The world of Elden—a beautiful place, with a massive tower at its center, piercing beyond the visible sky and into space itself.
A world where not only humans, but many other races live. Here, one can see dragons roaming the skies as unhinged apex predators. The seas are dominated by beasts that rival dragons.
And every inhabitant possesses mystical powers.
But this was not always the case.
For most of history, Elden was no different from any ordinary world.
Up until the 31st century, Elden followed familiar laws—science over superstition, technology over myth. Nations rose and fell, and wars were fought with advanced weapons and machines.
After many years of search the inhabitants of Elden believed they are alone in their vast galaxy.
But that belief was shattered suddenly.
As the world celebrated the arrival of new century, something totally unexpected also came with it.
It was from the center of sea, from there something begun to rise.
A tower.
The Tower was an structure that looked like it is made up of stones and marked with many glowing patterns. But the most astonishing part was it was rising continuously for over two days with no intention of stopping.
And soon it's peak was no longer visible as if it vanished out of the planet itself.
All nations attention was drawn to it, they all wondered who made it as they pointed at each other.
Whose technology was this? Which nation had created it?
But once again, they were left astonished.
No one claimed it as theirs, as it had magically appeared—or perhaps it was something ancient that was now resurfacing and revealing itself to the world.
Scientists and military forces from all nations converged upon it. But all efforts were futile; they weren't even able to get close to the Tower, much less study it.
In the end, all kinds of weapons were used, yet nothing worked once again. Just as they were growing frustrated and wondering what to do, cerulean mist suddenly began to leak from the Tower. The cerulean mist was like a thick cloud that gradually started to spread across the entire world.
Soon, the whole planet was covered in cerulean clouds.
And then, it rained.
And it was not normal rain but rain of mystical energy condensed into droplets.
The impact of this rain was heavy on Elden. Animals grew stronger. Plants expanded to enormous sizes. Even humans began to awaken superpowers that were once fiction.
It was as though the Tower's arrival marked the end of one era—
and the beginning of another.
Humans began to awaken Stigmata—marks that proved they had successfully drawn mana onto their bodies. Those who failed to awaken were no longer seen as equals. They were pushed aside, ignored, and slowly abandoned by society.
A class system took hold.
Just as humanity once implemented social hierarchies, a new system emerged—one based entirely on awakened classes and mana aptitude.
The awakened rose.
Those without power fell.
Cities and even entire nations were founded by the awakened, sealing themselves off from the powerless.
Those who were not able to awaken soon found themselves discarded, shunned from awakened society.
The old power structure itself collapsed.
Governments lost their authority, unable to control those who wielded supernatural strength. The awakened dominated armies, industries, and politics, until they no longer needed permission to rule.
In the end, the strong declared themselves king, creating entirely new nations.
Many new nations appeared and many old nations were forgotten.
And now after 1000 years.
There are no more non-awakened.
The children of the awakened naturally awaken at the time of their Awakening Ceremony, inheriting mana as easily as breath.
Right now, in the city of Silvenas—
At the well-known Academy of Silvenas, another Awakening Ceremony was happening.
All the students who had turned sixteen were gathered in the large hall. The mana in the room was extremely dense—more than a hundred times stronger than the natural mana in the air outside.
Among them was a black-haired, blue-eyed boy named Leon.
Like the others, he sat with his eyes closed and breathed in a steady rhythm. With each breath in, a faint blue mist flowed into his nose. When he breathed out, a thin stream of black mist came out of his mouth.
This was the effect of the Awakening Circle beneath him.
The formation circulated mana through Leon's body, guiding it through every mana vein and gradually unlocking his entire mana network.
Many teachers stood along the sides of the hall, carefully observing the students. They were the homeroom teachers of those present, overseeing the ceremony with hopeful expressions.
It's happening…
Leon inhaled slowly, focusing harder as he drew the mana inward. He felt it—the stigmata beginning to etch itself onto his right hand.
He was being connected to the Tower System.
After an unknown time of this continous cycle, suddenly, he felt now all the mana is now converging in center of this body and soon a core was formed in his body center.
I've awakened.
Leon smiled as he opened his eyes, glancing around the hall and wondering who else had awakened. But everyone else still had their eyes closed, drawing mana into their bodies.
Hehehe… that means I'm the first to awaken, which means I am also the best in my class.
A smug smile unknowingly spread across his face as he looked around, seeing others still forming their stigmata and cores.
'Now time to see my status' Leon thought as he focused on the small blue dot in corner of his vision.
The glow expanded, unfolding into a screen before his eyes.
A transparent panel floated in the air. It wasn't magic—at least, not in the traditional sense—but rather the miraculous Tower System they had learned about.
The system that could quantify one's very being and define it as status.
[ Congratulations. You have awakened as a Knight. ]
[ Say "Status" to view your newly awakened information. ]
"Status."
Leon said it immediately, his heart racing as he wondered what his rank would be.
Since I awakened this fast, it has to be at least A-rank, he thought.