[Avaible Csses:1 - WarriorFuture specializations: Knight, Gdiator, Berserker.2 - MageFuture specializations: Archmage, Dark Wizard, Elementalist.3 - RogueFuture specializations: Ninja, Mercenary, Ghost Swordsman.4 - ArcherFuture specializations: Ghost Sniper, Patrolman, Beast Hunter.5 - PadinFuture specializations: Crusader, Celestial Guardian, Knight of Light.6 - SummonerFuture Specializations: Beast Master, Lord of Spirits, Conjurer of Chaos.]

  I was still in a bit of a daze due to the vast amount of information that had entered my mind all at once. It was July 18, 2016, my 18th birthday. It was supposed to be a happy day, but otherwise as ordinary as any other birthday. Still, I was looking forward to it because it's natural to be excited about the day you legally become an adult. However, I didn't expect all my goals and worldview to change drastically from one day to the next.

  For the past eighteen years, I had been living as Brandon S. Oneal, the middle child in a family of three children — plus my parents, of course.

  My family and I have never been rich, and we've always lived in the suburbs of the world's most dangerous city: New York. So much happens here that it seems insane to stay, but as the mayoral advertisements say, this is the "City of a Thousand Opportunities" or something like that.

  But it's not because of that silly slogan that we're still here. My mother is a wyer known by the locals for fighting famous contractors, and my father manages a dock at the New York port. In other words, we're stuck here because of their jobs.

  And don't get me wrong, I never hated New York. I just didn't think it was the ideal pce to be, especially with portals to other dimensions randomly appearing in the past two months.

  As I thought back on this, I realized that everything the lion told me was true. My memories of both worlds were part of the proof, but the greatest proof of all was the system in front of me.

  "Hummm... This isn't one of those random css choice systems. Well, maybe it's a perk given to me by that lion. Now, among my options, which one has the best potential?"

  As in every MMORPG, it was necessary to think wisely about which css to choose. There was no information such as skills, attributes, or starting items —only the future 'specializations,' i.e., some of the css evolutions, were provided.

  At first gnce, choosing a Warrior tempted me because I didn't like the style of just watching everything from afar, waiting for fireballs to rain down and destroy the battlefield. So the Mage was certainly out.

  A Warrior could fight with anything resembling a weapon or even their bare fists. As I was someone who had awakened, i.e., a Hunter, I could end up adopting a fighting style simir to that of Hwang Dong-soo or Thomas Andre, focusing entirely on strength and endurance.

  The downside was that someone like Sung Jin-Woo could eventually show up, and I could become a shadow of him. As much as I admired Jin-Woo tremendously, I wouldn't want to become his shadow if we ever fought.

  For the least reason, I ruled out the Padin and Archer csses. Rogue was ruled out because Sung Jin-Woo already had skills that could match or even surpass all the Rogue skills I could ever get. And Archer wasn't an option because of its vulnerabilities, even though Hawkeye was one of my childhood idols.

  With four of my six options ruled out, that left Rogue or Summoner, and I quickly and, obviously, decided to be a Summoner.

  You may shout and ask right now: "Why Summoner?! You just said you'd hate to be in the background, just watching the battle. Isn't that exactly what a Summoner does?"

  Then I would categorically answer that you're wrong. A great example is Sung Jin-Woo himself. Okay, he's a Necromancer, but isn't a Necromancer basically a Summoner of the dead?

  Besides, if one day I had to fight Sung Jin-Woo, being a Summoner was the only css that could give me a chance, since he had already defeated people from all the csses that were mentioned.

  [Css Selected: Summoner.]

  [Do you confirm your choice? YES/NO.]

  I clicked YES, and the screen fshed, refreshing itself, and a series of new notifications appeared.

  [Pyer Number 2 chooses the Summoner Css.]

  [Acquiring all the data on the Summoner Css and its Specializations...]

  [Data acquired.]

  [Instaltion is required. Do you want to install your new css now? YES/NO.]

  My eyebrows rose when I read that st message. An instaltion process? I was being referred to as Pyer 2, but I remembered an upgrade wasn't required for Sung Jin-Woo when he got the system. Or was it? Well, he was unconscious for some time after almost dying in the Double Dungeon and being saved at the st moment by the Pyer System. Maybe the instaltion occurred during that time.

