"All you need to do is stand in front of the mirror. If your reflection appears, congratulations, you've awakened. For those who didn't see their reflection, do not despair; it's not the end of the world. Many have achieved greatness without awakening," said a man with thick white hair, addressing a crowd of teenagers clad in ash-gray uniforms.
The teenagers' faces were solemn, some etched with nervousness, others with determination. The air was charged with tension.
The man's sharp gaze swept over them before he barked, "Remember this—Elites are the pillars of society, the protectors of order, and the guardians of mortals against the monsters that emerge from the planes."
"Draven, you're first," the man called, his tone softer now.
A boy with jet-black hair, electric blue eyes, and sickly pale skin stepped forward from the corner of the room. His expression was plain and unreadable.
He walked up to the huge mirror that was the size of a door and stood about a meter from it.
Suddenly, it radiated ablinding purple light. Draven shut his eyes and clenched his fist with a pounding heart.
The light vanished in three seconds.
Draven opened his eyes to see the mirror again, and it was devoid of any reflection, merely its silver surface. The rim of his eyes trembled at the sight. He opened his mouth, but it only quivered without a word.
"Draven," the man's voice jolted him, "like I said before, this is not the end but another phase of your life. George, the Plane Researcher, isn't an Elite. Just wait in the waiting room."
Draven tilted his head to eye the man, then chuckled hollowly.
'Unfortunately, Mr. teacher, mine isn't just a mere disappointment like others; failure to awaken is death for me. Just 200 days left to live, huh? If only I can get 500 million credit units for the cure….'
But he hid his despairing thoughts and replied calmly. "I know."
With that, he turned, tucked his hands in his pockets, and walked away. The crowd parted in silence, and he walked through toward the door.
"Collins, you're next!" the man called out.
The tension in the room heightened after Draven's failure, but it had nothing to do with him anymore.
Draven had just locked the door behind him when he heard cheers behind him. He halted for a brief second before continuing on his way, not waiting as their teacher had advised.
Leaving the school with a hopeless gloom reflecting in his blue eyes, he paused outside the gate, shut his eyes, and raised his head to feel the warm rays of the setting sun.
A minute later, his eyes snapped open with a sharp gaze that buried his despair.
"Looks like we'll go with that mad, risky plan, even though going to the Blue Plane is reckless," he muttered and hailed a cab.
It took him to a distant street that was populated with decrepit buildings and a spoiled road, with working machinery in the distance.
He paid the cab, which left him a distance from his house due to the bad roads, and strolled to his house.
Five minutes later, he stopped in front of a dilapidated duplex attached to others and used his key to unlock the door that was beginning to rot.
Getting inside, Draven went straight to the bathroom, pried a bottom tile loose, and revealed a hole. He dipped his hand in and retrieved a palm-sized box from inside.
With a tug, the lid came off, and inside lay a small diary with a brown paper slotted beside it.
He picked up the diary and leafed through it with rapt attention, reading all the scribbles he had made, especially the one he had highlighted, until he reached the end.
At the end were roughly written words that made him chuckle. It was his musing one night when he was depressed:
'If I fail to awaken, this is my last resort. This is the plan to enter the Blue Plane and snatch the legacy of the powerful Elite to become a legend like Hara. Although there's no record of an unawakened human awakening after receiving a legacy, there's also no record of an unawakened human receiving a legacy. BUT FROM ANNIE'S WORDS, IT'S VERY POSSIBLE. Let's pray I don't die in the maw of a monster; Elites die in that place too. Heck! No pessimism! I WILL AWAKEN WITH MY CLASSMATES AND AVOID THIS OPTION!'
He clicked his tongue at the last part.
'Delusion.'
And he snapped it shut and picked up the paper. Opening it, it was filled with chaotic scribbles like the doodles of a child, with a black blotch at the center. Then a dotted red line scrawled towards the blotch, tracing on a doodle from the edge of the paper, stopping a few inches from it.
Draven knew it wasn't any child's play but the map of the Blue Plane to the legacy.
Now sure of what he wanted to buy, he buried the box again and left the house. He strolled to an adventure mart, where he picked what he needed and dropped it in front of the cashier.
She scanned the bag, gloves, boots, black attire, hook, and rope, pausing when she reached the dagger and three vials containing a crimson liquid with a label 'Berserker Z1' on each. She shot Draven a curious glance, which he met with a bright smile.
Retracting her gaze, she scanned and packaged everything.
"50,000 credit units."
Draven paid and left with it.
On his way home, he received a text:
'Rogue alley.'
When he got to his slum area, he walked deeper, passing smoking and drinking thugs until he got to a place congested with dilapidated buildings many times worse than his. He ignored the bad smell, cautiously scanned around, and quickly entered a dark alley, intersected by other alleys. A masked girl waiting for him passed him a small sealed envelope.
He opened it and saw a vial, almost like the one he had bought, except the content was thicker and dark red. Picking it up, he shook it and stared at it for any bubbles.
"Berserker Z2." The girl's sweet voice sounded. "Unlike Berserker Z1, which grants only a bit of enhanced strength miles away from Elite level for a duration of one hour, with an immediate repercussion of body weakness after it wears off, this grants the super strength of an Elite for 24 hours—a complete day."
Draven tore his gaze from the vial and looked at her. Then he smirked, adding what she had omitted. "With a repercussion of madness for most people, and few surviving it unscathed."
She flinched at his words but recovered instantly.
"Give it back if you don't want it," she challenged defiantly.
Draven chuckled. He dipped his hands into his pocket and passed her 50,000 credit units in cash. Now, he had spent his last savings.
After a short count, she gave him a thumbs-up and quickly left through another alley. He also tucked it in his pocket and left.
He spent the rest of the day reviewing his plans, searching for loopholes, because a single mistake and he's dead.
"It begins at dawn…" he mumbled.
After a long struggle, he finally slept.