A low humming sound from the big Genesis Crystal shook the metal floor. Moon could feel it through his old sneakers. It sounded like a giant, tired heart.
The Awakening Hall was too crowded and hard to breathe in. It smelled like sweat and cheap clothes. Hundreds of eighteen-year-olds waited in line. The blue light from the crystal showed their scared, pale faces.
"Next!" yelled a guard in heavy armor. His voice sounded like a robot through his metal helmet.
In the year 2030, the sky broke, and the end of the world began. People were not saved. Instead, they were put into a scary Game. At age eighteen, every teen took part in the Awakening Ceremony. It was their only way to enter the First Sanctuary. The Sanctuary was a dangerous place full of monsters, where people traded lives like money.
Moon stood in the middle of the line. He held the hand of the girl next to him very tightly. Her name was Lina. She had pretty silver hair, but she was shaking with fear.
"Don't be scared, Lina," Moon whispered. He tried to smile, even though he was nervous too. "No matter what class we get, we will stay together. Even if I get a weak F-rank, I will protect you."
Lina gulped and squeezed his hand back. "I know, Moon. We promised."
In front of them, a tall, mean-looking boy named Alex stepped up. He put his hand on the giant, floating crystal. The room went quiet. Then, a super bright gold light flashed, blinding everyone in the front.
A robot voice spoke right into everyone's minds.
[Target: Alex. Class Awakened: B-Rank Berserker!]
The room got loud. People started whispering. "A B-Rank? He is so lucky!" "The big teams in the First Sanctuary will all want him!"
Alex smiled a mean smile. He walked down like a king. The guard even nodded at him to show respect.
"Lina. You're next," the guard pointed.
Lina let go of Moon's hand. Her fingers felt cold. She walked up the stairs into the freezing air. She touched the crystal.
A beautiful, bright silver light filled the room. It was even brighter than Alex's light.
[Target: Lina. Class Awakened: A-Rank Elementalist!]
Everyone was quiet. Then, the room went crazy! An A-Rank was super rare. It meant she would be safe and strong. Lina looked at her hands. Happy tears ran down her face as tiny sparks of fire and ice danced on her fingers.
Moon felt so happy for her. She's safe, he thought. Now it's my turn.
"Move it, trash," the guard pushed Moon forward.
Moon tripped onto the stage. The crystal looked huge and scary. He reached out and put his hand on the cold stone. He closed his eyes. He waited for the magic. He waited for the light. Gold, silver, bronze, or even gray. Anything.
Nothing happened.
The humming sound stopped. The blue light blinked and turned off. Moon was left in the dark.
Suddenly, a scary red warning box popped up over the crystal. It made a loud, bad noise like scraping metal.
[Target: Moon. Class Awakened: NULL (000). No magic. No power found.]
The robot voice yelled loudly through the speakers for everyone to hear.
Null. (Nothing).
People started to laugh and say mean things. "A Null? Really?" "He doesn't even have a class. He is weaker than an F-rank." "He is just food for the monsters."
Moon looked at his hands. He felt sick. "Null? How? I didn't get anything?"
"Get off the stage, useless," the guard said meanly. He hit Moon in the tummy with his gun. Moon fell over, trying to breathe, as he was kicked down the stairs.
He hit the floor hard and tasted a little blood. He got up quickly and looked in the crowd for Lina. He found her.
"Lina!" Moon called out, pushing past the laughing kids. "Lina, it's okay. We can still—"
He stopped. Lina was not looking at him nicely anymore. She was standing next to Alex, the B-Rank boy. She looked at Moon like he was gross.
"Lina?" Moon's voice was sad.
"I'm sorry, Moon," Lina said coldly. "In the First Sanctuary, it is too dangerous. I cannot take a weak person with me. You are... you are useless now."
Alex laughed and put his arm around Lina. She let him. "You heard her, trash. Go away," Alex said.
Before Moon could understand why his friend was being so mean, two guards grabbed his arms. "Nulls are not allowed here. Throw him in the Outer Slums."
"Wait! Let me go!" Moon tried to get away, but they were too strong. They dragged him to a big metal door. The door opened, and Moon was thrown outside into the dirt.
He splashed into freezing mud. The heavy doors slammed shut behind him. He was locked out.
It was raining very hard. The Outer Slums smelled like old garbage and sadness. Moon lay in the mud. The cold rain washed his hurt face. His best friend left him because he was weak. The world threw him away like trash.
If you are weak, you are nothing, Moon thought, digging his fingers into the dirty mud.
Grrrrr...
A deep, scary growl came through the rain.
Moon froze. He slowly looked up. In the dark alley, he saw two glowing yellow eyes. A scary dog called a [Rotten Hound] stepped into the light. It looked like a zombie dog, with bones showing and yucky spit dripping from its mouth.
The dog looked right at Moon. It was very hungry, and it wanted to eat him.
With a loud, scary yell, the monster jumped at Moon to bite him!