The Awakening Hall buzzed with nervous energy as hundreds of students filled the massive chamber. Crystal chandeliers hung overhead, casting ethereal light across marble floors polished to perfection. At the front of the hall stood Headmaster Valen, his silver beard flowing over his ceremonial robes as he surveyed the gathered youth.
"Today," his voice boomed across the hall, enhanced by magic, "you will take your first true step into this new world. The apocalypse has changed everything the world once was, monsters roam beyond our walls, dungeons appear without warning, and humanity survives only through the strength of Awakeners. Your talents will determine your future—whether you become legends or footnotes in history."
Chase stood among his friends near the middle of the crowd, his heart pounding steadily in his chest. Around him, whispers filled the air.
"Chase is definitely getting something amazing," Leo, grinned, clapping him on the shoulder. "Top student for three years straight? The system rewards hard work, man."
"I heard someone last year got an SSS-rank talent," Sarah chimed in, her eyes sparkling with excitement. She squeezed Chase's hand gently. "Maybe you'll be the next one."
Chase managed a small smile, though his thoughts were elsewhere. "I just want something decent. Something useful. I don't need to be special—just strong enough."
Strong enough to save her.
His friends laughed at his humility, but they didn't understand. They didn't have a sister lying in a hospital bed, her life slipping away day by day from an incurable disease that only the rarest healing artifacts could cure. Artifacts that cost fortunes—fortunes only high-ranking Awakeners could ever hope to obtain.
"Chase Hart!" called out an instructor, pulling him from his thoughts. "You're up for evaluation after the next group."
The ceremony proceeded with methodical efficiency. Students stepped forward one by one, placing their hands on the Awakening Stone—a massive crystal that pulsed with ancient power. Some awakened common talents, others received rare ones. Each awakening was met with cheers or polite applause.
Leo went first from their group. The stone flared bright blue.
[Class: Frost Berserker]
[Rank: A]
[Talent: Ice Manipulation]
"Not bad!" Leopumped his fist as their classmates congratulated him. A-rank was impressive—enough to guarantee admission to any mid-tier guild.
Sarah went next. Golden light erupted from the stone.
[Class: Holy Priestess]
[Rank: A]
[Talent: Divine Light]
She squealed with delight, rushing back to hug Chase. "We're both going to make it big! I can already see us in the same guild!"
Then came Derek, Chase's best friend since childhood. They'd trained together, studied together and competed against each other in every mock battle. Derek placed his hand on the stone with confidence.
The hall fell silent as the crystal exploded with brilliant white light, frost crystallizing in the air around it.
[Class: Elemental Sovereign]
[Rank: S]
[Talent: Absolute Zero]
The entire hall erupted. S-rank! Students rushed forward to congratulate him. Instructors exchanged excited whispers. S-rank Awakeners were the stuff of legends—the elite who commanded respect and fear in equal measure.
Derek's eyes found Chase's, and for a moment, something flickered in his expression. Pride? Superiority? Then he grinned widely. "Looks like I got lucky! Your turn, Chase. Show them what the top student can do!"
Chase nodded, his throat suddenly dry. He walked forward through the parting crowd, their expectant faces tracking his every step. His hand trembled slightly as he reached for the Awakening Stone.
The moment his fingers touched its surface, warmth flooded through him. The stone began to glow—not with brilliant light, but with a steady, pulsing radiance that grew brighter and brighter. The hall held its breath.
Then the notifications appeared before his eyes, visible only to him and projected above for all to see.
[Class: Summoner]
[Rank: SSS]
[Congratulations! Only 1% of Awakeners receive this class!]
Chase stared in disbelief. SSS-rank. The highest possible ranking. For a moment, his heart soared, until he saw the word that preceded it.
Summoner.
The hall remained silent for three agonizing seconds. Then someone laughed. Another joined in. Soon, the laughter spread like wildfire.
"Summoner? Are you serious?"
"SSS-rank trash is still trash!"
"What a waste of a high ranking!"
Chase's hands fell to his sides, he knew, everyone knew. In a world where personal combat power meant everything, Summoners were considered the weakest class. They relied on creatures that cost mana to maintain, time to summon, and resources to strengthen. In the heat of battle, while a Berserker could cleave through monsters and a Mage could rain destruction, a Summoner would be scrambling to call forth creatures that were often weaker than the Awakener themselves.
