Lunovia City, Human Domain
"A top-grade B-Rank Elemental talent? No wonder he's the renowned genius young master of Lunovia City!"
"With such a talent, there is nothing stopping Riley from being a future powerhouse of the human race!"
"I want what he has! Once he joins the Royal Academy, he'll have access to everything he could ever want! His future is boundless!"
In a dimly lit section of a school gymnasium, a crowd of young men and women alike gathered, chattering as they looked at Riley with admiration and envy.
The news of highly skilled awakeners was a significant event in the human domain! While a talent above C-Rank could get praise from a local city lord, a B-Rank talent and above would garner attention from the entire human race!
Moreover, a top-grade B Rank talent indicated the peak of potential within it's tier, surpassed only by a low-grade A Rank talent.
Ultimately, Riley's talent awakening was a free ticket to success! Even if he had awakened a top C-Rank talent, he would still be given admission to the royal academy! It was the dream of all the young people gathered here.
A smile beamed across the face of the elder overseeing the awakening. "Hahaha! Congratulations Riley! Our Lumen School has given birth to a world-shattering talent!"
"Of all the awakeners tested so far, you are the highest-ranking talent!"
After hearing this, the already excited Riley hastily shook the elder's hand with glee, it seemed his hard work had paid off!
"Thank you, Elder Bentley! I will not let you down."
Among the envious gazes of the crowd, Riley narrowed his eyes towards a specific red-haired individual who seemed to be uninterested in his awakening.
"Hey you! Bastard! What are you thinking so hard about? Is it important enough to ignore me? With your talent, you won't even awaken an E rank talent!"
"Lick my shoes and woof three times like a dog if you want my forgiveness!"
Amongst the crowd, a dazed young man named Neil, still processing his surroundings, suddenly stood out under Riley's insults.
Annoyed by the ongoing commotion, he yells out. "You, do you think you're everything just because you awakened a mere B-Grade talent?"
"Hah! I bet even my goldfish would awaken a higher talent than you."
Riley was surprised that this delicate-looking youth dared to step up. Coldly, he asked:
"You think you can awaken a talent higher than me? Why don't you go on up and try, then?"
"Unless this confidence of yours was just a mere bout of helplessness, of course!"
Neil smiled. "Sure, let's do that then."
Neil, with no hesitation, immediately shoved Riley out of the way and walked forward, the crowd making way for him.
Several young men and women sneered at this gesture, some even mocking him.
As an orphan, Neil struggled throughout life. He didn't have the finer things that those born into well-off families had, and he certainly didn't have the luxury of training whenever he wanted.
After all, he had to work to survive! He couldn't spend all of his time training and studying in the academy.
Elder Bentley notices the youth walking forward and sneers, "Tsk, another waste of my time. Who is this brat that dares to ignore the awakening order?"
A teacher quickly spoke, "Elder, that's Neil, an orphan who rarely shows up to class and is ranked 345th overall."
"A mere orphan dares to defy me. Now I'm curious!"
"If he awakens anything less than a B Grade talent, I will shatter his mana core and prevent him from using magic!"
"But if he awakens a B Grade talent or higher, I will personally take him as my disciple!"
The teachers were surprised by this but decided not to interrupt the elder. After all, he could also shatter their mana core!
"Elder!" Neil shouted with conviction. "I'm here to awaken my talent, you old fart."
"YOU DARE?" The elder shouted. "Never mind this, come on up and awaken your talent already boy."
The elder clearly didn't believe someone like Neil would awaken a B-Rank talent or higher.
In fact, he even hoped he awakened an F-Rank talent! It would bring great joy to his face to see someone who had disrespected him fall so low.
"Step forward and put your hand on the awakening orb now, boy."
With confidence, Neil steps forward and puts his hand on the orb. "To all those who doubted me, I will prove you wrong today!"
The crowd laughed at Neil's remark.
A few moments go by, and nothing happens.
Elder Bentley laughs, "Hah! It seems like you haven't awakened anything boy!"
But suddenly, at that moment-
The gymnasium shook violently, even Elder Bentley was having trouble staying still, everything seemed to be enveloped in a dark mist!
Following that, a black-hooded illusion of a reaper holding a scythe emerged from the dark mist, near the awakening orb.
The illusion began walking towards Neil, not showing signs of stopping.
"No… please!" Neil exclaimed.
"Not like this!"
Elder Bentley notices the illusion beyond the mist and quickly makes a move.
As an elder, if a student were to die during a ceremony it would look bad on his record! He couldn't let that happen.
The elder immediately shields Neil from the illusion, using all his mana reserves.
Slice!
Elder Bentleys head was cut clean from his torso. The reaper, showing indifference, continued its path towards Neil.
Neil thinks of his family, and what they would think. Although his mom died when he was just three, he still remembered glimpses of her face.
To have gotten this far, only to fall to an illusion. At your awakening ceremony, no less.
Though monsters appearing during awakenings were not uncommon, it was unheard of for them to attack anyone during the ceremony. This is why Neil is so confused!
The reaper finally reached Neil, holding its scythe towards his neck, as Neil lay helplessly on the ground, eyes closed.
The reaper spoke through muted breath, "Neil Silverstone, this is your end."
Slice!
And then… everything went dark.
A cold, mechanical voice echoed in Neil's mind.
[Condition met. Host has died.]
[System awakening…]
[Assigning appropriate system…]
[Activating system….]
After what seemed like an endless amount of time…
A bright light suddenly enveloped Neil's vision, allowing him to open his eyes.
Opening his eyes, Neil suddenly plugged his nose with his hands. He reeked!
"Where am I?" Neil wondered.
As if sensing his doubts, a translucent screen suddenly appeared before him:
[Welcome, Host.]
