Squinting his eyes, the wide passenger compartment greeted the sight of Arthur.
On the right side is an old man coated in a business suit sitting in an upright posture. The old man tapped gently on his shoulder as his mouth opened...
"Mr. Arthur?"
Arthur felt dizziness pricked his head, deeming him unable to comprehend the old man's words.
Only after some time did the dizziness subsided and the gentle voice of the old man filled his ears.
"Mr. Arthur? Are you okay?", the butler was worried at the sudden shift of expression of Arthur.
Just a while ago, he was anxious about the upcoming event. His hands fidgeted with fear of failure.
His master had always been overly anxious. He was too naive that the old man, his personal butler, couldn't leave his side.
His grayish-hued eyes fret at the sight of people. His black hair combed to the side glistened under the rays of the interior glimmer of the limousine. His soft thin lips never failed to quiver and stutter. Collectively with his pointy nose, his visual could be said to be top-class - the very definition of beauty.
However, just a minute ago, his young master suddenly clutched his head, and what followed suit was the seemingly new demeanor emitting from Arthur.
'He seems confident now?', the butler was fazed for a second upon witnessing the young man, looking at him eye to eye, unfaltering - a gesture he had never seen him do before.
From a young age, Arthur was too timid to meet other people's gaze. He had never overcome his naivety for 18 years now.
Looking back at the old man, Arthur scrutinized his figure.
Wrinkles cropped up in every gentle smile of the butler. Dark bags lingered below his eyes concealed by yet another wrinkle. Beard as white as snow adorned his still-defined jaws.
It was the same tinge coating his up-to-waist hair.
"Mr. Echo?", Arthur failed to contain his doubtful thoughts.
"Yes? Mr. Arthur", the butler, Echo tilted his head as they remained interlocked in gaze.
"How come you are here? I remember you di---", about to utter his words, an alarming memory resurfaced in his mind.
'That's right, the system notification'
Arthur then called for his Status Window and in the notification interface, there he saw it. The same system notification that greeted him before they vanished into lights.
[You will now regress to the day of your awakening.]
'So it did happen', Arthur pondered.
With Echo calling for him again, Arthur closed his status window and then scanned his surroundings.
'If I remember correctly, we will regress at the time of our awakening. And this limousine...'
Alab recalled being in the same limousine on his way to the awakening site. And as he pondered, the vehicle came to a halt as the chauffeur knocked on the glass partition.
Echo glanced at the chauffeur before checking the scenery outside.
Similarly, Arthur peeked through the tinted glass.
A crowd gathered in front of a spherical rift reflecting the color of the universe as it vertically stood 3 meters in height.
It was a dungeon - one of the bizarre changes that forged its existence along with monsters 10 years ago.
10 years ago, a dimensional storm swept through Earth, bringing forth abrupt environmental changes accompanying catastrophe.
The air became denser, toxifying others. Lushes grew wildly and animals became aggressive.
But, the reforms didn't end there.
On the very same day, humans awakened extraterrestrial powers giving them the power to ward off the ruckus brought about by hostile animals.
Configuring the powers to summon fire and thunders has become a normal occurrence since then.
Humans found joy in this newfound power.
However, that celebration was short-lived.
A month later, the world underwent its first tribulation.
Spatial rifts began appearing in every country. It took them a while to fend off the monsters pouring out from these rifts.
About half of humanity perished just from the first tribulation alone.
The dungeon remained, compromising national security but along with high risk comes a high reward.
The awakened found a method to strengthen themselves. From then on, dungeon hunting became a widespread event.
The 2nd tribulation then came 5 years after that which ended with the demise of 69 countries.
And now, 10 years after the first tribulation, awakening became mandatory at the age of 18.
Arthur recalled awakening his mere F-grade ability on this exact day. Mainly attributed to his cowardness that even the A-grade item didn't spare him a favorable awakening.
It was also on this very day that he was branded the failure of his family.
Peeking through the tinted glass, reporters were in torrents, keen to cover the hot news about to be unveiled.
"As you can see, the limousine carrying the sole heir of Hydro Products just arrived. In a while, we will be bore witness to either a doom or a triumph for all Filipino citizens so, stay tuned for on-time updates. This is Kara David of TV5"
The news began circulating throughout the Philippines. Excitements overwhelmed the citizens with the prospect of another SS-grade awakened appearing in their very country.
Having strong awakened meant boosting a country's national security.
They were a national treasure to every country.
Bearing all these pressures and expectations, Arthur remained seated inside the limousine.
Or rather, he had no intention to leave his seat at the moment.
"I will not undergo an awakening", Arthur muttered to Echo.
With a slight furrow in his brows, Echo expressed his viewpoints.
"I understand that you may find it frightening to face such a crowd or bear such pressure by yourself. However, awakening is something you must do", Echo similarly remained seated.
Earlier, he found the sudden change in Arthur, but this abrupt stubbornness reminded him of the past Arthur.
'It seems that he doesn't change after all', Echo sighed.
In his words, Arthur responded.
"Let me restate my words. I am not prepared yet thus I won't undergo awakening today", Arthur reinstated.
"Preparation? If it is the item you are concerned about, the guild master has prepared an A-grade item for you.", Echo pulled out a sword from his inventory.
Red gems adorned its hilt, and its short blade shone with a frightening aura.
'Indeed, the events are transpiring as before.'
With such items and experiences from the past, Arthur was confident to clear the quest for awakening. However, simply awakening was not his goal.
'I have to be strong, strong enough to look down on SSS-grade monsters....', Arthur shifted his gaze to Echo, his eyes flashing his eagerness.
'To become that strong... I have to achieve the subquest and hidden quest.'
With a determined tone, Arthur declared.
"I will undergo an awakening if Father would give me the SS-grade item, Blood Burst".
As the sole heir of the richest tycoon in the world, Arthur aimed to take advantage of it to the fullest.
'With that item, clearing quests would be a walk in the park'