Bright Light Kingdom, Year 710 of the Holy Calendar, 31st Day of the Dark Moon Month…
"These bastards from the Blood Wolf Gang sure know how to run fast."
"Dammit, if I had known they would run away in the middle of the fight, I would have used my steel rod from the start to crack their skulls."
"I feel like instead of the Blood Wolf Gang, they should change their name to the Sewer Rat Gang."
Four men talked to each other as they walked along a muddy road littered with black water and garbage.
The air was thick with the nauseating stench of old trash that had been soaked in filthy water for a long time, making it difficult for people to breathe.
The night sky was filled with bright stars, yet the world below remained shrouded in darkness, not even a speck of starlight reaching the ground.
One of the four men, who had remained silent the entire time, slowly raised his head and looked at the pitch-black moon hanging in the sky with calm eyes.
'Just one more hour...' Ryan thought inwardly, his black eyes shining faintly.
Unlike the other three men, who all looked to be over twenty or even thirty years old, Ryan was very young, appearing to be around sixteen.
He was about 175 cm tall, but his body was somewhat lean, as if it had lacked proper nutrition for a long time.
"What's wrong, Ryan? Is your arm still aching?"
Noticing that Ryan had been silent the entire time, one of the men looked at him and asked.
Ryan stopped looking at the dark moon in the sky and turned his head slightly, glancing at the burly, muscular man who had just spoken.
"Will you give me money to buy medicine if it is still aching?" Ryan asked in a low voice, narrowing his eyes.
"Hahaha! No, no, kid. I was just thinking that if it hurts too much, how about you lie down and let me kill you? Once you're dead, you won't feel any pain."
Huron, the muscular man, said with a wide grin, revealing his yellow teeth.
Ryan was not surprised to hear Huron's words and simply looked away.
"You can try, though I know you don't have the guts."
He spoke lightly, not caring about the man's threat as he knew Huron was all talk and was actually one of the biggest cowards in the gang.
"Now, now, there is no need to fight among ourselves. We are all part of the Lion Gang."
Peter, another of the four men, spoke with a chuckle.
Peter was a thin man with spiky hair dyed red, as if someone had spat betel quid mixture on his head.
Suddenly, he seemed to remember something and asked with a hopeful look,
"By the way, my girlfriend's birthday is in a few days. Do you guys have any idea what I should do to make it memorable for her?"
"Your girlfriend's birthday, huh…"
Negu, the last of the four men, rubbed his chin upon hearing Peter's question and spoke after a moment.
"How about you break up with her on her birthday? If you do that, I'm sure it will be the most memorable day of her life, since she will finally be rid of you."
"You—"
Peter's face darkened when he heard Negu's suggestion.
Huron burst into loud laughter and repeatedly nodded his head, strongly supporting Negu's idea.
Ryan's lips curled slightly as well, and he could not help but shake his head.
Peter stopped talking, knowing that asking these three people about such matters was useless. Continuing the conversation would only make his blood boil.
"Man, you are really lucky to have a girlfriend. The family of the woman I like refused to let her marry me or even meet me, despite the fact that I offered a lot of money as dowry."
Peter and the others were taken aback when they heard Negu's words.
"There are still decent parents in these slums who wouldn't sell their daughter even for a large amount of money?" Huron asked curiously.
"It's not her parents..."Negu shook his head at Huron's question."It's her husband. He threatened me that if I even think about his wife again, he'll shoot me on the spot."
The mouths of Ryan and the others twitched when they heard Negu's words, and all of them couldn't help but look at him with disdain.
"By the way, today is the final day of the year. Tomorrow is the New Year and the first day of the Month of Freedom..."
Negu suddenly spoke, looking at Ryan.
"Ryan, you turned sixteen a few months ago, right? Have you registered for the Awakening Ceremony? The first day of the Month of Freedom is the only day when you can take part in the Awakening Ceremony for free and awaken your Aspect. If you miss it, you'll have to wait a full year."
Ryan nodded at Negu's question.
"I already registered a few days ago."
"Good. If you awaken a good Aspect, you might have hope of leaving this rotten place."