[Your current location is the Lunovia Cemetery, you are currently 5 feet underneath the ground.]
[Would you like to escape using your one-time system request?]
System? Neil pondered. Was he going crazy, or was this real? And why was he in a cemetery?
"System, can you hear me?"
[Yes, Host. What do you need?]
"What is the system, and why am I in a cemetery?"
[The system was your awakening gift. It is a tool to help you advance.]
[Would you like to see your status?]
"Yes… but why am I in the cemetery?"
[Currently Host, you are alive, but you were previously dead.]
[The System has steadily been accumulating energy for the past 300 years to awaken you.]
[As for why you died, it was during your awakening ceremony.]
[Your gift was too powerful, and it attracted the attention of the Death God. He took matters in his own hands and took care of you.]
"Wow… so if it wasn't for this system, I would really be dead?"
[Yes, Host.]
"System, show me my status."
[Name: Neil Silverstone
Talent: Bringer of all Evil (SSS+ Top-Grade)
Level: 0
Evil Points: 0
Skills: 0
Current task: Escape from Lunovia Cemetery!]
Even the supreme powerhouses of the human domain didn't have an SSS+ grade talent! At most, the king of the royal family had an S+ grade talent!
Neil was in a league of his own!
"Wow! An SSS+ Grade talent… do I really deserve this?"
"Of course I do! I'm Neil Silverstone, not some hunk of flesh like Riley."
"Oh, speaking of Riley… I bet that bastard died by now! System, what happened to Riley in the past 300 years?"
[During your awakening Host, everyone in the gymnasium died immediately upon contact with the black mist.]
…
"Hahaha! That bastard acted all high and mighty and in the end he died like a fool!"
"Looks like I really am a bringer of all evil!"
"System, get me the heck out of this cemetery!"
[As you wish, Host.]
Suddenly, as if sensing his will, the world began to shift.
A mound of dirt rose suddenly from the cemetery, bringing the submerged coffin along with it.
Out of the corner of his eye, a groundskeeper for the cemetery noticed something unusual.
"Have my eyes been playing tricks on me, or did I just see a coffin being lifted out of the ground?"
"Is this a miracle?! What is happening right now?!"
A white light suddenly coated the coffin, and the coffin began to open by itself!
A boy no older than 16 suddenly stepped out of the coffin, stretching his legs and his arms as if he had only been asleep for a few hours.
He breathed in the cool, crisp air of the night in the cemetery.
"Ahh… finally free from that stuffy coffin air."
"Has it only been 300 years? It looks like it's been thousands!'
In the sky, magical ships could be seen moving around constantly. It's no surprise there would be confusion!
Magical ships had been a dream of humans for thousands of years, and here they are!
In just 300 years, had humans truly accomplished this feat?
A few steps away, the groundskeeper began walking towards Neil.
He had been worried that some kind of miracle had happened, but it ended up being a boy fresh out of awakening testing out his talent.
"Boy! Do you think you're someone special? Why are you using your talent to lift coffins out of the sky?"
"Don't you know you aren't allowed to do this?"
But suddenly, a mechanical noise resounded in Neil's head-
[Ding! Congratulations Host on completing your task!]
[Task completed x1: Get out of the cemetery!]
[Task rewards: 500 Evil Points, D-Rank fireball skill!]
Knowledge of using the fireball skill immediately went into Neil's head.
"A skill!?" Neil thought. "A skill could take years to practice and learn, but for him, he learned one in a few seconds!"
Neil suddenly shouted, "Gramps I'm having a good day so far, don't ruin it for me!"
The old groundskeeper suddenly got angry, displaying his power so that Neil could see he meant business.
"Boy, I'll have you know I'm a D-Grade awakener! I can send you to the authorities if I want to."
"Get out of my cemetery right now or your life will be over!"
[New Task!]
[Task: Eliminate the groundskeeper in an evil way.]
[Task rewards: 1000 Evil Points]
Neil narrowed his eyes at the screen in front of him.
He thought, "Eliminate the groundskeeper? That's something I didn't expect!"
"But no matter, whoever stands in my way is an obstacle! And obstacles will die. "
Neil glared at the groundskeeper and said coldly, "You sound impressive, but I'm better. What do you say we duel it out? Winner takes the others life."
With that, he took a step forward and launched his fireball skill. Fire elements spiraled around his fist and came together in a ball, hurling directly toward the groundskeeper!
The groundskeeper's heart trembled. Such a domineering force!
If he faced this fireball head on, he would undoubtedly suffer severe injuries!
"What a wicked skill! This brat must be a top-tier powerhouses' child, otherwise how could he know how to use a skill right after awakening!"
As Neil's fireball came closer, he quickly countered with a D-Rank spell Earth Rock, his fist was wrapped in a rock formation and sent the rock towards the fireball!
The two spells collided, causing the ground beneath them to shake slightly.
The groundskeeper suffered some backlash, unlike Neil, who seemed perfectly fine.
Neil's aura was like a beast, his mana surging like a wild storm!
As his aura closed in, the groundskeeper's face turned pale.
Neil launched three fireballs back-to-back!
"What is wrong with this guy? Why is he so insistent on killing me? I am just a groundskeeper!"
Logically, it should be impossible for me to be overpowered by this brat!
Although Neil was only at level 0, his mana levels were at a level 100s. This is due to the systems buff!
Terrified, the groundskeeper began to run away.
Unfortunately, the fireballs were just too fast and collided with him instantly!
The ground was lit on fire, and the groundskeeper fell to the ground!
"Not bad!" Neil remarked. "So this is what it feels like to be powerful?"
"While I could put him out of his misery, I want to see him burn for a little while longer. After all, the system did say to eliminate him in the evilest way possible!"