[Aiden's POV]
The ground passed beneath me at high speed as I travelled to the nearest city on foot. There are passengers from both sides on the road; it was generally busy because this road connects the nearby city to Arclight Clan.
My mind was wandering around on how to earn my livelihood. I checked the pouch given by Caelan; it had a few B-rank mana stones, which would be very helpful for about 2-3 weeks if I keep my expenditure in check.
Some passengers tried to give me a lift, but in my current state, I didn't want to trust anyone, and I needed to think before I reached the city. So I walked with quick steps to reach the Cian City before nightfall.
After about an hour, when the sun was setting on the horizon and the sky was covered in a reddish hue. The splendid scenery after the whole day of bad news gave a good feeling as I entered the city.
I had come to this city a few times earlier, so I already had an idea where cheap inns would be available.
I made my way through the sparsely crowded streets of Cian. My stomach was also grumbling louder, so I hurried my search for any suitable inn.
After checking multiple streets and asking for directions from 2-3 people, I finally reached the place where I decided to stay.
The inn was loosely maintained, not too good-looking but average in everything.
"So that's it, huh? It's real," I muttered and took a deep breath before entering the gate.
I looked at the counter where a middle-aged woman was seated. I walked towards her and spoke, "Hello, I needed to rent a room for a few days. Is any room available at the moment?"
The woman looked up and said, "Yeah, boy, it's available. 10 Standard Gold for a room per night and an extra 7 Standard Gold for 3 meals per day."
'Huh, they are cheaper than I thought. I guess I can easily stay for 3 weeks now, I thought, then replied to the woman, "Okay, I want to book a single room for a week."
I handed out a single B-rank mana stone as I spoke.
The woman looked at me with questionable looks and said, "If you are here with any nefarious purpose, then please leave. This city comes under Arclights, and they don't show kindness to someone who is even vaguely associated with any crime against them."
I could feel the fear in her voice; for a moment, I forgot all about my problems and thought, "How do they live in constant suffocation?"
However, I immediately came out of my stupor and replied with a forceful smile, "No miss, I am here on work, but suddenly I was told that I had to stay out for a few more days. So I came here. I promise I will bring no problem to your inn."
"Okay, but be warned, any sign and I will expel you right away."
I nodded. She handed me a key and guided me towards my new room for at least a week. "Fourth room from left. I will bring you dinner an hour later. Is that okay with you?"
I nodded, took the key, and moved towards the stairs. I stopped midway to turn back and ask, "Miss, is there any kind of job vacancy you know of? This money I have is for work, so I wanted to earn my keep for the days I stay."
"Hmm...work. What kind of work can you do?" She asked back.
I was kind of stumped and said, "Anything, I just need work for a few days. I am good at boxing where I came from."
"Okay, I will inform you if any work turns up. What's your name, by the way?" She asked.
"Aiden Arc...Aiden, only Aiden, thanks. Please tell me if you find any gigs," I hurriedly said and ran through the stairs for my room.
I almost slipped. My expulsion news will arrive in a day or two. I wanted my life to be less disturbed till then.
With everything settled, I took out 1 B-rank Mana Stone and put it in front of me. I knew the basic Mana breathing method from the academy.
Generally, cultivators from the Beginner Tier only use Mana shards. They use Mana Stone when nearing Master rank.
In my case, technically I never will be able to reach Master rank, so it was of no use, but I was thinking of taking the risk of absorbing mana stone to try and see if I can reach Awakened rank.
I quickly shook off this idea for now; I took out some pie and ate to calm down my stomach. I laid down on the not-so-soft bed and laughed slightly at my situation.
Yesterday, I was in a comfy bed with everything, and today I have become a nobody. I just sighed and waited for dinner. After dinner arrived, I ate my fill; the food was decent, but I was hungry, so I just chomped down and then fell asleep to get some rest.
The next morning I wake up; it's my first day of being independent. Opposite to yesterday, today I was feeling very relaxed. After breakfast, I sat down on the ground in my room and started mana breathing practice.
This is the schedule I have decided upon until I awaken my first Origin node to enter the Awakened rank. I ate, practiced, and slept for the next few days.
On the 5th day, the woman found me a job, which I was very bad at and hardly completed.
I have continued this same process for 2 weeks now. Even a very average cultivator enters Awakened rank before 2 weeks. Here I am; even after 2 weeks, I didn't even feel my Origin node budge.
On an afternoon after lunch, I sat there on the ground, thinking.
During these 2 weeks, my mental state improved much. Luckily the inn lady didn't care about anything else but her rent, so even after she found out that I might be Aiden Arclight, she didn't tell anybody.
I clenched my fists as I went back to the breathing pose. The reason behind my stubbornness is that I have found no evidence of such a claim about Frank Origin's heart in the academy.
I read all I could find about Origin Heart, and information about F-rank was even scarcer than SSS-rank Origin Heart. The only meaningful information was that it became very hard to move forward.
That's also why I decided to do this first, because if I am able to do this. It might open some new doors for me. So I just sat there in silence with fixed breathing.
One more week passed, but the result was the same: not even a slight budge of the first Origin node in the heart.
Today, I took out that mana stone again, observed it in my palm, closed my fist, and started performing mana breathing.
The breathing was very common, so it took time, but suddenly I felt a sharp pain in both my heart and Origin heart.
I clenched my teeth so I couldn't scream out loud. I felt like my heart was about to burst open, and I couldn't control it.
I just gritted my teeth and muttered with a coarse voice, "I will not lose to a mana stone. I have dreams to make my own city and live independently, and I will do just that and nothing else."
I intensely focused on my breathing as I felt mana assaulting every part of my body. My breathing became labored.
I started losing my consciousness a little, but I stayed awake forcefully, even biting my lip until it started bleeding.
This continued for some time, and I was drenched in my sweat. I fall on my back, having labored breathing.
Suddenly, I felt something inside my heart shift; I focused slightly and laughed.
I had done it; I had reached the Awakened Rank, even after being F-rank. I was just about to check the Aetheris Record to see changes in my stats, but before I could, a screen materialized before me.
I flinched back as the screen appeared because this screen had golden-colored lining, which was never heard of in the Aetheris Record.
However, before I could do anything, a small glow appeared on my chest, and its intensity increased.
Now I finally panicked. What was happening? There is no such phenomenon when one reaches Awakened rank.
The blue screen with golden lining changed, and something appeared on it, accompanied by a sound.
DING!!
[Condition for Activation – Unyielding Will detected]
[Search for Compatible Host Complete]
[Initializing Soul Synchronization...]
I couldn't tell what was happening; the glow had also subsided, and I didn't feel any pain. The screen changed further.
[Synchronization complete]
[The Origin Gacha System is bonded to the Host]
[Primary feature: Reward threshold – Minimum S-rank]
"What the hell?"