William said, "As you all know, there are two main paths humans can follow: the warrior path and the mage path."

The children knew this because William often told them fantastical stories about warriors and mages performing incredible feats. Every child, after listening to these stories, dreamed of becoming a hero just like those in the tales.

"As the names suggest," William continued, "the warrior path is for those who fight with weapons, while the mage path is for those who use magic."

He scanned the room, his gaze lingering on each child's face. "There's one crucial difference between these paths. Anyone can begin training as a warrior, but the mage path is reserved for those who awaken a magical power during their power awakening ceremony."

A child piped up, "Grandpa, please tell us about power awakening!"

The other children eagerly looked at William, hoping for an answer.

William's voice softened. "Power awakening is when a child, at the age of fifteen, discovers a hidden power within them, either magical or related to weaponry."

Another child asked, "Grandpa, does everyone awaken a power?"

Yet another chimed in, "Do we have to do anything to make it

happen?"

A third child added, "Is the awakening age fixed?"

"One question at a time, please," William chuckled.

His expression turned serious as he replied, "No, not everyone awakens a power. In fact, only a very few do. In our entire village history, only I have awakened a power – a weapon power, to be precise."

The children's faces fell, their joy replaced by a tinge of sadness.

William, sensing their disappointment, quickly added, "I don't want to give you false hope. My only purpose in teaching you this is to help you understand how our world works."

The children nodded solemnly.

"As for your other questions," William continued, "No, you don't have to do anything special to awaken a power. It's completely up to fate. And yes, the awakening age is fixed at fifteen. Everyone who can awaken a power will do so on their fifteenth birthday. There's no chance of awakening after that."

One child couldn't contain his curiosity. "How do we know if we've awakened?"

"You can't necessarily feel anything different," William explained.

"The only way to know for sure is to have your status checked at a guild. You can actually get your status checked at any age, so you don't have to wait until you're fifteen."

He added reassuringly, "But don't worry about that for now. Our village sends all fifteen-year-olds to the Pulkit guild for their awakening ceremony."

The status check was free for the first time at any guild, making it accessible even for the poor. However, most villages still didn't send their children because the chance of awakening was so low. While the guilds didn't charge for the status check itself, they didn't cover other expenses like travel and accommodation in the city, making it a significant cost for the villagers.

William, however, firmly believed that awakening was the most important event in a person's life. He himself hadn't discovered his own weapon power until he was twenty-four, and he deeply regretted wasting nine years of his youth. He didn't want the same fate to befall any of the village children. So, when he became village chief, he made it mandatory for every child to have their status checked at the Pulkit guild upon turning fifteen.

The news brought a flicker of relief to the children's faces. At least they would have the chance to find out if they were awakened or not at the right time.

"Any other questions about the power awakening ceremony?" William asked.

Silence filled the room. Taking that as a cue, he continued, "Now, back to our lesson. As I was saying, anyone can begin training as a warrior, but for the mage path, awakening magical power is a prerequisite. However, even on the warrior path, you can only progress to a certain level without awakening a weapon power. So, awakening is ultimately the most important factor."

By this time, the sun had begun to set. William concluded, "That's all for today. Tomorrow, we'll discuss the level system. You're all dismissed for now."

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

The children thanked William as usual and began filing out. Max, as always, stayed behind. "Grandpa, I'm going to play," he announced.

William nodded, but a shadow of yesterday's worry crossed his face. "Be careful and come home before nightfall. If you see anything strange, come straight to me and don't try to investigate it yourself."

"Okay, Grandpa, I'll follow your advice," Max promised.

Then he headed out to play with his friends, leaving William to clean the room as usual.

----------------------------------------

** Around two hours later **

Max returned home after playing. William greeted him with a question, "Did anything strange happen today?"

Max replied simply, "No, Grandpa."

William sighed in relief. "That's good. Go wash your hands. I've prepared dinner."

Max did as instructed and joined William in the dining room, where the food was already laid out. They ate in comfortable silence.

After dinner, William said, "You can go to sleep now. I'll handle the dishes tonight. You need your rest."

Normally, William cooked and Max washed the dishes. Max, a sensible fourteen-year-old, always wanted to help his elderly grandfather in any way he could.

But William always insisted, saying, "When you turn fifteen, you'll be an adult. Then you'll have to do chores even when you don't want to. So enjoy helping me as much as you can until then."

After much pleading, William had finally allowed Max to help with the dishes, but nothing else.

Max understood and replied, "Okay, Grandpa, but I'll start helping again tomorrow."

William chuckled. "Alright, alright. Now go get some sleep."

Max retreated to his room and settled in for the night. He tried calling the system again, but just like before, there was no response. He couldn't remember the exact time twenty-four hours would be complete, only that it was late at night. Deciding to deal with it in the morning, he drifted off to sleep.

----------------------------------------

** The Next Morning **

Max woke up at his usual time, eight o'clock. It seemed like a normal morning, but the system was on his mind. He called out, "System."

This time, a monotonous voice echoed in his head, "Good morning, host. The Judgement System is ready to assist you."

Max flinched but quickly composed himself. "Who are you?" he asked cautiously.

The system replied in the same monotone, "Host, you can simply speak in your mind, and I will answer. As for your question, you can call me the voice of this Judgement System."

Max, still wary, thought, "Why can you talk to me in my head?"

The system's response was immediate. "Host, I am fused with your soul, allowing me to communicate telepathically. I can only hear your thoughts if you specifically direct them at me, not your general thoughts."

While Max couldn't fully trust this system he had just encountered, he had no choice but to go along with it for now. "Do you have something to do with that mysterious man?" he asked, his voice laced with fear.

"Yes, host," the system confirmed. "He was my previous host. He passed me on to you, which is why you fainted that day."

Now Max understood how he had obtained the system, but curiosity about his predecessor gnawed at him. However, before he could ask anything further, the system spoke again.

"But before you inquire further, I must inform you that I cannot reveal any more about him at this point."

Max warily asked, "Why?"

The system's answer was cryptic. "It is for your own good. I will share more information when you are worthy and powerful enough to handle it."

Not entirely convinced, but with no other options, Max switched gears. "How can you help me become powerful?"

"I will guide you at every step of your journey to power," the system replied. "You can also call out your status to see your current strengths and weaknesses. This will allow me to provide more specific guidance."

Max vaguely recalled a similar status display from the previous night. He mentally called out, "Status."

The same window materialized in his mind:

[

** Status **

Name : Max

Age : 14

** Physical **

Health : 50

Strength : 15

Stamina : 5

Speed : 5

** Magic **

Level : 0

Power ( MP ) : 0

Attribute : Judgement ( Dormant )

** Warrior **

Level : 0

Power ( WP ) : 0

Weapon : Soul Sword ( Dormant )

** Titles **

Hope of Judgement ( Not qualified yet )

Ruler Of Judgement ( Not qualified yet )

God Of Judgement ( Not qualified yet )

]

Max felt overwhelmed by the information, but the system was there to help. "This status window displays your level and other attributes," it explained. "Your powers are currently dormant, but I will assist you in awakening them and using them to become powerful."

The news of awakening powers filled Max with joy. Just yesterday, he had been crushed by the knowledge that so few people awakened powers.

Max's elation was short-lived. He calmed down and voiced his doubt, "Why me? I don't think there's anything special about me."

The system offered a simple explanation. "Host, this was determined by fate. Neither you nor I have control over it."