Outside a hospital room.
A young man stared at his phone, which showed the most recently updated bank balance.
$19.
A measly number, but he continued to look at it as if it would change at any moment.
And yet it remained that way no matter how much time passed.
"Hey, are you listening?"
Near him, a doctor in a white coat sighed as he saw the phone screen and balance in the corner of his eye, but he repeated himself regardless.
"We can only keep her here another three days. That is how long the payments that have been processed will last her. After that…"
He didn't finish his words as he sighed again.
The doctor in a white coat looked at the chart in his hands that showed a picture of a beautiful young woman in her 20s.
It was starkly different from the woman in the hospital bed inside the room who looked to have graying decaying skin with her stomach folding in itself.
A victim of an Evolutius Leyline Fracture that allowed terrifying Evolutius Beasts to spill out and hunt everything on their path.
Even though the Advanced Humans reacted quickly, there were always casualties whenever this occurred.
This woman happened to be wounded by a beast with a particularly nasty poison that required a great deal of money to heal.
He either had to buy a Synthesized Potion or hire an Advanced Human with a Healing Factor.
But for an Unawakened Human, unless they were working for the Government or a son or daughter of someone wealthy…
It was impossible.
The doctor shook his head as he knew very well the price of the treatment required for this woman, and he thought he could ease the heart of this man before him as he spoke.
"Achilles, right? I see you don't share her last name, so you may not be related to her. Realistically, she doesn't have a chance with the means available to you as I would not keep torturing myself if I were you. Pull the plug. Go live your life. Just-…!"
The back of the doctor smashed into a wall as he felt the full force of the man he was just talking to clash into him!
Achilles' eyes were bright red as he looked at the doctor with anger.
And the doctor looked back at him with the same emotion as he pushed him away.
"You stupid shit, I was just trying to help you! She dies in three days. What possible thing could someone like you, who has not even awakened to become an Advanced Human, do?! Fuck off from here before I call the guards on you for attacking a physician."
…!
The doctor glared at Achilles angrily as the latter could do nothing but walk away.
His steps were heavy and without any direction, but he found himself outside of the ten-story hospital soon enough.
Outside, it was raining.
The dark skies of the night were bright as Aerieal Evolutius Vehicles flew above, with even more Modified Evolutius Cars filling the streets.
The hospital was just one among the many high-story buildings filling up this small section of the Colony City of Neon.
A Colony City under the jurisdiction of the Lunaris Colony Overseers.
Here, Achilles lived with the only person close to him whose life was not claimed by Evolutius Beasts.
"Rose…"
He called out her name weakly as he felt the powerlessness to help her.
Even if he worked for a whole year, he would still not have enough money saved up for the required treatment.
He cursed himself for his weakness. He cursed that, unlike so many others that he knew, he had never awakened to become an Advanced Human.
He always knew that life was not fair, but did things really have to end like this?
Did he have to lose everyone close to him?
He stood there amidst the rain and the neon lights flashing all around, as he felt like the brightly lit night could consume him whole.
CRACK!
A booming crackle of thunder and lightning shook him as he nearly stumbled back.
It wasn't some natural phenomenon, with his gaze rising up to see an Advanced Human that seemed to be covered in blue lightning descending from the skies while carrying another injured Advanced Human in his hands.
All around him, other people observed this as they only stared briefly with amazement and awe before they went about their business.
Yes. This was the norm for them.
Their world, Ethemia, was an unfathomably vast one for as long as history could remember.
Their world was also on the brink of destruction dozens of years ago in the hands of Evolutius Beasts that lived throughout the Evolutius Catacombs stretching out across Ethemia.
But it was saved by none other than the Advanced Humans.
Cities were rebuilt.
Governments were rejuvenated and became more powerful.
Colony Cities were built at the top of Evolutius Catacombs that stretched out like a maze down below.
But in these Catacombs filled with danger, there was also the singular reason why all Advanced Humans clustered within Colony Cities.
Evolutius Crystals.
The one thing that every Advanced Human needed in order to advance their power to even more ridiculous levels. The type of currency that translated to a great deal of money to normal humans!
But…such a thing was far out of his reach.
Found in the depths of the Evolutius Catacombs, the Evolutius Crystal were lined up and hidden in places where, more often than not, powerful Evolutius Beasts gathered.
For a normal human, it was simply a death sentence to come across such a beast.
Such a type of beast was the one who injured Rose in the first place after an Evolutius Leyline Fracture- a breakage in the Catacombs that manifested above and released Beasts into the Colony City.
All of these thoughts coursed within Achilles, along with helplessness, as he thought of what he could do.
Selling organs?
Unless he was an Advanced Human, no parts of him would be worth much.
Loans? Such things were strictly regulated for Advanced Humans.
Family? None.
Friends? Nonexistent!
It was only himself and Rose.
She had taken care of him when he had lost his family, when he was at his lowest.
And right now, was he truly not going to do anything for her?
"…"
His gaze of helplessness slowly changed and became firm.
Yes, life was unfair.
But he couldn't just whine about it.
If Rose was thrown out from the necessary care that kept her alive, she would die soon after.
If she died, what else was there to live for in this world?
He clenched his fists as he thought of the only thing that could be obtained to save her.
Evolutius Crystals.
The Evolutius Catacombs where Advanced Humans roamed!
His eyes flashed with decisiveness as he looked at the hospital one last time, and he then walked along the neon streets toward a certain location.
He pulled out his phone and opened the app released by the Lunaris Colony Overseers years ago to every single human within their many Colonies.
The front of the app asked a single question.
[Have you awakened to become an Advanced Human? (Y/N)]
A simple question on the screen.
And today, he would give it a different answer!