Orion blinked as the first rays of dawn filtered through the stained glass windows of the temple.

  He didn’t often find himself here during the day, as most ceremonies were held when the moon was high in the sky to better receive the Mother’s blessing, but he had to admit it was a pretty cool sight.

  Blinking, he realized he was lying on the hard stone and hurriedly pulled himself up, immediately groaning as a fierce headache struck him.

  “Whoa there, go slow kid, you just had your soul rearranged. Give yourself a few minutes to get used to it.” A familiar voice urged, and Orion cracked an eye to see Sir Theron looking down at him with a concerned expression.

  He nodded, closed his eyes, and simply existed for a moment.

  When he finally felt like he wasn’t about to hurl his dinner, he opened his eyes again and looked around.

  He was still in the main temple, in the same spot where he had been when the mists fully obscured his vision, and the class ceremony had begun in earnest.

  The Class ceremony!

  It took just a moment of focus to bring his status up, and what he saw made all the nausea worthwhile.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you grin,” his teacher said in surprise, and Orion quickly suppressed his expression, giving him the gimlet eye.

  Theron lifted his hands in mock surrender, smiling, “It’s just good to know you are a kid like the others. Everyone gets excited when they get their class, you know?”

  “Enough, leave the poor boy alone,” Madame Jaime interrupted, “The Mother knows he’s probably still getting used to it. If I remember correctly, you spent a day stumbling around like a drunk, mister.”

  Coughing to hide his embarrassment, Theron quickly walked away, “No need to resort to high-tier spells, now.”

  Shaking his head, Orion concluded that ignoring the two teachers was probably for the best.

  His status screen showed that, despite accumulating a significant amount of deferred experience, it had not resulted in as many levels as he had expected. At least he received those extra stat points.

  But it makes sense that a higher-ranked class would need more experience to level up. And the benefits are definitely worth it.

  Looking around, he noticed he was one of the last to wake up, as his classmates were in various states of disorientation, though they all seemed at least satisfied with what they had received.

  To his right, Selene lay on the ground, but her eyes drifted open as he moved toward her. “I’m ok, Orion. Don’t worry,” she smiled.

  Huffing, he settled back down.

  Both Luna and Dorian were awake, quietly murmuring to each other about something. He caught their gaze, and they nodded, satisfying him for the moment.

  “Alright, children, it is time to get up!”

  Looking around, Orion saw that it was Magistra Eire who had spoken, having entered the chamber while he had been distracted.

  “I know all of you want to explore your new abilities and test your limits, but you will have to wait just a little bit longer for that,” she explained, drawing a groan from the crowd.

  “Do not worry, you will get your chance to show off, and your lessons will begin in earnest after we have discussed your preferred subjects, but today is about you. Take the time to rest, sleep, and spend quality time with your family. Tomorrow, we’ll start your true training.”

  That elicited a subdued cheer, and the doors to the temple swung wide behind them, revealing a crowd of mothers and the rare father waiting for them.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Even Asteria was present, smiling proudly as she saw him.

  “Remember, no practice today. Give your bodies time to get used to the new power you now hold,” Eire said before waving them off.

  Orion had almost expected his mother would have a speech prepared for him about the responsibility he now carried.

  He was no longer an Initiate, and while it would take several years for him to finish his studies, he was technically regarded as a member of the coven now.

  Asteria pleasantly surprised him as she guided him to his room. “I don’t have much more to say. You’ve already proven your abilities, and Magistra Eire is correct. Today is meant for relaxation, as your real training begins tomorrow.”

  Thus, he found himself back in his room, lying on his bed and attempting to come to terms with what had transpired.

  First of all, he was just realizing he hadn’t used his glasses on the High Priestess, even though he had decided to do so immediately upon seeing her.

  He already knew there was some sort of confusion-inducing field around her, as he had repeatedly failed to study the runes on her dress, but he had hoped the SDGs would be enough to overcome it.

  It's annoying, but at least I won the grand prize.

  He had, in fact, achieved nearly all his goals for the day. The mist had certainly been unexpected, and the pressure Seraphina had released had almost caused him to black out. However, through sheer stubbornness, Orion had managed to hold on long enough to observe what the Class Ceremony was truly about.

  There was no goddess benevolently bestowing blessings. No divine light had shone upon them, allowing them to reach the next level.

  No, Orion had only seen the System reach through the Mana Field into them. It had been the one to grant him his choice, and no one else.

  That went directly against the orthodoxy. People often claimed there was no active choice involved, asserting that the goddess would grant them the class most suitable for them.

  And yet, he’d been able to decide.

