章 5: Chapter 5: It's Finally Time

'It's been 3 hours and I've used my skill 6 times. Although the skill didn't work on Aurelia.' Ethan mused playfully, a hint of disappointment in his voice. 'Now...' His smile widened. 'Let's see what you've got for me, Dmitry.' he said, feeling excited.

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Current Name: Dmitry Sokolov

Level: 1

HP: 3

MP: 3

Strength: 3

Agility: 1

Intelligence: 9

Perception: 1

Luck: 185

Skills:

- [Blueprint A]

- [Gifted Hands A]

- [Simulation B]

=====

'Blueprint and Simulation. I'll be needing both. Too bad it has a one week cool down and I probably won't be seeing him for like 6 years after now.' Ethan mused, contemplating his options.

[Copying Skill: Simulation B]

[Continue? Y/N]

'Hell yeah' he thought to himself.

This continued for 7 hours, with Ethan able to copy 13 skills. Since he was the only one left, there was no need to draw straws. Aurelia opened the space for him, and he walked in, feeling confident.

Inside the space, Aurelia explained what Ethan needed to do. Ethan remained quiet as he sifted through the skills.

"Hey! Are you ignoring me? Because that's what it looks like right now." Aurelia snapped, his patience wearing thin.

'I can't really stall for time, so I guess this will have to do.' Ethan felt like sulking. "Hey, Michael, I need a loan." Ethan said casually, without looking at Aurelia.

"What did you just call me, brat?" Aurelia's irritation was evident.

"I'll really kill you if you keep disrespecting..." Aurelia couldn't finish his threat.

"Nope. You can't kill me. Not that you can't anyways, but you won't, am I wrong?" Ethan folded his arms before turning with a smirk.

'What's with this kid?' Aurelia thought to himself. "Why do you think so?"

"Simple, I'm still alive."

"Huh?" Aurelia felt confused.

"There's no way someone like you won't be able to kill someone who gets on your nerves, and throwing a fit instead of striking that Martin guy proves it." Ethan maintained his smirk before turning away. "The reason you can't is simply because if you do, you'll get in trouble with the big guy."

Now Aurelia was flustered. "How do you know about my maker?"

"None of your business. Are you giving me the loan or not, or... Since you like games, how about a gamble?" Ethan baited him, knowing Aurelia's fondness for games and jesting. Since he was a bit occupied by the thought of his maker, he wasn't in a logical state on mind and this was what Ethan was aiming for. Changing the loan to a gamble was sure to pique his interest, and Ethan knew this.

"So, what's the bet?" Aurelia inquired, pretending not to care.

"Easy actually. Give me 50 points, and I'll guess the classes three people will get. If I'm correct, you forget you gave me those points." Ethan proposed.

Aurelia looked skeptical. "Hmmm, what's in it for me?"

"If I get any wrong, then I'll take the blame for that throne you broke," Ethan countered.

"Deal," Aurelia agreed, though he seemed amused by Ethan's proposition. 'I thought you were a smart kid, but I must've been mistaken. Hehehe.' Aurelia whispered to himself. "Here you go." With a snap of his fingers, points appeared on Ethan's screen.

"I'll take [Search: F]" Ethan picked a dull-looking card.

"Sure, whatever." Aurelia replied, not particularly interested.

"Alright, it's your turn." Aurelia rushed Ethan.

"Ryota will get the Hero class, Jean Priestess, and Dmitry will get three Classes being Artisan, Blacksmith and Tinkerer. My guess is based on their current skills and stats." Ethan confidently announced with a devilish smile.

"Guess they gave you that information willingly. But still, even I can't predict what class anyone will get. Just prepare to face God's wrath for me. Hahaha." Aurelia laughed heartily. "You really are dumb. Those classes have the lowest chance of appearing, plus you're saying someone will get a Trio Class?"

"We'll just have to wait and see." Ethan kept smiling and didn't say a word, which annoyed Aurelia even more. He prompted Ethan to leave. As Ethan walked out, he saw everyone waiting for him.

*****

"I thought you'd try to stall for time or something as dumb as that." Jean remarked, trying to provoke him.

Ethan chuckled and replied, "I see your attitude is as nonexistent as your chest."

