As far as Rohan was aware, most people didn't even have a starting gene recognised by the Origin Land upon their awakening — only a lucky few did. However, all of the known types of starting genes had already been documented, yet there was no mention of an 'Evolution Gene' anywhere online.
There were only 10 known gene types one can start with, and this definitely wasn't among them.
'I guess this makes 11?' Rohan thought.
If he wasn't currently standing on stage surrounded by over 400 dumbfounded faces, he would have been jumping up and down in excitement.
Rohan's heart pounded wildly. He had no idea what this gene did but just the name alone seemed extremely imposing. After all, what did evolution symbolise? Wasn't the whole genetic awakening ceremony they were currently going through considered an evolution?
Rohan stepped down from the stage like all the others did before him, only this time everyone's gaze stayed stuck to him rather than moving to the next name that the principal should have called by now.
Chattering soon filled in the silence as many students began muttering to each other in their incredulity and jealousy.
"Rohan, hi…" A familiar face made her way over to him, awkwardness written all over her face.
"I know we broke up a month ago, but I— I made a mistake back then…"
Rohan didn't even bother looking at his ex-girlfriend Joanna, completely ignoring her words while walking straight past her.
'Utter trash human beings, how fake can you be. Throwing me away one second only to come crawling back only when I have value in your eyes.'
Ever since his breakup with her, Rohan hated Joanna. At first he felt giddy that he'd finally found a girlfriend, and such a beautiful one at that. His feelings for her were genuine, but as he only later found out, hers were nothing short of the opposite.
As it turned out, she only asked him out as a dare from her friends, and all those 'sweet' times they had shared together turned out to be nothing short of opportunities for her and her friends to mock his innocence.
'If I wasn't so blinded, I could have realised easily. Like how we only ever saw each other at school, as she always made excuses whenever I asked to meet up outside.'
She came from a rich family, one that had more than enough money for the next ten generations to live comfortably — yet they were still considered 'normal' and irrelevant in the current society because of the simple fact they had had no awakened. They were all ordinary people.
Joanna was no doubt making an attempt to change that by approaching Rohan first right after his successful awakening, despite how much her face conveyed her awkwardness and reluctance to do so.
He soon made his way to the door leading outside the sports hall. The awakening ceremony would take up the whole school day, and students could leave freely once they had their turn; only barely a few chose to actually do so since they were so curious about everyone else's results.
Not Rohan. Not anymore.
Originally he planned to stick around just like everyone else to see if there was actually someone who'd awaken with such abysmal chances, but that was before.
The principal didn't even manage to inform him of all the benefits he was now obligated to receive or where to register himself, but he didn't need to anyway. Rohan knew that already from the last two ceremonies he'd been through.
Seeing those lucky students who had awakened in the first and second rounds and hearing all about how their lives would drastically change had him filled with envy, yet now here he was, experiencing it himself.
'A one-time government stipend, how much was it again? Oh right, $100,000… I can't believe I'm jumping straight from poverty to somewhat well-off just like that.'
Of course, this was only if he chose to continue living an ordinary life and managed his money wisely.
Living as an awakened, though… that was something that not even $100,000 could cover long term. Making a living from the Origin Realm brought in a lot of money, but it also required an equally significant expenditure if you actually wanted to get somewhere.
The feeling still hadn't sunk in for him.
'First I need to go and register myself at the Awakened centre so I can actually buy something to protect myself once I'm forced into the Origin Realm..'
***
After Rohan awakened, the remaining students were filled with a mixture of emotions. Though the overall outlook was rather bleak, especially for those who already had their final chance to awaken.
"Why couldn't it have been me…" all of them thought.
However, it was extremely unlikely that any of them would be following in Rohan's footsteps in a successful awakening.
As for Rohan himself, he couldn't give a damn about the disgruntled emotions of his peers. They had treated him as a joke over the last year, so knowing that they would forever remain jealous of the future life he was going to lead only left him feeling schadenfreude.
