“Selene Hoestar! Beast Master Class!” the principal announced.

  The girl smiled brightly before hurrying down the stairs. Her friends rushed to her. Her parents cried openly. Her father clapped her shoulder with pride.

  “Next! Jayden Lawrence!”

  A tall boy with trembling hands stepped forward. He wiped his palms against his trousers before placing one hand on the Awakening Device. The crystal sphere flickered, then gave off a faint, steady glow.

  “Mechanic Class! Next!” the principal declared.

  Jayden sagged with relief. His friends burst into chatter the moment he stepped down.

  “I wish I can get Mechanic Class,” someone muttered nearby.

  “Mechanic? Do you know how costly it is to maintain that Class?” another replied.

  “It’s costly in the beginning, but it earns tons of money later on. That’s why I want to be a Mechanic! My dream is to be rich!”

  “Bah, mechanics are useless. One slap from a monster can kill them! You should pray you become a Martial Artist!”

  “F*ck off, you sweaty musclehead!”

  The awakening ceremony continued, name after name echoing across the grounds.

  There were four starter Classes:

  Mage.

  Martial Artist.

  Mechanic.

  Beast Master.

  Three hundred years ago, Earth had connected to the Land of Origin. The Land of Origin was a place of treasures and trials. One could level up there, grow stronger, and find relics that could change a person’s fate. It was also filled with monsters, cursed lands, and dangers that did not care about age. It was rumored that countless races from across the universe could enter that land. Humanity arrived there late.

  At first, survival was the only goal. But those who managed to endure and reach their first Class Evolution earned something valuable. They gained the right to return to Earth with their power and treasures intact.

  From that point onward, travel between Earth and the Land of Origin became possible. With resources and technology brought back from the Land of Origin, humanity advanced at an unprecedented pace and eventually expanded into space. A golden age began.

  Now, on the first day of every month, mass awakening took place across the planets owned by Human Federation.

  Every person was guaranteed to awaken and be summoned to Land of Origin at midnight on their eighteenth birthday. To increase survival rates, students were artificially awakened one month prior with the Awakening Device. If everyone awakened together, there was a chance they would arrive in the same region of the Land of Origin. Numbers meant safety. Especially in the beginning.

  “Ren Buttowski!” the principal called.

  “Good luck. Go break a leg.” Benjamin grinned and patted Ren’s back.

  “Thanks,” Ren said, managing a small smile.

  He walked up the steps. Each step felt heavier than the last.

  Please, please, please! Give me Martial Artist or Beast Master! I don’t want to be a Mechanic!

  He placed his hand on the Awakening Device.

  Martial Artist! or Beast Master!

  One of them!

  The crystal began to glow.

  At first, it was normal. Then it brightened. And brightened again.

  Within seconds, the light erupted, flooding the entire stage. It was so intense that people shielded their eyes. For a moment, everything turned white.

  When the light finally faded, silence swallowed the academy ground.

  “Uh… is the light supposed to be that bright?” someone whispered.

  That was enough.

  “I’ve never seen that amount of light!”

  “Did he awaken a special class? Is that even possible?”

  “Let me have your children Ren!”

  “Shut the f*ck up, Brian! You are a man!”

  "So what? The technology these days—"

  Ren blinked, still seeing afterimages. His heart was pounding in his ears. He looked at the principal, waiting.

  The principal stared back at him with an expression Ren could not immediately understand. It was not awe. It was not excitement.

  It was… pity?

  “Ren Buttowski! Mage!”

  The word struck like a hammer.

  Silence returned, heavier than before.

  Ren’s thoughts went blank. His face drained of color. The brightness earlier now felt like a cruel joke.

  “Go down and say goodbye to your family.” The principal sighed quietly.

  Ren nodded stiffly and walked down the stairs.

  The students near the front instinctively stepped away from him. Their eyes followed him warily.

  “A Mage? How many is that today?”

  “Twelfth.”

  “I hope I don’t get summoned near those monsters.”

  “F*ck, why was the ninth amendment passed? There is no need to keep those monsters alive—”

  “Shut up. You want to get executed?”

  The light in Ren’s eyes dimmed.

  He could hear the cruel whispers and feel the malicious gazes.

  He looked at Benjamin, his best friend. Benjamin flinched upon making eye-contact and quickly moved away.

  ‘I’m a Mage.’ Benjamin’s fear reminded him of that fact.

  Fifty years ago, something changed in the Land of Origin, and a catastrophic event occurred.

