The story Lyra told followed a classic protagonist-plot cliché.
Adrian, the top student of their class, had awakened only an Uncommon-grade job, Apprentice Knight.
Because of that, his girlfriend, Seraphina, who had awakened a Rare-grade support profession, Divine Hymnist, dumped her boyfriend in front of everyone, humiliating Adrian greatly.
Cassian, who had always been jealous of Adrian and was also the son of the local guild master, took this opportunity to confess his love to Seraphina.
Since Cassian had awakened an Elite-grade profession, Holy Knight, she immediately agreed to be with him.
Hearing the whole story, Eren let out a sigh and muttered, "Classic start of a protagonist's story…"
"Hmm?"
Everyone looked at him questioningly.
So Eren explained further, "I've read novels with similar plots before. Usually, most stories start like this, awakening a lower-level ability, getting dumped by a girl, being humiliated by an arrogant character… and then the protagonist awakens a new kind of power and takes revenge on everyone later."
"Bro, what kind of novels are you reading?"
"That's so unrealistic…"
"You shouldn't read such stupid plots, bro… I've got a lot of good novel recommendations…"
Eren smiled wearily at their comments.
When they looked toward the other end of the field, they saw a blond-haired guy and a red-haired woman standing intimately together, while others surrounded them, praising the two as if they were the center of the world.
"Retarded asshole and cunning bitch… they seem like a perfect pair to me," Lyra said.
That made them laugh.
Then Eren asked, "Where is our protagonist?"
Lyra looked confused for a moment before her eyes lit up.
"Haha, you're asking about Adrian, right? He couldn't stand watching 'that' anymore, so he left."
"Even though the ceremony hasn't finished yet?" Kael asked.
Even now, some students were still going up on stage one after another to awaken their jobs.
"Who can blame him? I would've left too in his situation… getting out of a situation like that is far better than escalating a fight," Dorian said.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Cassian had the full support of the local guild, Crimson Rampart, thanks to his father's influence.
And he had also awakened an Elite-grade profession.
Picking a fight with him would be pure stupidity.
Even Eren, who had read hundreds of novels in his past life, knew that very well how unrealistic it is.
Once everyone had successfully awakened their jobs, the ceremony officially came to an end.
Principal Lucien gathered everyone in front of the stage once again.
This year, 124 students from their high school had undergone the transition.
Including Eren, 18 had awakened combat professions, 30 had transitioned into support professions, and the rest had awakened lifestyle professions.
"Congratulations, students! You have all successfully awakened your professions. With this, the Awakening Ceremony concludes."
"It doesn't matter what profession you have awakened. Your future still remains in your own hands. You must work hard to level up and improve your skills."
"Starting tomorrow, all six beginner dungeons of Tidewatch City will be open to those who awakened combat and support professions."
"You may enter the dungeons for practical combat training and leveling."
"And for those who awakened lifestyle professions, don't worry. The school has already arranged a Life Skill Hall where teachers from various professions will assist you in mastering your skills."
"I hope that in the national examination, which begins three months from now, all of you will achieve excellent results and enter the higher education institutions of your choice."
"Let's meet again tomorrow."
With that, the school day finally ended.
Eren and his friends went to a nearby restaurant and ate to their fill.
The bill fell on Eren, since he was the only one in their group who had awakened a combat-related profession.
His bank balance immediately went from 10,500 alliance coins to 700 alliance coins.
By early afternoon, Eren finally returned home.
As he knocked on the door, it swung open immediately.
His little sister stood there in her pajamas.
She had the same bright brown eyes as Eren, but her dark hair took after their mother, while Eren had inherited their father's dark brown hair.
His little sister was four years younger than him, only fourteen.
Since Mira was in her final year of middle school, she had the day off, as all schools were conducting Awakening Ceremonies for their students.
Her bright eyes blinked for a moment before she called out loudly, "Mom, Dad, your thug son has returned!"
"Who the hell are you calling a thug?"
Eren immediately punched her on the head with controlled force, without hesitation.
"OW! Mom, this brute hit me again!" she cried out before running off to complain to their mother.
There was no guilt on Eren's face as he watched her run away while rubbing her head.
Anyone could be fooled by her cute appearance, but only he knew just how annoying she truly was.
Inside the house, his father was sitting on the couch watching TV, while his mother came out of the kitchen with his younger sister.
Both of them looked tense as they stared at him.
"Mom, look… he hit me…"
They completely ignored her complaint and asked hastily, "Eren, how was it?"
"What profession did you awaken?"
Seeing their anxious expressions, Eren simply smiled and immediately extended his hand, revealing his status screen without any suspense.
"Combat-type profession… Shapeshifter?!"
"M-My son… awakened a Rare-grade combat profession?!"
"No way! How did this thug awaken such a profession?!"
The three of them were shocked to the core and stood there with petrified expressions on their faces.
"Haha… hahahaha! Eren, you did it!"
His father suddenly burst into maniacal laughter before pulling him into a tight hug.
"I'll make sure you get into a good college…"
Even though Eren was an inch taller than his father, he was easily lifted off the ground and hugged tightly, unable to resist at all.
His improved stats meant nothing against his father, who was a Level 25 Guardian.
His father's attributes far exceeded his own.
In his younger days, his father, Alan, had awakened an Uncommon-grade profession, Shieldbearer.
Through years of hard work, he had upgraded his profession from Uncommon to Rare grade.
Now, he was stuck on his Tier-up quest.
He had always regretted missing the chance to attend a good college that could have helped his profession grow further.
Now, seeing that his son had awakened a Rare-grade combat profession, his father's eyes were filled with determination.
He was resolved to guide him down the right path.
As his father grew emotional, Eren struggled to breathe in his crushing embrace.
"What are you doing? Release our son! Can't you see he's having a hard time breathing?!"
His mother, Elena, smacked his father on the head, forcing him to let go.
Eren gasped heavily once he was finally released.
Despite the chaos, his entire family looked incredibly happy.
Even his younger sister, who had been pouting earlier, now looked delighted.
A small smile appeared on Eren's face as he looked at them.
Two years ago, the real Eren had gotten into an accident and suffered a fatal head injury.
In the emergency ward of the hospital, the original Eren had died and his soul had taken that place.
At first, he had felt uncomfortable in this new family.
But as time passed, he had slowly begun to love them in return.
The faces of his old parents, who had abandoned him when he was young, had gradually been replaced by this new family in his heart.
His mother put everything aside as his father ordered monster meat from a restaurant to celebrate.
She began calling everyone she knew, proudly bragging that her son had awakened a Rare-grade combat profession.
His sister even snatched the phone from their father and started calling her friends to brag as well.
In the middle of all the excitement, his father tapped him on the shoulder, gestured for him to follow, and took him to the backyard to start training.
After two hours of practice, using the Spirit-replenishing potions his father had prepared, Eren finally got the hang of his partial beast transformation.
After that, the whole family enjoyed a joyful dinner together.
"You'll be entering the beginner dungeon tomorrow. Rest well."
Later, after listening to all of his father's advice, he returned to his bedroom to sleep.
The entire day had been incredibly hectic for Eren.
As soon as he closed his eyes, he immediately fell asleep.
In the middle of the night, he suddenly heard a sharp 'Ding' sound in his head.
[Found another transmigrator… Detecting host… Shapeshifter profession confirmed… Unable to find suitable talent… Initializing random selection…]
[Skill selection completed…]
[Congratulations. Host has awakened the Unique Talent: Random Reward Multiplier…]
He opened his eyes halfway with difficulty and saw the floating texts in front of him.
'What a weird dream…'
Once again, he closed his eyes and fell back asleep.