Eugene opened his eyes after a deep sleep.
"Ah… what time is it now?"
He turned toward the glass clock on the table. It was 9:33. Three hours remained before the Awakening Ceremony. He got out of bed and went to the bathroom to relieve himself, then took a hot shower to fully wake up.
"Why is the water so hot?" he muttered to himself.
After the shower, he stepped out while drops of water fell onto the floor. He quickly headed to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.
"What should I cook? Eggs… or tea… or pizza slices?"
After a moment of thought, he decided to cook quickly and chose eggs. He added salt and lemon, lit the fire, and began preparing the meal. He ate quickly while getting his belongings ready.
After 18 minutes, the doorbell rang. He went to open it and found Ren standing there.
"Finally, you woke up! Are you ready?"
"Yes, I'm ready," Eugene replied.
But Ren looked at him with concern.
"But I don't see any primitive resources here!"
Eugene remembered Alex's words about the importance of preparing the body with feathers. He froze for a moment. The time was already 10:03—only two hours remained before the ceremony.
Rim appeared at the apartment door.
"Wait, why are you shouting? Is there a problem?"
Ren pointed at Eugene.
"This idiot forgot to prepare his body with feathers."
Eugene smiled awkwardly.
"Hehehe… yeah, it's fine."
Rim quickly gathered the resources, and Eugene found them laid out in front of him: Green Man Herb, Mountain Wolf Fangs, Black Dragon Fruit, Snowy Mountain Lemon Peel, and finally, Nile River Water.
He began consuming the resources one by one. Some were hard, with strange and sour tastes, except for the Nile water, which was sweet. After that, he sat down to meditate, trying to sense the energy of these elements inside his body.
As time passed, lights began to glow inside his stomach. He felt intense pain and a sharp headache, but he endured it and began stretching and jumping exercises, just as Alex had advised, to help the feathers spread through his blood and body.
After half an hour, he felt something strange, as if he were absorbing energy from his surroundings. He left his room and entered the hall, where gray clouds and strong winds filled the space. Suddenly, he remembered the atmosphere of Eliso Village before the incident, and the nausea and headache returned for a while.
He moved with slow steps toward the Awakening Hall.
Ren was nervous.
"Why is Eugene late?"
Fred appeared behind Ren and asked,
"Where is Eugene?"
Before Ren could answer, Musa began speaking.
"Listen, students. Today is your first step into the world of cultivation. For those who do not know what the Awakening Ceremony is, Elder Wu will explain it to you."
Elder Wu stood before the students and pointed to a large glass sphere.
"This sphere will receive the feathers you release. Through it, we will determine the depth level of your Feather Sea."
One student, Mazen, stepped forward and began releasing feathers. Sparks emerged from his body and were absorbed by the crystal. After a moment, the mist formed into the letter B.
"What does that mean?" one student asked.
"The letter B means his talent is B-rank," Alex replied.
The other students followed one after another. Most were C and D ranks, while only three possessed B-rank talent.
When Rim's turn came, the crystal began to glow with different colors as the mist formed. Suddenly—A-rank talent!
One of the wealthy students shouted,
"Wait! She's from the commoners! She can't have such a high talent!"
Fred stepped forward confidently.
"So what if she is? That doesn't prevent her from having better talent than you."
The students fell silent under Musa's strict gaze, while Rim felt a strange happiness.
Then it was Ren's turn. He was extremely nervous, and some students began laughing at his fear. He stepped toward the crystal as Eugene watched from afar.
Finally, it was Eugene's turn. His sun-colored eyes were filled with anxiety and tension. Everyone watched him in silence, waiting to know his rank. He stepped onto the platform, his heart pounding rapidly, and released everything he had of his feathers.
The mist began to form…
The colors started to change…
Everyone waited in thrilling anticipation…
Shock, joy, envy, astonishment, hatred, disbelief, and indifference—
all were colors painting the faces of everyone in the hall.
Eyes watching, hearts pounding, sweat flowing like a waterfall.
All of it was fish swimming in the river of power…
and Eugene stood on his boat, ready to catch a whale named:
Eugene's Talent… of rank…
End of Chapter Five.