Chapter 1: Orientation

Around two hundred years ago, the world was a bland, boring place. People were born, went to school, worked mediocre jobs and struggled to make ends meet. It was an endless cycle of sadness, reproduction and more sadness. The humans hated each other, wars were fought constantly, countries betrayed their own people and the only way for anyone to reach the top was throwing countless numbers beneath their feet and leaving them for dead. It was because of this struggle, however, that the Gods remained interested. It was for these reasons that the Gods never intervened.

That is, until, a certain event unfolded. Under some questionable administration, the ties between each of the countries were heavily strained, and the countries kept knives pointed at each other's throats for nearly a decade, until one country decided to ignite the fuse. The moment all of the nukes launched, the human race watched with awe-inspiring despair, their lives about to be ended at any moment. It was at this moment, that the Gods intervened.

Not wanting their source of entertainment to end, and no longer trusting the humans to work well amongst themselves, they decided that they must keep themselves involved if life was to continue existing. As such, a new world was created, a divine one that ensured that nobody would die needlessly, nobody would have to fear for their lives and everyone would be treated with fairness. Not long after, the Gods quickly grew bored of this creation, when one goddess of mischief gave a brilliant suggestion: to create a second, separate world in which the humans could indulge in their skills and fight for supremacy once more.

This new world was brilliant. Under the supervision of the goddess of mischief, the god of death, the goddess of life and the god of the pleasure, something unheard of emerged: a world brimming with monsters, magic, and opportunity. Upon the world's creation, the humans were stripped of their immortality; however they were given an opportunity to gain it back. After reaching age 18, the humans would stop aging, provided that they enter the other world at least once a day for 8 hours. This requirement did not come without its risks, however. The second world itself was dangerous, and only the strong could survive. Those who died more than three times, would find themselves dead forever in both the first, and the second world. The humans were delighted. They could fight for both fame and fun, while also fighting for a chance to live longer than a hundred years. The Gods, wanting to take a more active role in the world this time around, opted to remain among the humans as one of them.

Now, two hundred years into the future, the story will take place of a rather magnificent child of unprecedented origin.

Year: 2239 AD

In the center of the city of Orario, a small apartment building surrounded by dozens of other establishments held a young boy aged 14. The sun crept up over the buildings and the early risers had already begun driving on the busy street down below. Sunlight slowly floods through his bedroom window and shines gently on his face, getting stronger by the minute. A loud sigh escapes his mouth as he rustles through his bed to get a more comfortable sleeping angle. The sun, not wanting to retreat just yet, begins tickling the back of his neck with some unwelcomed heat.

"It's too early for this… let me sleep some more!" He yells as he throws his pillow at the window.

Now sitting upright with an angry scowl on his face, the boy closes his eyes again and sighs. He brushes a hand through his white, unkempt hair and smacks his parched lips, before gazing at the clock at his bedside.

"Seven-thirty, huh? OH CRAP! I'm gonna be late!" He says, quickly snapping his gaze from the clock to the bathroom.

In a hurry, he jumps up from his bed and quickly undresses himself, throwing whatever he can find on his body and rushing into the bathroom. Having quickly brushed his teeth, rinsed his hair and grabbing his school supplies, he runs out the door and escalates quickly down the stairs.

"What a bad time to oversleep! Of all days, it just had to be practice for High School orientation!" He mutters to himself coldly.

Now running down the sidewalk, he sees the people busily rushing around him to get to their destinations. He bumps into a stranger. Narrowly dodges a child. Almost trips over a cement tile. Breathing heavily and eyes wide open, he sees his school in front of him. Well, at least where his orientation for the school is going to be held. Orario Community Center was its name. It was the place where all of the information was to be handed out to the students starting at one of the eight great schools the next week. He smiled softly, slowing down a few dozen meters from the entrance and opting to walk the rest of the way. From within, he can hear subtle announcements being made, becoming louder as he walked closer.

