Carrie is lying on the couch, half-wrapped in her bedsheet, eyes glued to the TV watching the news about yesterday's portal incident.
The door creaked and Zac stepped out.
She glanced over and froze, seeing him.
She tightly gripped the bedsheet and pulled it to her neck like a shield; the other hand raised the remote with a trembling body.
"…Who are you?" with a shaking voice. "What are you doing in our house?"
Zac blinked. "Carrie… it's me."
He took a step forward.
"Don't come closer!"
Thud!
The remote flew straight at his head.
"Ouch!" Zac clutched his forehead. "What is wrong with you, Carrie?!"
"Stay back, stranger!" she snapped, scooting further into the couch. "My brother is awakened!"
Zac stared at her, disbelief written all over his face. "For God's sake, Carrie, I am Zac."
She narrowed her eyes, scanning him from head to toe.
"…What?"
"My brother never looked this beautiful," she said seriously. "You're clearly lying."
Zac: ("…")
"Oh, I know; you must be one of those beautiful kidnappers," she continued, pointing at him like she'd cracked the case.
"I am NOT a—what even is that?!"
"Luring girls with your face. I won't fall for it!"
Inside his head, the system is dying.
[Ahh…ahaa… Yesterday she called you a beggar… today you're a kidnapper. I love this girl.]
Zac's eye twitched.
"Brother! BROTHER!" She started shouting at the top of her lungs. "Someone's trying to kidnap me! Come and help me!"
"Carrie, stop! Stop shouting!" Zac rushed forward and placed his hand on her mouth. "I'm really your brother!"
She paused.
Then once again, "Ahh…murder, murder, now he is trying to kill me; someone, please help."
[Haa…haa…] The system kept on laughing, watching this.
Out of frustration, Zac unknowingly released his divine aura, which made her silent.
Even though she stopped shouting, she still did not believe him.
"Then prove it. Tell me something only we know," she said, squinting at him.
He didn't even hesitate.
"You wore diapers till you were eight; is that enough?"
Carrie's face turned bright red hearing him.
"STUPID!" she snapped, grabbing a pillow and throwing it at him. "Did you really have to say that?!"
"You asked for proof!"
"You could've said anything else!"
Zac folded his arms. "So? Do you believe me now?"
She looked away, embarrassed, then clicked her tongue.
"…Fine. I believe you."
"…But how?" She reached out and poked his arm.
"Your skin is so smooth…" she said. "Look at this jawline! This... this glow! Your face usually looks like a thumb that's been in the bath too long."
"But now you look like a high-end model."
"Brother… did you use some kind of forbidden beauty product?"
Zac's face darkened. "What are you even thinking?!"
"Then how did you change this much overnight?"
He hesitated for a second before answering. "It's a side effect of my awakening."
Carrie narrowed her eyes. "Really? You're not lying, right?"
"I'm not."
She stared at him for a few more seconds. "Fine. I'll believe you."
"Don't think I won't find out if you're hiding something."
Zac let out a small sigh of relief.
"Yeah, yeah."
They ate breakfast together like usual, though Carrie kept sneaking glances at him every now and then, still not fully convinced.
After finishing up, he grabbed his things and headed out.
Because of the portal break last night, the whole city felt… off.
The city is completely shut down until they are clear that no monster escaped.
While walking through the street, he pulled out his phone and scrolled through the local news.
Every headline screamed the same thing.
A sudden portal breakdown. A high-level awakener arriving just in time to kill the giant serpent.
Reports said the portal had been stabilized before it could collapse and awakeners were already going inside to explore it.
After nearly an hour of walking, he reached the association building at the center of the city.
Even in a small city like this, the building stood like a giant among ants.
Zac stared at it for a moment and walked inside.
Inside, the place was packed.
Multiple counters, each one crowded with people. Awakeners with all types of attire consisting of armor and weapons roamed the place.
Because of last night's incident, everyone was busy and no one paid Zac any attention.
He scanned the counters, picked one with the least people, and joined the line.
Ten minutes later, he reached the front.
The woman behind the counter didn't even look up. Her fingers moved quickly across the keyboard with eyes glued to the screen.
"What do you want?" she asked, flatly.
"I'm here to register my awakening and to get my ID."
"Name—" She looked up at Zac and froze. Her fingers stopped typing, and she just stared at him.
"What is this? Why am I getting an urge to be close with him, and what's with that face?"
She blinked hard and shuck her head to stay professional.
Clearing her throat, she quickly looked back at her screen, hiding the sudden heat in her face.
