I'm Zeil—eighteen years old, with two younger sisters: Serin (13) and Lerin (9). They mean everything to me. Our parents died when I was just twelve. I didn't have time to grieve. I couldn't afford to. I had to step up, take care of them, and keep moving forward.
For six long years, I've waited for this day: the Awakening Ritual.
In our world, everyone goes through it when they turn eighteen. It decides your profession—Guard, Hunter, Mage, Soldier… or, if you're truly exceptional, Royal Commander. You're ranked based on three things: physical strength, mana capacity, and mental stability.
I don't have any of those.
But I'm still here. I'm still walking into that ritual—not for power, but for my sisters.
The ritual began, and one by one, everyone received something. Most were assigned as Soldiers or Guards—nothing surprising there. But then, someone became a Mage.
Zenrey Sone.
He's well-known in our village—basically a local legend. A natural talent. People called him a prodigy even before the ritual. Honestly, it wasn't a shock when he got the Mage rank.
After a few more people, it was finally my turn.
I stepped into the ritual ring slowly, my heart pounding in my chest. For a moment, the magical sphere glowed—an unnatural yellow, like morning sunlight breaking through thick clouds.
But then… it stopped. Just like that, the light vanished.
No rank.
No profession.
Nothing.
Once again… I was a nobody.
Then, a strange chime echoed in my ears.
[Welcome to the Cosmic System]
I didn't know what it meant, but the words were clear—"Cosmic System." Then something else appeared in front of me:
[Age – 18]
[Strength – 7]
[Agility – 8]
[Potential – Unable to Calculate]
I know I'm weak, but am I really this weak?
This is embarrassing. I need to close this see-through window before anyone sees it.
But something was off. Everyone was staring at me… yet no one seemed to notice this glowing screen.
Is this something only I can see?
I stepped out of the ritual ring, and the ceremony continued as if nothing had happened.
By the end, 79 teenagers had participated—and 78 walked away with ranks.
The only one without a rank or profession… was me.
Zenrey Sone was the only one who became a Mage. A few became Hunters. Most were labeled Soldiers or Guards.
I walked home feeling numb. Empty. But the moment I saw my sisters, the weight on my chest lifted. Their ultimate weapon—those "unbeatable cute expressions"—was more powerful than any magic. I'll never let those smiles fade. But to protect them… I need a real job. Something with a steady income.
"Biggie, what profession did you get?" Lerin asked, her voice full of excitement.
"I don't know," I said honestly. "But I got something new."
"New? What is it? Biggie, can you do magic now?"
Her eyes sparkled like stars. Even Serin leaned in, curious.
I opened my system window and asked if they could see it.
They both squinted, looked around… and then laughed.
Apparently, they couldn't see anything. They thought I was just teasing them.
Poor me.
After that, we had dinner.
Not a fancy one, but an enjoyable one.
It wasn't the food—it was the feeling.
Everything becomes special when you have cute little sisters.
Then we went to bed.
Our house may be small, but we each have our own room, thanks to our parents.
I tried my best not to think about what happened today, but it kept creeping in.
I wanted to learn more about the "Cosmic System."
That's when I noticed something in the corner of the system window—something like Cosmic Energy.
I was curious, so I tapped it.
The moment I did, my whole room turned into a galaxy.
Everywhere I looked, I saw stars colliding, suns burning, planets drifting across space.
It was breathtaking.
And then… I saw a figure watching me from far, far away.
I don't know what it was. But just as I noticed it, it vanished.
And suddenly, I returned to my room, and it was already morning.
"I didn't know if I got any sleep or not." i muttered.
Outside my house, there was loud clamor because of the celebration for yesterday's Awakening Ritual.
Zenrey Sone is the main character of this event. He will now go to the Mage Academy to learn spells and the duties of a mage from senior mages.
Mages are rare, so the kingdom spreads them throughout the country, allowing them to share kingdom information in less than a day. Mages can communicate with other mages within a certain radius, but that also has limitations.
"Are you still asleep, Zeil?" Serin shouted from the living room.
"I'm awake, Your Majesty!" I shouted back.
Serin is a genius at everything. She doesn't talk much—maybe that's why she's so smart. It doesn't matter.
She goes to our village education center, where our local legend, Zake Nomore, teaches anyone willing to learn.
He started teaching children for fun, but it's become his full-time work now. He's one of the finest ex-mages in the kingdom. Most ex-mages have died, but he hasn't—and that's why he's a legend.
Now Serin and Lerin are ready to go to Zake's center, and I have to explore this mysterious see-through window to see if it can help me or not.
My sisters left for the center, and I was checking this window again to see if anything would happen like yesterday. While I was checking everything, I noticed that the "Cosmic Energy" tab was dimmer than before. I tapped it many times, but nothing happened like yesterday.
Maybe it will work later, I thought. Then I heard someone speaking loudly outside.
"This was very hard to clear, and now we're lacking manpower," said Loud Man 1, who was equipped with armor, to another loud man.
There were a total of four loud men, and they were talking about lacking manpower. Maybe this is what I think it is. I stepped out of my house.
They were talking about dungeon raiding.
I seriously went without a second thought. They were all shocked to see me running toward them, but their facial expressions were different from before. Their faces looked like they had a stomachache.
What's this aura? every armed man thought.
The moment they moved an inch, that aura pressure was something else—they had never experienced anything like it.
"What's wrong, sir? Is your stomach giving you trouble or something?" I asked them politely.
"Nothing to worry about," they said.
(Author's note: their pride would be hurt if they said "Nothing, you look stronger than us." MC isn't that smart to know.)
"Then okay," I said. "I heard you were talking about lacking manpower, so I was wondering if you need a man to help." I asked them politely. "If you pay a little bit, that would help me too," I added nervously.
"Yeah! We're short one more person to enter the dungeon," one man said. He wasn't that loud like before. "By the way, I'm Zen Kamaki, this group's leader," he added.
"I have no experience in dungeon raiding, is that okay?" I asked nervously.
"That's not a problem. We need someone to carry our equipment inside the dungeon, that's all. And we will pay one person's share too," he replied.
"Sorry for not introducing myself. My name is Zeil Noir," I said.
"Then come to the village border in the afternoon, and we'll take our leave," he said and walked away with his companions.