Paris, 2053
The city of lights had long lost its luster. Azael stood on the rooftop, overlooking a sprawling metropolis choked by smog and shrouded in an eerie silence as he was currently in the furthest neighbourhoods where poverty reigns. It was a city that had seen better days, but those days were nothing more than fading memories. At just 18 years old, Azael had already witnessed more hardship than most would in a lifetime.
His parents, once the pillars of his life, had succumbed to the initial outbreak of an inexplicable phenomenon that had shaken the world. It was the Awakening, a transformation that endowed a select few with incredible talents. But for many, like Azael's parents, it brought only despair.
With raven-black hair ruffled by the wind and piercing green eyes that seemed to see through the grime and decay, Azael cut a stark figure against the bleak backdrop of the city. His tall, athletic frame was a testament to the hardships he'd endured.
Azael was different, though he hadn't realized it yet. He was an Awakener, but his talents remained dormant, hidden beneath layers of debt and despair. The streets of Paris were merciless, and Azael had learned to adapt, to observe every nuance of his surroundings, to remain calm when chaos reigned, and to be quick-witted in the face of adversity.
But there was another side to him, a side that he kept well hidden. Azael possessed a manipulative streak, a skill he'd honed to survive in a world where every advantage mattered. It was a trait he both despised and relied upon.
As he gazed down at the city below, Azael couldn't help but wonder if his Awakening would ever come. It was a glimmer of hope, a distant possibility that he clung to even as debts piled up and life grew increasingly sour.
He was already 18, while most awakened at 16, that's why he already started to accept the fact that he was part of the reject, someone without a future, without a system. His mind was going overdrive thinking about how he could muster enough money to pay rent. His green eyes were looking at his best friend, Misha, a girl he had known since he was 6 years old.
Together, they went trough a lot of hardships, sleeping under a bridge, stealing something to eat only to be caught and beaten, you name it they've lived it. They were currently living in a small condo, barely 15 m2 for a dirt-cheap rent as they were in an unpleasant neighbourhood to say the least. The fact is that she alone awakened a weak blessing through the system and couldn't afford to take care of two people.
The name of her blessing was Ganymede's blessing (★): allows the user to blend liquor into exquisite cocktails, depending on the rarity of the ingredients it may also provide a light boost in statistics. Under normal circumstances, a person is able to awaken a single blessing through his life that also dictates his limits concerning the statistics he can develop.
She was working part time in a small pub in a sketchy alley of Paris to afford the rent. Meanwhile, Azael was using his strong, athletic build to work odd jobs to compel with her salary enough for them to live off. Be it manual labour or monster butchering for the local black market, every task is a dime more for food, rent or the debt he had after his parent's death.
As he was going back home after a long day of work, he stopped at a small supermarket for tonight's meal. He looked at the price of several ingredients and thought 'Fuck, it increased again, how am I supposed to survive like that'.
He still gathered what he needed and went to checkout.
"The total comes to 4500 Kr sir" the cashier told him.
'So expensive for a single meal … I only got 10 000 after working a full day' , Azael was actually pondering about the rent.
As he got home, he found Misha that was preparing for her night shift.
"Already home Azael ? How was your day ?"
"Meh, not too bad I guess I'm still alive after butchering carcasses for the whole day"
"It is what it is I guess"
"Would be so good if I awakened that god damn blessing tho"
" It would help pay the bill for sure "
After the meal, she went to work and he crumbled in bed tired from the tiring day he went through. ' I need to find a solution or otherwise I will be doomed with my debt', his mind was drifting before finally falling asleep.
His debt totalled at a whooping 1000000 Kr. Only 100 days of work if you consider what he did today, but reality is that he used most of what he got on rent and food already. He was really in the lower class after the Initial breakout as most of the citizen would led a better life than him, even if he was more cunning than most it was really difficult to escape his situation without blessings and help from the government.
That said government with the others global power went through a forced evolution and was compelled to cooperate with other countries to contain the damage done. They come to an agreement that there was a need for a global currency (Krown or Kr) as well as associations managed by the states and guilds that are private to protect most of the population from the dangers caused by dungeon outbreaks.
Inside those organisations lies multiple awakeners that are people blessed by the gods. The power they yield allows them to protect from dungeon outbreaks but as well as conquering dungeons. The blessings as well as the dungeons are defined by their star rating ranging from one star to seven stars. Obviously, one star rating is the more common while seven star is the rarest. Namely, if you consider earth with 10 billion people, The distribution of awakeners is the following:
1. Very Common: 40%
2. Common: 25%
3. Fairly Common: 15%
4. Somewhat Common: 10%
5. Rare: 5%
6. Very Rare: 0.000009%
7. Super Rare: 0.00001%
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A/N
First chapter of my first novel and English is not my first language.
That's pretty hard but I kinda liked it, tell me if there is any grammatical error or incoherence in the chapter.
I will try to set up the story and the system in the first few chapters and then the main plot will begin.