Kim hoped his parents weren't watching. He'd tried to rid his mind of that vision, of the grim disappointment he knew he would see on their faces after the priests deemed him undesirable. The future was all but set at this point—a boy without mana would get nothing more than an Iron Heart. Even getting a Heart was a stretch for someone like him.
He twitched nervously in the line of fifteen-year-olds that snaked around the alabaster pillars of the church, all the way to the mahogany stage. Around him was a crowd of people, charged with an aura of fervent excitement. For them, it was possibly the greatest day of their lives—and it showed. They were spick and span, wearing elegant suits Kim knew they'd saved just for today.
The day that their sons and daughters, the prides of their lives, would become mages—awakening their Hearts, binding with the spirit beasts that would stay with them for the rest of their lives. More than a few parents held their breaths, hoping for their children to awaken a Gold or even a Platinum Heart.
Since those kids could head to the Royal Academy, which nurtured the greatest mages of the Rosendale Empire.
Kim only had a single wish. And that was to at least awaken a Heart. Iron Ranked was all he could get, but he'd forced himself to be fine with even that.
He just didn't want to let his parents down.
Kim crossed his fingers and brought them together, praying to the goddess that he would be heard. Not for me, he pleaded desperately. It's not for me, it's for them. It's for mom and dad… Please, give me something. For them.
His hands fell slack at his sides. He wasn't even sure whether the prayer had worked, when a sudden cheer erupted from the crowd. The church began to rumble from all the stomping.
Kim leaned to the left, trying to figure out what was going on through all the commotion. His thin, wiry glasses almost slipped off his face as he jolted, startled by the push of someone behind him.
He scrambled for his glasses, adjusting them on the bridge of his nose, when he saw it. Up there on the stage, was a boy he recognized. Daiman Tells, the son of a wealthy merchant. He was chubby, with folds all over his skin, most of which were hidden by his cream-white suit.
Gold mana, shimmering like fairy dust, circled around the boy and wreathed him with light. Kim felt a pull toward him, though he quickly withdrew.
It was jealousy. Envy. Someone who hadn't worked a day in his life had just received a Heart that would make it so he wouldn't have to work for the rest of it either. And yet he, who had worked tirelessly, day after day, would receive nothing.
Minute after minute, the line got shorter. His mind began to wander. He thought about the hope his parents showed. He ran his dry fingers across his azure suit, which was weary and wrinkled, like it had been dug out of an old rack, collecting dust.
That was exactly where it had been taken from. He knew his parents earned barely enough money to live day-to-day. They had received weak Iron Hearts, and were only fit to be farmers.
The smell of freshly baked bread and wine entered his lungs as Kim lifted his head, cleared his throat, and tried to shake off his stress. He saw the priest, and his lips curled in distaste—although he quickly rid his face of that expression. He didn't want the people to see how he truly felt about the empire.
He wondered why nobody questioned the goddess.
Why someone's entire destiny was set from a single moment, left up to luck.
Not fate, but luck.
"... Has he actually?" A hush fell over the crowd as the priest raised his glowing, bright scepter. It looked like a molten pyre, crackling and burning with green flames. The very movement silenced everyone in the room as Kim looked on, curious.
"He has! Jade! He's been granted a Jade Heart!" The priest declared with a booming voice. Shock spread across the room like wildfire as the room erupted, much louder than before. Tiny rocks crumbled and fell from the ceiling as Kim watched the chaos unfold.
Kim looked at the scrawny boy atop the stage with wide eyes. Tears were spilling from the boy's eyes like a fountain.
Iron, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Jade, Mithril, and Adamantine. Those were all the ranks, but the last two were practically unheard of. A Jade Heart was still something incredibly rare, though not quite of legend. Maybe one hundred people out of one million would receive it.
And this boy, whose name Kim had never heard, had just awakened one.
Kim separated his hands, bringing them together in a steady clap, trying to fit in with the rest of the crowd. Loud voices and chaos like this made him uncomfortable, shifty—he hadn't had great experiences with groups when he was younger.
He shuddered, trying to drive away the horrid memories. He didn't want to remember the bullying.
The chaos slowly died out, and the last Kim saw of the boy was the sight of his overjoyed, sobbing parents dragging him away from the hungry crowd.
After those two, the rest of the children all awakened Silver Hearts. Those were easily the most common, yielding basic spiritual beasts. One might awaken a Shadow Wolf, a Flaring Salamander, or a Black Serpent at Silver. Although those were just a few examples—Kim knew that the true identity of a spirit beast was determined by its master's soul.
