Within the most prestigious awakener academy in the kingdom of Aethon resided the kingdom's most gifted students.
They were hailed as the future of humanity, the protectors of this world from the monsters that emerged from the gates.
If there was one thing they all shared in common, it was talent, except for one student…who didn't have any.
Separated from all friend groups sat a young man of 16 years. He sat alone in the corner of the food hall, eating alone.
His eyes and mind focused on a screen that the others near him couldn't see.
Gazing at the young man eating alone, a girl in one of the girls' groups found him attractive. The young man had short black hair, deep black eyes that felt like the void and a lean build.
Deciding to rise up and strike a conversation, Amy thought about what she was going to say. She had just entered the academy today, and didn't know much.
Before she could take another step forward, one of her friends held her and frowned.
"What's wrong, Clair?" Amy asked, a frown on her face.
"You're not planning on talking to that guy…right?" Clair asked in a serious tone.
"What's the problem? Is he famous? Or perhaps a genius?"
"No," Clair responded with a grim look.
Noticing Clair's grim expression linger, Amy seemed to understand something.
"Clair…are you perhaps interested in him too?"
"No!" Clair shook her head strongly, a look of disgust appearing on her face. The thought of being in love with that man irked her entire being.
"You said famous? Pfft. More like infamous. As for genius…don't make me laugh. He's the only student in Sina's history to have never awakened a talent. He is still mana-less at sixteen." Clair explained.
"What? How? Are you saying he is unawakened? There's never been an unawakened in the academy before. It's impossible…" Amy was shocked beyond belief.
"Well…he made it possible," Clair muttered.
Amy's smile vanished.
"What makes his situation worse is his background...he's an Ashblade, well, a half-son." Clair continued.
"His mother died birthing him. Now he's a stain on their name. Handsome? Sure. But beauty won't slay realm beasts." She turned away pointedly. "Find someone who won't drag you down."
Amy stood there, shocked as she gazed at Draco's body for a second before turning back to face her friend.
"You are not the only one who was shocked. Everybody had the same reaction when he failed to awaken. Being from such a noble family…yet awaken no talent…it's pitiful and sort of…pathetic." Clair said, before eating a mouthful of her food.
CRACK!
A bowl exploded at Draco's feet, splattering food across his boots.
Students across the food court froze mid-bite.
Glade Von Ashblade loomed over the corner table, his shadow swallowing Draco whole.
"You are skipping training again? First, you shame our bloodline. Now you shame our discipline?"
Draco didn't flinch.
Up close, Glade's resemblance to their father was uncanny; they had the same facial and body structure.
Draco's eyes met Glades ' before he replied flatly "Training's useless for me, or did you forget your own words?"
Glade's hand snapped out, vice-gripping Draco's forearm.
"Respect your elders, or have you forgotten our father's last conversation with you?"
Draco's expression darkened before he muttered. "Let go."
"Alright, that's enough!" Miss Ember said, separating the two with her eyes from a far.
Glade moved his hand away with reluctance, glaring at Draco.
Draco's expression remained stagnant as he stood up, staring Glade in the eyes for a second before walking away from his table.
The students in the cafeteria remained frozen as they watched the scene unfold.
Things have never been great for Draco. He had been reborn into this world after being killed by a street robber.
After dying, he was thrust into this magical world.
He had expected his knowledge as a human from another world, especially an engineer, to help him thrive in this world, even without a powerful talent.
Unfortunately, reality wasn't so bright. He grew up in the House of Ashblade as a scrutinised bastard child that nobody cared about; he was never given the chance to put his skills to use.
His mother had died whilst giving birth to him, which made him curse his luck a thousand times over. His mother was Marquis Lucas's favourite concubine.
Glade's constant bullying was hidden behind the 'lessons' facade. To those in the academy, he appeared as the worried older brother who used tough love to help his younger brother out. But that couldn't be further away from the truth.