"Huh?" The insult really struck a nerve maybe because it was partly true, or maybe because that wasn't the first time someone told her thst. "What did you just say to me? I'll beat you myself." Jean fumed, slowly advancing towards Ethan with pure animosity in her eyes.

"Ha, you better run for it, Ethan." Ryota joked, trying to lighten the tense atmosphere.

"G-Good idea..." Ethan stammered nervously, though he couldn't understand why he felt intimidated.

"Now let's see what class you all got." Aurelia interrupted eagerly, wearing a perverted grin as he snapped his fingers, summoning Ryota, Dmitry, and Jean before him.

"What did we do now? And what's with that smirk of yours?" Jean inquired, suspicion lacing her tone as she eyed Aurelia.

"I'm saving you three for later." Aurelia responded cryptically, snapping his fingers before instructing everyone except Ryota, Dmitry, and Jean to check their status.

Everyone eagerly checked their status to see what classes they had been assigned. Emi Suzuki discovered she had the Mage class, Antoine Martin was designated as a Rogue, and a few, like Charlotte, possessed dual classes such as Healer/Alchemist.

As Ethan checked his status, he received a pop-up message:

[Updating Class]

[New Class: Magic Swordsman]

"I got a dual class? Cool." Ethan exclaimed with a mix of surprise and excitement.

With joy and curiosity, everyone freely and happily announced their classes, each embracing their newfound roles with enthusiasm.

"That's not right. What did you do? Your class shouldn't be that good. Have you forgotten your luck isn't good right now?" Jean questioned, suspicion evident in her tone.

"Sorry, man, but she's got a point." Ryota chimed in, backing Jean's concern.

"No idea. Check yours, we don't have all day." Ethan deflected, attempting to change the subject. Despite his attempt to divert attention, Jean remained unconvinced but chose to keep quiet.

"Alright, check yours." Aurelia directed towards the remaining three individuals.

Just as Ethan predicted, Ryota received the Hero class, Jean got the Priestess Class, and Dmitry obtained a trio class of Artisan/Blacksmith/Tinkerer.

Aurelia was left speechless. He had just lost a bet in an unbelievable manner. 'I win.' Ethan muttered to himself triumphantly.

"How did you..." Aurelia began, but Ethan cut him short with a simple "Luck."

Everyone watched the exchange, not fully understanding the context of the argument. However, Jean's suspicion of Ethan only grew.

"You're telling me he's got the guts to argue with someone who made lightning rain in this hall? I'm sure he did something," Jean insisted.

"Oh, come on, maybe they bonded or something," Ryota offered optimistically.

"Highly unlikely," Jean rebutted.

"I've never met any human as troublesome as you. Apart from her anyways," Aurelia muttered to himself, lost in thought and unaware that everyone could hear him.

"Huh? What are you whining about?" Ethan teased, noticing Aurelia's distraction.

"Oh, was I thinking out loud?" Aurelia snapped back to reality. "Nothing, you brat."

"Oh?" Ethan prodded further.

"You'll all be sent to different great families of Verena based on your classes," Aurelia explained, sighing. "This is as far as our meeting goes. I bid you farewell." With a snap of his fingers, everyone vanished, leaving Aurelia alone in the empty hall.

He looked at the broken throne and sighed. "I had fun, at least. Ethan, huh?"

*****

"Huh? Now where am I?" Ethan struggled to see, but he could hear voices around him. He felt confined and unable to move freely. Gradually, he regained consciousness, only to be confronted by the sight of an enormous person looming over him. 'What the...' he thought, startled.

"Honey, our little baby is awake," a female voice exclaimed, addressing someone else in the room.

"Don't you think he's awfully quiet, dear?" the other person responded.

"I think so too, but he seems to be in good health," she reassured.

'Baby? Me? Oh, that's right, I'm a baby,' Ethan realized slowly. 'Oh my god, I'm a baby. Ahhhhhh!' he tried to scream, but it came out as crying.

"That's better," the woman, who appeared to be his mother, said as she lifted him up. "So, what do we name him? I already named our last child, so this one is all yours," she smiled at him.

"Well... I suck at naming, but if you insist," the man, clearly his father, replied. "Jett." With a smile. "Jett Grift."