Briefing

"Please be seated, everyone," a deep voice filled the room which startled many.

The students looked around to see who was speaking. Then, a tall man could be seen walking to the podium. He had dark skin and long gray hair which was tied into a low ponytail. Wearing a formal attire, he stood on the podium, smiling as he gently observed the current batch of students. Scanning the crowd, his eyes occasionally stopped for a moment of appreciation, as if he knew how these particular students prepared themselves for this day.

Notably, when his eyes met Drai's his smile froze briefly. Yet, it soon became a wide grin as he nodded to Drai and continued looking around.

'What an interesting lad,' the man thought. 'A body molded by pain, and his gaze of conviction and keenness reminiscent of a soldier heading to war. I might just take a closer look at him later. He might suit the military.'

After finishing the rest of his observation, the man then started to speak.

"Welcome, everyone! I am Kiel Halbinger. As the Chief Supervisor of Pontia's annual Revelation, I am responsible in briefing you before you head to the Revelation chamber.

"To start, you must have known that specific information on the Revelation is not purposely disseminated in the Prep. This is due to the fact that it provides no obvious advantages in preparing for the Revelation and may even distract you from focusing on yourself.

"However, now that you're just one step away from receiving your class, it is time for you to know what will be occurring inside the chamber and what to do when you finally see your status window for the first time. For those that might have searched for this information beforehand from other sources, please remain silent and do not disturb the others who haven't, " Kiel reminded.

"For starters, the Revelation is something that should occur naturally. As the time of natural Revelation differs for each individual, its impetus and trigger aren't obvious for us laymen.

"However, after the Century of Chaos, many scientists with System-oriented classes have made great progress on the study of the System. One of them being the leading figure behind the invention of the Revelation device, Professor Quincinitra Baset, who you might know by his moniker, Key Quincy.

"The essence of this device is to replace the natural trigger for the Revelation. How it works is kept secret by the Viridian Technocracy, and other countries who were given access to these devices do not have the capability to reverse-engineer them. But from our observation throughout these decades, there is no downside to this method.

"When you enter the Revelation chamber, you will be guided by the device's AI with the help of our staff. Later when you see your status window, you will first see the list of classes you are offered. The number of offered classes differs between individuals, but on average you will be offered four classes.

"Before choosing your class, pay attention to what it is and what it does. Each class will bring about changes to your body, some more extreme than others. That's why you will be entering the chamber in groups of one hundred to place you a safe distance from each other.

"Each class also comes with its own distribution of stats, and some may even have unique stats not available to others. Other than stats, there are also other perks which you can see in the class's description. When you're ready to choose, the System will ask you to confirm so don't worry and explore all of them in detail before making your choice.

"After you've chosen your class, the full status window will be available. There will be multiple tabs which you can navigate with your mind. By focusing on what you want to see, the System will open it for you. You can also open further details like the description and effect of skills if you focus on them.

"The next thing you would want to do is to look at the skill tab. You will already have skill points or SP depending on what you effort prior to evolving. If you are dedicated enough, you will have around 10 SP which can be used to learn several basic skills or even one powerful skill. The skills are catered to each of you and your classes. And the amount of SP required to learn a skill varies depending on how powerful a skill is and how closely related it is to your class or your interests. Those who aren't sure of what to choose can postpone it until later when you are ready.

"As for further details on class, skills, stats, and their progression, we will not cover it here since this is the end of our responsibility of nurturing you. You will gain a better understanding after you enroll in organizations which are experienced in guiding the newly evolved.

"Finally, after your group is done in the chamber, you will head to another area to update your registry as an evolved and then proceed to the scouting area. There you will be exposed to the representatives of various academies, institutions, companies, and other organizations. Feel free to choose from them as they have been verified for this event, or just head back to the guest area if you have other plans.

"And that is all from me. If some of you are still unclear on what to do later on, please consult our nearest staff. 

"Good luck, everyone, and may you embrace your choice wholeheartedly and succeed in your future endeavors," Kiel ended with a smile and left the platform.

After Kiel left, murmurs and discussions could be heard. For many, this was new information. A lot of people felt excited for a new life that would soon greet them.

Drai also felt this way. Since he was always training and never hang out with his peers, he hadn't participated in fiery discussions about the future. But after listening to Kiel, he realized that he would basically be reborn after the Revelation! He can't wait for his soon to be visible status window through which he could examine his body properly.

'I hope there's a skill that lets me bypass sleeping. Then I can train all night long too!' Drai thought. If his body could speak, it would definitely curse Drai for his self-abusing tendencies.

The first group of 100 students had left the room. Unfortunately, Drai had to wait for a while since he was around the few last groups. Thankfully, the process didn't seem to take too much time. Around 15 minutes later, those in the second group were called by the staff.

While waiting, Drai was contemplating on what to prioritize when considering his options later.

'The class that raises my strength the most might be a safe pick, unless it comes with too many downsides or has low constitution,' Drai thought. 'If there's a class that excels in both strength and defense without sacrificing too much of anything else, I might just pick it even if it doesn't top the other classes in terms of raw number. Based on what was explained, it seems that we can't look into the skills before picking a class, only the stats and other perks are described. Hmmm… what if there's some overpowered skills on a class that seems weak stat-wise? But I can't just pick a weak class hoping to win some skill lottery. There should be some strong skills too for the strong classes. Ah, what a dilemma! I'll just trust my instinct later. I have a feeling that I'll know exactly which class I want when I see it.'

While he was deep in thought, Drai heard his name being called.

"Drai Varz… Gareth Sarlo…," said the announcing staff.

Drai looked up and saw a line of students heading into a door. He followed suit and proceeded into another hallway. After a while, he saw a similar door as the one he saw in the previous hallway after leaving his parents behind.

Entering the open door, what greeted him was unlike what he saw in the previous buildings. While the space seemed to be of similar dimensions, it wasn't filled with chairs but with apparatuses which resembled operation tables in the hospital which Drai had seen in movie trailers when he was a child. And at the spot where the platform was in the previous building, a hulking alien-like machine can be seen. At its feet were desk-like devices with monitors and buttons which were currently operated by several staff. The machine seemed to connect to each "operation-table" apparatus through a series of cables which were laid on the ground.

"Pick your table, wear the helmet, and lie down, please," said a nearby staff to the dazed students.

The students scattered to find their spots while Drai went to the nearest available table and spotted a helmet hanging at the tableside. Picking it up, he saw multiple small cables connecting to the table-like device. He then proceeded to wear the helmet and lied down on the table with his head rested on a raised part of the apparatus. With the helmet covering his upper face, his sight was dark so he closed his eyes and readied himself.

A few moments later after all participants had lied down, the humming sound of the main machine intensified and a female robotic voice could be heard.