Chapter 1: Bloodline Awakening
"Off with the king’s head!"
An immense crowd had gathered at the Middle Sector of Eternia city. The people chanted angrily, demanding that justice be upheld.
The crime of treason was severe. Only death could prove sufficient.
Meanwhile, far in the very rear of the furious mob, a young man, recently turned eighteen, watched with a grim expression.
"Father..." Leonard whispered, a grave weight settling over his heart.
On the podium before the mass knelt a warrior that no one could mistake.
King Gideon, a hero bearing a Divine Bloodline, the strongest known to have graced mankind.
Believed to be the pinnacle of power, from a young age Gideon proved his worth by slaying dragons and forming peace treaties with the elven nations.
The person that had once brought hope to so many people now awaited at their mercy.
Gideon’s golden armor lay in ruin, painted with the blood of freshly slain monsters.
Having returned from his expedition exhausted, the king had expected a hero’s welcome... only to be ambushed by his loved ones and framed for crimes he didn’t commit.
"Traitor! Murderer! Sinner!"
The public made it clear, there would be no forgiveness.
"Lies, all of it." Leonard was well aware his father hadn’t committed the treacherous deeds the true culprits claimed.
Sadly, he couldn’t intervene. After all, he was just an illegitimate child.
In this apocalyptic world, bloodline rank determined both a person’s affinity for mana and their social standing. Leonard had failed to follow in his father’s footsteps. Unlike him, he had never awakened a bloodline naturally.
Awakening a bloodline through an external serum was possible, but it was considered a mark of weakness, often producing inferior warriors. Such measures were typically reserved as a last resort for inadequate elites trying to gain an unfair advantage over ordinary individuals.
Believed to have inherited only his mother’s lineage, Leonard was deemed a failure while still in his adolescent years. With no exceptional talent or political backing, he had no say in the public execution about to unfold.
However, others could have stopped this madness. Gideon had comrades and other heirs who, unlike Leonard, had inherited a portion of his talent.
Yet, no one arrived to his aid.
Leonard’s eyes sharpened as he scanned every familiar face. He made sure to remember who was grief-stricken and who showed indifference.
He doubted that everybody wished for his father’s death. Those that stood to benefit were the most likely culprits.
"You won’t get away with this." Leonard gritted his teeth in a quiet vow.
When the public outrage reached a boiling point, a man silenced all chatter by stepping onto the raised stage.
Maxwell wore an arrogant smirk, his blond hair slid back and tied in a ponytail. His blue eyes studied the fallen king in quiet amusement.
"How the mighty have fallen..." Maxwell taunted, his words low enough that only Gideon could perceive.
Gideon lifted his gaze to Maxwell... The man he had cherished like a sworn brother.
Decades of comradeship and fighting shoulder to shoulder, only to end in betrayal?
His lips parted, searching for an explanation, but only blood spilled from his throat.
Maxwell’s grin widened.
The poison had worked perfectly.
He turned toward the populace.
"People of Eternia city, what is to be done with this traitor?"
They looked at him with anticipation.
"King Gideon is to be either stripped of all his titles, crippled, and sent away from our lands into permanent exile, or..." Maxwell paused deliberately. "He pays for his misdeeds with blood."
The crowd responded, the chants erupted even more furiously than before.
"The people have spoken!" Maxwell declared. "I shall deliver you the hero’s head!"
He unsheathed his sword in a fluid motion. The deadly edge of the blade lowered the temperature by several degrees.
"Do you have any last words... my king?" Maxwell’s provocative words dripped with mockery.
With a heavy exhale, Gideon lowered his head, unable to bear the sight of his subjects any longer.
"Forgive me, my children, for I have been terribly naive." The king murmured somberly. "May you find salvation in the days that come."
"Typical." Maxwell scoffed.
He swung.
Gideon’s head fell from his shoulders.
The cheers that followed faded into the background. Leonard stared at the corpse of his father.
"Why did I even come here?"
Despite being father and son, the two had barely interacted. A divide caused by political and power differences had prevented them from forming a genuine connection.
Nevertheless, it stung to be separated from a parent.
Clouds drifted over the city. A heavy rainfall forced the crowd to disperse.
The raindrops lashed against Leonard’s body, his eyes fixed onto Gideon’s lifeless remains.
The isolation he felt was suffocating.
"Young Master."
A voice called out next to him, snapping him from his daze.
Leonard looked at his side, where Miranda patiently awaited. Slightly shorter than him, her silky crimson hair, along with her luminous golden eyes, made her easily stand out from the rest.
Although illegitimate, Leonard was still technically a king’s heir. Initially there had been interest in his potential abilities... only for all support to vanish when rumors about his lack of talent spread.
In the end, Miranda had been the only one to remain when he was at his lowest, continuing to serve her assigned duties as his bodyguard and maid.
