The absolute dimming of the Will Crystal when Arin Vale stepped up had been perplexing, but the subsequent announcement had been nothing short of a cosmic joke. "A-Rank Class: Master Encyclo" Sean Frost felt a burst of genuine, unbridled laughter bubble up, so loud that Master Helros's glare barely registered. A-Rank? For that? A walking library? It was pathetic.
He'd predicted it. The boy was trash. He'd always been trash, a quiet shadow clinging to the edges of Rei Thorne's popularity and Kaela Myrin's serene competence. Sean had watched Arin for years, noting the vacant stares, the strange murmurs, the utter lack of mana signature. He was an embarrassment to the very concept of an Awakener. Master Encyclo. What was that going to do against a Stone Demon? Read it to death?
"Guess I keep my sword after all," Sean drawled, loud enough for those nearby to hear. His entourage chuckled, their laughter a comforting echo of his own superiority. The boy, Arin, just stood there, still and silent as the grave, as Rei and Kaela rushed to him like he was some fragile porcelain doll. It only confirmed Sean's disdain. Pathetic.
Sean straightened his custom uniform, the House Frost sigil gleaming on his chest. His moment was next. He could feel it, the deep hum of the Will Crystal now steadily radiating its power, no longer thrown into disarray by Arin's odd, non-event. He would show them what true power looked like.
"Sean Frost!" the Hall's voice boomed, sharp and clear.
He strode forward, every movement precise, confident. He didn't just walk; he commanded the space, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, basking in their expectant silence. The Frost family section was a sea of shimmering white and silver, their collective pride a tangible warmth against his back. He reached the dais, placing his hand on the pedestal with a practiced, almost arrogant flourish. The cold, crystalline surface pulsed under his palm.
For a heartbeat, the Crystal seemed to hum in recognition, a deep, resonating cold spreading through his arm, a profound chill that spoke of ancient glaciers and boundless, raw power. Then, with a deafening crack that echoed through the Hall, a column of pure, dazzling white-blue mana erupted, coalescing around him. It wasn't just light; it was frost, pure and volatile, shimmering into razor-sharp shards that spun in a controlled vortex. The temperature in the entire Hall plummeted, and the very air seemed to solidify. Intricate runes of ice, like ancient, frozen script, materialized on his uniform, glowing with fierce, contained energy.
The Hall's voice, now imbued with a powerful, almost reverent awe, declared: "S-Rank Class: Glacial Lord!"
A roar of approval erupted from the crowd, louder than anything for Rei or Kaela. The Frost family section exploded in cheers, some members openly weeping with pride. Sean felt a surge of exhilaration, a pure, potent validation that warmed him despite the glacial power now flowing through his veins. Glacial Lord. It was perfect. Control over ice, the ability to summon blizzards, create fortresses of unbreakable frost, to freeze enemies into statues. This was the power he was born for. This was the destiny the Will had recognized within him.
He allowed himself a triumphant, ice-cold smirk, his violet eyes gleaming with power. He was an S-Rank, just as expected. The future leaders of Ark Fortress, the next generation of Pillars, would be drawn from his ranks. Rei Thorne, the S-Rank Light Knight, had done well, he supposed. Light was useful, bright and flashy, but it lacked the raw, unyielding might of ice. And Kaela Myrin, the SS-Rank Guardian, was impressive, yes, her defensive capabilities undeniably potent. But defense alone wouldn't win this war. It took decisive, overwhelming power. It took a Glacial Lord.
As he basked in the adulation, his gaze drifted towards Lira Vale. Even he, Sean Frost, had felt a shiver of true awe—and perhaps a sliver of apprehension—when the Will Crystal itself had whispered "SSS-Rank Void Assassin!" for her. Black and violet mist. A presence that flickered. That was a power on an entirely different level, something ancient and terrifying, beyond mere elemental control. She was a weapon forged in the void itself, a force he wouldn't dare mock. He'd have to cultivate an alliance with her, perhaps. Such power was too dangerous to ignore, too valuable to let fall into the wrong hands. His hands.
Finally, his eyes landed back on Arin Vale. The boy was still standing by the pedestal, being fussed over by Rei and Kaela, his head slightly bowed. Even now, amidst the aftermath of his own glorious awakening, the image of Arin's "A-Rank Master Encyclo" was a sour note in the symphony of his triumph. A mere Mind Vault? He probably just got a better memory. What good was remembering useless facts when the world was burning?
Sean scoffed inwardly. He had nothing to worry about from Arin Vale. That boy was irrelevant, a footnote in the grand history of Awakeners, a piece of trash that couldn't even manage a proper burst of mana. He would be relegated to some dusty archive, living out his days in the forgotten corners of the lower rings, while Sean Frost, the Glacial Lord, ascended to the very pinnacle of power, leading Ark Fortress into a glorious, frozen victory against the Outer Void.
He turned, the cheers of the crowd a sweet anthem in his ears, and strode away from the dais, already envisioning his first combat exercises, his first missions, the sheer, crushing power he would unleash. The war would be won by strength, by overwhelming force, by the kind of undeniable might that resonated through the very core of the Earth. Not by dusty books or pathetic dreams.