Somewhere in the desert where people and animals barely pass through, a rift was luckily discovered by some wandering nomads.
The first to respond to the emergency request was the fourth-ranked mercenary group in the world - ROAR Guild.
"Alan! You really came!"
Alan was already in a bad mood before boarding the plane. So, being greeted loudly the moment he arrived made his mood sour even more.
"…Spencer."
"I thought it would only just be your teammates coming to support us. I feel more reassured that you're here!"
Spencer, an Awakener who could easily be mistaken for a bodybuilder due to the massive muscles on his arms and legs, laughed heartily despite the rising tension in their surroundings.
Yet, no one reprimanded him because in terms of position and individual strength, Spencer was undeniably stronger amongst the Awakeners assembled here.
"The big body personally called me and told me to get on the plane," Alan spoke with his arms crossed. "Unlike a certain someone, I don't have the right to refuse. Besides, the rift this time…"
Spencer followed where Alan trailed his gaze to.
Floating in front of the rift, a hologram screen visible to everyone including the non-awakened, contained one short but vital piece of information.
[32 days until the rift's complete integration]
"It was fortunate that the nomads wandered through this part of the desert. Otherwise, no one would've known there was a rift here until it was too late."
Alan shared the same thought as Spencer.
If the rift in front of them remained undiscovered, creatures from inside the rift would cross over to their side and wreak havoc. Same could be said if the Awakeners fail to capture and close the rift before it completely integrates with Earth.
Alan fixed his gaze at the number that a frown was almost formed on his face.
32 days
Depending on the difficulty of the rift, that might not be enough time. The only way to distinguish the difficulty level without stepping inside the rift was by looking at its colour. In this case, the rift they were looking at now was illuminated in orange, which meant it was the second-highest in terms of difficulty.
"What about the scouts?"
"The scout's initial report said the environment on the other side is a swamp forest infested with alligators and snakes," Spencer provided Alan with the information he heard.
Just based on that, Alan made quick changes to his team's formation in his head.
"Alan, you and your team cover from the trees. I'll wrestle with the alligators."
Spencer smiled broadly at his simple plan with no thought of a backup in case something went wrong.
"Spencer, you can't just wrestle with the alligators."
"How did you know?"
Spencer's eyes went wide with surprise as if Alan had read his thoughts.
Alan sighed and held back from telling this muscled uncle that he leaked his true intention with his own mouth.
"Attention! Team leaders are called for a strategy meeting in one minute."
Spencer headed towards the temporarily set up command tent after hearing the announcement.
After a couple of large steps, the older Awakener looked over his shoulder and urged Alan, "Come on, let's not keep the big boss waiting."
Meanwhile, the rest of the Awakeners remained in the open desert, making final checks of their equipment.
Barely anyone spoke.
Being in close proximity to the orange-lit rift, no one dared to move recklessly until the order to enter the rift was given.
.
.
.
"Don't stay up late, Miss Lea. If you need anything, Dan is on the night shift."
"Good night."
Nurse Kim closed the door behind her, leaving Lea alone in the room.
Lea lay down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. She raised her arm in the air. Months ago, her wrist looked so thin and bony with no strength to lift it. Now, she clasped and unclamped her hand with no shakiness.
It wasn't just the physical therapist who was impressed with her speedy recovery.
Lea was more surprised at herself.
Since her first physical therapy session, she didn't utter a single whine about how frustrating it was. For context, before falling under Hibernation Syndrome, Lea would be the last person in her family who you'd expect to willingly do any sort of exercise. The only time she diligently exercise was for the mandatory sports event when she was still in school.
Lea put down her hand and wondered, 'Changes to a person's physique vary from person to person when they awaken but does it also include your mindset?'
Awakening doesn't happen to every person.
It wasn't something that could be obtained through money or status. Only the World's system can grant a person's awakening but to be an Awakener, it was up to the individual whether to accept it or not.
'The World's system is conscientious in that regard, surprisingly.'
People who rejected their Awakening remained as ordinary people with just a bit more strength; they were labelled as Ordinary Awakeners for the sake of it.
So… why?
[World's system congratulates the individual 'Lea May Carter' on your Awakening]
That hologram screen was still floating around as if to bother Lea until she acknowledged it.
'Seriously, I don't even remember seeing the Awakening notification from the World's system so how could I have awakened?'
Lea was flustered at first then moved on to feeling exasperated.
She could only guess that it might have happened before she went under six years of forced sleep, but when she tried to recall the moment specifically, her memories became distorted. Her mind no longer felt hazy but it felt like there was a thick fog firmly blocking her from remembering.
Doctor Timur and the sleep specialist speculated the memory distortion might be a side effect of a long-term Hibernation Syndrome so they had her brain scanned to check for any anomalies but they found nothing. Since Lea was the first case of long-term Hibernation Syndrome, there was no previous data to compare to.
Lea stared at the hologram screen again.
Not an Ordinary Awakener, but an actual Awakener like her brother.
After months of ignoring and pretending it was never there, Lea finally accepted that fact with a defeated sigh.
'I fell asleep and woke up to find myself already awakened without my knowledge. That could be the title of a webnovel.'