Negu said with a sigh, his expression complicated as he looked at the garbage-filled and filthy surroundings.
"Awakening a good Aspect."Huron sneered when he heard Negu's words.
He looked at Ryan and spoke in a low voice.
"Don't think I'm looking down on you or anything. But for people like us… especially for someone like you... it would already be a miracle if you don't fail your awakening, much less awaken a good Aspect."
Ryan did not refute Huron's words, because he knew Huron was right.
Although the type of Aspect a person awakened was always random, there were still certain guiding methods and materials that could help a person awaken a decent Aspect.
However, people like Ryan and the others, who lived in the slums, had no way of obtaining such things.
Forget being able to afford them, they didn't even have enough money to undergo the Awakening Ceremony in the first place.
If it weren't for the kingdom holding a free Awakening Ceremony every year on the first day of the Month of Freedom, people like Ryan might not even have had the opportunity to awaken an Aspect during their entire lifetime.
During the Awakening Ceremony, if no guiding material was used to assist the awakening, there was a very high probability that a person would awaken a low-level Aspect or even fail in awakening.
Although there was still a possibility of awakening a good Aspect without using guiding materials, the chances were extremely low.
Of course, even after using guiding materials, there was still a possibility that a person would awaken a low-level Aspect.
But using guiding materials was always better than not using any at all.
'As long as I can successfully awaken and have some hope of leaving this shitty place, I will be satisfied...'
Ryan thought to himself as he listened to the conversation between Negu and the others.
As they walked through the streets of the slums, they saw many small groups of people, with very few individuals walking alone as it was extremely dangerous to go out alone at night in the slums.
Most of the people Ryan and the others came across were either smoking, taking drugs, or doing other shady things.
After living here for sixteen years, Ryan was already used to such sights, so his expression remained unchanged when he saw them.
"I'll be going now," Ryan said after a few minutes and turned toward a different street from Peter and the others.
"Let us know the result of your awakening tomorrow," Peter said as he watched Ryan leave.
Ryan did not reply and just waved his hand.
Soon afterward, he stopped in front of a small, dilapidated house.
He opened the lock on the old, chipped wooden door and stepped inside.
A moldy smell assaulted Ryan's nostrils, but he was already accustomed to it, so he simply closed the door behind him.
Turning on the light, a small room with a wooden bed came into view.
There were only a few daily necessities in the room, some clothes, a few bowls, and a handful of other items.
There was no kitchen, only a gas stove placed in one corner.
A small bathroom was connected to the side of the room, containing a narrow bathing space and a small cubicle as well.
Ryan walked toward the bathroom and took off his clothes.
Throwing aside the full-sleeved black shirt he had been wearing, he looked at the bicep of his left arm and noticed that it had turned somewhat purple and was terribly swollen.
'I really need to do something about it...' Ryan sighed inwardly as he looked at his injured arm.
'With the current tense situation between the Blood Wolf Gang and the Lion Gang, cannon fodder like me will be beaten to death sooner or later if I can't even use one of my hands properly.'
Ryan looked into the small mirror attached to the wall and stared at the reflection of his face.
His slightly long black hair was messy, and his bangs reached just above his black eyes.
There were several shallow scars on his face, marks left behind by the many fights he had taken part in.
Walking into the bathroom, he turned the valve to fill a plastic bucket with water so he could take a bath.
Ten minutes later, Ryan walked out of the bathroom.
He dried himself with a towel and put on a sleeveless T-shirt that wouldn't irritate his injured arm, along with a pair of black pants.
The color of both the T-shirt and the pants had faded considerably, and they were stitched in several places, indicating that he had been using them for a long time.
After putting on his clothes, Ryan turned on the gas stove and placed some rice in a pot to cook and fill his stomach.
After finishing this, he looked at the clock and saw that it was already past eleven thirty.
Less than half an hour remained before the Dark Moon Month ended and the Month of Freedom began.
"Aspect… I don't have much hope when it comes to an Aspect, but…"
Ryan turned his head and looked toward one corner of the small room, staring intently at the cement floor.
'As long as that thing works… I will still have a chance to leave the slums and make a living outside.'
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New Book. Please add to collection and throw power stones if you like the story.