"Check everything again. Make sure there is nothing wrong with the formation," Hans, a middle-aged man with brown hair who was responsible for the awakening ceremony instructed sternly.
"Don't worry, Professor Hans. It's not like we are doing this for the first time. You can begin the awakening ceremony without any worries," One of the men responsible for setting up the formation spoke with great confidence.
'Besides, even with a perfect formation, it's not like these people can awaken anything good,' The man thought inwardly as he glanced at the crowd with a look of disdain in his eyes.
If it weren't because it was necessary and the pay was good, he would have never stepped into this foul-smelling place.
Hans could easily tell what the man was thinking, and honestly, he felt the same.
Not to mention that these people lacked guidance materials for their awakening, making it difficult for them to awaken a good Aspect, there were many other factors as well that made it very difficult for them to awaken a strong Aspect.
For example, most of the people in the slums were not the offspring of powerful awakened individuals.
Forget about powerful individuals, most of their parents were ordinary people who had either failed to awaken or had awakened a very weak Aspect.
Even without guidance materials, the offspring of powerful individuals had a good chance of awakening a strong Aspect, as they carried the genes of powerful individuals.
Not only that, but the bodies of people in the slums were often underdeveloped.
Although it was not certain that one could awaken a powerful Aspect with just a strong body, it certainly increased the chances of awakening a good Aspect.
In short, there were many factors that made it difficult for these people to awaken a powerful Aspect.
'I wonder if I will get lucky this year as well and discover another powerful Aspect holder like last year's Spirit Aspect awakened.'
There are three types of Aspects: Spirit Aspects, Treasure Aspects, and Elemental Aspects.
Spirit Aspects are related to other living beings such as monsters, beasts, demons, and so on. People who awaken a Spirit Aspect gain some of the abilities of the spirit they awaken.
Treasure Aspects are related to non-living objects such as swords, spears, bells, and many other items. After awakening a Treasure Aspect, people are able to summon that Aspect for their use.
Elemental Aspects are related to elemental powers such as fire, water, light, and so on.
Last year, Hans had been lucky enough to find a person in the slums who had awakened a very powerful Spirit Aspect—The Sky Taotie.
'How can there be such good fortune again? I will be content as long as I find a decent seedling.' Hans thought to himself as he shook his head inwardly.
****
Ryan stood in the middle of a line, staring ahead with a nervous look on his face.
There were five long lines around him, including the one he was standing in.
Most of the people standing in the lines were around his age—sixteen years old.
However, there were a few who were slightly older, but none of them exceeded the age of twenty.
Everyone could undergo Aspect Awakening after reaching the age of sixteen. Before sixteen, because the human body was not mature enough to handle Primal Energy, they could not go through the awakening.
During the awakening, there was a chance that a person would fail to awaken an Aspect, and this probability was not low. If someone failed to awaken an Aspect during their first attempt at the age of sixteen, they could try again after some time.
Before the age of twenty, there was still a chance that a person could awaken an Aspect. But after twenty, the chances of awakening were almost zero.
The older individuals in the lines were those who had failed to awaken their Aspects in previous years and were taking part in the ceremony again.
Although a person could attempt another awakening around three months after a failed attempt, the people of the slums did not have the money to undergo the awakening on their own. Thus, they could only wait for the free ceremony conducted on the first day of the Month of Freedom to try again, even though their bodies had been ready for another attempt long ago.
Soon, all five lines were arranged in perfect order, and the awakening ceremony officially began.
Five people, one from each line stepped forward and stood within the formation carved on the platform.
All five had nervous expressions on their faces as they stood with their eyes closed.
"Don't panic. Just stand still," Hans, the man in charge of the awakening ceremony instructed calmly.
"You will feel slight discomfort and a burning pain in your chest. But it won't last long. Just stand still and do not step out of the formation, or your awakening will fail."
Everyone participating in the ceremony already knew the basics, so they nodded obediently and remained silent.
Seeing that everything was ready, Hans activated the formation.
Instantly, a light silver glow was emitted from the formation engraved on the platform.
All five people standing within the formation felt an itching sensation spread across their skin, as if thousands of ants were crawling over their bodies, and a sharp, burning pain suddenly assaulted their chests.
All five gritted their teeth and resisted the urge to run out of the formation to escape the unbearable sensation.
The pain and itching did not last long. After just five seconds, the silver glow around the formation disappeared.
As the formation stopped glowing, one of the five people standing within it began to emit a faint glow, and a small phantom of a frog appeared behind him.
On the other hand, the remaining four showed no reaction at all, indicating that their awakening had failed.
Seeing this, Hans sighed inwardly and shook his head.
The faces of the five people standing in the formation also turned pale after seeing the results.
Not to mention the four who had failed, even the one who had successfully awakened was not happy as the Aspect he had gained was merely a common frog, a Spirit Aspect of the lowest grade.
Ryan could not help but clench his fists when he saw the result of the first awakening, his heart pounding with nervousness.
'I hope I don't fail to awaken like them. '