James slowly opened his eyes. He hadn't realized how tired he was. Awakening, even though it seemed like a simple process, had caused abrupt changes in his body that needed time to be processed healthily.
He was lying in bed with his eyes closed. He still hadn't completed all the tests.
It was like having a small world inside himself. He shifted his gaze inward, looking at his sea of soul. It was quiet, very quiet. A small space with a large blue orb floating above a rock that emerged from what looked like a shallow pool of water, maybe one or two fingers deep.
The orb must have been about ten centimeters in size. He could hold it in his hands. He was able to move his consciousness inside to do small things, like ripple the water or observe the place.
The orb in the center was his core. Inside it was a blue energy, and a thread of that energy was being pulled outward, forming a line that rose from the orb and disappeared.
His knowledge wasn't vast, but he knew certain things. That was the essence thread. It exited the sea of soul and entered the body. It was what carried energy throughout, like a vein.
When the core evolved, it created more essence threads, sending more energy out and thus strengthening the body and its energy emission.
"This vision reminds me of old mermaid movies," he thought, looking at his soul sea.
He needed to concentrate to enter and see it, so his body stayed still while doing so. More experienced Awakened could easily fight while operating within their soul sea. Multitasking was an essential skill for any Awakened.
But there was something else. Focusing more, below his core, in some hidden space, there was something more. That sensation of gaining knowledge from somewhere he had felt during his awakening seemed to come from there.
He knew that humans connected to a will called "World," the union of Heaven and Earth's will. It was from there that humans received teachings when they ranked up and faced tribulations.
But this wasn't it. It was a different will.
He looked at his phone. It was still 6 a.m. He had time to do a few things.
"What will is this, system?"
Even though he knew about that, it was very superficial. Many things weren't shared with the general public, or couldn't be explained clearly. They needed to be felt, and this was one of those things.
Focusing more, he managed to sense other wills: the sky above, the earth below. But they were weak, not like the strong will in the middle of his soul sea.
He could almost picture its shape. It was like a river spinning into itself, forming a spiral that faded away. Tumultuous and infinitely complex. He definitely couldn't extract anything from it. It was just a will, not physical or touchable in any known way.
strength: 7agility: 10constitution: 10wisdom: 10intelligence: 8>
"Now I have an element. I'll hide the Presence stat for now since it doesn't seem to change. The question mark must mean I either don't know my element or don't have one."
"Great, just three more levels and I'll unlock the shop. What element should I pick? It has to work both in and out of water," he thought.
"Deviant?" People who, besides the general abilities, developed unique personal powers. "You can sense that?"
"There are actually many Deviants nowadays. The name came from when they were still rare. Now there might be more Deviants than normal people," he thought.
"Anything else?" he asked.
He frowned. "A location?" He tried sensing something. It was like a calling, very faint. So faint that if he didn't know what to look for, he wouldn't feel it. Stranger still, it didn't seem to call him, but something inside him.
"Why can you sense it?"
He sat up and tried to move energy through his body. Now it was full of energy, mana, essence, whatever it was called.
He could feel the strength that came with it. Even without spending energy, just from its flow through his body, he was already stronger, his muscles soaked in it, his whole body energized.
"This is great. I'm finally an Awakened." He clenched his fists and smiled. "Well well, who would've thought I'd become the protagonist of a cultivation manga. Let's settle things here for now, then go check out that calling," he thought, standing up.
took a shower and changed clothes, he packed his things and left the room, wandering through the corridors until he reached reception again.
There, he saw the woman speaking to a man. He was slim but solid, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. The government's blue uniform looked good on him.
As he approached, she turned to him.
"James, good morning. I've already prepared your files. I just need to confirm your awakening and you'll be able to enter the school," she said.
"Good morning. I'm ready," he replied. She stepped forward and placed her hand on his chest.
After a few seconds, she stepped back.
"Confirmed. Mr. James, welcome to the Charlotte Government Awakened School." She extended her arm in a handshake, which James accepted.
"You can use the map on your phone or the public computers to get around. You're enrolled in all basic classes, but you can request others as well. You can adjust everything on your phone or ask me for help. I'll be available." He checked his phone, seeing he could access the school's maps and app.
"Thanks," he said cheerfully, continuing on his way.
"How great. Unfortunately, I started at the end of the year, but that's fine. They're prepared for students joining anytime." He wandered through the enormous hallways. They really looked like they were made for giants, five meters high or more.
He opened the large door and saw the inside. The sunlight was warm, the grass green. It was a massive open space with even running water. It was larger inside than out. Many students were present, some training, some showing off magic, many chatting.
"This place is amazing." His heart swelled with happiness. Now he could finally see so much more.
He hadn't done much in the past ten years.
"My first class is in room 15. That's where they give introductory lessons to those who awakened this month."
The school was enormous, truly huge, with many sections and areas inside or nearby, all surrounding the government headquarters.
He walked a long time, observing everything, a place he could only imagine existing when he was a teenager. So much life, so many colors, powers,it was all magical.
Eventually, he re-entered the hallways, followed a few, and climbed a staircase. It was strangely large. "There must be some spatial magic here. A strong one."
He finally found his classroom. The class had just begun, so students were still arriving. He moved through them and sat at a desk. The room was large, with seats descending toward the bottom where the professor and chalkboard stood, like a college lecture hall.
The students chatted excitedly. Some talked about their awakening, others about their powers. Everyone was eager to share about themselves.
The professor stood below. He was an older man with a beard split into two and a kind gaze. He wore casual clothes.
Suddenly, the chatter began to die down, gradually fading until it was silent. Everyone looked forward, noticing a shift in the old man.
"This feeling... he used sound magic to slowly silence the students. Interesting," James thought, watching him.
"Good morning, students. Welcome, today's new students." At that moment, energy formed around the professor. It grew whiter and whiter, the color of chalk, and moved toward the board. "I'm Professor Michael Wood. Call me Wood. As you can see, one of my magics is sound." Behind him, the sound of his name seemed to come alive, and with that white glow, it painted his name on the board like chalk.
The students were impressed, but no sound could be heard due to the magic circulating in the room.
"In these introductory classes, you will learn a little bit of everything. But this month we will focus on the Yellow Tree, and at the end of the month we will send you to the tutorial. Note that, as new students arrive every day, I will be as didactic as possible." His tone was calm and confident, and his voice was pleasant to listen to, no doubt a gift of his magic.
"Let's begin."