After the Awakening ceremony had concluded, everyone proceeded to exit the Stadium one by one. As was known, this was not the primary headquarters of the International Awakened Association, and it was common knowledge that everything that transpired within the Stadium, down to the slightest uttered word, was withheld from the media and Guilds for the personal security of all present. This ranged from avoiding uninvited popularity for awakening a powerful or unique ability like Cloud's to preventing mental harassment and cyberbullying for failing to awaken an ability, or perhaps awakening an ineffective one.
Everyone granted access to the grounds had signed a virtual confidentiality contract online, ensuring their silence. Thus, Cloud was fully aware that his awakening of the Beast Tamer ability would remain undisclosed to anyone apart from whichever Academy selected him. Only upon graduation and subsequent entry into a Guild would he have the opportunity to cultivate public recognition, should he desire it.
Inevitably, however, the media and Guilds relentlessly pursued those who had attended the Awakening ceremony, persistently attempting to discover which abilities they had awakened and even offering monetary incentives. Nevertheless, breaching the contract carried severe consequences, and no amount of compensation offered could offset them. As a result, no one disclosed anything.
Cloud was nonetheless pleased about this. Fortunately, his freedom of movement would not be restricted, as he would not be pursued by overzealous Guilds attempting to recruit him before he secured admission into an Academy.
He stepped out of the Stadium with his hands buried in the pockets of his ragged trench coat. Despite his attempt to shield himself from the winter cold, the coat proved entirely ineffective, and he continued to feel the chill as he walked away from the Stadium. No one paid him any attention based solely on his appearance. Only those who had been present during his Awakening acknowledged him, and he was approached by a few youths around his age.
A young girl, wearing an expensive-looking white padded jacket, hurried toward him with a single bodyguard following closely behind.
She waved at him.
"Hi, hi!"
Cloud scowled.
'Nice. Now they all want to ingratiate themselves with me.'
With a measure of reluctance, he waved back at her once she stood before him. Looking more closely, he recognized her. She was the girl who had awakened the Summoner Ability.
She possessed long, honey-blonde hair that cascaded smoothly over her shoulders, neatly styled despite the winter breeze. Her complexion was fair and unblemished, almost porcelain-like. Large amber-brown eyes regarded him with an open curiosity that seemed quite innocent.
She grinned.
"Sorry for disturbing you. My name is Carly, and I just wanted to get to know you better. It was so cool! You awakened the first Beast Tamer ability, right? You're really lucky," Carly said in an enthusiastic tone.
Cloud instantly feigned a smile, staring at her blankly, and responded as though reciting from rehearsal:
"Oh wow! Yes, I did. So cool. Isn't it amazing?"
To be honest, it sounded forced even to Carly. In fact, it seemed he made no effort to conceal that he was deliberately attempting to get her out of his sight. Cloud had never been particularly social, especially with people like her, and that was largely due to her status in society. From her expensive attire to the bodyguard standing behind her who repeatedly cast him a hostile glare, he despised them.
In addition, she was obviously trying to suck up to him because of his ability. Moreover, she seemed rather foolish, as it was clearly reckless for her to mention his ability outside the Stadium, where any reporter could potentially be eavesdropping.
Though, perhaps he was being overly cautious, because realistically none of them even cared to approach him. They may have already assumed he had failed to awaken an ability.
Carly fixed Cloud with an awkward stare, followed by a prolonged silence. Meanwhile, he continued smiling at her.
Perplexed, she replied:
"Okay, so… umm… can I get your number or social handle?"
Cloud shook his head fervently.
"To be honest, I do not have any. I do not even own a phone. However, if you also enjoy playing games in a rundown arcade, you can meet me there one day."
With that, he bid her goodbye and walked past the young girl and her bodyguard without concern for whatever she might say next. Hopefully, they would not gain admission into the same Academy, because he genuinely had no desire to see her again after that exchange.
Still, he needed to appear as though he held the upper hand in the conversation, sufficiently indifferent to dismiss her attention so that she would not feel superior or arrogant later on, should they ever meet again. In any case, she would eventually learn humility and refrain from trying to suck up to him next time. For him, a genuine connection was preferable to one forced by circumstance.
'Pfft. I hate that guy already.'
In contrast, Carly was rather perplexed that she had just been disregarded by a peasant who was merely fortunate enough to awaken a unique ability. Nevertheless, she did not take it to heart. Her bodyguard promptly escorted her to the car, and soon after, they drove off, passing by Cloud, who was clearly going to walk the entire distance home, approximately four miles from the Stadium.
She glanced at him briefly through the window as the car passed before looking away.
"I hope we meet again…"
Cloud, however, did not dwell on the conversation as he walked home, snow falling into his eyes and settling upon his coat. He was far more focused on returning home and exploring the system. No one had mentioned that awakening an ability could come with a game-like interface.
But the aspect that truly heightened his anticipation, quickening his pace, was the three SSS Rank Dragons. If he possessed control over such creatures, there would be no one in the world capable of matching him with that power alone. Not a single hunter could defeat an SSS beast or monster. The mere appearance of one would bring calamity upon the entire world.
He grinned maniacally at the thought. Suddenly, he broke into a run toward home, the grin firmly fixed upon his face.
***
Half an hour later, Cloud arrived in front of an abandoned building, panting heavily after running for over thirty minutes. He took a few moments to catch his breath before entering the tall, five-story structure, the door creaking open as he pushed it. He was not the only occupant; several homeless people lived on the top floor, while he alone occupied a small room on the second floor, furnished with a single makeshift bed of flattened cartons.
Along the side of the room were three piles of ragged clothes scavenged from the trash and a rickety wooden chair. He glanced at the window, still locked, frost gathered along its surface.
The young peasant sat on the chair and sighed, tilting his head toward the ceiling. Complete silence filled the room, extending all the way to the doorway, providing the perfect setting to examine his new ability.
Being someone who played a lot of LitRPG games every night at arcades, the word "Status" instinctively came to mind when summoning his Status screen.
"Status."
As soon as he spoke the word, a single screen materialized.
Name: Cloud
Level: 1
Grade: Celestial
Mana Cores: 0 / 50
Health: 100 / 100
Mana: 50 / 50
| STR 5 | AGI 6 | INT 4
| MAG 5
+----------------------------+
TAMING SPACE (BOX): [3/5] (Enter?)
+----------------------------+
ITEMS: [—]
SKILLS: [—]
TRAITS: [—]
Cloud could not hide his curiosity. Of course, he was no longer shocked by its appearance. He slowly raised his hands to touch the screen, but his fingers passed through it, almost causing him to fall off the chair.
He grimaced.
"Shit. I guess I can't touch it. If that's the case, every function and command will have to be mentally verbal, right? Super common."
After reaching that conclusion almost instantly, Cloud ignored the rest of his Stats and concentrated on the Taming Space section, which displayed a prompt — Enter? — and he readily comprehended its implication. Even though he was not particularly literate, understanding something like this required no formal education.
From a layman's perspective, the Taming Space was likely a pocket dimension he could access at will, a separate realm that housed the SSS Dragons and perhaps any beasts he might tame in the future. It appeared he had five available slots, of which only two remained vacant, perhaps a limitation imposed by his current level. Additionally, he had no knowledge of how to tame beasts yet… not that he had ever encountered one. Beasts were far rarer than common monsters such as Goblins and Turtle Rats.
In any case, it was time to visit the Dragons.
"Enter Box."
Time seemed to freeze the instant he spoke those words. A blue radiance enveloped him, and within a heartbeat, he vanished from sight.
…On
second thought, the young man had failed to consider one crucial detail.
Were the Dragons actually tamed?