The next morning, Michael woke up feeling refreshed. Although his mind felt clearer after his Awakening, the mental exhaustion wasn't so easy to shake off.
Fortunately, a good night's sleep was the perfect remedy.
Michael didn't immediately get up from his bed but sat on the edge, reminiscing about the events of the previous day.
'It's amazing how quickly life can change,' Michael thought happily. He couldn't have asked for a better turn of events.
And the best part was still yet to come.
'Today's the day I enter the Land of Origin! I wonder what I'll encounter!' Michael's excitement grew as he thought about the new day ahead.
After shaking off the lingering drowsiness from waking up, Michael stood up and opened the shades of his windows, letting the morning light flood into his room.
'It's quite bright. What time is it now?'
He walked over to his desk, picked up his phone, and saw that it was just past 8 in the morning.
He really had gotten a good night's sleep.
'Aunt Mia should have gone to work by now. Lily should also be in school.'
With that thought, Michael left his room to check if anyone else was still in the house, but as he had expected, it was empty except for him.
Although it was still a while until noon when his delivery from the Supers Association was due to arrive, Michael decided to freshen up and wait. After all, the delivery was supposed to arrive before noon, which meant there was a chance it could come earlier. And he didn't want to leave the apartment without bathing.
Besides, once he received his order, he planned to enter the Land of Origin immediately. He really couldn't wait any longer.
Since he had some time, Michael decided to clean up the house.
'My classmates would probably never believe that even an Awakener still has to clean,' Michael mused.
Awakeners were like celebrities here, even though little was known about them except for a few clips of them in action. Just like celebrities back on Earth, there were some overzealous fans who probably couldn't imagine their favourite person doing something as mundane as using the toilet.
As a few mischievous thoughts crossed his mind, a smile appeared on Michael's face as he happily cleaned up whatever he could around the house.
After finishing his chores, Michael brushed his teeth, took a bath, and got dressed. Since the delivery still hadn't arrived, he served himself some leftover rice from the previous day and browsed the Supers Association forum on his phone while eating.
Never in either of Michael's lives had he been so interested in studying. It was understandable though—while the information was important and somewhat complicated, it felt like it had been pulled straight out of a fantasy novel, making it far more immersive than academic subjects.
Time passed like this, and a little past 11 in the morning, Michael received a phone call from an unknown number.
Curious and a bit wary, Michael picked up the call.
"Is this Mr. Norman?" a voice came through the phone. Hearing the question, Michael immediately guessed who was on the other end.
"Yes, I am," Michael replied as he stood up.
"That's great. Mr. Norman, I'm here with your delivery. I'm currently in front of your apartment building, but I don't know which floor you live on."
"Don't worry, I'll meet you there. Please wait for me," Michael said, already stepping outside his apartment and closing the door behind him.
Perhaps because the apartment building was old, or maybe because the owner was too cheap, there was no elevator—residents had to use the stairs to reach their floors. It was probably for the best, since if there was an elevator, the rent would likely be higher, and many residents wouldn't be able to afford living here.
Luckily, Michael's apartment was on the second floor, so it didn't take long for him to meet up with the delivery man who had brought his goods from the Supers Association.
When Michael saw the appearance of the delivery man, he was a little taken aback.
The man seemed to be in his late 30s and had a huge physique, but that wasn't what caught Michael's attention. What drew his eye was the mechanical limb the man had in place of his right hand.
This world was advanced enough that losing a limb wasn't considered a serious issue anymore. One could easily get a mechanical replacement that functioned almost like the real thing, except for lacking a sense of touch—and, of course, being expensive.
However, most people with mechanical limbs also purchased artificial skin to cover them, which was both realistic and far cheaper than the limb itself.
There were generally only two types of people who went without artificial skin on their mechanical limbs: those who couldn't afford it and those with a particular sense of style.
Seeing as the delivery man wore clothing that deliberately exposed his mechanical arm, he was probably the latter.
However, Michael couldn't deny that the man looked quite cool with the exposed mechanical arm—almost heroic, even.
"Are you Mr. Norman?" the delivery man politely asked as he saw Michael approaching.
"Yes, I am. I assume you have my order?" Michael replied, nodding in response to the greeting from the delivery man's partner, who was still in the van.
After confirming Michael's identity, the delivery man quickly began offloading Michael's order from the van. There were quite a few items, and even with his improved stats from awakening, Michael knew he'd be left sweating after transporting everything to his apartment. Thankfully, the delivery man with the mechanical limb offered to help, which Michael greatly appreciated.
Back in the living room of his apartment, Michael stared at the packages on the ground in front of him, feeling a twinge of pain.
"Four thousand dollars! Four thousand dollars!" Every time he repeated it, it felt like a knife stabbing into his heart, even as his hands eagerly opened the boxes.
Michael hadn't gone overboard just because he had some money in his account when he ordered from the Supers Association store. He had simply followed the recommended list of items for entering the Land of Origin for the first time and selected those he liked.
Half an hour later, Michael had opened all his deliveries and placed their contents into the storage space within his Mark of Origin.
New Awakeners usually didn't have large spatial spaces in their marks, but it was more than enough for Michael's current needs.
He didn't change into any of the leather armour he bought or equip himself with any weapons because, according to the forum, nothing on the Awakener follows them into the Land of Origin. Only items stored in the Mark of Origin could be brought in, so everything Michael thought he needed was already stored there.
Taking several deep breaths, Michael made his way into his room, feeling anticipation, excitement, and a bit of nervousness. According to the forum, connecting one's consciousness with the Land of Origin meant leaving it behind in the real world, so his body had to be placed in a suitable position before leaving.
Michael decided to lie down on his bed.
'Let's do this!'
He concentrated on the mark on his hand, trying to connect his consciousness with the Land of Origin. Since it was his first time, it wasn't easy, but thankfully, the Land of Origin was an innate part of every Awakener. It didn't take long for him to finally succeed.
Michael's right hand, which was raised in the real world, slowly fell as his body began to softly snore.