"Good afternoon, future students of the eight great schools! Today is orientation day, and you will be given some information as to where to head in the community building regarding the school you wish to join. Before we begin, I would like to make a special announcement to the parents here. Chili night will unfortunately have to be canceled, as Hestia has forgotten to light the Heavenly Hearth." A few chuckles rise up from the crowd, the white haired boy having walked in from the back. "Jokes aside, it really will be canceled due to an unfortunate incident with the supervisor. We apologize for the inconvenience. Now, on to the main subject. The eight great schools are quite literally a world apart from your previous experiences at Junior High. While you were merely learning about the world and legends as well as proper grammar and mathematical skills at Junior High, you will be taking actual action going into High School. The schools themselves are located in the Underworld, with the entirety of your class time being spent there. As such, it shall be warned to you that failure to comply with instructions may and most likely will result in your immediate death. Now, that is not a threat, it's just the Underworld is a dangerous, unforgiving place. Wit, awareness and bravery will be required no matter where you go, however with that being said, you are given the option now to both resign from your school duties and stay in the Overworld for the rest of your days, or to begin your quest in the Underworld and earn a place among the legends. The option is yours." The announcer says as he takes a bow.

A loud round of applause roars throughout the stadium, and a great many students are seen rising up with excitement. However, the white haired boy can observe that there are a few who are sullenly walking away from the crowd, no doubt resigning as the announcer had said.

"Those of you who wish to join The Blade may head to Area A. Those who wish to join the Hammer, Area B. Shield at Area C, Staff at Area D, Bow at Area E, Dagger at Area F, Spear at Area G, and finally Wand at Area H. Please head there in an orderly manner!"

With the crowd dispersing to head towards their respective Areas, the white haired boy observes the signs above, quickly locating the Area he is meant to head towards.

Now at the front of the line, the white haired boy sighs with relief. A young attendant looks up from her desk, brown hair covering one side of her face with the rest being tied up in a ponytail. "Name, Age, Class and Exam Placement."

"Bell Cranel, Age 14, my Class is undecided and my Exam Placement was as follows: 1500 on swordplay, 1500 on hand-to-hand combat, 1500 on reaction test, 1320 on spell memorization and 1500 on alchemy." He says confidently.

"Only 5 exams of 30 total huh? Not much of an overachiever I see. Still, perfect scores on every category except one, pretty impressive. Based on what I can see with your choices, I can recommend Warrior, Paladin, Berserker, Rogue, really any melee class. As for ranged classes, you could technically go with wizard or any other magic class, but I can't give as solid of a recommendation due to the lack of the other 6 magic exams." She says having written all of the information down.

Bell scrunches his brow together and scratches the side of his head, tapping his foot in thought. The woman looks at him softly and sighs. "You should really make sure to get your class before coming so people behind you don't have to wait."

"I see, is there any way to change my class later on if I don't like it?"

She narrows her eyes and puts on a thoughtful face. "No you cannot, but I can already tell what you're interested in now. You're looking for Adventurer."

"What's Adventurer?" He says placing both hands on her desk.

"Adventurer is more or less the official name we give to 'classless' people. They have their ups and downs, but are highly dependent on the person's birth abilities, which are unable to be discovered until it's already too late. Long story short, it's quite the hefty gamble, you won't be guaranteed any powerful skills or stat ups that the other classes get, you will be left to rely entirely on your own ability. At least with that, however, you can keep your options open until you realize you have no ability whatsoever. So what makes you think you're so special kid?" She says with a smirk.

"Special? Far from it, I just don't care for sticking to the decided path. I want to be able to enjoy my life however I please, and I'm sick of people interfering with it and deciding what gets to happen with it. Sign me up for Adventurer, please." He says with an equal smirk.

Now a bit surprised, she rolls her eyes and jots her pen some more, before handing him a slip. "Very well then, Bell Cranel. I look forward to seeing what will come from you later. Just make sure to keep your head low, The Blade is the most popular school for the gifted students, and I don't just mean the ones born with special abilities either."

Bell nods his head and takes the slip. 'Time to find out what The School of the Blade has to offer!' He thinks to himself happily.