Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
The moment I stepped into the center of the massive playground and stood before everyone, it felt as though a billion spotlights had been trained on me.
I could hear the whispers of the crowd, yet at the same time, I couldn’t. The only sounds that reached me were my footsteps crunching against the marble pavement and the thunderous pounding of my heart.
I’d told myself the night before that it didn’t really matter whether or not I awakened. If I failed, it wouldn’t change my life in any meaningful way... would it?
That was a lie.
A big lie I’d told myself to hide the truth gnawing at my heart.
I wanted to awaken.
I wanted to be strong.
I wanted to be the male lead of my own superhero story.
For once, I just wanted to become the main character without the complimentary trauma package that always seemed to come with the role.
Hell, considering my early life in this world had already been traumatic enough, I’d say I deserved that much just for surviving it... and then some.
’Hahaha,’ I laughed bitterly as I reached the top of the stairs and placed my hand on the orb, feeling its cold surface against my palm. ’What am I even thinking?’
It was such a foolish thought. A foolish thought that I wished would become my reality.
"Mister Atlas...."
"Mister Atlas!"
The sudden booming voice of the woman in the suit snapped me out of my trance, and I raised my gaze to meet hers. "Mister Atlas, are you alright? If you aren’t feeling well, you can rest before taking the test."
I smiled behind my mask and answered, "Don’t worry, I’m alright."
She offered me a smile. For someone I had only ever seen scowling, mocking, and putting on false pleasantries, it looked strangely genuine.
"In that case, just relax, calm your breaths, and let the energy flow through you."
I nodded once, took a shaky breath, and pressed my palm firmly against the orb.
Within seconds, the cold surface grew warm, as though a hidden furnace had been lit deep inside it.
The warmth flowed through my veins, climbed to my heart and head, then finally settled in my abdomen.
There, it gathered into something tangible, radiating a faint teal glow.
Then... it burst free, surging back into the orb.
When I opened my eyes, the crystal was shining with a brilliant teal light. From the corner of my vision, I saw the principal and the woman in the suit squinting against its radiance.
Above the orb, the numerical readings continued climbing higher and higher, showing no sign of slowing down.
My eyes widened, my fingers trembling against the warm crystal as my heart pounded so violently it felt as though it might leap straight out of my chest.
’Gods, please,’ I pleaded as the light within the spherical orb intensified. It was as though invisible layers of tempered glass were shattering one after another, no longer able to contain its radiance.
I could feel the stares of everyone in the crowd burning into my back, and that familiar sensation of standing beneath a billion spotlights returned.
The world around me faded into darkness, leaving only the blinding glow that bathed me in light.
My breathing grew more ragged with every passing second. All I wanted was to see the numbers above the crystal and learn whether they would be enough to change my future or not.
Slowly, the light dimmed, leaving just a faint teal glow within the sphere and a string of numbers above it that I couldn’t quite make out from where I stood.
"Oh my god!" one voice screamed, causing me to turn my head toward the crowd. But the reaction I expected, given the long string of numbers above the orb, wasn’t what I saw.
Instead, their faces bore laughter, jest, and mockery, as if they were watching a jester bungle an obvious trick.
"... After all that, his digits aren’t even up to F-rank?!"
My head snapped back to the orb. Only then did I notice that despite the numbers being long, there was a decimal point between the 3 and the 14 following it.
’Huh?’
"Shit," another guy muttered. "I thought those irregulars would have someone good, but it’s just another dud."
The woman in the suit let out a small sigh. "Atlas, lower G-Rank Support Class." She rubbed her temples. "Could you step down from the podium now?"
I stood there for a long moment, trying to process everything that had just happened, before slowly making my way down the stairs.
When I reached the bottom and lifted my gaze, I braced myself for mockery.
Instead, I found something even worse.
No one was looking at me.
They had already gone back to talking among themselves, as though my entire awakening had never happened.
’I should be happy they won’t recognize me, shouldn’t I?’ I felt my heart tighten for no reason. ’But... why does it hurt so damn much!’
I placed my trembling hands against my chest, my fingers twisting the fabric over my heart.
’It hurts so much.’
’Perhaps I’m just one of those people destined for mediocrity in this worl-’
Ding! Ding! Ding!
I couldn’t even finish my thoughts before a loud chiming echoed in my ears, and a teal-and-gold interface materialized before me.
[Argh! Can you cut the sentimental crap already?! Don’t you know this is how the main character gets his cheat?]
’What?’
My head tilted to the side as my grip on my shirt loosened.
[Don’t "what" me! You were trying to bait me out, weren’t you?! Ha! Well, here I am.]
Ding!
[The Pay-To-Win Support Player System has been successfully activated, as the user has surpassed the limits of the Support Class.]
[Please earn money through your own means and invest it into the System. In return, you’ll be able to buy anything you desire. Anything at all. Yes... even the universe.]
[So, how about it now, crybaby? Think you can stop moping around and start acting like a proper transmigrator?]