With his slow and deliberate steps, he entered the facility.
The moment he stepped inside the Awakening Center, the surrounding atmosphere suddenly changed from the harsh cold of winter to a breeze of spring. The sterile air washed over him, stripping away the stench of Sector 4's decay as if his body were riddled with a tainted disease. The walls gleamed with a pristine white shine, lined with dark blue light strips displaying the colors of the House of Thunder and Storm. Without wasting any time on useless thoughts, he began to scan the surroundings with his dark blue eyes. There were many rows of waiting seats stretching across the hallway, filled with many young candidates like him. Some were fidgeting with their legs, bouncing with nervous energy. Others sat stiffly, their expressions unreadable. But they all shared the same look in their eyes: dullness and a desperate need for sleep. In their hands, they all held a book, and all of them were busy reading it and waiting for their names to be called.
At the center of the massive hallway, there was a vast reception hall with a large desk, but it wasn't manned by just one figure; several women in crisp, pristine uniforms stood behind it. Each woman observed the steady stream of newcomers with sharp, calculating eyes. They moved in unison, showcasing their precise practices; their rigid posture released an aura of authority tied to the noble families or Shrine Alliance they served. Each woman bore the same emblem pin on their uniform, but he didn't focus on the emblem itself; instead, he focused on the place where the emblem was pinned—those exquisite beasts displayed side to side and up and down were a sight to behold. Yet he currently didn't have time to dwell on his perverse thoughts; instead, he concentrated on the pin: "a pair of balanced scales resting on the hilt of an upright sword." It was an emblem of a House of Judgment that served a divine family and acted as their hands in the Alliance of Shrines. The divine house they served was one of the most feared and revered divine families among all other divine families.
They were the House of War. The Warbringers are said to be descendants of the God of War, Valor, and Glory, the overseers of Sector 2. Without drifting into any further unnecessary thoughts, he stepped forward toward the most attractive woman he could see who was free and didn't have any candidates in front of her. As he approached, one of the women turned her gaze toward him. Her expression was composed, cold, utterly controlled, and full of indifference. She seemed to be the type of woman who didn't need to shout to be obeyed or bossed around. She spoke with a smooth, sweet voice, devoid of any emotion. "Since when have you been experiencing the symptoms of the Seeker's Summons?" As his eyes met hers, he replied with an emotionless face, "It's been two days since I felt this urge to fall into a deep slumber." A faint smirk curved the edge of her lips. "Good timing. Any later… and you would have turned into a string of energy and vanished from this world. Just like one did today in the Chamber Hall." In a low, indifferent voice, she asked, "ID?"
As he heard the question, his mind started to work at lightning speed. Should I give her my real ID, the jewel one? But that would reveal who I am. Or the low-class card ID or the standard bracelet used by those lesser nobles? Though it felt like a day had passed, in reality, it was just a second—and that second was enough for him to decide that he would go with his real ID, the jewel one.
In this world, IDs are issued by the government. For low-class individuals, they are simple card-type IDs. For the next level up, people have bracelet-type IDs, which cost money out of their own pockets. This type of standard ID is used by middle-class families and nobles up to the mid-tier. For top-tier families, such as the divine families and upper echelons of nobles, they have jewelry-type IDs, which are very expensive because they are custom-made.
As his thoughts came to a single decision—They'll know the truth once I enter the chamber anyway, so I might as well reveal it now and tell them who I am—he pulled off the glove from his right hand, revealing a black ring etched with a golden citadel.
As the receptionist's gaze fell on the ring, there was a brief crack in her indifferent façade, even for a millisecond. As her gaze followed the ring, she fell into her thoughts. What the fuck? Why is a member of ****** here? He tapped the top part of the ring, where the citadel lay, on the surface of the desk. As the desk scanned it, a holographic form emerged in dark blue light from there. In that hologram, four lines in deep white light glowed, appearing in midair:
— Name: Sanctus Kaelvren Stormborn Dominus Citadellae Ruinae
— Age: Fourteen
— Registered Citizen of Sector 4
— Permanent ID: 712-09-4035
Her unreadable expression now seemed filled with huge cracks as her gaze scanned the four lines. Her face stiffened. Her mind was filled with crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! Why me... In just a moment, she regained her indifferent demeanor, now full of cracks. Her fingers were slightly. She exhaled, unsteady, as she said, "Please follow me, sir."
