The walk home was exhausting.
Rael hadn't thought of taking a taxi. He wanted the fresh air to stiffle through his immense joy. The cool night breeze against his face helped him process everything that had happened.
He'd stayed awake specifically to notice the awakening firsthand when midnight struck. Then walked all the way to the training center and back. For someone with zero experience in fighting, the session had ended pretty well.
Five corrupted beasts defeated.
Even with the pleasant new energy that had been when his core was refined and grew, he still felt the mental strain. Using mental focus ot use energy for the first time, multiple times in succesion, displaying fighting power beyond what he thought was possible—it all weighed on his mind.
His legs ached with each step. His arms felt heavy. But beneath the exhaustion was something else.
Satisfaction.
Recalling these recent memories made him feel fulfilled. A satisfaction deep within himself that he'd never experienced before.
The shower water ran hot, washing away blood and sweat. He stood under it longer than necessary, letting the heat soak into his tired muscles.
Then , lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. A sudden thought of his beautiful silver haired sister.
*Arya.*
He grabbed his phone, wanting to text her the good news.
His fingers hovered over the keyboard. He started typing, then stopped.
*My ability... better keep it hidden.*
No one knew if communications were monitored. What if the beasts had spies in the military? Or something else entirely?
Better be cautious.
He typed a simple message:
"Arya I awakened succesfully..miss you xoxo"
That was enough. She'd understand he was safe, that he could fight now. No need to mention Reality Bending or anything specific.
He hit send.
"Okay, let's sleep!" a tired Rael mumbled to himself, exhaustion finally winning.
Within moments, Rael was unconscious.
---
Deep within his body, the fragment that had fused with his core was constantly absorbing energy from the surroundings. Increasing with each moment. Never stopping..as if it was a beating heart.
The crystalline shard was multifaceted, containing geometries that shouldn't exist in three-dimensional space. Colors with no names shifted across its surface—purple bleeding into silver, then gold, then something beyond human perception of colors.
It pulsed with life. A feeling of something waking from a long sleep. Something that had hibernated for eons was stirring, drawing in the ambient energy of the world with each pulse.
Ancient. Mysterious. Alive.
---
Somehwere at the global
A group stood ready for teleportation for their first hunt. Four newly awakened—two male, two female—alongside their assigned supervisor.
He was one of the personnel meant for supervising and teaching newbies how to use their energy, safety protocols, and group fighting techniques for hunting the monsters at the bottom of the monster hierarchy and protecting their back during fights.
A non-ability awakened at the peak of First Core. Enough to teach these newbies and ensure their safety against low core density monsters.
People like them were the non-ability awakened who most of the time couldn't pay for the easy sessions at the training grounds. Still, the Global Union—the ones who cared for the non-ability civilians—knew that all awakened were rare, ability or not. As long as they cultivated, they would be of help to humanity somehow.
The group walking to the teleporter talked amongst themselves, different emotions visible on their faces.
"First time using a teleporter?"
"Yeah, I heard it's incredible."
"Sirius really changed everything with these."
The teleporter itself was spectacular. The latest technology, capable of transferring multiple people to a place where another array waited. Silent. Efficient.
The array had been created by someone with the awakened ability to create array diagrams in the military. His ability made it so the array diagram would use the special energy from the world directly, combined with the world leading technology enthusiasts, powering it to achieve this level of magical teleportation across different téléporteurs at differents places.
A renowned array diagram ability awakened called Sirius. His non-combat ability proved that everyone had a place in these dark times. That people who awakened shouldn't lose hope for the future.
Everyone counted.
The leader swiped his watch, selecting Area 110 as their destination.
The magistral energy started to condense, surrounding the group. Light mist flashing gathered becoming denser until it felt as if everyone inside imploded.
Then—
Specs of light dissipated. No sound. A silent demonstration of the power of traversing from one place to another in seconds...
[Area 110 - Dregs Only Area]
They stood on another teleportation array, this one weathered from exposure to the elements.
Six, their assigned leader, scanned the surroundings with experienced eyes. A secluded forest stretched before them, dense trees creating shadows even in daylight. In the center of it all, a massive mountain rose toward the sky, its peak hidden in clouds. The entire area pulsed with corrupt energy—silver mist that hung in the air like fog.
Roars echoed faintly in the distance. Very far from their location, but still audible.
The four newly awakened tensed immediately, hands reaching for weapons.
Six laughed, a knowing smile on his scarred face.
"Relax. Those are kilometers away. You'll know when they're close—trust me."
Over the first few hours, he taught them what they needed to survive. Basic formations. Energy conservation. How to identify Dreg tracks. When to fight and when to run.
Then he brought out the equipment.
"Battle suits," Six announced, holding up what looked like simple black clothing. "Another gift from Sirius's early arrays, combined with our best technology."
He put one on over his regular clothes, the material adjusting to fit perfectly.
"Watch carefully."
Six closed his eyes, focusing. The energy in his core moved by will alone, flowing into the suit. The black material began pulsing with seemingly invisible energy, only noticeable by the way the air shimmered around it like heat waves.
Then he stopped feeding it energy. The suit returned to looking like normal black clothing.
"Simple. Your energy activates it, provides basic protection and enhancement. Nothing fancy, but it might save your life."
One of the women, her hands trembling slightly, asked, "How do we know if we're using too much energy?"
"You'll feel it," Six replied. "The material will heat up, start vibrating. That's your warning to stop."
He demonstrated the same principle with the guns and sabers each had received earlier. Energy flowed from his core into the weapons, making them shimmer with that same invisible force.
"These are the simplest versions," Six explained. "Only First Core awakened can use them. Feed them more energy than that, and the materials will explode from the excess."
One of the young men raised his hand. "What about when we advance? Second Core, Third Core?"
"You'll need better equipment. Even if you could reduce your energy output back to First Core levels, you'd only get First Core results. Waste of potential." Six shrugged. "The prices get higher with each tier. Star level equipment? Impossible to produce for now. The materials alone..."
He laughed again, then sighed.
"But don't worry about that. Focus on now. Focus on surviving today."
The next few hours passed in careful instruction. How to move silently through the corrupt forest. How to sense Dregs before they sensed you. How to work as a team when none of them had abilities to rely on.
Finally, Six raised his hand for silence.
"There. Fifty meters ahead. Your first hunt begins now."
Through the trees, green eyes glowed in the shadows.
The tallest of the young men, dark-skinned with close-cropped hair, gripped his saber so tight his knuckles went white. His jaw clenched and unclenched repeatedly.
"How many?" he whispered.
"Three, maybe four," Six responded calmly.
The shorter woman beside him, Asian features set in determination despite the sweat beading on her forehead, forced her breathing to steady. "We can do this. We trained for this."
"Training and real combat are different," the other man muttered. Blonde, stocky build, his feet kept shifting like he wanted to run. "What if—"
"What if nothing," the second woman interrupted. Red hair tied back, freckles across her nose, she was the only one whose hands weren't shaking. But Six could see the fear in her eyes. "We're awakened now. We fight or we die as prey."
The blonde man nodded, swallowing hard. His shoulders straightened slightly. "Right. Right."
"Remember," Six said, watching their mix of terror and determination. "Stay together. Support each other. These are just Dregs—bottom feeders. You're stronger than you think. And if i see you can t handle it i will be there, so let go of your fear, no one will die under my watch, but fight as if i was not there, understood newbies?."
The four replied immediately as if having recognize his leadership " understood!"
The tall man was the first to jump into action "Let's Go!"
Six smiled. Every group went through this. The moment before their first real fight. Some froze. Some ran. But most? Most surprised themselves.