"Fuck my life! I got rejected again!" the silver-haired young man cursed.
The fluorescent light of the vending machine flickered as Solomon stared at the cheap energy drinks behind the glass. He rolled a single coin between his thumb and index finger. His stomach grumbled loudly, reminding him that he had skipped lunch to make it to his interview at the Silver Fang Guild. And just like the dozens of interviews before it over the last three years, he had failed.
In this world, everyone awakened a talent at the age of fifteen. Guilds usually scooped up the promising kids, trained them in academies until they turned eighteen, and then hired them as official workers. Solomon had awakened exactly on his fifteenth birthday with a world-shaking SSS-rank talent called Convergence.
The government had immediately handed him a massive scholarship to get the best training available.
Three years passed, and no one could figure out how to activate his power. The scholarship funds officially stopped at the end of the month since he was turning eighteen. His family had taken on massive loans to support his expensive gear and living costs in the city during his training.
Solomon frequently rubbed his temples and lost sleep whenever he looked at his shrinking bank balance. The public simply called him the 'Strongest Loser' now, and every guild had rejected his applications. He had no options left besides the number one guild in the country, and he absolutely lacked the courage to even look in their direction.
"Spare a coin for an old man?"
Solomon blinked and looked down. A dirty, bearded beggar sat slumped against the side of the vending machine. The man wore tattered rags and held out a grimy hand.
"I am completely penniless right now," Solomon said.
The old man grinned, revealing a row of missing teeth. "I can hear the metal clinking in your pocket, boy. The heavens say that giving away charity always comes back to you a hundredfold."
Solomon looked at the coin in his hand. It was his last bit of money for a cheap meal. He tossed the coin into the beggar's open palm.
"A hundred times a single coin will still be useless to me," Solomon said. "I saved that for some food, and now I only have exact change left to take the bus home."
The beggar closed his fist around the coin and nodded. He reached into his robes and pulled out a crumpled paper. He extended his hand toward Solomon.
"I always trade with something of equal value," the beggar said.
Solomon reached out and took the paper. A wet, slimy sensation coated his fingers the moment he touched it. He forced his lips upwards into a polite smile and quickly shoved the gross paper into his jacket pocket.
"Thanks," Solomon muttered. He turned around and walked toward the bus stop.
The old man remained seated on the concrete and watched the boy walk away. A bright golden light suddenly flashed across the beggar's pupils. He stared at the space directly above Solomon's retreating figure.
"A crownless king," the beggar whispered.
A passing car blocked the alleyway for a brief second. When the vehicle moved away, the space beside the vending machine was completely empty.
Solomon stood at the bus stop and pulled the beggar's crumpled paper from his pocket. The slimy texture still clung to the paper. He tossed it directly into the nearby trash bin and stepped onto the arriving bus.
He grabbed the handrail and froze. A strange urge tugged at his mind. He turned around and rushed right back out the open doors. He shoved his hands into the public trash bin and frantically pushed aside discarded coffee cups and empty food wrappers.
The commuters at the station backed away with wrinkled noses. Some took pictures of him, some laughed, and even pointed at him. The bus doors hissed shut, and the vehicle drove away, leaving him behind.
Solomon finally gripped the familiar piece of paper and pulled it out. He wiped away a smudge of dirt and read the bold text printed across the front.
Invitation for Live Streaming Academy.
Solomon widened his eyes and read the text three times. Money and political power meant absolutely nothing when it came to this place. Only people holding an official invitation could ever enroll. It was originally a massive monument that randomly appeared one day, and people constantly reported seeing it in entirely different locations.
Only the chosen candidates could actually see and find the academy doors. Everyone knew that whoever entered the school never returned to the normal world. They instead appeared on screens across the globe, doing live streams and completing insane missions given by their viewers and fans. They all became unimaginably rich and successful.
"This can also help me unlock my talent. Maybe they will know what my talent does? After all, it's a multi-dimensional academy." He wondered.
He flipped the paper over. An address in the neighboring city and a strict time limit were written on the back in red ink. He checked his phone clock. He had to leave right this second if he wanted to make it on time.
Solomon pulled up his contacts and called his home number. His thirteen-year-old sister answered on the third ring.
"Where is Mom?" Solomon asked.
"She went to the hospital with Dad," she replied. "He passed out again."
Solomon closed his eyes and gripped his phone tight.
"Tell Mom I got a job," Solomon said. "I am going on a long mission and will stay away from home for a while. I will send money and keep you guys updated."
"Wait, a job? What kind of mission?" His sister asked, her voice raising in pitch from the sudden flood of information.
"What is Barbaros doing right now?" Solomon asked, quickly changing the subject.
"He is sitting with me at the shop," she said. "He is attracting customers as always."
"Good. Stay safe."
