"Please give me an S-rank territory! I’ll even stop watching porn for a month!"
Ashveil clasped his hands together and offered a sincere prayer to whichever god happened to be listening.
After a moment of consideration, he reconsidered the terms of his offer.
"Two weeks. Take it or leave it."
Unfortunately, the heavens showed no signs of accepting his generous proposal.
Ashveil was currently standing among thousands of people inside an enormous white hall.
At its center was a massive crystal surrounded by several floating screens, each displaying the results of those who had already completed the Awakening Ceremony.
An hour earlier, he had been sitting comfortably in front of his computer when a mysterious light suddenly swallowed him.
The next thing he knew, he was standing here alongside thousands of equally confused people.
Fortunately, the strange system responsible for their arrival had been kind enough to explain their circumstances.
[Welcome to Eryndor!]
[One billion humans have been selected to participate in the Great Lord’s Trial.]
[Each participant will awaken a territory and become its Lord.]
[Develop your territory, recruit armies, conquer lands, and establish your own kingdom.]
In other words, humanity had apparently been transported into some kind of real-life strategy game.
Ashveil wasn’t particularly opposed to the idea. In fact, the prospect of building his own kingdom sounded rather exciting.
He had spent countless hours playing strategy games, and now he was being offered the opportunity to become an actual ruler.
There was just one problem.
"Why the hell is everything determined by luck?"
According to the system, territories were divided into seven grades ranging from F to S.
Those fortunate enough to awaken an A-rank or S-rank territory could begin with powerful soldiers, abundant resources, and well-developed settlements.
Meanwhile, those who received an F-rank territory would have to struggle just to survive.
Ashveil had played enough gacha games to know how dangerous such a system could be.
Just then, the crystal at the center of the hall began glowing.
[Awakening Successful!]
[Name: Marcus Reed]
[Territory Grade: B]
[Starting Military Units: 50]
[Territory Evaluation: Excellent]
The crowd immediately erupted into cheers.
"A B-rank territory!"
"Fifty soldiers right from the beginning? That’s insane!"
"He’s practically guaranteed to survive!"
Ashveil watched the fortunate young man step away from the crystal with a rather smug expression.
"Tch. Lucky bastard."
Fifty soldiers from the beginning. Meanwhile, some poor fellow might end up receiving nothing but a broken hut and a few sticks.
Hopefully, that poor fellow wouldn’t be him.
As the ceremony continued, another participant approached the crystal.
This time, it was a beautiful young woman with long black hair and an appearance that immediately attracted the attention of several men in the crowd.
"Goddamn, she’s gorgeous."
"Forget gorgeous. She’s practically begging to be bred."
"Dude, what the fuck?"
"What? I’m just appreciating her beauty! It’s a compliment. A compliment!"
"Yeah, if you were an incel!"
The woman herself appeared completely unaware of the conversation taking place behind her.
She calmly placed her hand against the crystal and waited for the result.
[Awakening Successful!]
[Name: Elena Frost]
[Territory Grade: A]
[Starting Military Units: 100]
[Territory Evaluation: Outstanding]
A brilliant golden light erupted from the crystal, illuminating the entire hall.
For a moment, everyone fell silent.
Then the shouting began.
"An A-rank!"
"A hundred soldiers?!"
"She’s definitely going to become a powerful Lord!"
Ashveil stared at the floating screen in disbelief.
A hundred soldiers.
That was twice what Marcus Reed had received, and the woman hadn’t even needed to lift a finger to obtain them.
Beside him, the same young man from earlier suddenly spoke again.
"Not only is she breedable, she’s got a hundred soldiers to protect our kids!"
"...Your kids?"
"Because I wifed that."
"This one needs help."
Ashveil decided that some people were beyond saving.
As the Awakening Ceremony continued, more participants stepped forward to receive their territories.
Most awakened D-rank or C-rank territories, while the occasional B-rank attracted considerable attention.
Those unfortunate enough to receive E-rank territories could only leave the platform with disappointed expressions.
Then came the first F-rank.
[Awakening Successful!]
[Name: Daniel Brooks]
[Territory Grade: F]
[Starting Military Units: 0]
[Territory Evaluation: Extremely Poor]
The entire hall fell silent.
The young man standing before the crystal looked as though his soul had just left his body.
"Pfft! Zero soldiers? Is that even a territory?"
"How’s he supposed to survive?"
"Man, I’d rather just go home."
Ashveil shook his head sympathetically.
"Poor bastard."
Being transported to another world was already troublesome enough. Receiving the worst possible starting territory on top of that was practically a death sentence.
The unfortunate young man eventually stepped down from the platform with his head lowered, ignoring the whispers around him.
