Although there were many people gathered around, not all of them were there for the awakening ceremony. They merely came to spectate and join in on the fun. While some came to witness the rise of geniuses, most came to relish in the potential failure of those who would not awaken any talents during the ceremony.
Those who awaken outstanding talents would get recruited to join one of the nine strongholds of humanity after attending the training academy for four years. They would then fight against Chaos Monsters and make a lot of money to live lavishly without worrying about expenses.
In contrast, those without substantial talent would not get chosen and could only live a normal life of attending institutions for sciences or other career paths with their awakened talents as a criterion.
"What kind of talent do you wish to awaken?"
"I don't know, but I hope it's something strong and combat-oriented!"
"I don't mind either way, but I hope it's not a useless talent. At least that way, I would be able to make a living."
"I guess that's true."
Cyril heard many discussions about the various talents that many teenagers his age wanted to awaken during the ceremony, and he couldn't help but wonder if he would awaken something useful with his abnormally weak body. He didn't hope for any combat-oriented talent, as he couldn't bring out their potential with his current body. Instead, he hoped for an auxiliary-oriented talent that even someone like him could use to make a living.
As for people like Liam, there were various expectations of him awakening a combat-oriented talent, as he was very athletic with a healthy body, unlike Cyril. Silvia, on the other hand, was hailed as the strongest in terms of innate physical strength.
Silvia seemed to have been born with a robust body, stronger than even Liam. Therefore, without a doubt, she would get enlightened to some powerful ability that complements whatever inherent talent she awakens during the ceremony.
Thinking of these, with a puzzled expression, Cyril wondered why Liam wanted to protect Silvia when she seemed more likely to awaken a stronger talent than him. Shouldn't she be the one protecting them as always?
Though it would make him appear more dependable if he could protect the one he cared about, there was no need to try too hard if the one he wanted to protect turned out to be stronger than him, right?
That was Cyril's mindset. He had lived his entire life as a weakling, and he mostly hated it, but he couldn't change his body's condition just because he wanted to. Therefore, he would rather depend on anyone, especially if they were stronger than him. He would not feel too much shame from something like that. After all, there was nothing for him to be proud of, much less feel shameful about.
'Change my body, huh? That reminds me… That dream today… Was what it said real? Or was it simply a dream fabricated by my weak mindset? It said that I was cursed. Then who cursed me? And why would they do something that terrible to me?'
Cyril was about to ponder further about this when he suddenly heard a voice in the distance.
"Over here! Over here!"
It was Silvia.
Despite being angry before leaving them, she seemed to have calmed down considerably after cooling down for a bit. After all, today was unlike normal days. Today was the day that decided their fate and career paths. Therefore, miscellaneous events such as their altercation from earlier could be put behind the back of their heads for later.
Despite believing that the occasion had something to do with it, Cyril also presumed that there was a possibility that Liam was responsible for consoling her. Otherwise, with her attitude, she would still hold a grudge against them.
Seeing Silvia waving at him, Cyril quickened his walking pace and approached her and Liam, who was standing next to her with a cold expression, staring at Cyril's approaching figure.
Moments later, the three stood next to each other as they waited for the ceremony to start. Cyril was on the left, Liam was on the right, and Silvia was in the middle holding their hands with an excited and anxious expression. Seemingly, she was more anxious than the two of them, as the two boys could feel her hand trembling while holding theirs.
That was only natural. Those who had friends that did not awaken the same talent type would usually get separated after the awakening ceremony. Silvia was most likely worried about this matter.
Cyril knew that she was most likely worried about him, who had a weak potential to awaken any decent talent, but he didn't say anything to reassure her. After all, even he wasn't confident in himself.
"Ah, it hurts. Silvia, can you please not squeeze my hand too hard?"
"Ah! Sorry! Sorry! I didn't mean to!"
"Hmph!"
Liam snorted when he heard Cyril complain about his sore hand, but he didn't say anything this time, as he was afraid Silvia would get angry again.
While everyone was engaged in their own drama and discussion, a dignified and aloof old man with a sharp gaze, wearing a white cloak, silently appeared on the platform of the square. He took out an orb the size of a snow globe and injected it with radiated energy through his hand.
In response, a device with mysterious patterns engraved then appeared out of nowhere in thin air. The dignified and aloof old man grabbed it and carefully placed it in the middle of the square. The device was a soccer ball-sized orb fixed on what seemed to be a lectern, at least based on its appearance.
As soon as he finished placing the device on the platform, the dignified and aloof old man calmly swept his gaze around and everyone immediately became quiet. Even the drop of a pin could be heard at this moment. Seeing that, the dignified and aloof old man was pleased and then declared.
"Today's awakening ceremony will begin starting from now. Normally, I would give a brief history of the great feats of the Grand Emperor, but everyone should know something like that by now. Therefore, I won't waste time on such trivialities. With that aside, I will move on to what truly matters today."
"Those participating in today's awakening ceremony will have their fate and paths in life decided without exception. Whatever talent you awaken will determine what you'll become in the future. I will not beat around the bush with any more nonsense!"
"If I call your name, kindly come up and undergo your awakening by touching the awakening orb in order for it to display your inherent talents! I will only say your name three times. After that, you will be disqualified from participating in this year's awakening ceremony, so pay very close attention and respond to your names when called!"
The dignified and aloof old man then flipped through a pamphlet in his hand and called out: "Tom Harrison!"
"I'm right here, elder!"