Chapter 4: The Awakener Assocation

[Fadena]... "The City of Beginnings." That's what everyone seems to call it, anyway. That is where I've ended up in this new body. As I've come to know, the world's landscape was reshaped after the Invasion, and that was clearly no joke. If you were to look on the map, you wouldn't even be able to recognize the continent. Apparently, the world has been changed so much that Humanity hasn't properly mapped its layout, despite the help of a magical force.

"This place looks a lot better, honestly..." I look around at the city. It looked like something fresh from a webcomic, a bright world with buildings unrealistically clean and practically shining. As though vandalism and graffiti don't exist. Transportation looks relatively the same, granted that there is a whole load of new vehicles — not counting the people flying through the clouds — some of the cars look a lot more futuristic than what we had before.

The progression of society only makes sense considering it's been 10 years. If this world is now like a game with Dungeons, it only makes sense. I'd bet that there are resources in Dungeons that can make you rich! I could definitely look through my memories to confirm this, but I appreciate the bliss of theorizing what's to come since today's the day I become an Adventurer! Or would Awakener be the more appropriate title...?

Shoving those thoughts into the back of my mind, I stop outside of the large building in the city. It'd be wrong to call this a building, that'd give the false interpretation of it being normal; Skyscraper is the better word to use to describe this structure. The exterior of the building is made of a material that I can't recognize, but it's a fair guess to say metal. I'm no architect, I wouldn't know something like this immediately. As a normal person, though, it's undoubtedly surreal. 

"I don't know where to begin, I guess I should start at the front desk." I don't even realize I'm talking to myself until I feel a gentle hand land on my shoulder. A chill rushes up my spine, making my body shudder before I turn around in a panic, leaping away as quickly as I can. 

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!" A somewhat boyish voice calls out to me, softened by a graceful pitch. Fully examining the person who'd touched my shoulder, I was surprised to find that it was a girl with crimson-colored hair and matching eyes. She's standing there in a black tuxedo, looking pretty professional actually. In this body, this woman is a lot taller than me. Whereas I'm probably around 5'4", she's a good 5'10" if my guess is correct.

"T-There's nothing to fret about, I was lost in thought!" I stamper for words, feeling anxiety starting to emerge. The anxiety is no longer because of that unsettling feeling I'd get when she touched me. It's come to my attention that this is my first time talking to an actual person since I've reincarnated in this body. (I don't consider Anaphiel a person. She seems more like an Angel than a human.)

"You look like you're ready to pass out, is everything alright?" I have to stop myself from gasping. I can't see my own face, but I didn't think that I looked terrible. I checked myself in the mirror before I left and my newfound conscience told me that I looked presentable.

I was about to reply, but she cuts me off with a flurry of laughter. "Ahaha! Sorry about that, I didn't think you'd make that kind of face! I was just kidding, you look cute with your face like that!" In my past life, I wasn't really used to being complimented. I wasn't an overweight introvert, but I wasn't the best-looking either. Perhaps I was merely average... Living such a straightforward life never gave me the time to think on and fix my appearance. This stranger complimenting me feels weird, in this new body I'm by all means attractive — that doesn't change how uneasy it makes me feel.

"Yeah... Who are you, exactly? You're right to assume that I'm going in but..." This is seriously awkward. I haven't had a conversation with someone in the body, even in my memories. Now that I think about it, would anyone actually recognize me? I hope not, that'd be a weird conversation to have out of the blue. "Me? My name's Toy. Toy Cesta! It's nice to meet you." The red-haired woman introduces herself, finally.

"Toy...? That's a pretty unique name. I'm F— Roshia! Roshia Qinlen." I almost said my old name. Thank god I couldn't remember it anyway!

"I'm here to register under the Awakener Association. I'm guessing that you work here?" She's dressed up like a businesswoman and from what my mind is telling me, that's not a common thing for random individuals. Most people come here dressed normally or at least with gear in preparation for the [D Rank] Trials. 

"Woah, you're right on the dot. I'm one of the [A Rank] Examiners. Since you're just here to register, you probably won't have to worry about meeting me inside." I can't tell why, but this woman winked at me after that comment. Is she... flirting with me? I'm content with ignoring it, for now, this is going to derail all of my plans for the day.

 

☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆

 

In this world, Awakeners are given ranks based on how powerful they are. The fact that this woman is an A-Rank explains the chill that coursed through my spine just from her touching me. If S-Ranks could shift the world, A-Ranks could shift countries. The gap in power between the ranks is breathtaking. The most powerful C-Rank might end up getting killed by a B-Rank Ranker. When you first become an Awakener, you become an E-Rank so that you can get access to Dungeons, legally of course. 

There are [Unranked] individuals who refuse to register with the Awakener Association. For one reason or another, almost all of these people are considered terrorists or criminals. Probably because they illegally enter Dungeons and act independently as Awakeners. The government has made the Awakener Association an Official Organization meant to moderate all Awakener Activities. Even larger groups have no choice but to abide by the orders of the Association when they're made. For that reason, most Unranked Awakeners are pretty powerful. You have to be strong in order to survive the guaranteed assaults that will happen once you bite the Association's hand.

 

☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆

 

"I plan on reaching D-Rank in a few months, once I get the hang of everything." I declare confidently. Just as I'm basking in my own newfound confidence, I feel a weight push down against me. My eyes lock on Toy because of pure instinct, leaping as far back as I can. Before my feet even reach the ground, Toy is standing in front of me, dust behind her.

