Chapter Three: Unawakened and Mysterious Interference
Two years have passed since the apocalypse began.
Though the world has adapted to its new reality, a different kind of corruption has taken root discrimination.
Those with strong and useful awakenings are celebrated. Protected. Honored.
The weaker ones those with minimal abilities or passive systems are treated like burdens, slaves, or even used as cannon fodder during raids and expeditions.
And those like me?
I am Aka Zema.
It's been three years since the world collapsed.
Since the Blood Moon and the Black Sun descended.
Since the sky cracked and the earth bled.
And in all that time… I have never awakened.
Every race, every individual, even the lowest beasts eventually awakened something.
But not me.
Each time I try, the Universal System blocks me with a cold message:
> [Awakening Failed.]
[Cause: Unknown Interference Detected.]
---
I'm nineteen now.
My parents heroes in their own right sacrificed themselves during the early chaos to protect me.
Before they vanished, they said:
"We'll meet again, Zema. You must live."
I've never stopped believing them.
And strangely, this necklace they left behind…
Sometimes, I can feel them inside it.
As if they're not truly gone.
---
Because I'm unawakened, no one will hire me.
I'm viewed as useless. Weak. A walking liability.
I survive through scavenging searching through ancient ruins, forgotten cities, and monster-corrupted zones.
Just to trade for scraps.
A piece of bread.
A quarter bottle of water.
They won't even offer coin.
Not for someone like me.
---
The ruins I search are deep inside monster-infested zones.
Every trip is a gamble with death.
And I'm not alone.
I found two children in one of those ruins both no older than four. Abandoned. Starving. Clinging to each other in the dark.
I took them in.
Shared my scraps.
Risked my life to keep them safe.
But… today, one of the top guilds found us during a sweep.
They saw the potential in those children.
Scanned them.
And in moments, they were claimed.
"They'll be taken in and trained," they said.
"They'll be protected."
They didn't even ask me if I wanted to go.
Didn't acknowledge me at all.
Just looked at my stats and turned away.
But somehow…
I survived.
Against all odds, with nothing but grit and a will to live, I endured.
I now live in an abandoned, uninhabited ruin, far from the bustling city of Golswan Kingdom.
A place people pretend doesn't exist.
The kingdom itself was founded by Edwin Golswan, a legendary Star Thirteen Magician, known for building the fortress-city as a haven for elite Awakeners.
Only the rich, the influential, and the powerful are allowed inside.
To them, the rest of us unawakened, low-rankers, and the unwanted are seen as filth.
They call us cursed.
Inferior.
Burdens.
Torture is part of daily life.
Humiliation is expected.
People like me get scorned, beaten, and mocked, often for no reason at all.
And yet… you dare not speak back.
You say one word one breath of defiance and you'll lose your life that same day.
---
I used to think maybe it was my fault.
Maybe it was my lack of constitution.
Maybe I wasn't mentally strong enough.
Maybe the strange interference that stopped me from awakening was because…
I was weak.
That thought haunted me every day.
So I trained.
Every single damn day.
Morning to night, starving or not, bleeding or not I trained.
No mentor. No guide. No system.
Just instinct and desperation.
And over time, I got stronger.
Not in the way they measure strength with systems, stats, or flashy skills.
But my body hardened, my reflexes sharpened, and my endurance became inhuman.
I could sprint for hours, survive with nothing, and wrestle down lesser beasts with bare hands and broken blades.
But no matter how strong I became,
I couldn't defeat a single Awakened.
Even the ones they called Inferior Awakeners, the ones society stepped on and mocked
Even they were on another plane entirely.
They had crossed a boundary I could not reach.
They had systems, skills, enhancements they had left humanity behind.
And me? I remained stuck.
Stronger than most humans… but still human.
But that didn't make me give up.
I kept training.
I kept scavenging.
Because survival was all I had.
Because I made a promise to the ones who gave their lives for me.
---
Yet time made things worse.
Scavenging used to be hard but possible.
Now, it was almost suicidal.
The safe zones, the lower-risk ruins, the shallow outskirts they were all picked clean years ago.
Now only Red Alert Zones, Black Zones, and Forbidden Territories remained.
Even the strongest Awakeners avoided those places.
Too unstable. Too dangerous. Too unpredictable.
But I had no choice.
No system.
No status.
No place to call home.
If I didn't go in, I didn't eat.
---
The world outside the great cities had become a wasteland.
Water sources were tainted and undrinkable, poisoned by mutant fungi and corrupted energy.
Food was worse wild beasts absorbed too much chaos, and eating them often led to sickness, mutation, or worse.
The only way to survive was barter trade.
But I was unawakened.
They wouldn't give me fair trades, no matter what I brought back.
I'd risk my life for ancient relics, rare herbs, or mutated beast cores
And all I'd get was half a loaf of stale bread, or a bottle of water that tasted like rust.
To them, I was "inferior."
Not worth paying.
Just a shadow crawling on the edge of their shining cities.
---
Still, I endured.
For my parents.
For their last words.
For the chance… that one day, I would awaken.
And if I couldn't…
Then I would at least leave behind proof
That even someone like me…
Could survive in this world without a system.