Male students crowded around Jaden in the classroom, their feet striking his face again and again. Each of them bore one or two black lines—on their wrists, necks, or faces. Jaden could barely protect himself, lying helpless on the ground.
Frost, a student with blue hair and a long mark—black lines tracing from his sleeves and circling his wrists—and Davis, whose lines ran around his neck and another from his eyebrow, joined in the relentless beating.
The girls in the classroom remained in their seats, laughing and taking pictures of the beating, some zooming in on his face through their phones. At the center of the group sat two boys: Henderson, with two lines circling each of his hands, and Karl, who had only two marks on the right side of his face.
They draped their arms around some girls, grinning, clearly entertained by the merciless beating.
While some other students preferred not to make eye contact with the scene.
Yeah… that's it. Just another day for a non-awakener like me to get beaten by these losers, Jaden thought, as the door slammed open with a loud bang.
The boys froze, then reluctantly returned to their seats as Mr. Thomas entered, accompanied by a new student—a girl with crimson-colored hair coiled around her shoulders and four lines circling her right hand. Jaden stood as well, wiping the blood from his nostrils, then sank back into the seat by the window, his gaze fixed entirely outside.
Mr. Thomas noticed the blood smeared across Jaden's face but chose to ignore it.
"Attention, class. We have a new student joining us today," Mr. Thomas announced, turning to the girl and gesturing for her to introduce herself.
She bowed slightly and said, "My name is Arya August. It's a pleasure to meet you."
The classroom fell completely silent, the chatter dying in an instant. Then whispers spread like wildfire—everyone knew the August family. One of the country's most powerful business dynasties, they owned massive companies and wielded influence that seemed to have no limits.
Arya glanced around at the students, noting the surprise on their faces—some mouths hung open in shock. But Jaden didn't react. But his fingers pressed deeper into the desk, keeping his focus on the world outside, as if no one else was there.
"You can go ahead and take your seat," Mr Thomas said.
She immediately left the front of the class and walked toward the back, where Jaden sat. Reaching the row, she gestured to the boy sitting next to him to stand up. He obeyed without question, and she slid into the seat.
The entire class went silent, shocked to see her sitting right beside Jaden of all people—a boy with no lines on his body.
Henderson sprang to his feet, ignoring the teacher at the front, and shouted at Jaden, "Trash. You don't get to sit next to her."
She lifted her head, feeling more at ease by Henderson's words, as if her confidence had doubled.
The whole class burst into laughter, but it didn't shake Jaden in the slightest. His expression remained unreadable, as if none of it concerned him.
Even Arya narrowed her eyes at him.
Henderson, on the other hand, grew seriously offended by Jaden's indifference. "Why… you little—"
"Sit down, now!" Mr. Thomas interrupted sharply. Henderson grumbled but obeyed, sinking into his seat with an annoyed scowl and rolling his eyes away from the teacher's stern gaze.
"Alright, class, what is a dungeon?" Mr. Thomas asked. The classroom remained silent, no one offering an answer.
He sighed and opened the textbook lying at the front of his desk. "Dungeons," Mr. Thomas said quietly. "Places where the weak don't come back from. An underground complex where monsters and other graded traps dwell." He closed the book gently, resting his hands on top of it.
"Eighty years ago," he said, his voice lowering, "our world collided with something… else. A mystic world merged with ours, creating vast underground tunnels across the globe—what we now call dungeons. Humans also gained distinct marks which granted different abilities to fight the monsters that emerged from this mystic realm."
He then shifted his gaze to Jaden. "You should know this—if you possess no ability in this world, you'll be doomed forever."
****
Class ended sooner than expected. Jaden lingered in his chair, staring at the board as if he had just seen an impossible arithmetic problem.
Just then, the door slid open, and Arya stepped in. All eyes followed her, captivated by her dazzling face, as she walked toward Jaden.
"You're strange," Arya said softly.
"Most people would've broken by now."
She then extended her hand and handed him a piece of paper. "The staff sent this for you. They said it's urgent." Without another word, she turned and left to her seat.
Jaden unfolded the slip and read it carefully. What he saw made his eyes widen, his hands trembling as he sat on his seat.
Greetings,
This is to inform you that the Golem Blood Ceremony will take place tomorrow. We hope you have awakened by then…
or be killed.
The Head Council
Macvillian High.
Jaden's grip tightened around the metallic frame of the desk, the impact causing it to vibrate sharply. His heart pounded violently, as if it might burst from his chest at any moment. Cold sweat ran down his neck as the words on the paper blurred before his eyes.
"I thought it was going to be next week…" he whispered, his voice barely audible.
Arya noticed the fear written all over his face. "What is it?" she asked, concern creeping into her voice. "Are you alright?"
Jaden didn't answer. Instead, he stood up, his body trembling, and walked out of the class without a word.
The day passed quickly. Both students and staff had left, leaving only Jaden in the classroom, arranging the chairs as he always did. He continued with the task, but his mind lingered on the letter from earlier.
I'm going to die anyway. It doesn't matter what I do, this world won't ever accept me, he thought.
After arranging the chairs, he walked slowly out to the school compound.
His gaze shifted to a golden statue, with an inscription beneath it: Legend of All Legends.
"Still as mysterious as ever…" Jaden finally chuckled softly, a rare sound that hardly suited him.
He placed his right hand on the statue, bowing his head to hide his sadness. "This will be the last time."
"....I'll be standing before you… Legend."
He then placed his left hand against it, a tear slipping quietly down his cheek as he released the emotions he had been holding in for so long.
"Legends say you were once just like me… a powerless nobody." His tears flowed freely now.
"So tell me… is it possible for me too…."
"...to become powerful… to become great."
"… a supreme leader?"
He slammed both hands against the statue at once and shouted. "Answer me!"
For a moment, nothing happened.
I wonder if anyone's ever felt this small. Probably not. They all have lines. They all have… something.
Then, a radiant stream of blue lines flowed from the statue's eyes, tracing down its body until they reached Jaden's hands. The metal burned his palms, like it was alive, humming under his skin.
His hands trembling on the statue.
He staggered back immediately, a strange force surging through him.
"What was that just now…?" he muttered. Though he hadn't seen the lines, he could feel something reacting deep within his body.
He took a moment to compose himself before quickly walking away from the golden statue.
Late that night, Jaden lay in bed, tilting his head at different angles, forcing his eyes shut as though trapped in a nightmare.
Suddenly, he jerked upright, gasping for breath. His heart pounded violently, as if he were being chased in a nightmare.
Light filled the room, and as he searched for its source, his mouth fell open. Brilliant blue lines now ran from both sides of his chest down to his abdomen, etched across his body like glowing runes.
His blue eyes widened, and his mouth fell open. He hadn't expected to bear a mark—let alone one that glowed.
The boy born to die had been given another chance at life.