Edius — Year 7,700, Rose Country, Orien City, Orien School.

Class 3-C was quieter than usual.

Normally, the last hour before holiday break was the loudest hour of the school year. Bags half-packed under desks. Whispered plans for the fifteen-day break. Notes passed between friends. Teachers pretending not to notice.

Today was different.

Today was Awakening Day.

And tonight, at midnight, every student in the room who had reached the age of eighteen would stand at the doorway of the rest of their lives. The classmates who had been laughing about holiday plans the day before were sitting straighter today. The ones who usually slept through afternoon classes were wide awake. Even the boys in the back row, who had a long-running competition for who could get caught sleeping the most times in a single semester, had nothing to say to each other.

"Then our ancestors discovered that anyone who is eighteen years old or older will awaken a status screen, similar to those found in games," said the class teacher, a tall man in his early forties with silver-streaked hair and a calm, unhurried voice. "However, it only displays their Name, Age, Talent, Lifeform Tier, Evolution Pathway Level, and Skills."

Allen Frost taught history the way some men played chess — slowly, deliberately, never seeming to be in a hurry, and always, somehow, still in control of the room.

He turned from the holographic board and let his gaze drift across the classroom.

Most of the students were sitting up straight. A few were leaning forward, taking notes they wouldn’t actually need. None of them were sleeping. None of them were even pretending to.

Except, perhaps, one.

In the back corner of the classroom, Ren Valis was absent-mindedly staring at a point somewhere past the window, somewhere past the city, somewhere past the world entirely.

’Sigh... It’s already my third day in this world since I woke up with the memories of my previous life,’ Ren thought to himself. ’I still can’t believe I actually reincarnated into a place like this. Though, considering I died after getting run over by Truck-kun, I guess the universe owed me one.’

He almost smiled at his own thought.

Then he noticed the silence.

The classroom had gone perfectly quiet. The kind of quiet that only happens when forty teenagers all turn their heads at the same time to watch something interesting.

And the something interesting was standing two feet away from his desk.

"Looks like student Ren already knows everything," Allen said in a calm, almost amused tone, "since he doesn’t need to pay attention in my class." 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Ren snapped fully back into his body and stood up.

"Yes, teacher."

Allen folded his arms. "Since you seem so confident, you wouldn’t mind answering my question, then."

He let the silence stretch for one beat too long.

"Tell me what changes happened in the world, and what talents awakened among all lifeforms on Edius after the Emergence."

’Good thing I still have the early memories of this body,’ Ren thought, ’and that I spent the last two days reading every basic article I could find.’

He took a small breath and began.

"After the Emergence, the most obvious change was the appearance of the Status Screen," he said, his voice steady. "Every year, on January 1st, anyone who has reached the age of eighteen undergoes what the world calls the Awakening."

"However, not everyone succeeds. Statistics show that only about half of humanity awakens a Talent. The rest remain ordinary citizens."

"Once awakened, a person receives a Status Screen, similar to those found in games. It displays basic information — Name, Age, Talent, Lifeform Tier, Evolution Pathway Level, and Skills."

He paused briefly, gathering the next part.

"After awakening, individuals are assigned one of three evolution pathways, depending on their talent compatibility."

Several students in the classroom straightened in their seats. This was the part that mattered. This was the part that would, for some of them, decide everything.

"The first and rarest is the Bloodline Plant Lord Pathway," Ren said. "It combines bloodline power and plant evolution into a single route. The cultivator fuses their soul with a special seed, creating a permanent symbiotic core of life. As long as the seed survives, the cultivator can regenerate even if their body is destroyed."

"It is considered the strongest of the three pathways. It is also the rarest by far."

He raised two fingers.

"The second is the Bloodline Pathway, which focuses on strengthening one’s blood and inherited power. Cultivators inherit traits from beasts, ancient bloodlines, and other powerful organisms."

"And the third is the Plant Pathway, where the cultivator nurtures a spiritual seed within their body and evolves it using natural energy and rare materials."

"The last two are considered roughly equal in strength," Ren added, "though they specialize in different forms of power."

He paused, then finished calmly.

"The Awakening occurs every year on New Year’s Day, when the planet’s energy is at its strongest."

A small pause.

"And... that will happen tonight at midnight."

Allen looked at him for a moment, then nodded slightly.

"Good."

A few students glanced at Ren, surprised. He had always been a quiet boy in the back corner, the kind who never volunteered an answer and never had to. None of them had expected the explanation he had just given.