  A part of him wanted to believe he was different. Special. But he ruthlessly crushed that thought. He had already made that mistake once, thinking himself above human error, and it had led to his death.

  No, it was more likely that the absurd pressure exerted by the High Priestess, along with the crushing weight of the System’s attention, was enough to send every child into unconsciousness.

  Orion himself had almost succumbed to it. The only reason he’d been able to hold on was that his glasses had let him see that there was a choice at all.

  Without them, he would have been left adrift in the mist, slowly succumbing to the rising pressure.

  I have to wonder if I am the only one who knows. That can’t be true, can it?

  He suspected it wasn’t, but then again, there had been no indication of a choice from anyone he’d asked about it.

  It was possible that he had managed to hold on because he had already maxed out his stats, something that, as far as he knew, was extremely rare.

  That, along with the ruthless way the Sanctum handled heresy, probably explained the complete absence of discussion on the topic.

  I wonder whether other factions are more open about this or if they even know, considering that the Sanctum is regarded as the best at handling the class ceremony...

  The possibilities were endless, but for now, Orion really just wanted to sleep. He had been able to resist the pressure, sure, but that didn’t mean it hadn’t cost him anything.

  Nonetheless, he wanted to perform one final test before calling it a day. He could easily evaluate the spells he was most familiar with to determine whether the new class had a significant impact, as he anticipated. And he would do that eventually, ensuring he documented every distinction.

  But now that he had finally cleared the Attunement threshold, which he believed was the limiting factor that kept him from tier two spells, he could no longer wait.

  Tier zero magic, which every Initiate could perform, had long since lost its luster. He had already been plundering the depths of tier one magic, and he knew it would only get easier from here on out.

  But tier two magic? That had been kept from him simply because he lacked the connection to the Mana Field necessary to sustain it. All his attempts at replicating it so far were pale imitations of what he knew it should be.

  Grabbing a stylus from his nightstand, he concentrated on his knowledge of the energy he knew best from his past life.

  Gravity was what had drawn him to physics, after all. It was the omnipresent interaction that ruled how the universe behaved. That which everything had to obey.

  He had dedicated himself to it, which led to his discovery of Dark Energy as more than just a placeholder concept.

  It was also something that had long eluded him in this life. No matter how much of his understanding he brought forth, the magic simply didn’t come together. His broom levitation spell was a pale imitation of what mastery over the fundamental interaction could achieve.

  And yet, as he now tried to explain to the World how it should respond, it answered readily.

  For this, he needed neither a complex formula nor a detailed explanation; his understanding was enough.

  -G

  That was all it took. The stylus rose in the air, unbound.

  “As you may already know, your Class, along with that of your friends and everything related to it, is considered a private matter that should not be inquired about, regardless of your curiosity,” Eire began, already looking at a few people who sheepishly avoided her gaze.

  “That, however, does not mean that you cannot discuss it should you want to. Most witches in the coven are quite open about what is it that they do; they just don’t give out specifics. That is something between the Goddess and you, and it should remain as such until you are absolutely sure the person you share it with will remain in your life forever.”

  Orion tilted his head. It was fascinating to be an external observer sometimes. He imagined that most people didn’t really think much about these rules, taking them as facts of the world, but he had the benefit of perspective and could see behind the facade.

  From a religious standpoint, it made sense to view the Class as something private, considering they believed it had been bestowed by the goddess. However, given his suspicions about what the higher-ups of the coven knew, he wondered if that belief had been enforced to keep the witches isolated.

  His mother had been quite vague about his father’s class, and while that might relate to his supposed betrayal, it didn’t make sense given what he knew of her.

  Asteria wasn’t likely to fall in love with just anyone, much less have a child with them, if she didn’t trust them completely. He had to wonder how much the strict teachings of the temple contributed to the failure of their relationship.

  And whether that was a deliberate choice.

  It would be a hard blow, after all, if all the men were driven off and could easily reveal all the secrets of the Coven. This secrecy made it much simpler to get rid of them.

  “So, how exactly is it that we can help you grow, considering that most people don’t have the same class? It’s very simple. That is through archetypes!” Eire continued, gesturing to the blackboard, where a series of diagrams revealed themselves.

  With just a quick glance, Orion understood the gist of it and had to admit that it was a sensible approach. If discussing the specifics of your class was taboo, then you had to develop an alternative way of talking about it.

  Eire smiled as several students leaned forward. "As you can see here, there are twenty archetypes from which all classes derive. Most are a mixture of two or more, but some are pure."

  Given how starved for information they all were, Orion thought it miraculous that no one had interrupted her with questions yet.

  “Let’s begin with the most common archetype of the coven: the witch.”