As the bell rang signaling the end of the last lecture, I woke up thanking the gods that this was my last day in this stupid institution. My school life wasnt what you would call ideal and i was happy to finally leave school behind and awaken.
“Hey, Theo! Wake up, this is our last day and you promised me that we would eat at that fancy pastry shop before graduation!”
The annoying blondie talking nonstop is Sophie, and the only friend I made in this hell they call school.
“Ok Soph, it’s not like I can escape this time.”
“You bet you can’t”
Sighing I got up and put on my coat while Sophie kept looking at me with those puppy eyes waiting for me. Soon after I checked that I had all my belongings on me I pointed to the door
“So shall we?”
Sophie brimming with expectation grabbed my hand and started dragging me through the school grounds without caring what others would think of the scene. While it didn’t bother me this same attitude caused a lot of problems during our school days. Sophie being what some would call the goddess of the school and me an outcast, made our friendship something that others could not accept and me the target of the bullies of the school. Thankfully those days are over.
*
During our way to the pastry shop, Sophie bombarded me with a lot of questions about my plans going forward. Knowing that in the coming weeks we would finally be able to awaken, a lot of new opportunities would be available for us.
“So Theo, are you planning to become a Hunter? With your brains, I’m pretty sure you could become a great Magismith”
“You know that I can’t afford that Soph. And money aside, I don’t feel that I would be happy in a workshop” I answered knowing that Sophie would try to convince me otherwise.
"But your results at the practical lectures were only average and being a Hunter is a dangerous job. I don’t want you to die. If you want, I can ask my mom to give you an apprenticeship in her workshop”
And there it is. Sophie’s mom was one of the best Magismiths in Paris, and while her daughter was my friend, I doubted that she would offer me a proper apprenticeship. At best I would be a glorified errand boy.
"I appreciate your concern Soph, but I always dreamt of casting magic and swinging a weapon around. I will be careful and promise not to die”
"You better keep this promise” said Sophie with a serious face.
After a few more blocks we finally made it to the shop that was called Trinity Magic Pastries. And yes, magic is real. At least it became real in the last decade since the system was initialized. Unfortunately, only those over the age of 18 that performed the awakening ceremony could use it. Back to the pastries, I and Sophie waited in the queue for a few minutes and finally got a table so we could enjoy the experience of eating what some say are the best pastries in the town. Sophie ordered at least 3 different cakes and a tea, while I ordered a simple coffee and a lemon tart.
We enjoyed our snacks and when the bill came, I almost got a heart attack.
“Don’t worry, I will pay for this on the condition we go for our awakening ceremony together” Sophie said looking at my surprised expression
“I thought the waiting list was huge and that you had no way to pick the date of your appointment”
“Being the daughter of a top Magismith has its privileges besides the money you know” said Sophie grinning
“Are you serious?” I asked
“What about tomorrow? I’m pretty sure that with a few calls mom can get us an appointment for the afternoon”
Not sure what to say, and realizing that I had no way of paying the bill i just nodded to Sophie.
“That sounds like a plan then Theo!” said Sophie while getting her card from her wallet to pay the bill.
After paying the bill we left the shop and said our goodbyes, Sophie saying that she would text me later tonight about the exact time of our appointment.
*
On my walk home I remembered my childhood when my grandpa would come to every vacation with a different RPG campaign so we could play. Every session was filled with adventure, discoveries, and experimentation. The systems were so unique and different that even playing with the old-school way of pen and paper felt better than even the most modern games. And tomorrow, a system like those would become part of my life, if only grandpa were here to see it. My daydreaming made me unaware of the time I spent walking and soon I was staring at the door to the small apartment I lived with my mom.
“I’m home” I called as soon as I opened the door
“Theodore, come eat your dinner. We must talk” said mom from the kitchen
Thinking about what I did wrong this time and trying to buy some time before the ‘talk’ I quickly replied
“I’m not hungry, but I want to shower now. Can we talk later?”
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Without waiting for the answer, I made my way to my room, grabbed some clothes to put on after the shower, and went into the bathroom locking the door for some privacy. After I undressed, I checked myself in the mirror. I never really liked my appearance. Short dark hair, light brown eyes, and what you could call the beginnings of a beard made my face average. And my body while not completely unfit, was more akin to a scholar’s build than that of an athlete. I was the epitome of what the average young adult would look like. After shaving and a quick shower, I got dressed and mentally prepared for the ‘talk’. And soon after I unlocked the door, she was sitting on my bed waiting for me.
“Come sit with me son, now that you finished your school and are ready for awakening it is time that I explain some things to you”
Anxiety got me thinking about what she needed to explain but at least I was happy that I wasn’t going to get an earful for mixing laundry or forgetting to take out the trash this time. I sat by her side and before I had a chance to say anything she started.
“Theodore, what do you remember about your grandpa or your dad?”
