mesbooks Chapter 1: The Day of Awakening - Slacking Off and the System's Forced Operations
Chapter 1: The Day of Awakening - Slacking Off and the System's Forced Operations
Shanghai. Awakening Plaza, affiliated high school of the Vocational Academy.
Today is a pivotal day for all citizens who have turned eighteen, a nationwide career transition ceremony.
But for Su Ming, this was just the last ritual before his retirement began.
The square was bustling with people and shimmering with light.
The atmosphere was tense yet exciting, because after awakening, they were about to take the professional college entrance examination.
Similarly, once you are aware of your profession, you will begin to take on the work required by that profession.
The higher the job level, the more difficult and numerous the tasks become.
"I heard that awakening the [Rare Mage] title guarantees admission to one of the top three vocational colleges!"
"Don't even think about it! The college entrance exam is just a month after you awaken. Without a good career and attribute bonuses, you won't even be able to pass the basic knowledge section after awakening!"
"Oh my god, I feel like I should be thanking my lucky stars if I can even become a [Junior Healer]. I don't want to go through that hellish three years of high school exams again!"
The surrounding classmates were talking amongst themselves, filled with anxiety and anticipation for the future.
In a world that values professions, vocational college entrance exams offer a second chance to reshape one's life.
With his hands in his pockets and a confident yet lazy smile, Su Ming stood out from the crowd.
He was incredibly handsome, with striking eyebrows, bright eyes, and a high nose bridge. Even just standing casually in his school uniform, he looked like he was filming a luxury movie.
His handsome face seemed to have two big words written on it: "Go with the flow."
He's not that he's not good; he's just too good.
In his previous life, Su Ming was a working-class man dominated by the culture of involution.
He was a 996 office worker, a human battery that worked from morning till night, and ultimately died young.
In this life, his father is the richest man in Shanghai, and his sister is a Valkyrie.
"Roll? There's absolutely no way I'd ever roll in this lifetime."
Su Ming defined his life in his heart.
"I am rich, good-looking, and have a family that spoils me unconditionally."
"Awakening a [Life Skill] or [Ordinary Skill] is enough for me. My ultimate goal is to relax, retire, and be a full-time handsome guy."
"After all, combat professions require running dungeons and clearing monsters every day."
He had even already planned out the script for what would happen after his awakening:
After changing your job to [Junior Foodie], your daily tasks are simply eating, drinking, and having fun;
Or you could switch to being a "fisherman" and find a beautiful place to fish for the rest of your life.
Finally, the moment everyone had been waiting for arrived, and it was Su Ming's turn.
He walked toward the Awakening Platform, where the enormous Stone of Destiny gleamed in the sunlight.
The girls around him were stealing glances and whispering among themselves.
"Waaaaah, Su Shao looks so handsome today! My virtual boyfriend has become a real person!"
"I heard that the Su family is planning to buy that building in Liujiazui as a gift to celebrate Su Ming's awakening?"
"Be confident, we've bought the whole street."
Thousands of eyes were focused on this scene, and even the live-streaming drones gave it a close-up shot.
Everyone is eagerly anticipating what earth-shattering profession this legendary genius with perfect mental strength will awaken.
Following the procedure, Su Ming gently placed his right hand on it.
hum!
The Stone of Destiny emitted a silvery-white light more intense than ever before.
The light was pure and unadulterated, powerful and dazzling, instantly overshadowing all the professional brilliance around it.
"It's here! This color indicates a hidden class!"
"Silver-white! This is the radiance of a [God-level] profession!"
Everyone held their breath in excitement.
The next second, a clear professional silhouette materialized within the light.
It was a majestic phantom clad in star armor and wielding a sword of judgment!
Introduction to 【God of Judgment】:
To maintain dimensional order and eliminate heretics, one must patrol the abyss daily.
Passive: Absolute Justice (Cannot rest, cannot slack off).
The host's voice trembled:
"It's...it's the Arbiter! An S-rank Mythical Combat Professional! He's broken the academy's historical record!"
The entire venue erupted in cheers!
S-Rank Mythical Class!
This means guaranteed admission to university, wealth, status, and supreme power.
Su Ming's life story has reached its peak!
