Class Awakening: Working Hard Can Evolve My Classes

The next day was Sunday, so Zeke woke up rather late. The academy was closed on Sundays, and he had politely asked Hullo last night to move his training to Monday, which the gruff man agreed to with a resigned sigh, seemingly used to it.

By 11:00 AM, Zeke had finished his morning routine, eaten canned foods, and taken a bath. He was someone who preferred to do things on schedule. After finishing his routine, he was ready to tackle his biggest "hurdle" for today—creating a technique.

Zeke sat down on a chair and took a deep breath, concentrating.

First, what was a technique?

A technique was an imitation of innate skills. Techniques could only be created by Rankers who were familiar enough with their abilities to transform them into something other people could use.

Such concepts already existed in the early years of the Age of Classes, but they were only popularized and formally explored a hundred years into the new era, when all countries united and formed the Global Earth Alliance, leading to a period of exponential growth.

Essentially, there were a lot of "knowledge-based" classes like Scholars who had non-standard skills in the past. Through their combined intellects, they created the prototype of techniques, officially pioneering a new kind of path for Rankers.

Following their proposal, seasoned Rankers at that time began to develop personal techniques. But earlier techniques were very restrictive, often something only they could use.

However, as the path ahead furthered, and years of exploration passed, the standard for what was called techniques and what wasn’t became a hot topic. But it all ended with the rise of a single person. To keep it brief, a famous person who awakened the Martial Scholar class decided that only skills that can be used by other people can be qualified to be called a technique.

That person further divided it into two categories, which could be simplified to class techniques and general techniques. Class techniques were techniques that could only be used by a specific category of classes. General techniques were techniques everyone could use, no matter the class.

In short, the creation of techniques was like the industrialization of skills.

Knowing this information was significant since Zeke now knew where he could start. First, he dismissed general techniques as they had high requirements for creation and had a low return for him. So he was left with class techniques.

Class techniques to follow a specific path so anyone with a similar class could use it. Zeke thought for a moment. What was the path of Stick Master, then? What category of class would it fall under?

After some thought, Zeke narrowed it down quickly.

Stick Master, simply judging from its skills—Stick Skill and Stick Manifestation, made it a class under the combat category. Narrowing it down further, the way of swinging his stick to train his proficiency reminded Zeke of a swordsman.

’That second-year also said the same...’

In short, Stick Master was a combat-type class that fell under the path of weapon users like swordsmen. From this idea, his created technique could be something that those who were proficient with swords can learn and use.

With that answered, the next and most important question was up next.

What did he want his technique to do?

’A flurry of attacks, one strong attack, a special kind of attack...’

Zeke thought deeply, but even after a while of thinking, he couldn’t arrive at a decision. Time passed, and an hour passed without him knowing, yet he was still stuck in conceptualizing his technique.

"This is hard."

He sighed, shaking his head.

Zeke stood up and decided to take a short stroll outside. According to a book he read, walks can inspire the best ideas unintentionally. Perhaps it was because the mind was less burdened to make a decision, so it could create better ideas.

He stepped out of his unit and saw the dark-haired lady from before. He gave a slight nod before quickly moving away, saying nothing. The streets outside no longer felt foreign to him, every turn and intersection immediately brought up the place it led towards.

Some people walking around were also recognizable to him at a glance, mainly because he always saw them when he took a stroll. Unknowingly, this place was starting to feel like home.

The crimson thick air was beginning to look normal in his eyes, and he no longer felt the sense of discomfort that he had when he first arrived. Even his apartment felt safe and sufficient, aside from the unbearable food.

’... How many days has it been again since I arrived here?’

This thought couldn’t help but rise in Zeke’s mind, feeling an emotion he couldn’t quite identify. He arrived here last... Sunday, and today was Sunday again, so a week had already passed without him noticing.

’How strange.’

The longer he stayed here, the less love he felt for his previous life. The poor, dangerous condition of Red Land should have pushed him away, disgusted him to no end, but surprisingly, it didn’t.

Instead, he felt more disgusted with his old life. He used to be someone so high up that nobody could begin to understand him. When he was approached by people, they only saw him as a tool to further their goals, yet he couldn’t complain since he held the same ideas.

Even though he was known as a chosen one, his whole life was essentially controlled by the Starlight family. When he showed talent, they showered him with love and benefits; in exchange, he would dedicate his life to the family. But the second he showed any independent thinking, Alexander was there to ’correct’ him.

He wasted resources people would kill for, and yet he was rewarded for it every single time.

He once had everything he desperately wanted right now, and yet when he thought back to those days, he couldn’t feel happy at all. Even if he could turn back time and awaken a different class, Zeke would choose to leave every single time.

As Zeke Starlight, he was utterly alone, a puppet of Alexander, and an arrogant no-show who took everything in his life for granted.

’Maybe that’s why Amber’s rejection hurts the most...’

Zeke showed a bitter expression. Among all of those who discarded him, Amber’s... was the one that broke his spirit. He only had one choice in his life, which was his fiancée, and he chose Amber after knowing her.

She was also the only one he could consider a ’friend’ who didn’t need anything from him.

But thinking about it again, before her, there were a lot of people he considered worthy of his trust. He thought of Alexander as a mentor figure, Belmud as an uncle, and other people—but he also knew that those relationships were shallow in the first place, but he refused to believe it, because that would feel lonely.

When the awakening ceremony came, he could no longer ignore it.

What made him who he was as a Starlight was also the same thing that ended his life as one. Zeke stopped, looking at the sky. The sun was extremely bright, but even its light was partially blocked by the crimson air.

Crimson birds glided through the sky, like a streak of blood auroras.

"Crimson, huh..."

Zeke muttered. He didn’t know why, but he suddenly recalled his fight against Franz—where he stood up and took his last stand, despite being utterly destroyed from inside and outside.

His attack back then wasn’t aiming to hurt Franz, much less knock him down. It was more like a statement for him—the voice in his heart finally erupting after facing the most brutal beatdown of life he ever experienced.

Then, he also thought back to his hours spent in training, swinging a frail, wobbly stick nonstop while everyone was laughing at him. But he ignored them, believing in himself. Eventually, a person came and praised his spirit and passion.

"—That’s it."

Zeke suddenly smiled, conceptualizing the technique he wanted to create. It wasn’t a technique that was defined by its strength or its speed, but the feelings of the user. As long as he still breathed, no matter how faintly, he would never stop swinging his blade.

After knowing the direction and concept of the technique, the rest was simple to him, as he had maximum proficiency in his skills.

At that moment, the proficiency panel for his Stick Master class quietly reached 100 points.

[Stick Master 100/100].

[Stick Master evolving...].

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