Chapter 11 - Ch 11: The Awakening Ceremony

It's been three months since I arrived at Hope Orphanage. After the meeting at the base, Brian and Kyle left me here, promising to return after taking care of some business, and then my official training would begin. The orphanage isn't bad; most of the kids here are orphans whose parents were soldiers. The sisters tried to take care of me at first, but when I showed that I had no problem, they let me do my own thing. I spent most of my time reading books. I learned everything about beasts and beast masters that I could from the books present in the orphanage.So, beasts are divided into eight ranks according to their rarity and bloodline:CommonUncommonEliteRareUniqueEpicLegendaryMythicPrimordialBeast masters are divided into four ranks:Rank 1 - Iron, Bronze, and SilverRank 2 - Gold, Platinum, DiamondRank 3 - King, Monarch, and EmperorNot much is known about Rank 4 because there have only been two known appearances of a rank 4 so far.At each rank, you can contract with two beasts. Apart from their rarity, beasts also differ according to their element. There are various types of elements present, but to progress faster, you have to choose beasts with elements similar to yours.So, how do you know which type of element you have? You have to go to the Rift for that."Let's go, little Yohan, it's time," a lady's voice sounded outside the room."Yes, I'm coming," I answered.Today is the day I get the chance to enter the Rift and visit Horizon for the first time. Here, when a child turns 16, they get the chance to enter the Rift and awaken. It's like a coming-of-age ceremony. I'm not particularly clear about what the awakening ceremony entails, as every book just mentions that you will awaken, but nothing is clearly mention even sister Amelia said it is a surprise. Today, I have the chance to enter the Rift with the other 16-year-old children present in the orphanage.I followed the other children and boarded the bus. Head Sister Amelia was already seated and, upon noticing me, she gave me a warm smile. I smiled back. Sister Amelia is the director of the orphanage, She was ex-military who is now retired and takes care of the orphanage."Here, wear this. It will help you," Sister Amelia said, handing me a bracelet with an inlaid stone."Thank you," I replied.I put on the bracelet and took my seat. Sister Amelia had already explained to me the previous night that the bracelet would help conceal the presence of my core, as there would be many eyes searching for talented individuals where we were going."Why are you here, Yohan?" asked a boy sitting behind me."Oh, me? I'm just here to sightsee with Sister Amelia," I replied.The boy behind me, Akio, was one of the few I could talk to in the orphanage. Unlike the more mischievous ones, he was quite the silent type .As the bus started and we left the orphanage grounds, our cook cum security guard, James, stood in the middle of the bus."Okay, attention, guys," James said, gathering everyone's focus."Before entering the rifts, I have some important advice. Once we enter the rift, you'll find yourselves in another plane. The first generation of beast masters named it Horizon. Everyone who enters Horizon connects with its consciousness, which is so powerful it encompasses everything in that world. When it connects with you, you'll see a game-like interface in front of your eyes. It will show your basic stats, affinity, and talent, if you have one—which is rare. This is known as the awakening ceremony."There will be representatives from different organizations and schools present, ready to offer you contracts based on your talent. Since you're not 18 yet, we, as your legal guardians, will be there to sign the contracts. However, the choice of which organization you want to join is yours, so choose carefully.""So this is what they mean by the awakening ceremony," Yohan thought."Uncle James, do humans also have talents?" a girl asked."Yes, if anyone's father or grandfather was a rank 3 master before giving birth, there is a high chance that his progeny may inherit some type of talent from them. There are also cases where you may have talent without having a powerful ancestor.""But don't worry, even if you don't have a talent, there are many wonders in Horizon that can grant you one.""Talent, huh? I remember extracting some bloodlines and talents from the dead bodies. Then does it mean I can have an infinite number of talents?""Uncle James, can people have more than one talent?" I asked."Little Yohan, it is very rare for people to have just one talent, not to mention two. And it's not like having more talents means more power. If your talents contradict each other or if you have five to six talents, your body may not be able to handle it.""Okay, so I can't merge every talent I get into my body," Yohan thought.As Yohan pondered the possibilities of his extraction panel, the bus finally reached its destination."Everyone follow me and don't wander around," James instructed.Following James and Amelia, the group walked towards the imposing doors of the building. Among them were many children accompanied by their families, as well as groups of students from different schools."Hello, Amelia, it's good to see you," a man greeted."Hello, Jones," replied Amelia."It seems there are many children from the Hope Organization again. I believe we'll see many new talented Beast Masters this time," remarked Jones."They're just regular kids here to awaken, nothing more," Amelia replied."But they're the children of heroes, destined to be heroes themselves," Jones insisted.Amelia simply nodded before a staff member approached us."Are you from the Hope Orphanage? Please come with me; it's your turn to enter the rift," the staff member informed us."It looks like it's your turn. You should go; we'll wait for our turn," Jones said."See you later, Director Jones," Amelia responded.Following the staff member, we entered the building through a side door, joining the other Beast Masters and their beasts. Inside, there was a palpable sense of anticipation."Please wait here; we will notify the other side that the awakening ceremony is beginning," the staff member instructed before heading towards what looked like a massive crack in a computer screen."Yohan, come here, stand with me," Sister Amelia called."When you enter the rift, you may feel some discomfort, but it's just part of the awakening process, so don't worry. And after awakening, if someone asks you about your status window, just tell them about your stats, nothing more," Amelia advised me."Okay," I replied."You don't have to worry about that, Sister Amelia. I've read about these situations plenty of times, so I know what to do," Yohan thought to himself."Let's go, Yohan," Sister Amelia said, holding my hand.As we moved towards the rift, I felt a pressure on my body, but I stepped forward into the rift.