Back in his small apartment, Orion glanced at the time with a firm but powerless gaze. To say that he wasn't overwhelmed by his failure to awaken would be a lie.
How could he not be? His dreams, his ambitions of becoming an Awakener had been nullified in the span of seconds. The gods had promised him great blessings but there was nothing like that. And what made everything worse was that the summoning was about to begin.
There were two ways a person could enter the First Sanctuary for the first time. The first was at midnight immediately following their awakening. The second was on the night after their eighteenth birthday, regardless of awakening status.
In mere hours, Moon would be thrust into the dangerous world of the First Sanctuary.
The First Sanctuary was no ordinary place. Even Awakeners struggled to survive there, especially in the beginning. The danger wasn't inherently fatal because new arrivals typically spawned inside bases controlled and maintained by other humans. Safety existed within those walls. It was only when you ventured outside, when you stayed too long hunting monsters beyond the perimeter, that the real threats emerged.
For someone like Orion, someone who hadn't awakened, the summoning served a different purpose. He'd be transported to the First Sanctuary, the world would scan him, recognize his lack of potential, and send him back through one of the established portals. A formality. A final confirmation of his status as a Null.
Humans who didn't awaken simply returned after their brief transportation. Many portals existed between both worlds, stable gateways that those who'd already visited could use freely. Awakeners traveled back and forth regularly, treating the First Sanctuary like a second home, a proving ground, a source of resources and power.
But those portals were selective. Attempting to enter without the First Sanctuary's recognition meant death. The portals themselves would reject an unrecognised body, tearing it apart at a molecular level. Orion had seen videos of the aftermath once, back when he'd still believed he'd awaken. A careless civilian had tried to follow an Awakener team through a portal as a prank.
They'd found him in pieces.
The summoning ritual solved that problem. When a person was naturally transported during their first summoning, something nobody could fully explain, the First Sanctuary acknowledged them. Scanned them. Gave them an identity within its system. After that, they could enter and exit through the portals however they liked, recognised as valid entities by whatever force governed that world.
Moon stared at his phone. 9:48 PM. The summoning would occur at midnight. Two hours and twelve minutes.
His apartment felt smaller than usual. One room serving as a bedroom, living area, and kitchen. A bathroom barely large enough to turn around in. Cheap furniture he'd bought secondhand. It was all original Orion could afford on his part-time wages, especially after his parents had passed two years ago in a rift breach.
He'd thought awakening would change everything. It would give him the power to ensure that he could avenge them and he could protect people he cared about and cared about him…or so he thought.. It would lift him out of this cramped existence into something better, something meaningful.
Instead, he was still here, powerless and in three hours, the world would confirm it officially.
Orion walked to his small window and looked out over the city. Lights stretched toward the horizon, thousands of people living their lives. Somewhere out there, Lily was probably celebrating with Marcus and his party, planning their future and imagining the adventures they'd have.
He closed the blinds and his eyes.
♢♢♢♢[You are being summoned to the First Sanctuary in one minute. Prepare accordingly.]
Orion opened his eyes as the ethereal voice entered his ears. The same voice that everyone his age and all newly awakened should be hearing at the same time, across the entire world. A phenomenon that defied explanation, understood by nobody but experienced by all.
He was still lying on his bed, fully clothed. He hadn't bothered changing. What was the point?
[5…]
"Let's just get this over and done with." He sighed, staring at the water-stained ceiling of his apartment.
[4…3…2…1…You are entering the First Sanctuary.]
The world dissolved.
It wasn't painful, but it wasn't comfortable either. Orion felt his body come apart and reform in the same instant, like being pulled through a space too small for him to fit and somehow making it through anyway. Colours bled together, then separated. Sound became texture, texture became light, and then everything snapped back into focus.
Orion stood in a stone courtyard.
He blinked, his vision adjusting. To his surprise, other people materialised around him in flashes of light, appearing in ones and twos. Some gasped in wonder. Others immediately looked around in fear; they were easy to identify, they were people who hadn't awakened their talents.
The sky above was different from that on Earth. Two moons hung in the darkness, one pale blue and one deep crimson, neither matching the moon from his world. Stars formed constellations he didn't recognise.
This was the First Sanctuary of Abyss.
More and more people started materialising around him, until Orion felt like nearly a thousand people were next to him, summoned to the same courtyard. He didn't recognise anyone from his high school, nor did he want to.
