"Are you alright now?"
Standing beside the bed, a woman who looked in her mid-thirties said with concern as she looked at the young man lying down on the infirmary bed.
His figure appeared thin and sickly, with a slightly handsome face. A small amount of acne adorned his pale skin, and his brown eyes were filled with confusion.
"You collapsed on the stage after performing the ceremony. It's good that you're alright now. If I'm not wrong, your recording is still left, isn't it? I'll go and call someone to get it done," the woman said with a slight smile as she stood up and took her leave, under the eyes of Damon, who lay silently on the bed.
The moment the door closed, Damon let out a sigh of relief as he dropped back on the bed, completely relaxed, staring at the ceiling above him in wonder.
"What the fuck is going on with me…"
Damon closed his eyes as he recalled the events that had transpired a few moments ago. Participating in the public awakening ceremony, touching the awakening orb, only to find himself in another world called Earth, living as a teenager named Damon enjoying himself reading novels, and then awakening back to this world, collapsed on the stage.
'What in God's name is happening to me?'
Placing both of his palms over his eyes, Damon shut them tight as he tried to recall everything that had happened.
'Transmigration? Rebirth? What kind of shit is this?'
His entire mind was a mess at the moment, countless doubts and questions running through it as he struggled to come to terms with what was going on.
'Okay, let's start with the beginning.'
Thinking this was the solution, Damon took in a deep breath and calmed himself down. Removing the hands that covered his eyes, Damon opened them and looked sideways out of the window at the city.
"System."
[Name: Damon Aldridge]
[Talent: Adaptive Evolution (Ex)]
[Skills: 0/10]
***
Decades ago, small fissures of space began appearing throughout the world. The sky tore apart as these fissures began pouring out monsters and beings that one could only imagine in fiction.
The origin of these monsters was unknown, but what humanity definitely knew was that the end of their rule on the planet Earth was near.
The monsters began to randomly spawn all around the world, massacring the masses, killing every living thing in sight. Mankind defended with their modern weapons, which, though effective on weaker monsters, were nothing more than a child's toy against the stronger ones.
Missiles and nuclear bombs were also used to force back the monsters but had to be restricted if humanity wanted to avoid its own destruction.
At the same time, humans discovered the ritual of awakening, and some awakened supernatural abilities as they connected to the system. These talents granted humans supernatural abilities similar to the monsters, putting them on par with these creatures.
Humanity had their comeback, but to this day, they are still overpowered by the monsters, whose numbers are thousands of times greater than the human population, in which only a small percentage can awaken.
***
(Damon's POV)
This is what has been taught to us since childhood—the origin of the monsters and the supernatural, as they say.
Everyone who has reached the age of sixteen, considered an adult in this world, is allowed to take part in the ceremony, touching the awakening orb with hopes of connecting to the system, gaining some kind of supernatural ability, and becoming what we call a Hunter, an elite occupation in today's time.
The talents are what awaken. They can range from the trashiest F level to the legendary SSS level, as recorded by humanity.
Only a small percentage of humans can awaken these talents, and once they do, they are classified as a Hunter. The importance of Hunters is such that even the weakest talent bearers are looked up to by the citizens, regardless of the talent they possess.
Living in the slums for, well, what can I say—throughout my life—I finally got my chance to awaken my talent through a public ceremony organized by the association, the world government.
Born to a kind father who left me alone years ago, living a life of frugality surviving through any means I can in this god forsaken world doing any chores and jobs I can, that's how I lived in this world.
Only having the basics of the education, I also never had any chance to go to high school, never thought would get even chance of awakening and would just live a life of mediocrity at best, that's what I initially thought my life would turn out to be, before getting the news about public ceremony.
Public ceremony is an ceremony where once could get a chance to awaken their talents conducted by the United Association, a government born after the alliance of all all nations when the mankind faced the thread of monsters.
This ceremony allows even the poorest to have a chance to awaken, done for the search of talents worthy of investment.
When someone awakens, the talents sometimes have certain effects on the Hunters, sometimes triggering a phenomenon that has no scientific explanation. Or elements might dance around them. There are multiple effects where the talents can also alter one's entire personality. This is called an awakening recoil, and it is only observed during high-level awakenings.
'Maybe this is what I've been affected by…'
The moment I touched the awakening orb, I found myself in a false world, living as a teenager wasting his life reading novels. The illusion was broken soon in the real world… but for me, it felt like years living in that false world.
'Sigh, it's complicated…'
Yeah, super complicated for my tiny brain to comprehend the complete absurdity of it… but yeah, it's all real.
Recalling my last moments in that world—wait. What did I even do in that world besides reading novels?
Racking my brain as hard as I could, the only memory I remember is always lying on the bed in my dark room, reading novels… no, not novels… a novel.
'The novel… that world… protagonist Damon… Adaptive Evolution…'
Gears in my head began to turn as I recalled the contents of the novel. My eyes widened in horror as the absurdity of the thought crossed my mind.
This world… it's the same world as that of the novel.
'...And I am the protagonist?'