"Did you hear? Grandmaster Halric Harth got so angry at his son that he beat him senseless."
"Why would he beat his own son?"
"Huh!? Don't tell me you haven't heard. The whole town's laughing about it."
"Alright, alright, calm down. If you don't want to tell me, then don't. It's probably another lame joke anyway."
"Tsk." The guard clicked his tongue. "You're no fun."
"Listen, this is what happened. Hallmaster Harth's son begged his father to take him into the mountains so he could awaken his talent by hunting a beast instead of using Awakening Stones. The boy claimed he could already sense mana fluctuations around him and was certain he'd awaken naturally and make history."
The guard leaned closer, lowering his voice dramatically.
"Since his father's a famous swordmaster, everyone thought the kid had a high chance of awakening a sword-related talent. So Hallmaster Harth gathered his trusted men and climbed deep into the mountains with him. They finally found a monster, and the boy stepped forward with a finely crafted sword in hand."
The second guard folded his arms, listening despite himself.
"And then, right before the monster attacked…" the storyteller paused for effect, "…a massive whirlpool of mana started gathering around the boy."
"Really?"
"Oh, Hallmaster Harth was overjoyed. They all thought the kid was about to awaken at least a C-rank talent."
The guard suddenly burst into laughter, clutching his stomach.
"Hahaha… you won't believe what happened next!"
"Yeah, yeah. Finish laughing first," the other guard said dryly while standing beside the giant gate, spear resting against his shoulder. "You always drag stories out like this."
The first guard wiped tears from his eyes.
"So there they were, watching all that mana swirl around the boy. Even the Hallmaster's men were getting excited. Then suddenly…"
He struggled to contain another laugh.
"…the legendary young master let out the loudest fart imaginable."
The second guard blinked.
"What?"
"All that mana everyone was admiring?" He smirked. "Turns out it wasn't the boy at all. It was the artifact sword his father had given him reacting to the surrounding mana."
The guard snorted.
"Hallmaster Harth realized he'd wasted an entire expedition because his son was spouting nonsense. Before the monsters could beat the kid up, his father did it himself. Hahaha…"
"Hmph. Pathetic. And you're laughing like it's the funniest thing in the world."
"You really are boring." The first guard crossed his arms. "Fine then. Want to hear something better? Widow Bahia's been secretly meeting old man Banca at night."
"Oh?" The uninterested guard suddenly perked up, a childish grin spreading across his face. "Now that sounds interesting. Give me details."
He slowly stepped closer—
FWOOOSH!
Something blazing hot shot past him.
The attack barely missed, but the heat alone grazed his arm and instantly set his sleeve ablaze.
"W-What the hell!?" Alex yelped, frantically waving his arm around. "Hot! Hot! Damn it!"
The second guard's expression changed instantly. Realizing the severity of the situation, he rushed into the small cabin behind the town gate.
Inside stood a communication device resembling a telephone.
He grabbed it immediately.
"Emergency! Emergency! An unidentified individual has entered the town! I repeat—an unidentified individual has breached the gate and injured a guard!"
---
Souchu paid no attention to the chaos he had caused at the entrance.
With his newfound strength, he sprinted through the town at terrifying speed. In barely ten breaths, he arrived at the Lochan Family Guild.
The moment the guild members saw the unconscious Adolae on his back, the entire hall erupted into motion. People hurried in every direction, bringing healers and preparing medicine without needing instructions.
Souchu handed Adolae over and immediately turned to leave.
His destination was the academy.
Today was the Awakening Ceremony.
His name had already been called three separate times, yet he had failed to appear each time.
The patriarch of the Lochan Family was present as an honored guest alongside the leaders of other major families. Hearing that his own son had skipped such an important occasion had darkened his expression considerably.
The retainers around him were already sweating nervously.
At that moment, a servant burst into the hall, breathing heavily.
"Young Master has arrived!"
At that moment, a figure stepped onto the platform.
His clothes were ragged, his hair disheveled, and dust still clung to his body as if he had just returned from a battlefield.
Almost every aspirant had already connected to the Page and awakened their classes.
The proctor glanced at him with mild irritation.
"You are…?"
"Souchu Lochan."
His voice remained calm and indifferent. He had no intention of explaining himself or appeasing anyone.
The proctor's expression changed the moment he heard the surname.
"Ah… you." His tone softened immediately. "Where were you? Never mind that for now. Touch the Awakening Stone. Once you do, you'll connect to the Page directly under the Monarchy's Sanctuary System. Through it, you'll be able to access your class, skills, status, and other functions."
Souchu silently walked toward the massive obsidian monolith standing at the center of the platform.
Without hesitation, he placed his hand against it.
The instant contact was made—
BOOOOM!
A violent whirlpool of mana erupted around him.
The air trembled.
Heat spread through the hall in waves so intense that several nearby aspirants instinctively stepped backward.
Even the proctor's eyes widened in shock.
Behind Souchu, a gigantic illusory figure slowly began to materialize—a towering giant forged entirely from flames.
"T-This…!"
The proctor stumbled back.
"What's going on? This heat… it's real!"
Sweat formed across his forehead as he stared at the burning apparition.
"This shouldn't happen… Awakening manifestations are supposed to be illusions."
His confusion deepened.
"And why hasn't his class appeared yet? Did he awaken an A-Rank? No… no, something feels wrong."
At that moment, translucent blue prompts appeared before Souchu's eyes.
---
[Successfully connected to Sanctuary.]
[Awakener: Souchu Lochan]
[Age: 16]
[Class: Fire Fist]
[Rank: C]
[Skills: —]
---
"So this is the so-called Page…"
Souchu stared at the floating screen with genuine curiosity.
"It really can record every detail about an awakener."
He already knew about the Page beforehand. Every awakener in the kingdom was required to connect to it after awakening.
The Page was more than a simple record.
It tracked an awakener's class, rank, skills, mana fluctuations, and growth. More importantly, it allowed awakeners to utilize their abilities far more efficiently, even without complete mastery over them.