Whilst Glade lived in the main mansion, where Lucas and the rest of the close family members lived. Draco lived in the servants' quarters, alongside those who were viewed as less.
Draco ignored all the stares and whispers around him as he walked away. He was no longer bothered by their comments or looks. He had been dealing with it for some time now.
Walking away from the cafeteria, Draco headed to his safe haven, the small hill behind the academy's main building.
The Academy of Sina was the largest and most prestigious academy in the City of Silsom.
It housed the best teachers and most talented students; Draco was the only anomaly without any talent.
'Not anymore..' He thought, a small smile forming on his handsome face.
Whilst he was eating inside the cafeteria, a sudden windowed overlay flashed across his retina, cyan blue in colour.
Draco Von Ashblade [Unawakened]
Title: None
Talent: None.
Strength: 11 (10) / Agility: 12 (10) / Health: 10 (10) / Mana: 0 (10)
Skills: None
Stat points: 0
'Zero mana? No wonder why I was unable to awaken…but how, why do I have zero mana?'
[You received a newbie gift pack!]
[Would you like to open the gift pack?]
[Yes | No]
Without hesitation, Draco pressed yes immediately.
Upon opening the gift pack, a large influx of colours emerged from the gift pack.
[You have received SSS-Rank Talent: Dragon Lord]
[You have received Core-Reforging Pill x1]
[You have received Beast Egg x1]
Staring at the several notifications he had received, Draco was stunned.
The SSS-Rank talent, Dragon Lord sounded incredibly powerful that it made him shake in anticipation.
The beast egg and core-reforging pill remained in question. Both didn't show any immediate signs of usefulness; the beast egg could be bad or good, as for the pill, he didn't know what it could be useful for.
Draco played around with the system for a bit, pressing random buttons, and he found something useful.
He was able to inspect the items.
[Item: Core-reforging pill]
[Description] A Legendary pill used to reforge and revitalise a broken mana core, reviving the circulation of mana within a person's body.
Reading through the description and his status, Draco stopped.
'What if my mana core is damaged? That might be the reason I can't get an element, my mana is zero…now it makes more sense." Draco muttered silently, a thoughtful look on his face.
After thinking for a while, Draco decided to consume the pill.
[Ding!]
[Core-Reforging Pill has been consumed!]
A searing pain shot through Draco's chest as the pill dissolved within his body. It felt as though molten metal was flowing through his veins, burning and rebuilding every fiber of his being.
He collapsed onto the grass, gritting his teeth to prevent himself from screaming. The last thing he needed was to draw attention from the academy guards.
The pain intensified, focusing around his heart where his mana core should have been. Draco could feel something cracking, like an eggshell being broken from the inside.
Through his blurred vision, he noticed his hands beginning to emit a faint golden glow.
[Reforging 30% complete…]
Sweat poured down his face as the burning sensation spread throughout his entire body. His muscles spasmed uncontrollably, and for a moment, he wondered if the pill was killing him rather than healing him.
[Reforging 100% complete!]
[Congratulations! Your mana core has been successfully reforged!]
The pain vanished instantly, replaced by a surge of energy unlike anything Draco had ever experienced.
Standing up slowly, he called up his status window again.
Draco Von Ashblade [Awakened] EXP: 1/100
Title: None
Talent: Dragon Lord (SSS-Rank)
Strength: 11 (10) / Agility: 12 (10) / Constitution: 10 (10) / Mana: 50 (10)
Beastmaster Manual: None
Skills: None
Stat points: 0
"Unawakened."
A smile spread across his face. After years of humiliation and mockery, he finally had the power.
Reading the phrase 'Beastmaster manual', Draco had some ideas.
In this world, beastmasters were far too few. And in the same rank, they were always looked down upon, except for a very few that reached higher rankings by clearing the powerful gates of monsters.
The beastmaster's progression was different from that of the mage, whilst the mage progressed through enhancing their mana cores by increasing their mana attributes and learning higher-tier skills.
