4: Awakening

The next day, a crystal tower emitting a pure, pale blue light stood quietly in a vast, empty square.

"Is this the directional Warp Device of Dark Annihilation?"

Zhang Huaiyuan, who had purchased the Spiritwing Bird and obtained access qualification, gazed from afar at the dense network of circuits at the edge of the crystal tower. His eyes shimmered with a fervent glow, as if admiring a woman of unparalleled beauty.

Before his transmigration, he had been a first-level Researcher on Blue Star. Naturally, he held a deep interest in such cutting-edge technology he had never seen before.

"Beautiful, truly beautiful. To think it could be arranged like this... However, this doesn't seem to be pure physics. There appears to be a unique Transcendent power from this world augmenting it... Pity, I'm too far away to observe it closely."

Zhang Huaiyuan glanced around and sighed with regret.

Perhaps to prevent them from disturbing certain important figures or affecting the teleportation process, all those who had purchased passage via the Spiritwing Bird were arranged at the very edge of the crystal tower's light coverage. Over a hundred well-equipped soldiers stood guard around them.

But, hitching a ride... one couldn't ask for too much.

As Zhang Huaiyuan quietly observed, he suddenly saw a flash before his eyes. Two figures abruptly appeared beside the crystal tower.

The one at the forefront had a stern countenance and wore a black combat suit. A faint, dark aura seemed to swirl around him. Merely looking at him for a moment caused a sharp pain in one's eyes.

Coupled with the respectful expressions of the surrounding soldiers, there was no doubt: this was the rumored Double A-Class Dark-type ability user, one of the founders of the An Mie Mercenary Corps, Lord "Dark".

The other person appeared to be around eighteen or nineteen years old. A trace of unconcealable arrogance was evident on his youthful face, clearly the so-called Young Master.

"Is everyone here?"

Lord Dark glanced at a soldier dressed as a captain and spoke indifferently.

"Yes, my lord."

"Let's depart."

...

"So this is warping!"

Zhang Huaiyuan only felt a wave of dizziness, as if his soul had been forcibly expelled from his body.

When he regained his senses, the surroundings had completely transformed.

Although he had only been to the mining area once before, when he was initially escorted here, the faint, flickering pale red light on the dome clearly indicated this was an Imperial-controlled zone.

The Reis-Tan-class Ion Defense System could easily withstand the full-force attack of an A-Class ability user. Even low-powered planet-destroying cannons would find it difficult to breach its protection.

It was the safest place in the entire Blackstone Star System.

"Lord Dark, we have already contacted the Imperial Transcendent Association here. They are ready to conduct the ability awakening for the Young Master at any time."

A man bearing the insignia of the An Mie Mercenary Corps, who had evidently been waiting here for some time, immediately stepped forward upon seeing the group arrive.

"Mm. Those who also require Transcendent awakening may follow. The rest may disperse."

Lord Dark gave a slight nod, tossed out these words, then led the youth beside him forward.

"Excellent! I heard that Transcendent awakenings usually require advance appointments, with a wait of at least half a month. Consumption here is exorbitantly high too. This saves a huge sum of money."

"We owe this to the Young Master's good fortune. I hope I can successfully awaken an ability. Even if it's just an ordinary one, even if the Empire doesn't value it, I could at least join one of the Five Great Mercenary Corps."

Apart from a small minority who drifted away from the crowd, most who came to the mining area were clearly here to awaken abilities. They excitedly discussed amongst themselves.

Zhang Huaiyuan followed within the large group, gathering pieces of information from their conversations.

He knew the Imperial Transcendent Association classified all abilities into six levels: Gods Chosen, Transcendence Level, Upper Rank, Middle Rank, Lower Rank, and Unranked.

Even within the same affinity, the strength of abilities could be worlds apart.

Take Mystical-type abilities, for example.

Powerful ones like Curses, Prophecy, etc., were at least Upper Rank.

While others, such as 'Never Gaining Weight' or 'No Hair Loss When Eating Cilantro'—abilities with almost no combat utility—could only be categorized as Unranked.

Generally, as long as one reached Middle Rank or above, the Imperial Transcendent Association would extend an olive branch, granting a status equivalent to that of a high-ranking Imperial civil servant.

This was also Zhang Huaiyuan's hope.

The Empire possessed the most comprehensive training systems and the most complete collection of technical data.

Whether pursuing the Transcendent path or returning to his old trade from before transmigration to become a Researcher, it was the best choice.

"I hope everything goes smoothly."

Lost in thought, the group soon arrived before a building of peculiar design.

Miraculously, no matter from which angle one looked, the gate bearing the plaque inscribed with the five large characters "Transcendent Association" always faced directly towards you.

The moment they stepped across the threshold, the surroundings instantly transformed, as if they had entered another dimension.

The ground beneath their feet turned into a void. Blazing flames, azure wind vortices, rushing torrents of water... powers of various affinities crisscrossed and flowed parallel across the sky.

"This..."

Everyone couldn't help but gasp in astonishment.

However, Lord Dark, leading the group, was clearly accustomed to such sights. A faint smile appeared on his stern face as he greeted two Transcendents at the center of the starry expanse:

"Long time no see, Lord Doke, Lord Dite. I apologize for troubling you two to take time from your busy schedules to preside over my son's awakening ceremony."

"Hahaha, long time indeed. An Lin, your strength has already far surpassed both of ours."

One of them stood up, revealing a belly almost twice the size of his body, looking somewhat comical.

He glanced at the slightly nervous youth beside An Lin and said with a beaming smile, "Last time I saw this kid, he was still in your wife's womb. Who would have thought in the blink of an eye, he's already at the age for Transcendent awakening. Come up, let me see how much of your father's talent you've inherited."

"Go ahead, An Wu."

Seeing his father nod, the youth stepped forward, curiously surveying his surroundings. Although he had heard about this countless times, it was his first time seeing it with his own eyes.

"Stand in the center of the inscription and drink this Awakening Potion."

The portly Doke tossed over an exquisite, transparent small vial. Faintly visible within was a pale gray gaseous current swirling at its center.

An Wu, thoroughly familiar with the awakening process, showed no hesitation. He tipped the gaseous current into his mouth.

Everyone's gaze immediately focused on the youth.

One breath... two breaths... three breaths...

Soon, ten minutes passed without any change.

"It seems the first awakening attempt has failed." Doke extended his hand and tossed over another identical vial.

"Continue."

The youth nodded, his expression not changing much.

Awakening was inherently a matter of luck. Even his father had only succeeded on the fifth Awakening Potion. The number of attempts had no relation to the strength of the ability awakened.

Watching from below, Zhang Huaiyuan felt a pang of hidden worry.

Just one failure like that meant fifty thousand star credits gone. For a second bottle, one would have to spend another hundred thousand.

He wasn't like the other party, the son of the Dark Annihilation leader, flush with wealth and resources. He had only one chance.

"I hope my luck is a bit better."