990 G.C (Great Calamity),
Silver Oak High School, Starwind City
Two students, childhood friends Carter and Daksh, were kneeling on the ground holding a bucket of water in mid-air as part of their punishment for misbehaving in class. Carter was bulky while Daksh was of medium build.
Carter turned to Daksh and said, " Hey man, wanna go to the internet cafe later to celebrate?"
Daksh scoffed "You serious fatty, what's there to celebrate huh? "
Carter grinned "What you don't know, this is our hattrick today, getting punished. My treat, bro "
Daksh rolled his eyes and said," You just want to check her out,".
" of course who does not want to check her out, the cafe goddess Velia," says Carter while his eye imagines the beautiful face of his goddess.
" Well it seems this punishment is not enough for you guys, why not both of you go for some warm-up session during the lunch break then you can have your, o so precious lunch, how about 10 rounds of the school playground with 10kg weight bags on your back," said a sarcastic voice behind from their behind.
" No Prof. Werther Gerver this punishment is more than enough and we cannot do 10 rounds of our school ground within the lunch break, that is impossible," said Carter with a begging tone.
" Nah you guys are young and energetic, I believe in my student capabilities, you can do it, well it's time for your lunch break better start running, and before that, go to the school gym to pick up those 10kg bags, okay," said Werther as he left.
"That pig-faced bastard, " muttered Carter.
"Well it is your fault, you started to talk when we were being punished and anyways we can't go to the cafe as we have that ceremony today," said Daksh as both of them got up and started dusting themselves.
"Hey common man, even you were talking, but your right today is the day where all our previous years' hard work comes to play, Huh," said Carter.
"Yes, let's just get the weight and finish this or else we won't be able to eat anything," said Daksh as they rushed towards the gym.
****
Daksh and Carter had just finished a gruelling round of the playground and were lying on their backs, gasping for air. "Fuck, That was tough," Daksh groaned.
Carter also groaned "Yeah let's go get some stuffed bread from the cafeteria,"
" Nothing is left in the cafeteria now, everything is finished. let's just grab some drinks from the vending machine and we can get something to eat after school is over " said Daksh.
" you guys cannot leave today after the school is over ". said someone as it approached them and crouched down.
" pink? " said Carter as he looked towards Daksh.
" Yup, pin... " Before Daksh could complete his sentence, a shoe slammed into his face and then Carter's face and both cried out in pain.
bang! bang! bang! bang!
" Ouch ouch St Stop"
" Hey hey we can see it more clearly now so to stop now," said Carter.
" You two should be punished more, I will ask prof Werther tomorrow," said an angry girl in the school uniform with both of his hands on her hips.
" Yukari why are you here "
" Hmmph, you two still have not eaten right "
Then, both of them saw that she was carrying a bag.
" Here, eat this before the break is over," said Yukari as she handed both of them the bag." there are two yakisoba pan, a Kokoro pan, club soda, and iced tea ".
Both of them quickly got up and said " You're the best Yukari " as they grabbed the bag.
" What would we do without you, thank you," said Daksh.
" We would have starved to death without you, all because of that pig face," said Carter.
"fatty you bastard, please stop, all because you made a comic strip of him being a pervert, we ended up like this "
Yukari started laughing and said, "It was quite accurate though ".
" Yeah, but only, we were punished," said Daksh while grumbling.
" Now, finish this and come to the auditorium. The Iron Vanguard and the special division are here to conduct the ceremony. We were all ordered by Prof. Weather to assemble in the gymnasium right after lunch," said Yukari.
Both of them gobbled down the food and rushed towards the Auditorium with Yukari.
*******
Auditorium
More than 200 senior high school students had gathered in the school Auditorium.
Principal Luke Vasquez stood on the podium. A 1-star Silver rank Adventure with C class unique ability related to Metal, with a height of 180cm, athletic build with broad shoulders, olive skin, and black hair. He stood straight like an arrow ready to launch but the only problem was that he was missing his left hand from his shoulders but this did not decrease his aura.
" Hello and good afternoon student, I won't be talking for much time as all of you look very excited about this but before we start to remember, the kind of ability or elemental affinity you awaken or have does not define your future. What defines your future depends on the efforts you put in. So, without further ado let's begin the awakening ceremony. Everyone will be called groups of ten. Let's begin." as soon as he finished, the curtain behind him fall.
A huge obelisk around 20 in height and 2 meters in width was behind those curtains, the material look more like a megalith but it was unknown. Most people called it an awakening obelisk. The obelisk contained many different carvings of animals, humans and many different creatures kneeling in front of it. This pattern was only in the middle while the remaining parts had some kind of script or runes written on them. The scientist could not decipher it still. On top of the obelisk was a metal-type cap covering it, this metal structure more looked like a modern item instead of an old primitive item like the obelisk. The cap-like metal covering had many wires, to be more precise ten wire attached, which was then connected to ten different CPUs with a headset, all the CPUs were connected to a single huge monitor. Soon, ten names were displayed on it.
