The torch on the wall flickered, casting long shadows across the stone chamber. The sealed iron door stood silent and unmoving. The only sound was the faint ticking—tick, tick, tick—that echoed through the room like a metronome of doom.
30 minutes.
That's what the system said.
> [Quest Update: Orientation Trial Begins.]
Objective: Find your way out. Time Limit: 29:43
Bonus Objective: Locate the hidden sigil.
Reward: Class Affinity Preview
Penalty: Delayed class assignment
The countdown was real.
So was the rising panic clawing at the back of my throat.
I stood still for a moment, trying not to freak out. Just a room. Just a test. There were no monsters. No traps. Hopefully.
The chamber wasn't big—roughly six meters wide, maybe ten across. Stone bricks from floor to ceiling, arranged in meticulous symmetry. The walls were covered in carvings—faint symbols, glyphs, some of them glowing softly like faint embers. On the far end, the iron door stood tall, its frame rimmed with bronze and etched with strange patterns.
I rubbed my palms together and took a slow breath.
Alright. Let's go, brain. Time to prove you're not just decoration.
---
First rule of puzzles: check everything.
I started walking the perimeter of the room, tapping bricks, brushing my fingers across carvings, looking for anything that might click or shift. Most of the wall was cool stone—nothing out of the ordinary. But then—
A faint warmth.
I paused, frowning. One of the bricks beneath a torch was slightly warmer than the others. Not hot, but... noticeably so. I tilted my head.
"That's suspicious."
I pressed it.
Nothing.
I leaned in, squinting at the pattern etched into the brick's surface. It looked... familiar? No, not familiar. Just memorable. I had a knack for details, and something about the jagged spiral pattern scratched at my brain like an itch I couldn't reach.
Didn't they say something about maintenance during the ceremony? Something weird—
"Ugh, what was it..." I muttered to myself, rubbing my temples. "Something about bricks. I think. Or maybe the lighting system?"
No clear answer came. Just a vague memory of one of the instructors whispering about the "irregularity in the western wall alignments" or something equally cryptic.
I crouched down, scanning the floor near the warm brick. Then two bricks to the right, I spotted a thin crack—just barely out of alignment. Almost invisible.
I pressed it.
Click.
A section of the wall groaned and shifted back half an inch, revealing a narrow slit with a faint blue shimmer.
> [Bonus Objective Complete: Hidden Sigil Located.]
Reward: +5 Bonus Credits
Additional Reward: Early Hint – "Affinity not fixed."
Huh?
Before I could even process that last part, the shimmering slit closed again, sealing shut with a stone grinding noise.
"Wait, what does 'Affinity not fixed' mean?" I muttered.
But no answer came. The system was being deliberately vague. Again.
I stood and turned my focus to the main door.
---
There were four symbols arranged in a diamond pattern on the iron surface: flame, shield, eye, and sword.
Classes.
That had to be it. Mage. Tank. Strategist. Warrior? But why strategist is it a strong and unique class here?
I looked around the room again, now with new context. Everything here had to be a test. A choice. Maybe even a reflection of who I was.
Did I go for the shield and play it safe? The flame and chase power? The eye for tactics? Or the sword to fight head-on?
I hesitated.
Then, instead of touching anything, I turned around and sat cross-legged on the cold floor.
"Alright," I whispered, "let's think."
I'd spent most of my life drifting. Unmotivated. Smart, sure, but never really tested. But now... I couldn't just fumble my way forward. This place wouldn't allow it.
And maybe that's why I was here.
I stared at the four symbols. The eye drew my attention. Not because I wanted it. But because it felt like the kind of thing someone like me might actually be able to handle. Observe. Think. Remember.
But I didn't choose it.
Not yet.
---
A glowing timer appeared above the door.
Time Remaining: 04:59
I stood up.
The moment I touched the eye symbol, the others vanished.
The door clicked—and slowly creaked open.
A cold gust of air greeted me.
> [Trial Complete.]
Class Affinity Registered: Strategist (Provisional)
Bonus Trait Acquired: Keen Insight – +10% detail recall on environmental analysis
Orientation Score: 68/100
Status: Observed
It was that easy?
Observed. That again.
Great. Someone had been watching me hesitate for twenty-five minutes like a confused raccoon in a trap.
Still, I'd made it. Barely.
---
I stepped into a long corridor lit by floating lanterns. The walls were made of polished obsidian stone, and ahead I could hear footsteps—other students emerging from their own trials.
Voices. Murmurs. Some cheering. Some arguing.
A large hall came into view, where several students were already gathering. Screens hovered in midair, and a few instructors stood nearby taking notes.
I spotted jack leaning against a pillar, arms folded, a smug smile on his face.
"Hey, you survived," he said casually. "Took you long enough."
"Fashionably late," I replied. "What'd you get?"
"Can't say. They told me it's confidential until the rankings go live. Suspense, huh?"
I rolled my eyes. "Great."
He tilted his head, squinting at me. "You look like someone who just guessed the answer to a riddle and got it right by accident."
"Maybe I did."
But I didn't feel like I got lucky. Not exactly.
More like… I was starting to remember how to think under pressure.
---
> [System Notification: Initial Academy Rankings Will Be Announced Tomorrow Morning.]
Top Contenders Will Be Publicly Displayed.
Warning: Performance Impacts Resource Allocation and Class Advancement Speed.
So that was it.
No grades. No participation trophies.
Here, you were either ahead—or behind.
And starting tomorrow, we'd all know exactly where we stood.
And tomorrow i will finally know who the strong students are