I was on a trip with my family when an earthquake suddenly struck. All the cars screeched to a halt; panic was everywhere. After a few seconds, the shaking stopped, but then a loud explosion erupted not far from our car.
A massive tower burst from the earth directly in front of us, the rising ground lifting our car and tossing it backward. We smashed into another vehicle, and I was thrown to the pavement.
I rolled across the ground, my legs shattered.
Through the haze of pain, I saw my sister crawling toward me while my mother desperately tried to push her to safety. I was sobbing, unable to stand or walk to help them. Then, without warning, a boulder fell from the sky.
It crushed our car instantly, and my sister's blood sprayed across my face. Watching my family being destroyed in front of me, I felt a hollow agony, knowing I was too weak to do anything.
Soldiers eventually arrived to rescue me, but the damage was done.
That was twelve years ago. I am nineteen now. I live alone in a cramped apartment, surviving on money borrowed from loan sharks and working a grueling part-time job.
Everything I do is for one purpose: to afford the Awakening Ceremony. I need to become a Hunter—not just to find a purpose, but to earn enough to pay off my debts. Next week is the ceremony.
I was raised by the soldier who rescued me, a man named Smith. He was my only family until he passed away when I was fifteen. His final word to me was a simple command: "Live."
My name is Johan, and I'm just trying to survive. I work part-time at a convenience store, earning barely enough to get by.
The Awakening ceremony has an entry fee of $1,000—a fortune that could feed me for an entire month.
I was fifty dollars short because hunger finally got the better of me, and I had to buy food.
Tonight, I worked late, waiting for my final pay before heading home. My boss approached me, puffing on a cigarette. I could never get used to the way he smelled; his breath was a foul cocktail of stale tobacco and cheap alcohol.
He talked incessantly, spraying saliva as he spoke, making it impossible for me to even look him in the eye.
Once I finally received my salary, I headed straight to my cramped apartment and ordered a bowl of noodles—a small luxury. I am finally ready for the Awakening ceremony. I can only hope it's enough to give me a good life.
Back in college, all my classmates had already awakened. Even the girl I used to like awakened an A-rank avatar, the Ice Queen. It's depressing to realize my crush has essentially become a celebrity—someone I don't even know anymore. With no friends to talk to and nothing but debt to my name, everything rests on next week.
I hadn't even done much the night before—just the usual shift at the convenience store—so I couldn't understand why I woke up feeling so drained.
I rushed through my morning routine, cleaning the apartment, bathing, and brushing my teeth. But when I finally glanced at the clock, my heart dropped. I was already late.
I sprinted toward the college gymnasium with a slice of bread hanging from my mouth.
Seeing the gym brought back a flood of memories from my school days, but the atmosphere now was entirely different. A massive crowd had gathered. At the entrance, a guard and a stout older man with a clipboard stopped me.
"Name?"
"Johan,"
I panted, handing over my hard-earned $1,000.
Inside, the air was thick with the nervous energy of hundreds of people, all hoping to become hunters.
A man stepped onto the stadium stage to speak, and the sheer pressure of his voice alone made my knees buckle. I looked around at the unfamiliar faces, everyone silenced by his presence.
That man had to be Wilhelm, the "One-Man Slayer." He was a first-generation hunter and the current President, rumored to possess the SSS-rank Avatar of the God of War. They say when the towers first appeared and the world was overrun by monsters, Wilhelm annihilated them single-handedly.
I never knew the full details of that day; I had been unconscious after the accident and kept in a room that felt more like a cell than a hospital ward.
But looking at Wilhelm now—seeing the jagged scars that mapped his face—I knew the stories weren't nonsense. He looked like a man who had walked through hell and won.
"The Awakening Ceremony begins,"
Wilhelm announced, his voice booming
through the rafters. "I hope you all awaken strong Avatars and climb the tower."