I came to know that the people who had totems carved onto their bodies were called 'awakened', and awakening is a very easy process nowadays.
Of course, only easy for those who can fork that kind of money out. My father wasn't one of those fortunate people, very few were. I came to know that the Head of the Town Guard was one, and the mythical Mayor was one as well.
One would just need to pay a visit to the capital city of any human kingdom and apply for a permit to awaken and they would be assigned a due date for the totem carving ceremony of their group.
Totems themselves don't cause a lot of dangers, nor do they give anyone any extraordinary power. They just work to enhance the perception of the individual and prepare their body for the acceptance or infusion of vampire blood.
Individuals who had their totems infused with blood are called 'hunters' and these hunters are classified into different grades according to their power.
The lowest class of hunters are those who have accepted the blood of the lowest-class hybrid vampires into their totems.
They are called "Initium Class Hunters". The new Head Guard of our town is one of those people. But these hunters face another critical problem, which is the limit to their power. Because acquiring the lowest quality Hybrid Vampire blood is quite easy compared to the rest, most people choose it in the beginning, to be infused into their totems, but although hunters like that are stronger than normal people, they could only stay as foot soldiers for the remainder of their lives.
Then there are those who have been infused with the blood of the Pure-blooded Aristocratic Barons and Viscounts of both the Vampire Kingdoms, with a better concentration of power in their veins. Their starting point and limit to power are different from the Initium Class Hunters. In fact, their power makes them distinct from the weak humans around them.
These hunters are called "Medius Class Hunters". The Mayor of our town and the commanders of the army of human kingdoms are generally at this grade, but from the rumors that my father had heard, our Mayor was stronger than most of the other Medius Class Hunters because he had been at that stage for a long time already.
Then, there's a group of hunters who had been infused with the blood of a Vampire Count, Marquis, or a Duke. The concentration of power in the blood of such strong vampires is usually strong enough to overwhelm the psyche of even the Initium Class Hunters.
Only the most fortunate and elite humans have the option of being given an opportunity like that. It takes at least 3 years for the blood to be absorbed by the totems carved onto their bodies, and that's only for the Viscount and Count blood.
For people infused with the blood of Vampire Marquis or Duke, it might even take decades depending on the quality of the totems carved onto their bodies, their will to withstand the ravings, and their innate physique.
However, whenever such high-quality infusion is successful, a new champion rises from the human race. These people… are referred to as the "Nobilis Class Hunters", which is a title meant to demonstrate that even if these people possess the most common backgrounds before the infusion, they would rise through the ranks and become aristocrats just depending on their power.
Most of the Nobilis Class Hunters would need the help of their seniors to be able to achieve that power, and therefore, most of them are already from the most elite section of the society with hereditary land conferred to them by their Kingdom and respect given to them by every human on the face of the continent.
Although there isn't a hard and fast rule that an Initium Class Hunter can't become a Medius Class Hunter through their efforts, it's simply impossible for them to break through the genetic limits and ever become a Nobilis Class Hunter.
Similarly, a Medius Class Hunter can become a Nobilis Class Hunter through their efforts, although they would still be weaker than the Nobilis Class Hunters infused with the blood of aristocratic vampires from the beginning.
Nobilis Class Hunters are the nobles of our Duopis Kingdom as well. They would either be assigned a post in the Imperial Regiment or the King's guards as Generals and Commanders and would lead the armies of their kingdoms to march at the frontlines for the survival of the race or would train themselves for such encounters in their own lands. They are given all the benefits they can ask for, in hopes that they would help their Kingdom in the face of a crisis.
It is said that power corrupts people and naturally some nobles have become corrupt over time as well, but it isn't something that my father knew much about.
He only mentioned in passing that numerous people talked about their struggles in the capital to him when he was guiding them. The palace and the capital were embroiled in open and deceptive schemes at all times and he warned me to never get involved there as well, as I would be used and thrown away like a pawn if I ever happened to get involved.
There was one thing that he didn't talk about though. It was the strength of the 10 Kings and 3 Saints that have been infused with the blood of the Hybrid Vampire Archduke that fell long ago and now possesses sufficient prowess to help the formerly weak humans survive and thrive on the continent as a dominant race.
I was very curious about that but when I asked him, he warned me with a serious face 'not to talk of the Sanctus Class casually'.
It wasn't enough to quell my curiosity but I was intimidated by his severe expression and therefore didn't ask further.
When the introduction was done, I sat with a blank face again and asked him the most crucial question,
"How strong do I have to be to wake Sister Hin up?"