While I was running, tears streamed down my face — I probably looked pathetic, like some heartbroken girl in a drama. Truly disgusting. Disgraceful.
And I ran until I found myself under a bridge. The sound of dripping water echoed above me as I sat down, hugging my knees. Tears wouldn't stop falling.
How… how did I not awaken? Everyone else did. Why not me?
Do the gods hate me that much? Did one of my ancestors piss them off or something?
I sat there for almost the entire day until night fell. My phone buzzed with missed calls from Theo, but I didn't feel like talking to anyone. Embarrassment weighed me down—I didn't want to see anyone at the Slayer Academy.
They bugged me out—rich and unclean, the kind that think money makes them gods.
Anyway, after sitting there long enough to pull myself together, I finally stood and climbed back up to the surface. The air was cold, and the city lights flickered faintly off the wet pavement.
That's when I saw it—three guys cornering a woman in a narrow alleyway. The look on their faces said it all. It wasn't just a mugging. They had knives. It was clear what they intended to do before finishing her off.
I sprinted at them and shoved all three at once. The only plausible reason I could pull that off was the training at the academy—those "unawakened" trainees strengthen their bodies for the powers they'll one day gain. It wasn't pretty, but it worked.
When one of them dropped his knife I grabbed it and ran at the weakest-looking guy — scrawny, terrified. I wasn't going to kill him; I'd get arrested for that. Instead I smashed him with the knife's handle, hard, then yelled to the woman, "Run! Call the police!"
The woman ran. The other two men squared off and charged at me. They looked unawakened too — at least we had that in common.
Both of them leapt and tried to stab me from above. That might've worked if they were awakened, but they weren't—and the guy they were fighting was a Slayer Academy student.
I then moved to the front while they were still in the air. And then hit their heads with all I could muster with speed. After falling, I then looked at these three.
I let out a long sigh. "Huuu… hell, I was scared. I thought I was gonna die!"
But before I could recover, all three of them charged, knives aimed straight at my stomach.
I didn't even know how the other one of the three got a knife, but I had been stabbed by three of them. The wounds weren't shallow, yet I was still able to run. As I fled, it seemed they weren't following, running off in a different direction.
I then went to a hospital and purchased healing potions. Since I'm a rich kid, it didn't cost much—about a thousand.
Five potions. That's how many I drank—and that's how weak I am. I just happened to be lucky during that encounter.
"I really hate myself," I thought while walking home, clutching the spot where I'd been stabbed.
I went into my apartment and collapsed onto the bed. Staring up at the ceiling, I could still feel the dull ache beneath my hand even though the potions had done their job.
"Do I really have to go to school tomorrow?" I muttered, a single tear slipping down the side of my face.
The following day.
I went to the academy as usual, expecting only my classmates to laugh at me. But I was wrong. By some miracle—or curse—the whole school had found out, and it had only taken a single day.
At the towering gates of the Slayer Academy, I was met with laughter—even from those who had awakened, sponsored by gods whose names were barely spoken.
I wanted to cry, run, and hide, but I couldn't keep running forever. Let's move forward, I muttered under my breath, my voice barely above a whisper. As I stepped through the towering gates, someone suddenly leapt at me.
It was my idiotic friend, Theo Draven, arms flinging around me like a wrecking ball. His grin was impossibly wide, and his eyes sparkled with mischief as if nothing in the world could go wrong.
"Hey! You ran like a sissy yesterday," Theo said, his wide grin making him look annoyingly proud of himself. "You know girls don't like sissies, right?"
"And besides," he continued, his expression relaxed, "you're not the only one who didn't awaken. There were others, but somehow all the attention just got focused on you."
I honestly didn't know whether to believe him or not, but it did help take the edge off my stress.
Theo and I walked to class and sat in our usual spots. Of course, people laughed, and I got insulted. The hate… it was somehow becoming too much to handle.
And then the man from yesterday appeared—the one with gray hair, a scar and a scary aura. His name was Lucas Alterafem. He was an A-grade Slayer.
Just like any cliché in webtoons, the awakened had ranks.
They went from E-grade—the rank of my dear classmates—up to D-grade, C-grade, B-grade, A-grade, S-grade, Star Tier, and Monarch Tier.
Even though he was A-grade, he was still leagues above the E-grade students.
"Since some of you have awakened, we'll do what I like to call a field trip. On this trip, you'll enter a C-grade Gate and experience… the horrors that await inside."
He said with a stern face.
Some students looked genuinely surprised. Those were the ones sponsored by no-name gods. Even the unawakened were tense, fear written all over their faces. Who wouldn't be? You were basically being sent to face Thanos without an Iron Man suit—or any powers at all.
The students started squirming in their chairs like fish out of water, chatter filling the room. All the noise clearly annoyed Lucas.
"Enough chatter, monkeys!!" he snapped.
Instantly, silence fell. He continued, "You'll be sent in this afternoon, so for now, prepare yourselves. As for those who haven't awakened, it's your choice whether to come or not. Although I doubt it would make a difference if you did."
Adrian looked at Theo and it was already decided what i was going to do
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Prime here!!
Chapter was messy but please bear with me for it was only in this chapter that I give you bad writing. I'll try to soothe it out. Get ready for intensity in the upcoming chapters!!!
Power stones and collections would be greatly appreciated!!
Prime Out!!!