Two years have passed since the world changed forever.
Even though people have gotten used to this new world, a different kind of problem has grown: people treating each other badly.
Those who got strong and helpful powers, called Awakenings, are praised, kept safe, and respected. But those with weaker powers, or very small abilities, are treated like burdens, like slaves, or even sent to fight and die during dangerous trips.
And people like me?
My name is Aka Zema.
It's been three years since everything fell apart. Since the Blood Moon and the Black Sun came down. Since the sky broke and the earth bled.
And in all that time… I have never awakened.
Every single kind of being, every person, even the smallest animals eventually got some kind of power.
But not me.
Every time I try, the Universal System blocks me with a cold message:
[Awakening Failed.]
[Cause: Unknown Interference Detected.]
I'm nineteen now. My parents, who were truly brave, gave their lives in the early days of the chaos to protect me. Before they disappeared, they told me:
"We'll meet again, Zema. You must live."
I have always believed them. And strangely, this necklace they left for me… sometimes, I can feel them inside it. As if they're not really gone.
Because I haven't awakened, no one will give me a job. People see me as useless. Weak. A danger to everyone around me. I stay alive by looking for things in old ruined places, forgotten cities, and areas full of monsters.
I do it just to trade for small things. A piece of bread. A quarter bottle of water.
They won't even give me money. Not for someone like me.
The ruined places I search are deep inside areas full of monsters. Every trip is like playing a game with death.
And I'm not alone in this world.
I found two children in one of those ruins. They were no older than four. Left alone. Starving. Holding onto each other in the dark.
I took them in.
I shared what little I had. I risked my life to keep them safe.
But… today, one of the most powerful groups, called a guild, found us during their search. They saw how strong the children could become. They checked them. And in a moment, the children were taken.
"They'll be taken care of and taught," they said.
"They'll be protected."
They didn't even ask me if I wanted to go with them. They didn't even notice me.
They just looked at my information and turned away.
But somehow…
I stayed alive.
Against all the odds, with nothing but determination and a will to live, I kept going.
I now live in an abandoned, empty ruin, far from the busy city of Golswan Kingdom.
It's a place people pretend doesn't exist.
The kingdom was started by Edwin Golswan, a famous Star Thirteen Magician, known for building the strong city as a safe place for only the best Awakeners.
Only the rich, the important, and the powerful are allowed inside. To them, the rest of us—those who haven't awakened, those with low power, and those not wanted—are seen as dirty.
They call us cursed.
Not as good as them.
Burdens.
Being hurt is a normal part of daily life. Being shamed is expected. People like me are laughed at, beaten, and made fun of, often for no reason.
And yet… you wouldn't dare talk back. You say one word, one tiny bit of disagreement, and you'll lose your life that very same day.
I used to think maybe it was my fault.
Maybe I wasn't strong enough in my body. Maybe I wasn't mentally tough enough. Maybe the strange interference that stopped me from awakening was because…
I was weak.
That idea bothered me every day.
So I trained.
Every single day.
From morning to night, whether I was hungry or not, bleeding or not—I trained. No teacher. No guide. No system. Just pure instinct and a desperate need.
And over time, I got stronger.
Not in the way they measure strength, with systems, numbers, or fancy skills.
But my body became tough, my reactions got faster, and I could keep going for an incredibly long time. I could run for hours, stay alive with almost nothing, and fight smaller monsters with my bare hands and broken knives.
But no matter how strong I became, I couldn't beat a single Awakened person.
Even the ones they called Inferior Awakeners, the ones society looked down on and made fun of—even they were on a completely different level.
They had crossed a line I couldn't reach. They had systems, skills, improvements—they had left being human behind.
And me? I was still stuck.
Stronger than most normal humans… but still human.
But that didn't make me give up.
I kept training.
I kept looking for things.
Because survival was all I had left.
Because I made a promise to the ones who gave their lives for me.
Yet, as time passed, things got worse.
Finding things used to be hard but possible. Now, it was almost like trying to die.
The safe areas, the less dangerous ruins, the edges of the monster zones—they were all searched clean years ago. Now only Red Alert Zones, Black Zones, and Forbidden Territories were left.
Even the strongest Awakeners stayed away from those places.
Too unstable. Too dangerous. Too unpredictable.
But I had no choice.
No system.
No status.
No place to call home.
If I didn't go in, I wouldn't eat.
The world outside the big cities had become a desolate place. Water was poisoned and undrinkable, tainted by strange fungi and bad energy. Food was even worse. Wild animals had absorbed too much chaos, and eating them often led to sickness, turning into a monster, or something even worse.
The only way to survive was to trade.
But I was unawakened. They wouldn't give me fair trades, no matter what I brought back. I'd risk my life for old treasures, rare plants, or monster parts—and all I'd get was half a piece of old bread, or a bottle of water that tasted like rust.
To them, I was "not as good as them."
Not worth paying.
Just a shadow crawling on the edge of their bright cities.
Still, I kept going.
For my parents.
For their last words.
For the chance… that one day, I would awaken.
And if I couldn't…
Then I would at least leave behind proof
That even someone like me…
Could survive in this world without a system.