The bearded man faced Hayden as he spoke. "What you awakened is unrecognizable, kid. The machine couldn't pick up anything, which likely means that talent and class is too low to be ranked."
Hayden frowned. Right in front of his mind, his talent was still displayed.
[Talent: Night Walker.]
[it means the host is at his fullest strength and potential at night, but the host's skills can still function during the day, just not as strong.]
Hayden felt his mind shift as he absorbed that piece of information, still in a state of shock.
"I should throw you out. Awakening a useless rank would benefit no one." The bearded man shattered Hayden's thoughts.
Hayden held his breath, still clouded with confusion. The bearded man said the machines didn't recognize his class, But the system in his mind clearly recognized what he awakened and he almost blurted that out right now.
Does that mean what he awakened is useless? After all, he doesn't even understand what any of them meant.
He felt disappointment settle heavily within him. So he awakened something weak and useless, but at least he awakened something. So at least he shouldn't be thrown out.
"But I think it's hilarious that you still awakened something, no matter how weak. So I'll keep you here." The man continued.
Hayden heaved in relief. He wasn't gonna be thrown out.
When he wheeled himself over to the rest, Alice was smiling at him in relief.
"Congratulations." She whispered.
"Thank you." He told her as the bearded man came to stand before them.
"Congratulations on all awakening, but bear in mind that the danger is barely over yet."
They all tensed up as he continued.
"Now, onto the next step. Let's go."
As they all filed out behind him, Hayden's mind returned to that displayed image in his mind. At least now he's confirmed he's the only one who can see the panel.
[talent: night walker.]
[skills: necromancer, summoner and talent stealer.]
What was this thing in his mind right now? It was abnormal. It said it was a system. But what does a system mean?
At once, the displayed panel changed.
[The system is rewarded to the host, to assist and guide him to his full potential.]
Hayden frowned again. Full potential? What can he do with his talent if it was apparently too weak to be recorded?
What does a nightwalker mean?
The panel changed.
[talent: nightwalker.]
[nightwalker: a person granted with the gift of wielding abilities that was born of the night.]
[skills: necromancer, summoner and talent stealer.]
[Breakdown]
[Necromancer: ability to control, raise the dead and bind them to himself, to likely form an army of fighters.]
[summomer: ability to summon legendary beasts, soldiers, archers and knights.]
[Talent stealer: ability to steal the talent of anyone, master it and own it for twenty four hours before losing it.]
[Host's stats.]
[Name: Hayden Sinclair.]
[Race: Human.]
[Age: 17.]
[class: limitless advancement.] [lvl: 0]
[talent: Nightwalker.]
[skills: necromancer, summoner, talent stealer.]
[strength: 5/100] [speed/Agility: 3/100.] [smartness: 40/100.] [Sealth: 1.]
[physique: 1.]
[reward: none.]
[mana: 100.]
[free points: 0.]
Hayden's eyes bulged out of their sockets.
What the fuck??
He thought his class was useless… but this didn't sound useless at all. This sounded so freaking epic.
This was insane.
He didn't just awaken a single class.
He awakened three epic talents!
The panel displayed in his mind resembled some of the games his cousins used to play. He never got to play because his uncle never bought him any games.
All of this still felt bizarre and unbelievable to him. But today, he realized monsters do exist, so he shouldn't be surprised at this point.
They were all led past a low hallway, past people clad in matching uniforms and guns strapped to themselves. Hayden sighted the country's flag on them again.
Who were these people?
In the room they were led into, they offered seats. The room had a smooth oak desk and a strict looking man sitting behind it. He was clad in the same uniform as the others, but a badge was by his breast pocket.
senior general.
"Congratulations on all awakening various talents." He began, his hands folded as he looked at them one after the other.
"Now, I'll explain what's going on." He added.
"What happened today wasn't just a random disaster. It was a tear that took place in a lost planet, Xolaris, due to a nuclear bomb going off there. Of course, our scientists tried everything they could to prevent it from going off and they managed to stall it for almost a decade."
Hayden's mind reeled.
"But alas, they couldn't hold it off anymore. And since we knew this would one day happen, we've been working on this project alongside the government for years. When it was confirmed that the bomb would undoubtedly go off in six months, exclusive news was sent out to… certain people. People who'd be interested in being safe and protected while the bomb went off and the world got plagued with chaos."
"Like rich people?" Hayden asked wearily, squinting.
The man nodded. "Of course, kid. This ark we're presently in is protected with so much tech and resources that cost millions. Everyone in here paid millions of dollars each to secure a spot here."
"What about the poor people?" Alice asked quietly and the man snorted.
"They could never afford it, so there was no use informing them."
"But the government should have found a way to…" Alice was cut off with a wave.
"The government doesn't run a charity case, kid."
"My family never received any exclusive news of this, and neither did Finn's family. Why were we not informed? We could all have been saved here and now the rest of my family are most likely all dead!" James yelled as he got to his feet.
One of the soldiers still present shoved James back in his seat.
The senior general chuckled as he regarded James.
"Aren't you a Coleman?"
James stiffly nodded. "James Coleman."
"Well, James. Your family certainly wouldn't have been able to afford it. They've been in debt for the past ten years and were only surviving on what little fund they could get their hands on."
James' mouth fell open, clearly unable to believe his ears.
"T- that's not true!" He cried out weakly.
The man's gaze became sharp. "Enough already. This isn't the time for tantrums at all. If you keep this up, you'll get thrown out."
James quietened down, scowling hard. But Hayden thought back to his uncle and aunt. Didn't they also receive the exclusive news of this ark so they can secure spots for themselves and their families? For him and his sister too. Hayden wanted to ask about that but decided against it.
He thought about his sister and pain filled his heart.
"Back to what I was saying." The man resumed speaking.
"While we worked on this project, our scientists developed a serum that could evoke certain powers in us humans, which we now classify by talent and class. But sadly it doesn't work on some unlucky ones."
Hayden still felt relieved it worked on him.
"Anyways, we've recruited a lot of able bodied people who the serum worked on, and they're trained, mastered their abilities and now, they've started going in and out of Xolaris to fight off monsters there for a few years now."
Wow…
"It was a state secret project before but not anymore, and now you guys are all gonna join them in fighting monsters and beasts on moving forward. That's the way you can earn your spot on this ark."
"Would we be getting any reward for doing that? Or is our reward just gonna be a spot in this… ark?" Katie asked.
"Oh, you'll all be paid heftily. Everyone who paid for spots here is fully loaded. You'll be paid according to your strengths, amount of kills and the likes. There's extra perks you can get when you kill certain beasts and extract something called cores from them, which is greatly needed by our scientists here for more research… amongst other things, but all of this would be gotten into later."
Hayden felt it was ironic that he'll finally get the chance to get money when the world is in chaos.
"While our scientists work on closing up the tear, the earth will slowly return to its normal state. But till then, we're stuck here." The man said before smoothly rising up. He walked around the desk to stand in front of it, revealing his pot belly.
"And now, per the rules; you'll all have to undergo tests to prove yourselves worthy, and this test is a risky one, whereby only 1% makes it back alive."
Everyone tensed up.
"The test is a very simple level and would take place at the very entrance of the lost planet— where the least danger is, but to rookies, it's still very dangerous, especially since you'll all be going in without gears."
"Without gears?!" They chorused at the same time.
"Yes. We have to use our supplies carefully, so before you're given one, we have to ensure you're strong fighters with potential." The man informed them with a nod.
Hayden felt sick to his stomach. How can he fight in his crippled state? And with no gear? That's literally a death sentence.