Clara arrived only moments later.
"Your bath is ready, Young Master Shawn."
Shawn nodded before gathering the five books he had set aside earlier.
"If possible, I'd like to continue reading these in my room."
"Of course."
Clara was not the least bit surprised. During the past several hours, she had watched Shawn immerse himself in books with a dedication bordering on obsession. If anything, she had expected him to carry even more.
She guided him out of the library and through the quiet corridors of the manor.
"Oh, Young Master Shawn," Clara suddenly remembered. "The books in your room have been replaced. Lord Morgan had the shelves filled with books written in the script you've been learning."
"I see."
Shawn had expected as much.
Morgan rarely overlooked details. Since he had gone through the trouble of building an entire section of the library for him, replacing the books in his room was hardly surprising.
The two soon arrived outside his room.
Dinner had already been prepared.
Like always, Shawn ate alone.
Afterward, he enjoyed a warm bath before returning to his room, where he sat cross-legged on the bed and entered meditation.
Only after calming his thoughts did he begin reading.
One book after another passed through his hands.
History.
Basic geography.
An introduction to magical beasts.
Although the information was vast, Shawn wasn't trying to memorize everything by himself anymore. Eva had become the perfect archive. Once he finished reading a page, it remained preserved within her flawless memory, allowing him to recall it whenever he wished.
It saved him an unimaginable amount of effort.
Time quietly slipped away.
Eventually, only one book remained.
The patched alchemy book.
Shawn reached for it.
His fingers traced the rough cover before opening it to the section he had discovered earlier.
The title appeared beneath his fingertips.
Human Awakening.
He remained still for a brief moment.
Earlier, Clara's presence had prevented him from reading further. The hidden letter from his tutor had already surprised him enough. Now that he was alone, he could finally see why the old man had hidden these notes here.
Shawn honestly didn't know what to expect.
Perhaps there truly was something inside that could help him.
Or perhaps...
it would merely remind him of what he had failed to obtain.
Suppressing those thoughts, his fingers slowly moved across the page.
Since the beginning of recorded history, awakening has existed alongside humanity.
In those ancient days, only a select few possessed the ability to awaken naturally. They were individuals blessed with extraordinary bloodlines or chosen by fate itself. The rest of humanity remained powerless, surviving only under the protection, or oppression, of those stronger than them.
That era lasted for millions of years.
Until one man appeared.
Shawn unconsciously slowed his reading.
His talent defied reason.
His achievements challenged the heavens.
Using knowledge beyond his era, he created the very first Awakening Pools, allowing ordinary humans to awaken abilities that had once belonged only to a privileged few.
Humanity's fate changed forever.
The universe itself acknowledged his contribution.
The Awakening Pools gradually became part of the world's natural order.
As for the man who created them...
He became the First Guardian.
Shawn remained silent.
The words carried far more weight than he had expected.
So Guardians...
weren't beings born from the heavens.
The first Guardian had once been human.
That revelation alone was enough to overturn countless assumptions.
He quietly continued reading.
As the Awakening Pools spread throughout the world, the number of awakened humans increased generation after generation.
Those who possessed ancient bloodlines initially resisted the change.
Power had once belonged exclusively to them.
Now even commoners possessed the chance to reach the same heights.
However, with the First Guardian watching over humanity, none dared interfere openly.
As millions of years passed, awakening gradually became part of everyday life.
Shawn could almost picture it.
An ability.
Something people treated as naturally as breathing.
No wonder many around him had been shocked when he failed.
His fingers continued moving.
With awakening came another tradition.
Names.
Only those who awakened received their true names.
Names were never mere labels.
They represented one's existence, one's future, and the power that resonated with their soul.
Without a true name, one remained incomplete.
Shawn paused again.
Three.
That had been the temporary name given to him before his awakening ceremony.
He had been expected to receive his true name afterward.
Instead...
he introduced himself as Shawn.
The name from his previous life.
For the first time, he truly understood why Morgan had found it so strange.
To him...
he had rejected the identity the world intended to give him.
His fingers unconsciously tightened around the page before relaxing once more.
Today, the number of unawakened humans has become exceedingly small.
Fewer than one in a hundred fail to awaken.
Those who remain unawakened generally fall into several categories.
Some possess talent too poor to establish a connection with the Awakening Pool.
Some require special conditions before their abilities can emerge.
Others suffer from damaged foundations.
In rare cases, the Awakening Pool itself may have been tampered with.
And finally...
Some are simply victims of misfortune.
Shawn slowly lowered his head.
Less than one percent...
He had never imagined the number was that low.
His thoughts immediately wandered elsewhere.
Could his grandfather have altered his awakening?
The possibility wasn't impossible.
After all, Vexer had sealed memories belonging to another life inside an infant without his permission.
Compared to that...
tampering with an Awakening Pool didn't seem entirely unbelievable.
Then again...
perhaps he was simply unlucky.
The thought almost made him laugh.
His clan had been annihilated.
His mother had died before his eyes.
His father's fate remained unknown.
Now he lived beneath the roof of the very man responsible for all of it.
If misfortune truly favored certain people...
then it seemed to have chosen him long ago.
Still...
speculation solved nothing.
He drew a quiet breath before turning the page.
The heading beneath his fingertips immediately caused his heartbeat to quicken.
His fingers stopped moving.
Slowly...
carefully...
he traced each raised character once more.
Does an unawakened person have any hope of awakening?