"Don’t worry, I am fine." He reassured her with a forced smile.
Miranda met his gaze, then reached out and pulled the hood over his damp head. He had been too spaced out to bother.
"Let’s go home." She grasped his hand and glanced at the worsening storm. "You will catch a cold."
Leonard nodded, already used to Miranda’s protectiveness. He spared one last look at his father before the two made their way back.
Eternia city was split into three sectors: Upper, Middle, and Lower.
Residing in the Lower Sector, Leonard, along with the rest of society’s outcasts, lived under constant danger. Their district bordered the hostile wastelands, and the threat of dungeon breakouts was an ever-present reality.
Unreliable electricity rendered most security systems obsolete, and the insufficient number of military headquarters meant that in the case of an attack, many died before aid arrived.
Of course, there were positives even in this rundown region.
Mainly, rent was cheap.
Overpopulation had caused property prices to become deadlier than most monsters.
Descending to the lowest level, Leonard and Miranda moved toward their apartment, paying no heed to the polluted atmosphere, already accustomed to it.
Gradually, the surroundings dimmed. With dusk approaching, it seemed that the long day was finally coming to an end.
Until the two cautiously slowed to a halt.
Waiting at the entrance stood a dignified woman with black hair and purple eyes, accompanied by her apprentice.
"Headmistress Jennifer?" Miranda muttered, surprised that such a high-standing noble would show up in the Lower Sector.
Noticing their arrival, Jennifer addressed them in a steady voice.
"My condolences for your loss, Mister Leonard..." She performed a subtle bow. "Following your father’s passing, I have arrived personally to initiate the awakening of your bloodline."
Awakening a bloodline meant activating one’s mana pathways, which established a connection to the system of the world and granted access to skills, traits, and other powers beyond mortal comprehension.
The general rule dictated that the sooner a natural awakening occurred, the higher one’s rank and affinity for mana. If no awakening took place by the age of eighteen, it became impossible unless a special serum was administered.
Leonard stood only to gain from awakening. Even if he ended up at the lowest rank, at least he would be able to access mana.
With no reason to refuse, he welcomed Jennifer and her apprentice inside.
While he rested on a chair, the headmistress took out a grey orb, and Daniel, the assistant, readied the awakening serum.
"The higher your bloodline rank, the more excruciating the pain." Daniel’s green eyes narrowed with quiet contempt. "So I’m sure you won’t feel a thing."
Applying an awakening serum was a costly procedure that many would kill for. Daniel considered it a waste to use it on Leonard, a mere bastard.
Jennifer noticed the disdain in Daniel’s eyes and swiftly put a stop to it with a sharp slap to the back of his head.
Then she turned to Leonard and spoke in a melodious voice.
"Unlike the knock-offs, this orb can detect even the most powerful bloodlines. Rest assured, even if you carry the same Divine Bloodline as your father, we will spot it."
She put his hand over the detection device.
"If the grey color persists, then it means you possess a Common-rank bloodline. Beyond that are Rare, Epic, Legendary, Heavenly, Mythical, and Divine ranks, each of which will glow in its corresponding color."
Leonard nodded in understanding, prompting Jennifer to proceed.
She administered the serum.
Anguish overwhelmed Leonard’s senses. From his perspective, the world came to a complete stop. The sensation of his skin being peeled away urged him to scream, yet he had lost all control over his body.
He felt his existence disintegrate at a molecular level, as though he had been cast into the deepest pits of hell.
When his psyche teetered on the brink of collapse, the suffering finally subsided, fading into obscurity, and the flow of time returned to normal.
Everyone’s gazes locked onto the orb resting beneath his palm.
The grey color lingered, showing no signs of change.
"I knew it!" Daniel jumped from his seat and angrily stared at Jennifer.
"Headmistress, I told you so, but you didn’t listen!" He pointed at Leonard in outrage.
"Instead of the serum, we could have bought a decent supply of mana cores, but we wasted it on this worthless trash! And for what? For him to turn out to be a commoner? He’ll never amount to anything!"
The remark shattered the little patience Jennifer held.
"Such uncivilized manners, even after all the chances I gave you! A thousand merit points deducted!" She bellowed in fury, physically kicking the assistant out of the apartment.
"Please forgive me for bringing Daniel along. I was pressured by his family, and given his academic achievements, I had virtually no choice." Jennifer apologized with a sincere bow.
She rose and examined the grey orb carefully, discovering no irregularities.
"Even if you are Common-rank, you must have gained access to the system already. Do you feel anything unusual?" Jennifer asked with a faint concern, probing for a reaction.
Leonard remained silent, examining the interface.
[Your mana pathways have been cleansed and realigned.]
[Connection to the system has been established.]
[Bloodline stirs in your veins.]
[Bloodline: Primordial]
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