Chapter 2 - Just Dust...?
Vritra stared at the information, his mind already analysing the data. He didn't yet know what stats are considered average or high, but his luck stat was the highest among the others. He took a mental note of all the information and decided to check the details later.
"Dust Manipulation..." he murmured under his breath, his voice barely audible. He didn't know how disappointed he should be at his ability; after all, just at first glance, it seemed useless, but the rank seemed unusually high but why were there two ranks mentioned.
'And what is that Mutamorphis? It sounds just as useless... Is this some kind of survival skill? Not even a rank is displayed.' Vritra pondered before looking away from his stat window.
He took a quick look around, assessing the reactions of those around him and noticed that he could see others' status windows. The students were a mixture of confusion, excitement, and fear. And their skills only displayed one rank.
Ms. Mia was staring at her status window with a doubtful expression.
Vanessa read the information on her window and seemed bewildered as she hastily removed the status window and looked around to make sure no one read it. She didn't know what to say or how to react upon receiving such abilities.
'From the stats of other students, the average seems to be around 10 and I can only see a few things on others' status window.' Vritra thought as he quickly scanned the abilities the others had gotten. He found that he couldn't see many of the details such as the rank of their classes and many other things.
As the students, Mia, Vanessa, and Vritra stood in the awe-inspiring chamber, each lost in contemplation of their new abilities, a hush fell over the room.
Excited gasps and sighs rang out across the chamber of the temple. Some students read their skills in joyful surprise while a few seemed disappointed as they quickly tried to come to terms with their current situation.
'What kind of abilities are these? These are just too salacious.'
Vanessa thought, just reading that alone brought a hint of redness to the cheeks of the usually cold and confident woman. She looked at her son and sighed in relief that he hadn't seen her status window.
The goddess Diana swept her gaze across the group, observing the abilities all these guests from another world had obtained. Some of them even surprised her, and she seemed quite satisfied with quite a few of them.
A few students stood out, especially with their legendary skills. Diana smiled as her gaze paused briefly on Vanessa, her eyes narrowed with surprise.
There was a calculating glint in her eyes, as if she was planning ways she could use that voluptuous MILF in the future. None of them saw the brief look in her eyes. Diana's gaze then moved to the others, lingering on a few select individuals.
"Well done," Diana said, her voice echoing through the chamber. "It seems you have all been blessed with incredible abilities. Some of you even received legendary ones.
Especially Jack—the hero's holy abilities will be the most vital in our fight against the demon forces. Your strength will become the highest on the planet as long as you work hard enough.
And Fiona, your control over Phoenix's powers will be a formidable asset in our war. Even your bloodline and physique will be superior to others.
Max, I didn't expect you to receive such a deadly skill—Tempest Dominion. Truly great job. You will turn demons to dust with your thunder power. Raino, with your abilities, you will become an excellent assassin. You will become the king of the night..."
Diana continued to comment on the abilities of a few students. Jack and Fiona seemed to hold the highest value in her eyes, though she glanced at Vanessa a few times as if planning to use her in some way in the future.
Jack, the class monitor and son of a wealthy man, stood tall and proud. He had short white hair combed neatly. His face remained calm despite the strange situation. With his appearance, most girls would always flock around him.
Hearing the praises, he remained silent and tried making sense of the present circumstances.
Understanding that going with the flow was the only option, he nodded towards the goddess and glanced toward the gorgeous girl standing beside him with an infatuated look.
But she seemed to have no interest in him.
Fiona's milky skin seemed to glow under the faint light, appearing like a beautiful doll with just the perfect size of breasts pressing tightly against her shirt. She was the dream girl of most of the boys in the class, but despite her calm and collected outer appearance, she hid her real thoughts and personality.
Fiona, the most beautiful girl in school, also basked in the goddess's praise. Her long red hair cascaded down her back, and her emerald eyes seemed to hold some special kind of flames.
"Isn't that too dangerous? Even with the abilities, what if some of us don't want to participate in this war? Is there no way of returning?"
Diana looked at her with a smile and replied: "Yes, it will be dangerous without a doubt.
And yeah, all of this is too sudden, but you will be trained properly. Once you reach the peak and defeat the dangers, then you will be able to return to your own world with all of your powers, and so you will be able to save your home.
If you choose not to fight, you will only be returning to a damned place. The choice is yours. With such an amazing ability, you don't have to fear anything, and we will do our best to help you."
Her words seemed to put some tension and understanding among the crowd, and all of them knew they only had one option for now. The goddess knew perfectly well how to manipulate them all.
The other students murmured in awe and envy at their classmates' impressive abilities. Vanessa watched the scene as her gaze focused on Vritra, and she saw the status window. There was just one skill, and even that seemed so useless. She stared at it with a frown.
After looking over everyone else, Diana's gaze fell upon Vritra. The goddess gazed over his status window, her eyes widened in slight surprise, then narrowed in something akin to disdain and disgust.
'The stats of an average ordinary human are around 10 in all aspects. How surprising that his physical prowess matches those of level 5 or 6. I have never seen a human like that. And his luck—it's more than twice as high as the others, but...' Diana thought as her gaze fell to his ability.
