[Year 2252 - Bastion 18 - In one of the 5 Asian bastions]
A young man with a lean and slightly weakened body due to insufficient nourishment was carrying groceries he had bought in the city, heading towards his shack in the slums of the bastion. He seemed quite happy because today he had purchased Rank F monster meat.
The eve of the "Great Fall" anniversary was approaching, and by extension, the tradition that has been taking place worldwide for several decades, the "Awakening Ceremony," which was mandatory for all 16-year-old children.
With a big smile on his face, the young man looked at the contents of the bag once again but grimaced immediately.
"...It's so small... all my savings... damn it!"
With a disgruntled expression, Rin began to imagine how to cook this piece of meat to make the most of his savings.
"I think I'll start by waiting for Uncle Ryu to leave his shack and then cook this thing with his mana plates... I'll also need to steal some herbs from old Granny Yu... if I get caught..."
He stopped walking for a few seconds, lost in thought, and looked ahead, then changed direction, still deep in contemplation.
"...Maybe Uncle Ryu won't go to work... damn it, I have good food but no way to cook it... what if I offer Uncle a piece the size of a finger bone in exchange for using his plates? Hahaha, what a genius I am."
As he walked, his head lowered from thinking and his mouth watering from thoughts of the mana-rich meat, Rin intentionally avoided one of the most notorious gangs in the slums. It had become a habit for him because Rin is an incredibly rare case... a semi-awakened individual.
***
In the year 2115, an unknown scientist made a groundbreaking discovery that an invisible and infinite energy exists throughout the universe. In that same year, he invented the "Rhythmic Interconnected Nexus," commonly known as the mana battery.
This invention allowed humanity to grow in unprecedented ways because mana is an infinite and limitless energy source that powers all the devices in the world, eliminating charging problems and energy shortages.
However, like any newly discovered energy, it also serves for darker purposes. Weaponry advanced alongside the discovery, and the power of mana bombs was tested worldwide by different powers. This led to a rapid escalation of events between the Red Empire and the Union of the Eagle. It was only when these two titans realized that their ten-year-long dispute was causing an unprecedented problem for humanity, leading to "The Great Fall," that things began to calm down. Nevertheless, significant rivals still remain to this day.
Around the year 2125, scientists worldwide made two notable discoveries. The first, less concerning, was that Mike Ollway, the scientist behind the discovery of mana and the rest, had disappeared—vanished—something that should have been impossible given the planetary surveillance system possessed by the two major political blocs at that time. However, the second discovery was even more troubling. Mana was causing rapid mutations in all living species on the planet at an alarming rate. Laboratory mice, constantly exposed to radiation from mana batteries, no longer feared drug tests or syringe needles, and their intelligence began to develop.
The world was in a state of excitement as animals, plants, and microorganisms evolved at an accelerating pace. Some animals became bulletproof, and if anyone tried to eradicate them in groups using mana bombs, which were becoming the only way to harm them, the concentration of mana in that area would become even greater after the massacre, leading to the emergence of stronger species over the long term.
It was a vicious cycle. After a few years, in certain parts of the world, nature began to reclaim its rights. The only good news amidst all this was that scientists realized that humans were also undergoing mutations, albeit at a slower rate and for unknown reasons. Some humans mutated and unlocked a "stigma," a unique and individual ability that varied from person to person.
However, awakened humans, called "Awakened" were less common than awakened monsters, which were awakened animals. This situation worsened over two centuries. During this period, 80% of the world's population was sacrificed, and humanity took refuge within the walls of 20 bastions, defended by the awakened. This period was referred to as "The Great Fall."
For the past 50 years, to prevent the random awakening of humans, which still occurred between the ages of 16 and death, the most powerful awakened individuals united all the governments under a single banner called the "Alliance of Dawn." They created the merciless Awakening Ceremony, aiming to force a large number of young men and women to awaken at a younger age, allowing them to start their evolutionary path earlier.
***
Shortly after and thanks to his blurry ability to randomly perceive things like a malfunctioning radar, Rin arrived at the entrance of his cabin... four metal walls, a curtain, and a tin roof salvaged from the slums.
"With the heat right now, my cabin feels more like an oven... There are more ways to cook me than a piece of meat... damn life!!"
Abandoning the idea of entering that furnace, he headed towards the place where the man who raised him after his parents' death 10 years ago lived. During the last wave of monsters, all adults had to fight, whether awakened or not. It was also during this time that Rin, as a child, began to perceive things in his environment as if within a certain range, which was completely random each time this ability was active. He was able to see everything clearly as if obstacles or any lack of light didn't exist... The problem was that it activated randomly.
"Oh, wouldn't that be little Rin?..."
A very familiar voice with a cold tone resonated not far behind Rin, who turned around slowly with a big smile, his thoughts running at full speed.
"DAMN!! This random ability is such a pain!!!! This situation is much more dangerous than before!!!!"
He took a deep breath and responded amiably.
"Uncle Ryu, I missed you, hahaha... You know, I was thinking about you today, and I didn't forget that it was your birthday! I brought you a little gift."
The middle-aged man with long hair, a body built like a mountain, and covered in scars stared at the young man and sniffed loudly with a hint of suspicion in his gaze.
"You little brat, it's not my birthday to start with, but since you've started talking about gifts, if you don't satisfy me, I'll break your arms and legs like a few months ago."
Sweat began to trickle down Rin's forehead, and a smile of helplessness appeared as he remembered a few months ago when he dared to break into Uncle Ryu's house while he was getting serious with the old manager of the slum's bar... To him, it was a "rescue" because "the monster in human form must be spreading prehistoric diseases," but Uncle Ryu just took him as a punching bag and confined him to bed for three months.
After deliberation, he decided to take a loss this time because he couldn't afford to receive punishment from his uncle on the eve of the awakening ceremony.
"Hahaha, do you think you raised me for nothing? Listen well, old man... my uncle, I used my savings to buy these few grams of rank F monster meat!!!"
Looking at the bag that Rin now proudly displayed and realizing a few seconds later that it was monster meat, he even forgot about the "old man" that slipped from this brat's mouth and began laughing out loud.
"That's great, you little brat!! Hahaha, tonight we'll have a feast!! Come on, let's prepare it so you can go to bed early. Tomorrow is your ceremony."
Old Ryu approached Rin and tried to take the bag from his hands... or at least he tried... the little thing in front of him clung to it as if it were the last remnant of his family.
"Hey, you little shit, why won't you let go?!"
Rin, with an expression of absolute reluctance and very visible beads of sweat on his forehead, moistened his now dry lips and clumsily articulated the sentence he had tried to construct inwardly.
"Oh, my beloved uncle, you know, when I said 'gift' referring to the meat..." He swallowed hard under the intense gaze and the growing murderous aura before him... "in this small piece of meat that I struggled to obtain... um... I thought of giving you the equivalent of a phalanx as a gift..."
What followed were the desperate cries of a young man being chased throughout the South slums by a middle-aged man... accustomed to the antics of these two characters, the people in the vicinity had fun and cheered for the little thing that was already resembling a blueberry from being beaten so much...