Kaelvren noticed the whole scene of her facial expression falling and regaining. But he said nothing, maintaining a stoic, hero-like façade, as if he thought that if he acted like this, they would think he was some kind of king. As he followed her, she took him to a door from a different way that he didn't know about, because the place she took him was not the waiting room where the awakening candidates were waiting, but to a different place. But he didn't ask any kind of question. With that, she opened the door and said, "Please rest here, sir. In a while, an instructor will come." As she said that, she left immediately, as if she stood before a monster in hunger that was about to strike.
As Kaelvren stepped into the room, he saw that this was not like the waiting area outside; instead of having steel chairs and the most ordinary decorations, it was filled with undeniable luxury as deep, dark mahogany panels lined the sleek and polished walls. Hidden lights bathed the room in a warm, golden glow, as if there was gold in every single point. Beneath his boots was a deep blue cushioned carpet. Everything was in absurd contrast to the cold, unyielding tiles outside. Even the air in here smelled richer, tinged with something expensive. And last, there was the sofa. A long, luxurious leather seat, placed perfectly in the center of the room. And in front of it was a table in black; upon it, a book was placed.
As his gaze fell on the book. With a deep and quiet exhale, he sank onto the sofa. He picked up the book from the table, and on its cover, the title of the book was mentioned. He read aloud the title:
"BEGINNING OF THE AGE OF DOOM AND RISE OF PIONEERS."
As he read the title, he started to flip the cover and reached its first chapter. Then he started skimming—the first chapter was the basic intro of the world that they were living in.
It tells that we humans used to believe that we were the sole sovereigns of this humongous universe, and the rest of the species before us were nothing but maggots that shall live as animals in front of us. We thought that we were the masters of nature, authors of civilization, architects of the future. That no species was above us.
But that belief shattered. Just like our cities. Just like our skies.
Once the gate opened, everything shattered like glass—from human life to their beliefs. That marked the end of the Age of Sin, the most brilliant era that humans had witnessed, which had peace in it. As the Age of Sin ended, it marked the start of a new Age of Doom—what people call the Age of the Godhood.
For the people who are morons and don't know the existence of gates, let me tell you: a gate is a rupture between the realities of two worlds. It's not some kind of miracle, but a crack in the world. The reason the gates started to appear is because as worlds approach their end—drawn back toward the primal singularity from which all was made—their boundaries start to weaken. The pressure from the worlds coming together makes these weakened boundaries crack. Then this crack becomes a gate.
As the gates open, they lead us to countless worlds—many teeming with corrupted monsters, twisted by the darkness, where we are nothing more than prey. But not all worlds are like that. Some, like the Dragon Lands or the World of Woods echo of own world.
But the last, true gates are filled with trials. Usually, we call them Trial Gates, but as people believe in fantasy more than science, they tend to call it True Gates. These gates are connected to other worlds, and that world has some kind of thought due to the Seeker's interventions and has turned itself into a trial.
As he was skimming the book at a rapid pace, leaving many details unread, in the middle of the book it talked about how to change the destiny of all worlds, and there was only one answer to that question—and that was to end the number of unnecessary worlds. We send pioneers to this kind of world of trial or to destroy the world of monsters.
To end a Monster World, they usually have to find the World Core and destroy it. But to end a Trial Gate, they have to complete the trial—which has become a major problem for many worlds. But that is a story for the future.
The people who go into the worlds are known as Pioneers, awakening due to the Seeker. The Seeker is something we don't know about, apart from the fact that it is currently helping us survive, become stronger, and obtain Soul Jobs. But the number of Pioneers is very low. Only 30% become a Pioneer, and in just a year, only 10% survive.
So recently, the Alliance of Shrines has released a new way of developing the forces: Blood evolution, which gives extra strength to people to gain powers—those who are not chosen by the Seeker.
As he skimmed the he reached the ranking section.
---
Pioneer Awakening Ranks:
Rank 1 – —
Rank 2 – —
Rank 3 – —
Rank 4 – —
Rank 5 – Transcendent
Rank 6 – Ascendant
Rank 7 – Achiever
Rank 8 – Pioneer
Rank 9 – Lesser / Unawakened / Beast / Human
---
Monster Ranking:
Rank 1 – —
Rank 2 – —
Rank 3 – —
Rank 4 – —
Rank 5 – Abyssal Terrors
Rank 6 – Dread
Rank 7 – Fiend
Rank 8 – Harbinger
Rank 9 – Ravenger
---
As he completed skimming the wall manual, he placed the book back on the table. As he placed the book back in its place, he heard a knock at the door—as if someone was waiting for him to complete the book reading. With that, he stood up, and when he opened the door—