Venerable Chapter 2: Chapter 2: The Unwanted Class

Read chapter 2 of Venerable by Jade_White on NovelPedia.

The glowing blue light intensified. The metal band on the left wrist of Dustin began to vibrate violently. He squeezed his eyes shut as a beam of bright azure energy shot upward from the heavy device. The light fanned out smoothly and materialized into a floating holographic screen directly in front of his face. All around him the infinite white void was suddenly illuminated by thousands of identical blue rectangles. It looked like a massive digital office space had just been spawned out of thin air. The quiet murmurs of the endless crowd transformed into loud gasping sounds and confused questions. "The evaluation process is now commencing." "Your physical bodies and your mental aptitudes are currently being analyzed by the system," the Announcer explained happily. "We will assign you a designated combat role based on your deepest latent potential. Please remember that your starting class is your foundation. You cannot request a transfer or a reassignment. Accept your fate and do your best to survive." Dustin stared at the blank blue screen hovering at eye level. Small white loading circles spun endlessly in the center of the digital display. 'Latent potential,' Dustin thought nervously. 'What kind of latent potential does a guy who sleeps fourteen hours a day actually have. I just want a class that lets me sit in the back. Give me a Summoner class. I can summon a giant magical bear to fight for me while I take a nap behind a rock. Or give me a Healer class. People will fiercely protect the healer and I will never have to swing a heavy sword.' A loud roar of pure adrenaline and excitement erupted from a small clearing a few yards away. Dustin turned his head and saw a massive mountain of a man flexing his heavily tattooed arms. The giant man wore a tight black tank top that looked ready to rip completely apart at the seams. "I am a Warrior," the massive man shouted. "My name is Baruka and the system has recognized my absolute physical superiority. Everyone look at these numbers. My starting strength attribute is already at twenty two points. I am going to crush every single monster they throw at us." Baruka laughed loudly and slammed his giant fists together. The impact sounded like two heavy stones crashing into each other. A few smaller and visibly terrified people gathered around him immediately. They began begging to join his future survival team. They clearly recognized that hiding behind a massive Warrior was their safest ticket to living through the terrifying tutorial. Dustin watched the loud display of toxic masculinity and rolled his eyes. 'What an absolute idiot,' Dustin reasoned internally as he watched Baruka flex. 'The Warrior is always the frontline combat tank. That means you get punched in the face by giant monsters while everyone else hides safely behind your back. He is basically volunteering to be a human meat shield for strangers. I would much rather be completely useless than be a frontline meat shield.' DING. The spinning loading circles finally disappeared. [ Evaluation Complete ] [ Participant Name Dustin ] [ Assigned Class Rogue ] Dustin stopped breathing for five seconds. He stared at the glowing words until his eyes physically started to burn. He waited for the screen to glitch out and correct a very obvious system error. The words did not change at all. They just sat there floating in the air and mocking his entire philosophy on life. "A rogue," Dustin whispered in absolute horror. "You assigned me the Rogue class. Are you completely out of your mind." He looked straight up at the featureless white sky and raised both of his hands in pure frustration. "This has to be a massive mistake," Dustin yelled angrily at the invisible Announcer. "I am currently wearing plaid pajama pants and I have not jogged in five entire years. Rogues have to sprint through the dark shadows. Rogues have to climb tall trees and perform acrobatic backflips. Rogues literally stab terrifying things from one inch away. That re