my teeth in anger, and my fists were clenched so tightly that blood came out of them as my nails dug into my skin.

After hearing everyone else's unjustified assertions, the Pope posed a question in a loud voice.

"What? The hero did so many dirty deeds."

'What the f*ck are your dirty deeds? I didn't do anything.'

The pope was well aware that all the claims made by the students were false, but he chose to join them instead of refuting them.

However, after the Pope posed a question, everyone was hesitant to confirm.

And when it felt like nobody would come forward,

"Yes, Aiden has a history of using his money for immoral and evil deeds. His father abandoned him and his mother because of his cheap personality. Who knows how his mother acquired such wealth? You can all speculate about what immoral acts she may have engaged in."

A voice came from the back, and Max came out once again, speaking in a loud voice with a righteous tone.

Hearing Max's words that insulted my mother, I finally lost control.

My face contorted with rage, and I lashed out at him. I wanted to punch and break that mouth of his, which insulted my mother.

"Max, you bastard! How dare you speak ill of my mother, you asshole?"

"Nobody speaks ill of my mother."

She was my inverse scale. If anyone dared to slander her, I would kill them.

However, before I could even get close to him,

My leg tripped on something. A heavy force twisted my hands, locking them on my back.

Thud!

I fell to the ground, my face hit the floor first, and a knight in full plate armor sat on top of me to suppress me.

"Oh! Goddess Romia, how can such a person be chosen as a hero?"

The Pope spoke in a sarcastic tone, and it was clear that he was enjoying this show.

"Did everyone see that? This bastard was going to attack me just now."

Max shouted once again, and this time even more students joined in with him.

"It looks like he's finally showing his true colors after getting cornered."

"I always knew he was like that."

....

....

"Why, why? I am clearly the victim here. I didn't do anything. It's you guys who are slandering me. I didn't want to come here. You guys abducted me."

I felt like I had been thrust into a glass cage, and they were all throwing stones at me.

It felt like no matter what I said or did, I couldn't escape the situation.

At the end of the day, I was just a normal high school boy living in modern society, and no matter how strong my mental strength was, this kind of hopeless situation was just too much for me.

"What did I do wrong?"

It didn't occur to me at the time that the world didn't care whether I was right or wrong.

It was such a ruthless, evil world.

Unaware, I continued to scream and cry.

"Why are you all doing this to me? You're all being manipulated by them. Don't do anything that you will regret in the future."

My shout echoed throughout the hall.

I didn't beg them to bring me here or to give me this trashy potential or this useless class.

Sadly.

There was no reply to my cry.

Because of my earlier fall and the knight sitting on my back, my face turned red, blood oozed out of my lips, and my breathing became labored.

Tears began to stream down my face as I felt helpless and alone.

And only after confirming that nobody was on my side, the pope, with an angry look on his face, ordered the knights to surround me.

"Did you question the goddess's benevolent intentions? Knights, take this heretic and place him in the underground prison."

"No, don't. I didn't do anything wrong."

Humans are creatures who can do anything to stay alive and keep hope alive, even if they have no reason to.

That was why, despite knowing that nothing would work, I still begged for help.

"Mayuri, you know, right? I never treated anyone badly "

"Vinny, Mia, you tell everyone."

As the knights began dragging me away by pulling my legs, I continued to beg for help from my friends in desperation, but no one came to my aid.

Vinny and Mia made faces like they didn't even know me, and Mayuri was stopped by her friends as soon as she wanted to speak.

'Did you also think that there was no hope left for me?'

No!

'There is still Theresa left. Even though she was dissatisfied with my status, the situation is different this time. She would definitely help me.'

As such, I struggled and turned to face her without thinking about anything.

"Theresa! say something to them? You know about me, right?"

It was a desperate cry from my heart.

All of those who knew about us turned to Theresa when I eventually called her.

Everyone knew that if Theresa, who had the highest potential, pleaded for my safety and told them I was innocent, there was a good chance that the pope would listen to her.

However,

"..."

Theresa ....

"THERESA...! "