Ashveil watched him leave with a complicated expression.
Hopefully, the fellow would find some way to survive. After all, nobody had asked to be dragged into this ridiculous trial.
And Ashveil certainly wasn’t eager to find himself in the same situation.
[Next Awakener: Ashveil Sunday.]
He slowly raised his head.
"Here we go..."
Under the gazes of thousands of people, Ashveil approached the awakening crystal.
Up close, the enormous object was even more impressive.
Its transparent surface contained countless tiny lights that moved like stars, while mysterious symbols occasionally appeared within its depths.
[Please place your hand on the Awakening Crystal.]
"Alright, alright."
Ashveil placed his palm against the crystal and waited.
A few seconds passed, but nothing happened.
He frowned and glanced at the floating screen, wondering whether the ceremony had somehow malfunctioned.
"Hello? Anyone home?"
Just as he was beginning to consider removing his hand, a faint light suddenly appeared beneath his palm.
[Awakening in Progress...]
[Evaluating Lord Compatibility...]
[Determining Starting Territory...]
The light grew brighter, and the crystal began trembling.
"Oh?"
The mysterious symbols inside it suddenly accelerated, swirling around one another as the entire crystal released an increasingly brilliant radiance.
Several people in the crowd noticed the unusual phenomenon.
"What’s happening?"
"Was the crystal shaking like that before?"
"Could it be another A-rank?"
Ashveil heard their whispers and immediately straightened his back. A smile slowly appeared on his face.
"Heh. I knew it."
Perhaps all those years of terrible luck had finally paid off. Perhaps the heavens had finally decided to reward him for his suffering.
After all, wasn’t this exactly how things worked in those novels he used to read?
The protagonist would appear completely ordinary at first, only to awaken some ridiculously powerful ability that shocked everyone present.
And judging by the light pouring out of the crystal, his awakening was certainly attracting plenty of attention.
’Could it be? Am I actually the protagonist?’
Ashveil could already imagine himself sitting on a magnificent throne, commanding an army of legendary warriors while beautiful women competed for his attention.
Yes, perhaps becoming the ruler of Eryndor wasn’t such an unrealistic dream after all.
The crystal flashed.
[Awakening Complete!]
Ashveil held his breath.
[Name: Ashveil Sunday]
[Territory Grade: F]
His smile disappeared.
"...Huh?"
[Starting Military Units: 0]
[Territory Name: Ashen Hollow]
[Territory Evaluation: Extremely Poor]
For several seconds, nobody said anything.
Then someone burst out laughing.
"Pfft! Another F-rank!"
"All that light for an F-rank?!"
"I thought he was about to awaken something incredible!"
Ashveil stared at the floating screen, wondering whether his eyes were playing tricks on him.
F-rank?
Zero soldiers?
Extremely poor?
No, something was definitely wrong.
He looked at the crystal before pressing his other hand against its surface.
"Do it again."
[Awakening Complete.]
"No, you don’t understand. I wasn’t ready!"
[Awakening Complete.]
"Come on, just one more pull!"
[Awakening Complete.]
"I’ll swipe! I’ll swipe! Just tell me how much!"
[Awakening Complete.]
"I’ll even trade in my Johnshin Impact account! It’s got all the limited five-stars!"
[Awakening Complete.]
"Come on, man! Do you have any idea how much money I’ve spent on that account?!"
[Awakening Complete.]
The people watching could no longer contain their laughter.
A few were practically doubled over, while others had begun pointing at the unfortunate young man who was apparently attempting to bribe the Awakening Crystal.
Ashveil slowly lowered his hands.
"...You piece of shit."
To think that he had genuinely believed something extraordinary was about to happen.
What was the point of all those special effects?!
Perhaps this was divine punishment.
Slowly, Ashveil clasped his hands behind his back and lowered his head, gazing into the distance with the resigned expression of a man who had lost everything.
"There’s nothing we can do."
Unfortunately, the heavens remained completely uninterested in his suffering.
Before he could wallow in his defeat any longer, a new notification appeared.
[Awakening Ceremony Complete.]
[Preparing Territorial Transfer...]
[All Lords participating in this Awakening Ceremony will now be transported to their respective territories.]
[Territorial development will begin immediately upon arrival.]
Ashveil’s expression changed.
"Hold on. Already?"
A brilliant white light began surrounding his body.
[Transfer Countdown: 3...]
"Wait! What about the tutorial?!"
[2...]
"At least give me a beginner’s gift pack!"
[1...]
"You cheap bastards!"
The next moment, a dazzling light swallowed him whole.
"I demand to speak to the authoooooor!"