Sam woke up to his alarm to find it just past noon and remembered it was his 25th birthday and stood up and said to himself as he scratched the back of his head
'Another year goes by…. However this is the year everyone takes the trial to awaken… maybe I'll get accepted into a faction if I can be awakened'
In this world ever since the emergence of the gods and demons called 'The Rising' has been anything but kind where ordinary people have to live in a society where they are a bug on a windshield while those who awaken can live a life of luxury if they join a faction or for lone hunters called survivors
As Sam was getting dress he heard a knock on his door with a man saying
"Sam, wake up! I need you out of there already"
Sam pack what little belongings he had in his bag and opened the door to see a overweight man and a young girl who looked to be in her teens standing next to him and said as he walked past the man
"I just woke up man, I'm going to the tower for the trial"
The man stepped to the side and let the girl into the room before she shut the door and said as he waved Sam goodbye
"I'll miss you kid but the rules state once someone turns 25 that they must take the trial of the tower"
Sam nodded and bowed to the man as he had been living in such a compact room for more than 11 years since he had lost both of his parents due to a dungeon invasion
Once Sam was at the door he pulled up his hood and took a deep breath before stepping outside and looked at the clear blue sky saying to himself
'I'm on my own from here… wish me luck at the trial mom and dad'
Sam then looked to his right and stared at a ginormous looking tower of stone that was called 'The tower'
The tower was a space where anyone could become a deity of men or meet the gods who were the ones who would give them unimaginable power and glory but not all good things come from the tower itself as the tower is also a gateway for monsters men like Sam had no hope against
~1 Hour Later~
Sam was approaching the steps to the tower when he saw a large crowd standing in the gateway and pushed his way to the front to see two men wearing different coloured outfits standing in the middle eye to eye before Sam recognized the blond haired man as Shim Xaver, leader of the Oden faction standing against Jake Sulmer, leader of the Zeus faction with an intense aura being shot out to where Sam had a little trouble breathing as he heard jake say as he summoned a lightning bolt from the sky into his hand
"Your stepping on the line here Shim"
Shim just laughed as his hair started to glow a feint redness and said as the ground cracked in between them
"I don't see a line, I see a little man causing a scene to try and show he has some skill even though he doesn't"
Jake looked furious before he calmed down and said before he started walking away
"You know the rules shim but don't worry, I'll beat you this year at the tournament"
Shim just laughed before he disappeared without a trace leaving the gateway open
Once Sam saw people walking towards the gateway he took a deep breath and walked forward where he suddenly was found in a large white room with ten pedestals surrounding him and saw about to watch towards one of them when a soft angelic voice was heard saying
~Welcome to the tower, please wait for trial selection~
Sam held his bag tightly as a spin wheel landed in front of him with the angelic voice saying
~Please spin the wheel for your trial~
Sam walked over and closed his eyes before he spun the wheel and waited for what seemed like nearly hours in Sam's mind as he prayed to become a hunter before he heard the wheel stop and a loud roar being heard before Sam opened his eyes to see a transparent dragon towering over the wheel saying
""He who will protect the people, He who will defend the clan of dragons. Shall you prove your resolve and metal to take my place as the Dragon lord""
Sam was terrified by the dragon but had no intention of running away and yelled out
"I DO!"
Just the the dragon disappeared the ten pedestals started to glow before he heard the angelic voice say as Sam's vision turn to black
~May you succeed in this trial~
Once Sam opened his eyes again he found himself in a very dense forest wearing his regular clothes but holding a shortsword in one hand as he started looking at his surroundings before a systematic board appeared saying
[Hunter Trial has been started]
(Draconic Core)
(Draconian Blood)
(Draconian Skills selection)
(???)
Sam was shocked by the message board as he never heard of anything like this happening besides the core aspect as all hunters and survivors had Cores to let them use powers and abilities but he had little time to wonder as a deafening roar was heard above him before Sam looked up and saw a giant monster flying down from the sky and hastily jumped off to the side before he saw what monster it was and was shock to find the monster he had to kill was a Wyvern and pointed his sword at the Wyvern before the Wyvern shot a breath at Sam but missed by only a few feet before Sam held his sword tightly and sliced at the creatures neck only to leave a couple of scratches on the scales before Sam was flung away by the Wyverns tail leaving Sam with a broken rib or two once he hit a tree however Sam knew he had no time for rest as the Wyvern charged up another breath
Sam looked around and saw a giant splinter from a smashed tree and grabbed it before throwing at the Wyverns head to distract it but it hit its right eye leaving a bloody mess over its face causing it to go onto a rampage however just as the Wyvern was thrashing around some of the blood from its eye landed on Sam's lip where he subconsciously licked it and felt a warm breeze in his stomach before he noticed he had grown some large claws of his fingertips and said to him
"Did I just grow claws from the blood? Could these help me?"