Solomon hung up the phone before she could ask any more questions. Another bus pulled up to the station, displaying the route to the next city on its digital sign. He paid his fare and walked down the aisle to find an empty seat.
A few hours later, the bus dropped Solomon off in the neighboring city under the cover of night. The address on the back of the ticket still pointed to a distant location miles away. He dug through his pockets and realized he had absolutely zero money left for a cab.
Furthermore, his phone screen remained completely black after the battery died during the long ride. He glanced at his wristwatch and saw only thirty minutes remaining before the deadline.
He broke into a sprint down the empty pavement. This mysterious academy could easily be a deadly trap or a massive prank. Solomon wanted to go there regardless of the obvious dangers. Pushing his legs faster, he prepared himself to do absolutely anything to change his life.
Solomon ran continuously for the entire thirty minutes until his shoes hit wet sand. He arrived at an empty beach, which was a desolate stretch with nothing but the dark ocean in front of him. He collapsed onto his knees and heaved his chest as his lungs burned fiercely from the sprint.
"Of course it was a prank! What was I thinking! I can't even go back home now and I don't have any money left!"
Suddenly, the water directly ahead rippled and emitted a bright glow. A magical gate manifested right above the dark waves.
"What the…"
He lacked the strength to stand back up. He dragged himself across the wet sand and crawled straight into the shallow water, eventually swimming a short distance toward the mysterious entrance.
The large doors stood tightly shut with absolutely nothing visible beyond them. When he finally floated close enough, the gates creaked open. Solomon grabbed the edge of the stone platform and hauled his dripping body inside on his hands and knees.
That single choice turned Solomon into a legend. He became the most feared for generations to come, and even when centuries passed, no one dared to say his name out loud, and he was only referred to as the one who shall not be named.
Right now, however, his current situation looked entirely different. Bright daylight instantly blinded him as he passed through the gate. Hundreds of thousands of people filled a massive entrance courtyard.
The students stopped their conversations and stared down at the soaked boy dragging himself across the floor. But that wasn't the only reason why they were staring at him in shock.
When Solomon had crossed the gates, he suddenly bumped his face against a pair of smooth legs. He blinked and looked up, expecting to see a face. Instead, his vision filled with a flurry of flower and butterfly patterns decorating the inside of a young maiden's skirt.
"Hey!"
A swift kick sent Solomon rolling across the cobblestones. His first impression at the Live Streaming Academy instantly became a total disaster. He gained numerous terrible titles that very day, and the entire student body unanimously agreed to call him the crawling pervert.
Solomon pushed himself off the cobblestones and wiped the dirt from his chin. A girl with flowing white hair and piercing red eyes stood a few feet away. She wore an elegant, beautifully crafted dress that perfectly matched her flawless appearance.
Except for her expression as her face twisted into a fierce glare as she marched straight toward him.
"You absolute creep!" she shouted, pointing a manicured finger at his chest. "You better apologize right now, or you will deeply regret ever crossing paths with me."
Solomon dusted off his damp clothes. He usually offered apologies for genuine accidents. But the stinging pain in his ribs from her sudden kick completely erased any desire to play nice.
"Why should I apologize?" Solomon asked. "You decided to stand directly in front of the entrance portal. You practically invited someone to bump into you."
Her cheeks flushed crimson. "Are you seriously blaming me for this? You crawl on the ground like a pervert, and now you blame the girl?"
"The gate to this academy manifested in the middle of the actual ocean for me," Solomon countered, gesturing to his soaking wet jacket. "I had to swim just to reach the doors. I dragged myself inside, and you just happened to be blocking the way."
She stomped her foot on the stone pavement. "You just ruined your entire life," she warned. She grabbed her friend's arm and stormed off into the crowd of whispering students.
A young man wearing thick glasses stepped out from the onlookers and offered a hand. "Are you okay?" the boy asked.
Solomon waved the hand away and stood up straight. "I am fine. A simple kick cannot hurt me." He watched the white-haired girl disappear into the sea of students and scoffed. "Why is she acting like some kind of bigshot anyway?"
The boy with glasses adjusted his frames. "Because she is the third princess of the Bririth Kingdom."
The color drained from Solomon's face. His jaw dropped slightly as the reality of her threats settled in his mind. A member of a royal family possessed more than enough resources to easily make his life a nightmare.
"Time to bail out," Solomon muttered. He spun around and sprinted toward the towering gates he had just crawled through. However, he slammed face-first into an invisible wall and bounced backward onto the ground.
Suddenly, a loud, ringing bell echoed across the massive courtyard. Flocks of tiny fairies suddenly materialized above the crowd, leaving trails of glowing golden dust in their wake. A booming voice blasted from hidden speakers mounted around the walls.
"Follow the fairies, and get ready for the best adventure of your lives!"
They all were led to a vast and open ground.