"Hyomei Kazuki — E-Rank Essen-User."
"Huh." He couldn't believe his ears, an E-Rank Essen-User?
"I'm sorry." He twisted his pinkie fingers in his ears, convinced he misheard the proctor. "I didn't catch what you said."
The proctor released a soft sigh, he didn't know how it felt to be told such a heartbreaking news, but he sure as hell understood. In his career of awakening Essen-Users around the city, he came across very few individuals who met the same fate Kazuki faced currently.
"I'm sorry kid, but the results are the results, your affinity for essence is E-Rank." His response was indifferent, built on years of handling such cases.
The results of his awakening didn't come as a surprise to most of his classmates, most especially the boys that constantly bullied him, they all laughed at him, mocking the results of his awakening.
"Quiet! How dare you laugh at the results of his awakening when most of you are Essen-Users with just a rank above him!?" Elysia's commanding voice filled the room, she was pissed off at their actions, forcing silence to settle in immediately after.
For a moment Kazuki's eyes were focused on the orb, widened in horror as the results of his awakening played repeatedly in his head on loop.
It felt like an everlasting nightmare.
An E-Rank Essen-User? What did he hope to achieve with such a rank?
As he departed back to his seat, all eyes stared at him, some chuckling and some with disappointment.
Principal Elysia could only watch in pity as he returned to his seat, she knew the effort he put in all these months in preparation for the Talent Awakening Ceremony, the months of sweat and blood, now washed down the drain due to bad luck.
His friends were speechless, no one could believe it, there were no words, no form of remorse they could possibly say or do that would console him at this point.
"Alright then." Arthur cleared his throat, getting rid of the dull and mocking atmosphere that momentarily filled the classroom. "Now that the selection process has been concluded, I have two information to pass down."
"First of all, regardless of whatever rank you may have awakened, your lives are not the same as it used to be moments before you touched that orb. Depending on what rank you have achieved, your body's strength, agility and speed has been amplified to greater heights."
Arthur's eyes were constantly on Kazuki as he spoke, all in an attempt to give him a glimmer of hope all because of the rank he achieved.
"Secondly, moving forward you have two choices, the bigger picture which is taking the Essen-Mage's exams and become part of the city's Essen-Mage association, or under utilizing your abilities and working for cheap change."
Unlike other cities and countries, the Mysthaven kingdom refused to make enrolling into the city's Essen-Mage's association a priority, mostly because the population of high ranked Essen-Mages in the city didn't allow for the risks of losing capable Essen-Mages.
"Once again, congratulations to you all. From now on you're not just graduates, you're not just students, you're Essen-Users. You have thirty minutes to decide what you want to do from here on, if you wish to be registered into the Essen-Mage's association, I'll be in the principal's office, good luck."
As the proctor took his leave, Kazuki sprung up to his feet, tears dripping from his eyes, then he dashed out of the classroom.
"Kazuki!" His friends got up, worried about the mental state of Kazuki.
The bullies on the other hand couldn't help but Burst into laughter. "That's right! Run away! There's no place for weaklings in class B!"
「Minutes Later」
「Mysthaven's General Hospital 」
Kazuki stood at the foot of his brother's hospital bed, motionless, as though any movement might shatter the fragile silence between them. The steady rhythm of the heart monitor was the only proof that his brother was still clinging to life.
The pale light of the hospital room painted his brother's face in shadows and softness, as if death were already rehearsing its lines. Kazuki swallowed the lump in his throat, but it did not go down—it rooted there, tears dripped down his cheeks as he whispered his brother's name like a prayer.
Moments after he got to the hospital, the doctor had informed him that his brother's condition was getting worse each passing day, if they didn't begin the next phase of his treatment, it'd be too late.
He slumped to his knees, weeping bitterly as the results of his awakening and the news of his brother's health hit him at once like a heavy anchor.
He failed, both then and now to save his family.
Despite his efforts, fate as cruel as it was punished him for trying by sentencing his family to death.
"Kazuki." A hand touched him by his shoulders and immediately, he raised his head, only to discover his friends standing right behind him.
He immediately wiped the tears off his face, put on a straight face and rose to his feet the next instance.