However Sam's thoughts were interrupted by the Wyverns roar as it stopped thrashing around and focused once again on Sam and went to bite him in half but Sam's movements seemed to be faster then before where he can now dodge the Wyverns attack and used his claw to hopefully make a big impact on the Wyverns neck and suddenly a giant claw marking was made from Sam's attack before he heard a panel board appear saying as the Wyvern fell to the ground with blood pouring out of its neck
[Hunter Trial has been cleared, would you like to continue? Y/N?]
Sam instantly click yes and found himself on top on a mountain overlooking a vast forest to the east an endless desert to the North a frigid tundra to the south and an ocean to the west
Sam was admiring the view when a loud thud was heard behind Sam before he turned to see three medium sized wooden chests in front of him side by side while the same dragon from before was behind the chests only this time the dragon wasn't a transparent image but in the flesh with its black and red colourful scales and two golden eyes that stared down at Sam before it opened its mouth and said
""Well done little one you have proven yourself worthy to take up the mantle of Dragon keeper""
Sam didn't even know what to say without tripping on his words before the dragon lowered its head and said
""You may receive your rewards from the trial now, they will be needed later""
Sam slowly made his way to the first chest and opened it to find a jar of a red substance and a clear white orb that was the size of a bowling ball and heard the dragon say as Sam held the two mysterious items in his hands
""The orb you hold is your Draconic Orb while the other is some of my blood, pour the blood onto the orb and hold it in both hands and imagine where you want your core and you shall receive the knowledge of the five elements while your followers in the future will receive them at random"
Sam didn't question the dragon and did as he commanded and it seemed that the orb was absorbing the blood before 5 elemental symbols appeared inside of the core with a word above them being the 5 natures Fire,Wind,Earth,Lightning and Water
Once the orb calmed down Sam closed his eyes and held the orb with both hands as the dragon said
""Prepare yourself""
Sam felt the orb get lighter and lighter before he couldn't feel it in his hands anymore and opened his eyes to find it had disappeared before he noticed he grew a tail and some other noticeable features fitting of a dragon such as long and razor sharp claws or a few patches of scales and even a pair of wings before a panel board appeared saying
[You Have gained Lv1 Draconic Core]
[You have absorbed knowledge about the five elements and have become resistant to them]
[Select 2 Draconian skills]
(Stamina cost:300)
(Cooldown:5 Minutes)
(Duration: 10 minutes)
(Stamina Cost:800)
(Cooldown: 24 hours)
(Duration: 25 minutes)
(Stamina Cost:2000)
(Cooldown:12 hours)
(Duration:5 minutes)
(Stamina Cost:1000)
(Cooldown: 30 minutes)
Sam was interested in these skills but was disappointed as that didn't provide a description on what they do and could only guess their effects from the name and after a long while Sam picked
Once the skills were selected a new system board appeared with Sam's name and his status that all other hunters had
[Sam Stone]
[Level 1 Draconic Core]
[Level 0]
[Stats]
[Health:3,250/3,250]
[Stamina:5,000/5,000]
[Strength:200]
[Agility:150]
[Intellect:220]
[Dexterity:260]
[Skills]
Sam was shocked as he now had the stats to rival a C-Rank monster boss alone from what he had heard from a hunter interview before he looked into the next chest to find a small black gem that fit into his palm before he heard the dragon say
""Place the gem in the ground and build the grotto where you will raise more Draconic hunters and take control over your life""
Those words resonated in Sam's mind as he has always wanted control over his life from the day he lost his parents due to the day monsters came to earth
Sam dug a small hole and placed the gem before he covered it up again and stood back before the mountain top started to rumble with four long staircases that seemed to have over a million stairs as each staircase led to the base of the mountain heading in each direction while a temple monument came out of the ground from where Sam had placed the gem before the dragon roared and said
""Take a look young Master The beginning of a new Era to the Dragon Clan, gain followers and become the pinnacle of Power!""
Sam felt happiness and joy from the dragons words and yelled out to the sky as loud as he could before the dragon said as he slowly started to disappear
""My time is nearly up young Master so I now intrust the Dragon Grotto to you""
Sam said softly after staying silent for so long as the dragon disappeared
"I will do my best"