Miles woke up with a jolt, only to find himself all alone in Room 10. Glancing at the clock on the wall, panic set in—he was late again! And not just for any day, but the day. He scrambled out of bed, rushed into the bathroom, and got dressed in a hurry. Without wasting another second, he dashed toward the main hall.
When he arrived, he saw all the other kids lined up in front of the stage. Letting out a sigh of relief, he quickly slipped into the line at the back. He was just in time. Taking a deep breath, he finally allowed himself to take in the stage ahead.
Ryan his friend was standing in front far from him. His other roommates were also standing at different places. The stage before him was grand, adorned with banners and lights that shimmered with a strange energy. At the center stood a figure in elaborate robes—someone Miles didn't recognize. Before him, hovering slightly above the ground, was a foggy blue orb. Its glow pulsed like the beat of a heart, casting an otherworldly aura over the room.
The figure on stage, a priest-like figure dressed in fine robes, motioned toward the warden. With a quiet nod, the warden signaled to the first child in line, Sam Carter, who stepped forward.
The priest gestured to the blue orb. "Place your hands upon it," he said in a commanding tone.
Sam, looking nervous, placed both hands on the ball. The moment his fingers made contact, the room went silent. Sweat began to bead on his forehead as his body trembled. The audience watched in rapt attention, the air thick with anticipation. Five minutes passed in agonizing stillness. Then, the orb began to glow. The priest's eyes narrowed in focus as he gazed at the shifting light. Finally, he spoke aloud, his voice carrying across the room. "Sam Carter, Talent—Steel Fist. Rank C."
A murmur rippled through the crowd, and a few whispers of envy followed. Sam, drenched in sweat, couldn't contain his joy. If his body had allowed it, he would have leaped into the air in pure elation.
The priest continued, "Leo Carter, Talent—Friend of Fire. Rank E." The next child stepped forward, their talent revealed with a simple gesture.
One by one, the rest of the children took their turns. "Jack Harper, Talent—Tasting Tongue. Rank F." "Max Harrison, Talent—Big Bulky Body. Rank E." "Ryan Mitchell, Talent—Walker in the winds. Rank D."
Everyones result varied. Some were happy, others disappointed. Miles, watching closely, could feel the weight of the moment. He silently hoped for a C-rank, like Sam's, or maybe a D-rank like Rayn's. Anything above E-rank would be a victory in his eyes. But he knew too well how difficult it was to get a good talent. A D- rank talent was 100 times rare than a E rank one, C rank ones where 1000 times rare than a D-rank , and B-rank was 10000 times rare than C-rank.
As the girl in front of him stepped up to the stage, Miles' nerves started to mount. He watched as she placed her hands on the orb, the swirling colors reflecting in her wide, anxious eyes. The moment passed, and she stepped down with a nervous smile, her talent revealed. It wasn't anything extraordinary.
Finally, the warden looked at him, and with a gentle push, Miles was urged forward.
The air around him seemed to grow heavier as he approached the ball. His heart thudded against his chest. He wasn't sure what to expect, but he braced himself for the moment that would define his future.
As soon as miles put his hands on the ball he suddenly felt himself standing in a pitch black space which felt like starry sky. He was not too shocked as his knew that this was inside his head, his sub-conscious mind.
Ahead of him, floating, was a dimly lit grey mist ball. It hovered in the air, just within reach. Miles instinctively moved toward it, his feet floating effortlessly across the dark space. His thoughts raced. He wasn't shocked—he had always known about this from books and his teachers in school. Talents manifested in many ways, often revealing themselves years before the official ceremony. Miles had always known that his mind was sharper than others. His eyesight and perception were better, more focused than those of his peers. He had often wondered if his talent lay within his mind—his ability to see things others couldn't, or perhaps his incredible knack for calculating every situation down to the last detail.
The amount of time required to awaken is also related to the use and level of the talent. After some time passed Miles knew that his talent was at least D-Rank. But as he was getting happy about his talent a white colored ball started to travel towards Miles. Miles who saw this didn't knew what was happening. He knew about dual talents as some gifted people awaken two talents at start or some acquired later on in life. But he has never heard about a talent ball moving on its own inside the consciousness. As he was wondering what was happening, the white ball came towards him and pushed the grey ball away and started to absorb Miles mental energy(Mental energy makes the talent awaken)
After what felt like ages to Miles the ball finally stopped, Miles found himself back on the stage. His body was slick with sweat, more than any of the others had been. His eyes flickered to the priest, who stared at the glowing orb in front of him, confusion evident in his expression.
The priest took a long moment, his brow furrowed as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. The room was silent, the weight of the moment pressing down on everyone present.
After a long pause, the priest spoke, his voice tentative. "Miles Ash, Talent—Good Luck."
There was a collective gasp from the crowd. A talent related to luck was unheard of—so rare, so unconventional. People exchanged glances, unsure of how to react. But what shocked everyone more was that the priest didn't announce a rank.
The priest looked at Miles, pity in his eyes. "The awakening ball couldn't determine the rank of your talent. This means that your talent is either beyond or below the range of the awakening ball."
A-rank talents were not so easily awakened in normal people as it required many resources to be used from childhood to raise the rank of talent at the awakening and Miles was just an orphan.
After the ceremony ended, Miles was taken to a separate room for further testing. The process was simple: He was to choose one of nine boxes that contained treasures, each capable of slightly altering or determining his luck. Miles picked randomly, though the results were as expected. His luck was slightly better than normal, but not by much.
After leaving the room Miles was deep in thought and what he was thinking was not about the low rank of his talent but his status window.
In this world everyone has a status window which gives details of the skills, level, and talents and other things of the person. In this world,outside the cities in the wild is where monsters roamed dungeons hid and countless other things happened ,it is common knowledge that anything can happen in the wild. A person's level determined their survivability in the wild, it also increase the lifespan. Some could live for centuries if they were strong enough.
The reason for the existence of the status window and monsters and dungeons, ss far as everyone knew it was always like this.
Miles stared at the status window, his mind racing as he analyzed the information:
Age: 10
Level: 5
Health: 50/50
Mana: 10 (0.001)
Talents: Good Luck (XX) (Level too low for description)
Super Perceptive Eyes (Unawakened) (Description available after awakening)
Skills: None
His mind was calm despite the confusion. He knew that his man and health were above average for a his age and level, but the lack of clarity about his talent left him with many unanswered questions.
The orphanage wasn't poor by any means. It had resources—enough for the children to receive basic training in the form of E-rank skill books after their awakening.
The shopkeeper eyed Miles' status on the screen at his counter, at first he was unsure what to suggest to Miles as his talent was unheard of. Learning compatible skills is far easier than ones which you have no affinity with. After thinking for a while he asked Miles "What skill book would you like to take."
"I'll take 'Basic Perception Eyes,'" Miles replied quietly.
The skill book was registered to his name, and after a quick meal, Miles returned to his room. His friends were chatting about their talents and skills, but Miles only nodded silently. Miles was not a very talkative guy and remained silent most of the time. After seeing his friend Ryan came to him and started asking him questions about his tests and the skill he chose. Soon after they started to use the skill books they got from the store.
Learning a skill was not an easy task, to learn a skill one first needs the skill book which are expensive. After someone gets a skill from a skill book the book disappears into the air. After using the book one has to comprehend the skill before being able to use it.
After Miles used the skill book it disappeared and he soon sat in a lotus position on his bed and started comprehending the skill in his mind.
Later that night just as Miles was about to stop comprehending and go to sleep something unexpected happened which made his jaw drop.