"I appreciate your support, but you don't need to be here." He sniffled, his eyes fixed on his little brother who barely clung to life.
"The doctor told us what happened Kazuki, we couldn't just it." Aiden said.
"It's fine, it's not like I can do anything about it, I appreciate your concerns, but it's fine really. Congratulations on your awakening." Kazuki replied, trying his best to hold back his tears.
"Actually there is something you can do about it." Mira said, handing out a paper to Kazuki.
"What's this?"
"It's a certified dungeon request."
"A certified dungeon request?"
"Yeah, after you left we all went to see the proctor because we all want to take the Essen-Mage's exam, but he said with the way we are right now there's no way we could successfully pass it. So he suggested we familiarize ourselves with our abilities and gave us a list of approved dungeons we could raid as practice."
She handed the document containing the kind of dungeon it was to Kazuki.
"A D-Rank dungeon? The price for clearing it is... 1000 Ryo!?" It wasn't a lot of money, but it covered the little amount he needed to pay for the next phase of his brother's treatment.
"That's probably the total value of the essence stones in it but yeah, 1000 Ryo. We figured since it's just for practice, we'd let you have the money but you'll have to come with us on the raid." Kael said, offering Kazuki a chance.
"Seriously?? Wait, go with you guys? I'll only draw you all back, it's a D-rank dungeon and I'm only E-Rank."
"Remember what the proctor said, with our awakening our physical abilities has been enhanced no matter the rank we attained, you should be fine as long as you stick with us."
There were no words to describe his excitement, the joy that swell in him.
"You guys... Are the best" He sniffled, wiping the tears off his eyes as he couldn't hold them back anymore.
"What are friends for? Come on, we gotta go before another group takes the dungeon, it's the only D-rank dungeon in our vicinity."
They all rushed out of the hospital, sprinting as fast as their legs could carry them towards the dungeon site. As they arrived, there it was.
The D-rank gate.
It stood like a crack in the air, faintly glowing with a dull, sickly light. It wasn't big or loud, but it gave off a strange, uneasy feeling—like something just wasn't right. The space around it shimmered, as if the world was holding its breath.
It looked harmless at a glance, almost ordinary compared to higher-ranked gates. But inside, monsters waited. Not strong ones—but deadly enough if you reckless enough to underestimate it.
"So that's how a gate looks like." They've never come across a gate before, but based on it's appearance, it's exactly as the legends describe it.
Mysterious.
"Hey! That gate is off limits, what are you kids doing here?" A man called out to them, and judging from appearance and the blue safety vest he wore, he was the site manager.
"We have a permit to raid this dungeon sir." Mira insisted, handing him the stamped document.
"Approved by the Essen-Mage's association eh? Alright, you may go in, but aren't you just kids? What are your ranks Essen-Users?"
"C-rank."
"B-rank."
"C-rank."
They all mentioned their ranks according to the order they awakened, then it came down to Kazuki.
"E-Rank."
At first the site manager refused to believe what he heard, but given how serious Kazuki was when he mentioned his rank, he wasn't joking.
The site manager laughed out loud, even managing to choke on his own saliva.
"E-Rank? Unbelievable, I never such a rank existed. Listen kid, this might be a D-rank dungeon, but if you go in there, you will die. I recommend you sit this raid out."
Despite his laughter, the site manager was serious, after all, the death of an Essen-User in his site would be bad for business.
"I understand your concerns sir, but Kazuki comes with us." Aiden said, fighting for his best friend.
"Yeah, we'll protect him if necessary, but he comes with us." His friends were obviously upset on how Kazuki was treated, but at the same time, they had to be cautious of how they spoke.
The manager sighed, he knew there was not much he could say to prevent him from risking his life, he walked up to a wheelbarrow nearby and grabbed a small knife before tossing it to Kazuki.
"Very well then, in that case you'll be needing that. Be careful if those goblins, once they latch on it will turn nasty real fast."
"Thanks sir."
"Good luck kid, you'll need it." As the site manager left, the four kids gazed at the dungeon with a focused gaze. Were they scared? A little. Were they nervous? Definitely. It was their first raid, they didn't know what to expect.
"Alright, let's go."