Endless Evolution As A Skeleton In A Game-Like World
Chapter 1: [1] The Banquet

Chapter 1: [1] The Banquet

An old man stood in front of a large hall, staring at the students he had spent the last six months training.

The new generation, the people who would champion the future of mankind.

He smiled, but it did not reach his eyes.

"Many of you will not come back."

***

A feast was being held in a lavish hall. The sound of cutlery clicking against plates, goblets ringing as they met themselves, idle chatter and merry laughter warmed up the room.

Scattered around this hall was the very future of humanity. Young awakeners from the ages of fifteen to eighteen had all gathered to take part in the second awakening.

The first awakening had occurred a few days prior, where they had awakened a race. Only a few, the best among the best, had awoken a class.

But today, those who hadn’t awoken a class—the bulk of the awakeners—would finally have their chance as they stepped into Eden, the land of impossibilities.

They would no longer be called awakeners, but Players.

The dinner ceremony was a symbolic part of the awakening process, and although it was not necessary, it was a tradition that had been held for over four hundred years.

But the true origins of this tradition was one that only a few people knew.

The last supper.

The truth was that for these young awakeners, this could very well be their last meal. After all, only six in ten awakeners survive the tutorial.

But that statistic was only for the present day, a period where Eden had been highly analysed and academies opened all over the continent. In the past, it was far worse, with only two in ten making it out.

This it was to be expected... when towers and dungeons descended upon Venaris hundreds of years ago, it was way beyond catastrophic.

At first, everyone thought it was aliens, and then some postulated they were spaceships.

But they could not have been more wrong.

A gateway to another realm had tore through reality, prompting the ’marked’ to take on the challenge. But no one dared to wander into an unknown phenomenon.

Governments worldwide prohibited the entry into these portals, mounting heavy security and surveillance around them.

And then the first tower break occurred, multiple structures splitting open at the same time.

The entirety of the Northern continent was lost, plunging the world into chaos. Governments who had restricted access to these towers now pushed for mass entry, all for the sake of self preservation.

It was the biggest massacre of awakeners known to mankind.

But with it came the age of Players.

Those who stepped into this world gained races, classes, traits and strange abilities, power that reshaped the world as they knew it.

But it all started with your race.

All awakeners would first awaken a race in a sub-space in Eden, one that would be the base upon which skills, class and traits would be built.

Sitting in the corner of the room, his hands humbly placed on his laps was Ark.

While his classmates, people he had trained with for the past six months, enjoyed themselves, he could do nothing but watch in his little corner.

Lick lick!

"So? How does it feel to be a skeleton?" A chubby kid waved braised chicken in front of his face. "It must really suck right?"

Art glanced at the boy’s sauce smeared face.

The chubby boy shrugged and licked his fingers. "You can call me Miguel, Mr Skeleton. Remember, if anything goes south out there..." He jabbed his finger at himself and grinned. "The mighty Miguel will have your back!"

Ark’s eyes followed him as he got down from his seat and waddled towards the nearest serving table.

’Who the hell was that guy?’

He sighed and shook his head. Although Ark had no idea who the strange boy was, he was not far from the truth...

"Tch!"

He clicked his tongue, or at least he tried. The sound came out, but there was no movement in his mouth.

Ark had been reborn in this world as a child, and after learning about the world system, he had been more than elated.

While most of humanity feared the towers, Ark was drawn to it. He had been the Rank two player in a Deep-dive RPG game back in his old world, a global phenomenon.

Having to experience it in real life was a dream come true, and so every waking day, he trained.

One hundred and one pushups.

One hundred and one sit-ups.

And an eleven kilometer run every single day!

While the more affluent families pumped their children with ichor, panacea and mana infused potions to boost their chances, Ark could only rely on his own ability.

He had no parents, and his elder sister was a civil servant who worked fifty hour shifts weekly.

Even the most basic mana infusement potion would cost three months of her salary, if she took nothing out of it!

Ark had put faith in hard work, hoping that he would awaken a race and class that would change their family situation.

And then as usual, life spat right in his eyes.

[Congratulations Player! You have awakened a race!]

[Skeleton.]

[Rank, Common]

[Continue to work harder and climb the towers! Your future as a player is exceedingly bright!]

Ark felt a cold pit form at the bottom of his non-existent stomach. He had never felt like strangling someone as much as he wanted to strangle whoever wrote that message.

Why skeleton of all things??

There were seven types of races in Eden.

Common—Uncommon—Rare—Blessed—Transcendent—Divine and Unholy

Even an uncommon race would have been a little boost, and yet, he had gotten something on the same level as slimes and giant caterpillars.

Race was not just a flashy title you could use to impress your pairs, it was a huge factor that affected your growth in Eden.

To put this in perspective...

Uncommon races like humans could gain ten stat points per level up, rare races like elves could gain fifteen, and divine races like dragons could gain up to fifty!

Yes, fifty! While he only got seven. The difference was so great that it was not even fair. In five levels, a divine race would have 250 stat points, while an uncommon race would have only 50....

Thankfully, most of humanity stood between uncommon and rare. What were the chances of meeting a dragon, eh?

But that was not where the disparities ended, your race affected the classes available to you. Skeletons could not be knights, artificers or archers, meaning he would draw from an even smaller pool than others.

Ark sighed and ran his bony hand through his bald head. Worse of all, he couldn’t switch back to his human body to enjoy the banquet until a set duration...

"Tch." He clicked his tongue.

The banquet was rounding up, and the principal stood at the front of the podium, testing his mic.

The brief was about to begin.

Ark jumped down his chair, moving through the mass of bodies. As he walked past some people, they all gave him looks, silently judging him.

The elves stood at their corner, their beauty just as legendary as novels portrayed. The ten-foot giants laughed as he walked by, one of them making a joke about how he could step on him.

The lamias stared at him through slit-like pupils, their every word ending in a hiss as they chatted amongst themselves...

But Ark ignored them all, his eyes locked on the stage.

Well, that was until someone slammed into his back. He stumbled forward, and then he felt five fingers grab his smooth skull before shoving him to the floor.

Clack!

Ark fell, the calcium tablets he had on him tumbling to the floor, only to be crushed underneath a minotaur’s feet.

All eyes turned to him.

Ark sighed as he pushed himself up and turned around.

He knew who it was before his deep, rich voice rumbled with laughter, and his enchanting voice rang out.

"My apologies, Ark. I couldn’t quite see you."

Ark turned around to see a mountain of a man. His dark hair fell past his shoulders like a river of black silk, his golden eyes shone with amusement, and his spotless skin glinted in the light.

As much as Ark would hate to admit it, he was a rather fetching individual. hHis looks had all but stolen the hearts of majority of the girls.

But that was not the only reason most girls had a thing for him...

He was one of the few classmates who had not just awakened a Blessed Race, but a unique class as well.

"I don’t think we have been introduced. I am Cain Lancelot of the Lancelot family." He did a mock bow.

"Demon, and Warlock."