“Only what you told me, mom. Grandpa died while working during the Awakening and that dad was a Hunter that went missing in a dungeon”
“While that’s true, it is not the full story. Your grandpa was one of the lead scientists on the project that caused the Awakening. And the Alpine system was originally his assistant AI that helped him manage the facility. Because the system named itself after him, we had to abandon our family name and start a new life here in France instead of staying in Brazil. We don’t know the specifics of his research nor why things became that way but that was the reason your father became a Hunter and went to that goddam dungeon”
Mom was shaking and holding to not cry after talking about dad, and I could see that she didn’t want me to follow my dad’s steps by the tone she used when talking about his decision of becoming a Hunter.
“Mom, that’s a lot to take in. And you know I must become a Hunter if we want to live better than we do now” I said in a firm voice
“Why can’t you just become a Magismith? Why do you have to put yourself in danger for money? I can’t lose you as well Theodore…” Not able to hold tears anymore she started sobbing and tears started to fill her eyes
“Mom, I promise to be careful. I just can’t stand living in this way anymore. I want us to have a better house, and clothes and you to work less. We both know that the amount you are making is barely enough to pay for our rent and food. Not to say that your health is degrading “
“If it is just for the money I can work more. You can find a simple …” Mom couldn’t finish her sentence before she fainted
“Mom? Are you alright?” I started panicking looking at her not knowing what happened and what to do. I knew that her health wasn’t the best and that her body was unusually weak, but she never fainted. I shook her trying to get some reaction, but nothing happened. After calming down a bit I picked up my phone and dialed the emergency number
“Hello? I need an ambulance, my mother passed out and she is not responding to anything I do. My address is Starfield street 28” I spoke to the person on the other side of the line
“Sir, calm down. Can you please give me her name so I can put the request?” An indifferent female voice answered me
“Her name is Amanda Borg.” I quickly replied
“We will send an ambulance soon…” The lady answered and soon the call went mute
I tried everything I could to calm myself down and the 30 minutes until the ambulance arrived were the longest ever. As soon as they arrived, we quickly went to the hospital where they took my mom for some exams, and I waited in a room. I was still shocked by the whole situation, today was supposed to be a happy day where I finished the mandatory school and announced to my mom that I would awaken tomorrow and go to the Hunter’s guild. Instead, she dropped a bomb saying that my grandpa was involved with the event that changed the world forever and that my dad died looking for answers. And before she could explain more she just fainted. Suddenly adoctor came to the room I was waiting and his question brought me back to reality.
“Hey kid, are you the son?” the doctor asked seriously
“Yes sir. Is my mom fine?”
“She is and she isn’t. She is in what appears to be a coma. We don’t understand her situation yet but all her vitals are stable” The man gave me his explanation “The problem is, we don’t know how to wake her up. And we need to keep monitoring her to have a better diagnosis. And that may be a problem”
Reading between the lines of what the man just said, I realize what he meant. Money. While the whole world changed and magic now was real, hospital bills were still expensive, and mom’s situation was something unusual.
“Here is the situation kid. We can keep her alive and monitor her status for one week which is covered by the government. After that, if she doesn’t wake up the hospital can’t do much and you need to take her home or pay the hospitalization fees”
“How much?” I asked already knowing that probably was more than what I could get
“100 thousand credits per month” The doctor said in a serious voice
Despair came to me. Realizing that I didn’t have any income or savings that could even start to cover that ridiculous amount. That was when my phone vibrated and I got a text message from Sophie saying that she got an appointment for our awakening at 10 am the next day. Strengthening my resolve, I told the doctor:
“Take care of her, please. I will bring the money as soon as possible”
“Ok…” the doctor said not believing it to be possible that I could pay “Go to the administration to make sure all the paperwork is set”
Without answering the doctor, I went straight to the administration office to fill out the proper paperwork and see the conditions of the payment. The clerk was quite polite and made me sign a pile of documents to make sure that if I could not pay the fees, they could release my mom after 2 weeks. This was still too short of a time frame for me to make 100k credits since normally new awakened Hunters made something like 25k a month. Not having much of a choice, I signed everything and went home to get ready for the next day.
*
After meeting Sophie at the awakening facility, I told her everything that happened last night, and she promptly offered to help with the money. While that would solve the immediate problem, in the case mom didn’t wake up in that month already paid I would need to pay for another one. Thinking about a way that I could generate more money to prevent what could be a cycle of debt I asked Sophie
“Soph, I appreciate your help with the money, but I have a better idea. Can you help me with some basic Hunter gear?”
“You can’t be serious… I can just pay for the fees, and you don’t need to put yourself in danger”
“Yeah, but what if she doesn’t wake up in just one month? I will need to ask for more money and I can’t always depend on you to pay the bills Soph”
We kept discussing it back and forth for a few minutes until Sophie finally conceded
“Okay Theo, we can go to the shop and see mom after we awaken”
As soon as Sophie finished her sentence, a pair of clerks approached both of us and took us to separate rooms where we would do our awakening ceremony. When we entered the room there was just a simple cube floating in the middle and the clerk said:
“Theodore Borg, approach the awaken cube and touch it with both hands. The cube will do the rest”
Gulping I approached the cube with an unsettling feeling in my stomach and touched the cube. As soon as I touched it, a blue screen occupied my vision
Theodore Borg Albine
Awakening intiated