Chapter 3: Failed
A bespectacled student then walked onto the stage.
He looked utterly unremarkable, the kind of bookworm people would forget the moment they looked away.
Felix Gibson.
The fact that he had passed all three Awakening Trials had shocked everyone.
He came from an ordinary family and was an extreme introvert who would immediately leave whenever someone tried to approach him.
As someone from such a humble background who had still managed to clear all three trials, he naturally became the center of everyone’s curiosity.
Would he create yet another miracle?
He didn’t even need to awaken an S-Class Talent.
Awakening two A-Class Talents alone would already be considered miraculous.
Felix calmly placed his palm on the crimson stone.
Buzz!
A crimson dragon-shaped flame suddenly erupted from his body.
The heat spread throughout the venue.
Those standing closest to the stage immediately broke into sweat.
(Felix Gibson: Fire Dragon Manifestation, A-Class Talent!)
"I thought this would be an S-Class Talent," one spectator said in disappointment.
"You know, when Rebecca Morgan awakened, she transformed directly into a humanoid dragon. If I remember correctly, it’s called the Human Dragon Body. That’s an S-Class Talent. It allows her to become a Human Dragon. Even while retaining a human form, the power of a dragon is beyond comparison."
"A Manifestation Talent is already incredible. It’s stronger than most other A-Class Talents. Even two ordinary A-Class Talents might not be better."
"So S-Class Talents really are that rare."
Among everyone present, only Rebecca Morgan showed no change in expression.
She seemed completely accustomed to scenes like this.
The gap between S-Class and A-Class Talents was far greater than the gap between A-Class and B-Class Talents.
"George Morgan."
The final elite student immediately stepped onto the stage with a faint smile.
Unlike Bella, he radiated absolute confidence and overwhelming ambition.
Once on stage, he respectfully nodded toward his aunt, who remained completely silent.
He then placed his hand on the crimson stone.
His body trembled.
Everyone unconsciously stopped blinking.
But...
Nothing happened.
Exactly like what had happened to Enzo.
The same stunned expression that had appeared on Enzo’s face earlier now appeared on George’s.
"What happened?"
The crowd instantly erupted into whispers.
"He failed?"
"Impossible! George passed all three Awakening Trials. He’s guaranteed to awaken at least an A-Class Talent."
"There’s always a chance of failure. It’s just incredibly small. Even people who fail the three trials can still awaken extraordinary Talents."
"Maybe he awakened a Hidden Talent."
"Again."
George suddenly spoke, his face turning red.
His reaction alone completely denied the possibility of a Hidden Talent.
The instructors exchanged uncertain glances.
Truthfully, there was no second chance.
Touching the crimson stone again after a failed Awakening wasn’t without risk.
There was a real possibility of suffering a dangerous backlash.
Just as George reached toward the stone once more, the suitcase suddenly snapped shut.
Rebecca Morgan had somehow appeared beside it.
"Aunt..." George called out.
"There’s no point trying again," Rebecca replied indifferently.
"Aunt, maybe the stone is damaged. It’s been used too many times already."
George had completely lost his composed demeanor.
He looked like a man crushed beneath ten thousand disasters.
For him, failure truly felt like the end of the world.
Enzo understood that feeling better than anyone.
He had experienced it himself after failing the three Awakening Trials.
Fortunately...
He had already moved past it.
"You’re the one who’s damaged," Rebecca said coldly.
"Come with me."
Without waiting for a response, she grabbed George and dragged him off the stage, passing through the crowd.
George was so shaken that he no longer noticed anyone around him.
Everyone, however—including Enzo—was staring at him.
The person everyone had expected the most...
Had ended up failing.
Even Enzo didn’t know how he should feel.
It was like looking at his former self.
The feeling was... strange.
Bang!
George was thrown into a car.
Rebecca climbed into the driver’s seat herself before driving away.
"Where are they going?"
The crowd was filled with confusion.
