[This message is brought you by the Department of Military Service and Tower Management of the PDRUS]
A string of words was projected on the grainy, scratched glass screen of an old CRT television, as two green-haired brothers sat down on their musty old couch. The image quality was so bad that the text was almost unreadable. Emanating from the antique device, a rowdy voice echoed throughout the whole living room, with an instrumental rendition of the country's anthem playing in the background.
"Dear Youth from the coasts to the frontiers, as a proud member of the People's Democratic Republic of The United States of America, our nation's most important time of the year has finally come. The time to put your body and mind to work in order to serve our mighty country! Every young man and woman of 16 years of age must register and awaken at the nearest government facility. If you prove to have potential, you'll be given an opportunity to make your family and community proud for bringing honor to your country inside the treacherous tower!"
The announcement was followed by a disclaimer being read rapidly, like those at the end of commercials for drugs or beauty products, "(Presence and possible military enlisting is obligatory to any citizen of 16 years. Failure to comply will result in severe penalties. A citizen who doesn't work is not a citizen worth feeding)."
The imposing voice echoed throughout the mostly-empty living room, as one of the men on the couch giggles.
"So, champ, looks like your time has come. Your birthday isn't far, bet you're shitting bricks right now?"
The man, looking to be in his mid twenties, teased the young boy sitting beside him. The teenager showed no interest in the conversation as his eyes kept focused on a book.
"I couldn't give less of a fuck about risking my life in the tower. Besides, if our family history is anything to go by, I'll probably end up getting some useless job." The boy muttered, his voice in a controlled monotone.
"Hoooh... You're a strange one, arent ya? Most kids your age would kill for an opportunity to raid the tower" Gesturing with his hands, the man continued— "Don't you wanna find treasures? Get stronger? Battle monsters while partying with a group of elves wearing skimpy outfits!?" The older brother said excitedly, almost drowning himself in an ocean of delusions and wishful thinking.
The younger brother gave him a bitter smile, "I don't think those things happen outside of some power fantasy manga, though....".
"You think so? I've read a bunch of them, all from the other side of the frontier, and they all have these same plot points. Therefore, it must have a pint of truth into it, dont you think?"
The man argued back with his arms crossed.
"I suppose you've got a point there...." The boy gave in, knowing that if he didn't, his brother wouldn't shut up about it. "But we really have to stop buying that junk from the black market...." He shot a glance to a cardboard box hidden behind the curtains, filled to the brim with books, VHS tapes and comic books from the outside world. His face quickly formed a frown as bitter memories of fantastical stories, action packed movies and fun cartoons swam back from the deepest corners of his mind. If only he and his brother could escape somehow... Some people made it, but it was too dangerous and not guaranteed. It was hard for our hero to believe that his idiot brother had good enough grades to land him a job at the city's local registry office, given how competitive government jobs are.
He shook his head, kicking these thoughts back to where they belong.
'I should be happy we're not starving like the others...'
It was already getting late, and it seemed like tomorrow was going to be a troublesome day, so the boy got up from the couch.
"I'm going to sleep..." He announced, stumbling on his way towards his room like an intoxicated middle-aged salaryman, his footsteps sinking in their ugly piss-yellow couch.
"Yeah, that's a good idea. We better leave early or else the queue will be unbearable."
The boy walked into the sand-coloured cubicle he called a room, his nose immediately being assaulted by the repulsive smell of mold that grew from the ceiling. It had always been there, ever since they were relocated to this apartment, the swamp-green colony of disgusting mold was always watching him like the putrid bystander it was. It was comforting, in a way... His life didn't have many constants, so even a pile of god-knows-what on his ceiling could make him feel at home.
Trying to ignore the stench, our hero stumbled to his bed, falling face first on his rock hard mattress.
Clank clank clank
The rusty iron frame from his bed creaked as he moved his limbs around trying to find a comfortable position, failing miserably at it.
* * *
From the yellow tinted, foggy window shone a sun ray, smacking the boys face with the smouldering fury of nature's cruel alarm clock.
"God damnit..." He grumbled, pulling his body up into a sitting position.
Looking down at the window, the constant stroll of people caught his attention. They were like ants looking for food, running out and about to wherever they had to go on this concrete jungle. Would he become one of them? To live his life working until he died without the possibility of changing his destiny? Or would he be forced to sacrifice his life for the government, killing and looting in what was functionally another world? The anxiety of his destiny being in the hands of a stupid blue window with levels, jobs, skills and stats made him clench his fist and grit his teeth.
Knock knock
"James? You awake, dude?"
His thought process was interrupted by knocks on his door followed by the muffled voice of his brother.
"Yeah, come in..."
James replied weakly, rubbing his temple. His brother Ollie opened the door and walked inside the room, sitting at his bed beside him.
"So... You wanna talk about it?"
"Will talking about it give me any control over what could possibly change my life completely? Didn't think so." James looked down at his bedsheets, gripping them as hard as he could.
Ollie sighed, placing a hand on his little brother's shoulder.
"Look, kid, I know this isn't a fun thing to go through, you know I've been there before too. Remember that whatever happens, you can count on your bro, alright?"
"Alright alright, I get it. No need to get all touchy-feely with me." James said with a chuckle, his tense body easing up slightly. "Well, we should probably just get this over with, right?"
"That's the spirit! You'll probably just get a shitty job anyway! I doubt the government will even show interest in you." What would sound like harsh words to some were very reassuring to James Bluns, a boy who didn't want to raid the tower, unlike most of his peers.
* * *
The Office of Adventurer's building was built right at the base of the tower. Despite being 10 stories tall, it still looked like a children's toy compared to the humongous monolith behind it. The tower was a cylindrical shaped structure measuring 2 miles (around 3.2 kilometres) in diameter. Its height was similar to that of two Burj Khalifas stacked on top of eachother. As James and Ollie neared the office, our hero was surprised to find a line of around a few hundred people.
"Good, the line's still short." Ollie claimed with a wry smile. "Believe me, you don't want to make the same mistake I did by coming late." A single bead of cold sweat flowed down Ollie's cheek as he remembered the neverending row of people, all squeezed together, filling two whole blocks like a can of sardines. He knows better now.
"So, umm... How does this process work, exactly? Does it hurt? I've heard it changes you forever." James asked, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt.
"Well, It's complicated..."
* * *
In the Official Adventurer's Guide, Awakening is described as "The process of transforming a human into an Adventurer."
Adventurers are humans (from earth) with mana cores. To awaken, one must consume a minimum amount of mana. The most popular method of doing so is by consuming a special type of fruit named Eden's Apple, which can be found in most of the tower's 58 explored floors.