Nova and Adam, the wiry kid with glasses that kept slipping down his sweaty nose, had just scratched their names onto the Guild of America's roster. Both were less than F-rank, a couple of zeroes with golden circles on their hands but not a single damn pillar to show for it.
Unawakened, they were just meat and bones, no magic, no spark, nothing but grit and a stubborn urge to prove they weren't total losers. Marcus, the D-rank Vice Guild Master, his single diagonal line cutting across his circles like a scar from his first evolution, gave them a hard look.
"I got a way to test if you've got the juice to awaken," he said, his voice rough as a back-alley brawl, though his eyes held a flicker of faith that made Nova's skin prickle.
Oh, I wonder what it could be, he thought sarcastically.
They followed him through the guild's guts, weaving past rooms that stank of sweat and scorched air. Training spaces bustled with action: fire mages roasted straw dummies, their flames licking the walls; earth manipulators hurled boulders, cracking stone floors; and some wind-weaver sent papers fluttering like scared pigeons.
Nova's boots scuffed the sleek tiles, each step echoing in the cavernous halls, while Adam shuffled behind, his sneakers squeaking like a nervous mouse. They climbed to the fifth floor, trudging down a hallway that stretched on like a cruel prank, its walls lined with doors that hummed with arcane secrets, their runes pulsing faintly under the fluorescent glare.
At the hallway's end squatted a door, red as a fresh wound, its golden handles shining like they were laughing at the grime of the mortal world. Marcus shoved it open with a grunt, the hinges groaning like they hadn't been oiled in a century.
Nova and Adam stumbled inside, the air shifting from the hallway's sterile chill to a heavy, electric buzz that made their hair stand on end. The room was a massive pit, its walls studded with glowing runes that danced like ghosts in a storm, casting jagged shadows across a floor scarred from countless battles.
Right in the middle loomed the amplitude sphere, a hulking bastard of a machine that looked like it could grind your soul into dust and spit out a prophecy. The thing was a ten-foot orb, its surface a mess of blackened steel patched with veins of blue light that throbbed like a junkie's pulse.
Spikes jutted from its sides, each tipped with a crystal that flickered with trapped starlight, giving it the vibe of a pissed-off god trapped in a cage. It hovered just above the floor, its low, guttural hum rattling Nova's teeth and making Adam's glasses slide further down his face, his eyes wide like he'd seen a demon.
Arcane symbols squirmed across the sphere's surface, slithering like a nest of vipers, each one glowing with a promise of power or a threat of annihilation, probably both, knowing Nova's luck.
The air around it stank of burnt metal, tinged with a sickly-sweet whiff, like magic that'd gone rancid after too long in the sun. The sphere's crystals pulsed in sync, their light shifting from blue to violet, then back, as if the damn thing was breathing.
Nova's golden circles itched like a bad case of fleas, and he couldn't help but grin, a sharp, reckless edge to it. This ugly fucker's either gonna wake me up or tear me apart, he thought, his crimson eyes glinting with a mix of thrill and dread.
Adam, meanwhile, looked like he was about to piss himself, his hands clutching his glasses as if they'd save him from whatever this monster of a sphere had in store.
The room itself seemed to bow to the sphere's presence, its walls curving inward like they were scared to get too close. The floor beneath was etched with concentric grooves, mirroring the circles on Nova's hand, as if the sphere demanded everything in its orbit to mimic its power.
Above, the ceiling shimmered with a faint holographic grid, tracking the sphere's energy output, numbers and runes flickering like a hacker's wet dream. The whole setup screamed advanced, like some sci-fi lab fucked a wizard's lair and this was the unholy spawn. Nova's heart kicked up a notch, the mortal part of him nervous, the divine part itching to crack this thing open and see what it could do.
Marcus stood to the side, arms crossed, his D-rank sigil barely visible under his sleeve. "This is the amplitude sphere," he said, his voice gruff but tinged with a smug pride, like he'd built the damn thing himself. "It'll test your potential, see if you've got what it takes to awaken. Don't screw it up."
His words hung heavy, and Nova felt the weight of them, his empty circles burning with a need to prove he wasn't just some blank-circles nobody. Adam swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing like a buoy in a storm, clearly wishing he was anywhere but here.