  [Fall of Mana.]

  Mana, the source of a Mage’s power, became poisoned.

  Any Mage who had even a trace of it turned into a Corrupted One. They lost their minds and attacked anything alive.

  That was the start of the Era of Heretical Purge. Humanity fought desperately against the Corrupted Ones. Newly awakened Mages became instant enemies. People began executing them before they could transform.

  For ten years, fear ruled the world.

  Then the Mana Sealing Bracelet was invented. It severed the connection between Mages and Mana, preventing new transformations. With no fresh Corrupted Ones, humanity eventually suppressed the rest.

  Peace returned, though the scars never faded.

  The ninth amendment declared that all Mages must wear the Mana Sealing Bracelet. And harming a Mage under the pretext of fear would result in immediate execution.

  On paper, Mages were protected.

  In reality, they were avoided.

  A hollow melancholy Ren filled Ren’s heart. It felt as if nothing mattered anymore.

  I’m going to die.

  A Mage, who could not use mana, in a land filled with monsters who could crush tanks? It was a death sentence. But Ren didn’t feel anything. He had given up.

  The math professor came up to him and made him wear the Mana Sealing Bracelet. He gave Ren a pat on the back, a look of pity, and left.

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  Ren stared at the bracelet. Then, his eyes moved around, taking in the scenes in the academy ground.

  Most people were happy. Even if they did not awaken the Class they wanted, they were still going to the Land of Origin, a place filled with hopes and dreams. They would kill monsters, level up, and forge their own legends.

  Only a few had the opposite reaction. They were students like Ren. Students who awakened as Mages.

  He could hear cries from their direction. The cries were heart wrenching, as if they were mourning the dead. No, not as if. They were mourning the dead. The Mages might as well be declared dead already.

  Ren saw a mother hugging her child with tears.

  “Sorry… sob, sob… Mommy is sorry. It’s mommy’s fault… you were born with Mage Class. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

  Her son hugged her back, crying, “It’s not your fault, Mom. Sob, please don’t say that.”

  Ren stared at them.

  Just then, powerful hands landed on his shoulders.

  “Sorry, buddy. I was late. Work had me caught up.”

  Ren turned his head, staring at the man with a powerful physique.

  James Buttowski, Ren’s father.

  Seeing his apologetic expression, Ren shook his head.

  “Don’t worry about being late. I’m a Mage. Being here would’ve just wasted your time—”

  “Ren,” his father’s voice cut through his words. “Look at me when you talk.”

  Ren met his father's gaze.

  His father’s eyes were clear. There was no sorrow in them, no regret, no disappointment. Only confidence.

  And in those eyes, Ren saw his own reflection.

  He saw himself standing there with a hollow gaze and an expression that looked far more hopeless than he had realized.

  “You are finally looking straight ahead.” His father grinned. “Now, what have I always taught you?”

  “…It’s not over until you give up.”

  “Correct!” The man’s meaty palm struck Ren's shoulder happily. “So why are you looking like a dead man already! You’ve been taught about constellations and different monster species around each Base! Use that knowledge to find a Base nearest to you when you arrive in the Land of Origin."

  “But I can’t cast spells—”

  “You can fight, Ren. You can level up, even if you are a mage. You’ve always been smart, so you definitely remember about monsters’ and their weaknesses taught in the academy. Use that knowledge to kill the monsters. If you can’t do it with fists, use something else. Improvise. Adapt to your enemies. And when you level up, put the stats into Strength, Agility, and Constitution. That will give you a sturdy body. Use that to reach the Base!”

  Each word his father spoke resonated deep within Ren’s heart.

  Right.

  He could still level up.

  So what if he couldn’t use magic?

  He could find teammates, he could use the surrounding terrain to his advantage, he could lure the monsters into a fight against each other and finish the weaker ones to level up.

  His father grinned, seeing determination return to Ren’s eyes.

  “Do whatever you can to reach the Base. Then wait. I will come to find you. So, what if you can’t return to our world anymore? We can settle in the Land of Origins! Just father and son! We will be called the unstoppable duo! Hahaha, you will be the brain, I will be the brawn!” his father laughed.

  To return back to one's world, the awakener must go through their first Class Evolution. But Mages could not do that, since their Mana was sealed by Mana Sealing Bracelet. They were forever stuck in the Land of Origin.

