Yuto had done the math four times now. The drop from the upper gallery to the hall floor was roughly four meters. Four meters was not enough to die, however four meters was enough to break both legs, crack a few ribs, and spend the next several months being fed soup by strangers, which, if he was being honest, sounded worse than dying.

He pulled his legs back from the railing and sat properly.

Below him, the Awakening Hall was filling up. There were about two hundred of people , all around his age, all here for the same reason. They were dressed in their finest clothes, you could tell most of them had eaten a full breakfast.

Yuto had not eaten breakfast.

He watched them mill around below, tall and healthy and buzzing with the kind of nervous excitement that only comes from believing you have a real shot at something.

A girl near the front was bouncing on her heels while a pair of boys in the third row were shadow-sparring, throwing slow punches at each other and laughing.

Everyone in the country looked forward to awakening ceremonies from the moment they were born. It was the single most defining moment of their lives.

Those who awakened their souls were called Ethereals, people with the ability to summon beasts. A Summoner’s strength depended entirely on their rank. The higher the rank, the stronger the beasts they could contract. The higher the soul rank, the more beasts they could summon at once.

Those who failed to awaken went home.

That was the complete summary of the rest of their lives. They went home, lived quietly, and became the kind of people that history did not bother to record.

A A large man walked in from the side entrance and made his way to the stage. He had the kind of build that said he hadn’t worried about eating breakfast in a very long time. Yuto recognized him immediately, Raiden, one of the regional Ethereal overseers. His presence alone made the hall go quiet in about four seconds flat.

Raiden stepped up to the podium, picked up his card, and looked out at the crowd the way a person looks at a list of items they need to cross off.

"It is time for the awakening ceremony to begin."

Yuto felt the tension in the hall thicken.

Raiden picked up a large card from the podium. "First. Lin, Mei."

A girl stood up on shaky legs and made her way to the stage. She pressed her palm on the orb.

It turned green immediately.

Mei’s hand flew to her mouth. "I... I did it?"

Raiden didn’t glance at her. "Next."

Mei skipped back to her seat. Yuto watched her the whole way.

"Lucky you," he thought.

"Kato."

A stocky boy stood up, jaw set, and climbed to the orb. He placed his hand on it.

Nothing.

The orb didn’t glow. Raiden scoffed. "Not awakened. Move along."

The boy remained motionless for a moment, unable to process what had just happened. Then he stepped back and began the walk to his seat, his face had gone blank with grief.

Someone in the back row muttered, "I told you he wouldn’t awaken."

The rest of the ceremony proceeded the same way. Raiden would call a name, the person would come forward, the orb would turn green or it wouldn’t. The person would either celebrate or walk back to their seat with that same blank, gutted expression.

Yuto felt the cruelty underneath all of it, but that was life. There were winners and there were losers, and in a few minutes, he was going to find out which one he was.

Raiden called another name. This time the boy didn’t awaken, and he was crying as he walked back, not hiding it at all.

Hikaru felt his palms go clammy.

Then Raiden looked at the card.

"Yuto."

He felt himself detach from his body the moment he heard his name. Somehow he managed to stand. Somehow he made it to the podium. He stopped in front of the orb, took a deep breath, and placed his hand on it.

At first, there was nothing.

His stomach dropped. He stared at the orb and prayed frantically.

Please, Please glow, I have nothing in this world except this hope.

Then, as if in answer, the orb finally glowed.

If it could be called a glow. It wasn’t the brilliant flash of green it had shown for the others, this glow was pale and sickly, barely there.

Yuto frowned at it.

"But it’s still green," he thought. "That counts, right?"

Raiden stared at the pale glow for a second, then he made a loud scoffing sound.

"Every year, there’s always one scrub who barely awakens his soul." He didn’t even bother to look at Yuto as he continued. "Just so you know, the last scrub didn’t make it past his first Gate."

With that, Raiden returned his attention to his card.

Yuto wasn’t listening. He hadn’t moved at all. He was still standing on the podium, staring straight ahead, mouth open.

— — —

The Astral Gates had ripped open without warning four centuries ago, unleashing hordes of monstrous creatures that ravaged humanity for generations. Cities crumbled, and countleee lives were lost. It had seemed, for a long time, like humanity’s elimination was simply a matter of when.

Then a few people began to awaken their souls. These people became the first Ethereals. They could summon beasts and for the first time, humanity could fight back.

Ethereals grew stronger through two mechanisms. The first: every monster they killed counted as one soul core, and as they accumulated soul cores, their soul rank increased. The second was by conquering floors of the Astral Tower, which had appeared alongside the Gates. Each floor conquered raised their rank, and as their rank climbed, their physical capabilities climbed with it.

Summoned beasts could also grow through battle, but their growth was capped by the Ethereal’s current rank. For example a beast could never reach the rank of Dreadlord if its Ethereal had not yet reached the rank of Monarch.

This was the world Yuto lived in.

And the reason he was still standing frozen on the podium, staring at nothing, was the translucent blue panel that had appeared directly in front of his eyes the moment the orb glowed.

The words on it read:

[The Summoner God, Imanthi, finds you suitable.]

[High potential, low status detected in you.]

[Activating the Ultimate Summoning System.]

After a moment, Yuto caught himself. He started walking off the stage, back down to the floor, toward his seat. His eyes moved around the hall as he went. No one else seemed to be reacting to anything unusual.

They can’t see the panel, he realized. Only I can.

He sank into his seat and sat with it. There was a summoner god and the god had decided he was worthy. He turned this information over in his mind slowly.

Why him?

The panel blinked. More text appeared.

Name: Yuto

Rank: Disciple

Summons: 0/1

Soul Rank: Threat

Soul Cores: 1/30

He stared at it.

He had read enough webnovels to recognize exactly what this was.

A system.

Systems were cheat codes, tools that, used with any intelligence at all, let their holders outpace everyone around them. Of course, some systems were dangerous. Some had their own agendas. He would have to stay watchful for that.

But still.

He checked his profile again. Disciple was the lowest rank, but that was expected, he hadn’t conquered any tower floors yet. His Soul Rank being Threat meant he had one soul, which was also expected.

"Ah," he murmured, low enough that no one around him could hear.

"Among all the lucky ones today, it seems I am the luckiest."

Raiden’s voice cut through his thoughts. "All newly awakened Ethereals, follow me. It is time for you to learn to summon your first beasts."

Yuto and the other new Ethereals rose from their seats and followed Raiden through a curtain at the back of the hall. They ended up in a smaller room. Most of the others were already chatting excitedly among themselves.

Raiden cleared his throat and the room went quiet.

"To summon your first beast, you need to feel the tug," he said. "Close your eyes. Find the pull at the back of your heart."

Yuto closed his eyes.

At first there was only his heartbeat. Then, gradually, he became aware of something else, a soft pull deep in his chest, like a fine thread pulsing with a life of its own.

Raiden continued. "Once you feel the tug, draw on it gently. Your first beast will answer the call."

Yuto focused on the thread. He imagined grasping it. Pulling it forward with purpose.

A rush of warmth bloomed in his chest and spread outward. The air in front of him rippled.

A figure began to form.

But what materialized in front of him wasn’t a beast.

It was a person.

The entire hall turned toward him.