January 1st, 3025.
Fortress City 6.
Today was the most important day of the year. Not because it was the first day of the new year, but because it was the day of awakening for the young generation who had turned 16 less than a year ago.
In the slum area,
"Father, mother, Luna, I am leaving. Pray for me so that I can awaken an elemental affinity or a bloodline. Then our family will be able to move into the main city."
Samuel, a middle-aged man, but with a mark of tiredness on his face, looked at his son.
"Son, don't put too much pressure on your shoulders. Your father is still alive and capable of working. Just relax and go. We are always praying for you."
"Big brother, don't worry about a thing. I have bought a good luck charm from the old man in the corner shop. Everything will be fine," Luna said in a cheerful tone.
"How many times have I told you, don't buy stuff from that old geezer. He is just a swindler," Aren said a bit sternly.
"Don't say that, brother. Maybe something good will happen. Who knows?" Luna puffed her cheeks.
Aren couldn't help but pinch her pretty face.
"Yeah, yeah. I am sorry."
Then his mother, Erina, came to him and gave him a hug.
"Don't worry, son. Everything will be alright. Go there safely. I'll cook something for you that you like."
"Thanks, mom, thanks everyone. I'll be leaving now." Aren left with a smile.
After he left, Samuel and Erina couldn't help but feel worried. Both of them didn't have any affinity for cultivation, not at the elemental level or at the bloodline level. So there was a high chance that their son wouldn't either.
But they didn't tell him that.
"Don't worry. Even if he fails, we will support him wholeheartedly." Samuel hugged Erina from the side.
Luna was only eight, so she did not understand all this and went to her room to study. She had liked reading books from a very young age.
Aren, after leaving the house, went directly to the bus stand.
The bus stand was quite far away from the slum, so he needed to run for a while or else he would be late.
He arrived at the bus stand and saw that the bus was about to leave. He hurriedly got on.
The bus was full, so he found a seat in the last corner.
"The school said we need to go there ourselves, as there would be people from all over the city and the school wouldn't be able to take care of everyone."
It was actually for those who were from the slum. The school was located in the main city, and students from the slums could only enter the main city at school time and couldn't go anywhere else other than school.
If they were found in a place other than school, they would be arrested for trespassing without permission.
Aren sighed. It had been a thousand years since the apocalypse occurred.
Humanity had been living in the fortress city since then. A class system had appeared. The awakened ones lived in the main city, and the non-awakened ones lived in the slums.
Of course, the family members of an awakened person could live in the main city even if they were not awakened.
But Aren didn't blame anyone. This class system was nature creating itself.
The awakened ones needed to fight the terrifying monsters out there and keep humanity alive, so they deserved special treatment.
"I hope I can also awaken. Even if it is a basic bloodline, I won't complain."
Soon, the bus arrived at the main city gate. Soldiers entered the bus to check everyone's pass to enter the city. Today was the most important day, so only 16-year-olds could enter the city even if they hadn't a pass.
Aren showed them his student ID. The soldier looked at him without any emotion and gave the card back.
"You can enter the city," he said, giving permission to the driver.
Aren always got nervous when he saw the soldiers. They were all awakened people, and he needed to go through this process every day at school.
Aren was a brilliant student, which was why he could get admitted to the school in the main city. There were some schools in the slums too.
Most of the passengers on the bus were students from those slum schools.
The bus entered through the gate and went directly to the awakening hall.
It looked like a grand palace in the main city. Thousands of young men and women were standing outside. The hall was closed for now. It would open at nine o'clock in the morning.
Aren looked at his wristwatch. It was 8:51.
He was looking for someone he knew. It felt awkward to stand alone as everyone else was standing in groups.
As he looked around, a super-luxurious car arrived.
The car door opened, and someone stepped out. She was elegant and ethereal. Her long silver hair flowed like moonlight, catching the soft glow of the sun. A faint breeze lifted a few strands as her violet eyes swept across the surroundings, calm yet piercing. Light seemed to follow her every move, and for that brief moment, the world fell silent.
"Lady Noelle is here. The youngest princess of the Astra family. Stay away from her. If she has a bad impression of you, the entire fortress city wouldn't be able to save you."
People started muttering and made a way for her.
Aren looked at the girl for a while.
"She is indeed like an angel, out of everyone's reach. Sigh!"
Aren was a young man, of course he liked pretty women, and if that woman was Noelle Astra, the most beautiful young lady in the fortress city, he could peek one more time than usual.
But they belonged to two different worlds. He couldn't afford to fantasize about an angel.
Noelle didn't look at anyone and stood in a corner. No adults were allowed in this place today, so her guards couldn't come either.
Though everyone thought she was cold and elegant, Noelle herself was nervous to the point of death.
She was extremely uncomfortable under all these gazes.
"I hope I can awaken an elemental affinity. It would be good if I can have a mystic element instead of a basic one. A top bloodline wouldn't be bad either. My sister has a top bloodline. If I fall behind, that demon will tease me to death."
She was not as poised as she appeared.
Suddenly, the gate of the awakening hall opened.
"Everyone, enter in a line. Anyone who disrupts the line will lose the chance to have the serum."
A cold voice came from inside the hall.
Everyone became nervous and hurriedly formed a line.
Noelle was given the first position in line, as usual.
"I came last. I'll stand at the back," she said coldly.
"Hell no, I am not going to enter first. I will die of nervousness. Let them break the ice first," she was panicking inside.
"Lady Noelle sure is the princess of the Astra family. How noble of her to voluntarily stay at the back."
People started praising her nonstop.
"Why do I feel like she is faking it? Maybe I saw something wrong," Aren thought to himself.
Soon, everyone started to enter the hall one by one.
Inside, everyone would be given a gene evolution fluid. After absorbing it, one would awaken an affinity for an element or a bloodline.
There were rankings in the elements and bloodlines.
There were basic elements like Fire, Wind, Water, Earth, Wood, Lightning, Light, and Darkness.
Then mystic elements like Shadow, Blood, Poison, Illusion, Sound, and so on.
But the real division came from the affinity level: Basic, Middle, Higher, Top, and Legend.
The higher the level, the more powerful one would be in the future, as well as the faster they could become powerful.
Bloodlines had the same divisions, from Basic to Legend.
There were many kinds of bloodlines, like Beast Bloodline, Ancient Bloodline, and even Elemental Bloodline.
Those who awakened their elemental affinity would be called Elementalists, and those who awakened a bloodline would be called Warriors.
Elementalists and Warriors had similar positions in society. Only their level determined their standing.
Aren was nervous like hell right now. He would be okay with anything. Just awakening alone would make him laugh for three days.