  “Stop saying stupid things. Do you know the distance between each Base, and how many Bases there are?” Ren shook his head with a wry smile. “It would take years, if not decades, to find me. Not to mention the powerful monsters that you will encounter while travelling the Land of Origin. Just—”

  “I will come to find you. I promise,” his father cut him off. He was still smiling; however, his eyes were serious. “I won’t give up. So don’t you dare give up either. Survive. Get stronger. Live. No matter what it takes.”

  Ren’s lips were pressed in thin lines.

  He knew his father. The man would do what he had said. He would search for Ren even though it meant travelling through the monster infested lands.

  A small, genuine smile appeared on his face, and he made a promise to himself.

  He would do whatever it takes to survive. He would live. He would make sure he could meet his father again.

  Laughing and talking, the father-son duo returned home. They were not mourning like the other mages. They smiled, and spoke as if they were going on a long journey.

  They had a fancy dinner. James prepared Ren’s favorite dishes. After dinner, they sat at the roof and stared at the stars, reminiscing about their past. At midnight, a screen appeared before Ren’s eyes.

  [You will be summoned to the Land of Origins in thirty seconds.]

  Ren stood up. His father rose with him. They gave each other a hug. No words were spoken between them. James’ tightened his arms, as if hoping Ren would not go away. Ren smiled, and patted his arms.

  [You are being summoned to the Land of Origin.]

  The world dissolved.

  When Ren could finally see again, he was standing in a completely different place.

  [You have awakened. Please check your Status.]

  The words floated in front of Ren’s eyes in faint blue light.

  He did not open his status immediately. Instead, he slowly turned in place and examined his surroundings.

  The first rule drilled into him at Blue Stone Academy was simple: check your surroundings first, open status later.

  The Land of Origin did not guarantee a safe landing. While no one would be summoned inside solid rock or suspended in the air, it was entirely possible to appear inside a monster’s territory. Many had died in the first five minutes because they were too distracted by their status window to notice what was around them.

  Ren flexed his fingers and checked his body.

  He was still wearing the same clothes from before his summoning. His jacket felt slightly heavier on the right side, and when he slid his hand inside, he felt the cool band of the Mana Sealing Bracelet resting against his wrist. It was hidden beneath the sleeve, exactly as before. However, when he reached for the pen he usually carried in his inner pocket, his fingers met nothing. He checked the other pocket. Empty.

  He exhaled quietly.

  Anything that could be used as a weapon was removed upon summoning. That was standard. The Land of Origin did not allow newcomers to carry even the smallest object that might give them an advantage. Only after one completed their first Class Evolution could items be transferred between worlds, and even then, it required spending Stat points proportional to the item’s strength.

  “It’s just salt here,” Ren muttered under his breath.

  Salt.

  Everywhere he looked, there was salt.

  Giant pillars of white mineral rose from the ground, thicker than cars and as tall as five-story buildings. Mountains of salt stood in uneven ridges. Smaller mounds of salt dotted the land like frozen waves. The ground itself was grainy and brittle, crunching faintly under his boots.

  Salt. Salt. And more salt. It was all he could see.

  He climbed the small hill of salt directly in front of him, careful with each step.

  The surface shifted slightly under his weight, and he adjusted his balance instinctively. His body remembered the drills from academy training. Light steps, low center of gravity, eyes scanning constantly. He needed to be more attentive, knowing his Mage Class was useless and it would not help him.

  As he reached the top of the mound, he straightened slowly and looked out.

  His body stiffened.

  In every direction, there were salt mountains, salt pillars and salt plateaus stretching to the horizon.

  It felt as though he had stepped into a world carved entirely from a single mineral—Salt.

  No.

  Not everything was salt.

  In the center of that vast white salt sea stood a giant woman.

  She leaned slightly backward, as if frozen in the middle of a fall. A colossal spear had pierced straight through her chest and embedded into the ground below, pinning her upright.

  Even from this distance, Ren could tell she was larger than a ten-story building. But it wasn’t her size that made his skin crawl. It was her head.

  It had been severed.

  The neck was cut clean, and the head hung upside down, attached only by a thin strand of flesh that stretched unnaturally long. The features were delicate, eerily lifelike. She did not look like a statue, and—

  Her pupils moved.

  Slowly, her eyes began turning in Ren’s direction.

  Just before they aligned with him, something yanked him backward.

  His body slammed into the slope of the salt mound, and his face was forced into the brittle ground. Salt scraped against his cheek. A firm hand pressed down on the back of his head. A breath brushed against his ear.

  “Don’t make a noise, and don’t move.”

  Ren’s body went rigid. His mind raced.

  An enemy?

