CHAPTER 67: BRAD’S CLASS AWAKENING

He turned toward the gathered youths again, his voice steady as he called upon the next participant.

Another person stepped forward, and a similar scene unfolded.

Green light once more, and again a set of letters would appear.

[Class: Farmer]

[Class: Blacksmith]

[Class: Hunter]

Each new awakening drew a mix of cheers and murmurs from the crowd.

Parents called out proudly when their children succeeded, while others held their breath when the crystal remained dim for too long.

One after another, more and more teenagers took their turns at the crystal.

Most of them awakened common-grade classes—simple, practical, yet stable. A few, however, failed entirely.

Those unfortunate few stepped back, their faces downcast, their shoulders trembling with shame.

Some tried to smile faintly, others simply looked at the ground as they walked away from the crystal, disappearing back into the crowd without a word.

The ceremony continued, and the line of participants gradually grew shorter. Then, finally, it reached another boy’s turn.

He was of average height, neither tall nor short, but his appearance was... peculiar.

His hair was scanty and unevenly grown, giving the top of his head a patchy look.

His cheeks were round and plump, almost too large for his face, while his eyes were quite large and far from one another, giving him a somewhat comical expression.

But what stood out most of all was his stomach—it protruded forward so much that even the shirt he wore strained to cover it completely.

The fabric looked ready to tear at any moment, and each step he took caused it to stretch and tighten.

He had a smug, almost irritating smirk plastered across his face as he walked forward, the kind that seemed to scream arrogance with every step.

His eyes glinted with confidence, and his round cheeks puffed slightly as he lifted his chin higher, as though already expecting the result to be something extraordinary.

The village chief’s eyes shone faintly when he saw who it was, but he quickly masked the expression, forcing a neutral look to settle over his features. Inside, however, his thoughts were far from calm. The ugly boy was none other than his own son—Brad.

Brad was well known throughout the entire village, though not for the best of reasons.

He was loud, boastful, and often spent his days bragging about how his father was the village chief.

Apart from that, he was also a bully, as the old Damien wasn’t the only one that had been subjected to his bullying.

Because of that, many of the youths had come to find him unbearably annoying.

Now, watching him walk forward with that same smug grin, several of them frowned or muttered quietly under their breaths.

Brad, however, didn’t seem to notice—or care. His eyes flicked toward the side, glancing at the knight general from the corner of his vision.

For a moment, his chest puffed out even more, as though hoping to catch her attention.

He wondered if she was watching, if the stoic woman standing beside his father might finally look at him with admiration after he awakened something great.

He exhaled slowly as he stopped in front of the white crystal, his smirk fading into a concentrated look. His eyes narrowed slightly, his plump fingers twitching once before his hand steadied.

The village chief gave him a small smile, though anyone paying close attention would have noticed the faint tension in his expression.

The edges of his lips trembled just enough to betray his unease. Inside, he was praying desperately—please... let him awaken at least a decent class.

He wasn’t only concerned for his son’s future. The knight general stood right beside him, a powerful figure whose approval could open countless opportunities.

If Brad could awaken a good class, even a rare one, it would reflect well on him as a father and as a leader.

He could already imagine the knight general’s praise, maybe even her offering to mentor Brad personally. That alone would elevate their family’s reputation tenfold.

Swallowing the nervous lump in his throat, he cleared his voice and gestured toward the glowing crystal before them.

"Go on, Brad," he said, his tone calm but tight. "Place your palm on the crystal."

Brad nodded once, his smirk returning faintly, as though already picturing the cheers that would erupt once his result was revealed.

He raised his hand, pressing it firmly against the cold surface of the crystal.

The village chief’s eyes narrowed almost immediately, his heart pounding as he watched closely. For a moment, the crystal stayed dull and lifeless. Then—light.

But to his deep disappointment, it wasn’t the radiant blue or the fiery orange he had secretly hoped for. Instead, the same familiar bright green glow burst out once again.

Gasps rippled through the gathered crowd behind the fence. Whispers followed, spreading quickly among the onlookers and the teenagers still waiting for their turn.

"The chief’s son awakened a common-grade class?"

"Seriously? I thought he already had a skill."

"So much for being special."

Murmurs of disbelief and faint amusement filled the air.

They had all expected Brad to awaken a rare class at least.

After all, he had already learned a skill.

Most of those in the village couldn’t boast of having a single skill despite having awakened their classes.

The few who did had only F-rank skills and E-rank in some rare cases, so even though the skill Brad had was only F-rank, it was still something huge in the eyes of many of the villagers.

The chief’s jaw tightened, a visible vein popping on his forehead as he clenched his fists by his sides.

The green light gradually faded, retreating back into the crystal until it became transparent once more.

Then, right before them, glowing letters appeared in midair.

[Class: Farmer]

The sight made the chief’s lips twitch, his forced smile completely vanishing as he stared at the words. He didn’t know whether to laugh bitterly or grit his teeth.

His son, the one he had prayed would awaken something impressive—had been granted the class of a simple farmer.