The Awakening centre was over an hour walk from the school, and if it were any other day Rohan would have been left feeling exhausted and sweaty from such a long walk and over hilly terrain as well. But his body still felt in top shape as he arrived at the Awakened centre, not a drop of sweat anywhere.
'It's crazy how much can change from the initial awakening…'
He was now officially an F Rank Awakened, and the effects were already showing.
As for why he walked for over an hour to reach the awakened centre? Well, what reason could there be other than being too poor to afford a taxi?
His bank balance was already dangerously close to negative, and the one time government stipend would only arrive after he registered himself, so he was still technically poor.
Rohan forgot all about that as he bore witness to the scene in front of him.
The Awakened centre was a conspicuously large building in what would normally be a quieter part of downtown. It was an entirely black building, not a window in sight, over 250 metres tall and 150 metres in width.
However, Rohan's focus wasn't on the building but on the people entering and exiting it.
'Such oppressive auras!'
His breathing quickened just in the mere presence of the might and prowess of these Awakened.
Some wore casual clothes just like any other passerby on the street, indistinguishable from the common rabble; some wore their weapons openly, hanging from their backs or belts, sporting a full set of armour made from materials unknown to him, probably acquired in the Origin Realm.
However, Rohan felt the most oppressive auras from those who looked just like any other ordinary person on the street. Perhaps the need to show off or impress others wears off the more strength you acquire, as those all dressed up and adorning their weapons were definitely farming for attention, and they didn't even hide it.
Rohan felt so out of place. He felt like a feeble sheep amongst a pack of wolves. Any one of these people could kill him before he'd even realise what happened.
Still, he suppressed any fear or anxiety he was feeling, drew in a deep breath and entered the door — ignoring any intimidating gazes from the nearby awakened trying to give him a scare.
Passing through the door into the concourse, Rohan darted his eyes about for some signs to point him where he needed to go, yet there was nothing of the sort.
All he discovered were rows upon rows of counters with workers sitting behind them, exchanging words with the lines of awakened that queued up in front of them.
He carefully avoided all of the Awakened and strode towards the counter with the lowest number of people queued up, which also happened to be the only one with a male worker sat behind it…
'These guys would really waste an extra 15 minutes of their time in a longer line just to talk to a pretty face… Unbelievable, I thought Awakened would have countless men and women practically begging to climb right into their beds, so what makes these receptionists any more special?'
What confused Rohan even more, was that there were plenty of female awakened amongst those present as well; in fact, it was almost an even split, yet they were just the same as the men…
'I'm starting to think there's something wrong with the guy I'm lining up for instead…'
He wasn't a bad-looking guy either, which just affirmed his suspicions.
A swift 5 minutes passed and his turn soon came, and the young man on the other side let off a smile. Rohan couldn't quite decipher while looking at Rohan.
"How can I help you today?"
"I'd like to register as an Awakened."
The man's smile widened even further before he pointed to his left. "Head to the elevator over there; the registration takes place on the 5th floor."
At this point Rohan was conflicted; the guy looked like he was doing his hardest to suppress a laugh, while a few bored-looking Awakened nearby had similar reactions.
Just what was this guy up to?
Whatever the case, Rohan was too intimidated by the atmosphere and the threatening aura of the guy to voice his suspicions. Instead, he chose to follow his instructions, just with caution.
Rohan hurried away from the counter before he did something to embarrass himself, and with no further need to follow the crowd, he arrived at the elevator seconds later.
After a short trip up to the fifth floor, the elevator opened up to a wide waiting area where around fifty other people were also waiting, sitting down on the chairs provided.
Rohan swept the room with his gaze.
'They all seem to be around my age, so that's a good sign I'm in the right place, I guess.'
If he arrived and saw people much older than himself, then he'd know he was in the wrong place. Every awakened was required by law to register themself with the Awakened association within a month of their awakening, so if someone had waited that long to do so they would be registering themselves in jail rather than this place.