  He tensed, preparing to twist his hips and reverse their positions. Even without weapons, he had trained in basic grappling and counter-holds.

  The voice spoke again, low and urgent. “I’m going to let you go. Don’t raise your head, and slowly move down the mountain. We can’t let that giant decapitated woman look at us.”

  “…”

  “Do you understand?”

  He gave a slow nod.

  The hand eased away.

  Ren shifted his arms carefully, ready to react if attacked. He turned his head slightly and saw the person who had pinned him down.

  A woman around his age.

  Her red hair was crudely cut to shoulder length, uneven at the edges as if done with a dull blade. Bright green eyes stared back at him, sharp and alert. Dark circles marked the skin beneath them. A large sword rested across her back, the hilt worn from use.

  Under the dirt and grim, she looked like a beauty. But more importantly—

  She is a Martial Artist, Ren concluded immediately. The strength in her grip had not been ordinary.

  “Climb down. Slowly,” she said. Her voice was steady now but still tense. “This is a salt mountain. If it breaks or crumbles, the giant decapitated woman will be able to look directly at us.”

  She lowered herself carefully, almost crawling down the slope. Ren followed, moving in controlled steps. The salt shifted under their weight, and small grains slid past his boots.

  When they were far enough from the peak and shielded by another ridge, she stopped. From her pocket, she pulled out a small stone.

  “Watch this,” she said.

  She tossed it upward with a quick flick of her wrist. The stone arced above the ridge and crossed into the line of sight of the giant decapitated woman.

  Mid-air, the stone began to crumble.

  By the time it fell, it was no longer a stone.

  It was salt.

  Ren felt a chill crawl down his spine. Watching something transform like that stirred something deep and instinctive in him. A kind of fear that bypassed logic.

  “This is what happens when the giant decapitated woman looks at anything. You saw the salt mountains and pillars. I believe… they were once normal mountains, monsters, awakeners, and forests.”

  She swallowed.

  Even Ren felt his throat go dry. He turned slightly toward the direction where the giant decapitated woman stood. The mountain blocked direct view, yet for a brief moment, he felt—

  As if an eye had glanced over him.

  He flinched.

  What is this place? There had been no record of a region like this in academy archives. Salt deserts existed. Mineral plains existed. But nothing like this, he thought grimly.

  “I’m Freya, a Martial Artist. I was summoned to the Land of Origin two months ago,” she said after a moment. Her shoulders relaxed slightly when she saw he was listening.

  She extended her hand. Ren looked at it for a second. Although it was suspicious how she suddenly appeared near him, she did save him. He had no reason to antagonize her.

  “I’m Ren. I was summoned just moments ago,” he replied, shaking her hand.

  Freya gave a small nod.

  “We need to move. You should be able to feel the giant decapitated woman’s gaze even with the mountains hiding us. It knows where we are. I don’t think we can be turned into salt unless she sees us directly, but I don’t want to stay and find out if she has other abilities,” she said.

  “Alright. Just give me a moment to check my status,” Ren replied.

  “Okay,” Freya nodded, keeping her eyes on the ridges around them.

  Ren focused inward and opened the blue window.

  [Name: Ren Buttowski (Level 1)]

  [Class: Mage]

  [Elements: Wind, Water, Earth, Fire]

  [Spells: Wind Bullet, Water Bullet, Earth Bullet, Fire Bullet]

  [Talent: Heir of Demonic Magic]

  [Strength: 4 / Agility: 6 / Constitution: 4 / Mana: 0 (Sealed)]

  [Free Stats: 0]

  [EXP: 0]

  It looked standard at first glance. Four basic elements. Four basic projectile spells.

  Physical stats were slightly above average, but that made sense since he was trained by James. Mana was sealed, as expected. Then his eyes stopped at one word.

  Talent.

  Talent? What’s that?

  At Blue Stone Academy, the instructors had covered Status windows thoroughly. Name. Level. Class. Stats. Skills. Spells. But no one had ever mentioned a Talent category. Not even as a rumor.

  Ren focused on it and clicked.

  [Talent: Heir of Demonic Magic]

  [Description: You are the last heir of the Empire of Demonic Magic.]

  [Effect: You can absorb a portion of Lifespan, and 10 times the normal EXP amount from your target upon killing them. You can use Lifespan to replace Mana and fuel your Spells with Lifespan.]

  [Total Lifespan: 83 years, 123 days]

  This Talent... is saying I can use magic? Ren was shocked. If this was true, he was the only Mage in this era.