"What is that?!"
The thermos in Old Zhang's hand dropped to the floor with a clatter, spilling hot water everywhere.
Ignoring the scalding water, he stared up at the sky, his mouth agape.
The principal also rose from his chair, bracing both hands against the railing until his knuckles turned white.
"Unprecedented... this phenomenon is unprecedented!"
In his thirty years as principal, he had seen plenty of phenomena.
Flames, frost, ferocious beasts, weapons.
But he had never seen coins.
And the pressure from this phenomenon was far stronger than the lightning just now.
As a rule, the stronger the phenomenon, the stronger the awakened class.
The golden light lasted a full ten seconds before slowly fading.
The stadium was deathly silent.
Everyone kept their heads tilted back, not moving even when their necks grew sore.
Click.
The door to Room Ten opened.
Lu Fang walked out.
His expression remained calm, as though the earth-shaking phenomenon just now had nothing to do with him.
The way everyone looked at him had changed.
There was reverence, curiosity, and even a hint of awe.
Wang Yixing stood rooted to the spot, the smile on his face as stiff as a cheap mask.
He watched Lu Fang approach.
That sense of pressure made him deeply uncomfortable.
"What did you awaken?"
Unable to hold back, Wang Yixing rushed over and blocked Lu Fang's path.
His voice was a little urgent and a little shrill.
Lu Fang stopped and looked at him.
"That's confidential."
Lu Fang said only those two words.
Wang Yixing froze for a moment, then his embarrassment turned to anger.
"Confidential?"
He did not believe Lu Fang could be stronger than him.
Absolutely not.
Lu Fang ignored him, walked around him, and returned to his class's line.
"Brother Fang!"
Jiang Xia was the first to rush over, giving Lu Fang a bear hug.
"That was awesome! That huge gold coin practically blinded me!"
Jiang Xia was so excited that his face and neck turned red.
"I don't know what class it is, but it has to be strong. That aura was way stronger than Wang Yixing's lightning."
The students nearby also crowded around.
"Congratulations, Young Master Lu."
"Young Master Lu, please carry me from now on."
Everyone was enthusiastic.
Lu Fang responded with a smile.
He took his phone out of his pocket and walked to a corner of the group.
He had spent so much of his dad's money just now. Although his awakening had succeeded, he had not yet had time to share the good news.
He called his father.
Ring... ring... ring...
The phone rang for a long time, but no one answered.
Lu Fang frowned.
He called again.
Still no answer.
He called his mom several times as well, with the same result.
Could they both still be busy?
Lu Fang thought as he looked at his phone screen.
There had been wind noise when his father answered earlier. Perhaps he was traveling, or fighting other races.
Things changed rapidly on the front lines. It was normal not to have time to answer the phone.
Lu Fang put his phone away and thought no more about it.
He had already sent the messages anyway. His parents would see them once they finished what they were doing.
Soon, all the students had completed their awakening ceremonies.
Of the thousand-plus students, fewer than two hundred had awakened combat classes.
Only Wang Yixing and Lu Fang had produced phenomena.
The principal stepped onto the platform again.
The flush on his face had yet to fade. He was clearly in a good mood.
"Excellent. This year's awakening ceremony has been a complete success."
The principal cleared his throat.
Then he took out a new crystal ball from behind him.
This crystal ball was a size larger than the one used for awakening, with a mass of gray mist swirling inside.
"This is the entrance to the Initial Dungeon."
The principal pointed at the crystal ball.
"Every newcomer who has just awakened a class gets one chance to enter the Initial Dungeon. This is a benefit provided by the nation."
"There are fifteen stages in total."
"Clearing each stage grants a large amount of experience and rewards."
"The more stages you clear, the higher your final rating and the greater your rewards."
At the mention of rewards, the students below the platform all lit up.
The Initial Dungeon was a newcomer's first pot of gold.
In previous years, some had obtained top-tier skill books in the Initial Dungeon and soared straight to success.
Others had obtained rare materials and sold them for a large sum.
"To encourage you all..."
The principal raised his voice.
"The school has decided to give extra rewards to the top one hundred students in this dungeon's clearance rankings."
"First place will receive..."
The principal paused and pulled a black jar from his pocket.
The jar was small, only palm-sized, and sealed with red wax.
"An exclusive equipment blind jar, unbound."
Whoa!
The entire stadium erupted.
This time, even the students who had awakened life classes could not help crying out.
"An exclusive equipment blind jar? And it's unbound?"
"My god, wouldn't that sell for at least five million?"
"Five million? You couldn't buy one even if you had the money! It can give you exclusive equipment suited to your class. With good luck, you could get gold equipment!"
"They're really splurging. Looks like the school wants to push its college admission rate this year."
Lu Fang's eyes also lit up as he looked at the black jar.
He could sense his own status.
Although the God of Wealth class had absurd stats, it had one restriction.
He could not equip weapons or armor for ordinary classes.
In other words, he could not use any of the swords, blades, or armor sold on the market.
If he wanted equipment, it had to be exclusive equipment.
He had to get that blind jar.
"First place..."
Lu Fang murmured.
"What? You want it too?"
A grating voice sounded beside his ear.
Wang Yixing had sidled over again at some point.
He looked at Lu Fang with that familiar provocative expression.
"We both have special classes, and we both had phenomena."
Wang Yixing held his head high, his hand resting on the hilt of the lightning sword at his waist.
"But I'll prove that I'm the strongest."
Jiang Xia could not stand it anymore and cut in.
"Wang Yixing, don't get so cocky. Brother Fang's phenomenon was much bigger than yours."
"What good is being big?"
Wang Yixing snorted, swept his gaze over everyone, then declared loudly.
"My starting strength stat reached 60 points!"
His shout was very loud.
The surroundings instantly fell silent.
Then an even louder wave of discussion erupted.
"Holy shit! Sixty points?"
"I only have eight!"
"I only have twelve, and he has sixty? Is he even human?"
"An ordinary warrior only starts with around fifteen strength, right? That's four times as much!"
"That's terrifying. Is this what makes a special class so valuable?"
Everyone's exclamations were immensely gratifying to Wang Yixing.
This was the source of his confidence.
Sixty strength was absolutely overwhelming at the starting stage.
He looked smugly at Lu Fang, hoping to see shock, panic, or inferiority on his face.
Even the slightest trace would do.
But.
He was disappointed.
Lu Fang merely looked at him and blinked.
"Oh."
Lu Fang gave a brief response.
His expression remained as placid as water.
There was even a hint of... the look one gave an idiot in need of care?