Allen turned back toward the holographic board.

"Before we go further, remember why the Awakening exists at all," Allen said.

He raised one hand, and the holographic board changed. The three pathway symbols faded, replaced by two words written side by side.

Resource Plane. Emergence Trials.

"On the first New Year’s Eve of the Awakening Era, the Transcendence offered Edius two choices: become a Resource Plane, or accept the Emergence Trials."

"A Resource Plane would have meant safety without freedom. Edius would survive, but its resources — and some of its people — could be taken by stronger worlds."

"The Emergence Trials offered power instead. The planet would evolve, Talents would awaken, and humanity would be given a chance to climb. But in exchange, Edius had to survive five Trials and produce at least one Tier-5 Lifeform by Year 7,750."

"The first three Trials are history. The fourth is the one the world survived this year. The Fifth comes in Year 7,750."

A few students looked toward the windows, as if the city outside had suddenly become less permanent than it had been a moment ago.

"That is why tonight matters," Allen said. "Awakening is not just a school milestone. It is one more person being added to the planet’s chance of survival."

He let the silence hold for a breath, then continued.

"After humanity chose the Trials, the planet Edius itself expanded drastically. The size of the world increased nearly two hundred times. As a result, the world was divided into seven massive continents, along with countless islands."

"The increase in planetary energy also affected all living beings. Plants and animals awakened as well. But their evolution pathways are different from humans."

"Animals can only evolve through the Bloodline Pathway, relying on their inherited instincts and genetic power."

"Plants, on the other hand, can only evolve through the Plant Pathway, growing stronger by absorbing natural energy and evolving their forms."

He paused, gauging the room. Then he wrote two words on the board in clean, deliberate strokes.

Secret Realms.

"Ten years after the beginning of the new era," he said, "another phenomenon appeared across the universe. These realms are considered the final gift left behind by the Transcendence."

"They are independent spaces scattered throughout existence. Some are as small as a city. Others are said to be larger than entire galaxies. Many of them have strict restrictions — entry by level, by timing, by faction, by sheer luck of being in the right place when the realm chooses to open."

Allen paused, and his voice dropped slightly. The students leaned in without realizing they were doing it.

"The rare materials required for advancement at the Sprout Stage and beyond," he said, "can only be obtained personally inside these realms. They cannot be removed. They cannot be transported. Cultivators must absorb or integrate them on-site."

"This is why secret realms are considered the most valuable opportunities of the new era."

A girl in the second row raised her hand.

Allen nodded for her to speak.

"Teacher," she asked, "is it true that the rarest realms can only be entered once every five years?"

"Some of them, yes," Allen said. "Others, every ten. A few — every century. The realms set their own schedules, and not even the Explorer Guild fully understands why. There are rumors of realms that have only opened once in recorded history." He paused, just for a beat. "And rumors of cultivators who waited entire lifetimes for a single chance."

The girl nodded slowly and lowered her hand. The classroom was very quiet again.

He let that sit for a moment.

"As Ren said, today is Awakening Day. It is one of the most important days in any of your lives. But do not be discouraged if you fail to awaken a talent. Only about half of the population successfully awakens, and that ratio has held steady for thousands of years."

"Even if you don’t awaken today, it doesn’t mean your future is hopeless. The world still needs scientists. Engineers. Doctors. Soldiers. Teachers."

He smiled, very slightly.

"Even teachers."

A few students chuckled quietly, breaking the tension.

Ring... Ring...

The school bell rang.

"Alright, class, that’s all for today. I’ll see you again after the fifteen-day holiday. Those who awaken their talents tonight, don’t forget to report your pathway to the school so we can send you the standard knowledge and energy absorption techniques for your pathway."

He gave the room one last look.

"Best of luck to all of you."

The students rose almost in unison and thanked him in the slightly ragged chorus that students always thank teachers in.

Allen nodded once and walked out of the classroom.

And the moment the door closed behind him, the room exploded into noise.

Plans. Predictions. Teasing. Nervous laughter.

Tonight was the night.

Ren slid his light-brain into his bag, slung the strap over one shoulder, and walked toward the door.

’It’s a good thing this body used to be a loner,’ he thought as he stepped past the chattering students. ’Otherwise people might notice the change in my behavior.’

He didn’t look back.

Behind him, the classroom kept buzzing about the night ahead.