Then, a spirit appeared in the air. She had a beautiful, curvaceous body and a smile that would topple planets rather than mere kingdoms.
Without speaking, she clicked her hand after taking a quick glance at the crowd, her eyes scanning every single person like a hawk.
Once her click registered in the ears of everyone present, tens of people started disappearing gradually, and Moon knew exactly what that was.
'The nulls are being transported back to Earth. I guess it's time, Orion thought with a bitter feeling, as he closed his eyes, no longer looking at the two Moons that he would never see again in his lifetime.
Within moments, twenty percent of the people present were sent back to earth.
[Welcome to the First Sanctuary.]
The voice returned, clearer now, resonating not through his ears but directly in his mind. All around the courtyard, the other students stopped moving, stopped talking, their attention drawn inward to the same ethereal presence.
[You are the chosen ones. Those deemed worthy by the world itself to walk between realities. Here, in the First Sanctuary, you will find both rewards beyond imagination and dangers that will test the very limits of your potential.]
Orion's confusion deepened with each word.
Chosen ones? Worthy? The voice was addressing all of them equally, making no distinction between those who had awakened and those who hadn't.
[Within these walls, you are safe. The bases scattered across the First Sanctuary serve as havens for your kind. Beyond them lie territories filled with creatures of increasing strength, resources of immense value, and mysteries waiting to be uncovered.]
Why was he still here?
[Your status panels will guide you. Your abilities will grow. Your choices will shape your path. Treat this world with the respect it demands, and it will reward you accordingly.]
Orion's hands began to tremble. This wasn't right. The voice was explaining the basics of the First Sanctuary as if he belonged here, as if he had the same right to be present as the awakened students around him.
[May your journey be prosperous. Welcome, once more, to the First Sanctuary.]
The presence faded, leaving behind a profound silence that was quickly filled by excited chatter. Students began comparing notes, discussing what they'd heard, marvelling at their surroundings.
Orion stood frozen, his mind racing.
An error. It had to be an error. Some terrible glitch in whatever system governed the summoning process. His luck, already abysmal today, had somehow managed to get worse. Instead of being cleanly rejected and sent home, he'd slipped through a crack, been overlooked by the mechanism that should have filtered him out.
His breathing quickened, and panic crept up his spine like ice water.
He had no class or abilities. Essentially, he had no way to defend himself if he left the safety of this base and from what he understood, people couldn't just leave the First Sanctuary whenever they wanted on their first visit. There was a minimum duration, usually a week, before the return portals would accept a new arrival.
He'd have to survive here for an entire week with nothing but his baseline human capabilities. No system interface to track his health, no skills to call upon, no power to protect him and no food to eat.
Orion's eyes moved around the courtyard.
[You may check your status by thinking or uttering the word 'status'.]
The spirit's voice returned with this final instruction.
It was common knowledge, really.
Every child knew this from the moment they learned about Awakeners. But hearing it directly from the spirit made Orion respond instinctively, despite knowing he had no class to display.
"Status," he whispered.
Light coalesced before his eyes, forming into a translucent panel that only he could see.
[ Name: Orion ]
[ Race: Human ]
[ Class: Shadow Monarch(SSS), Crimson Swordsman(SSS), Child of Wilderness(SSS), Celestial Arcane(SSS) ]
[ Level: 1 ][ Progress: 0/50 ]
[ Lives: 1 ]
[ Strength: 10 ] [ Agility: 12 ] [ Constitution: 12 ] [ Mana: 15 ]
[ Attribute Points: 0 ]
[ Class Talents: Shadow Army, Asura Swordsmanship, Beast Taming, Celestial Archery, Arcane Magic, Celestial Elemental Physique ]
[ Class Skills: Shadow Call, Crimson Sword, Floral Command, Stellar Arrow, Magic Bullet ]
Orion stared at the panel, his mind grinding to a halt.
How could he have a status while being a Null? That made no sense. Nulls were rejected by the system entirely. They didn't get panels. They didn't get stats. They certainly didn't get class talents and skills. And he had awakened not one but four classes.
Was something wrong with the awakening orb? Had it malfunctioned? Maybe his awakening hadn't failed after all.
Before he could process this revelation, the world dissolved again.
This time, Orion appeared inside a massive base with huge, sturdy walls. Other students materialised nearby, filling what appeared to be some sort of plaza. The architecture around was solid, defensible, unmistakably designed for safety.
Orion looked around, trying to orient himself. His mind was in disarray.