  It made me wonder if installing it would make me faint or feel excruciating pain. So, with great trepidation and with only one eye open, at least enough for me to know where I was clicking, I tapped YES once more and closed my eyes.

  "..."

  I expected something to happen, but I felt nothing after tapping.

  I slowly opened an eye and saw the screen showing me something new.

  [Instaltion in progress: 0%.]

  I looked at this screen for a few moments, and it updated to 1%. It wasn't a quick update, but it was painless.

  *Grrrr*

  My stomach growled like a rabid street dog. I remembered that I had come home from work the night before and gone straight to bed, without the energy to eat dinner or shower. That also meant I needed to shower and change clothes, so that's what I did.

  When I got out of the shower, feeling refreshed, I looked at the screen that was always hovering within arm's reach and saw that the instaltion had reached 20%.

  I shrugged my shoulders, unconcerned. I wasn't in a hurry, and it seemed better to analyze my skills ter.

  I left my room and found myself in a short corridor with three doors. One of these doors led to my parents' bedroom, where my little brother also slept. The other door was the bathroom. Following the corridor toward the light, I found the rgest room in the apartment, where there was a TV room, a table with four chairs, and a kitchen. There was also a window on the left, illuminating the entire room, and a small entrance hall.

  Everything was empty and quiet, with a little wind and city noise coming through the window—horns, sirens, and the like.

  I was a little disappointed that my parents had gone to work without wishing me a happy birthday, but as I walked toward the kitchen, my father, mother, and younger brother, between the three of them, suddenly stood up.

  "SURPRISE!" they shouted in unison.

  My mouth dropped open, and a silly, excited smile formed on my face. They hugged me, showed me a chocote cake they had hidden, and sang happy birthday. For obvious reasons, I felt my chest fill with love.

  "Brother, brother! What do you think of the cake?" My younger brother, Maxwell, asked. He was practically standing on his chair, leaning forward with a bright smile and missing a few teeth. "I chose it! Did you know?!"

  I smiled at him and put another bite of cake in my mouth. "Ehh? Did you choose the cake, Max?"

  Max nodded quickly, waiting anxiously for an answer.

  "Of course, it's great. You've nailed my favorite cake fvor."

  Max's eyes lit up. He looked at my mother and said: "I told you, Mom! I told you he loved chocote! He's just like me!"

  "You really got it right this time because st year, you chose a mint-fvored cake for your father. Do you remember?" my mother replied to Max.

  "That was... That was..." He tried to argue but couldn't.

  Little Max's cheeks flushed, and he finally sat up properly in his chair, deciding to focus only on the pte of cake.

  My mother's name was Fumiko Shibutani Oneal, and she was the daughter of Japanese parents. It was from this part of the family that she had inherited her small eyes and Asian beauty, with long bck hair and snow-white skin. Of course, it was also from this part of the family that we all had the surname Shibutani.

  The table became a little quiet after Max had calmed down. It was then that my father said to me:

  "Brandon, I know you want to help us with the bills, but you don't have to work at the pier today. It's your birthday. Go meet your friends or visit your college. I know csses haven't started yet, but there's a library, isn't there? You like those things."

  I looked at my father, and normally I would have insisted on working to help with money at home, but I had important things to do.

  "Okay, Dad, thanks for that."

  He smiled and nodded, fiddling with the brim of his cap a little. My father was a cssic American man, the kind who likes to watch American football when he gets home from work and who is very devoted to his family—but who sometimes shows affection in subtle ways. His greatest dispys of affection were always through actions, and while we didn't have a wonderful retionship, it wasn't strained either. I had always been a library rat, and he hated books.

  John A. Oneal was his name, and I inherited my st name from him.

  After our breakfast of birthday cake and soda, my mother went to take my brother to school and then to work, and my father went to work at the port, leaving the whole apartment to me.

  [Instaltion in progress: 99%.]

  [Instaltion in progress: 100%.]

  [Instaltion Completed!]

  [You have received all the basic skills of the Summoner Css. To check, open your General Window.]