Iron Hearts, on the other hand, were about as rare as Jade Hearts… only, they were on the worse side of the spectrum.
Finally, it was Kim's turn to step onstage. Reluctantly, he dragged his feet up the array of stairs, trying to seem as confident as possible.
The light from the chandeliers above made it hard for him to see, spreading glare all over his glasses. He squinted, inching forward as the priest stared down at him with a warm, welcoming smile.
Kim knew better than to trust this.
He settled onstage, staring out at the crowd in front of him.
It wasn't silent. The whispers had already begun. Even if they didn't know him, everyone had heard of him. The worthless boy. The manaless boy. The boy who was not favored by the goddess, born to Iron Ranked parents, only to be destined for a role lesser than theirs.
They could go and die in a hole, for all Kim cared. He didn't give a shit about these people. Instead, his eyes darted over the ground, tunneling through everyone until he found his parents.
They smiled at him from the corner of the room, waving and cheering.
Kim's throat caught as he clenched his face tight, trying to stop the tears from falling. But he couldn't hide the angry tremble in his fists.
His parents were being made to watch away from the crowd?
Kim took in a shaky breath.
"Get on with it! That bastard child won't be getting shit, so there's no need to prolong this!" A sharp, scratchy voice rang out from the crowd, shaking Kim a bit. More and more voices came out, agreeing with the first.
Soon, like cattle, everyone followed the example of the first.
Kim closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and turning toward the priest. He nodded simply, signaling for the man to activate his skill. To form the connection between the goddess and him.
"I apologize for their words," the priest said with an apologetic look." I know they can be harsh, due to your… circumstances, but I assure you that the goddess is fair."
Kim smiled, parched lips spreading with some discomfort. "I understand, sir. Go on."
The priest nodded, raising his scepter with the symbol of the Holy Sun emblazoned on it. It was made of brilliant white wood, probably taken from a high-rank Gate. Kim watched, mostly reactive as the priest pressed the scepter against his shoulder.
It sank into his suit, squishing Kim's feet into the velvet carpet below. He stabilized himself as best he could, focusing all the strength of his prayers on the goddess as the priest lifted his scepter, tapping Kim's other shoulder.
Taking his only chance and biting back the embarrassment, Kim raised his hands in a single swift movement, sending a slight blast of wind up. The chandeliers swayed as the wind extinguished the candles. Kim clasped his fingers together and prayed as hard as he could as the priest activated his skill, sending a meteor-like streak of radiant golden light toward Kim's body.
His heart slammed against his chest like a battering ram. Time seemed to slow to a crawl.
SOMEONE, PLEASE! HEAR MY PRAYERS! ANYONE!
Murmurs and gasps rang out from the crowd. Things like: What the hell is he doing? Or, that crazy bastard must be desperate.
The golden light enveloped Kim's body, as it did with all the other children.
But for a fraction of a second, he saw a tumultuous rainbow—
The sight disappeared as fast as it came, replaced only by a dull, grim shine.
What was that? Kim's eyes were already wide. A trick of the light?
It was with his eyes widened as a cold, unfeeling voice shocked him back to his senses.
"Iron Ranked!"
Kim choked, falling to his knees. The words were like knives, stabbing him repeatedly. Iron, he thought. Iron. I got Iron. Fucking Iron!
… At least it's better than nothing.
He didn't want to look at his parents. But he could clearly hear the jeers of the crowd. "Failure!" They screamed. "A waste of time!"
Kim teetered to the side, off-balance.
Something pulled Kim down, like hands of gravity dragging him into darkness, ripping his consciousness from his body. He reached out with his hands uselessly, hollow eyes reflecting his numbness.
In the end, nothing had changed. He thought it had, that someone had heard the prayers he sent out every single day, but nothing had worked. He was a waste. A failure.
Or at least he believed that, until his status screen expanded in front of him.
Instead of sporting bright blue colors and a holographic feel, it was instead made of old fashioned runes.
And the contents…
[Name: Kim Snow]
[Race: Human]
[Tier: Unranked]
[Totem: Not Slotted]
[Bond: Unclaimed]
[Heart (Adamantine): Keeper of Runes Lvl 1, Aevean Alphabet Lvl 1, ???? (Locked), ???? (Locked), ???? (Locked), ???? (Locked), ???? (Locked), ???? (Locked), ???? (Locked), ???? (Locked)]
[Soul (Unranked): N/A]
[Body (Unranked): N/A]
[You have been transported to the otherworld.]