He called the system panel mentally and studied his ability in detail.
[Class: Shadow Emperor (SSS)]
[Class Type: Necromancer]
[Class Talent]
[Shadow Army: You have the authority to command the shadows of beings you kill. The shadows possess their former abilities and stats and obtain the ability to grow stronger based on battle experience and resources consumed. The Shadow Army will be part of your shadow and can be summoned anytime. They are absolutely loyal to you, with the ability to resurrect using mana.]
[Class Skill]
[Shadow Call: You command the shadow of the being you have slain. Their shadows will rise to become part of your Shadow Army with your call.]
Orion sucked in a deep breath. It was clearly a powerful class. Exactly what he had in mind.
"This must be the blessing from Hades. Worthy of blessing granted by Ruler of Underworld." He checked the next class.
[Class: Crimson Swordsman (SSS)]
[Class Type: Swordsman]
[Class Talent]
[Asura Swordsmanship: You have innate mastery of Asura Swordsmanship. You can see sword paths that slash through the weak points of the opponent. You also command crimson lightning and crimson flames.]
[Class Skill]
[Crimson Sword: Sword forged from a drop of your blood essence. It absorbs the blood of beings you slay, growing stronger with every drop of blood it draws. It also has three skill slots, which can hold skills of beings you slay.]
"Fuck." That kind of growing talent and swordsman class. It was remarkable. Swordsman was one of the famous classes, and many people dreamt of awakening as a swordsman-aligned class. Marcus was acting smug about awaking a C-Rank Bladestorm class, and now Orion had an SSS-Rank Asura Swordsman class.
[Class: Child of Wilderness (SSS)]
[Class Type: Beast Tamer, Archer]
[Class Talent]
[Beast Taming: You have the innate ability to tame beasts and command them to fight beside you. You also have access to Beast Space, a mysterious realm inside your mind space to store your tamed or contracted beasts.]
[Celestial Archery: You have innate mastery in archery. You can easily learn archery-related skills and make your archery talent stronger. It will grow so powerful that you will be able to shoot down celestial beings and stars in the sky with your archery.]
[Class Skill]
[Floral Command: You can control flora, making them grow and move as per your will. You can command accelerated growth with the exchange of mana.]
[Stellar Arrow: You can conjure arrows made of stellar light. These arrows can even acquire elemental attributes of blazing fire, crackling lightning, or freezing will in exchange for a minimal amount of mana.]
Commanding beast with beast taming talent, and even controlling flora. Perfect for a class called Child of Wilderness. There is even the Celestial Archery talent and Stellar Arrow skill. Doesn't that make me an Archer in some sense? A blessing indeed worthy of being granted by Artemis.
Orion turned his attention to the last class.
[Class: Celestial Arcane]
[Class Type: Mage]
[Class Talent]
[Arcane Magic: You have an innate understanding of magic and spell casting. You can learn all kinds of magic and cast them.]
[Celestial Elemental Physique: You have an innate affinity to celestial elements of water, earth, wind, wood, metal, fire, lightning, ice, light, and darkness. You have an innate understanding of celestial elements, allowing you to use suitable elemental skills with ease. You also have 50% damage reduction from all elemental skills belonging to celestial attributes.]
[Class Skill]
[Magic Bullet: Basic bullets made of concentrated mana, devoid of any elements.]
This must be a blessing from Hecate, Goddess of Magic. It was in no way less than any other class. Ability to learn all and every kind of magic. That surpassed all mage classes he had seen or heard of. Normally, Mages could command one or two elements, very few having command of three or four. If anyone had command over five different elements, that would make global news. And here, with Celestial Elemental Physique, he had an affinity for ten different elements.
"Wait, what about the promised golden finger from Truck-Kun. He said his blessing will make me wealthy beyond measure." Orion muttered to himself.
[ Ding! System Synchronisation Complete. Ultimate Drop Function has synchronised with the system. Divine Communication Function has synchronised. System Storage Function has been upgraded to Void Storage with infinite storage slots. ]
[ Ultimate Drop: For monsters you slay, you will receive all possible loot with a random multiplier. Minimum multiplier is 5x. Maximum multiplier is 10000x. ]
[ Divine Communication: Allows you to communicate with divine figures from the God Realm. ]
"Fuck! Doesn't that mean guaranteed loot of 500% at the bare minimum?"
"Lily, Marcus, you looked down on me for being null and poor. Let's see who will laugh at the end."