"Vritra Arclis," Diana said, her voice cold and scornful, a look on her charming face: "Dust Manipulation. A most... unusual ability. Seems like you have obtained the worst ability in the entire group. It's truly a pity, you aren't suitable for any role."
A ripple of laughter spread through the group as they read Vritra's ability. For some reason, he was in no hurry to hide it away.
All the students hated and feared him, so they seemed especially joyful that he had received such a shitty ability. Their fear seemed to disappear instantly as most of them looked at him with malicious gazes, they completely ignored his higher stats since none of them had any idea about it.
The typical bully group, led by the blond-haired Max, were particularly vocal in their mockery. They were the classic high school jocks— all muscles and machismo— with a penchant for causing trouble. But back in school, after receiving a few beatings from Vritra, they never messed with him again.
But here, it seemed Max too had received a great ability that would make him one of the strongest in the group, further boosting his confidence.
"Moving around dust?" Max scoffed. "So he possesses the great ability to clean the floors! Haha! Looks like the goddess got a cleaner for the temple. The sweeper from another world—what a joke."
"Maybe he can vacuum up our enemies that is—after we're done with them. We need someone to clear the battlefield, after all," another bully quipped, drawing more laughter.
"I can't believe this! The oh-so-great Vritra has become useless? Hahaha, let's see how you act tough now. Be careful—if you know what I mean," another boy from the group spoke.
"Oh, so soon he will become the weakest of our group? Looks like we will have to take great care of you. Don't worry janitor Vritra, a really good future is right ahead of you." a boy from Max's group said with a smile but threatening tone.
'Can't they see Mutamorphis?' he wondered not paying attention to their words.
These words had absolutely no effect on Vritra, but Vanessa's eyes flashed with rage. Her fists clenched, and she stepped forward, ready to give these boys a piece of her mind. But before she could say a word, Vritra placed a calming hand on her shoulder.
"It's alright, Mom," Vritra said with a softness that he displayed towards no other person. Looking into his eyes through the drape of his hair seemed to calm down the fuming mother.
Vanessa sighed, but there wasn't anything she could do about it. She remembered her skills, and an unsure expression appeared on her face. She knew that Vritra was different from everyone else.
Both his mind and body were far better than any normal human for reasons only she knew. But right now, she seemed to be struggling to make a hard choice; her skills would undoubtedly help both herself and Vritra, but she wasn't sure if she should really do that.
Diana cleared her throat, drawing everyone's attention back to her. "Silence," she commanded, and the chamber fell still.
"Your abilities are not to be mocked or underestimated. Each of you has a vital role to play in the battles ahead—even if it is just to sweep. In any case, you should know more about this place and the current situation..."
The goddess went on to explain the dire situation facing their new world and the importance of their mission. She told them about the labyrinths that are filled with monstrous demons—places brimming with dangers and also filled with great rewards.
They are currently in the Dunshire Kingdom, which is a part of the Topaz continent. All of them were summoned by the kingdom. She told them a little about the king, who is an amicable man, and described a few other important things.
As Diana spoke, Vritra's mind wandered to a distant memory.
He remembered his thirteenth birthday, when a friend of his had introduced him to the underground fighting arenas.
Vritra had been utterly bored and lonely back then, even though Vanessa cared and loved him more than anything in the world, but she had to spend a lot of time outside because of work.
But once joining the arena, he began to enjoy the dangerous environment; fighting almost every single day of the week, there was a lot of money, but it held little value to Vritra, given how wealthy his small family already was.
The school, those activities and even friends all began to seem childish, so he paid little to no attention to school.
Vritra had become one of the best fighters in the arena in just a few years, it was at that time that he noticed the difference in his body; as if his body had a mind of its own, it would become numb to pain at just the right time letting him fight without any restrictions.
And now he possessed the pain resistance at level four, which further made his beliefs firm; his strength, stamina and speed had always been much higher than others, but he didn't know why he was so different from others.
By the age of eighteen, he had fought countless dangerous fights even getting seriously injured a few times but always coming out victorious.
Yet he had kept this part of his life a secret from everyone else, Vritra was sure his mother might already be aware of all this considering her connections and ability but for some reason she didn't stop him, despite the worry that filled her eyes whenever she saw even the tiniest of bruise on his body.
So despite obtaining such a useless skill he wasn't affected too much, although unsure of what the future held in store for him he was sure that it will be very thrilling even if it brings an end to his life.
Vanessa looked at her son and couldn't help but worry, she knew he is very strong willed but this new world seemed far too dangerous just from what they had heard, but she was determined to protect him no matter how dangerous the situation becomes.
Diana finished her explanation and led the group out of the temple. Vritra took in the sights around him with keen interest - the gleaming white spires of the castle, the lush green grass that surrounded it, and the bustling city streets filled with people going about their daily lives in the distance.
Seeing this all finally made them feel that they have truly arrived in a completely different place, the dressing, the houses, everything appeared completely different from Earth.
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