“Today’s the day.”

Kyran stared at himself in the mirror, the morning sunrise sneaking through his bedroom window. It was around 6 AM, a bit earlier than he’d normally be awake. It was an important day after all; he needed to make sure he was ready.

He gave himself one last glance-over to make sure he didn’t screw anything up.

Dark brown leather dress shoes and black ankle socks?

Check.

Dad’s borrowed khakis with a brown belt?

Check.

Green button-down dress shirt?

And check.

His clothes seemed to be in order at the very least. Somehow Kyran had managed to put together an ensemble that actually looked nice with his natural silver hair and light green eyes. (His mother always swore they were blue. They weren’t.)

Kyran took a deep breath and smacked his cheeks a couple times, mentally preparing himself for the day ahead.

“Your life changes today,” he told himself and stepped away from the mirror to begin gathering a few things in a pack.

“You in here talking to yourself dude?” a voice came from outside the room. The door opened and a young woman with short, curly brown hair peeked through.

“No, Raynee, I’m not,” Kyran replied, “and what’s with the ‘dude’? Isn’t that too casual?”

“You’re my beloved younger brother” she said sarcastically. “I can call you what I want. Anyways, Dad made some breakfast for before you go. I’m sure some food in your stomach will help you shake off some of the nerves.”

Kyran grabbed his bag and followed his sister towards the kitchen, the sweet smell of fresh cinnamon buns wafting through the hallway.

“I’m not nervous,” he said unconvincingly as they entered the kitchen.

“Of course you aren’t. I’m sure Dad wasn’t nervous either,” Raynee retorted with a smirk.

Their father chuckled as he took the cinnamon buns out of the oven. He was a stout man with a hardened face and a grizzly beard. A blacksmith by trade, and not someone with many inhibitions. If anybody had been confident on a day like today, it would have been Dad, Kyran thought.

“Ha ha ha,” his father let out a hearty chuckle, “everyone gets nervous before The Awakening, even your old pops here. I was practically shaking in my boots.”

So much for that idea.

The Awakening. An event held around the world every year on January 1st. One designed to break hearts, fulfill dreams, and shatter expectations. The first step towards the future in an adult’s life, but ultimately one completely out of their control. When someone of the races turned 16, they were recognized as an adult and needed to go through a ceremony wherein they were bestowed a system from the Goddess of Systems, Sada.

It was not known how the goddess decided what systems to bestow, whether it was random or determined with some purpose in mind. Some scholars claimed the process couldn’t possibly be random, as the hereditary passing down of systems had shown to be common. With that in mind, a few researchers theorized that everyone was born with a few systems they could possibly awaken (including their hereditary systems). The goddess would then choose a system among these using her unknown method of selection. This idea gained massive traction around 150 years ago and was known as the “System Pool” theory; it had been the predominant belief since then.

This theory was the main source of Kyran’s worries. What if his system pool didn’t have any good ones to choose from? What if he just ended up getting a {Blacksmith} system like his father and Raynee? He couldn’t help but think of his older brother Brady, who despite always dreaming of becoming a powerful adventurer, received a layman’s system used for temperature control. Granted, that didn’t stop Brady from trying anyways…

*Knock Knock*

Kyran was snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of a knock at the door. “Aww geh ih,” he mumbled with his mouth full.

He opened the door to the sight of a 6’2” (188 cm) bulky figure with dark skin and buzzed black hair. He wore a simple blue tank top and denim jeans. With the juxtaposition between the man and Kyran, one would be hard-pressed to believe they were the same age. Despite his imposing build, though, he had a caring face and a gentle demeanor.

“Hey Kyran,” he said, peering behind his friend and into the house. “Good morning Mr. Hall. And Raynee.”

“Good morning Neil, always good to see you. You’ve grown into a very well-mannered young man. If only some of that trait could rub off on my lousy son here who still thinks it’s fine to speak with food in his mouth.”

Kyran ignored the comment as he wiped his face with a napkin. “I guess it’s time to go then? We should hurry so we don’t miss the train.”

“We have a bit of time before it arrives, but it’s better not to get caught in a rush trying to buy tickets,” Neil replied.

“You know, back in my generation we didn’t have these fancy trains. We had to walk to The Awakening uphill both ways. Barefoot. In the snow,” Kyran’s father piped up with a faraway look and a sly smirk.

“I’m sure you did, Dad,” he rolled his eyes. “Neil and I ought to get going. Thanks for the breakfast.”

Kyran saw his father’s face suddenly turn serious. He wore a look of worry and longing, but Kyran could also see a hint of pride that was easy to miss.

“What’s wrong Dad?” Kyran asked.

His dad paused for a second, looking down as if contemplating something. He once again locked eyes with Kyran, saying “Just know that whatever happens in that Temple, you’ll always have a place here. You shouldn’t force yourself if you end up with a system you aren’t expecting. Whatever your decision is, I’ll support you. But you and Raynee are all I have left…” he paused and looked away. The atmosphere in the room had grown heavy. “I love you son. I’ll see you in a few days. Good luck.”