A Beastmaster was different. They progressed through a manual that allowed them to cultivate with their chosen beasts.
The deeper they went into the manual, the stronger the bond and affinity between the master and the beast.
Although he didn't like that he had awakened the weakest combat profession in the world.
He had hope in the name of the talent, its high rank, and the system. He had never heard of an awakener with SSS-rank talent. The highest he had heard of was the first awakener ever, when the gates descended, plunging this world into chaos.
The first awakener had been believed to have awakened an SS-Rank Violet Lightning talent. With that talent, he led the humans into fighting back, saving humans and slaughtering beasts. Eventually, retaining order in this world, his current whereabouts were unknown.
Some thought he died, and some thought he was still fighting those monsters somewhere far away.
"Now, let's see what this egg and Dragon Lord talent are about…"
"Firstly, the egg…"
[Item: Beast Egg (Unknown)]
Description: A mysterious egg containing an unknown beast. The species cannot be determined until hatching. Estimated hatching time: Immediate upon awakening.
"Immediate upon awakening? Considering my current status, this means that it's ready to hatch now." Draco raised an eyebrow.
As if responding to his words, the egg in his hands began to emit a warm, pulsing light. Tiny cracks appeared across its surface, spreading like a spider web.
Draco quickly placed the egg on the grass and stepped back, watching in fascination as the cracks widened. A small chirping sound emerged from within.
Crack!
Crack!
The shell split open, revealing a creature so small that Draco had to lean closer to see it properly through the split shell.
"A… hummingbird?"
The tiny creature was no larger than his thumb, with iridescent green feathers. Its wings beat so fast they were almost invisible, creating a soft humming sound that gave the species its name.
The hummingbird looked up at Draco with bright, cute eyes before letting out a soft trill.
[Congratulations! You have successfully bonded with your first beast!]
[Dracina Hummingbird (Common Rank) has been added to your contracted beasts!]
Draco stared at the notifications, then at the tiny bird now hovering near his shoulder.
"A common rank hummingbird…" he muttered, feeling a familiar sinking sensation in his stomach. "Even my beast is the weakest possible…why is it mysterious if it's so weak?"
The hummingbird seemed to sense his disappointment and chirped indignantly, as if offended by his tone.
"Sorry, little guy. It's not your fault. I just… I was hoping for something a bit more…"
The bird landed on his outstretched finger, and suddenly, Draco felt a strange tingling sensation.
For just a moment, his Dragon Lord talent seemed to activate, and he caught a glimpse of something incredible.
The hummingbird's outline flickered, and for a split second, he saw… something else. Something with scales that gleamed like emeralds and eyes that burned with wisdom.
But the vision vanished as quickly as it came, leaving him staring at the tiny creature perched on his finger.
"What was that?" he whispered.
Dragon Lord Talent: SSS-Rank.
#1 Effect: You can see the hidden evolutionary paths of all beasts. You can evolve your beasts to their true Dragon form.
#2 Effect:
[True nature partially revealed: This creature carries an ancient bloodline…]
[Further evolution requirements will be revealed as your bond deepens…]
Draco's eyes widened. "Ancient bloodline? You mean…it's related to the ancient dragon bloodline?"
Dragons were mythical creatures in the world of Aetheria. It was said that they were the favourite child of Mana, the strongest and most powerful race in the universe.
It was said that dragons were once the pillar of Aetheria, the world he was living in currently, but they suddenly disappeared, and no traces were found of them.
The hummingbird tilted its head, as if it understood his amazement, then resumed its hovering flight around his head.
"Well, little one, looks like we're both more than we appear to be," he said softly, a new sense of hope filling his chest.
As he watched his tiny companion, Draco noticed something else.
The bird's movements were amazing, its speed incredible. When it darted between his fingers, it left a faint trail of golden light.
"I think I'll call you Zephyr," he said, extending his finger again. The hummingbird landed gracefully, chirping what sounded almost like approval.
[Your beast has accepted the name: Zephyr]