Even Austin Morgan hadn’t gone over to comfort his own son.
Yet Rebecca had taken George away immediately.
It looked rather unusual.
Meanwhile, Mayor Austin Morgan still seemed unable to accept his son’s failure.
"What’s wrong? Why do you all look like that?"
Bella suddenly smiled brightly as she mocked Nicolas and the others.
They all fell awkwardly silent.
If their leader had failed...
How could they possibly compete against Bella now?
A team needed an A-Class Talent as its leader to truly be considered powerful.
"Don’t celebrate too early, Bella. This might just be a mistake," Nicolas argued.
"A mistake? Since when has something like this ever happened?" Bella shot back with a sneer.
Nicolas struggled to find another argument.
The outcome was simply too obvious.
"Everyone, you’re dismissed. Prepare yourselves for tomorrow. You’ll be sent to the Sanctuary together with students from the other high schools..."
The principal made his final announcement before hurrying toward the mayor, who clearly wanted an explanation.
"Enzo..."
Bella looked as though she wanted to say something again.
She couldn’t help regretting her earlier disappointment over awakening only an A-Class Talent.
After all, her cousin had seemingly failed completely.
And today, he would be leaving for the Sanctuary ahead of everyone else.
"We’ll see each other again tomorrow, so don’t worry."
Enzo patted her shoulder reassuringly.
Even knowing that, Bella still felt uneasy.
At the Sanctuary, Enzo would be a worker...
Not an Awakener.
Seeing the expression on her face, Enzo sighed before leaning close to whisper into her ear.
"I actually succeeded. The only one who failed today was George."
With those words, he immediately followed Paul Walton toward his vehicle, leaving Bella standing there with a frozen expression.
Enzo was invited into the back seat beside Paul.
The car merged into the convoy from the Awakener Association.
They were naturally heading back to the Sanctuary.
Enzo remained silent throughout the journey.
He didn’t even take out his phone, considering it impolite.
"You know," Paul suddenly said, "there’s still a chance for you to become an Awakener."
Enzo looked at him in surprise.
"How?" he asked immediately.
He remembered his uncle mentioning that there was still hope.
Although he no longer needed it, he couldn’t help feeling curious.
"A new Skill has appeared that allows S-Class Awakeners to build armies. They can transform ordinary humans into their soldiers, automatically turning them into Awakeners with an imitation version of their master’s Talent. The downside is that they’ll remain absolutely loyal to their master. Rebecca will most likely turn George into one of her soldiers. With enough effort, she can even grant him an imitation Talent comparable to an A-Class one. They’re called Fake Awakeners. If you’re interested, you could become one someday."
"No."
Enzo immediately shook his head.
"I’m not interested."
Why would he?
He was already a genuine Awakener.
Why would he choose to become a fake one?
Vroom!
The convoy accelerated toward the outskirts of the city, where a massive portal floated just above the ground under the watch of countless soldiers.
The vehicles stopped a short distance away, and everyone got out.
Enzo continued following Paul, feeling slightly nervous.
This would be his very first visit to the Sanctuary.
The Sanctuary was humanity’s stronghold within the Moba World.
There were a total of fifty Sanctuaries.
People from the American Continent were assigned to Sanctuaries 1 through 10, and Z City belonged to Sanctuary No. 1.
The moment Enzo stepped through the portal, it felt as though he had traveled from reality into a dream.
For nearly a minute, he couldn’t see anything.
All he could feel was his body being transported at incredible speed.
Then light appeared.
His surroundings gradually came into focus.
A massive ancient city stood before him, surrounded by towering walls.
Above it stretched an enormous glass-like dome that completely covered the city.
Numerous portals were scattered throughout, connecting it to major cities besides Z City.
For the first time, Enzo saw veteran Awakeners with his own eyes.
Some were only a year older than him.
Others were middle-aged.
Many wore armor or carried swords across their backs.
Some radiated such overwhelming pressure that simply standing near them made it difficult to breathe.
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