"Liam, Maya is here to see you!" A high-pitched feminine voice called out from downstairs.
"Coming," a lazy voice replied from behind the closed bedroom door. It wasn't long before the door creaked open, revealing a beautiful blonde-haired girl with a bright smile plastered on her face.
Liam stared at Maya for a few seconds, his model-like features striking even despite his unkempt appearance. Dark hair fell messily across his forehead, and his shirt was wrinkled from lying in bed, but he still managed to look effortlessly handsome.
"I've told you it's rude to barge into someone's room like that," Liam said, though his voice lacked any real seriousness. Maya just let out a soft chuckle.
"My bad, but you wouldn't have come out if I didn't come in here, would you?" She replied with a questioning gaze that made Liam look at her with a resigned expression.
"Well, some people need their space," Liam muttered as he got up from his bed and shuffled toward the bathroom to wash his face. Maya didn't mind his grumbling and simply made herself comfortable on his bed.
This was the relationship between the two of them. Although Liam was a year older than Maya and they had completely different personalities, they had been best friends for as long as either could remember.
Not only did their parents know each other well, but at one point they had even wanted the two children to get engaged. That was before Liam's father died and the families grew distant. The two children, however, had kept in touch despite everything.
With Maya being an only child, she practically lived at Liam's house more than her own. His mother, Sarah, had become like a second mom to her, especially after her own parents started traveling for work more frequently.
"So," Maya said, swinging her legs as she sat on his bed, "today's my big day. Are you going to come with me to the awakening ceremony?"
Liam emerged from the bathroom, water still dripping from his face. At nineteen, he had already been through this process a year ago—the day that had crushed his dreams and left him struggling to find his place in the world.
"Of course I'll come," he replied, grabbing a towel. "Someone has to be there to celebrate when you blow everyone away with your results."
Maya's expression grew more serious. She knew about Liam's awakening ceremony from last year—how he'd scored poorly and been classified as a low-rank support-type awakener. It wasn't what anyone expected from the son of Marcus Chen, the legendary S-rank physical hunter who had died in a dungeon raid three years ago.
"You know," Maya said carefully, "whatever happens today with my ceremony, nothing changes between us, right? I mean, even if I get a high rank..."
"Maya," Liam interrupted, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Don't worry about me. Today is your day. I want you to do amazing, and I'll be proud of you no matter what."
But they both knew the unspoken truth. If Maya awakened as a high-rank hunter while Liam remained stuck in his low-tier support role, their paths in life would diverge dramatically. High-rank hunters attended prestigious academies, joined elite guilds, and made fortunes clearing dangerous dungeons. Low-rank awakeners... worked normal jobs and tried not to get in anyone's way.
"Come on," Maya said, hopping off the bed. "Your mom made breakfast, and then we need to head to the awakening center. You know how long the lines get."
As they headed downstairs, Liam caught his reflection in the hallway mirror. His father's confident smile looked back at him from a framed photo on the wall—Marcus in his prime, surrounded by his guild teammates after clearing an A-rank dungeon.
*I wonder what you'd think of me now, Dad,* Liam thought.
"Liam! Maya! Breakfast is ready!" Sarah's voice called from the kitchen.
The smell of pancakes and coffee filled the air as they entered the kitchen. Sarah Chen looked tired—she'd been working double shifts at the Hunter Guild's administrative office since Marcus died, trying to keep their family afloat on a government pension that barely covered the bills.
"Big day for Maya today," she said, glancing at both of them with a mixture of excitement and worry. "I'm sure you'll do wonderfully, dear."
Sarah's eyes lingered on Liam for a moment, and he could see the unspoken concern there. His own awakening ceremony a year ago had been... disappointing, to put it mildly. The son of the legendary Marcus Chen had awakened as a D-rank support type with barely any useful abilities. The government pension they survived on was proof enough that low-rank hunters couldn't support their families.
"Maya's going to be incredible," Liam said, deflecting attention from himself. "I can feel it."
Maya squeezed his hand under the table, offering silent support.
After breakfast, they made their way to the Neo Seoul Awakening Center—a massive government building where Maya would join thousands of other eighteen-year-olds to discover their fates. The line stretched around the block, filled with nervous teenagers and their families.
Liam remembered this day from a year ago. The excitement, the hope, the crushing disappointment when his results were announced. D-rank support type—barely above civilian level.
"Next group, step forward!" An official called out.
Maya's hand found his, squeezing tightly. "I'm nervous," she admitted.
"You'll be fine," Liam assured her, though part of him worried about what would happen if she succeeded where he had failed. Would she still want to be around the disappointing son of a legendary hunter?
As they were processed through various checkpoints, health screenings, and paperwork verification, Liam tried to push down his own bitter memories. Finally, they reached the main awakening chamber—the same vast room where his dreams had been crushed exactly one year ago.
"Maya Rodriguez!" The examiner called her name.
This was her moment. As Maya approached the awakening crystal, Liam had no idea that both their lives were about to change in ways neither could imagine.
Because while Maya's ceremony would reveal her abilities, something else was stirring within Liam. Something that had been dormant since his disappointing awakening a year ago.