"Everyone, this is your last awakening ceremony. If you still fail to awaken, prepare to live the rest of your life as an ordinary human, attending a normal university. Alternatively, you can dedicate these last few months to improving your cultivation and increasing your chances of entering an Academy."
The teacher's voice echoed through the room, his tone firm yet measured.
Before him stood rows of students, their expressions a mix of anxiety and hope as they listened to him attentively.
Among them was Adam.
More than two centuries ago, a mysterious energy called mana descended into the world. It rewrote the laws of biology, evolution, and even reality itself.
Humans began awakening abilities, spiritual or elemental powers fueled by mana.
But humans weren't the only ones that changed.
Beasts evolved into intelligent mana races, and along with that, an apocalypse descended upon this world, bringing spatial rifts that spawned hordes of monsters, plunging the world into chaos.
Humanity teetered on the brink of extinction, until fortunately, the awakened humans grew strong enough to withstand the apocalypse.
Thanks to these Awakeners, individuals gifted with extraordinary powers, the apocalypse ended after decades, allowing humanity to finally reclaim their world.
As expected, peace returned to the world, but the allure of Awakening persisted. These Awakeners became figures of importance, and soon, it became the dream of every young person aged sixteen to eighteen to become one.
However, becoming an Awakener was a rare privilege granted to only a few, and for this group of eighteen-year-olds gathered in the hall, this was their last chance to awaken.
Adam was nervous as well, just like his peers. Despite having arrived in this world for a mere three weeks, he understood the significance of this ceremony.
'Damn the predecessor of this body, he couldn't even do something as simple as awakening an ability!' he cursed silently in his heart.
While it wasn't as though all hope would be lost if he failed to awaken, it was undeniable that no path held more promise than becoming an Awakener.
Under the nervous gaze of nearly a hundred students below the podium, the teacher picked up a file from the table before him and began calling names.
"Vivian Stone!"
"Y-Yes, Sir!"
The first student called was a young woman. Upon hearing her name, she immediately stepped toward the podium, but perhaps due to her nervousness, she stumbled and fell, drawing a sharp intake of breath from the room.
However, no one laughed or made fun of her. On any other occasion, they might have, but today, there was no place for mockery. They all feared that they might not fare any better than the student who had fallen.
The teacher, seemingly accustomed to such mishaps, waited patiently for her to get back on her feet and approach him.
When she finally came before him, he wasted no time and gestured toward the transparent orb on the table before speaking evenly.
"This is your third time here, so you know what to do. Just place your hand on the awakening orb. If there's a reaction, it means you've successfully awakened. If there isn't…"
The teacher left his words unfinished, but it made the hearts of every student in the room sink.
Adam felt it too, though he handled it better than the others. Thanks to his steadied maturity coming from his previous life—a life where he had faced numerous challenges before he succumbed to cancer, he could keep his composure.
Adam's eyes watched as Vivian placed her hand on the awakening orb on the table between the teacher and her.
Just as the teacher said, the girl didn't require any assistance. With a familiarity that made the corner of Adam's eye twitch slightly, she placed both hands on the awakening orb and waited.
Seconds passed, and just as the teacher was preparing to dismiss the girl, who looked like she might burst into tears at any moment due to her disappointment, he suddenly froze as the orb began emitting a radiant white light.
Following that, a faint wisp of air breezed through the surroundings and a green light shone on her palm.
"Vivian Stone has successfully awakened an ability!" the teacher announced, his voice tinged with astonishment. His previously stoic expression betrayed clear surprise.
For this group of eighteen-year-olds, the likelihood of success was slim, and the teacher hadn't expected any. But to think that the very first student called up would do so left him momentarily speechless.
It was a well-known fact that the best age to awaken a class was sixteen, as that was when the chances were highest and the body was completely saturated with mana. After that, their chances of awakening diminished with each passing year.
The moment the students heard the teacher's announcement, the previously quiet hall erupted with noise, as excited chatter erupted among the students.
"Wow, Vivian actually awakened? No way!"
"First come, first served?"
"Damn."
"Tsk. To think the fourth-to-last dumbest person in all of Class 3 would awaken."
"You do realize that awakening successfully doesn't necessarily have anything to do with intelligence, right?"
Like his classmates, Adam was pleasantly surprised that the first student to step onto the podium had awakened.
No one in their group had expected any of them to awaken, so seeing someone succeed lifted everyone's spirits and reignited a renewed sense of hope within them.
However, that newly lit hope was quickly shattered.
"Ed Shiran, awakening failed!"
"Luka James, awakening failed!"
One after the other, from the fourth up to the forty-eighth, every student who stepped on the podium failed to awaken, except for the first female student, Vivian.
By the end, the once-bustling hall had grown eerily silent, save for the soft sobs of those who had failed their awakening.
Finally, the teacher's gaze landed on Adam. Adam's heart skipped a beat as the teacher called him up as the fiftieth person.
'This… so soon already?' He couldn't control his nervousness as he approached the podium.
He raised his slightly trembling hands toward the awakening orb.
Would he successfully awaken or live out the rest of his life as an ordinary person?
A/N: I hope you enjoy the opening of this novel. Support by adding to your library and giving a power stone or two. Thank you.