A brazen grin is on her face, her hand stretched out and— stroking my hair...? "Uhhh-" I'm not sure what to do in this situation.

"You've got a good sense of danger, maybe you aren't all talk." Toy is giggling right in my face. Was that sudden pressure I felt her testing me?! She didn't even attack me! Not only that, but she didn't even look like she was taking that seriously! A-Ranks are no joke, just like I expected. "You may really be able to make it to D-Rank if you take the proper steps, Roshia."

Some time passes, and I'm lost in thought. "Thanks, can you stop stroking my hair?" I finally say, growing tired of her brushing my hair with her hand. Toy is surprisingly pleased by my response since she doesn't stop smiling as she moves her hand away from me. 

Toy takes a look at her watch before she finally starts to walk around me. "Well, Roshia. I hope to see more of you in the future. Come to me when you're B-Rank, maybe I'll be able to teach you something new." Toy gives me one last wink before she waves goodbye, heading into the building. Something tells me that I shouldn't go in right now or else it'll be weird for us to end up at the same destination only a few seconds after we departed.

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I wait several minutes before I finally head into the building. 

I'm surprised by how cold it is inside the building. Maybe I was in over my head when I dressed in this skirt. Now that I think about it, I hadn't even realized that Toy and I were both dressed pretty professionally. She was nowhere to be seen when I enter the building, but I feel like I should've asked her some questions about the registration before we departed, but I wanted to get done with that conversation as quickly as possible. She was really throwing herself onto me, and I feel like this won't be the last time.

The sound of my heels clicking against the marble floor was really rhythmic, I can tell that my hips are unconsciously swaying. It sounds satisfying for some reason. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, specifically when I reach the front desk, a woman with glasses scowling up at me from behind the desk. "Uhm, I'm here to regist—" BANG!

Right before I could finish the sentence, the woman violently places a crystal ball in front of me. "Place your hand on this ball, please." Even though she ended it with 'please', she sounds more demanding than anything. It's actually kind of scary. I comply, putting my hand around the crystal ball. "Okay..." The woman places one of her hands over mine, closing her eyes.

She hasn't told me to, but I get the feeling that I should copy her. I close my eyes too and eventually, I see a prompt of text appear in my head.

✦ WARNING! GLITCHES IN THE AWAKENER SYSTEM WILL NOT BE DISPLAYED! ADMINISTERING PATCHES...! ✦

"Woah! That's nostalgic! I haven't seen this since when I died, I thought that it was just a one-time thing!"

I'm pushed out of my own thoughts when the receptionist takes her hand off mine. When I open my eyes, I see that my Status Window has opened again, revealing some... odd things.

---

[Awakener Information]
[Awakener Rank: E]
[Name: Roshia Qinlen]
[Age: 17]
[Gender: Female]
[Class: Thief]
[Skills: Skill Steal (Level 1)]
[Level: 1]
[EXP: 5/100]

[Skill Information]
[Skill Steal [Class]: You can steal the skill of whoever or whatever you've slain. Skill may not work on higher levels.]

[Stat Information]
[Strength: 2]
[Speed: 6]
[Endurance: 3]
[Intelligence: 0]
[Agility: 8]
[Magic: 10]
[Corruption: 0]

[Stat Points: 0]

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Well, my stats are the same, but when that thing said that it was applying patches, it must've been- "ME!"

I'm met with a familiar voice calling out from behind me. The world has turned gray, no one was moving an inch. When I turn around, Anaphiel is floating above me, as usual. "I applied a patch and gave you a [2nd] Class to display! You're an anomaly, we can't have anyone learning about your true class! Whenever someone checks your Status Window, they'll see this info! You'll see all of it mixed in when you check it yourself!"

Weirdly enough, I'd actually forgotten that Anaphiel was watching me. Maybe because she suddenly vanished. I guess she'll interfere whenever something related to my Class comes up. If she can give me a new class, I wonder why she hasn't just removed the Returner class from me. Maybe she can't. If she can't, that makes me wonder why I have it in the first place!

Anaphiel doesn't wait for me to respond, she's probably not supposed to pause time like that (assuming that she paused time at all). The gray of the world disappears, returning to its normal colors. The receptionist starts speaking, clueless about what just took place. "A Thief, I haven't seen one of you in a long time." Generally, there are countless classes in the world. Some are rarer than others, apparently, a Thief is one of the more rare classes. It's a lesser version of the Assassin Class, meaning that a Thief can be evolved into an Assassin at some point.

"So, I guess I'm just born to take." Trying to feign surprise, I rub the back of my neck maladroit manner. "Something like that. I've linked the AAS to your System, you'll now be able to see available teams, dungeons, and more. You'll find all of the information that you need whenever you actually need it. Have a good day, Ms. Qinlen." She definitely didn't know my name until she saw it on the Status Window. This receptionist must work exceptionally harder than others to act this annoyed by her job.

Growing irritated by the second rushed interaction of the day, I just move away from the desk, heading off to the side of the room to check and examine the changes made to my window.

The AAS [Awakaner Association System] has been added to my Window, giving me icons similar to mobile app icons that I can either tap or think of opening if I know their name. The most important one is the [Map] that shows me a map of the city I'm in. Available teams and dungeons will appear, there's even a [Chat] feature where people talks and form teams with one another. I'll probably need to use this eventually, but I'm growing a bit impatient!

After taking a bit of time to absorb the features, I finally decide that I've waited long enough: It's time to get gear and head into a dungeon!

 

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