The night was still, except for the occasional gust of wind that whispered through the trees surrounding Morgath's camp. He sat in the darkness of his tent, the only light coming from a flickering lantern. Outside, the world was on the verge of transformation. Midnight was minutes away, marking not only the start of a new year but the beginning of a new era—one that would forever reshape Earth as people knew it then.
Morgath stared at his hands, feeling the hum of magic just beneath his skin. He had sensed it for weeks now, a growing energy that mirrored the rising tension in the world. It wasn't just about the new year. The air itself seemed to crackle with anticipation, as if the earth was preparing for something monumental.
Since he still had time, he decided to further meditate on the repair spell, to master tits first. His breath slowed as he focused, meditating on the repair spell he had been working on for days. He could feel the pieces of the spell forming in his mind, fragments of understanding that had been elusive until now. But there was something else—a subtle shift in the atmosphere, a deep stirring in the mana that surrounded him.
[The Awakening will begin soon.]
The system's voice broke through his thoughts, startling him from his meditation. Morgath's heart quickened. He had been waiting for this moment, preparing for it ever since he first sensed the changes. The clock on his interface ticked closer to midnight, counting down the final moments of the old world. Everything would be different after this.
As the last seconds slipped away, Morgath stood and moved outside, feeling the cool night air on his skin. He gazed at the sky, a vast canvas of stars spread out above him, untouched by the chaos to come. A deep calm settled over him, and he knew that this was the stillness before the storm.
Midnight struck.
In that instant, the world seemed to pause. The wind stilled, the forest quieted, and the air thickened with power. Morgath felt it surge through him—mana, pure and unbound, rushing into the earth and sky like a tidal wave. He immediataly noticed a few things shining around, those should be the spirit stones. He quickly went into direction of the closest one and asked.
"How many such stones spawned and will be there following waves? I assume yes, so I should ask, how often will this happen?"
[Over 800 milion rank 1 stones have spawned, one for ten alive members of intelligent species living on this planet. From now on, they will condense each year. In ten years almost all people should be able to advance to rank 2.]
"What do you mean by rank 1 stones, are they split into multiple ranks?"
[Indeed, once you advance to rank 2, the rank 1 stones are useless. On the other way, you can use higher rank stones to level up in lower ranks, they become ten times more effective with every rank of difference between you. Though, it is wasteful to use them like that, since rank 2 stones condense every 10 years and so on.]
While they talked, Morgath put the stones he picked up in his backpack, soon the number of them reached 25, which is enough for one person to reach rank 2. Though he didn't stop, he still needs two complete sets for his parents, he also wishes to give them as an acknowledgement to Kenji - his swordmanship teacher and Velkor - the smith. Besides it would be nice to have some on him, since they will become a new currency. As he bent down to pick up yet another stone, he noticed a weird-looking plant, he was sure that there shouldn't exist something like that on Earth. Alarmed, he asked the System what it is.
[This is a rank 1 plant, useful for its usage in alchemy. Similar to the stones, those plants will appear yearly, as soon as they are in the first rank.]
"Maybe, I'm looking too far into the future, but now that you mentioned an alchemy, how should I make a pill that will enhance my stats?"
[It's good that you brought it up, I was about to tell you about it. Do you probably feel some kind of pull in a certain direction.]
"Yes, indeed, now that you have told me to focus on it I feel as if something was calling me from the east. What is it? Is it going to help me become an alchemist?"
[It should be a main treasure of this planet for this year. Every time it will spawn in a some hard to reach place.]
"What is it?"
[It's a wish.]
"A wish?"
[Yes, it's a wish. As soon, as you reach that place, you could wish for a mastery of a skill of your chosing, though you are limited, by your stats in how much you understand.]
"And those wishes, are they a one-time thing for a new planet to enter a cultivation world or they will reappear in some time similar to spiritual stones?"
[They are not only similar, they are the same. The rank 1 wishes will appear every year in a different, hard to reach place and will be only avaible for use of the people who are in the first rank. For the second rank wishes and beyond, they don't provide additional benefits if someone, who claims them is in the lower rank compared to them. But it doesn't matter, since it's difficult to contend with people of higher ranks, who obviously also strive to acquire them.]
"You calmed me down, with the fact that they are renewable. I probably don't stand a chance to acquire this one, since if it's a hard reach place on the east, it's surely in the Himalayas. With an almost sure airports closure, I would simply not make it in time before someone else already living in that area."
"I guess I will simply follow my plans, collect as much spiritual stones, as I can. Additionally I can also harvest those plants, after all even if I will learn how to concoct pills, I would still need to have resources for their concoction."
For the next few hours, Morgath moved quickly, picking up spirit stones and harvesting strange plants wherever he could find them. The night was still, outside of the faint glow of distant lights as other people, now aware of the stones, began searching too. Though Morgath was in a relatively isolated area, it granted him only a brief head start. Soon, others were searching the outskirts of town. Still, by the time dawn broke, he had gathered over four hundred stones.
Debating whether he should take stones from others, he ultimately decided against it. He had more than enough, and starting a conflict so early into this new era felt like unnecessary trouble. His mind shifted toward his parents, ensuring their safety by providing them with the stones.
When he arrived at their home, he saw traces of skirmishes outside, evidence of the chaos sweeping through the world. But fortunately, no one had broken into his parents' home.
His mother, Angela, greeted him with a worried expression. "Morgath, are you alright? We heard the sounds of fighting."
"I'm fine, Mom," he reassured her. "I stayed out of trouble. I didn't even run into anyone."
After giving her a quick hug, he reached into his pack and handed both of his parents two full sets of spirit stones. "Absorb these. They'll give you the strength you'll need in this new world."
His parents followed his instructions, their expressions turning to wonder as they absorbed the stones. It didn't take long, just a few seconds for each stone. When they finished, Morgath asked, "How do you feel?"
His father, Thomas, clenched his fist, testing his newfound strength. "I feel... powerful. But I don't think we are strong enough to call ourself rank 2 yet."
"Hmm? Indeed, but why it's like that? You should have advanced by now." At this point, system explained to him the reason for his confusion and the young man soon described it to his parents.
"Ahh, I understand it now. That's because you need to will it in order for the process to begin," Morgath explained, glancing at the system panel. "It will take a year, and during that time, you won't be able to learn and improve either your physicall and magical skills, it won't matter how much you will train. For now, don't initiate the process. I think, you should wait until I can make enhancement pills for you. Due to them you will be stronger than the people in your own rank. As for people in higher ranks, it's unlikely that you would meet them, but if it ever happens they shouldn't have a reason to go against you."
His parents agreed, trusting Morgath's judgment. They would wait, using this time to train their bodies further before advancing.
As the morning gave way to noon, Morgath visited Kenji and Velkor, giving each of them a set of stones. They decided to listen to min and focus on body tempering first before absorbing the stones for full potential.
By the time Morgath returned to his parents' home later that day, the chaos had resurged, people started to look if someone else has additional stones, which they didn't use. There were already a few instances of murder, government failed to cope with the changes that arrived. He decided to stay with them for a few days to ensure their safety, knowing that while they were strong, they lacked the combat experience to defend themselves in this new world.