The square smelled of incense, sweat, and fear.
Thousands of children stood in rows, their faces pale and expectant beneath the shadow of the great obsidian altar. They were all under fourteen—boys and girls trembling in identical white robes. Some clenched their fists, others whispered prayers under their breath. Behind them, parents stood in silence, their eyes burning with a mixture of pride and terror.
Because today was not a celebration.
Today was a judgment day for young boys and girls.
The Talent Awakening Ceremony did not forgive failure.
The war department's representative appeared without warning—a black-robed man, his steps soundless, his gaze like a knife across the crowd. Wherever his eyes lingered, children flinched. His voice spread across the square like a whisper crawling directly into their bones.
"In this third hour of the morning sun... the 99th Awakening Ceremony begins."
The words were calm, but the air of authority embedded within them was unmistakable.
A hush fell over the crowd. The first child was dragged to the altar. He knelt, hands shaking, as the official pressed a shard of black crystal against his forehead. Red light flared. His scream pierced the silence. Veins bulged along his neck, his body convulsed—and then, mercifully, the light faded.
"Regular talent," the official announced flatly.
The parents wept with relief, clutching their boy as he stumbled away, alive.
The next child wasn't so lucky. A girl no older than twelve was brought forward. The crystal touched her skin, and in an instant her body stiffened. Blood gushed from her eyes and ears as her scream cut short. She crumpled to the ground, twitching, before going still.
Gasps erupted from the square.
The black-robed man didn't blink. "Failure. Dispose of her."
Guards dragged the corpse away.
Many present also sighed inwardly. At the same time, the hatred that they felt for the ancient demons invading their empire reached its peak. If it wasn't for the invasion, none of these younglings would have to undergo premature awakening.
But that's just how life was...
A cold truth settled over the children waiting in line: awakening wasn't just about gaining power. It was a gamble with your life.
At the back of the crowd, a young man of fourteen stood silently, his pale face unreadable. His sister was somewhere behind him, holding her breath, but he didn't look back. His name was Arek Veyrin, youngest of two siblings.
To everyone watching, he looked calm. But if one looked closely, they would see it—the faint tremor in his fingers, the way his eyes lingered on the girl's body being dragged away.
When the black-robed official's gaze swept the crowd and landed on him, Arek felt it—like a blade pressing against his throat.
"Next."
His time had come.
Behind him, a cold-faced girl watched in silence, unwilling to utter a single word of encouragement for her brother.
Arek also didn't care. He had gotten used to his cold but kind sister. After all, she was the only one who saved him when he first crossed over five years ago. If it weren't for her care, he would have surely died in this harsh world.
As the memories of that time were still blurry, Arek wasn't sure of specifics, but he genuinely cared about her.
That's right—Arek wasn't originally from this world but somehow crossed over while playing his favorite game.
Thinking of this point, his eyes drifted toward the blue window floating in the corner of his vision.
[Name: Arek Veyrin]
[Age - 14]
[Class: Hidden Saint, Grade - ???]
[Identity kept hidden for five years in a row, 5x bonus applied, equip primary mask to apply effect]
[Trait - Unawakened]
[Realm - Late stage initial realm]
[Strength: 7]
[Agility: 4.8]
[Perception: 10]
[Physique: 9.4]
[Mana: 10]
Unlocked Secondary Masks:
[Mask of the Forger - Regular grade]
The chance of creating a regular grade item is increased by 100%
[Mask of Godfather - Legendary grade]
Any sure-shot kill attack can be dodged once a day
[Mask of True Concealment - Legendary grade]
As long as you don't want others to notice you, nobody can detect your presence
[Mask of Flying - Epic]
Flying is as easy as breathing
[Mask of Swordsman - Rare]
You are good at learning sword skills
Looking at the status window, even after five years Arek found it difficult to accept. One of the game's most broken skills came with him.
When he first saw this, his happiness knew no bounds. In the game it was primarily used to farm resources. As long as he could keep his ability secret, the bonus would continue to increase, but if his identity was exposed, it would reset to one.
As such, Arek had already created his different personas to take full advantage of the class skill.
Arek moved at lightning speed. Without even realizing, he stood in front of the war emissary, with a nervous appearance, cold sweat rolling down his forehead.
This was something neither of the siblings wanted.
Meanwhile, the crowd pointed fingers in his direction and discussed something in hushed voices.
"White hair and red eyes!"
"Is he a foreigner? How did he get here?"
Before the crowd could turn even more loud, the war representative snorted and immediately the crowd fell silent.
The war emissary didn't care if he was foreign or not. As long as they could fight against the demons, the empire didn't care.
Without another word, he picked up the black crystal from the ceremonial table and placed it upon Arek's forehead.
Arek stood silent, not daring to make any rash move. When the crystal was placed on his forehead, he felt a cool and calm sensation, relaxing his nerves.
Moments passed and the war emissary shook his head. Seeing his reaction, Arek's expression immediately darkened.
Serin Veyrin, who was watching, secretly also clenched her fist tightly. She immediately turned her head away, unable to continue watching.
The crowd also sighed. Although Arek was a foreigner, they still felt a little bad about him.
As the crowd waited for him to explode, it didn't happen. Instead, just as the war emissary was about to take the crystal away, a green light flashed in the surroundings.