"Are you ready?"
The young man's voice cut softly through the quiet night.
"Wait, wait a moment," the girl said, her voice trembling. A shaky breath followed as she tried to compose herself.
In the remote forest outside Base City, moonlight washed over two teenagers, Vincent and Thalia, as they stood before a ritual circle carved into the earth.
High above, a grotesque scar almost split the sky in two, radiating a crimson light that dyed the pristine moonlight with a reddish hue. Under this eerie light, they stood in a man-made, flattened circle. Faint, crisscrossing patterns formed an eerie array, and in its center sat a bowl of what appeared to be a black, unknown liquid.
Vincent held his hand over the bowl, waiting for Thalia. He was fifteen or sixteen, not very tall at just over 5.5 feet, but his slender, lithe build suggested agility. With his slightly messy black hair, handsome features, and fair skin, he had a striking appearance, especially his deep, black phoenix eyes.
"Are you nervous?" he asked softly.
In the moonlight, Thalia's face was taut. Her grip on his hand tightened noticeably, yet she insisted, "No, not nervous."
Vincent knew she was lying.
This was about Professional Awakening. In a moment, she might have to face unknown horrors. How could she not be nervous?
But there was no other way.
Vincent's mind raced through the two years since he had transmigrated. This world's malice toward ordinary people had reached its peak. Thanks to the orphanage's support, he had survived for this long, but now, he and Thalia were out of options. They had to undergo the Professional Awakening Ceremony. Ever since the world invasion, its rules had changed, allowing people to awaken Professions. Becoming a Professional granted extraordinary power, but it required two things: being at least fifteen years old and undergoing the Awakening Ceremony. They had met the first condition. Now, they were about to fulfill the second.
For the wealthy, the ceremony was safe. They had specialized arrays, Awakening crystals, and a surplus of professional security on site to handle any crisis. But for orphans like Vincent and Thalia, who had no money, the Awakening Ceremony was a terrifying risk.
Professionals had emerged specifically to counter the world invasion. Naturally, when an awakening occurred, monsters from the invading world would sense it and rush over to destroy the newly awakened Professional.
Vincent had seen those monsters in the past two years; they were inhuman, terrifying creatures. In fact, when he and Thalia first discovered this array, three unrecognizable corpses lay nearby, gnawed down to the bone.
It was a gruesome sight, yet desperation left them no choice.
In such a dangerous world, failing to become a Professional meant a dead end. To make matters worse, a Tier 2 dungeon had recently appeared nearby. It had been nearly a month, and the dungeon had yet to be cleared, causing panic in the Base City. Monsters could spill out into the real world at any moment.
Many with money and strength were planning to flee. But Vincent and Thalia were just orphans. Without money or strength, where could they go? They could only risk everything.
"It's okay," Vincent said, gently reassuring her. "Even if monsters are attracted, as long as one of us awakens a combat profession, we can handle it easily."
That's what he said, but in truth, he had no confidence.
Awakening a Profession in this world was left entirely to chance, completely random, with no way to interfere. To make matters worse, combat professions were incredibly rare, with a ratio of almost one to nine against life professions. Only one person out of ten might become a fighter.
Some speculated this was a trick by the invading worlds, but with no concrete evidence, there was nothing they could do. They were at the mercy of fate.
Thalia's trembling finally subsided. She gritted her teeth and whispered, "Brother, I'm ready… let's begin!" The last words came out with a hint of a grind.
Her jaw trembled, but her eyes sharpened with resolve. "Even if it is only a healer or something weaker, I will fight beside you."
Vincent said no more. He took a deep breath, reached for the bowl, and whispered, "Professional… Awakening!"
He flipped the bowl over and pressed it onto a pattern on the ground.
In the silver moonlight, the dark liquid was finally revealed to be not black, but a deep crimson. It was blood—his and Thalia's. The liquid seeped into the ground, slowly permeating the array lines.
Thalia stood beside him, watching the magic array. It was quiet all around. Then, a magical event occurred. Crimson halos appeared, one after another, quickly covering the entire array and enveloping them both. Immediately after, a light appeared on their bodies.
Vincent's eyes lit up. It had begun! He stared intently at his own body.
"They said every light had a place on the spectrum, from dull white to radiant rainbow. No one ever spoke of what came before color."
At a certain moment, a transparent, colorless light flickered on him.
Wait a minute… colorless light?
Vincent froze.
The world had been invaded for over thirty years, and the hierarchy of Profession levels was well-known. Even as an orphan, he knew the common facts. A Profession's grade was determined by the color of its light during awakening. The higher the grade, the greater the potential, skills, and growth rate. The gap between grades was immense.
The known grades, from lowest to highest, were White (Common), Green (Elite), Blue (Excellent), Purple (Epic), Gold (Legendary), and Rainbow (Divine).
Had it failed?
Vincent went silent. He knew what the remaining 90% meant: failure. Non-Professional.
Was he a Non-Professional? Even with his composure, a wave of powerlessness and frustration washed over him. In a world where a Profession was everything, he was destined for the bottom of society.
His plans for the future had to change. He had prepared for this possibility, but the reality of it was stifling. As the thought crossed his mind, a soft white light flickered beside him.
Vincent turned his head. Thalia was entirely bathed in a soft white light.
White… a Common Profession? A hint of disappointment surfaced in his heart. In a world where a Profession was king, a Common one meant being inherently behind everyone else.
Still, it was infinitely better than his nonexistent one.
He quickly adjusted his emotions and quietly asked, "Thalia, what Profession?"
Her gaze was unfocused, staring at the unseen panel only she could see. She instinctively turned to him, and the look in her eyes made his heart sink. It wasn't a combat Profession.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, a heavy thudding sound echoed through the dim, dense forest. Something was rapidly approaching.
Vincent's expression tightened as he stared into the dark.
It seems they had attracted monsters after all.