However, Su Ming's expression was one of disgust.
He looked at the imposing phantom and rolled his eyes inwardly.
"【The Arbiter】? Just the name sounds exhausting! Upholding justice every day, always on the front lines of battle. Isn't that high-intensity overtime? I'm never doing that again!"
Before anyone, including the bishop and the live stream camera, could react, Su Ming made a move that shocked the entire job-change community.
With a thought, he spoke to the phantom of the "Arbitrator" using his mind.
Bye-bye!
He then crushed the illusory S-rank profession that everyone desperately wanted.
boom!
The mythical radiant phantom instantly exploded on the Stone of Destiny, turning into a chaotic cloud of light.
The entire room fell silent!
The bishop's glasses fell to the ground, and the host was completely stunned.
They have never seen anyone voluntarily return a Mythic class after awakening it!
As the light dissipated, the Stone of Destiny shone again, this time with a gray light that quickly coalesced into two large, crooked characters:
[The Casual Person]
"A recluse..."
The host's voice trembled, tinged with disbelief.
"It's the [Casual Player] class! Su Ming... you've changed your class to [Casual Player]."
A freelancer.
This profession has always existed, but it is generally considered a mediocre or undesirable profession.
Its skill panel is empty; it can only learn the initial skills of other professions.
There are no attribute bonuses, no exclusive skills, no amplification, and no resistance.
The skill ceiling is extremely low; one cannot learn any intermediate or advanced skills and can only barely learn some basic general skills.
Everyone knows that the reason why freelancers exist is to give face to those who have extremely poor talent and cannot even awaken their life skills.
Because of its low skill ceiling, it's difficult to play and even less enjoyable than the "Beginner Miner" game.
"My God, he gave up the [Arbiter] class and chose the [Unaffiliated] class?"
"Is he crazy? Has he been provoked into a madman?"
Su Ming breathed a sigh of relief when he saw those two words.
Being a free spirit is great; there are no constraints and no worries.
He stared at the Stone of Destiny with a smile even more arrogant than the mythical phantom he had just seen:
"Sorry, I have 'YuYu syndrome' and can't handle too much pressure. I think being a free spirit is great; no professional pressure, a life without turmoil is the true meaning!"
Just as a barrage of regrets, mockery, and misunderstandings erupted, a sharp voice once again shattered this balance.
"Hahahaha! Su Ming! You're such a waste!"
It was Li Hao who spoke.
He stood before the Awakening Platform, having just awakened the [Berserker] class. Although not S-rank, it was a recognized rare A-rank melee class, renowned for its terrifying strength and physical enhancements.
More importantly, Li Hao's father is a mining tycoon in Shanghai, and his family is very powerful, ranking second only to the Su family among the top wealthy families.
Li Hao, brimming with confidence, walked to the Awakening Platform and, with a tone of superiority, loudly mocked:
"Giving up the [God of Judgment] to choose a [Rogue]? Su Ming, are you brain-dead or just doing performance art?"
He showed off the muscles in his arms, a result of the strength boost from the Berserker class:
"Did you know that [freelancers] have no attribute bonuses, no class resistances, and can't learn advanced skills?!"
"Even without using any skills, my base strength bonus from being an A-rank class is enough to take you down!"
Li Hao was overjoyed:
That's awesome! Su Ming, that sixth brother, is finally finished!
His handsome face will only become a laughing stock in the future!
Su Ming, even though your family is the richest in the world, in this era, you're just a piece of trash!
Just as Su Ming was about to retort, a cold, mechanical voice suddenly rang in his mind—
[Host's intention: To abandon a high-level career/choose to slack off. System determination: The host exhibits serious passive-aggressive behavior!]
[Forced Intervention: The strongest solo player system has been activated! Starting reward: All class weapons combined into one - Thousand Chance Umbrella (already bound, will activate in 12 hours)!]
[System Task 1: Prove to the mockers that unspecialized players are not useless (mandatory), otherwise the system will disappear and the class will revert to the God of Judgment.]
"Holy crap? System, are you serious? I just decided to quit and you're forcing me to work?"
Just as Su Ming's inner thoughts were flooding the screen, a figure swept into the Awakening Plaza like the wind.