Awakener became the most sought-after dream and profession because it brought fame, and money and sometimes, glory.
What drove the current generation to pursue that dream and instilled that desire were the heroic stories of the first and second generations of Awakeners who fought during the early dark days when rifts newly appeared on Earth.
'I'm an Awakener.'
It was a pretty lukewarm reaction, like it wasn't the biggest life-changing moment a person, a normal person could ever dream of.
Compared that to learning that you just woke up six years in the future. The latter was even more shocking that other news like her own awakening became trivial.
Speaking of reaction, Lea had already experienced the thrill of receiving that first message from the World's system vicariously through her brother when he awakened.
She remembered that day clearly since for her it wasn't that too long ago. Alan was jumping around the house, shouting excitedly like a crazy person that even the neighbours could hear him. Mom and Dad had to threaten him that they would forbid him from working as an Awakener for a year if he didn't tone down the excitement by dinner.
Unlike her brother who looks up to the veteran Awakeners, the thought of being an Awakener herself never once crossed her mind.
That kind of active and noisy lifestyle wasn't for her. She was more than satisfied receiving a monthly allowance from her brother working with an Awakener's six-digit monthly salary.
But, if she was being honest, there was one thing she was curious about - what kind of skill would she be given if she did awaken?
Lea glanced at the voice recorder and thought of her brother. She probably shouldn't do this without consulting him. At the very least, she should first let her family and Doctor Timur know about her awakening but at the moment, her curiosity overwrites cautions.
'Just a quick look.'
Lea convinced herself.
"System, status check," she uttered the three words under her breath. The three words every person who dreams of being an Awakener wished to say in their lives.
[World's system accessing Awakener 'Lea May Carter' data]
Uploading information…
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[Name] Lea May Carter
[Race] Human
[Dimension] Earth
[Title] Sealed
[Talent] Observer
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«Skills»
[Passive] Foresight
> The ability to foresee ten second ahead
> Note: Awakener's ability is too low; skill can only manifest inside a rift
[Active] Eyes of an Eagle
> The ability to see targeted prey from far away
> Note: The skill has the potential to be enhanced when certain requirement is met
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Lea already knew what to expect since the Awakeners Association posted what an Awakener's status screen looked like on their website. So, as soon as the status screen appeared, she skipped past other things and looked at her skill first.
'…is this for real?'
Most Awakeners only had one skill including her brother so Lea thought the same would happen to her. Contrary to her expectation, she saw two skills listed on her status screen.
Lea shut her eyes and slowly opened them again.
"It's still there, it didn't change," Lea uttered in disbelief.
Her initial surprise turned to shock when she read the names of the two skills, especially the passive skill.
'Foresight…'
It wasn't a skill that commonly appeared. If it were, many people would've talked about it already and it would most definitely made headline news.
'Maybe the skill is not as impressive as it sounds.'
Lea suppressed a groan and pretend to be optimistic.
She reads the description of the passive skill word for word.
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[Passive] Foresight
> The ability to foresee ten seconds ahead
> Note: Awakener's ability is too low; skill can only manifest inside a rift
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'…I can't tell whether it's a good thing that the skill only works inside a rift or bad that the skill has a very short time frame. On top of that, it's a passive skill which means I can't switch it on or off whenever I want to.'
Lea covered her eyes with one hand.
'If I keep closing my eyes like this, will the skill change to something that makes more sense like a temperature resistance type? I mean, I'm already satisfied with just the active skill that utilises my eyesight.'
A question suddenly popped up in her head.
'What about my talent then?'
It's now common knowledge that a [skill] is a reflection of the Awakener's innate talent. Based solely on that fact, Lea's talent could be archery or maybe a shooter.
That made her frown.
Because if her talent really turned out to be either of those two, not so far in the future, she would be made to stand for hours under the hot sun to practice despite her own objection.
And so, Lea earnestly wished her talent to be the opposite.
'Please let it be an insignificant talent, a talent that isn't useful for combat.'
Lea removed her hand from her eyes and checked her status screen again.
"System, status check."
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[Name] Lea May Carter
[Race] Human
[Dimension] Earth
[Title] Sealed
[Talent] Observer
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Since the hologram screen could not be move at will like you do with a web browser screen, Lea sat up from the bed to have a proper close look at the status screen.
Aside from not having an idea what kind of talent an
'I just woke up from a very long sleep, what great things could I have done in my sleep?!'
Lea holds her head in frustration.
'I can't deal with this…'
She slumped back down on the bed and pointed at the status screen.
'That must be an error. World's system, please correct my status.'
Lea sent a plea despite knowing there wouldn't a response.
Surprisingly, a second later, another hologram screen popped up beside her status screen.
She sat up from the bed a second time with her eyes wide and jaws dropped in utter shock.
'No way?! The World's system really sent a response?'
[Memory Fragments Recovered 0%]
Lea tilted her head with confusion.
It wasn't the kind of response she expected.
'World's system, what's Memory Fragments?'
Lea tried her luck again but even after a minute had passed, there was no response.
'Looks like it was a one-time opportunity only.'
She looked back at the second hologram screen that looked suspiciously like a mission quest with interest. The zero percentage at the end must mean she needs to collect the Memory Fragments, whatever they are, and when it reaches a hundred percent, there'll be reward for completing it…I hope?
Like correcting her status screen?
But then again, could the World's system make such a small mistake?
Was it done on purpose just to give her this mission quest?
More question arose the more she thought about it and it made her head hurt. What should have been a quick look at her Awakener's status screen turned into potential chaos that could disrupt her peaceful, homebody life.
"Al, your counsel on this matter is greatly needed."
In the end, Lea regretted it. She regretted not paying more attention when her brother babbled about Awakeners-related stuff when no one asked him to.
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Lea took a couple of steps forward in the fog when a hand grabbed hers and gently pulled her towards the opposite direction. She could not see past the arm of the person in front of her but oddly enough, she felt no sense of danger, only familiarity.
"Where are we going?"
Lea asked but the other person did not answer.
As they continued to walk without exchanging words, the muffled noises of people chattering gradually increased around them. The fog did not dissipate but Lea felt as though she knew exactly what was happening around her.
An inexplicable nostalgic feeling suddenly bubbled up in her chest.
Amid the (muffled) bustling noises, the person who had not once let go of Lea's hand spoke without turning back to look at her for the first time.
"Don't get distracted or you'll get lost."
"If I do get lost, I'm not scared."
Her mouth moved on its own in response to that person.
"…Why?"
"Because I know you'll find me anyways, ーー"
When Lea uttered that person's name, her voice was muted.
As if it was done intentionally by someone or … something.
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In the dimly lit hospital room, above Lea's sleeping face, a hologram screen appeared with a notification.
[Memory Fragments Recovered 0.5%]