"Take this," she said, handing him a card with a number on it.
"Go to the sixth floor and wait in the reception area. You'll be called when it's your turn."
Zac took the card without much thought. "Alright. Thanks."
Only when he was gone did she finally let out a breath. "...What the hell was that?"
Meanwhile, Zac reached the sixth floor; he saw other people sitting on a lounge with the same card but different numbers.
He found an empty spot and sat down.
After thirty minutes, he is called into a room by the staff member.
There he saw a similar crystal to the one used in the school with a man standing next to it.
He called Zac to step forward and place his hand on the crystal.
Zac did just as told, and the color of the crystal started changing.
"This brings back unpleasant memories." He frowned in his mind.
The colors climbed one after another until they stopped at gold.
Behind him, the man is frozen with his eyes widened.
Sweat formed on his forehead.
"Wait here," he said quickly, no longer having a steady voice.
Before Zac could even ask—
The man turned and rushed out of the room.
After ten minutes the door opened again, and the same man returned with another middle-aged man walking beside him.
Zac's eyes shifted to the new person; he felt a strong aura coming from him.
A long scar stretched across his face, with a threatening look. His posture was straight and firm.
"He must be a powerful awakener."
The two exchanged a few quiet words before the first man left the room.
The middle-aged man walked forward and stood in front of Zac.
He looked at him carefully from head to toe without leaving a single detail.
"My name is Li Haoran, chief of the awakened association Mellow City.
"Would you come with me for a cup of coffee?" he asked.
Zac blinked. "System, my skill won't attract men, right?"
[Unless they are homosexual, no.]
Seeing that Zac is not replying, the man asked, "Are you thinking something?"
"No, can I have tea instead?"
"Sure."
"Come with me."
The man simply turned and walked out with Zac following.
They entered the elevator and reached the 21st floor.
Zac stepped out and paused for a second.
The entire floor was one massive office.
Screens covered one side of the wall, displaying live feeds. On the other side, tall shelves stretched up, filled with books, files, and records.
At the center stood a large office table with a full glass behind it.
Zac could see the entire city through it.
The man walked to the table and gestured for him to sit.
Zac pulled the chair and sat opposite him.
The man leaned back slightly, eyes fixed on Zac like he was studying a puzzle piece that didn't fit anywhere.
Zac, on the other hand, just sat there, feeling that gaze press on him.
"…This is awkward," he muttered in his head, fingers lightly tapping the armrest.
A woman in a neat secretary uniform walked in with high heels. She placed a file in front of the man, then set a cup of tea in front of Zac.
"Thank you," Zac said, already reaching for it.
She gave a small nod and moved to stand beside the man.
The man read the file and placed it aside on the table.
"Zac Godson. Nineteen years old, currently living with your mother and sister. Awakened two days ago in a city high school."
"Initially evaluated as E-class potential."
He glared at him with his voice hardening.
"Care to explain how you went from E-class to SS-class in less than two days?"
Zac placed his cup on the table and looked up. "The crystal must have malfunctioned."
The man's gaze sharpened. "Don't you think that sounds ridiculous?"
Zac gave a small nod. "It does."
"That's why I believed it too," he said quietly. "That I was just E-class."
Suddenly his voice softened and his expression changed.
"You don't know how it felt. My father was an awakener; he was my hero; he valiantly died trying to save the people from the monsters."
"After he died, my mom did everything alone to raise me and my sister."
His fingers clenched slightly on his knee. "I thought if I awakened a good class, I could make our lives better."
"But that day," he let out a shaky breath, "everything just broke. My dreams were shattered."
His eyes grew wet. "Just when I thought nothing could go wrong, I received a call saying my mom got mana poisoned."
A tear slipped down. "She's in the hospital now… fighting for her life."
Zac lowered his head.
"I went home and just cried. I cried until I fell asleep."
The secretary's expression softened instantly, and her grip tightened on the file she was holding.
"Poor thing."
Watching him crying pained her heart.
Unnoticed by Zac, his unmatched charisma already started taking effect.
But—
The man didn't move or react. "That still doesn't answer my question."
Zac slowly wiped his eyes and took a breath.
"Since you have my file, you've seen how I looked before, right?"
The man gave a small nod.
"Then you know this kind of change," Zac gestured at himself, "isn't something an E-class should have, right?"
"I cried myself to sleep that night, but when I woke up the next day, I looked like this."
"I didn't understand it either," Zac continued. "That's why I came here to recheck my awakening."
"Is that everything?"
"Yes."
[I didn't know you are such a good liar.]