The curtains were down and the TV was loud. Thomas was sitting on his little couch and looking at his bright TV screen with attention.
[We are currently waiting outside the Hero Association's headquarters. As the first day of the Awakening week, there is bound to be a lot of emotions, good and bad ones.]
The Awakening week. Held once every month, the Hero Association gives the opportunity to the aspiring heroes to undergo Awakening.
[For the children watching us, who might be unaware of what Awakening might be, it's a process to awaken the mana circuit inside your body, that's if you posses one.]
To posses a mana circuit was truly rare when the Tower of Calamities first emerged, this was twenty years ago. Today, it's more common but isn't surprising if you don't posses one.
The reporters were all waiting for those who have undergone the awakening to come out. There was a big screen in front of the headquarters door. There, names and ranks started to appear.
"John Azerty, F-Rank. Daniel Lin, F-Rank. Bryan Jowiykz, C-Rank..." the headquarters door opened and the new heroes started to come out. All had a badge on their chest with their names and rank on it.
It was a way to make things easier for Guilds to recognize those in who they have Intrest. Thomas had seen it coming. It was always the same thing, a bunch of low ranks going straight to their deaths inside the tower.
"I've seen enough...I have to slee-"
[AM I SEEING THIS RIGHT!? THERE'S AN S-RANK!] the reporter's scream of disbelief stopped Thomas from turning the TV off.
The reporters and Guild representatives came closer to the headquarters' door pushing the security guards aside. The door opened and a blonde, frail man came out.
[Get out of the way! You bastard, we're waiting for the S-RANK Hero to come out!] Thomas stood up in disbelief and grabbed his TV with both his hands and looked at the badge hanging on the frail man's chest.
"This bastard, he's the S-RANK!? This blonde frail Elvis looking guy is an S-RANK!" in everyone's eyes an S-RANK should be a majestic strong looking individual but this guy, he was nothing of the sort.
All the Guild's representatives pushed the reporters aside and shook hands with the S-RANK. They handed their Guilds' cards and left. The reporters encircled the poor man and started to take hundreds if not thousand of pictures, they asked all sorts of questions.
[What Guild will you join as the United States 9th S-RANK?]
[Do you pour cereal or milk first!?]
[Why should he join a guild? Will you erect your own guild and take over the Tower of Calamities?]
From insulting him to covering him with questions of all sorts. The S-RANK was pretty uneasy with all this attention, it was clear to see that his life before was nothing of this sort. He looked straight at the cameras, as if he looked straight at those watching him from their TV-screens.
[First and foremost, I'd like to introduce myself not only to my fellow Americans but to the world. The name's John Eubank. Until yesterday I was but a simple pizza delivery guy but from today and tomorrow onwards I'll be part of the vanguard for humanity's survival.]
Thomas turned the TV off. He stood up and walked to his room, he layed faced down on his bed. He clenched his blanket as hard as he could. He was maybe upset of the unfairness of this world.
"Hahahaha! If this John Eubank guy is an S-RANK than I can be one too!" he was far from being upset, he was excited to undergo the Awakening himself.
...
...
...
Washington DC, USA
2 days later
"Where do you wish to go sir?" Thomas was sitting inside a taxi. He had just arrived in DC. Today was an important day, he had the most important appointment of his life in the hours to come.
"To the Hero Association's headquarters please." the taxi driver nodded his head, started driving and turned the radio on.
[Korean S-RANK Jin-Mu Kyung affirms that the Dongbo guild has found a secret passage in the nineteenth floor. Is it perhaps the secret passage leading to the tower's twentieth floor?] the taxi driver was shaking his head from left to right, visibly displeased.
"Every year the Heroes succeeded in clearing one floor to go on to the next one. But it's been quite a while since we're stuck in the nineteenth floor. Those Korean bastards are giving us false hope!" the taxi driver turned the volume up.
[Dr.Vermont, expert in the Tower of Calamities is sitting with us here. What do you think of the Dongbo guilds' finding? Do you think that this secret passage could lead to the next floor?]
[First of all thank you for having me. Until we reached the nineteenth floor all that was needed was to clear all the dungeons and eliminate the floor's boss to go up the tower. Now, we've encountered something unexpected. The Heroes have cleared the dungeons and killed the floor's boss and are still unable to move up. My hypothesis is that there must be a hidden boss somewhere in the nineteenth floor and only by eliminating it would we be able to finally access the twentieth floor.....]
"We've arrived sir. It'll be 60 dollars please." Thomas gave the taxi driver his money and hopped off the taxi. In front of him stood a massive building made out of glass. The Hero Association's headquarters was truly a sight to behold.
"Well it's time to take on the Awakening." Thomas stopped thinking over what he heard on the radio and solely concentrated on the task at hand.