Marcus leaned against the wall, his D-rank sigil glinting faintly, his grizzled face set in a smirk that said he'd seen it all. "Alright, glasses," he barked, jabbing a thumb at Adam. "You're up first. Step into the sphere's range and don't piss yourself." His tone was rough, but a flicker of curiosity danced in his eyes, like he half-expected the kid to bolt.
Adam shuffled forward, his sneakers squeaking on the scarred floor, his glasses fogging up from sheer terror. The amplitude sphere loomed over him, its blue veins pulsing like a junkie's fever dream, its spikes glinting with menace.
He stood before it, trembling, as the crystals flickered, their light bathing him in a sickly glow. For a moment, nothing happened; the sphere just hummed, low and mocking, like it was laughing at his scrawny ass.
Then, all hell broke loose. The sphere's symbols erupted in a frenzy, swirling like a tornado of pissed-off wasps. Or like a drunk driver on three grams of cocaine. The crystals flared, blasting violet light that lit the room like a rave gone wrong, and the hum spiked into a screech that made Nova's ears ring.
Dang, didn't know this mortal had it in him. Nova thought in surprise, praising Adam for his potential.
Adam froze, eyes wide as the holographic grid overhead went berserk, numbers climbing: 80%, 90%, 98%. The sphere shuddered, its steel groaning, as Marcus's jaw dropped, his smug grin wiped clean.
"Holy shit," he muttered, "this kid's at 98% potential," then he said with a higher tone, screaming in excitement: "higher than the Continental record of 95%. I've hit the fucking jackpot!"
Adam stumbled back, his glasses askew, looking like he'd just survived a bar fight with a dragon. Marcus clapped him on the shoulder, nearly knocking him over.
"You're a damn unicorn, kid!" he laughed, his voice booming. "Didn't think you had it in you, but you're gonna make waves!"
Adam blinked, dazed, muttering, "I… I didn't do anything," his voice a squeak.
Nova stepped up, his crimson eyes locked on the sphere, his empty circles itching like a bad hangover. "My turn," he said, cracking his knuckles, his grin sharp and reckless. This thing's gonna regret meeting me, he thought, squaring his shoulders. He stepped into the sphere's range, the air crackling around him, the runes on the walls flickering like they knew something was coming.
The sphere barely had time to hum before it fucking imploded. With a deafening crack, its steel shell shattered, chunks flying like shrapnel, crystals exploding into sparks that rained down like a cheap fireworks show.
The holographic grid fritzed out, numbers maxing at 100% before the screen went black. Nova stood in the wreckage, unscathed, his grin wider than a street hustler's hustle. The room fell silent, save for the faint sizzle of broken tech.
Marcus stared, his eyes bugging out like he'd just seen a pig fly. What the fuck kinda luck is this? he thought, his brain doing backflips. I get a 98% prodigy and a guy who breaks the damn scale in one day? I'm either cursed or the luckiest bastard alive!
He let out a barking laugh, shaking his head. "You two are gonna be the death of me! Glasses, you're a freak, and you," he jabbed a finger at Nova, "you just fucked my sphere to kingdom come! What are you, a walking nuke?"
Nova shrugged, his smirk pure cockiness. "Just another day, Marcus. You gonna cry over your toy, or sign me up for something real?" His tone was all swagger, but inside, his mind raced. No pillars yet, but that sphere knew I'm no ordinary mortal. And if that sphere knew, then maybe Draco may have also known, which... well, isn't good. Now is it?
Adam, still reeling, piped up, his voice shaky but bold. "He… he broke it? Like, actually broke it?" He adjusted his glasses, staring at Nova like he was a damn alien.
Marcus snorted, rubbing his temples. "Yeah, kid, he turned my top-shelf tech into scrap. You both owe me a new one, you little shits."
Nova laughed, a low, gritty sound. "Bill me later, old man. What's next? You gonna make us mop the floor, or teach us how to awaken?" His crimson eyes glinted, daring Marcus to keep up. Adam nodded, a spark of courage in his gaze, feeding off Nova's bravado.
Marcus grinned, his teeth flashing like he was enjoying the chaos. "Oh, you're both getting the full treatment now. Two freaks like you? I'm not letting you out of my sight." He waved at the shattered sphere, its wreckage still smoking. "Training starts tomorrow, and you better not break anything else, or I'll make you scrub runes with a toothbrush!" His laugh echoed, rough and warm, as the guild's future grew a little wilder.