Kyran said his goodbyes and left with Neil. His mood had dampened a bit and his nerves hadn’t improved. Neil put a gentle hand on Kyran’s shoulder and simply said, “He’s out there. We’ll find him.”

Kyran met Neil’s gaze and nodded with determined eyes.

The two friends soon found themselves in a train compartment along with six others they had never met, all headed to the Muller Kingdom’s capital city. There, they would awaken their systems at the local Temple of Sada.

It had been about two hours since they departed from their hometown, a small duchy located on the outskirts of the kingdom’s territory. Their compartment had slowly filled up after a few stops at towns along the way. A motley of hopeful and nervous faces surrounded them, with nobody willing to break the awkward silence between them all. Kyran would normally be okay with the silent trip, but he was currently lost in his own thoughts. No matter how many times he tried to push it back down, doubt kept creeping up in his mind. Before he knew it, he was deep in thought and instinctively summoned a small flame in the palm of his hand to fiddle with.

This unintentional act turned out to be the perfect icebreaker.

While Neil was unfazed, everyone else in the room stared at the flame with wide eyes. A lanky boy across from Kyran was the first to speak up.

“Yer blessed by Arcana! I’ve never seen nobody with an elemental affinity before.”

That’s a thick accent. Must be from the boonies, Kyran mused.

“Never?” one of the girls to his right asked, “It’s rare but not like crazy rare.”

“I’m from a small town,” he admitted. “The odds’a bein’ born with an affinity’re what? 1 in 3000? My town’s only got about 500 people.”

“Yeah, but still… have you never been to a Temple of Arcana? I heard having an affinity is a prerequisite for becoming an Arcanian priest.”

The boy shook his head but thought about it for a second. “I dunno, I might’a seen a traveler or two with an affinity, but it’s hard ta tell if it’s that or class magic y’know?”

Some of the passengers nodded their heads in understanding. If someone with a system used elemental magic, it was almost impossible to tell if the magic used was class magic or an innate affinity. It was easy to wonder then; if a class could just replicate any innate magical talent, what made an affinity so special? What made them different?

The potential applications of magic on Nela were almost limitless. If one was practiced and knowledgeable enough with a form of magic, they could shape the magic in any way they wanted and do things thought to be impossible. The only setback being that magic was heavily gated by classes. In the first place, obtaining a class that utilized magic either required luck or understanding the fundamentals of that magic as a prerequisite. Learning a form of magic without an affinity or class was extremely difficult, and learning anything past the basics could take decades. If one did manage to obtain class magic, it could be easily used and would improve with familiarity. Unfortunately, simply using magic was not truly understanding, so a class magic user was mostly restricted to using said magic within the confines of the class’s ability.

Unlike class magic, an affinity gave the user an innate understanding of the magic’s fundamentals. They were able to quickly learn more about the magic and were able to experiment in a way that class mages couldn’t. Their affinity could also influence their starting class and any subsequent class upgrades, often leading to very specialized and impactful classes. Those with a magical affinity had a much greater potential than the average person. However, affinities were only limited to elemental magic, so more specific schools of magic like summoning or thaumaturgy could only be obtained through study or class magic. Also, as good as an affinity could be, a bad system could make all that potential be for naught.

Just another reason I need a good system. Though if all I have going for me is a fire affinity, it’s still more than most people get.

As Kyran thought to himself, the girl to his right turned to him with a wide smile on her face. “That’s so cool! You could do a ton of stuff with a fire affinity! You could be a cook, or a baker, or a blacksmith! You could make and recharge heat enchantments for stoves or bathtubs!” She was practically beaming at this point. “What kind of system are you hoping for? A crafting system of some kind? You could make a living selling heaters for homes in the winter months. Oh! Maybe you’ll get a nature-related one and you can use your fire for controlled burning of forested areas! I know that seems counter-intuitive, but a fire can do wonders for the wildlife in the long-term. Of course, knowing that doesn’t really help you unless you DO get a nature system, but hey, you never kn-”

“Casey for the love of the goddesses please shut up,” the boy sitting on the other side of her spoke up – to the relief of everyone else in the compartment. “I believe there was a question somewhere in her incoherent rambling asking what system you were hoping for.” Casey gave him a small frown at that. “I, for one, am interested in what you want to do with your gift.”

The others were obviously interested as well, as they all looked at Kyran with expectant eyes.

They’re expecting a crazy answer out of me. Sorry ladies and gents, I’m a far more boring individual than you’d hoped.

“To be honest, I just want a combat system. Something that helps with adventuring. I don’t care how glamorous it is, anything will do really,” he told the group.

There was a brief silence until the lanky boy spoke up, “Adventurer huh? Prolly shoulda seen that comin’. But do ya really not care what ya get? What if ya get stuck with a basic system like {Explorer} or {Survivalist}?”

Kyran shook his head. “If I go in expecting something incredible, I can only be let down. Also, each of those basic systems have their own merits. I’ll have to make do with what I get. As will all of you.”

The others frowned at that, and Kyran could have sworn he heard someone mumble, “Way to ruin the mood dude.”

The conversation died down and the rest of the trip was made in silence. Two hours and 3 stops later, they arrived at Muller City.