The students who were called soon selected their seats, they were given a special green colour potion meant for them to take it immediately. After that, the student put on the headsets. The technical members and the scientist brought by the special division were checking something and soon they gave the green signal. Soon, the obelisk emitted a reddish hue, which soon changed to orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. The colour kept changing for 5 minutes. Suddenly, the obelisk stopped emitting these different colours. The monitor, which was displaying the names of the students, and the words 'Awakening in Progress' below them, now displayed 'Awakening Completed'.
Wei Qiang - Class F Unique ability inorganic & No elemental root was detected.
Shawn Grant - Awakening Failed & No elemental root was detected.
Celise Hugh - Awakening Failed & low-grade elemental root of water.
Nulun Ahamad - Class F Unique ability Partial animal mimicry & No elemental root detected.
Cassandra Murphy - Class E Unique ability Sonic Scream & Mid-grade elemental root of fire.
Bernt Ingmar - Class C Unique Ability Monster summoning & No elemental root was detected.
Whitney Mauro - Awakening Failed & No elemental root was detected.
Abhinav Gupta - Class E Unique ability Telesthesia and Class E Enhanced Strength & & No elemental root was detected.
Wang Shi - Awakening Failed & No elemental root was detected.
Ethan Shea - Awakening Failed & No elemental root was detected.
It is a known fact that not every person awakens their hidden potential just like not all people have elemental root. People can have roots but that might not have an affinity to a specific element. But that is not the end of their road as most students here are trained in martial art and can work in the military or become scientists or white collar jobs as normal people are essential for a society to work. This world has multiple types of cultivation systems.
Anyways the probability of students awakening is 1:100 people with unique abilities between Class E and F.
For unique abilities between Class C and D is 1:1000. Those who have these classes usually have a small amount of elemental affinity. A low-grade elemental root is equivalent to a Class C.
Unique abilities between Class B is 1:10000 are usually with elemental affinity. A mid-grade elemental root is equivalent to a Class B.
Unique abilities between Class A are one in a million and usually have a variety of abilities and are known as future pillars of human society. A High-grade elemental root is equivalent to a Class A.
Unique abilities between Class S are one in a billion little is known about them. But once they are found they will be nurtured with the utmost care for the humans to keep on existing. Sometimes are called heroes. No more than 7 currently known to people. A superior-grade elemental root is equivalent to a Class S.
While those who did not awaken left dejectedly, knowing that their status would remain unchanged, those who did awaken cheered in joy. Even if their status was as low as Class F, their bodies were usually twice as strong as normal humans.
The ceremony continued for more than two hours, with around 230 students receiving the awakening ceremony. However, only 123 students managed to awaken their potential, with most of them ranging from Class D to Class F. Only a few managed to achieve Class C, while just two people were able to attain Class B.
Soon, Daksh, Carter and Yukari's turn came and all of them when in front of a CPU.
Daksh drank the special green liquid, put on the headset, and sat on the chair, waiting. The headset didn't look like anything special; it resembled a regular VR headset. The only difference was its ability to channel the strange power emanating from the obelisk. As he observed everything around him, his mind began to feel drowsy.
****
As Daksh looked around, he found himself in what appeared to be a town from the Middle Ages. But the town was like no other he had ever seen. The buildings were painted in a deep shade of red, and the streets were littered with dead bodies. The sight was so horrifying that he felt like he was going to be sick. But try as he might, he could not muster the strength to vomit.
Then, a feeling of fear washed over him, and he tried to run away from the gruesome scene. But for some reason, his body wouldn't budge. He was stuck in place, forced to witness the gruesome aftermath of what must have been a terrible battle or massacre.
He found himself lying on his back, facing a cold, stone wall. The weight of full-plate armour was bearing down on him, and he felt trapped and helpless. The armour was in such a state of disrepair that it seemed irreparable.
Beside him lay a beautiful lady, her face obscured from view but a smile visible on her lips. As he tried to make sense of his surroundings, a cackling noise suddenly filled his ears, drawing his attention forward. There stood a creature that was half-monster, half-human, grinning menacingly as it approached him.
The creature spoke in a language that Allen did not understand, and he watched in horror as it raised a massive, jackhammer-like weapon high above its head. With a sickening pop, the creature burst like a balloon, spraying blood everywhere. Allen was left stunned, trying to understand what had just happened.
.
****
As Allen slowly opened his eyes, he found himself in the auditorium, his body drenched in sweat. A pop-up window was displayed in front of him as if to mock him.
"Awakened successfully"