I was curious about what Dolphan would tell us. The other people here looked just as curious as I was, as everyone had gone silent. Seeing the silence, Dolphan smiled and began to speak even more loudly than before.
"I told you that this item we have given you is latest technology. The breakthrough we have made is revolutionary. The wallistics in your hands can see your souls."
It was difficult to understand the explanation, but it was intriguing. The old ritchi spoke in a decisive tone. From what I gathered from his words, the wallistics we had been given were special and could perform actions related to our souls without flaw. This made me think that previous wallistics must have been flawed in this regard.
"As humans, we are all considered weak. We desire to overcome our deficiencies. We feel this deep within our souls. To be stronger or smarter, for example. Now, look into those stats in your eyes and focus on one of them. This will allow you to see the first revolutionary feature of wallistics. That is, the sub-stats."
With these words, a new hum began. I didn't pay attention to the hum and tried to focus on my stats as Dolphan had said. I chose the weakest one, which was strength. Especially when I focused on it, two new slots appeared beneath the stat.
Strength: F-
- Physical Strength: 12 (F-)
- Strike Power: 9 (F-)
I was so excited that I almost fell out of my chair. I finally understood what the old ritchi meant. We could obtain more detailed information about our stats and had the chance to "see" our weaknesses in this regard. A feeling of excitement began to dance through my body again. Moreover, Dolphan didn't seem inclined to wait for the hum to subside this time. I couldn't help but agree with him. For the old man, this feeling must have been like presenting a project to his classmates.
"I kindly ask you to quiet down a bit, as what I have to share is not yet finished. Your soul contains not only the things you wish for in the future but also the things you have done in the past. Throughout your life, you learn various things and acquire knowledge. This knowledge is nothing more than your 'abilities'. Focus on your abilities and witness them once more."
The sound of the hum had increased instead of decreasing. It seemed that people were sharing what they saw around them. There appeared to be no difference between those who received wallistics for the first time and those who had used them before. I forced my mind to do what the old man had said. It felt like there was a gap beneath the stats. I wanted it to open up. It was like inserting the key into a locked treasure chest. The lower compartment shimmered, and a brand new section emerged.
Abilities:
-Blacksmith Apprentice
-Disciplined
-???
I had three abilities. To understand what they were, I focused on the top ability and asked it to provide an explanation. It felt like information was being drawn out from my brain and then shown to me before being put back.
Blacksmith Apprentice: You have worked alongside a blacksmith for many years. You possess the capacity to produce various weapons and tools.
It was just as I had guessed. The ability summarized my past experiences in a few sentences. The abilitys allowed me to "see" a more straightforward way to develop it. As long as I continued to engage in blacksmithing, I could decide how far my path could extend. I immediately requested the explanation for the next ability.
Disciplined: You were trained by a soldier. You possess the discipline to fulfill your desires.
After learning about my other ability, I started looking at the "???" section. I truly didn't know why it was that way. Since abilities are connected to the past, there was a possibility that the wallistics could see my previous life. I didn't how the wallistics would respond to my past life.
With the sub-stats and abilities, I began to see this game-like world even more and more like a game. I was looking around and observing how the people around me were connecting with their wallistics. The astonishment and excitement were quite apparent. Curiosity and ambition lurked behind them. While the existence of these feelings was a bit suffocating, it wasn't that bad. At that moment, I saw Viola raise her hand. She looked like she had a question, as curiosity was evident in her eyes. The old man spotted her among so many people and encouraged her to ask her question. Viola immediately stood up. Assuming he wouldn't hear her since he was old, she started to speak loudly.
"Old man! Tell us what you did to the classes! My class has been named in a completely different!"
All eyes suddenly turned to the Scarple noble. I was sure that many of the people here, just like me, didn't have a class. Viola had declared that she had a class. 'This girl must really be stupid.' I thought. If I were to be reincarnated as a noble, I would definitely hide all of my power. At that moment, I saw a hand rise from the front row. I could see that it belonged to someone with blue hair. I couldn't see her face. I could tell it was a girl from her voice because her hair was short, and I couldn't clearly see her body shape from there. However, I noticed that the people around her seemed to be keeping their distance as if avoiding her.
"I have a question. I think the entire interface has been updated. What does all this updating mean?"
Her question was reasonable. Most people seemed to is taking a wallistics for the first time. Many of them were certainly like me. It seemed that the nobles didn't want all the attention focused on them. Dolphan, having heard the questions, waited for the hum to subside again. He checked to see if the microphone-like device was still working and began to provide a separate explanation for the nobles.
"The answers to your questions are actually right under your noses. I told you that this item looks into your soul. Because of this, the mechanical and artificial narratives have completely changed. Classes have changed in a personalized way, and the 'class abilities' section has been renamed to 'class path.' The same applies to magic. I believe everyone here knows how magic works. The section for 'magic abilities' for those who have the ability to use magic has been changed to 'magic path'. Previously, you were given simple instructions on how to develop these but the likelihood of that working was low. That's why it won't assign you tasks anymore. The future is quite complex. Even trying to understand it is nearly impossible for this wallistics."
After a long speech, he took a deep breath. Then, as if he had forgotten something, he added the following sentence.
"By the way, I'm not sure if I need to mention this but the equipment section has been updated again, as it always has."
This time, there seemed to be a deathly silence. Everyone looked like they were thinking about what to do. We wanted to carve our own paths. 'I wonder what my path will be?' I said to myself. When I looked at Viola's face, I noticed that she had lowered her head and seemed to be gritting her teeth. She looked as if she was trying to suppress the urge to cry. I didn't know what to say to her. For now, I decided to say nothing. The president took a breath to speak one last time.
"If you have no further questions, our opening ceremony has come to an end. All of you, please return to your rooms and rest well. Your general training will begin tomorrow."
And with that, everything came to an end, and through the guidance of the attendants, I found myself in my room.