By the time he left the mall, Adam was laden with several shopping bags.
This round of shopping had cost him about $500 and although it might seem excessive to spend money like this, Adam didn't regret it in the slightest.
For now, it was time for him to enjoy life a little more. After all, what was the point of having money if one could not spend it on themself and their loved ones?
Of course, Adam kept a mental limit on his spending. He didn't know much about the government's motivations yet, but he suspected that the generous benefits provided to the new Awakeners weren't purely out of goodwill.
He had a feeling that part of the money was likely intended to be used as a resource for growth.
'There's no need to overthink it.' He thought. 'I'll understand better once I check the emails from the awakeners Association.'
By the time Adam reached home, the sun had already set and now it was a little past 4 p.m.
Stepping into his relatively empty room, Adam sat on a chair next to a desk, which was cluttered with books and placed his plate on the table.
Taking a mouthful of rice with his spoon, he pulled out his phone and opened his email.
A quick check revealed several emails from the Awakeners Association.
The first message was a congratulatory note on his Awakening, accompanied by a file containing the military-standard Cultivation techniques that the receptionist had mentioned.
The file contained two methods: a general-purpose breathing technique that had no elemental attribute and a meditation technique that was purely aimed at increasing one's mana pool, also without any elemental attribute.
Adam had a basic understanding of what these breathing and meditative techniques were.
After all, he had also practised the free-breathing technique provided by the federation to all its citizens, though it never bore much fruit for him due to his lack of talent for Cultivation. However, this knowledge only deepened his confusion.
The page was simple—a white background, the Awakeners Association's logo, and two blank bars for entering one's email and password.
There was nothing particularly eye-catching about the page, so Adam quickly entered his email and password as instructed by the lady at the Awakeners Association.
A sense of anticipation bubbled within him. After all, this was a platform exclusively for supernatural beings—something he had never dreamed of accessing in either of his lives.
'Somehow, it feels like I've been invited into a secret organisation.'
After entering his details, Adam clicked "Sign In." The page refreshed and soon, he was taken to a new interface.
In stark contrast to the somewhat bland login screen, this one was more vibrant and lively.
It looked like a bustling forum, brimming with activity. Unfortunately, there wasn't any instruction manual, not that one was needed—at first glance, the Awakeners Association forum didn't seem too different from a regular forum, aside from its content which was anything but ordinary.
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[Does anyone know the weakness of a swamp wyvern?]
- Oi! Seems like we have a big shot in the house!
- Fr! If I recall correctly, Wyverns are usually above level 30, right?
- That's a teenage Wyvern. Not exactly strong.
- It's the nonchalance of subtly calling a wyvern weak for me.
- Newbie Cultivator here, how strong is a Wyvern for us, Cultivators?
- A level 30 Wyvern should be a commander-rank beast for you guys, so yeah, you'll need a Knight Commander or Mage Commander to take it on.
- Dude, just say that one needs to be a Rank Three Cultivator.
- Not my fault, brother. Awakeners and Cultivators' power systems can be confusing at times.
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The forum's content was a mixture of casual banter and discussions. Adam could only read in awe, unable to fully grasp most of it.
Once again, the awakeners Association delivered essential information right to his fingertips—not in the form of spoon-fed guidance, but through an interactive platform.
Since it was a forum, Adam could search for whatever information he needed or ask directly, which he did without hesitation.
Though some of the posts on the homepage had intriguing titles, Adam stayed focused.
Reading random posts wouldn't help him; he couldn't even understand much of what they discussed yet.
Adam dove into a spree of information-seeking, and the gaps in his understanding slowly began to fill.
By the time he was done, night had already fallen, though he hardly noticed it.
Each post he had gone through revealed glimpses of the world's hidden power, leaving Adam both astonished and humbled.
The sheer scale of strength among supernatural beings was staggering.
'Cultivation and Awakeners—terms we have all heard of. But aside from a few basics about Cultivators, like life seeds and the rank that directly follows, everything else is shrouded in mystery. Information about Awakeners is even more elusive.'
Adam's emotions churned—a mix of shock, enlightenment, and excitement.
'It's my fault for underestimating the people of this world,' he realized.
In fact, it wasn't just Adam who had these misconceptions. Even the native inhabitants of this world felt similar and often failed to grasp its full potential.
After all, it had only been a little over 200 years since the world first came into contact with mana. How advanced could their civilization have become in such a short time?
However, they were all wrong—very wrong. The truly powerful beings of this world were astonishingly strong, much more than anyone could imagine.
For example, Adam discovered the Cultivators' power system. There were seven ranks in total, progressing from Rank One to Seven: Apprentice, Elite, Commander, Master, King, Emperor, and finally—Demigod.
Yes!
Demigod!
At first, Adam thought he had misread. But after checking the information thrice and even watching a video of a Demigod effortlessly swatting a 100-metre-tall monster like an insect, he was left speechless.
He didn't know exactly how strong that monster was, but he was certain that a mere sneeze from it would have been enough to end his life.
Even if powerful beings like the Demigods were rare, they couldn't be too few. If they were, the federation and the Awakeners Association would have likely kept information about them under tight wraps.
The Awakeners Association forum truly opened Adam's eyes to a world of possibilities, and he found himself exhilarated by what he had learned.
'Power, power! I must have it!'
Before, Adam's motivation to become an Awakener was largely driven by a desire to improve his and his family's life, with the goal of living a fulfilling life as a distant secondary. But now, his heart burned with an intense, unquenchable hunger for power.
It took a while for him to settle the surge of excitement that coursed through him.
In the meantime, Adam had also learned much about Awakeners—particularly about the mysterious origin realms.