The Fragments Ceremony, also called the Magic Ceremony, was going to take place on the topmost floor of the glass building — the Hero Association office.
I entered the building, and my eyes were met with people… a lot of people, all around my age, streaming inside.
Fragments start unlocking at the age of thirteen till seventeen, so everyone begins attending this ceremony at that age. For me, the last four tries had all been failures. I didn't unlock a single fragment. Only in my final attempt did I finally awaken one — a plain, normal fragment that gave me healing.
Thinking about my past life, I followed the crowd into the elevator. It was filled with people my age and younger. Everyone looked so damn excited like they will all unlock rare fragments but the probability of unlocking a higher fragment was very low, that too were mostly unlocking by the nobles.
Even though there is democracy and no one is noble and peasant but in truth people who work in top guilds and administration were called nobles
This I found when I worked in a guild. The so called nobles had good lineage ,strong connections, good genetics and so on .
Oh, it's Tristan, I thought, noticing him. The prodigy who unlocked a rare square fragment at just fourteen, on his second try, he is also here .One of the few talented people who is not a noble.
In this world, fragments are divided into five types: Common, Normal, Rare, Super Rare, and Epic.
Common and Normal are the low-tier fragments, usually in circle or oval shapes.
Rare and Super Rare are high-tier fragments shaped square and rectangle.
Epic fragments are the pinnacle — pentagon or hexagon shaped. Only two people in the entire world possess them: our country's strongest hero, and our second strongest.
The science of fragments is simple: the more sides a fragment has, the more powerful it is. Each side or corner represents variations and evolutions in its abilities.
There are also two unusual types. Triangle fragments — not very strong, but extremely rare. And then, Null fragments — irregular in shape, without sides at all. These are just as powerful as epic fragments, though shrouded in myth.
My thoughts were cut off by the ring of the elevator. We had reached the top floor. As the doors opened, everyone stepped out and moved toward a pair of stairs. I followed along.
At the top, we finally reached the hall where the ceremony was held. It was massive . In the center stood a towering stone pillar, embedded with strange shells and stones that fragments were attached to — though at the moment it was covered by a silver cloth. Its height stretched straight through the roof outside the building .
Of course, that cloth was no ordinary fabric. It was a barrier made by top heroes; a normal cloth could never conceal the stone pillar. It also served to protect the fragments inside.
Behind the boundary around the pillar were three elevated platforms, where three people at a time would be able to receive their fragments. Another layer of guards and a short wall kept students in line, waiting for their turn to step forward in groups of three.
Beyond that, there was a wide open space, and surrounding it, the stadium. Parents, relatives, and even some heroes sat in the stands, watching.
There was also a special section for guild recruiters and top heroes who observed the ceremony. Not every top hero came every year, but there were still many.
And finally, near the stone pillar stood the instructor in blue uniform, making sure everything was in order.
Looking around in the crowd, I finally spotted Elara with Cole and Amanda. They were in the second row, while I had been placed in the fifth. Behind me were another five rows, making it a total of ten rows — each row holding twenty people.
There were many more students waiting, but their turn would come once this first group was done.
When everything was ready, the instructor first called a single person to demonstrate how one would obtain a fragment. A red-haired boy from the first row stepped forward. I didn't remember him from my past life.
The boy walked to one of the elevated platforms. The instructor lifted the silver cloth covering the stone pillar — and what I saw instantly brought memories flooding back from my previous life.
The pillar was massive, glowing faintly, with thousands of fragments embedded within it, each in different shapes. Around the pillar were shells and smaller stones, and even they had fragments attached.
The red-haired boy placed his right arm against the pillar. Immediately, the entire stone structure began to glow red. On the boy's forearm appeared the mark of an oval-shaped fragment, glowing with a fiery red light and surrounded by small circles.
The glow spread, sank into his skin, and finally ended. The fragment was now fully attached to his arm. He returned to his seat, having gained an oval-shaped fragment with a fire element. It wasn't bad — not rare, but not useless either. And, of course, in this world, one could gain more fragments later.
In fact, a person could hold up to billions of fragments, though that depended on rank. This world had twelve known ranks, starting from Awakened and ending with the mythical Eternal, also called "God-like."
Awakened: 1–2 fragments, or 3 high tier fragments with extraordinary talent,or around 9 to 10 low tier ones
Adept: up to 5 or 6 high tier fragments and 15 to 20 low tier ones.
Core: up to 10 high tier fragments or 30 low tier ones(In my previous life, I died in this rank)
Crux: 20–25 fragments even more upto 60 to75 if the fragments are all low tier.Normal and common tier fragments could be controlled easily so if a person has a good command over 1 higher tier fragment he could easily control 3 to 5 low tier fragments.
Apex: up to 50 fragments.
Above Apex: up to 100+ fragments, reaching into three-digit numbers.
Higher ranks continued scaling, until at Eternal rank, a person could potentially hold billions or even trillions of fragments.
No one in the known world had ever reached Eternal. The strongest man alive, the Number One Hero Aric, had reached the 10th rank — Ascendant. He was said to command at least a million fragments, each with its own unique power.
How strong is a man with a million fragments ? The thought alone was terrifying.
As the demonstration ended, students began stepping up three at a time. One by one, fragments awakened — most of them common or normal.