"Chase..." Derek's voice cut through the mockery. Chase turned toward his best friend, hoping for support, for understanding.
Derek's face was twisted in a sneer. "Summoner? Really? And here I thought you'd actually be competition." He laughed, cold and sharp. "I guess all those years of studying meant nothing. You're just dead weight now."
The words hit like physical blows. "Derek, we're friends—"
"Friends?" Derek's laugh grew louder. "Friends are equals, Chase. What are you going to do, summon a rabbit to fight beside my Absolute Zero? You're a joke. Don't embarrass yourself by pretending otherwise."
The other students' laughter intensified. Chase turned desperately toward Sarah, who stood frozen in place, her face pale.
"Sarah," he reached for her, his voice cracking. "It's still SSS-rank. I can make this work. I just need—"
"I'm sorry, Chase." Her voice was quiet, but it carried through the hall as the laughter died down to watch. "I can't... I can't be with someone like you. I have my future to think about. A Summoner? You'll never amount to anything. We're done."
"Please, just listen—" Chase took a step toward her.
Suddenly a hand moved towards his face menacingly.
Sarah's hand had connected with his cheek, snapping his head to the side. Tears welled in her eyes, but her voice was firm. "Don't make this harder than it has to be. Goodbye, Chase."
She turned and walked away, her Holy Priestess robes flowing behind her. The crowd parted for her, then closed behind her like water, leaving Chase standing alone at the center of the hall.
The whispers started immediately.
"Poor bastard."
"SSS-rank Summoner... what a waste."
"No guild's going to want him."
Chase stood there, his cheek burning, his heart breaking, as the ceremony continued around him. More students awakened their talents and more celebrations erupted but for Chase, the world had become muffled and distant, as if he were drowning.
No guild would recruit a Summoner, no matter the rank. His friends—his former friends—had abandoned him in seconds. Three years of hard work, of being the top student, of building his reputation... all of it gone in an instant.
And Lily. His older sister. How was he supposed to save her now?
---
The hospital room was quiet except for the steady beep of machines. Chase sat in the chair beside the bed, his head in his hands, shoulders shaking with silent sobs.
"Chase?" A weak voice, soft as a whisper.
He looked up to find his sister watching him with gentle brown eyes. Lily was only twenty-one, but the disease had aged her beyond her years. Her once vibrant brown hair lay limp against the pillow, her skin pale as parchment. Tubes and wires connected her to machines that kept her alive, day by day, hour by hour.
"Lily, I..." His voice broke. "I failed. I failed you."
Her thin hand reached out and grasped his. Despite her weakness, her grip was warm. "Tell me what happened."
Through tears, Chase explained everything that had happened, the awakening ceremony, the mockery he received after and the betrayal. The hopelessness of his situation. By the time he finished, he was sobbing openly, all his carefully maintained composure shattered.
"I was supposed to get strong," he choked out. "Strong enough to afford the Elixir of Life. Strong enough to save you. But now? Now no guild will take me. I'm worthless. I can't save you. I can't save anyone."
Lily was quiet for a long moment. Then, impossibly, she smiled. It was weak, but genuine, fthe same smile she had given him when they were children and he had scraped his knee, or lost a game, or felt like the world was ending.
"Chase," she said softly, "do you remember what Mom used to say?"
He shook his head, unable to speak.
"She said that the world judges us by what we are, but family knows us by who we are." Her thumb traced circles on the back of his hand. "You're not worthless. You never have been. You're my brother—the person who visits me every day, who reads to me, who makes me laugh even when everything hurts. That's not nothing."
"But the cure—"
"I'm still here," she interrupted gently. "I'm still fighting. And so should you. Maybe Summoner isn't what you wanted, but it's what you got. So make something of it. For me, if not for yourself."
Chase looked at his sister, his dying sister who somehow found the strength to comfort him when she was the one who needed comfort most. Shame and determination warred in his chest.
"I promise," he whispered, squeezing her hand. "I promise I'll get strong. Strong enough to get the cure. Strong enough to save you. I don't care what anyone says about Summoners. I'll make this work."
Lily's smile widened slightly. "That's my brother."
They sat together in silence until Lily's eyes grew heavy and she drifted off to sleep. Chase watched the rise and fall of her chest, the steady beep of the heart monitor, sounds that had become both comfort and torment.
He stood slowly, careful not to wake her, and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "I'll be back tomorrow," he whispered. "I promise."